about laurie!

[prismaticbleed]

All right I actually just had to type out this big description about Laurie for someone, so here it is for the heck of it.
(Mind you this was written for someone who knows nothing about headspace or our System, so I apologize for that!)



"So, this is Laurie Uberich. She's an interesting character and she means a lot to me.

 



She has a Greek nose, and 'rectangular'-shaped eyes. She has a piercing gaze and thick squared-off eyebrows, which both give her a stern but vigilant expression. Her face shape is a bit hard to pin down, as it is also squarish, but the angles are slightly softer.
She's also biologically androgynous-- she has a flat chest, boyish hips and broad shoulders. Her body type is athletic and solid. She's strongly muscular, but it's not overstated in terms of definition.
Her hair is straight but thick, and measures down to her chin. She wears it in exaggerated layered spikes.
Outfit-wise, she wears a faded purple vest jacket, with no sleeves and no buttons either (it stays open), as well as a pair of violet pants with three fastening belts on the lower legs, and one simple black waist belt. She also wears a pair of heavy steel-toed boots, which are also a faded purple. Most importantly, she wears a lot of bandages, as she's basically covered in (often new) battle scars. Her entire torso and right arm, and her left arm from the shoulder to the wrist, are wrapped up. It's also common for these to be somewhat bloodied as a result, but it's never major.
Her most identifying feature is a large, deep scar around the entire front half of her neck, which she does not cover up for personal reasons.

Her job in her world is a Protector, someone who ensures the safety of all those under her care, almost like a knight. Because she had a lot to protect people from at the start, she was terribly brutal for years, in every respect, with a harsh and angry edge that kept everyone at arm's length from her. Her appearance and attitude made it very clear that she was not to be messed with. However she was secretly terrified that if she let those psychological walls down, the things she was fighting would use her to hurt those she silently cared about. So it took her many years to allow herself to be open to others at all, despite her always wishing she could be.
Beneath her characteristic aggression, Laurie is surprisingly compassionate and understanding. She can be markedly selfless, and goes far out of her way for those who need her, without question or exceptions, even if it's entirely behind the scenes. She doesn't seek attention or reward, and gets somewhat uncomfortable when people do start praising her. To her, she's just "doing her job," even if she really treasures what she does.
Besides acting as a sort of bodyguard to everyone she knows (people just expect her to at this point), Laurie is also the go-to person for psychological advice, as she is hellbent on making sure no one succumbs to the darker thoughts or impulses that she battles. She is brutally honest, with unflinching integrity, and demands the same of everyone else. She will confront anyone without hesitance if they are refusing to make progress. Even if she's absolutely furious with someone, she will try (with unfailing patience) to help them improve as a person, and conquer whatever problems they are currently fighting with. She's also been known to spend hours on end with people in crisis situations, refusing to give up until they are in a stable state.
Laurie does not dwell on the negative, nor does she worry needlessly. She is quite relaxed on her good days, taking life as it comes and enjoying every moment of peace and community she has... and of course, encouraging everyone else to enjoy life too.
As far as body language goes, Laurie always has an air of "owning the place," but she often lounges around if the situation isn't serious, arms over the backs of chairs and all. She knows she means business, as does everyone else, so she can afford to be casual about it. She tends to talk with her hands when making a point, leaning forward in attention, completely focused on the present matter. She has a loud voice but a level, authoritative tone, and people listen when she talks. She also has a habit of using profanity, a habit from her early brutal days that she is trying to overcome.


Her personal color is violet, a color tied to honor, truth and wisdom. Her personal "symbols" are axes (her original weapon) and lanterns (like these, which she says she uses to "bring light to people"). I also personally associate her with laurel crowns and the element of gold.


And a few meaningful quotes from her:

"I'm a brutal sonofagun but I'm no shadow. I can change for the better, and so help me but I will."
"You could ask me to die for you right now and I would do it. And so help me but I'm starting to want to do that for a heck of a lot of people, and it scares me that I'm feeling this much all of a sudden..."
"I always laugh in the face of death. Doesn't mean I'm not scared of it."
"Can't do my job very well if I'm an emotional mess, now can I?"
"I will get you out of this terrified mindset permanently, even if it kills me."
"Listen, kid, if I'm not listening to my heart, then I'm a failure as a protector."
"I wanted to keep you from becoming me. I didn't want you turning into a pitiless scourge, like I was to you. I didn't ever want to see you darken enough to close everyone else out, to become so bloody one-sided that as soon as I stopped swearing and tried to be nice to you, you thought something was wrong."
"I act like the knight in shining armor here, but honestly, I need someone to save me too, sometimes. That's what this whole fiasco is about, there you go. There's the big secret. The battleaxe superego guardian needs someone to back her up, too. Laurie needs someone to run to at the end of the day and she's never had the bloody guts to admit it until now. I act like the boss but I've been pretty freakin' lonely with these trust issues I've been dealing with. No one got close. Except you, kid. Against all odds you still dared to get close, despite the axes I'd swing at you, despite how I swore at you, despite the blood I spat at you-- I tried to commit suicide right in front of you and you tried to save me, for God's sake, I never told you how much that meant to me, did I?"

Sorry for all this text but I just wanted to make sure I had all the bases covered with a description.
Hope that works!"