Mar. 28th, 2024

unresponsives: (Default)
OOC INFORMATION

Player Name: Kerry
Are you over 18?: Yes
Contact: pm / [plurk.com profile] skitties
Other Characters in Game: Adrienne Peters ( [personal profile] pathologise )

IC INFORMATION

Character Name: Heather Montgomery
Canon: Original Character
Canon Point: December 2092 [ travelling to her sister's ]
Age: 38
Background: link | Heather comes from a normal Earth, just fast-forwarded to the future where technology is a little more advanced. As far as she knows, magic, supernatural beings, etc don't exist.

Arrival Scenario: Thorne

Suitability: Whilst Heather will have a lot to adjust to in the setting (another world, magic and all that entails) she's a typically useful person who has a good heart to her -- she wants to help out, it'll just take her a while to figure out how that is possible. She'll struggle at first with her lack of technological connections but she'll probably end up dipping her toes into learning magic, especially if she can focus anything around something familiar to her. Heather will also end up very intrigued by digging up information (library research or gossip) especially any secrets.

Powers:
โ˜… TECHNOPATHY. the implant in Heather's brain allows her to "telepathically" interface with a computer device that she is in physical contact with (through manipulating her bio-electrical signals ). It enables Heather to use devices much quicker through this communication than physically use it would, using the apps or functions she needs. Heather sees this projected "visually" as a screen in front of her, a translucent image that she can see through but is only visible to her, which disappears when she loses contact with the device. If Heather was in the middle of something and suddenly lost contact the process would be lost or cancelled unless the computer could continue it without continued direction.

โ˜… EIDETIC MEMORY. whilst she doesn't have a true eidetic memory, the implant stores information in her memories preventing it from being naturally forgotten. Heather has to manually think to retrieve the information, like calling up any memory, as there is no instantaneous retrieval.

โ˜… LIMITATIONS. as Heather's implant only functions as a pathway, she can only use technology in this way if she is in contact with it: she is not google and does not know everything. Heather is also very susceptible to cognitive overload: if she tries to take in information too quickly her brain won't be able to process it and she'll "shut down" (pass out until she's recovered). Over-extended use of her technopathy is also physically draining, starting first with headaches (to migraines) and physical exhaustion.

โ˜… COMPUTERS. Heather is a skilled hacker, not someone that would describe herself as "unbeatable" but known by her handle Red Queen with a high skill level due to her experience and the length of time she's spent working with computers. She's taught herself various coding languages and certain programming skills to aid her in her efforts, whether that is building widgets/programs for others to use or for her own goals. When Heather interfaces with a device, she can only do so if she is able to unlock it (or breaking in), so some levels of encryption would be beyond her. Whilst being able to interface also speeds up her hacking (as the typing is done by thought instead of physically) anything she writes will still need time to be written -- her efforts aren't instant just faster.

โ˜… ASL. Heather is fluent in ASL due to her sister, Poppy, being Deaf.

โ˜… NOTES. Whilst there wouldn't be technology for Heather to work with, nullifying what Heather can do with her implant, I assume that its functioning in terms of the basic functions would still work? Keeping her eidetic memory (and general self-functioning) intact?


PERSONALITY QUESTIONS

Describe an important event in your character's life and how it impacted them.
Heather has had many big things happen to her, though one happy moment in her life became an equally heartbreaking moment. Whilst Heather was in prison she discovered that she was pregnant, giving birth to a girl that she named Abby. Though her sister, Poppy, agreed to look after her until Heather was released she asked one thing more of Poppy -- to adopt Abby. Though Heather did want to be a mother (and probably would have been a good one) she didn't want a child to be caught up in her life, especially because she had no intention of stopping what she was doing. It was the hardest decision that Heather had ever made, though she knew that her daughter would be safe and happy with Poppy -- and she made certain to spoil her whenever she saw her. Abby would always be on Heather's mind after that -- she kept tabs on her (in addition to Poppy's updates) especially after she'd moved away, she put money aside for her (a future fund, only legally gained money) and it also made her a little more cautious, doubly (triple) checking that her activities were covered. She didn't want to go to prison again and she didn't want her family (especially her daughter) to be in any risk.

Does your character have a moral code, or other set of standards they try to live by?
Though Heather's morals might be questionable to others given her affinity for engaging in illegal activities she has a specific moral code. Heather refuses to engage in activity that would hurt someone: she won't lend her skills to war, violence, mobs, etc -- nothing that will hurt a person. She fell "victim" to that when something she programmed once was altered and caused the death of others, making her more careful in checking out who she works with in the future, because she won't work with them at all if they're connected in the "wrong" way.

What quality or qualities do they admire most?
Honesty. Whilst Heather can be quite dishonest herself (initially, a self-protection) she admires truth and honesty from others. Truth helps her to build trust in others, to let her relax and feel safe. Kindness is also another trait that Heather values, not solely towards herself but a kind heart or kindness towards others, often hinting to her that they're a decent person (usually they are).

Do they have a part of themselves they dislike?
Heather dislikes her fear, which has shifted from being afraid of one person to gripping more of her life than she'd like to admit. Heather's fear and the shattered trust that came with it have made trusting other people much more difficult, making her very cautious when navigating personal relationships. This will occasionally stretch to paranoia, a bad feeling about someone leading her down a rabbit hole (and rocking her). Though she's moved states (and has a 17-year gap from that part of her past) some days she feels like she has to look over her shoulder.

What is their sign, and why? The Magician. Whilst Heather would never call herself the best she's skilled herself to have very excellent computer-skills knowledge [programming, coding, hacking etc], a passion she discovered that she made her job [and life]. She is also very prone to hyper-focusing on something when she's in the zone. It's a problem.

SAMPLES

Samples: one + two* ( the second link did start on tfln but i've linked it from where it turned into an action thread )
unresponsives: (pic#17112621)
ยซ ยซ ยซ ( PARANOID ) ยป ยป ยป



ยซ ยซ ยซ OOC INFORMATION


Name: Kerry
Age: 33
Contact: pm / [plurk.com profile] skitties
Timezone: GMT
Other Character(s): Adrienne Peters ( [personal profile] pathologise )


ยซ ยซ ยซ IC INFORMATION


Name: Heather Montgomery
Door: dominant: door pass

Canon: Original Character
Canon Point: December 2092 [ travelling to her sister's ]

Age: 38
Appearance: link

World Background:
Heather comes from a normal Earth, just fast-forwarded to the future where technology is a little more advanced. As far as she knows, magic, supernatural beings, etc don't exist.

History:
Heather was born Rosalie Heather Montgomery in Colorado [2054], with two older sisters and parents that were "in touch with nature" [drugs, naturists, gardening, very solitary]. Throughout Heather's schooling, she found it difficult -- academically she was okay and whilst she could easily have excelled she was very disengaged and disinterested in it -- she was embarrassed about home, felt isolated and after her sisters graduated she felt even less motivated. She dropped out of high school just after turning 17, running away from home and hitchhiking her way out of the state.

Heather ended up stopping in Nebraska, sending her sisters a postcard to let them know she was okay, and making the risky [and smitten] choice to stay with the last person she'd travelled with. They ended up dating, she became friends with his friends, and this is the first place that Heather started learning to code -- he was a wannabe hacker and it got her into it. This is also when she started going by Heather instead of Rosie.

Heather's first arrest came when she was 17, her boyfriend the target, though Heather was quickly released when they discovered that she wasn't involved just in the wrong place. She crashed with their friends, got a job at a coffee shop and because she'd finally found something that she enjoyed continued learning to code, slowly making her way deeper through the internet.

The next big spark of excitement happened when Heather was 19, meeting a man named Carl who would become her boyfriend. Though he was separate from her world he encouraged her passion, giving her the nickname Red Queen [because of her then-red hair] which became her hacker pseudonym. Their relationship lasted two years, though what started as passion-fuelled became both emotionally and physically abusive, with Heather ending up in the hospital several times and only breaking away after she almost died. He was arrested, she got a restraining order out on him and in fear left Nebraska.

Heather was so fearful that she ran to Canada, settling there for a few years, finding another part-time job and starting to make money from coding, the name Red Queen slowly becoming recognised as the years progressed. It was only a few years that Heather stayed there before accepting an offer to live with her sister, Poppy. Heather had kept in touch with her sisters over the years, texting and sending postcards whenever she'd moved. Poppy had promised her safety, a conversation that took Heather a lot of convincing before she moved to live with her [in Montana].

Heather was 24, rebuilding her life [the social aspects], and a little less trusting of others. The only people she "trusted" were people that she didn't see, building up her names and skills further. She had limits: Heather preferred information and exposing truths. Anything that she built that others bought was something "harmless" -- she refused to be involved in anything that would hurt someone.

As the years passed in Montana, Heather found herself again -- shedding her red hair for her natural brunette, becoming more social and even getting married. It was a pretty whirlwind romance, though the marriage only lasted three months -- they'd moved too quickly and started discovering that they weren't so compatible [or in love] as they'd seemed. It was an amicable end. However, not a month later, Heather was arrested. A tool that she'd sold for someone, whilst designed to be harmless, had been modified and resulted in the death of three people. As Heather had only been involved in the creation of the tool and not the further crime she was only sentenced to eighteen months in prison.

Her sentence mostly passed without issue, however, a month into it she would discover that she was pregnant. Her daughter was named Abby, and Heather arranged for Poppy to adopt her. It was the most difficult decision that she'd ever made, wanting to be a mother but knowing even after she was released that she wasn't in a position to be Abby's mother -- her life involved risk and she couldn't raise a child in that. She became aunt Rosie to her daughter, something that broke her a little as she watched Abby grow up, though she was glad to at least still be part of her life.

After her release from prison, Heather initially stayed with Poppy before getting her own place. In prison she'd started getting a lot of headaches, ignoring it there but finally now getting it checked out. She was 32 and had a brain tumour. The surgery to remove it seemed simple, though during surgery resecting the tumour ended up causing damage to her brain. A second surgery was given to install a device that would bridge the pathways between the affected areas of her brain. Whilst her life was normal her recovery felt tricky, with Heather believing that something felt different -- but nothing was.

It was a rabbit hole she slipped down, researching the device, other people's stories and even "advancements" [modifications] that had been made to them. The upgrades were illegal, not medically sanctioned or tested, but the functioning and capabilities that the upgrades seemed to offer appealed to her. The offer took her to California where she had the implant modified. The upgrade was as promised -- Heather could instinctively communicate with operational technology. Over the years since, staying in California, she's worked on "training" her capabilities, getting used to how she interfaces with technology and coping with the side effects. She's taken jobs as they've come, continuing selling her services and gathering information, whilst putting some of that money aside for Poppy and Abby -- she wants to make sure that whilst she can't be there the two will never struggle. Because, in Heather's eyes, she always has more work to do.

CR AU (Optional):

Personality:
Positive Trait:
โ˜… WARM. Heather's a people person, friendly and sociable to those that she meets whether or not she knows them. She has a kindness that's often seen, and whilst she keeps people at a slight distance (not letting them get too close) she enjoys listening to others, hearing about their day or helping their problems with advice. Her family is one of the things that means the most to her and where her deepest caring side is shown, she does everything she can to protect them and spends as much time with them as possible. Whilst Heather genuinely is a kind person some of her warmth comes from the fact that she craves being around people, hating feeling disconnected or isolated for too long -- she's much more comfortable in a crowd (even alone in a crowd) than she is alone at home for too long.
Negative Trait:
โ˜… PARANOID. Some of the bad experiences that Heather's had in her life has led her to be cautious about her safety, particularly in new situations. Heather doesn't open up to many people, not wanting to feel vulnerable or scared, having had her trust shattered in a past relationship. Though Heather has done a lot of work on herself and feeling safe she's very slow to trust new people, often mentally questioning much of what is said. Whilst Heather can mitigate a lot of her fears daily [that her ex isn't there, that she is safe] some of her cautions is over caution, looking people up online after meeting them due to her lack of trust. It isn't everyone that Heather meets, usually reserved for someone she might have closer dealings with, though it's a bad habit that's often resulted in someone taking her phone from her, recognising what she's doing and having to calm her. Whilst this is a big contrast to her warmth it's a bad habit that she recognises in herself -- sometimes she wishes that she could trust more but being open again feels impossible.
Negative Trait:
โ˜… IMPULSIVE. Whilst Heather would like to say that she's a careful planner, having to think carefully about her actions it's only half-true. When it comes to her business she is a better planner, she's learned that she needs to work carefully to keep herself safe, but personally? Her past is littered with impulsive (and terrible) decisions. Heather likes to live in the moment, refusing to let her fears of her past hold her back, and impulsive, not overly-thought decisions let her feel a little more free. Even when they're not the best idea but Heather doesn't want to continually question her safety. However, many of these decisions have also backfired on her in the past and whilst Heather learns a lesson she doesn't always stop to think the next time something similar comes up.
Negative Trait:
โ˜… DISHONEST. Heather is all about appearances, crafting the view of herself that she wants other people to see rather than the person that she feels she is. She doesn't want to appear to have any vulnerabilities, not letting the world [publicly or online] see any weaknesses so that nothing about herself can be exploited. Heather would argue that her lies are necessary, that she lies to protect herself or to protect others but it still isn't the truth about herself. She wants people to see the professional, a freelancer who's worked hard to build up her client base and skills, rather than the high school dropout who spent time in prison. She hides the fact that she has a daughter to protect them both, she lies about her name, even using a false accent. Heather doesn't let people get to know her, doesn't let people see under the surface and by now lying isn't difficult.

Powers and Abilities:
โ˜… TECHNOPATHY. the implant in Heather's brain allows her to "telepathically" interface with a computer device that she is in physical contact with (through manipulating her bio-electrical signals ). It enables Heather to use devices much quicker through this communication than physically use it would, using the apps or functions she needs. Heather sees this projected "visually" as a screen in front of her, a translucent image that she can see through but is only visible to her, which disappears when she loses contact with the device. If Heather was in the middle of something and suddenly lost contact the process would be lost or cancelled unless the computer could continue it without continued direction.

โ˜… EIDETIC MEMORY. whilst she doesn't have a true eidetic memory, the implant stores information in her memories preventing it from being naturally forgotten. Heather has to manually think to retrieve the information, like calling up any memory, as there is no instantaneous retrieval.

โ˜… LIMITATIONS. as Heather's implant only functions as a pathway, she can only use technology in this way if she is in contact with it: she is not google and does not know everything. Heather is also very susceptible to cognitive overload: if she tries to take in information too quickly her brain won't be able to process it and she'll "shut down" (pass out until she's recovered). Over-extended use of her technopathy is also physically draining, starting first with headaches (to migraines) and physical exhaustion.

โ˜… COMPUTERS. Heather is a skilled hacker, not someone that would describe herself as "unbeatable" but known by her handle Red Queen with a high skill level due to her experience and the length of time she's spent working with computers. She's taught herself various coding languages and certain programming skills to aid her in her efforts, whether that is building widgets/programs for others to use or for her own goals. When Heather interfaces with a device, she can only do so if she can unlock it (or break in), so some levels of encryption would be beyond her. Whilst being able to interface also speeds up her hacking (as the typing is done by thought instead of physically) anything she writes will still need time to be written -- her efforts aren't instant just faster.

โ˜… ASL. Heather is fluent in ASL due to her sister, Poppy, being Deaf.

Inventory: nothing!

Samples: one + two