Post by Robin Wesley on Oct 15, 2006 23:20:00 GMT
Name:
Robin Wesley
Codename:
Chloros
Age: 17
Mutation:
The first of Robin's powers is plant manipulation. She can accelerate the growth of plants, speeding it exponentially, and use them to be weapons. Vines have been the most helpful this far, although many forms of plants are wonderful at distracting enemies by hitting, tripping, and catching them, but nothing works quite as well as vine strangulation. She is also exploring uses of poison in her abilities, but hasn't yet figured a way to completely control this to be only beneficial. When using this manipulation, she can only completely focus on one plant at a time. If she is growing a vine, she may have complete control of that vine as long as she remains within twenty five feet or so near its roots. (Some plants are beyond her complete manipulation, such as large, old trees, which seem to have a stronger "consciousness" than simpler plants and won't allow her to intrude.) If there are a few smaller plants, Robin can control them at once but it will be a weaker control. Obviously she cannot use this ability when there are no plants around, so she can be a bit stuck if she's inside without any indoor plants. One solution she has been experimenting with is keeping a satchel of seeds close on hands, which will grow easily with limited amounts of dirt or even just water.
The second is a limited telepathy that allows Robin to communicate with plants. The more complex the plant organism, the more complex its speech is. Common lawn grass isn't capable of much more than its mantra "grow, grow, grow," but old, ancient trees are surprisingly complex and have even developed their own philosophies. Robin has been forced to listen to a lecture from more than one old oak tree. Her range with this ability is about four feet, so she can't communicate with a plant over a vast lawn. When it initially struck, Robin had to teach herself some control, which was messy and painful. But after her arrival at the school, it was the first ability that she was taught to correctly control. Now she can turn this on and off easily and can specify which plant she is communicating with when she it turned on. As for uses, besides personal delight, certain plants are notorious gossips. "I heard it through the grapevine" is a metaphor for most people, but Robin has found grapevines are truly big gossips. Also, during a battle, Robin may ask the plants for help in small ways. No guarantee they will help (most plants are pacificist) but sometimes they will do a little to hinder.
Physical Description:
Robin is, for the most part, a very normal looking girl. She has dark brown hair that hangs past her shoulder blades, only because she hasn't found much use for her hair and it's easy to tie back long hair. Her eyes are the ever exciting color of brown, a nice muddy shade of brown at that. Fortunately, she doesn't really care that much. She's just glad to avoid the horrible eyesight that runs in her family. She is at medium height, 5'5". Robin is also thin, and that is "thin" with all the negative connotations. She is not "trim", "svelte", or "slender," she is skinny, gawky, and A cup despite her attempts otherwise (even miracle bras don't have enough miracle to help her out).
On the bright side, she does tan nicely.
As for fashion, Robin is rather oblivious to it. Her parents don't send enough allowance to make it possible to switch her entire wardrobe every few months, so Robin has learned it is easier to deal with older, simpler clothes. Because of this attitude, she doesn't wear clothes that actually enhance her features at all.
Personality:
Robin has, rather to the cliche, developed a down to earth personality. Talking to plants for the last six years of a person's life tends to do that. She is very much a realist who sees the world the way it is, not the way she wishes it was. The flaws of the people around her are as evident as their positive attributes. She is honest, and when asked for her opinion, she will give it bluntly. She isn't a complete bitch, however, as she was brought up with the saying "if you cannot say anything nice, don't say anything at all." So unless asked for her honesty, she will probably keep her mouth shut. She is very rational, weighing all the pros and cons carefully before making a decision. She takes her time and has learned to be patient. Because of this, there are very legit complaints of a lack of passion and emotion from her. She is rarely, if ever, spontaneous.
Socially, Robin is somewhere in between butterfly and hermit. She doesn't have much problem dealing with people and does find them to be more interesting than most plants. Her honesty and frankness tend to attract few but loyal friends, and just about everyone acknowledges her as a “go to” person for advice, even if it isn't what you want to hear. The whole talking to plants thing doesn't hinder her ability to communicate with people, but sometimes she is surprised by how similar the two can seem. Both seem to have a fascination with dirt of one sort or another.
As for hobbies, Robin actually isn't much into gardening. They naturally grow around her and rarely need any help. She does enjoy reading, and the trashy teen novels under her mattress are one of her most guarded secrets. She has also found a creative outlet in scrap booking, as her mother has loaded up with supplies and photos from various family vacations. It is one way for her to remain connected to her family on a more normal level than her mutant powers generally allow. Her last interest is, typically, in conservation. While not a hot headed fighter for the rain forests, she does read articles and donate some of her allowances to causes she considers worthy.
Robin does seem to have a few plant like qualities herself. She is somewhat light sensitive and is drawn to study in sunbeams or lighter parts of the room, and she does have a slight fear of the dark. Although she won't admit it, she used a nightlight up until arriving at the institute and only stopped to appease her roommate. During the winter, Robin suffers from seasonal affective disorder and will sleep for hours and hours. She is somewhat incoherent during these months.
Also, a note on Robin's eating habits. She is more or less a carnivore. Once she realized she could hear plants, it became a lot harder to eat them. Salads make her stomach turn, and for awhile she was even incapable of eating fruits and vegetables. She has since gotten over a lot of that (mainly through eating frozen/canned food), but fresh plant foods still make her slightly ill. She has absolutely no problem eating meat, however. In fact, she finds it delicious and eats just about whatever type of meat she can. At the very least, she isn’t anemic. There are rumors of anorexia/bulimia, but Robin denies these with surprising venom. According to her, she just doesn't get as hungry as other people.
Background:
Robin Wesley was the second born to her parents, and the only real landmarks of her youth were the arrival of yet another three children throughout the years. She grew up in the suburbs of Indianapolis, a rather normal middle class upbringing. When she reached eleven, Robin began hearing things. As this is not a sign of good mental health, she kept it to herself. Being semi intelligent, she did come quickly enough to realize that she could hear plants, mainly by experimenting with her family's front lawn. Her plant manipulation skills arrived soon after, as her biology experiment kicked everyone else's butt. But her powers were starting to get slightly out of hand. She was trying to keep the plants from talking to her all the time outside, and it was giving her a constant headache. Then the tomato plant incident happened. Robin had been cautiously experimenting with her powers by communicating with her mother's tomato plants. Her mother, completely oblivious to her daughter's strange new talents, came along and pulled the ripe tomatoes off. Robin felt the plant shudder a little, but didn't think much of it. When she sat down to dinner, however, and realized the picked tomatoes were in the salad, she actually spent the rest of dinner vomiting in the bathroom. It was hard to eat something that could talk to you.
Things went rather downhill from there. Robin, for her hard work mastering her plant telepathy, couldn't handle eating plants (meat was totally fair game, as were processed foods that weren't obvious plants). Her parents, who by great misfortune, were very pro organic and fresh foods type of people, couldn't quite figure out their daughter's steady downward spiral into weirdness. They tried treating her for eating disorders and mental disorders, but nothing quite seemed to fit. The one psychologist who suggested Robin could be a mutant was immediately rejected. Neither parent, nor any of her siblings, ever showed any sort of mutation signs. Then, seemingly out of the blue, the Xavier Institute for Gifted Students appeared, interested in Robin attending. Robin's parents weren't quite sure what to make of it, but the kind gentleman who ran it seemed so reassuring about Robin's, er, problem. And it was the perfect price. Robin made the move in early 2005, when she was 15.
Coming to terms with being a mutant was easy enough Robin wasn't an idiot, and normal people didn't control plants. She did manage to break it to her parents. Mutants were all over the news and the truth about the Xavier Institute was becoming blindingly obvious even to them. They remained surprisingly level headed about it maybe all of that rationale isn't just from the plants. She managed to get her powers under control with the help provided in the Institute. Her current interest, now that she doesn't hear every blade of grass, is expanding her manipulation abilities beyond their current limit.
Current Affiliation
Xavier Institute Student
Sample:
The letter says exactly what Robin expects. Her mother has written to her about Christmas, and it is a nice enough invitation, but Robin can read all unasked questions behind it. Will you freak out about the Christmas tree this year? Are you going to eat any of the wonderful Christmas dinner? Are you going to punch your cousin again? Robin sighs and sets it down. Not freaking out about the tree would be impossible. It was a slow, torturous death for the tree. Of course she wasn't going to eat any Christmas dinner. How could she possibly eat anything when there was a tree dying next to her? As for punching her cousin, well, that depends entirely on his choice of words when he talks about mutants.
Robin knows that there is a gulf developing between her and her family. Christmas last year had been only one of several troubling factors. The camping trip over the summer, for example, should have been a wonderful time with nature. Robin had totally forgotten about campfires and the trampling of plants and her youngest brother's joy of burning weeds. She had been sick for the entire trip and sent back to the Institute early. The most painful part was the expression on her siblings' faces. Robin knew she wouldn't be invited on another camping trip.
This upcoming Christmas will be a problem, however. Last year hadn't been a good impression on her extended family, who thought her weirdness was simply a phase and not a mutation. They didn't understand, and Robin's parents rely a lot on the judgment of her mother's family. It is frustrating. All of winter, in fact, is going to be a problem for Robin. The professor had helped a lot last year, giving her both physical and mental exercises and a strict diet to help keep her energy up during the coldest months, but now he was gone. Robin, despite being at the institute for nearly two years, hasn't formed a tight bond with any faculty who will help coach her through the worst months of the year. And everyone is so busy now. The loss of three of the most valuable people to the Institute has taken its toll. Robin doubts she is the only one feeling a little afraid and a little lost.
The fern on the edge of her desk trembles slightly. Robin strokes its broad leaves gently, knowing it was afraid of the upcoming winter as well. Even inside the warmth of the building, it could feel the cold closing in like jail door. Glancing around the room, Robin catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror and winces. She's looking even worse than usual, and it was only half way through autumn. It was going to be a difficult winter.
And, uh, WESTCHESTER!
Robin Wesley
Codename:
Chloros
Age: 17
Mutation:
The first of Robin's powers is plant manipulation. She can accelerate the growth of plants, speeding it exponentially, and use them to be weapons. Vines have been the most helpful this far, although many forms of plants are wonderful at distracting enemies by hitting, tripping, and catching them, but nothing works quite as well as vine strangulation. She is also exploring uses of poison in her abilities, but hasn't yet figured a way to completely control this to be only beneficial. When using this manipulation, she can only completely focus on one plant at a time. If she is growing a vine, she may have complete control of that vine as long as she remains within twenty five feet or so near its roots. (Some plants are beyond her complete manipulation, such as large, old trees, which seem to have a stronger "consciousness" than simpler plants and won't allow her to intrude.) If there are a few smaller plants, Robin can control them at once but it will be a weaker control. Obviously she cannot use this ability when there are no plants around, so she can be a bit stuck if she's inside without any indoor plants. One solution she has been experimenting with is keeping a satchel of seeds close on hands, which will grow easily with limited amounts of dirt or even just water.
The second is a limited telepathy that allows Robin to communicate with plants. The more complex the plant organism, the more complex its speech is. Common lawn grass isn't capable of much more than its mantra "grow, grow, grow," but old, ancient trees are surprisingly complex and have even developed their own philosophies. Robin has been forced to listen to a lecture from more than one old oak tree. Her range with this ability is about four feet, so she can't communicate with a plant over a vast lawn. When it initially struck, Robin had to teach herself some control, which was messy and painful. But after her arrival at the school, it was the first ability that she was taught to correctly control. Now she can turn this on and off easily and can specify which plant she is communicating with when she it turned on. As for uses, besides personal delight, certain plants are notorious gossips. "I heard it through the grapevine" is a metaphor for most people, but Robin has found grapevines are truly big gossips. Also, during a battle, Robin may ask the plants for help in small ways. No guarantee they will help (most plants are pacificist) but sometimes they will do a little to hinder.
Physical Description:
Robin is, for the most part, a very normal looking girl. She has dark brown hair that hangs past her shoulder blades, only because she hasn't found much use for her hair and it's easy to tie back long hair. Her eyes are the ever exciting color of brown, a nice muddy shade of brown at that. Fortunately, she doesn't really care that much. She's just glad to avoid the horrible eyesight that runs in her family. She is at medium height, 5'5". Robin is also thin, and that is "thin" with all the negative connotations. She is not "trim", "svelte", or "slender," she is skinny, gawky, and A cup despite her attempts otherwise (even miracle bras don't have enough miracle to help her out).
On the bright side, she does tan nicely.
As for fashion, Robin is rather oblivious to it. Her parents don't send enough allowance to make it possible to switch her entire wardrobe every few months, so Robin has learned it is easier to deal with older, simpler clothes. Because of this attitude, she doesn't wear clothes that actually enhance her features at all.
Personality:
Robin has, rather to the cliche, developed a down to earth personality. Talking to plants for the last six years of a person's life tends to do that. She is very much a realist who sees the world the way it is, not the way she wishes it was. The flaws of the people around her are as evident as their positive attributes. She is honest, and when asked for her opinion, she will give it bluntly. She isn't a complete bitch, however, as she was brought up with the saying "if you cannot say anything nice, don't say anything at all." So unless asked for her honesty, she will probably keep her mouth shut. She is very rational, weighing all the pros and cons carefully before making a decision. She takes her time and has learned to be patient. Because of this, there are very legit complaints of a lack of passion and emotion from her. She is rarely, if ever, spontaneous.
Socially, Robin is somewhere in between butterfly and hermit. She doesn't have much problem dealing with people and does find them to be more interesting than most plants. Her honesty and frankness tend to attract few but loyal friends, and just about everyone acknowledges her as a “go to” person for advice, even if it isn't what you want to hear. The whole talking to plants thing doesn't hinder her ability to communicate with people, but sometimes she is surprised by how similar the two can seem. Both seem to have a fascination with dirt of one sort or another.
As for hobbies, Robin actually isn't much into gardening. They naturally grow around her and rarely need any help. She does enjoy reading, and the trashy teen novels under her mattress are one of her most guarded secrets. She has also found a creative outlet in scrap booking, as her mother has loaded up with supplies and photos from various family vacations. It is one way for her to remain connected to her family on a more normal level than her mutant powers generally allow. Her last interest is, typically, in conservation. While not a hot headed fighter for the rain forests, she does read articles and donate some of her allowances to causes she considers worthy.
Robin does seem to have a few plant like qualities herself. She is somewhat light sensitive and is drawn to study in sunbeams or lighter parts of the room, and she does have a slight fear of the dark. Although she won't admit it, she used a nightlight up until arriving at the institute and only stopped to appease her roommate. During the winter, Robin suffers from seasonal affective disorder and will sleep for hours and hours. She is somewhat incoherent during these months.
Also, a note on Robin's eating habits. She is more or less a carnivore. Once she realized she could hear plants, it became a lot harder to eat them. Salads make her stomach turn, and for awhile she was even incapable of eating fruits and vegetables. She has since gotten over a lot of that (mainly through eating frozen/canned food), but fresh plant foods still make her slightly ill. She has absolutely no problem eating meat, however. In fact, she finds it delicious and eats just about whatever type of meat she can. At the very least, she isn’t anemic. There are rumors of anorexia/bulimia, but Robin denies these with surprising venom. According to her, she just doesn't get as hungry as other people.
Background:
Robin Wesley was the second born to her parents, and the only real landmarks of her youth were the arrival of yet another three children throughout the years. She grew up in the suburbs of Indianapolis, a rather normal middle class upbringing. When she reached eleven, Robin began hearing things. As this is not a sign of good mental health, she kept it to herself. Being semi intelligent, she did come quickly enough to realize that she could hear plants, mainly by experimenting with her family's front lawn. Her plant manipulation skills arrived soon after, as her biology experiment kicked everyone else's butt. But her powers were starting to get slightly out of hand. She was trying to keep the plants from talking to her all the time outside, and it was giving her a constant headache. Then the tomato plant incident happened. Robin had been cautiously experimenting with her powers by communicating with her mother's tomato plants. Her mother, completely oblivious to her daughter's strange new talents, came along and pulled the ripe tomatoes off. Robin felt the plant shudder a little, but didn't think much of it. When she sat down to dinner, however, and realized the picked tomatoes were in the salad, she actually spent the rest of dinner vomiting in the bathroom. It was hard to eat something that could talk to you.
Things went rather downhill from there. Robin, for her hard work mastering her plant telepathy, couldn't handle eating plants (meat was totally fair game, as were processed foods that weren't obvious plants). Her parents, who by great misfortune, were very pro organic and fresh foods type of people, couldn't quite figure out their daughter's steady downward spiral into weirdness. They tried treating her for eating disorders and mental disorders, but nothing quite seemed to fit. The one psychologist who suggested Robin could be a mutant was immediately rejected. Neither parent, nor any of her siblings, ever showed any sort of mutation signs. Then, seemingly out of the blue, the Xavier Institute for Gifted Students appeared, interested in Robin attending. Robin's parents weren't quite sure what to make of it, but the kind gentleman who ran it seemed so reassuring about Robin's, er, problem. And it was the perfect price. Robin made the move in early 2005, when she was 15.
Coming to terms with being a mutant was easy enough Robin wasn't an idiot, and normal people didn't control plants. She did manage to break it to her parents. Mutants were all over the news and the truth about the Xavier Institute was becoming blindingly obvious even to them. They remained surprisingly level headed about it maybe all of that rationale isn't just from the plants. She managed to get her powers under control with the help provided in the Institute. Her current interest, now that she doesn't hear every blade of grass, is expanding her manipulation abilities beyond their current limit.
Current Affiliation
Xavier Institute Student
Sample:
The letter says exactly what Robin expects. Her mother has written to her about Christmas, and it is a nice enough invitation, but Robin can read all unasked questions behind it. Will you freak out about the Christmas tree this year? Are you going to eat any of the wonderful Christmas dinner? Are you going to punch your cousin again? Robin sighs and sets it down. Not freaking out about the tree would be impossible. It was a slow, torturous death for the tree. Of course she wasn't going to eat any Christmas dinner. How could she possibly eat anything when there was a tree dying next to her? As for punching her cousin, well, that depends entirely on his choice of words when he talks about mutants.
Robin knows that there is a gulf developing between her and her family. Christmas last year had been only one of several troubling factors. The camping trip over the summer, for example, should have been a wonderful time with nature. Robin had totally forgotten about campfires and the trampling of plants and her youngest brother's joy of burning weeds. She had been sick for the entire trip and sent back to the Institute early. The most painful part was the expression on her siblings' faces. Robin knew she wouldn't be invited on another camping trip.
This upcoming Christmas will be a problem, however. Last year hadn't been a good impression on her extended family, who thought her weirdness was simply a phase and not a mutation. They didn't understand, and Robin's parents rely a lot on the judgment of her mother's family. It is frustrating. All of winter, in fact, is going to be a problem for Robin. The professor had helped a lot last year, giving her both physical and mental exercises and a strict diet to help keep her energy up during the coldest months, but now he was gone. Robin, despite being at the institute for nearly two years, hasn't formed a tight bond with any faculty who will help coach her through the worst months of the year. And everyone is so busy now. The loss of three of the most valuable people to the Institute has taken its toll. Robin doubts she is the only one feeling a little afraid and a little lost.
The fern on the edge of her desk trembles slightly. Robin strokes its broad leaves gently, knowing it was afraid of the upcoming winter as well. Even inside the warmth of the building, it could feel the cold closing in like jail door. Glancing around the room, Robin catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror and winces. She's looking even worse than usual, and it was only half way through autumn. It was going to be a difficult winter.
And, uh, WESTCHESTER!
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