TANCER, Tess

CHARACTER NAME: Tess Tancer
AGE: 16
CLASS: Scientist
HOMETOWN: Ecruteak City

APPEARANCE: Tess is fair-skinned and small for her age, her abusive upbringing stunting her growth to just below 5’. She wears an indigo cap over her dark blue hair, which she keeps short to maintain a boyish appearance along with deepening her voice. She has grey eyes behind a set of fake eyeglasses and a gaunt face with prominent cheekbones. The rest of her body portrays this same frailty, with bony arms, a small torso, and long, thin legs. She covers these imperfections with a bulky blue peacoat and dark, loose-fitting pants. She also keeps suspenders and a few different ties around for formal occasions.

PERSONALITY: At first glance Tess comes across as cold and aloof. Her time with her mother has made her adept at reading the moods of others, and she spends most of her time in public warily sizing up the people around her. This gives her a serious air about her that belies her age. She keeps to shadows and back alleys, finding crowds overwhelming and preferring to move unseen in public. Being a runaway, she naturally avoids police officers and most people in general to lessen her chances of being recognized.

All of this is not to say that she is confrontational or thorny. Quite the opposite, when actually spoken to she is cordial and eager to please, if a bit awkward. Pushing past the walls and locked doors she keeps for her protection reveals a shy and anxious young girl in way over her head. She’s had little social interaction for the last half of her life and struggles to connect with others in meaningful ways as a result. Her mother molded her into a perfectionist and she is constantly beating herself up about how much better she could be doing. She’s in the habit of hoarding food, money, and supplies and meticulously keeping track of what she has at all times. She also has a strong sense of empathy, and, despite her own fear, finds herself unable to not involve herself in situations where someone else may be in trouble. She also still has a bit of a childish side locked away deep down inside. A prankster that, when combined with her strategic mind, is rarely caught in the act.

HISTORY: When she was young, Tess swore her mother could fly. How else would a child describe the way the famous Mona Tancer flitted across the stage as easily as a hummingbird? How she twirled and leaped and pirouetted in a way that could only be called ethereal. And little Tess absorbed it all. Every move. Every persona. Every story. While her sister Rosa, seven years her senior, admired the technical production of each show, Tess fell in love with the history of the performances, and how her mother seemed to bring the past to life before her very eyes. When her mother took flight every eye in the room was on her.

And so, every eye in the room was on her when she fell.

The accident changed her mother. A simple misstep left her unable to dance again, and forced her legacy onto her young children. Tess was eight when she started her training. At first it was simple exercises, then practiced numbers, then full performances before she was even eleven. She took control of her children’s social lives, cutting out their childhood friends and keeping them too busy to form new connections. She monitored their diets to keep them “thin and pretty.” Tess and Rosa were pushed to their limits, and when it wasn’t enough well beyond them. Their shared suffering should’ve brought the sisters closer, but the competition for their mother’s good graces and attention only drove them apart.

Their competition drove each sister towards different skills for survival. While her sister used charm and wit to get what she needed, Tess took to the shadows; she learned every dark corner and creaky floorboard in their home; she memorized every path from her room to the kitchen and out the back door well enough to walk it blind; she found every nook and cranny of her bedroom that could hide food, water, and bandages. She was practically a ghost within her own home.

And she nearly became one literally.

It was eventually going to happen. The strain of her forced lifestyle was taking its toll, and it finally came to collect during what would be her final performance. She passed out onstage and when she awoke backstage the EMTs began to question her and her sister about her condition. Rosa remained quiet, and Tess fell mute under the pressure. They eventually gave up, and left her alone with the director. He expressed concern over her health, and told her it would be better for her safety to stay home and recover for the next few months. Tess knew he might as well have told her to never come back for all her mother would care. Fearing her mother’s wrath, she didn’t go home that night, and instead headed south out of town towards Violet City. In the weeks that followed she cut her hair and moved from Violet City to Cherrygrove to New Bark Town where she’s taken up a job as research assistant to save up and finally leave Johto and her mother’s influence.

REGION: Johto

OTHER:
Mother: Mona Tancer: A well-known and respected dancer, her early retirement drove her to push her legacy onto her two daughters. She abused them for years and Tess' fear of her caused her to run away.
Father: ???: Her mother divorced her father when she was infant. She doesn’t know much about it since no one liked talking him, and has little interest in meeting him.
Sister: Rosa Tancer: A charming young woman seven years older (23) than Tess. They had a competitive relationship growing up and Tess resents her somewhat for not protecting her form her mother's abuse.
Theme: Six - Sleeping At Last
WISH LIST: No preference

OOC NAME: Puck
REFERRER: Proboards Ad