Synopsis
Thunder; You're boring me
Description
Nicknames: Tessa, Tess, Tessie, Lizzie, Winnie, Chester
Age: 22
Tessa was always the odd one out in a crowd. She stands at 5'10'' with an hourglass figure, fair skin and a scattering of very faint freckles across the bridge of her nose. Her natural hair colour is a dark red, but she's dyed it everything from hot pink to black-and-yellow stripes, to green, to a plain brown. It used to be very long, easily reaching the small of her back when it wasn't tied up, but in the last year or so, Tessa decided to chop it all off and have it level with her jaw. It's messy, and kind of frizzy, and wild, and she loves it. Her bangs often get in the way, so she's taken to pinning them back when it becomes a real problem. Tessa's current stylistic goal is to dye her hair the same colour as her eyes: a dark, grayish-blue.
She has a number of tattoos and piercings on her person; namely a pair of eighth notes on her collarbone, the number 96 on the back of her right hand, and a stud on her left ear that attaches to a lip via a dangly chain. A small, black dragon decorates her right shoulder blade. Located just over her left temple is a long, jagged scar that goes from the top of her forehead down to her ear. Tessa normally hides the scar underneath her hair and tries to forget it exists. If asked about it, she becomes very aggressive towards anyone unfortunate enough to be in the same room.
As far as clothes go, Tessa will wear anything so long as it's comfortable--except skirts. She won't touch a dress or a skirt with a ten-foot pole. Instead she prefers skinny jeans and shorts, most of which are ripped at the knees and clumsily patched elsewhere. T-shirts, tank tops, and zip-up hoodies are staples in her wardrobe, and designs very from solid colours to intense graphics similar to the graffiti seen underneath bridges. Tessa normally wears trainers year round, unless the weather is absolutely miserable. Her shoes come in almost as many colours as her clothes, and she has two pairs of high tops that lace up to her knees that she absolutely loves. For accessories, she has all her piercings, as well as a black choker that she wears near constantly; sometimes she'll forget she has it on and won't remember until a week later.
Personality
Tessa is, in all appearances, a typical tomboy. She's loud, blunt, frequently aggressive, extremely opinionated and she won't take any BS from anyone--not even herself. She's always the first to pick a fight and the first to bite somebody's head off should the opportunity present itself. Even those she cares about have to watch out, lest they find themselves on the receiving end when she's in a bad mood. She has a sharp tongue and a willingness to kick people when they annoy her, and she is by no means afraid to demonstrate.
Tessa barely knows the meaning of the word 'subtle'. She finds it very difficult to keep secrets sometimes, especially between her friends. She claims that she doesn't keep any secrets about herself, and she doesn't fully understand why people pussyfoot around each other all the time. If they have something to say, why don't they just come out and say it? Tessa maintains that, if everyone was honest with one another, it would spare her and everyone else a whole lot of headaches.
However, she does have one secret. Despite always insisting that she hates 'girly things', deep down Tessa has always harbored a (somewhat naive) desire to look and act like a princess, if only for a little while.
She has a childish streak a mile wide, dealing with her problems via the 'silent treatment' or a poorly thought-out practical joke that almost always backfires. Talking her issues out is out of the question for Tessa, because she sees that as a weakness she must not give into. If she has no one to direct her anger towards, Tessa turns it in on herself, entering a downward spiral of depression and self-loathing that clears up with time. Tessa's anger never lasts for very long, and she is certainly not one to hold a grudge for more than a day or two.
In spite of her immature and careless attitude, Tessa is remarkably lucid and critical in her thoughts. She never did that well in school--maintaining average marks to please her parents--but she knows how people think, and she knows how they think she thinks. Half the time she speaks literally and the other half she speaks in subtext. Tessa constantly switches between the two extremes just to see if anyone can pick up on it. So far she hasn't found a worthy opponent.
Her best quality by far, however, is her unwavering loyalty towards those she cares for. Oftentimes she gets into fights on behalf of someone she loves--Tessa actually rarely fights for her own sake. She trusts easily, believing--perhaps mistakenly--that everyone is a good person, they just need to be given a chance. Once she's close enough to someone, Tessa won't hesitate to challenge anything that might threaten that person--even if she doesn't have a hope in hell of being able to successfully defend them.
Equipment / Abilities
Thunder - She can channel electricity in the atmosphere, or in a device, through herself and direct it elsewhere. The stronger the voltage, the more electricity is needed, and the more energy Tessa has to expend to gather that electricity.. Thunder is a double-edged sword, as dangerous to its user as it is to her enemies.Bow and arrow - a folding bow made of lightweight metal and plastic, and a quiver full of arrows ranging from regular, to explosive, to flares.
Switchblade - a simple blade she carries just in case something gets close enough to hit her.
History
Tessa is the youngest of three, and the only daughter in her family. From a young age, her mother tried to instill in her a love of sparkly things and dresses, but all Tessa wanted to do was play with her brothers and come home covered in mud every day. She never did identify with other girls her age, preferring to hang out with the boys and play sports or make-believe games that always seemed to involve sword fighting. For many years, her classmates forgot that she was biologically a girl. They shortened her last name and came to associate 'Chester' with all the other boys in the school. This continued right up until she hit puberty, when her biology could be ignored no longer. The guys in her grade stopped calling her Chester and started calling her Tessa again. She didn't care what they called her; names were never that special to her, she had several after all.
Middle school and high school were pivotal points in her life. For the first time, Tessa's parents gave her the liberty to do what she wanted with a body, and she took advantage this new freedom with gleeful abandon. Much of her high school life was consumed by her body-modification phase, and she has never regretted anything she did during that time.
Socially, however, Tessa never truly found her place. She drifted apart from the friends she'd had since early childhood, and soon found it hard to relate to anyone her age. She passed from circle to circle, making friends with everybody but never sticking around for very long. Though she was always available to talk, she didn't get out much--at least not within a group. Tessa liked being on her own, however; it presented her with options and opportunities she didn't think she'd have had otherwise. On her own, she didn't have to worry about the opinions of other people deciding how she was to spend her time. She could do what she wanted and no one could stop her. It was perfect.
After graduating high school, Tessa did not go to post-secondary. Instead she stayed behind, taking a few part-time jobs and hunting for a place to live outside of her parents' home. She moved out two days before her twentieth birthday, to a small, one-bedroom apartment in the middle of downtown. There she worked, saw friends, went to different events around the city, and just lived her life. And a year later, she met Lucas. He was a young twenty-something living on his own and working instead of going to university, just like Tessa. There was an almost instant connection between the two of them, and Lucas asked Tessa out on a date. They flirted for a while, and after about three weeks, they were officially dating. Then things began to change. Lucas slowly shifted from the easygoing guy Tessa had met to someone much different. He never stopped calling and texting her, he wanted to know where she was, and who she was with, at all times. Tessa told him again and again that it was none of his business, and that he should back off, but he never listened. As time wore on, he became increasingly possessive and controlling. When Tessa resisted, he threatened her and, on a few occasions, struck her. On one particular evening (that she doesn't like to talk about) Lucas drugged and attempted to take advantage of her; it took all of Tessa's willpower and concentration to get to her room and lock the door before she passed out completely. She put up with this behaviour for several months before deciding she'd had enough. The next time he showed up outside her apartment, drunk out of his mind with a bottle in his hand, she told him it was over between them. Lucas lost it; he shouted at her, calling her a lying bitch and a slut. Tessa didn't react at this point, but she was ready. The shouting continued for another minute, and then after noticing she wasn't phased by anything he did, Lucas smashed the bottom of the bottle he was holding, and then threw what remained at Tessa. She jumped back, but not quite fast enough and the broken bottle hit her head with such force that the glass shattered, leaving a long, deep gash in its wake. At that point, Tessa was finally afraid. She reacted instinctively and kicked Lucas between the legs before fleeing to the safety of her apartment, locking the door behind her. From there she called 911 and forced herself to remain conscious until the paramedics arrived. A few hours and twelve stitches later, Tessa learned that she had been lucky enough to escape permanent injury, but that she would carry the scar from the assault for the rest of her life. Tessa didn't care, she was just happy to be okay. The following day she told her side of the story to the police, and Lucas was brought up on charges. The process of charging him turned out to be a long one, but Tessa refused to give up. Even if the case was dropped, she could at least make it harder for him to repeat his actions with another, unsuspecting girl.
Another couple of months later, on her twenty-second birthday, and on her way to work, Tessa fainted before she even got to the door. At first she panicked, thinking the doctors were wrong and she had suffered a permanent injury, but then the visions started. The story of what happened in the Chamber burned itself onto her mind's eye and, when she woke with her new power surging through her, Tessa was happy. An adventure to save the world was just the thing she needed to get her life back on track.
Extra
Strengths:
Confidence - Tessa has a very strong sense of self. She knows who she is and what she wants, and she won't let anyone tell her differently.
Character Judgement - Given enough time with a person, Tessa will come to understand what makes them tick; what buttons to push, what topics need to be avoided, and what lies they're telling themselves. It's as much a hobby as it is a skill.
Brawler - Though she never had any formal training to speak of, Tessa is proud to say she can hold her own in a fight.Archer - Her high school featured an archery club, and Tess was the best and brightest they had to offer. There's a feeling of satisfaction that comes from letting an arrow fly that she can't get anywhere else.
Weaknesses:
Insomnia - Tessa suffers from somewhat mild insomnia. It's never been so bad that she's needed a prescription, but it's bad enough that she self medicates with over-the-counter sleeping pills and--when pills are unavailable--copious amounts of alcohol. She can go for about a two straight weeks before the lack of sleep starts to get to her.
Tactless - Tessa can be incredibly blunt and unsympathetic--heartless even--when she thinks someone needs a reality check, which is most of the time.
Impatient - She doesn't care for sitting around waiting for a so-called "opportune moment". If something needs to be done, Tessa will not hesitate to charge in and get it done.
Extra:
Tessa has a very rough way of speaking, despite English being her best subject.
Her favorite animals are birds of prey
She has a plush catbug that she cuddles with when she's feeling lonely
Theme Songs:
Refreshing Feed...
