[Tawny Vokes]

WELCOME TO LOS EUROSIA,

TAWNY MARISSA VOKES

"Close my eyes so I won't see what I've done wrong
Turn away, turn away when you need me more, more"

BASICS

NAME: Tawny Vokes

AGE: 25 years old
---> Aged up to 26 years old on 10/09/2022
---> Aged up to 27 years old on 10/09/2023

BIRTHDATE: October 9th (Libra)

PRONOUNS: She/Her

SEXUALITY: Bisexual

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single

OCCUPATION: Therapist / Artist

NEIGHBORHOOD: Downtown (Apartment)

MEMBER GROUP: The Sector - Usually by utilizing her job as a therapist, Tawny's job in the Sector typically boils down to manipulating the memories of humans who've encountered Gifted. To shape some surreal incident into something a little more palatable. To Tawny, the Sector exists as a means to protect Gifted. There's no way that the general populace could accept the existence of powers and, if Blackstorm were to have their way and expose Gifted to the world, then there'd be mass hysteria. Witch-hunts with every Gifted labeled as mutated and dangerous.

POWERS:

Memory Manipulation - Tawny can access the memories of others through skin-to-skin contact. She can see these vivid snippets through the senses of the other person as if she herself had experienced them. She can also manipulate and reshape these memories. With subtle effort, she can distort faces and/or voices with generic versions of themselves, tweak minor details, change a few choice words, etc. But the effort and time required to actually reconstruct a memory, or even build a whole new memory from scratch, would be much more notable.

And although she is (mostly) reluctant to, Tawny can also erase memories entirely. It's a difficult (and dangerous) process that requires a lot of concentration from her to get right. One of the reasons she can be reluctant to do this is that it is usually something terrible that someone wants to forget. An assault, a traumatizing accident, or witnessing something disturbing and awful. If Tawny succumbs and frees someone from that memory, it then becomes something she can never un-see. It becomes something she then has to carry around. Another reason she's reluctant to scrub through someone's memories in such a way is that she once had a mini-freakout and ended up absorbing a lot more of the person's memory than she had meant to.

THE LOOKS

HEIGHT: 5'2''

WEIGHT: ~106lbs

HAIR COLOR: Brown

EYE COLOR: Blue

FACE CLAIM: Natalia Dyer

OVERALL APPEARANCE: Tawny is a petite thing. Standing a mere two inches over five foot, she's short in stature but still manages a slender appearance. She's thin with only slight, subtle curves. Despite being twenty-six years old, she still has a sort of girl-ish look to her and people often mistake her for being younger than she is. Because of this, she tends to dress more maturely, with well-thought combinations or simple layers. Her long brown hair has a natural, loose wave to it, though it's not infrequent that she'll take the time to straighten or curl it. Rarely does she ever tie it up, as she thinks she has too-big ears that need hiding (an insecurity probably footed in her childhood nickname, 'Mouse').

INSIDE

LIKES:

• People who crack themselves up while telling jokes
• Rom-coms, Disney movies, musicals, anything cute and animated
• Cheesy romantics; hand-written notes, dancing in the rain, boombox serenades, hand-crafted playlists, etc.
• Painting, sketching, scrapbooking, any sort of artistic hobby, really (her apartment is a wreck)
• Things like the symbolism behind flowers, what herbs are used in witchcraft, myths, angels and demons, ghosts/creatures, etc

DISLIKES:

• Jerks, people who are mean just to be mean, abuse of others and animals
• Feeling smothered, dependency/co-dependency, feeling like she's being "taken care of"
• Water, she never learned to swim and will drown
• Heavy and/or greasy foods (she is kind of a food snob and likes to eat mostly clean)
• Dogs and really any animal bigger than a cat; they're all a bit scary

STRENGTHS:

• Friendly - Tawny's not a complicated individual. When it comes to first making her acquaintance, she might seem a bit standoffish and private. But it does not require much persistence for her to blossom and, once convinced she's in good company, she opens up with willing ease. As much as she doesn't like to think of herself as people-dependent, she really is a people person. She likes people. She's playful, humorous, and not difficult to befriend.

• Instinctive - Tawny listens to her gut-feelings. While generally an open and trusting woman, if given the slightest twinge of discomfort, she can shut down completely. She instills a lot of faith in what her body and subconscious have to say about a person. While not an absolute doe — keen to bolt at the first sense of danger — she is a cautious person who can become ridiculously wary and touchy if she feels even slightly threatened.

• Grounded - She's an enthusiastic and optimistic young woman, lively for sure, but rarely ungrounded. Excitable and bright, but not in such a way that her optimism becomes carelessness. Tawny is a realistic and cautious individual, not prone to flightiness or keen to plant her feet on unsteady earth. She isn't a risk-taker (though she might talk like it up to a certain point).

• Accepting - Tawny was raised by good, charitable people. She was taught every person is deserving of respect, even at their worst. Especially at their most downtrodden, most broken, and most desperate. She's open-minded and not quick to judge or condemn. The smelliest, poorest beggar isn't beneath her time and energy. Even the angriest brute, spewing spittle as they yell and scream, can be heard out. Not to say she will let herself be screamed at all day long, or that she agrees with everyone, but she won't hold someone at their worst. And she isn't one to think entirely in black and white either.

• Independent (Flawed) - Tawny really tries to hold herself to this. It's her belief that she shouldn't rely on others for her own happiness and that she alone is responsible for her own well-being. She doesn't put that on anyone else's shoulders. She isn't likely to attach herself to someone enough for them to be completely vital to her living. If she were suddenly to have no one in her life, then... she would probably be okay with that. This does have its repercussions in her life, as she is also likely to sabotage relationships when they grow too serious or begin resembling any hint of co-dependency, but... in the end... it's a strength to be fine on your own. And... most of the time... she is.

WEAKNESSES:

• Naive - Tawny is an idealist that wants to believe in the best of everyone. Even when the worst of them is staring her in the face, undenied and irredeemable. It's difficult for her to write someone off as a lost cause and she will usually go out of her way to help someone, and to continue to help them, again and again, even when it becomes a blatant detriment to herself. Her sincerity and charity are easy to exploit, swindle, or take for granted. But while undeniably gullible, Tawny may not be as dense as some may think. Even when she knows she's being taken advantage of, she'll oft still try and help someone. She'll continue to smile, letting them believe her dumb and oblivious as they rob or cheat her.

• Sensitive - Tawny can be an emotional wreck at times. She has a lot of feelings and is easily affected by... everything. Her environment, a snippet of conversation she overheard this morning, the weather, the fit of her pants... it all seems to have some sort of influence on her. And whatever she feels, she feels it 100% and lets the feeling consume her and affect everything around her. She's easily overwhelmed by emotion and it takes a whole lot of nothing to get her in some sort of state. She can become incredibly sad (for herself and for others) and suffers from reoccurring funks of gloomy grump. Fortunately, she is able to be pulled out of these funks quite easily, by some other influence, and thus has a sort of unstable, 'hot and cold', flip-floppy reputation.

• Private - As much of a people-person as she is, as friendly and chatty as she can be, Tawny can also be incredibly evasive. Despite being open, kind, and involved, she still manages to maintain a certain amount of distance. She strives to be independent and can sometimes hold a lot of herself in rather than rely on anyone (even in the smallest of ways). Personal questions or questions about how she's doing or what she's feeling are usually rerouted elsewhere. Or answered indirectly with not much substance. It can seem, at times, that she's entirely unwilling to share anything with others. Her thoughts, her feelings, her life. She's inquisitive and engaging, but one day you may look at her and suddenly realize you don't actually know very much about her.

• Non-Opinionated - Tawny isn't always confident in herself, what she thinks, and what she believes. She's a person who questions herself and doubts her stances frequently. This can be seen as a lack of conviction; she's often hesitant to invest herself in an issue and has been accused of being unable to "decide for herself". She can be swayed easily and is kinda flippant/wish-washy overall. Most of the time she doesn't know when to drive her heels in and be stubborn.

• Too Forgiving - Tawny tends to avoid conflict wherever she can, which isn't such a bad thing in theory, so long as there's a line. But if it means nipping a problem in the bud, she might go to great lengths to appease someone and that can easily become exploitation. She can be a pushover. When it comes to conflict resolution, Tawny would rather forgive and forget than actually fight something out. Even if someone has actually hurt her. This can lead to him being taken advantage of by those close to her, because no matter what they do, they know she'll always take them back.

OVERALL PERSONALITY: A girl of contradictions who could be accused of being fickle and flip-floppy. She's loud and chatty, friendly and engaging, then she's quiet and reserved, private and distant. She likes being around people and having fun... until she has to be alone and seeks solitude. Prone to gloominess and depression when alone for too long despite priding herself on and striving for independence. Good at making friends and even better at letting these friendships fizzle out and go untended, until they're little more than acquaintances once more. She's like your typical cat, prone to capricious moods and curious comings and goings.

BACKGROUND

HOMETOWN: Los Eurosia, CA

FAMILY: Dione Vokes (Mother/Human/Deceased), Franklin Vokes (Father/Human/Deceased), Emeli Vokes (Brother/Gifted/Alive), Cooper Vokes (Brother/Human/Alive), Elise Vokes (Sister-in-Law/Gifted/Alive), Andrea Vokes (Niece/Gifted/Alive), Poppy Vokes (Niece/Gifted/Alive), Millie Vokes (Niece/Gifted/Alive), Evelyn Vokes (Niece/Human/Alive), Carter Vokes (Nephew/Human/Alive), Belle Vokes (Niece/Gifted/Alive)

PETS: Myrtle (grey-striped tabby cat), Finch and Lark (ferrets)

HISTORY: Tawny was a bit of a surprise child, born many, many years after her two brothers. Her parents were obviously older and weren't expecting to raise another baby at this time in their life (their sons were seventeen and nineteen years old when Tawny came along, they themselves cresting their forties). Yet they welcomed their daughter with joy and she was raised in a harmonious, loving home that lacked for little. Her parents owned a small bed-and-breakfast, as well as a neighboring soup kitchen, and were known through the community as pillars of charity, well-respected for their generosity and warmth. She felt practically like an only child, as her brothers were out of the house and building their own, successful lives by the time she was out of diapers. Her mother, Dione, was diagnosed with a terminal illness while Tawny was still toddling and the ugly sickness was something the little girl couldn't quite grapple with. Dione did not succumb to her cancer quickly, choosing and trying any means to beat the sickness so she could watch her daughter grow up, and Tawny only remembers her as sickly, exhausted, and a husk of a person for the last couple of years of her life. When she did finally pass, Tawny's father was distraught and lost. But he threw himself entirely into raising Tawny, becoming a smothering and over-doting helicopter Dad. He took on both parent roles and parented harder than ever, in such a way that grew to infuriate young Tawny. It seemed he wanted to do everything for her. Take care of this and that. Suffocate and hover. Drag her everywhere. Demand all her time. And she, in her angsty child way, grew so very resentful of this.

When Tawny grew into her powers, it began small. Seeing glimpses of herself through her father's eyes as he held her hand and tucked her into bed. Catching glimpses of her best friend's abusive, scary mother, when they danced hand-in-hand on the playground. Tawny didn't entirely understand but eventually, some off-hand comments that she made to grown-ups raised a few eyebrows and she was quickly taken underwing of a counselor (who happened to be Gifted herself). This counselor was part of the Sector and not only explained to Tawny what her powers meant but also imparted upon her the opinion that these things needed to remain hidden. That many people around the world possessed differing abilities but it was not safe to display them openly. Tawny loved this counselor and she even became a sort of mother-figure and idol to the young girl. And, as Tawny grew even older, her powers helped her gain a great perspective of everyone around her. Especially her father, who's memories were a special curiosity to her. It became a pastime — a pleasant hobby — to sift through her father's memories and learn about his wife, Dione; to see her mother as the woman she had been before the chemotherapy and machines. To catch glimpses of their love, their youth, and the happy memories of lives well-lived. She grew to understand just why he was so smothering and doting; that Tawny, his daughter (growing into a spitting image of his wife in her youth), was really all he had left in a life where he'd never been alone. He needed her. And she let herself fill that lonely void of his, all while promising herself she'd never need someone as badly as he needed her.

Tawny's relationship with her father grew incredibly strong and the pair were a happy, dad-daughter duo. They reopened the bed-and-breakfast and soup kitchen that had closed since Dione's passing and ran it together. And with the help of Cooper, one of Tawny's older brothers who'd returned to Los Eurosia with a budding family of his own, Tawny was able to help out as well as go to college, following the footsteps of her idolized guidance counselor in the Sector. While attending school, her father grew incredibly sick and was eventually bedridden, much like Dione. But rather than turning away as she had with her mother, Tawny was there for him. And one day, while sifting through his memories to talk of Dione, as he so often did in his failing health, Tawny decided to try and erase some of the more terrible, sad memories her father often lingered upon. To give him peace, so he could remember only the good times as he ebbed away, day by day. In doing so, Tawny made a mistake and inevitably "broke" her father's mind. One little hiccup, one little misstep, and Tawny absorbed years and years of her father's memories, leaving him confused and agitated. Absolutely lost and scared. This was simply chalked up to "dementia" but Tawny knew the horrifying truth and still lives with the guilt of utterly devastating her father in his last few weeks of life.

After Franklin died and Tawny finished school and began working full-time as a therapist, utilized occasionally by the Sector, she left the bed-and-breakfast and soup kitchen to her older brother and moved into an apartment downtown.

THE PLAYER

NAME: Rinse

AGE: 28

TIMEZONE: Central (US)

[Mirror]

[attr="class","th th-flower-1-o"] ACCEPTED

Now go out there and get snooping through people's minds!

FACE CLAIM • MEMBER DIRECTORY • POWERS CLAIM