ᴛʜɪsᴀᴠʀᴏᴜ

[gravid]

OUT OF CHARACTER

Player Name: Nat
Are you 16 or older: 25
Contact: manibus
Current Characters: N/A
Tag: miray

IN CHARACTER
Name: Miray
Canon: Original
Canon Point: Two weeks before her euthanization
Age: 5 in years, early 20s in mental/physical development

History: Verse Background | Character Background

Personality:

To understand Miray, it is first important to understand that she has never had any contact with the world outside of House Gloriana. From the moment she was first conscious, the House has been all she's ever known, and more than that, she was taught from that first moment that there is no fighting the House. She was created to serve the House and she will die serving the House. KN1s like Andyr and Alva and Valarie grew up in the real world, KN2s like Posie leave the Houses on occasion, but Miray never has and never will. She has no concept of what the world outside is like beyond movies and books, and, at this stage in her life, no hope that she'll ever see it. Due to this, Miray is in many ways very childlike and naive.

Having grown up entirely in House Gloriana, Miray has never seen the outside world. She's never seen dogs or birds or cats or even insects, only seen flowers grown in Gloriana's indoor garden, only read medical or informational nonfiction books, only ever seen a handful of videos in her whole life. This shelteredness gives her a childlike fascination and wonder over the outside world, not unlike the little mermaid. Where Ariel is interested in land, however, Miray is interested in the whole world. She understands the outside world in theory, but having never seen any of it, she doesn't know how to apply that theory to real life, has no concept of what it might really be like. She's alternately depressed and defeated by this and invigorated by it, the knowledge that there's so much she doesn't understand and will never get to experience. For most of her life she's avoided asking questions of the people she knows have seen the outside world, seeing it as cruelty to both them and herself, but has lately grown less concerned with the futility of it all — she wants to see the world, even indirectly, through the eyes of the people she trusts.

Though Miray would, left to her own devices, be a passive and reactionary person no matter what, the feeling of helplessness she's experienced living in Gloriana has only magnified that trait. Miray doesn't fight back at any point in her five years of life, out of belief that fighting would do nothing but cause herself more grief. She's barely keeping herself emotionally afloat as it is, and she's seen the way combative mice are treated, how Andyr is beaten or put in isolation or worse when he fights back — she doesn't have the energy for it, and she doesn't want to be hurt. Even more than not having the energy, however, she truly doesn't believe she can fight back — as a mouse she's strong, yes, but even her durable body is broken down from repeatedly sustaining twin fetuses for over half her life. She's pregnant more often than she isn't, weak from the drain on resources twin fetuses put on her body, and nobody ever taught her how to fight; she has no doubt that fighting back would do nothing except make her life harder. Due to her own selfishness, Miray has no desire to do that.

Selfishness is a trait which runs in the Miray line, and can be traced back to the template — Mireille St Luc is a very selfish person, and she passed that trait down to each of her clones. Many of Miray's actions are purely motivated by what is best for her, rather than what is best for anyone else, and she sees nothing wrong with that. She's not cruel in her selfishness, she doesn't want to hurt anyone needlessly, and she'd rather be at the very least polite, if not kind. If it came down to it, though, with very few exceptions, if told to choose between herself and someone else, Miray would choose herself. There are those for whom she would sacrifice her own safety or wellbeing — namely Alva and Andyr Prince — but for the most part, she takes care of herself before she takes care of others, even the children she carries — one might say it would be better for them if Miray fought back or even killed herself, so that she couldn't be used to bring any more children into the world, but Miray's not willing to do that. Even when she has so little to live for, she still does want to live.

Many people in Miray's position would give up on life and the world — there's no hope for her to live a normal life and she has no control over her own circumstances — but Miray is, more than anything else, a survivor. While she wouldn't name herself one, deep down Miray is an optimist, and she does believe that things will turn out one day — if not for her, then for the people she loves. She will live, not for herself, as she has no hope for her own happy ending, but to maybe one day see Alva reunited with his daughter and Andyr returned to the life outside the Houses he misses so much. If it takes being a selfish, weak-willed traitor to her species to live that long (Andyr's words, never Miray's own) then she's willing to be that person. If all she has is her life, then she's going to cling to it by her fingernails if she has to.

Although Miray is by nature a selfish person, her nurture has been such that there are those she would put herself on the line for and feels very protective of. Despite their antagonism and their inability to understand each others' viewpoints, she would put herself in the line of fire for Andyr without hesitation — for her, he's like the shitty older brother she never wanted or asked for, but has anyway. She understands, on some level, that he's just angry at his life and the people around them, and unlike her, he has the energy to fight back. He's annoying as hell, but he is also the kind of person who, when they get along, will make up a future where they and all their friends can move to Alaska and be free because he knows she's afraid to die. No matter their disagreements, Andyr is, in his own weird way, part of Miray's family. Alva, on the other hand, Miray loves fiercely — in fact, he's the only person she does love. Two weeks after her canon point, when Miray is brought to the Gloriana labs to be euthanized, she learns that it's Alva who's going to be made to kill her, and for the first time in her life, she tries to say no — not out of fear for herself, but because she knows it will hurt Alva to be the one who has to put her down. She only relents, in fact, because if she doesn't, her last request will not be honoured: a week off for Alva after her death, for him to recover and grieve her loss. Alva is where Miray's life begins and ends, as far as she's concerned, the only good element of a life lived in slavery.

Contracts:

Miray would sign the contract without thinking much about it — she wasn't taught any life skills back home, and has no ability to survive on a foreign planet on her own. There is no alternative for her but to sign the contract, and that doesn't even really bother her. Having never gone outside Gloriana, the idea of being able to hop from planet to planet excites her more than anything else. She'd sign anything to be able to see the universe.

Abilities/Skills:

KN2 As a carrier of the KN gene, Miray is stronger, more disease-resistant, her bones more dense, than the average human.
ENHANCEMENTS The Miray line of clones was perfected for six years before they got to Miray, and she's got enhancements that not every mouse has as a result — she's durable, both in terms of her structure and in terms of how much stress her organs can stand. She was designed to be able to withstand the strain constant pregnancy puts on a body, and so is even sturdier than most mice.

Strengths/Weaknesses:

( + ) RETAINS INFORMATION Miray has above average recall, purely due to her own desire to remember things — she likes to remember facts and trivia and make a game of testing herself on what she knows.
( + ) LEVEL-HEADED Conflict is not something Miray enjoys or seeks out, and in fact she's only really argued with one person her whole life. She prefers to keep her head clear and avoid getting angry, even when someone (Andyr) is trying to get a rise out of her.
( + ) CARETAKER No matter how Miray feels about it, she was designed to be a mother. Not only is her body suited for this, but her temperament is as well, and she is a naturally adept caretaker, suited to motherhood or taking care of unruly adults alike.
( + ) QUICK LEARNER While Miray hasn't had much opportunity to learn about the world around her in Gloriana, she is curious and excited about everything around her, and genuinely wants to learn as much as she can about the world. Added to her above average recall, this enthusiasm means she learns new concepts quickly.

( - ) LACK OF EDUCATION Miray was taught only the basics in every field — she can read, write, and do basic math, but has never been called on to do much more. She's a better reader than she is anything else, because she read to keep herself entertained much of the time, but her handwriting is sloppy and she can only do basic addition and subtraction. She knows nothing about history or science.
( - ) DECLINING HEALTH At five years old, Miray is the oldest any iteration of her line has ever gotten. She's been pregnant 30 of the 60 months she's been alive (if I mathed right, oi), and the strain it's put on her body has caught up with her. She would not be able to sustain another pregnancy, and without some kind of intervention her body will give up in about a year.
( - ) PASSIVE Inaction is easier and safer than action, and Miray is much more given to do the easier, safer thing than put herself in unnecessary danger.
( - ) COMBAT Though Miray is as strong and durable as any mouse, all that potential is wasted — she has no idea how to fight, and it's entirely possible her body is in such poor health that she couldn't even if someone wanted to teach her.

Items:

All Miray will come in with is the clothes on her back — namely, white linen scrubs. She keeps nothing else on her person.

SAMPLES
Network Sample: Sample 1 with Andyr and Alva | Sample 2 with Alva, Levi, Andyr, et al | Sample 3 with Andyr continued here

Prose/Action Sample: Savrou TDM Top Level