RusalkasTenQuestionsTHE TEN QUESTIONS 1) Where does your character get their laundry done? Describe it and the people they might encounter there. As is fairly natural for a rich girl, when she’s at home during the holidays, the servants take care of Rusalka’s laundry. In the school year, she washes her clothes with the rest of the PFS in the laundry rooms in the downstairs part of Lily House. Usually the first years have to do most everyone’s laundry for them as part of their duties, but Rusalka likes it in the laundry room - she likes the humid heat, the scent of lavender and chamomile, and the company of bored girls who like to chat and play games while scrubbing and hanging up their laundry. She’s not particularly good at washing her own clothing, so it’s lucky that she’s friendly with the less ritzy girls who are a little more clear on how much bleach should go in the water. 2) Does your character sleep well? If the character has dreams, what kind of dreams are they? Rusalka generally sleeps extremely well - people who are exhausted often do, and she is the sort of person who pushes herself from seven in the morning to one the next day and sleeps like the dead for six hours. On the other hand, when she drinks, or when she oversleeps she tends to have troubling dreams, although she won’t remember them a few hours after waking up. Her dreams are muddy and ephemeral, moving from one thing to another in an instant, before she has a chance to understand them, but they involve unfamiliar and disturbing landscapes, rooms full of darkness and mystery, faces that are both familiar and not, and a feeling of unreasoning anger. 3) Your character gets into a discussion about death and dying. How would your character describe the perfect death? Rusalka doesn’t want to die in bed. She’s a romantic and an idealist and an adventuress at heart. She doesn’t want to die young, but she doesn’t want to be sick and in pain either. Her ideal death would be at the prime of her life and her powers, after having kissed her true love, to turn and face down certain death with a smile, saving the lives of others in the process. 4) Describe your character's personal bedroom or suite. Where is it located? Describe the contents of the room. What is the style of furniture? What items are of importance and why? Rusalka actually has two bedrooms, so I’ll do a quick description of both, with more detail about her room on campus. At home, in the Glass Palace, she has an opulent suite, panelled in mahogany inlaid with ivory and glass roses, with a mahogany hardwood floor, white-painted furniture, a canopy bed, expensive, delicate and old furniture topped in pink and gold-veined marble, with rugs, window coverings and bed linens in pale pink and lemon chiffon. She has a balcony, a huge walk-in closet, and a menagerie of animals, toys and expensive makeup and perfumes. The rule in the Cardovan household was pretty much: "whatever Rusalka wants… she gets." Her favorite items still at the house are an antique chest of drawers from her grandmother, which is important to her because it was always gifted to the second daughter in the family and so far has been good luck, and a portrait of herself, her mother and her sister, all smiling together, which was done when she was eight years old, and which she adores because it shows them all together and happy, and she can rarely remember that being the actual case. On the other hand, Rusalka’s room in the Lily House on campus is a complete mess all the time. Her room mate keeps her side of the room tidy and occasionally picks up after Rusalka, but the odds are that bras, sportswear, makeup and study books will be strewn around, the pillows will be on the floor rather than the bed, and there will be reminder notes pinned all around the full length mirror. Rusalka’s side of the room has a twin bed, which would have a purple brocade bedspread were it ever actually on the bed, warm cream colored drapes on the small window, a full-length mirror usually (as mentioned) covered in reminder notes, drawings and pictures of her and her friends. She has a small wooden desk, stenciled with roses, usually mountained over in homework, letters, invitations and plates of half-forgotten food. The bathroom that she shares with Wintra Haven could be easily said to be mostly Rusalka’s, considering that it is dominated by makeup, hair product, facial cleansers, bath oils, massage gels, aromatherapy candles, curlers and other beautifying products of Rusalkas’s, which make a fine layer over the sink area, around the bathtub and even on the floor. Rusalka’s most prized possessions in her home at school are a necklace given to her by her mother which not only reminds her of her beloved parent, but also seems to help her in language classes, and a knitted pink blanket that Rusalka wraps around herself any time she feels discouraged, depressed or in need of comfort. It was her baby blanket, and she couldn’t say why, but it always makes her feels better to hug it against her skin. 5) How would your character describe their perfect mate/spouse? Rusalka’s ideal husband may very well be a perfect specimen of the sort never to be found in a real world. For one thing, he would have to be gorgeous, but also noble, strong, masculine, dominant, kind and considerate when appropriate and cold and strict when necessary, poetic, mysterious, responsible, an excellent dancer, appreciate of clothing, a good fighter, with a dark past and an occasional need of help from Rusalka (but only occasionally, she doesn't want a wimp). Clearly, Rusalka isn’t waiting to find this person before she dates anyone, but she holds out hope for this impossible man. 6) Describe your character's life ambition. Is this their personal goal or is it one forced upon them by their peers/parents? Rusalka’s parents and family would like nothing more than to see her graduate with powerful friends, meet and marry a respectable, rich and influential man and continue in the family tradition of being the jewel on the arm of the important. On the other hand, Rusalka has very different goals. She wants adventure, mystery, and fun in her life, and she won’t settle for a boring old life being something she doesn’t want to be. For the moment, gymnastics, parties and friends are enough for her, but she longs for a moment when she could be a heroine. 7) Which Elder Amberite does your character respect and look up to? Which Elder Amberite does your character despise? Why? Rusalka looks up to quite a few of the Elder Amberites in point of fact, but although most suppose that like most PFS’s she prefers Flora, she actually has the most interest in the exploits of Prince Corwin and Prince Benedict, because of their adventures, their competence and the edge of uncertainty where sometimes they seemed utterly noble and other times to have some darkness about them. Because of this, she would like to be like them and to know them better. She also, of course, has great respect for Princess Florimel and her etiquette and abilities to keep things running and beautiful. As someone frankly not comfortable with the idea of despising anyone, Rusalka certainly couldn’t bring herself to hate a member of the Royal Family (her family have been loyalists for far too long). If forced to think which of the Elders she was the least fond of, she might very likely take the easy way out and choose Brand, the despised and hated instigator of the Patternfall War, and say it was because of all the pain and suffering he caused on both sides of the universe. 8) Your character finally has a break from classes. Describe their perfect day off. Where would they go? Would they want others around or be alone? A perfect day off for Rusalka would never be alone. She would want to take at least two friends and go into town for a bit. Eating from market stalls, having beers at slightly dangerous but still okay places for young ladies during the day, buying useless souvenirs, walking by the beach, trying something new and, if possible, difficult, would be Rusalka’s idea of a fun day. She also loves to go riding or walking in the forest, to climb the cliff-faces where they’re scalable, and to swim in the ocean. 9) University offers numerous opportunities to interact with different races and species. How well does your character fit intonew societies? Do they have any prejudices? If so, why? Rusalka actually seems to do extremely well at getting along with most societies, races and people. She is a genuinely friendly person and has no prejudices. Her only problems in such a situation occasionally occur because she doesn’t really do a lot of background research on mores and cultures, and she will speak her mind, even if it isn’t always totally diplomatic, although she never means anything by it. When prepped by friends and family, she won’t make these mistakes and will simply seem polished and sweet. 10) What would provoke your character into committing a greater evil, such as murder? Rusalka is a very kind-hearted, innocent young lady. To make her willing to kill would require an act of extreme cruelty or injustice, such as oppressing the weak, hurting children, killing those unable to protect themselves or blackmailing someone into hurting someone they loved. Even if she were to kill, she would always be in a position to put a romantic spin on it and say that it was for justice. OTHER INFORMATION (Known friends, clubs, political ties, etc) Wintra Haven is Rusalka’s roommate and one of her best friends. Wintra is a shy, retiring girl pushed into the Society by her overbearing mother, who had been queen of Rose Hall and Lady Rose, and thought that PFS was exactly the way to force her daughter out of her shell. Wintra prefers writing and music to social interactions and rarely leaves her room unless Rusalka drags her. Other than that, she is a sweet girl with a fondness for white chocolate and the regrettable tendency to have crushes on men who are not only not very nice but don’t know she exists. Rusalka has a lot of other friends, including both boys and girls. She is a second year member of the Princess Florimel Society Sisters, a talented and relied upon member of the school gymnastic team, as well as the dance team. Rusalka is also politically active, though she doesn’t seem so much savvy as just sweet and polished. |
