General cowardice... with moments of crazy rage.

 Kenzi is a little crazy and over the top. She's a character that can be larger than life but also incredibly vulnerable. It's a tricky balance and she's a new muse so, please, any input would be greatly appreciated!

Comments, criticism, general things on my writing.... all welcome!

Player Information:
Name: Sera
Age: 26
Contact info: draconicseraphim @ DW and Plurk
Current characters: Roy Harper and Bruce Banner

Character Information:
Name: Kenzi (true last name unknown)
Canon: Lost Girl
Canon point: End of Season 2 as she breaks Bo’s bond to the group
Age: 22

Appearance:
Kenzi's appearance is a constantly changing thing. Her eyes are a blue so pale they are almost white and that is the only consistent thing in her appearance. The "real" Kenzi has straight black hair that falls just past her shoulders. This is most often accented with streaks of color, white, blue, hot pink, red. Her style is very goth-punk and almost everything she wears likely could have been purchased at Hot Topic. If she were the type to purchase anything. 

Kenzi has had a habit since she was very young of becoming different people to escape who she is, though. It has become a useful talent, first for her cons and later for undercover work with Bo. She has dozens of wigs ranging from blonde to hot pink and can transform her appearance so much that the sarcastic Russian punk has passed as a bubbly blonde sorority hopeful before. 

Background:
As a little girl Kenzi’s life was miserable. She lost herself in fairytales and daydreams as a way to escape her life. Her mother loved her, her vast extended family cared about her, but her stepfather was a cruel man and Kenzi suffered a great deal of abuse at his hands. It was almost harder on her because he never really hurt her. A few bumps or bruises but nothing major, no broken bones, nothing that she could show to the police or even her family and say “I have been abused.” Because of this she has trouble seeing it as abuse, even now.

Logically she knows that it was wrong to lock a child in a closet for hours because she laughed too loudly. Logically she knows it was wrong for him to say things and encourage her to hate herself. Logically she knows it was wrong for him to touch her the way he did.

But abuse is supposed to be a clear example of suffering. Abuse is something more than a grip that’s just a little too tight, a smart comment, or a hand accidentally slipping under the edge of her skirt.

He made her life miserable and she spent her childhood and early teen years in constant fear. Her family has a great many connections and though it is not stated outright it is highly likely that they are part of the Russian Mafia. Her stepfather was no different. Between what he did to her and what he did with the family there was nothing in Kenzi’s world more terrifying than that man. Even Baba Yaga (a mythological Russian witch that is part Boogeyman and part Bloody Mary) was not as frightening as her stepdad... and this from a girl who has always believed in faeries.

At the age of 15 something happened between Kenzi and her stepdad. Something that broke her far beyond what he'd been doing for most of her life. She gave her mother an ultimatum. Either he left... or she did.

Her mother made her decision and from that point on Kenzi's been getting by on her own. She's a survivor and as much as she loves her fairytales and romance novels that's not how the world works. Kenzi did anything necessary to make it. She became a thief, a pick-pocket, a conartist. She lived on the streets, off the generosity of others, off her family's connections. Her mother and stepfather were no longer part of her life but she has aunts and uncles and more importantly a whole slew of cousins with a number of less-than-legal talents.

This was her life for seven years... until one night, while picking pockets at a bar, a man slipped something in her drink. She'd have been raped if the bartender, a beautiful brunette woman, hadn't stepped in, saving her and.... sucking the guy's face off?! Ew-

Perhaps watching a succubus feed was not the most elegant introduction to the Fae but it was Kenzi's first brush with the supernatural. Her opinion on Bo's abilities changed abruptly when she realized she could use her power for persuasion as well. It was the kind of ability a conartist like Kenzi could only dream of.

It was the beginning of a wonderful friendship. Through Bo Kenzi was brought into the fold, into the world she’d dreamed about as a child. Fae exist, they are real, they blend in with humans all over the world, all over their city.

The Fae are divided between two sides, two courts. The Light and the Dark. Upon entering this world the leaders of these courts try to force Bo to chose a side. She refuses. She sides with humans, with Kenzi, and chooses to remain unaligned.

Bo choses instead to act as a neautral private investigator. She makes friends and connections in the Fae world and Kenzi is right there by her side. They were both lost and now together they are settling into a new life. Both trying to keep their heads above water and Kenzi serving as a much needed reminder to Bo that life is more than just the Fae.

Even when that means surrendering the first real chance at a normal life, at happiness that she’s ever had.

The decision to remain unaligned, however, is dangerous. Bo being unable to fully control her powers is dangerous. Knowing so little about a world she is now part of is dangerous. Meddling in Fae affairs without understanding the rules is dangerous.

Life with Bo is dangerous.

But damn if danger isn't interesting.

Previous Game History: n/a!

Personality:
What Kenzi lacks in physical size she makes up for in attitude. As a child she was pushed around, abused, bullied, and spent most of her time lost in daydreams and trying to make herself invisible. It is a skill she still has and still uses from time to time but, more than anything, she wants to be noticed now. As a child her stepfather forced her to give up so many opportunities, give up the chance to live and be a child. She had to be quiet, small, unnoticeable.

Because of this she has an attitude that life is too short to censor yourself and it’s sure as hell too short to let others censor you. She goes all out, she speaks her mind, she holds nothing back. She will get in your face and tell you how it is and is a master at encouraging and persuading others to break out of their shells. She sees a quiet, reserved person and all she sees is that caged little girl she used to be. Whether it is truly for their own good or not she firmly believes that she can help and that getting other to lighten up and have a little fun is for the best.

Bo has the abilities to save everyone’s lives... Kenzi thus takes it upon herself to make people’s lives better. What’s the point of keeping a man alive after a banshee has wailed for him if he has nothing to live for? She is loud and passionate and dramatic. And she pours that into the people around her. She is infectious with her fun-loving attitude and it is part of what makes it so hard for others to turn her down.


In Kenzi’s ideal world everyone can have fun, everyone can be friends, the heroes always win and true love lasts forever. These are things she desperately wants to believe but her life experiences have ensured that she doesn’t honestly think this is possible.

It doesn’t stop her from trying though.

She wants to believe that Bo and Dyson are meant to be and, though she is viciously protective of Bo, she does what she can to keep them together. Anyone in need, anyone with limited time, she will stop at nothing to befriend them and give them the time of their lives.

She rationalizes everything with money but her immediate reaction to most situations is to make impossible, over the top promises. If someone is in need she responds with an offer of help, of closure, of salvation, of the things she believes they need to be happy.... and then she asks how much it’s worth to them. Her instinctive nature is to be as kind as Bo, just as much of a bleeding heart. But she’s been on her own long enough to know that it’s always better to be getting paid for doing things you’d like to do anyway.

Even living on the streets, being a survivor, there are things that she won’t do. She will lie and cheat and steal. Her rap sheet is thicker than a Harry Potter novel. But she will never hurt other people for her own gain, she doesn’t believe humanity is a lost cause and it is perhaps this philosophy that draws her and Bo together. Kenzi has no qualms using other people though. If someone is stupid enough to fall for her tricks then she has no issues parting them from their money and she is highly unlikely to do something for nothing. Cash is best but favors are acceptable too.

A regular paycheck is something she’s never earned before and something she never intends to. She’s never worked a straight job, she’s too much of a free spirit. Taking orders is also something that she has a lot of trouble with. She hates being restrained, held back, or tied down. She played that game when she was a kid. Never again.

She has issues with authority and it is part of why she clings so hard to Bo. The Ash and the Morrigan are both very controlling and both courts are held strictly to tight rules. Neither her nor Bo are built to abide by such rules, to remain within the gilded cage the Ash offers them.

Kenzi’s recklessness is, in part, childish. She is only 22 but has been through so much in her short life. Because of what she was denied in her childhood she does her best to keep herself from ever being too serious now. She wants the fun that she never had as a kid. She lives like a college student, barely doing laundry, letting the dishes build up, eating way too much pizza and drinking like it’s going out of style. But that is how she wants to live and she firmly believes in doing what she wants and nothing else.

It is a show of how close she and Bo become that she begins to change her habits and become more mature for her “besty’s” benefit. She starts cleaning and picking up after herself, though her diet never really improves beyond pizza and cereal. Bo’s isn’t much better so it works out but she puts the effort in which is more than she’s done for others in years. She doesn’t want to be close to anyone, doesn’t want to depend on anyone. It’s too dangerous, too painful. People leave or people hurt her. That’s all.


Despite her determination not to become attached she ends up being incredibly attached not only to Bo but to the others in their lives now. Dyson and Trick, even Hale becomes a close confidant and she accepts comforting hugs from him, tries to involve him in their lives in more than merely a professional manner. After a time she even tolerates Hale calling her “Little Mama”. It is because of how close she allows herself to become to them that she ends up feeling so strongly when she finds out she’s been lied to.

Kenzi is human. She is no match for the people and creatures they go up against. It terrifies her most of the time but when it comes to protecting Bo, even from herself, Kenzi is absolutely fearless. She will say exactly what is on her mind and when Bo goes off to confront something alone Kenzi, terrified or not, would give anything to stand beside her. As a human she would only get in the way and she knows that. Which makes it impossible for her to accept that the people that can help her would willingly stand by. She is the catalyst for Dyson and Trick both to make huge sacrifices, things that she doesn’t understand but still demands they do because they have that power while she is utterly helpless.

They’re the good guys, they’re Fae, they’re practically superheroes and at the end of the day the good guys always win. She can not understand how they could possibly leave Bo to face things alone. Even with the odds stacked against them all she will stand by the people closest to her to the very end.


Skills and Powers:
Kenzi is human, plain and simple. She is small and and weak and near-sighted. There is no way she should be alive after nearly a year fighting super-powered Fae baddies... but she is.

She is a survivor first and foremost. A Luck Fae has even said that’s what she tastes like. A survivor.

What she knows of fighting she’s learned from comic books and anime. He first choice of weapon is a katana, though she doesn’t even know the proper name for it. She does have some basic swordfighting skils though. She’s an amazing bluff and has bullshitted her way out of death even to Baba Yaga, the one creature that terrorized her childhood almost as much as her stepfather.

She’s also shown to be quick with a crossbow and most of all Kenzi doesn’t rattle. She reacts, maybe not the best but she will keep herself alive in impossible situations.

In the events at the end of season 2 Kenzi is also accidentally given a gift from the Norn. It is unsaid what this gift is yet and as it is something that even Kenzi doesn’t know her self-perceptions will not include it... neatly side-stepping the issue of not knowing what she can do now.

Items:
Just herself and a pair of bitchin boots, perfect for kicking Garuda ass, thank you very much.

Writing samples:
Action:

[Wide pale blue eyes, rimmed in a heavy layer of black liner, are all that can be seen at first. Fear and suspicion obvious in the gaze. Then the mirror is shifting back swiftly, the view of the young woman looking into the mirror expanding as her hands move from directly in front of her face to her knees. She bends over, the hand holding the mirror now offering an upside down view of her surroundings, the other bracing herself against her own knee. Her breathing is a little shaky, a weak nervous laugh spilling out and she shakes her head, sending black strands dancing across the screen for a moment.

Then she's tipping the mirror up to look into it for a moment, smiling cheekily with relief.]

Whew! Y'know the last time I talked to a mirror things didn't work out so well. [Another shaky laugh and then she's straightening, smiling and shaking her whole body, a small almost disgusted sound accompanying it as though she could shake off the fear like a dog shakes of water.]

Right! So what's the sitch?

Third Person Prose:
“Thy will be done, with harm to none.
Thou cannot harm them, Bo.”
Her eyes clenched shut as she finished saying the words, almost afraid to know if it worked, if it hadn’t. She could hear Lauren’s concerned voice, hear Trick reassuring her that Bo would be okay and suddenly it was as if all of the last few hours piled up on her, the bloodloss, the fear, the adrenaline, the persistent sharp throb in her side where the Berserker’s blade had cut into her, even with Hale’s healing.

Her hands curled tighter around his hand to steady herself but somehow there was nothing, no hand between hers, no arm supporting her, no warmth from the siren’s body beside her. “Guys... I thought we were done with the magic tricks?”And if there’s a hint of a whine in her voice she feels perfectly justified in that.

Especially since she’s slumping to her knees, eyes blinking open to stare down at the blood soaked handkerchief in her hands. There’s grass beneath her knees, dew soaking into her pants and she pouts down at it. “Look is this about the tree thing? Because if it is you really need to get your priorities straight.”

But there’s no answer, no one around, just a mirror and an archway and some suits of armor that look something off the set of Lord of the Rings.

“I’m wishing I was in a mental institution. How bizarre is that?” More words, muttered to herself, a constant stream of snark to make herself feel better. But she would give anything to be back in that room, back in the asylum the Garuda had holed himself up in. Anything to not be facing a mirror again.

Then Kenzi is stuffing the handkerchief into her back pocket, shoving herself awkwardly to her feet. “Lemme guess...” She muttered to the armor, not really expecting a response. Really they’d have helped the bloody girl up if they were really knights. Chivalry and all that.

Or they’d have killed her while she was down.

“Into the rabbit hole?” And she lets one fingertip trace over the mirror’s surface, cringing as it rippled under her touch. “I hate mirrors.”

But she stepped through anyway, really wishing she hadn’t let Val take her crossbow.
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