Anastasia

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.”

NAME: Anastasia Ward

GENDER: Female She/Her

BIRTHDAY: Heliun 16th

AGE: 24

HEIGHT: 5’2’’

HERITAGE: Human

TITLE: Aspiring Photographer

HOMESTEAD: TBD

PERSONALITY: 

Anastasia comes across as fairly blunt and annoyed about most things. In truth she suffers from a bit of resting bitch face, and would prefer to be considered bossy than be vulnerable for more than 30 seconds. She’s impatient and stern, but despite this she doesn’t actually hate everyone. She just doesn’t know how to act softer. If she nags you about not eating enough or for getting sick it means she cares and is worried about you. She’s also quick to do things for other people without being asked but will often deny having done anything if asked.

She’s spent much of her life just trying to survive, and was met with a similarly stern attitude from her peers. 

She values honesty and efficiency and is thick skinned when it comes to insults or harsh truths. One of the sole exceptions to this is about her health or her own physical abilities, which is when her stubbornness comes to a peak. She loathes being told she can’t do something, even if it’s true. It has to be her who decides that she can’t do something, otherwise she’ll push herself well beyond her limits.

After her early “retirement” she started embracing her love of softer and more feminine things. She is fully aware that her personality doesn’t quite match the way she looks and dresses, but she holds a lot of love for things she considers to be beautiful.

She doesn’t like to talk much about it, but she’s actually very sentimental. She likes collecting photos and taking them as ways to hold onto good memories. 

HISTORY: 

Anastasia grew up in the north in Kierv, a large and ever-growing city. Almost all of the residents are from smaller surrounding cities and towns that were destroyed or damaged by the storm or harsh weather conditions, and absorbed into Kierv’s territory. The city itself boasts powerful defenses and vast borders that are ever-expanding. It’s a strict and fairly militaristic city with a mandatory 7 year work period for all entering refugees to be enlisted into the expeditions team. This can mean working in relevant factories, building supply lines, or being part of the teams that actually go out on recovery jobs. Being so high north, the frigid temperatures are their own challenge even without the storm. The city is fairly technically advanced, but refugee residents seldom can afford those luxuries and the imbalance in wealth is clear. The city only accepts human residents and the occasional starborn, though they will usually be regarded with disdain. Thunderstruck are not permitted citizenship and are not able to enjoy any of the comforts or benefits the city can provide.

Anastasia doesn’t know much about her family, other than that they were refugees from a smaller city that was destroyed and absorbed into Kirev’s borders. She was surrendered by her parents when she was still a baby, so she has no memories of them. Growing up as a ward of the state suited her fine, and she got along fairly well with her peers who felt like siblings. She only ever knew 1 or 2 kids who were actually adopted, since kids are expensive to raise and they weren’t exactly in a well-off area. She was never particularly interested in school, but she was constantly caught doodling on notes. When she was 16 she started her mandatory 7 year service and started working the supply lines. She cut her hair short and dressed practically, determined to just get through her service years to start the rest of her life before worrying about frivolous things. Though she was lucky enough to not be stuck in the factories, her work wasn’t exactly easy. She was often placed face-to-face with the aftermath of the storm. She never imagined she’d have to experience the storm herself, until she was stranded at a post far from the city after a railroad malfunction when the storm hit. She and her colleagues took shelter as much as they could, but the settlement was already in disrepair from the storm a few years before. The last thing she remembers is the sound of the building creaking and groaning before hearing a loud crack. 

The building collapsed on top of them, miraculously with only one casualty. Anastasia wasn’t exactly fortunate though, and had been crushed under the rubble. Her injuries were severe and she was transported back to the capital as quickly as they could, but the damage to her legs was too serious and they couldn’t be saved. She also lost one of her eyes, and was discharged from her service early at the age of 19. Since she was injured on the job, the city paid her medical fees and for her lodgings for 2 years while she recovered. 

She was also able to acquire prosthetics under the city’s medical coverage, where she met the old man, Abram, who designed and fitted her new legs. Though Anastasia was initially difficult to work with, he liked her no-nonsense attitude and bluntness. She reminded him of his own daughter when she was her age, and had an obvious soft spot for her. The physiotherapy was long and intensive, and eventually she went from calling Abram “Old man” to “Gramps.” Unable to find work in any of the factories, Abram let her work at the clinic as his assistant for a few years so she wouldn’t end up on the streets after her 2 year coverage was over. He encouraged her to take her own pictures instead of just collecting other people’s and gave her her first camera. She started taking more pictures and even tried (and failed) to colorize them herself a few times.

When she was 23 Abram revealed he wanted to finally retire and close the business. He knew Anastasia wouldn’t be able to make a living off just her photos, and she didn’t have the official education to work at another clinic so he gave her a large portion of his savings after liquidating everything, and suggested she leave Kierv behind and go somewhere else. He got her the first train ticket out, and from there it was her choice on where to go… 

Eventually she found herself drawn to Galinn’s Peak, a small and rustic town… Sure, why not try something different? 

Extra:

• She has a wheelchair too since her prosthetics aren’t the easiest things in the world to wear.
• She has like, a lot of photos she got through…. Secret means. Including an official book with photos of registering refugees from the time her parents arrived. She often wonders which ones were her parents, and what they might have been like. It’s not something she agonizes over and loses sleep about, but she does often wonder what kind of lives they led before and after coming to Kierv. 
• Ornate eyepatches are something of a hobby for her. Her current favorite is silk flowers but she can and will get seasonal and fun with it.
• She paints her prosthetics because she thinks it’s cute.
• I cannot stress enough how much she loves cute things. She CAN be won over by simply providing her cute trinkets. It’s that easy.
• People are her favorite subject to take photos of.
• She still writes Abram all the time, even though letters take forever to make it to and from the city.
• She’s this