Mun

Name: Leah
Livejournal/Dreamwidth Username: sevillana
E-mail: [email protected]
AIM/MSN: catchingspirit @ Aim, waterfell @ plurk
Current Characters at Luceti: Mizuno Ami/Sailor Mercury | PGSM | geniustheveil

Character

Name: Daria Morgendorffer
Fandom: Daria
Gender: F
Age: 18
Time Period: after 'Is It Fall Yet?'
Wing Color: black
History: episode summaries / character / show

Personality:

Daria is alienated, but it gives her an outside perspective on the foibles of the people around her; when forced to speak with a therapist, she gives a stunningly accurate psychological portrait of each of her family members - and herself. She extends this perceptiveness to the students at school, her extended family, and everyone she comes across. This perception is often a curse.

She has high standards for others and expects a certain amount of honesty, forthrightness, depth, and sensitivity that she herself is sometimes forced to admit are impossible to live up to, and let go. She speaks bluntly, tempered or sharpened by her sarcasm depending on the situation. However, when she realizes she has made a mistake herself, she is equally honest about admitting so and trying to make it right. She may be judgmental at times, but she judges herself just as harshly or even more so.

As part of these standards, she will not be anyone but who she is (and she reacts poorly when someone else threatens that self-identity). She will not fake her way into popularity or acceptance, whether it be in the small things at school or the big things such as her scholarship interviews. She refuses to be a mouthpiece for anything she doesn't believe in, stand by an opinion she doesn't hold, or give the expected answers if her real viewpoint is something else. (And she has a certain strength of character to maintain this determination in the face of adults hoping she'll sell out.) However, her honesty sometimes prevents her from understanding white lies - such as a friend telling her something is fine when it actually bothers them, because Daria herself would be outspoken and blunt about the problem.

When she decides to beat her cute and popular sister Quinn at her own game to make a point, Daria proves to be quite capable of dolling her appearance up; she simply doesn't consider the superficial important enough to do this on a regular basis (or ever again). She is an uncompromising realist, but sometimes fears the world truly is weighted in favor of the flighty and superficial people, who are pretty.

Although her school contains many stereotypes, Daria does not fully fit the stereotype of the loner. She proves to be on decent, if not particularly close, terms with her classmates despite herself (once being considered 'not so unpopular you couldn't come' to a cheerleader's party), and she emphatically proclaims she is 'not miserable, [she's] just not like them' and that far from having low self-esteem, she has 'low esteem for everyone else'.

She may or may not have self-esteem, but Daria lacks self-confidence. She has a thick armor against the slings and arrows of day-to-day unpopularity, but is very reluctant to put herself in any position that could result in concrete rejection or direct blows to her feelings: she does not confess her crush on Trent (though she does finally reveal some normal teenage girl instincts when she gets her navel pierced just because he says it would look cute), she must be persuaded to send her writing to a literary magazine (and is floored when rejected even with the publisher's encouragement to try again), and she tends to become upset when facing direct competition with her peers because she assumes she'll end up on the losing end.

With her family, Daria is just as critical as with anyone else. But despite the bickering and dysfunctional outward appearance of the four Morgendorffers, there is a close bond. Daria may not be able to relate to her father well, but she worries for him. Her mother may not always be the most involved, but she's there when needed and often actually understands how Daria works and thinks, and she supports Daria's independent spirit. Quinn may be a pain, but the two sisters will be sisters forever and Daria nurtures a tiny hope that Quinn's better nature (which she knows Quinn has) will win out.

Despite her harsh outlook, in the end, Daria can be kind. She may not particularly like children, but she helps a pair find their parents when they become separated at a parade. She may not have much respect for the class airheads, but she's still helped them with projects or studying.

Strengths:

Daria is smart enough to graduate at the top of her class, and to be the one students do turn to if they're in desperate need of homework help. She's good at explaining it in terms they can understand- like an art lesson in perspective being likened as everything pointing towards a sale at the department store at the mall. She's also perceptive, and a moderately talented writer - though she occasionally suffers from perfectionism that holds her back.

Though she cares about others' opinions and her somewhat outcast situation among her peers more than she'd admit, Daria follows her own morals and code strictly, even in the face of disapproval from others. This takes fortitude, especially amid the pressures of high school.

Weaknesses:

Physically, Daria is a big minus, and she knows it. She's not particularly good at sports or gym class, and she has an awkward body type that makes clothes look horrible. It doesn't help when Quinn comes pirouetteting out of the dressing room in the same gown, looking perfect. (They were bridesmaids at a cousin's wedding.)

Daria also has poor vision and needs her glasses, and has a flatly monotone voice that makes little old ladies run screaming when she's supposed to be volunteering at the nursing home to read to them. (Eventually, the staff let her read to a deaf woman, who simply appreciated someone spending time with her. Daria was not amused.)

She is prone to self-doubt and a lack of confidence, and a worry that not only is high school decidedly not the best part of her life, but it might not get better. It helps immensely when she finds herself able to identify with her aunt Amy, who managed to grow into a graceful adulthood.

Her rigid ethics and moralizing can lead Daria to offend others who may be willing to bend a truth or use a slightly unfair advantage. This only adds to her sense of distance from others, and can lead to damaged friendships. She is lucky that her friends are willing to accept this as simply part of who she is.

Although at home, everyone around her is also a normal human, Daria's lack of power or special abilities will be a drawback in dangerous situations in Luceti.


Samples

First Person: training wings thread here.
Third Person:

Alright, Morgendorffer. You're lost, you have no idea how you got here, you have no cell phone, and the people living here are no help.

This was the inevitable conclusion after yet another discussion about wings, scientists, magical creatures, and magical people. Whatever the truth was, she was starting to have to admit that all the denial and sarcasm in the world weren’t making it go away. It was something perfect for Sick Sad World: extra-dimensional kidnapping, could it happen to you? She had to wonder how the show would spin it to make it even more sensationalist.

On the up side, the people in her imagination were friendly. They popped up with advice and offers of help. Considering that back home, they were likely to pop up with variations of ‘ew, a brain’, this was a pretty strong hint that she was giving in to some hitherto buried wishful thinking. . She also noted that the numerous people passing by in simple dresses like the one she’d found herself in meant she was in ample company.

“At least while I’m here, I don’t have to duck Kevin’s latest milk-out-his-nose trick. On the other hand, I haven’t found pizza yet.” She paused. “I’m also talking to myself.” She missed Jane. Heck, she even missed her family. Being lost wasn’t much better if you were seven or seventeen.

It was getting dark, which meant she had to admit this wasn’t going to be resolved before she‘d need to head inside somewhere. She’d been given directions to the Welcome Center, and headed that way. With luck, they’d be open. With good luck, they’d have dinner and a bed. And a bathroom. Those small comforts achieved, she’d be ready She took a breath to prepare herself for whoever she might meet next, and knocked on the outer door.

[application submitted here.]