everything echoes

Name: Elle DeWinter

Age: 20

Gender: Female

Type: Aspects - Mythology

Appearance:

5'2", with big brown eyes and petite, Elle appears younger than she is. Her long, blond hair is usually left to its own devices. She doesn't tend to wear much make up as it gives her the appearance of a little girl playing dressing up rather than a sophisticated woman. Her manner of dress is simple, favouring dresses in pale, neutral colours. Although being mute has led to her being more expressive, she is not overly gesticular.

Personality:

Young at heart, playful and rather childlike. At best this promotes looking at the world with a wide-eyed wonder, imagination, generosity, friendliness and curiosity. She is easily drawn into things and people, finding most things fascinating in one way or another. At worst Elle can be immature, naive, secretive, possessive and inconsiderate of the consequences of her actions beyond what it means for her. She develops crushes easily and becomes very involved with them - whether the object of her affections is aware of her feelings or not. She feels jealousy and heartache in the way lovesick teenagers do - everything becomes her own private drama, leading to intense melancholy. She enjoys socializing with others but can be wary of them, concerned by her having to rely on a notebook to communicate.

Sexuality:

Straight

Constants:

[Echo // Greek Mythology]

Echolalia - Elle has no speech bar the repetition of the last few words spoken to her. She is largely due to the physical trauma her vocal cords suffered, making speech difficult and painful, and partly psychological - it's hard to speak out of turn when simply mirroring words back.

The nature spirit - Elle feels the need to be immersed in nature as much as possible. Although this is limited by city living, she will spend as much time as possible outdoors. Rather than bars or clubs, her favourite haunt is the park. The protection and preservation of the natural world is important to her and she holds the belief that since all things stem from the earth, it should be treated with appropriate respect.

The satyr effect - Just as the nymphs were subject to the less than honourable attentions of the satyr, Elle finds herself subject to the attentions of perpetual bad boys - the drinkers, the revelers, the wild and the excessive. She tries to find a way to excuse herself from or slip out of the situation before things get too out of hand, and sometimes the novelty of her lack of speech simply wears off.

City History:

Elle is the only child of Zachary and CiCi DeWinter. She was the hopeful ingenue attracted to his status as a well respected psychiatrist and he was the hopeless womanizer taking bribes from the mob to house 'problems' in Bedlam Asylum. Her parents eventually divorced when she was four on grounds of adultery and irreconcilable differences. CiCi left her in the care of Zachary and his mistress, Agatha, who promptly moved in and soon became Wife Number Two.

Five years later Agatha became Ex Wife Number Two. Women came and went in the household but none of them were officially moved in. Elle enjoyed having the majority of her father's attention, accepting his gifts and treats with quick smiles and affection.

With the introduction of Wife Number Three when Elle was fifteen, the dynamic she had become used to shifted once again. The new wife, Helena, was brash and demanding. She quickly set about changing things to her liking - the decor of their home, their clothes, everything that projected an image to the outside world. Zachary's affairs continued unnoticed. His daughter had no small part in this, covering her father's tracks when he was careless or serving as a distraction when he failed to return home. Often she would convince her stepmother to go for long walks so they could talk, reeling off stories and inventing problems that needed a woman's perspective, playing to Helena's self importance. For two years, it was an ideal charade. Until Helena caught Zachary in the act.

Rather than cry divorce, Helena decided to take matters into her own hands. She decided that Elle needed to be punished for her deception and trickery. A few drops of arsenic should have taught Elle a fatal lesson. Helena's dose was not enough to kill her but it caused permanent damage to her vocal cords, rendering Elle unable to speak. Helena was committed to Bedlam Asylum.

Elle began trying to adjust to life without speech. She quickly adopted the habit of carrying a notebook and several coloured pens with her at all times. While incredibly frustrating, as tone and inflection could never be fully captured, she tried to maintain a positive outlook. Her father began to coddle her out of guilt, resulting in her never truly having to grow up. A year after the incident, she began to repeat short parts of what people had said, changing the tone to suit what she wanted to express.

At nineteen she moved out of her father's house, albeit into an apartment with the rent partly paid by him, and found work as a stagehand at the Hill Street Theatre. She fell in love with an actor, Nate Stone, but didn't dare approach him. At work, she tried to be around him as much as possible in the hope that he would approach her. When he finally did, she was overwhelmed and instead of using her notebook to communicate, only repeated a few words he had said. He quickly laughed her off and dismissed her as an idiot, leaving Elle heartbroken.

She continues to work at the theatre and likes to get involved in the shows at Fontaine Park on a voluntary basis.

Special Skills and Abilities:

Very quick writer and reader. She's also quite adept at working out just how much innocence to pour into a situation.

Weaknesses:

Sheltered - Elle doesn't really know much about the adult world. How it works, how adults interact with other adults, what to expect, what to avoid. Though she was almost an adult when she lost her voice, her father has allowed her only limited independence. While she knows all too well that people can be cruel, she isn't very good at spotting 'bad' people out in the big, wide world.

Gullible - Elle gets swept up in things. Things that spark her curiosity are likely to be questioned and the answers believed. There is an exploitable innocence to her.

Mute - Without her notepad and pens, Elle is virtually lost. She does know some sign language but is nowhere near fluent and can just about get by.

Depression - If disappointed or hurt, Elle tends to fall into depression. All crisis is the end of the world. She withdraws from people as much as possible and her world becomes completely self centred.

Strengths:

Unassuming - As it's unlikely she'll accidentally blurt out any secrets, Elle can be easy to trust. Her childlike demeanor only helps her further. While in many ways she is an innocent, sometimes it's overplayed for gain.

Family or Connections:

Zachary and Helena DeWinter (father and stepmother)

Residence:

A one bedroom apartment overlooking the park.

Career:

Stagehand at the Hill Street Theatre

PB: Hannah Murray

Other Information:

Email: heart.shaped.somethings[at]gmail.com
Icons: swansong [insanejournal] and iconzicons [livejournal].