Emma Vaerbond / Odyn
Red haired, short (4’9), scrawny, and precocious (“quit wearing clothes like that, you look silly”). She has five tally marks carved into the right side of her face, a scar she almost always hides with her bangs. The wound was actually so bad that some of her right-side teeth had to be pulled and are permanently missing.
In the eyes of those around her, Emma is a generally precocious and sometimes mischievous young girl. She’s exceptionally intelligent and tactically devious, defeating everyone in her age group--and even most adults--in any and all battles of wits. She’s seen as carefree, happy, and confident, which all awards her a number of friends in school--friends she usually “leads” in all intellectual pursuits.
Under the surface, though . . .
When she was eleven, she was assaulted by her father during a fit of drunken fury. He carved tallies into her cheeks, despite her protests, and after kicking him in the crotch, ran away. She’s been with child services ever since.
This is problematic for her “style” in many ways, of course. From what the folk running the half-way house can tell (and actively try to restrict), Emma fancies older boys (late teens/early twenties) for being intellectually on par with herself and has no qualms actively seeking an older boyfriend. Secondly, she does science with plants that may or may not be legal according to United States law. Apparently she used to sell them as raw materials for pharmaceutical companies.
The second issue, which no one but her is aware if, is that Emma is haunted by an eldritch horror from beyond time and space. He tells her to do horrible things. Sometimes she listens.
The Basics
Age: 13 (just turned)
Favorite Thing(s): Science, mischief, and legally questionable gardening.
Personality:
Needlessly mature for her age, Emma is mostly all right with everyone around her until one of two issues come up: 1. aggression, or 2. lectures about what girls her age should and should not do. Emma prefers to live without boundaries, which can often get her into trouble, especially when she’s doing something or the rather that a girl shouldn’t ever do before the age of 18. Or 21, for that matter.
Honestly, she just doesn’t care about age rolls. She’s been through hell and back before, and may as well have aged a decade in a single night. Emma thus feels superior to those of her age group, consequently refusing to subscribe to her prescribed age rolls.
Despite her intellectual standing, however, Emma is emotionally immature for her age. Though she will, for example, look for intellectual equality in a boyfriend, most boys of that age seek something more than just intelligent conversation, which, though her style of dress suggests otherwise, is not something she is emotionally able to deal with, at least not in a healthy and productive way.
Abilities:
- Feet 3 (P.E. +0, Kicking +0, Dodge +2)
- Guts 2 (Wind +1, Courage +3, Wrestling +0)
- Hands 2 (Shop +1, Punching +0, Blocking +1, Greeting* +2)
- Brains 5 (Out-Think +1, Remember +0, Notice +2, SCIENCE +3)
- Face 3 (Charm +0, Putdown +0, Connive +4)
- Showin’ ‘em her stabs.
Relationships
Madness (5), SCIENCE (1), George Fillburn (1/2), Scott Valle (4), Manny (0)
Madness
This relationship comes into play only when her monster has convince her to do something psychotic. Under these circumstances, Emma will use this relationship for all dice rolls whilst in a fit of madness. She spends QT with this relationship by being around other people, hearing about crimes and human catastrophes, and generally being pushed around or screwed over.
SCIENCE
Emma has always valued science, so much that she habitually applies it to a number of things, often to things that cannot be science’d.
George Fillburn
George is one of “Emma’s boys.” She’s very attached to him and unwilling to let him get into horrible trouble--but trying to control George is like trying to keep a raging fire contained. Recently, though, George put her off significantly: he “abandoned” her during a time of extreme duress.
Scott Valle
Another one of “Emma’s boys.” She dotes on Scott and is more protective of him than she is anyone or anything else. Most recently, though, Scott has willingly stood up for her and gone out of his way to help her whenever the opportunity arises. Protectiveness has slowly begun to bleed into dependency. Scott has recently become a serious figure of comfort for Emma; she actually kind of clings to him, now.
Manny
The third and most recent of “Emma’s boys.” Emma’s not really too close to him just yet--but he lives in the same room with her. Give it time.
Life History:
- A short story centered around Emma’s previous relationship with a man named David Pavlin and the circumstances that lead to her confinement to Mrs. Frieda’s.
- A short dialogue between Emma and David, shortly prior to their relationship, wherein Emma explains her life story and why, exactly, she is mentally advanced well beyond her years.
Monster
Одна тысяча и каждый ножи Odyna Teseyacha e Kajoi Nojy(One Thousand and One Knives)
Appearance: Massive and hulking, Odyn (as he’s often called) is a solid-state spirit with an ethereal body that mirrors not his original body, but his soul. He is seven feet tall and appears to have skin of stony horrorterror. <reference image>
Personality: Malicious, sadistic, mischievous, and manipulative, Odyn does far more harm to his “children” than good. He’ll effectively haunt them and progressively ruin their lives, all the while acting as if he has their best interest in mind. He’ll often even act as if he is there only true friend in the world, yet has no qualms manipulating those he haunts (and even those around them) into committing highly nefarious acts.
He sounds just like he’s been voiced by Mark Hammil.
Other Stuff: Odyn feeds off of negative energy like humans feed off of food. It is his sustenance. Because children more easily succumb to his wiles, he will “haunt” emotionally insecure children, tormenting, taunting, and goading them into committing various nefarious deeds. The more nefarious the deed, the more delicious it is to him.
Although he is a spirit now, mythology has it that he was once a real, living person, who was once the arch-enemy of a legendary heroine said to have mastered a thousand and one blades. Where she used her nearly limitless arsenal for the protection of the weak, the meek, and the wounded, he used his arsenal of one thousand and one knives for the torment of those very same people.
Favorite Thing: The torment of the weak, the meek, and the wounded.
Way to Hide: He often makes his home within the jagged and empty parts of a damaged child’s soul, where he hides more often than not.
Bits and Pieces
- 1 - 3 One Thousand and One Knives (9d)
- Attack (blades), Defends (Blades), Bounce x 2 (Counterattack), Wicked Fast x 2, Useful (Sharing)
- 4 - 6 Ethereal Body (8d)
- Defends (Stony form), Bounce x 2 (Counterattack)
- 7 - 8 Jaws of Life and Death (8d)
- Attack (teeth), Gnarly x 2
- 9 - 10 Voice of “Reason” (7d)
- Useful (Coercion), Sweet x 2, Shock (Hypnosis)
? ? ?
How I spent my life in hell:
EXP: 0/17
Manny’s First Day
- +1 to Science (originally 2) from further experiments with awkward planting arrangements of medicinal value cannabis sativa.
Let’s Go to the Movies!
- +2 to Courage (originally 1) from resisting the temptations of Odyn.
Family Home Evening
- +1 to the relationship with George Fillburn (originally 0); she genuinely appreciates it when he gets worried about her, no matter how often it ends with her yelling at him about something or the rather.
Emma’s Birthday
- +1 the relationship with Scott (originally 0); she sincerely worries about his safety and partially dotes on him when he’s in serious trouble--and he was: he fought Butch for her. On top of being worried as sin, she thought the gesture was sweet.
- +1 to Shop (originally 0) from spending half the night weaponizing a hooded sweatshirt for Scott’s battle with Butch.
Urban Ninja: Enter the Fist
- +1 to Connive (originally 3) from conniving the shit out of a lot of shit. She got them ungrounded early, coerced a man to give her $200 for grass seeds, and used her feminine wiles to distract a young skater boy from noticing George as he stole a guitar. She is progressively becoming capable of pulling some serious strings.
- +1 to the relationship with George (originally 1); she’s done a lot for him, actually (like conniving the hell out of everything to make sure he gets what he wants, often regardless of how insane it may be; she even goes along with his conspiracy theories at times, too), and it was only recently that these efforts were (surprisingly) awarded with a sudden embrace--one she didn’t return, but was extremely tempted to, and sent for a whole fit of awkwardness after the fact.
This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things
- +2 to the relationship with Scott (originally 1); where George abandoned her in her time of extreme duress, Scott was there to willingly hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay. She proceeded to cling to him and sob for nearly an hour. She appreciates this more than Scott may ever know. George, on the other hand . . .
Wherein Mrs. Frieda is Called Fat
- None. Emma pretty much slept through this whole thing.
Spiderqueen and the Quest for a Better Watch
- +1 to the relationship with Scott (originally 3); while everyone else has essentially ignored Emma during her fit of depression (she blames herself for the death of the night watchman), Scott has stuck by her side, let her chill out on his bed and read with him, and has been all around sweet to her. She’s really started to cling to him, even hung out in his bed (on the other side of his bed, of course) and quietly read books with him all day.
