Post by cora kendall west on May 16, 2009 1:24:01 GMT -5
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i am flawed if i'm not free ,.[/font][/color][/b][/size]
hello there. i'm giselle and i am twenty. i've been roleplaying for about eight years and my other characters here would be chloé penelope lemon. i found this site from an ad posted and i decided to join. i've read the rules and i'm aware that there's a 300 word limit. so, on with my character[/center][/font][/blockquote]
full name , cora kendall west
nicknames , c, cor
age , twenty-three
gender , female
sexuality , straight
member group , citizen
occupation , waitress at kara's coffeehouse/aspiring writer
major/grade , none – she graduated from nyu in january.
wealth class , lower middle class
loves ,
• her job, sometimes.
• rock stars.
• silver-colored plasticware
• heels that are so tall they almost resemble stilts
• being a girl
• fashion
• ryan seacrest, for some strange reason.
• horror movies.
• zombie movies, of course.
• being a natual blonde – with so many fakers out there, it's comforting to know that she's all real (well, except for those highlights she got about a month ago...)
• music.
loathes ,
• her job, sometimes.
• uncomfortable shoes.
• zombies.
• straight-up espresso.
• when people assume that she's sweet just because of her appearance.
• long drives.
• misplacing her keys.
• her feet.
• waiting.
• boredom.
strengths ,
• driving. come on, she’s from los angeles.
• making coffee.
• somehow paying her rent on minimum wage plus tips.
weaknesses ,
• her ‘passion for fashion’. don’t let her near any couture stores after she’s gotten her paycheck.
• cute guys.
• coffee.
dreams ,
• not to go bankrupt.
• to find a suitable boyfriend, for once.
• to buy a houseboat and move to florida to retire. yes, she plans on living in the boat.
fears ,
• dying in her sleep.
• a zombie attack, of course.
• her coffee machine in her apartment breaking. that would be horrible.
overall personality ,
Most prominently, Cora is a sweetheart – giggly, nice, upbeat, sincere, sensitive, down to earth…basically, everything that a person wants to be called, she effortlessly is. Underneath that, however, she can actually be quite a serious person. She’s a great conversationist due to this, something that works in her favor around people. The talent to start conversations is hard to come by, but when someone has it, generally people flock to them.
Cora is quite laidback and messy, two qualities that do not work well together. For her room, at least. Really, it looks like a disaster area – there are old Starbucks cups littering every shelf, papers covering every inch of desk, clothes strewn all over, shoes lying willy-nilly on the floor, magazines everywhere…you get the idea. It’s not pretty. Her neurotic, clean-freak mother once almost had a heart attack after seeing her room. Luckily, she made sure to remind her to breathe.
In relationships, Cora does not know how to handle herself. Because she’s not a very tight-wound person, she lets most things slide even if they bug her half to death. This allows her partners to take advantage of her and use her better qualities (she can always get you a discount at Kara's Coffeehouse) for their benefit. She can never understand why this happens, although her friends have tried to explain her doormat tendencies to her time and time again.
With friends, Cora is very, very dedicated and probably more herself than she is with romantic partners. Always cracking subtle jokes at an unbelievably quick pace and laughing in a carefree fashion, it’s obvious that she doesn’t like to take life too seriously. This is why she’s able to keep friends, as opposed to men – around people she doesn’t want to form a romantic bond with, she’s an amazing person to hang out with. She’s a good listener as well, often offering friendly advice and a shoulder to cry on when her friends have problems and need someone to vent to.
In work and previously with school, Cora is pretty dedicated. Currently she’s a waitress at Kara's Coffeehouse, a laid-back lounge-type hangout in one of New York City's up-and-coming neighborhoods, and she’s kept the job for almost a year. This is mostly because she’s friends with her boss, yes, but also because she actually tries to be the best employee she can be. She’ll be damned if she fails at something and quits immediately thereafter – no, when Cora falls, she just gets right back up, dusts herself off, and keeps on going. Luckily, she’s never failed when she was in school, but she has screwed up at some of her old jobs.
hair , cora has long, naturally blonde hair that has a few lighter blonde highlights mixed in over the top. she’s never considered going darker than her natural color, feeling that she looks generally brighter with her sunny blonde color than she would with a darker brown hue.
eyes , she has deep blue eyes that are her pride and joy. unfortunately (in her opinion, anyway), she also has a small mole right by her left eye. she’s too scared to get it removed because she’s got such a low threshold for pain, but she doesn’t cease from complaining about it when she stares in the mirror and is doing her make-up with other people present. while her best friend topher thinks it adds “character,” cora just thinks it adds “fugliness” to her otherwise lovely features. naturally, that’s not the only mole she has – her arms are sprinkled with little brown freckles that also cause her grief. moreso after topher exclaimed when they met and were both way too drunk for a wednesday night, “the moles on your arm look like a constellation of stars.”
built , cora’s a naturally attractive girl, with bright features and a petite, slim stature that many girls work all their lives to obtain. that’s not to say that cora didn’t have to work for her physique; she goes to the gym almost everyday to keep her skin tight and glowing. her dedication to working out seems to be paying off, because her shape has never been better. with model-worthy legs and a stomach so flat that you could probably balance a wine glass on it without risking any spillage (that is, if she doesn't breath), she's definitely been pretty blessed in the physical department.
weight , 110.
height , 5'2"
fashion sense , as for what she puts on her body, cora is very conscious of her fashion choices. her style could probably be classified as boho-chic meets park avenue princess with a touch of rocker chick mixed in, but that might be overdoing it. in reality, her style is just a mixture of all the facets of herself (plus haute couture) – and it always reflects her mood. really, if you want to know what she’s feeling or what her mood is, don’t bother looking deep into her eyes or anything silly like that – instead, just look at her outfit! for instance, if she’d in an angry mood or something she might be seen wearing a chunky chain-linked necklace or a darker, more neutral ensemble. if she’s in a good mood, look out for bright colors and flirty frocks. her obsession of the moment? colored tights. they can really brighten up any outfit, and this is the part of the application where i start to sound like a fashion writer so i’m just going to stop.
play by , kristen bell.
[/font]family ,
benjamin west • 57 • father
real-estate agent.
kelly west • 51 • mother
real-estate agent.
hometown , los angeles, california.
pets ,
none.
overall history ,When Cora West was born in sunny Los Angeles, California on July 2nd, 1985, Kelly West, a long-time brunette, took one look at her and immediately pointed out her most obvious flaw – “She has blonde hair.” This heartless reaction would remain a constant in the poor girl’s life, as Kelly was a judgmental woman who had made it her purpose to point out every little flaw her daughter possessed. And it only got worse as Cora grew older – the criticisms became harsher and more constant. “Don’t slouch,” – age five. “Stop playing with your hair,” – age six. “Don’t drag your feet,” – age eight. “Your hair is absolutely dry, go put some product in it,” – age thirteen. “Why are you wearing that outfit, it makes your ass look huge,” – age fifteen. “Honey, are you sure you want that croissant?” – age sixteen – you get the idea. Benjamin, Cora’s father, didn’t like to get involved in Kelly’s affairs (he was slightly afraid of her) so he mostly stayed out of his wife’s conversations with their daughter and focused on his work. Fun family, no?
It wasn’t long before Cora began to rebel from her mother and try to find herself. Unfortunately for Cora, however, her method of rebelling wasn’t exactly healthy and it probably did more damage to her than it did her mother’s pride – because, Cora…she had an affixation to rock stars. Well…wannabe rock stars, anyway. Not exactly the most sincere guys on the planet, eh? Every guy she brought home was seemingly the same: Dark, messy hair, eyes smudged in what could only be drugstore-brand black eyeliner (she once had a guy ask if he could borrow her lipstick – no joke), outfit that was more than 60% leather, a tendency to screw everything that moved…you get the picture. Obviously, Cora was hurt quite a few times by these rockers, once even physically – oh, you should have seen the look on her face when her gynecologist announced that she had Chlamydia. It was hilarious.
Needless to say, Cora’s sworn off the rock stars. A broken heart she can get over, but an STD? Uh, no.
As you can probably infer at this point, Cora doesn’t have a bad head on her shoulders. While she can sometimes find herself making the worst possible decisions (Capris with tennis shoes? At her height?), she generally knows when she’s wrong and how to fix things. Dating rock stars not working? Go cold turkey and date a geek.
So, that’s exactly what she did.
She was nineteen when she met Pete. It was her first year at UCLA – film major – and she was rushing to a class that she was late for because she’d taken too much time looking for parking. She run straight into Pete, knocking over the ridiculous amount of books he had been carrying. Cora didn’t drop anything, but she did fall – and the books did fall on her. After Pete spluttered out an “Oh God, I killed her!” Cora got over her shock and got up. She even helped him pick up his books. “I’m so sorry,” Pete had apologized as Cora attempted to laugh her pain away, “you probably think I’m a big…psycho or something.”
“Oh, only a little,” Cora grinned, signifying just how much she was kidding. “No, it was totally my fault, I’m kinda clumsy.”
“You?” Pete appeared surprised, but he wiped the look off his face quickly.
Cora smiled. “Well…enjoy your day…um…”
“Pete.”
“Pete.” She smiled. “I’m Cora.”
They didn’t see each other again until a week later at a bar in central Westwood Village. Pete didn’t seem the type to go to bars, so it struck Cora as quite odd that he would pick the same night as she did to break his mold. Pete would never tell her, but he’d been following her since their meeting and waiting for the perfect time to talk to her again. They laughed over drinks (Cora was somehow able to charm the bartender into serving her when she was obviously underage), coming together with their mutual love of The X-Files. “When I was younger,” Cora had admitted after a few martinis, “I wanted to dye my hair red and change my name to Scully.”
“Me too!” Pete exclaimed. Cora shot him an odd look, furrowing her brows with slight confusion. “I mean…” Pete trailed, “Yeah. So I’m gonna go put a bag over my head now.” He began to get up.
“No, no,” Cora giggled and forced him back down, “I think it’s cute.”
“Yeah?” Pete asked with mild surprise, taking a sip of his own drink.
“Sure. Scully.” Cora grinned.
They were together for about three years. The first two were great – they stayed up late watching Letterman, they wasted time playing video games together in his apartment, they bonded over their mutual love of Scully and Mulder (and their shared opinion that, while Gillian Anderson has only grown prettier since the days of The X-Files, David Duchovny has mysteriously lost his eyebrows), and Cora even used him as the subject of her short film for one of her classes.
”Tangerines!” Pete yelled, stomping his foot on the ground. “Where are the tangerines?!”
The last year, however…things just started to get weird. They didn’t have much to talk about anymore, Pete didn’t want to leave the apartment (he basically lived in sweatpants), and she was just getting tired. So, she broke up with him. It was one of the hardest things she’d ever had to do – especially with Pete wailing at her not to leave – but she knew she had to do it. She’d tried to save the relationship, she really had…but she just couldn’t take waiting around anymore. She wanted to live, to experience life, and Pete obviously didn’t.
“Please, Cor,” Pete pleaded, nervously tugging the hem of his dark green Costco-brand t-shirt down over his gray Costco-brand sweatpants. “Please, don’t go.”
“Pete…” Cora trailed, biting her lip. “You know I love you. But I just…I can’t anymore. I feel like we’re leading different lives.”
“I can change!” Pete quickly struggled to get his t-shirt off, “see?!”
Cora paused. “Pete, I didn’t mean…”
“It’s the sweatpants, isn’t it?” Pete asked, distraught. “Cora, I can stop wearing them! Please!”
“Pete!” Cora exclaimed, stepping forward and stopping his hand from tugging his sweatpants off too. “Pete, it’s not the sweatpants. It’s just – it’s not you, it’s me,” She sighed, taking her hand off his, “I just don’t think I’m ready to be in a relationship right now. It’s…it’s not the right time.”
Pete’s eyes flickered to the nearby digital clock. When the minute changed, he returned his gaze to Cora, expectantly. “What about now?”
Cora sighed. “Pete, please don’t make this hard.”
“It’s hard because you don’t want to break up either!” Pete exclaimed. “I can see it. Just – come on, come to bed, we’ll talk – ”
“Pete!” Cora stopped him, throwing her hands up to signify ‘stop,’ “It’s over. I’m sorry.” She kept her blue eyes locked on him for a moment, as if taking a final mental snapshot…and then she left.
Two weeks later, she was on a flight to New York City. She’d left without telling anyone – she hadn’t even quit her job – but she felt like she needed a change. A fresh start in a fresh town…what could go wrong? She'd always wanted to go to NYC.
She got a new job, this time in a laid-back coffeehouse in the city. It wasn’t the best job, but it paid the rent. And her boss wasn’t a jerk (he was quite nice, to be honest), so that was a big plus.
After a few months in the city, she finally transferred her credits from UCLA to New York University so she could finish up her degree. Since it was pretty late in the year to apply for spring semester, the school wasn't keen on taking a spontaneous dropout so late, even though her grades were pretty top notch. Somehow, however (maybe it was her kick-ass essay, maybe it was her kick-ass smile), she was able to enroll just before the spring semester started. She met her current best friend there, Topher, who was a TA in her “Techniques of Feature Writing” class. Needless to say, she earned an ‘A’ in that course without even having to show up more than a few times…
As if that life-changing decision to move to NYC wasn’t enough, her life took a drastic turn a about six months later when she was twenty-two. Topher, who had by then risen up to the coveted ‘BFF’ status, got a DVD as a present for his birthday. Even though it was something he didn’t seem too interested in watching at the moment, Cora insisted on popping it in. Why waste a good present? Topher didn’t really protest, so they watched it. That movie? Dawn of the Dead. Although she was completely scared through the entire film, she was completely enamored by the thought of zombies. So, like any self-respecting person who didn’t want to die in the event of an attack, she got prepared. Currently, there’s a closet in her little apartment that’s filled with bottled water, Spam, and various weapons to help fight off the undead. Topher thinks she’s crazy, but Cora just sees herself as prepared. “You won’t be laughing when your zombie-fied Uncle Earl is ripping out your jugular!” She had threatened him one night as she was placing more canned food in her nifty closet.
As of the late, there have been no zombie attacks, but Cora is still convinced that one is coming. According to her, all the signs are there.
Now a college graduate, Cora’s life seems to be going pretty well (save for the fact that she can't find a writing job anywhere). She’s got a pretty tight circle of friends (yet, there seems to be no steady ‘boyfriend’ figure – she just can’t seem to hold onto guys very well because she seems to always fall for the wrong type), a great little apartment near the beach where she lives blissfully alone, and a job that manages to pay her rent and her fashion obsession – oh, yeah, and she just found out that her ex, Pete, recently won the California lottery.
”Is there anything you would like to say, Mr. Turner?” The grinning reporter asked Pete outside of his apartment, just one day after he’d won the Superlotto.
“Yeah, actually – Cora West, you suck! Look at what you’re missing! I hope you’re really unhappy!”
“O-Okay – ”
“But you can call. If you want to. I haven’t changed my number.”
“Thank you, Mr. Turner – ”
Pete clutched the microphone tightly in his grasp, “My mom never liked you.”
“Can we cut!?”
“And that dress was too slutty!”
Needless to say, Cora never called.
