Cora Elizabeth Hall (![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} in_luxurys_lap) wrote,@ 2010-02-28 22:53:00 |
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Player Info
Name: Erin
Age: 28
Time Zone: central
AIM: surrogatesongs
Email: surrogatesongs@aim.com
Experience: MOD!
Character Info
Name: Cora Elizabeth Hall
Date of Birth/Age: June 1, 1981 (28)
Why are they in Chicago?: She immigrated to Chicago from London with her parents at age sixteen. Lived and worked there ever since.
Occupation (if any): Personal and professional assistant to Senator Sean McKinney.
Good or Evil? Why?: Good and Evil applies to comic-books. Survival is a matter of nature, not morals: and not everyone can survive.
Physical Description: She's built like a willow tree, tall and slender, with a natural grace that flows through every movement. She exerts excellence and poise with a simple slow glance of fog-grey eyes, though the perfect posture and nearly obsessive attention to the visual detail of her appearance certainly helps. Dark hair is kept long because she considers it much more feminine than shorter styles, Cora's impeccable upkeep of her body also shows in her skin, which is flawless, save for the band of ethnic looking freckles across the bridge of her nose and cheeks.
PB (please include a picture):
Background/History (Two Paragraphs Minimum): Born in London to a wealthy investment banker and his blue-blood wife, Cora came into this world with vague expectations of excellance and perfection already laid upon her. As most children born into the likes of her family's financial standing, she was mainly raised by nannies and private tutors until she was old enough to attend Briarwood Academy for Girls in Worth, an affluent Hunting town north of London. She was eight years old.. and though Cora rarely recieved any form of affectionate love from her parents before boarding school, for the next eight years, she only saw them over holidays and important social gatherings: mainly to be presented as a symbol of success for her father. A trophy, like her mother... to be displayed and compared. This is what Cora learned of competition.
At age sixteen, her father recieved a promotion that transfered him half way across the world, to be centered in Chicago. The move was not difficult for Cora, who (thanks to the detatched way she had been raised) had not formed any signifigant emotional attachments. Besides the setting, the private school in the Second City was little different from what she was used to, save for the fact that she stood out a little more, due to her accent... which she only integrated into her repetoir of tools to put herself ahead of anyone she saw as competition.
After 'high school' (as the Americans called it), Cora attended university back home in London, simply because her father deemed a furthered education 'the norm' in the States: for some reason presenting his daughter to associates without a degree of some kind didn't fly as well here than back home, where the blue-blood ran a little deeper, and a little archaic in mannerisms. She returned to Chicago at the age of twenty-three with a Master's degree in Business, and a trust fund alloted to her by her father to live on her own in the city.
Unfortunately, the high society of Chicago was not only just as boring to the young woman as it was in London, but she found it's members to be decidedly more crude... uncivilized, as compared to what she was used to. Simply due to the fact that she was faced with crippling boredom (and also because her father kept pressuring her to find a husband: something Cora had absolutely no interest in), she slipped herself into the job market.
Cora's first employment of her life was a receptionist for the Mayor's office, which she started just after her twenty-fourth birthday. Because of her nearly obsessive attention to detail, coupled with her tendency to get what she wanted without any semblence of effort on her part, it wasn't long before the grey-eyed beauty caught the interest of the most influential man in the state. Senator Sean McKinney.
She barely worked at the Mayor's office for three months before he snatched her up on his staff as his personal assistant. Her attachment to such a powerful man even worked to impress her father, who (like many people) became enamoured with the Senator.. and thoroughly encouraged his daughter's professional involvement with him (even to the point of replacing his constant nagging about finding a husband).
From the very beginning of their 'relationship', Cora knew it would be to her best advantage to keep this man happy... and she was correct. However, despite her usual affinity for emotional void, she found herself growing far more attached to the Senator than anticipated. His effortless influence over everyone he met and did business with intrigued her... inspired her.. The sheer power he exerted: he owned everything he looked at... and at times, that included her.
Cora's flawless performances of her secretarial duties (both expected as well as those above-and-beyond) cemented her position with him as an asset. He used her talents as well as his own, much in the way her father would as she was growing up. She represented him, both as a shrewd, intelligent, and loyal employee.. but as something she was very good at being: a trophy. After two years on his payroll, her presence was regularly seen at his side during business dealings, both legal and not-so-legal. After four years, she not only knew every single one of his little secrets.. but became one herself. A tawdry, torrid affair between them had developed: fitting both personalities' needs perfectly... a relationship based on emotion only fueled by power-play.
Personality: The perfected ettiquite, a result from private grammar schooling back in England, and continued in the States until she was eighteen, definitely helped thrust her ahead of the scrupulous competition in the job market. Of course, the fact that she was willing to do just about anything to get what she wanted didn't hurt. An only child, she has little need or desire for what most people would call 'friends', though she never underestimates the value of connections. Religiously polite to anyone she believes could prove to be advantageous, notoriously condescending to those who don't... she's a woman who rarely gives true respect to anyone.
Other: (Is there anything special about your character: Who is their arch enemy? Roommates? Friends?) Personal and professional assistant to Senator McKinney, though those closest to him may know (but are expected to keep silent), their affair is kept behind closed doors.
Sample Journal Entry: (First Person)
I have decided that this Pavlovski fellow is not as upstanding as he'd like us to believe. The man does not stand straight, though I understand that could be more of a physical problem, but I doubt that. He has uncertainty in his eyes. Either his faith in the success of his business with Mr. McKinney is not as strong as he'd like us to think, or someone is pressuring him from another angle.
I believe both scenarios are probable. He is easily influenced, and though he surrounds himself with the over-exaggeratedly male shell of physical threats and armed thugs, I see the man has the spine of a jelly fish.
I don't trust him. Never trust anything that lives without a backbone. It usually has something to sting with.
Sample Narrative: (Third Person)
The image in the full length mirror changed with added light as she angled it to better suit her field of vision: cool fingertips curled around the frame, pulled toward her just a tad, then slipped away. They splayed soundlessly through dark hair, still heavy with the moisture from her recent shower: warm humidity and the scent of lilac hung in the air from the open bathroom door. She moved the tresses over one bare shoulder, which she looked over...regarding the image of her nearly naked posterior in the mirror. The curve of her spine, bare of clothing until the bell of hips, which were loosely gripped by a scant strip of black lace.
Something had been irritating her all day: a slight ache, centralized in one spot, like a bruise or a scratch she couldn't get away from, located just beneath the subtle blade of her shoulder. Grey eyes searched for the origin of the mild discomfort with an intense scrutiny... so obsessed with the flawlessness of her skin, that the thought of a blemish nearly turned her stomach.
And there it was... a darkening blotch of skin, creased by a dark red, perfectly straight line near the middle. It took the shape of something, obviously... and when Cora remembered what it was, one corner of her lips cut slowly into her cheek.
It was the perfect impression of a metal name plate, one that could be found on a number of office desks around the world: but the subtle hints of shaped bruises around that line might as well have been as identifying as a licence plate. The poetic irony of the situation amused Cora to the point of even smiling... that she would be so 'branded' by the words Sen. Sean McKinney, as his name-plate dug into her back... when he had pressed her onto it early that morning... repeatedly.
Name: Erin
Age: 28
Time Zone: central
AIM: surrogatesongs
Email: surrogatesongs@aim.com
Experience: MOD!
Character Info
Name: Cora Elizabeth Hall
Date of Birth/Age: June 1, 1981 (28)
Why are they in Chicago?: She immigrated to Chicago from London with her parents at age sixteen. Lived and worked there ever since.
Occupation (if any): Personal and professional assistant to Senator Sean McKinney.
Good or Evil? Why?: Good and Evil applies to comic-books. Survival is a matter of nature, not morals: and not everyone can survive.
Physical Description: She's built like a willow tree, tall and slender, with a natural grace that flows through every movement. She exerts excellence and poise with a simple slow glance of fog-grey eyes, though the perfect posture and nearly obsessive attention to the visual detail of her appearance certainly helps. Dark hair is kept long because she considers it much more feminine than shorter styles, Cora's impeccable upkeep of her body also shows in her skin, which is flawless, save for the band of ethnic looking freckles across the bridge of her nose and cheeks.
PB (please include a picture):
Background/History (Two Paragraphs Minimum): Born in London to a wealthy investment banker and his blue-blood wife, Cora came into this world with vague expectations of excellance and perfection already laid upon her. As most children born into the likes of her family's financial standing, she was mainly raised by nannies and private tutors until she was old enough to attend Briarwood Academy for Girls in Worth, an affluent Hunting town north of London. She was eight years old.. and though Cora rarely recieved any form of affectionate love from her parents before boarding school, for the next eight years, she only saw them over holidays and important social gatherings: mainly to be presented as a symbol of success for her father. A trophy, like her mother... to be displayed and compared. This is what Cora learned of competition.
At age sixteen, her father recieved a promotion that transfered him half way across the world, to be centered in Chicago. The move was not difficult for Cora, who (thanks to the detatched way she had been raised) had not formed any signifigant emotional attachments. Besides the setting, the private school in the Second City was little different from what she was used to, save for the fact that she stood out a little more, due to her accent... which she only integrated into her repetoir of tools to put herself ahead of anyone she saw as competition.
After 'high school' (as the Americans called it), Cora attended university back home in London, simply because her father deemed a furthered education 'the norm' in the States: for some reason presenting his daughter to associates without a degree of some kind didn't fly as well here than back home, where the blue-blood ran a little deeper, and a little archaic in mannerisms. She returned to Chicago at the age of twenty-three with a Master's degree in Business, and a trust fund alloted to her by her father to live on her own in the city.
Unfortunately, the high society of Chicago was not only just as boring to the young woman as it was in London, but she found it's members to be decidedly more crude... uncivilized, as compared to what she was used to. Simply due to the fact that she was faced with crippling boredom (and also because her father kept pressuring her to find a husband: something Cora had absolutely no interest in), she slipped herself into the job market.
Cora's first employment of her life was a receptionist for the Mayor's office, which she started just after her twenty-fourth birthday. Because of her nearly obsessive attention to detail, coupled with her tendency to get what she wanted without any semblence of effort on her part, it wasn't long before the grey-eyed beauty caught the interest of the most influential man in the state. Senator Sean McKinney.
She barely worked at the Mayor's office for three months before he snatched her up on his staff as his personal assistant. Her attachment to such a powerful man even worked to impress her father, who (like many people) became enamoured with the Senator.. and thoroughly encouraged his daughter's professional involvement with him (even to the point of replacing his constant nagging about finding a husband).
From the very beginning of their 'relationship', Cora knew it would be to her best advantage to keep this man happy... and she was correct. However, despite her usual affinity for emotional void, she found herself growing far more attached to the Senator than anticipated. His effortless influence over everyone he met and did business with intrigued her... inspired her.. The sheer power he exerted: he owned everything he looked at... and at times, that included her.
Cora's flawless performances of her secretarial duties (both expected as well as those above-and-beyond) cemented her position with him as an asset. He used her talents as well as his own, much in the way her father would as she was growing up. She represented him, both as a shrewd, intelligent, and loyal employee.. but as something she was very good at being: a trophy. After two years on his payroll, her presence was regularly seen at his side during business dealings, both legal and not-so-legal. After four years, she not only knew every single one of his little secrets.. but became one herself. A tawdry, torrid affair between them had developed: fitting both personalities' needs perfectly... a relationship based on emotion only fueled by power-play.
Personality: The perfected ettiquite, a result from private grammar schooling back in England, and continued in the States until she was eighteen, definitely helped thrust her ahead of the scrupulous competition in the job market. Of course, the fact that she was willing to do just about anything to get what she wanted didn't hurt. An only child, she has little need or desire for what most people would call 'friends', though she never underestimates the value of connections. Religiously polite to anyone she believes could prove to be advantageous, notoriously condescending to those who don't... she's a woman who rarely gives true respect to anyone.
Other: (Is there anything special about your character: Who is their arch enemy? Roommates? Friends?) Personal and professional assistant to Senator McKinney, though those closest to him may know (but are expected to keep silent), their affair is kept behind closed doors.
Sample Journal Entry: (First Person)
I have decided that this Pavlovski fellow is not as upstanding as he'd like us to believe. The man does not stand straight, though I understand that could be more of a physical problem, but I doubt that. He has uncertainty in his eyes. Either his faith in the success of his business with Mr. McKinney is not as strong as he'd like us to think, or someone is pressuring him from another angle.
I believe both scenarios are probable. He is easily influenced, and though he surrounds himself with the over-exaggeratedly male shell of physical threats and armed thugs, I see the man has the spine of a jelly fish.
I don't trust him. Never trust anything that lives without a backbone. It usually has something to sting with.
Sample Narrative: (Third Person)
The image in the full length mirror changed with added light as she angled it to better suit her field of vision: cool fingertips curled around the frame, pulled toward her just a tad, then slipped away. They splayed soundlessly through dark hair, still heavy with the moisture from her recent shower: warm humidity and the scent of lilac hung in the air from the open bathroom door. She moved the tresses over one bare shoulder, which she looked over...regarding the image of her nearly naked posterior in the mirror. The curve of her spine, bare of clothing until the bell of hips, which were loosely gripped by a scant strip of black lace.
Something had been irritating her all day: a slight ache, centralized in one spot, like a bruise or a scratch she couldn't get away from, located just beneath the subtle blade of her shoulder. Grey eyes searched for the origin of the mild discomfort with an intense scrutiny... so obsessed with the flawlessness of her skin, that the thought of a blemish nearly turned her stomach.
And there it was... a darkening blotch of skin, creased by a dark red, perfectly straight line near the middle. It took the shape of something, obviously... and when Cora remembered what it was, one corner of her lips cut slowly into her cheek.
It was the perfect impression of a metal name plate, one that could be found on a number of office desks around the world: but the subtle hints of shaped bruises around that line might as well have been as identifying as a licence plate. The poetic irony of the situation amused Cora to the point of even smiling... that she would be so 'branded' by the words Sen. Sean McKinney, as his name-plate dug into her back... when he had pressed her onto it early that morning... repeatedly.