United States of America - Emmeline M. Bennet

[Emmeline M. Bennet]

Name: Emmeline May Bennet
Nicknames: Em, Emmy, Emma, Li, Em-Li, Sugartits, Mel
Age: 20
Date of Birth: August 1st
Gender: Female
Occupation: Student/Waitress/Animal Shelter Volunteer
Heritage: Mediterranean House Gecko
Seed Rank: Flight Seed
Birthplace: Houston, Texas, USA

Appearance:
Emmeline Bennet is a lovely young woman, standing at a height of 5'9" barefooted, with shoulder-length strawberry blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Her limbs are long, feet and hands larger than most girls her age, and her figure is a lovely hourglass shape. While her waist isn't super-thin like many women with a similar body-shape, her hips have a lovely curve to them and her bust is rather impressive. Her clothing choice only draws more attention to her physique, a wardrobe filled with various short skirts or shorts, knee-high boots, and shirts that show off her midriff. Just by a glance at her carefree expression, smile wide and near bright enough to blind, it's easy to see the confidence she has in herself.

Despite her feminine appearance, though, Emmeline is not one to be underestimated. Underneath soft, supple skin, lie muscles worked into bands of steel from heavy work. Mucking horse stalls, carrying hay bales, hefting pigs, building fences, repairing the barns, relandscaping; these are just a few of the jobs that Emmeline has done around the ranch since she was a child. She also had a stint during her adolescence as a rodeo competitor. While no, she may not be high on the food chain, and in her gecko-form she's best at fleeing, she still has the power to lay someone out flat on their back if she wants to. Because of those muscles, though, Emmeline does weigh more than the average girl her height and shape.
Distinguishing Features:
Emmeline's hair is a lovely shade of blonde with just a touch of red to it, and rarely does she go without two red bobby pins or hair clips in her hair to keep it out of her eyes. Her hair itself often changes colors depending on the lighting, ranging from "honey butter blonde" during particularly bright summer days to "almond creme" dark blonde in the winter. Otherwise, her hair is normally a light strawberry blonde. She also has a wing and star tattoo upon her shoulders, a birthday present to herself once she was old enough to be considered an adult. Other than these things, Emmeline stands out as an entity, not due to a single aspect of herself.
Sexual Orientation:
Bicurious--Emmeline's only ever dated boys, her upbringing having seen to that, but now that she's away from home and able to live how she likes, she's open to seeing what it's like on the other side of the fence.

Likes:

• America: Emmeline is a true patriot, forever proud of the fact that she was born in the United States of America. It's more than just the holidays, the Fourth of Julys, the Memorial Days, Veteran's Days, more than that--every day is spent celebrating the fact that Emmeline was born in the land of the free. Of course, this doesn't mean she puts down other nations, of course not, nor does she ignore the fact that her country has done some bad things in the past. But that doesn't ruin the splendor of the USA, or her pride in her nation.
  
• Equality: Anything a man can do, a woman can do as well. In a sense, Emmeline is a feminist. Having grown up on a ranch without any brothers, she was often called in by her Pa to do the work others in her community would call "men's work". She was able to prove that she did it just as well, if not better than any of the ranchhands, but the teasing she had initially received spurred her on really rubbed her the wrong way, especially since she had always felt like one of the boys.
  
• Animals: Being a zuman usually means that one is more conscious of the treatment towards animals, but Emmeline takes it a step beyond the general animal-lover. She spent most of her life around animals, and while she's by no means a vegetarian, she hates it when people are cruel to animals, and she's more than ready to show people what they earn with their cruelty. Even insects deserve at least a little consideration--she doesn't kill them except when she's in animal form and can't help but eat them.
  
• Cute Things: She just can't help it--cute things just grab her attention and she adores them. Cute clothes, cute animals, cute people, she by no means hides how happy cute things make her.
  
• Food: Food is one of life's greatest pleasures if you let it be, and there's nothing better than American cuisine--dipping just about anything you want in a fryer and eating it. Of course, she's willing to try just about anything once--food is food!
  
• Fights: If there's one thing that Emmeline has a real thirst for, it's adrenaline. She loves the rush she gets when she does something dangerous, and the rush of pride once she proves that she can not only pwn any ass that dares challenge her, but she looks fabulous while doing so.
  
• Baseball: While football is a fan favorite all over the country, the true American Pasttime has been and will always be baseball. Emmeline's been going to baseball games ever since she was little, and she played all the time with the boys in the neighborhood. It's her favorite sport.
  
• Sun: Since it's very easy for Emmeline to get cold, even during the warmest times of the year, she's always very happy to sprawl out in the sun and soak up the rays.
  
• New Things/Fun: Emmeline has a bit of a short attention span, and she prefers when things are engaging, upbeat, and hands-on in order to keep her focused and entertained.
  
• Romances: Who doesn't love a good romance? While Emmeline isn't always one to just curl up with a book, when she's in the mood she enjoys ones with the epic love stories. Chick flics and dramas are always entertaining as well, filled with more excitement than most of the relationships she's been in. She dreams that, one day, she'll find the wonderful soulmate that destined just for her, but along the way a few trysts and epic affairs will be fun, too~

Dislikes:

• Jerks:

[/b] The world is filled with them, Emmeline knows this, but that doesn't make her dislike them any less. In fact, it upsets her even more--why would anyone waste their time being rude to people when you can be happy and nice with everyone? Any jerk that thinks they can push her around, though, have another thing coming: her fist. <3
[/li][li]Perverts: Just because Emmeline is confident with her body doesn't mean that she shows it off just so that people can act like she's only trying to please them. There's a difference between aesthetic appreciation and trying to feel up something you have no right nor permission to touch.
[/li][li]Boredom: No one likes being bored, but this zuman particularly despises it. Her life has been filled with busy-busy-busy, and while she can slow down to appreciate things if she wants to, she much enjoys a more fast-paced lifestyle. That's why city-life was so appealing to Emmeline, despite the fact that she adores the countryside and the ranch she grew up on.
[/li][li]Being Told What to Do:[/b] Emmeline M. Bennet is an independant woman, and she always has been. She doesn't let people tell her what to do, because she can figure out what she wants for herself, thank you. She has a brain, let her use it. If she makes a mistake, that's her own fault and she'll fix her problems herself. No one knwos her better than herself, after all, and anyone who thinks otherwise is a rude jerk who needs to step off before they're shoved off!
[/li][li]Cruelty: The capability for cruelty against other living creatures that exists in humanity is absolutely appalling to Emmeline. Life is a wonderful, precious thing, and to torment others over such silly things as ethnicity, race, religion, or even differing opinions is completely sickening. Not only is it awful to see it happening between people, but for a person to abuse a hapeless animal, that just strikes a cord deep inside her that unleases a real beast. While yes, fighting and killing is normal in the animal world, they never go out of their way to attack another animal just for fun. If she had any say in the matter, which of course she does, she would have it so that everyone would just get along, treat each other with respect. Those who can't give that common courtesy to the other beings that exist on this beautiful earth deserve a baseball bat to the face.
[/li][li]Non-Patriots: While Emmeline believes that judging others for where they come from is wrong, she also can't tolerate people who hate the country they live in. Yes, every country has its skeletons in the closet, and people grow up in difficult circumstances, but putting down your own country is just not cool! Instead of bitching about how corrupt the government is, or how you hate how close-minded the people you live with/near are, work to fix it! Flapping your gob isn't going to solve anything! Besides, there's always something good even in the worst times, and to ignore that is just dumb! People are dumb.
[/li][li]Dreary Days: Weather is a part of the world, Emmeline knows this, and she has no problems with heavy rains or anything like that, dreary days are just no fun. When it rains, the pitter-patter of rainfall against the window is relaxing. Even hail is fun to watch! However, when the sky is that drab gray color and it's just murky, she hates that. It feels like the life is just sucked out of you, leaving you limp and listless when you should be out exploring. Dreary days are boring, and just not fun. Give her sunlight or give her a thunderstorm, not the crappy days in between.
[/li][li]Mismatched Colors: This is more than just an aesthetic displeasure--Emmeline is just rubbed the wrong way on an almost instinctual level when she sees people, especially people she knows very well, wear colors that should not go together. Because of this fact, she spends ages making sure that everything she wears looks perfect together. Making a faux pas like that would be so irritating.
[/li][li]Schoolwork: Emmeline is one of those students who went to college because they were told that was the best idea for the future--her parents insisted on it, so she decided she would enroll. This decision wasn't for her financial future, like her parents wanted, though. She knew that there were far more opportunities to travel as a college student than if you immediately joined the work-force. But, going in hand with her desire for foreign adventure, homework was obviously part of the picture. And she hates homework. It's so dull![/li][/ul]
Interests/Hobbies:

• Horseback Riding/Rodeos: Emmeline has always enjoyed horseback riding--growing up on a ranch with horses does that for a child, though. But the rush of her hair flying behind her, the sensation that you're moving faster than the earth, those sensations that she had grown to adore first came to her on the back of her first horse, Lumpkin. She always felt comfortable around horses, for they were animals that were emotional and bonding in a way that a lot of her other pets were not. There's also a sense of power that comes with controlling such strong, fierce creatures that she grew addicted to as she was taught to train the horses--to break them in. That led to her following her father to the rodeo, and then coercing him into allowing her to compete. Whenever she gets the chance, she's off riding.
  
• Exercise: In order to forcibly show people that she deserves to be taken seriously, Emmeline needs to keep up her current physique. So she makes it a habit to visit the gym at least three times a week, spending her extra time at home working out at home. Of course, she enjoys earning a good ol'fashioned sweat and the ritual relaxing bath afterwards.
  
• Adrenaline-Sports: Going almost hand-in-hand with Emmeline's love of horse-back riding, or rather the next step, is Emmeline's love for high-adrenaline sports. Skydiving, parasailing, hang-gliding, bungee-jumping, parkour, white-water rafting even simple paintballing and surfing--Emmeline adores them all, and has either partaken in them, or plans to at some point in her life. These types of sports remind her that she is alive, and they appeal to her energetic, self-sufficient lifestyle.

Aspirations:

• World-Traveler: The world is a vast, awe-inspiring place, and Emmeline wants to experience it all first-hand--in fact, if ever there was a way to immortality, she would seek it simply so she can enjoy the splendors of the world forever. this is why she chose to study abroad in France when the offer was given to her--it's the first step to her exploring the planet and everything it has to offer her.
  
• Finding Herself: Yes yes, there's all this new stuff that talks about how a person does not "find" themself, but rather they "create" themself, but what if you don't know or can't find the things you need to "create" yourself? The problem is she hasn't found what she wants to do with herself. Sure, she has some goals that she'd love to accomplish, but she is scared that she won't have the means to fulfill those dreams--she has to do something after she gets what she wants, right? So what is she supposed to do? She doesn't know, and that scares her. So, even if she hates schoolwork and being told what to do, she wouldn't mind a little advice now and then.
  
• Breaking a World Record: Emmeline is a highly active person, and after seeing Felix Baumgartner's super-sonic, near-space skydive last year instilled in her the drive to beat him. Maybe not at skydiving, even if that would really be the best idea, or simply breaking a world record in a way that completely eclipses his success. Being the first person to walk on Mars would be a good start, right?

Fears:

• Living a Boring Life: There have been times, mostly when she's swamped with schoolwork, that Emmeline has worried that her life could possibly become boring like this forever. After all, most people go and get tedious office jobs, right? Or they go home and get married and have kids and work some family business? As much as she loves her parents and the ranch she grew up on, this girl has bigger plans than that. Despite her confidence in herself, though, Emmeline still has the fear that she won't be able to live up to her own expectations of herself.
  
• Freezing: Emmeline has no problem with winter or the snow, really, but the cold has this ability to suck the life out of her. Even in human form, she needs to stay active to retain her warmth, and there's always the lingering fear that she won't be able to. She's seen what happens to lizards and snakes that don't manage to find somewhere warm in the winter
  
• Drowning: This fear is tied in rather closely with her fear of freezing, but with an added twist--Emmeline isn't very good at swimming. One of the few sports she's participated in that she's not stellar at. She just can't seem to float, and the water always manages to suck the heat, and with it the energy, right out of her. While that's all fine and dandy in a swimming pool, when it comes to lakes or, now, the Mediterranean Sea, she's scared that if she were to try, she might not be able to make it back to shore.
  
• Being Unsuccessful: If there's one thing that Emmeline hates more than anything in the world, it's failure. Every time she fails at her swim lessons, when she actually works on homework, only to get a bad grade, any time she tries to convince a person that what they're doing is wrong and them being unable to convince them. Whenever she does something, she does it with the intent of succeeding. And when all her effort is wasted, when she tries something and it fails, she's devastated. But the one thing she really fears, is living a live that's unfulfilled; filled not with the dreams and wishes she has, but bitter disappointment and loss.
  
• Being Disliked: Emmeline knows that she can be overbearing, she's been told that plenty of times in her life. She loves herself just the way she is, but she also loves having friends that she can hang out with, have fun with, and even just talk to. No matter how many dreams she has, and how much she prides herself on her self-sufficiency in a male-oriented world, she still needs someone around for the harder times in life. While yes, she can't make everyone love her, she still fears that in this new country, in any new situation, she won't be able to convince a single person to like her.

Personality:
Ever since Emmeline was a child, she's always been a loud, cheerful girl, never afraid to share her own opinions. "Mama, I don't want to wear that dress!" "Pa, I wanna help train the filly!" "Billy-Jean, you're a jerk! I'm totally better at baseball, let me play!" These kinds of outbursts were common, and even though the words and opinions have changed, her fearlessness in sharing them has not. Though she has learned that the "inside voice" isn't just something that parents tell their kids to use when they shouldn't be talking at all. The only reason she is so open with her thoughts is because of her confidence in herself. Her parents had made sure she understood just how wonderful she was, but without spoiling her rotten like some of the other children in the neighborhood were.

Because fo her own self-confidence, though, Emmeline has a problem understanding others, especially when they hate themselves. After all, people are beautiful, why can't they see that? So why can't they be respectful to others, or to themselves? There's nothing wrong with anyone, unless they choose to make something wrong for themselves. The wrongs that exist in the world, exist because people have created them. So the fact that no one can understand that infuriates her. And when her temper is activated, problems run abound.

If there's one major flaw that stands out the brightest, it's this girl's temper. When it's unleashed, she won't do a thing to deter it. It burns hot, it burns bright, and it burns people who stand in the way of its power. For when she gets angry, she lashes out. While she does think that people are beautiful, people are also dark, sickening beings and nothing solves things better than a nice bout of violence. It shows that she is not one to be messed with, and it puts people back into their place. Plus, a punishment for a wrong-doing isn't wrong, it's only what you deserve.

Despite this character flaw, though, when Emmeline is in a good mood, she's mischevious, fun-loving, and a very loyal friend. She enjoys spending time with people, whether they be loud, quiet, exciting, over-the-top anal, any sort of person she can convince to join in her own idea of fun. She has a bit of a problem understanding that hiking, paintball, spelunking, shopping, playing baseball, or cooking the fattiest, calorie-induced foods possible aren't other peoples' ideas of fun. Thankfully, though, if she's able to be convinced to do something different if the words "new" or "interesting" are used. This Texas girl is by no means one to let an opportunity to enjoy something new pass her by. And, often enough, she ends up enjoying these new things that come her way. It's very easy to please Emmeline, because you have to enjoy the little things that come your way.

When it says she's loyal, that means she's loyal. She defends her friends from everything, whether it be a bully, a hard, boring day at work, or even from themselves. She just wants people to be happy, to enjoy life just as much as she does. And she does not fight the losing fight--which means she will not give up, ever. Not unless she is forced to. Because when she sets her mind to something, she is stubborn as a mule. While that is a childish quality, it's one that will never leave.

Another childish trait of Emmeline's is her pride--she's not one to accept help when things are getting her down. She is a strong, capable person, and thus she feels that asking for help is an insult to herself. It's also very humiliating, a sense of failure that she hates more than anything. Whatever problems she has, she makes for herself, and will take care of herself. though, she is always touched that people would care enough to offer, and she'll do what she can to show that appreciation that doesn't actually involve accepting that help. Of course, if someone means enough to her that she doesn't mind looking weak to them, she's willing to let her pride go. But that is a very, very difficult thing for her to find. She does highly favor her friends above others, but that makes her all the more likely to play the pillar of strength rather than ask for their help with anything.

Family:

• Sally-Carole Bennet [Mother] - NCP
  
• Richard Bennet [Father] - NCP
  
• Marceline Winters* [Sister] Fem!Canada

Brief History:[/color]
Emmeline May Bennet was born to twenty seven year old Richard Bennet and twenty year old Sally-Carole Faye as an unexpected, but happily-anticipated surprise. From the get-go, it was obvious that little Emmeline was going to be a handful--she didn't cry much, and being as small as she was, it was hard to keep track of her. Fortunately for her parents, or unfortunately to the others, she was a terribly fussy child who commanded attention on her at all times. She refused to spend time too far away from either parent, immediately beginning to squeak and flail once she felt she was being held by some stranger for too long. You see, she knew who fed her, and that it was a dumb idea to stray too far away from the hand that fed you when you couldn't feed yourself. Or at least, she knew the infant equivalent of that mentality. Once she was old enough to maintain a human form and crawl, of course, it was another story entirely. There were no baby-proofed locks she couldn't undo, no fence she couldn't climb, or anything she couldn't stay out of. There was no stopping her childish curiosity, or use up all her energy.

So once she was about four years old or so, Emmeline was put to work helping out with the chores on the family ranch. At that time, the land was still owned by her grandparents, but regardless she was sent to do the little chores, like get the eggs, feed the chickens and other pets, or help Mima Bennet with the gardens. Of course, once she was old enough to do these chores without supervision, she demanded to help her parents with the harder chores, because Emmeline was a "big girl, she can do the grown-up stuff!" It took so much time to convince everyone that she was, indeed, capable of doing more than pulling weeds or throwing corn on the ground. But they decided that the horses were always a safe enough environment, so long as she wasn't allowed near the wild ones.

Emmeline had been hearing stories of cowboys for as long as she could remember, so once she got to play around the horses, and was being taught how to ride them, she considered herself a real-true cowboy. She'd spend every opportunity she could in the stables with the horses, especially taking care of the newest filly, Lumpkin. Even mucking the stables was a better chore simply because she was in the stables with the horses. It was just what she enjoyed doing.

On the opposite side of spectrum, though, Emmeline would often be told that she wasn't allowed to help with sorting the cattle, joining her dad and the other men on the cattle drives, butchering the pigs--none of them were jobs befitting a lady. Emmeline took great offense to that. After all, this was Texas, the women here were just as strong as the men, and capable of doing just as much of the work. So, even as she was grooming the horses, she was rough-housing with the boys her age. At first, she wasn't taken seriously--she wasn't as strong as the taller boys, but they would always go easy on her because they were worried she'd cry and tattle if she lost. Not only did this include playing tag or football or baseball, but even in the wrestling matches or the straight-out fights that would break out every so often, and it was infuriating that they were acting like she would break from a single tough. How was he going to prove her mettle if they didn't even give her a chance? It's not like there were any girls around to play house with, or dress up. It all changed when one boy in particular poked fun at her for wanting to be one of the boys because she wasn't prety enough to be a real girl did she prove that she was not someone to be taken lightly. Even though that boy had been a Light Seed dog, Emmeline sent him to the hospital with a broken nose and a massive concussion.

No one messed with her after that--Mama was furious that she'd be so violent over something so false, but Papa was proud. After all, he didn't have any boys to carry on the name, but he has a daughter who's willing to follow in his own footsteps, rather than his lovely debutante wife. Once she'd proven to the boys that she could easily handle the exact same things they could, life was much easier. She was allowed to help with Papa's chores as well as Mama's, and the boys could be coerced into playing dress up, dolls, and all sorts of other "girly" pass-times. Because of this acceptance, the blonde was allowed to join the men in all the cowboy chores that she desperately yearned for, as well as the training of the wilder horses. She had a real knack for that, which she followed on by joining the amateur-league rodeo a few years later. Of course, she also joined in on the beauty pagents, because Emmeline had to be the best at everything she wanted to do--be both the best cowboy and the prettiest girl in Texas. It was a compromise her parents could both agree on, if a bit reluctantly on her Mama's part. Mostly that reluctance had to do with Emmeline's less than stellar grades at the zuman-only school in Houston, less than an hour's drive from the ranch. She shirked her schoolwork for her training and her social-life, and the money she earned from her rodeo competitions always went straight into shopping trips for costumes and clothing.

All that changed quite abruptly just before her seventeenth birthday. While she had been practicing for the upcoming junior-league competition, the winner of which would get to perform in the adults' tournament a few weeks after that, Emmeline caught her hand in the strap and was dragged along behind the bull she'd been riding. Her left leg was broken, and she violently dislocated her shoulder before her father and a few of the others were able to stop the bull and pull her free. Due to the accident, neither of her parents allowed her to perform at the rodeo again, under any circumstances. Her injuries also hindered her admittance in the Miss Texas beauty pagent. It seemed like her entire would had simply ended, with all of her favorite things taken away from her, and she was very subdued and silent for many weeks, even after she had finished healing. Only when Lumpkin, her favorite mare even all these years latter, began to go into labor did she rise out of her depression, in order to help the birthing process. The colt was named Bumpkin, and, as she had in the past, Emmeline spent most of her time in the stables, taking care of the foal, dam, and eventually the other animals as well.

Her parents also helped the blonde see that what had happened to hear several months back were not mistakes, or things she should lament so badly--her hand getting caught like that was an unfortunate accident, and it was for her own health that she couldn't participate in the Miss Texas pagent. Thanks to this, her pride shouldn't have been damaged, which helped immensely with her attitude. Even unable to continue with her previous obsession, Emmeline instead devised more plans for the future, and filled the gap the lack of rodeo left in her life with different adrenaline-inducing sports. Now, though, she saw that she couldn't only focus on one dream and hope for the best--she had to have several back-up plans, and lots of extra skills in order to get the things she wants. So she threw herself into her schooling, dramatically increasing her abysmal GPA to the fourth-highest in her class.

After graduating high school, Emmeline wanted initially to just stay and work on her parents' ranch, which they inherited once her grandparents retired and moved to the coast, but Richard and Sally-Carole denied that request. They wanted her to go to college, to go and gain a further education in order to get a job better than a simple ranch-hand. This caused a huge fight and a bit of a rift between Emmeline and her parents, but eventually she gave in and applied. She had, and still has no idea what exactly she wants to do, but she was accepted and currently working on a Liberal Arts major, with a second major of Physical Fitness Technician. After her freshman year, she was offered to study in France for the remainder of her undergraduate studies, an opportunity she immediately took due to a desire to see the world. Now she's flying to Paris, and taking the train down to Banyuls-sur-Mer, where she will spend the summer settling into the foreign setting before classes begin again in the fall.

OOC
Name/Alias: Reed
Age: 21
Favorite Pairings: Open, AngelDoll
Do you want to be Cbox, Thread, or Both: Both
Did you read the rules? I came here to make you dance tonight
I don't care if I'm a guilty pleasure for you
Shut up, 'cause we won't stop
And we're getting down till the sun's coming up

"Oh wooooow!" Emmeline whistled, eyes wide as she stepped out of the train station and caught her first real sight of Banyuls-sur-Mer. The sun was shining brightly, sky a rich shade of blue. Standing at the front of the train station, road went straight down the hill and gave her an unobstructed view of much of the city, all the way down to the bay. Sure, this was still just the residential section, but the sight of tile roofs and clothes fluttering on lines from small balconies was still as beautiful as any she'd seen since first landing on French soil. It helped that the weather was absolutely gorgeous, not a single cloud in the sky, and that she was getting plenty of second glances from the people entering and exiting the train station. The brim of her hat fluttered in the breeze, so the blonde lifted a manicured hand to keep it in place upon her head. With the weather being so nice and all, she'd felt more than comfortable donning a pair of short shorts and a baby-blue off-the-shoulder crop top, hanging loosely around her ribs.
A wide grin threatened to split her face in half as she just soaked in the sight of the city before her--her new home, at least for the next few years. "Damn, I didn't think they'd have these kinda sights outside the U.S!" She exclaimed, grinning as she hefted her large backpack over one shoulder, the rest of her luggage having already been shipped to her new townhouse. "I can't wait to live here!"

[Carr]