Susan Sto Helit (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mostlyhuman) wrote2010-05-02 06:36 pm
mostlyhuman) wrote2010-05-02 06:36 pm
Entry tags:
Background and other assorted information.
Player name: Anne
Player contact: thetsukara @AIM
Character name: Susan Sto Helit
Character series: Discworld
Appearance: Susan is in her early 20s, tall and thin, most usually described as being "attractive in a skinny way". Despite this, she's also been described as "striking", as in, there's something about her that makes you notice her (when she wants to be noticed), and she seems somehow older than her years, coming off as far more mature than barely out of her teens. She's very pale, and when she blushes, three finger-like marks, inherited not-quite-magically from her father, appear upon her cheek. When she is angry, these marks glow. Her unusual hair is pure white, with a single streak of black running through it, beginning at her right temple. It used to be completely unmanagable in her youth, but these days it manages itself, oddly enough. It will literally rearrange itself depending on her mood. For example, when she's working, it likes to form a tight and very proper bun. While she is busy in her more...supernatural functions, it likes to pile itself up in gradiose fashion. Convincing Susan to "let her hair down" means actually convincing the hair itself. She also has a Look (notice the captilisation please) that disconcerts most, even those in positions of authority such as her old school headmistress or her grandfather--DEATH. She tends to dress in good, sensible black, proper dresses, though she has that one dress (also black but quite a bit more impressive), in the back of her closet (under the chocolates without nougat) that she only uses when forced to go about her grandfather's Business.
History:No one's quite sure when the Sto Helit house rose to prominence in Arkheid. For one thing, whenever anyone tried to look into the background, it seemed as if it had always been there, though there are some odd discrepancies. Such as that the motto and crest of the house seem to have changed some time in the recent past, but that no one quite remembers what they were before.
And no one pries very far at all, really. Because while the Sto Helit clan is extremely small, it somehow seems to wield far greater influence than its size would suggest. There are whispers and rumors, of course, ranging from the mundane ideas of secret tech and dirty dealings far underground, to the more unusual flights of fancy concerning curses or traitorous dealings.
The truth is something no one seems to have guessed yet. The truth is that while the clan powerbase was around for a long time, about forty years prior, a series of mostly-supernatural events occured when Death (yes, the anthropomorphic personification hereof) took on an apparentice named Mort, who defied an order and saved from assassination the then-head of the family Sto Lat Princess Keli because he had a crush on her. However, she had been scheduled to die according to her hourglass as well, and so reality began to warp around her.
Through a lengthy series of events that would take far too much time to recount here, reality got fixed, Death spared Mort's life, Mort married Death's (adopted) daughter Ysabell, and the family branch know as Sto Helit subsumed the other branches under its heading, with Mort as the new family head.
Some years later, Mort and Ysabell had a daughter. They named her Susan, believing that perhaps giving the girl a sensible name would produce a sensible child. Susan Sto Helit was raised to be sensible too, and later put into a sensible and proper young-ladies school run by another small family. All of this effort was put forth by her parents to counter-act both her heritage (for when you're relative is Death, genetics don't always determine what you inherit--some things run deeper), and her early up-bringing, where her grandfather insisted on bringing her to his Domain to visit on a regular basis.
As a result of her parent's efforts, Susan grew up entirely sensible, not believing in the Tooth Fairy, or the Soul Cake Duck, or any of the other sorts of things most other children believe in. Even when her parents died in a carriage-crash (complete with flaming wheel and silent observer) her reaction to suddenly becoming an orphan was rather calm, if sad. But always sensible.
This worked very well for her, until Death decided to take a holiday--literally. Susan, as Death's granddaughter and having the powers most closely suited to the job, Susan got sucked into the role. This forced her to come face to face with some hard realities--like the fact that all those childhood deities she hadn't ever believed in were, in fact, as real as herself, or her grandfather. Though she messed up the job quite badly her first time out, necessitating a rescue from Death, it all turned out pretty much alright in the end.
After that, Susan was determined to be as normal as possible again, though her high level of education and her chill sensibility rendered her ironically unsuitable for many careers other than passing said knowledge on to others--that is, teaching. Of course, the distrust between clans being what it is, she's not in high-demand, but her skills often supersede such misgivings.
But in her spare time, Susan is not one to sit idly for too long. The estate is in fairly good hands with the retainers there, so she feels free to travel a fair bit throughout the continent, not relying on her family's resources much, but instead teaching or governessing wherever she is needed.
Which also is quite useful whenever her grandfather decides that some problems cannot be solved by him, and calls on mostly human Susan to help out. She doesn't appreciate this, but she has saved the world a couple of times so far, so there are a few perks to it, even if no one knows about such things. It used to be that she tried to be as normal as possible, but in the past few years, she's grown to accept her heritage and more unusual relatives a bit more.
Personality:
Susan is, in a word, sensible. Her parents raised her to be like this in the extreme, even going so far as to teach her that there was no such thing as the Hogfather, Tooth Fairies, or any magic beyond the most basic kind that Idrans studied, or that could be explained away by technology. After learning that she is a part of this world she refused to believe in, Susan came to accept it eventually--but still sometimes wishes that she wasn't a part of it. She used to try to be normal and sensible whenever possible because of this, though she's not above utilizing her powers if needed. She can keep her head in a crisis, is not very musical (possibly inherited from her grnadfather), and likes black only because it's sensible (probably inherited from her grandfather).
When it comes to children, Susan has a special knack for dealing with them, perhaps due to the fact that she inhabits the world most adults dismiss as their children's fancies of monsters under the bed. She can put problem children in their place, and quite likes children in general, though having children herself does not really appeal to her.
Applying her sensiblity and slightly unusual style overcomes many problems that most folks find over-whelming. In fact, her solutions and insights are often so unusual that they're seen as silly, when they make perfect sense to her--and anyone who inhabits the world of half-shadows she often finds herself in.
She often comes across as quite chilly and almost rude to most folks because of her extreme sensibility.
Abilities:
Besides math, logic, languages and swimming/life-saving techniques learned at her college, and a poker that she wields against under-the-bed-type monsters, Susan has some special, inherited abilities:
The VOICE: The Voice was inherited from her grandfather, and can intimidate anyone and command most weaker-willed people. This is, literally, the voice of Death. When using it, she speaks like this. She doesn't like to use the voice though, both because it's not normal, and can be rather intrusive, and afterward she often feels as if she needs a throat lozenge.
TIME: Susan has the ability to stop time in local areas for periods of a few minutes (possibly longer if she expends the effort), and move freely within the time-stopped area. She is also a little bit immortal, and may possibly extend her life for as long as she wishes.
Corporeality: Susan has the ability to go unnoticed to almost everyone except very experienced magic users, if she so chooses. She can also walk through walls if she doesn't think about it. Unlike most humans, Susan notices thing others simply refuse to, such as bogeymen, monsters and tooth fairies. She shares this last ability with children and magic users.
Weapons and/or items of note:
Actual weapons that she uses only when performing her Deathly duties include a scythe with a blade that swings out and locks (much like a switchblade) and a sword--but only for royalty. Otherwise she sticks to fireplace pokers, and other stick-like objects.
Allegiance: Sto Helit clan, Death, Arkheid
Location at gamestart:
Open to character death? No (it would be... very hard to kill Susan off, sorry)
Player contact: thetsukara @AIM
Character name: Susan Sto Helit
Character series: Discworld
Appearance: Susan is in her early 20s, tall and thin, most usually described as being "attractive in a skinny way". Despite this, she's also been described as "striking", as in, there's something about her that makes you notice her (when she wants to be noticed), and she seems somehow older than her years, coming off as far more mature than barely out of her teens. She's very pale, and when she blushes, three finger-like marks, inherited not-quite-magically from her father, appear upon her cheek. When she is angry, these marks glow. Her unusual hair is pure white, with a single streak of black running through it, beginning at her right temple. It used to be completely unmanagable in her youth, but these days it manages itself, oddly enough. It will literally rearrange itself depending on her mood. For example, when she's working, it likes to form a tight and very proper bun. While she is busy in her more...supernatural functions, it likes to pile itself up in gradiose fashion. Convincing Susan to "let her hair down" means actually convincing the hair itself. She also has a Look (notice the captilisation please) that disconcerts most, even those in positions of authority such as her old school headmistress or her grandfather--DEATH. She tends to dress in good, sensible black, proper dresses, though she has that one dress (also black but quite a bit more impressive), in the back of her closet (under the chocolates without nougat) that she only uses when forced to go about her grandfather's Business.
History:No one's quite sure when the Sto Helit house rose to prominence in Arkheid. For one thing, whenever anyone tried to look into the background, it seemed as if it had always been there, though there are some odd discrepancies. Such as that the motto and crest of the house seem to have changed some time in the recent past, but that no one quite remembers what they were before.
And no one pries very far at all, really. Because while the Sto Helit clan is extremely small, it somehow seems to wield far greater influence than its size would suggest. There are whispers and rumors, of course, ranging from the mundane ideas of secret tech and dirty dealings far underground, to the more unusual flights of fancy concerning curses or traitorous dealings.
The truth is something no one seems to have guessed yet. The truth is that while the clan powerbase was around for a long time, about forty years prior, a series of mostly-supernatural events occured when Death (yes, the anthropomorphic personification hereof) took on an apparentice named Mort, who defied an order and saved from assassination the then-head of the family Sto Lat Princess Keli because he had a crush on her. However, she had been scheduled to die according to her hourglass as well, and so reality began to warp around her.
Through a lengthy series of events that would take far too much time to recount here, reality got fixed, Death spared Mort's life, Mort married Death's (adopted) daughter Ysabell, and the family branch know as Sto Helit subsumed the other branches under its heading, with Mort as the new family head.
Some years later, Mort and Ysabell had a daughter. They named her Susan, believing that perhaps giving the girl a sensible name would produce a sensible child. Susan Sto Helit was raised to be sensible too, and later put into a sensible and proper young-ladies school run by another small family. All of this effort was put forth by her parents to counter-act both her heritage (for when you're relative is Death, genetics don't always determine what you inherit--some things run deeper), and her early up-bringing, where her grandfather insisted on bringing her to his Domain to visit on a regular basis.
As a result of her parent's efforts, Susan grew up entirely sensible, not believing in the Tooth Fairy, or the Soul Cake Duck, or any of the other sorts of things most other children believe in. Even when her parents died in a carriage-crash (complete with flaming wheel and silent observer) her reaction to suddenly becoming an orphan was rather calm, if sad. But always sensible.
This worked very well for her, until Death decided to take a holiday--literally. Susan, as Death's granddaughter and having the powers most closely suited to the job, Susan got sucked into the role. This forced her to come face to face with some hard realities--like the fact that all those childhood deities she hadn't ever believed in were, in fact, as real as herself, or her grandfather. Though she messed up the job quite badly her first time out, necessitating a rescue from Death, it all turned out pretty much alright in the end.
After that, Susan was determined to be as normal as possible again, though her high level of education and her chill sensibility rendered her ironically unsuitable for many careers other than passing said knowledge on to others--that is, teaching. Of course, the distrust between clans being what it is, she's not in high-demand, but her skills often supersede such misgivings.
But in her spare time, Susan is not one to sit idly for too long. The estate is in fairly good hands with the retainers there, so she feels free to travel a fair bit throughout the continent, not relying on her family's resources much, but instead teaching or governessing wherever she is needed.
Which also is quite useful whenever her grandfather decides that some problems cannot be solved by him, and calls on mostly human Susan to help out. She doesn't appreciate this, but she has saved the world a couple of times so far, so there are a few perks to it, even if no one knows about such things. It used to be that she tried to be as normal as possible, but in the past few years, she's grown to accept her heritage and more unusual relatives a bit more.
Personality:
Susan is, in a word, sensible. Her parents raised her to be like this in the extreme, even going so far as to teach her that there was no such thing as the Hogfather, Tooth Fairies, or any magic beyond the most basic kind that Idrans studied, or that could be explained away by technology. After learning that she is a part of this world she refused to believe in, Susan came to accept it eventually--but still sometimes wishes that she wasn't a part of it. She used to try to be normal and sensible whenever possible because of this, though she's not above utilizing her powers if needed. She can keep her head in a crisis, is not very musical (possibly inherited from her grnadfather), and likes black only because it's sensible (probably inherited from her grandfather).
When it comes to children, Susan has a special knack for dealing with them, perhaps due to the fact that she inhabits the world most adults dismiss as their children's fancies of monsters under the bed. She can put problem children in their place, and quite likes children in general, though having children herself does not really appeal to her.
Applying her sensiblity and slightly unusual style overcomes many problems that most folks find over-whelming. In fact, her solutions and insights are often so unusual that they're seen as silly, when they make perfect sense to her--and anyone who inhabits the world of half-shadows she often finds herself in.
She often comes across as quite chilly and almost rude to most folks because of her extreme sensibility.
Abilities:
Besides math, logic, languages and swimming/life-saving techniques learned at her college, and a poker that she wields against under-the-bed-type monsters, Susan has some special, inherited abilities:
The VOICE: The Voice was inherited from her grandfather, and can intimidate anyone and command most weaker-willed people. This is, literally, the voice of Death. When using it, she speaks like this. She doesn't like to use the voice though, both because it's not normal, and can be rather intrusive, and afterward she often feels as if she needs a throat lozenge.
TIME: Susan has the ability to stop time in local areas for periods of a few minutes (possibly longer if she expends the effort), and move freely within the time-stopped area. She is also a little bit immortal, and may possibly extend her life for as long as she wishes.
Corporeality: Susan has the ability to go unnoticed to almost everyone except very experienced magic users, if she so chooses. She can also walk through walls if she doesn't think about it. Unlike most humans, Susan notices thing others simply refuse to, such as bogeymen, monsters and tooth fairies. She shares this last ability with children and magic users.
Weapons and/or items of note:
Actual weapons that she uses only when performing her Deathly duties include a scythe with a blade that swings out and locks (much like a switchblade) and a sword--but only for royalty. Otherwise she sticks to fireplace pokers, and other stick-like objects.
Allegiance: Sto Helit clan, Death, Arkheid
Location at gamestart:
Open to character death? No (it would be... very hard to kill Susan off, sorry)