Xiana Esslinger
Contents
Xiana Esslinger
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| Date of Birth | March 13, 2513 |
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Description
A slight, but toned young woman with fair skin, big hazel eyes, and a lightly freckled, highly expressive face. Her nose is slender, with a slight upturn. When she smiles, she does so with wide dimples, perfect white teeth. and a tiny cleft in her chin. Her hair is streaked with shades of auburn, and held up in a casual, messy updo fashion. It's mostly kept out of her eyes, and held together with various clips and pins. Smokey black eye makeup draws attention to her vibrant hazel eyes, and a subdued shade of plum-rose lipstick coats her lips.
At five foot four, she is neither particularly tall nor short. She has a healthy look to her, though she is fairly skinny and lacking in muscle mass. Her body is well-proportioned, with hints of athleticism and curviness combined, giving her a mix of both sultry elegance and innocence. She currently sports an intricate aubergine cardigan, covering her butt and flowing down to her knees in an asymmetrical, ruffled fashion. The wide-collared neckline displays a fair amount of cleavage. Her legs are clad in low-rise faded blue skinny jeans and chunky black leather knee-high boots. A simple golden Star of David pendant hangs on a delicate golden chain around her neck, and silver dangly earrings with bits of amethyst in them hang from her ears.
History
Xiana was born on Ariel to an upper-middle-class couple, affording her all the opportunities and amenities a sheltered life could afford her and her younger sister, Lorelei. Growing up, and throughout schooling, Xiana was both bright and popular. She was adept at both presenting herself the right way to the right people. To her teachers, she was a model student, and to her peers, she was a one of the cool troublemakers.
Early in her life, Xiana discovered story books on her family's bookshelf written in German and Russian. Her mother told her that copies of these books had been handed down since her family lived on Earth That Was during something called the Second World War, and each time one of the books started falling apart, a new one was transcribed or acquired. She insisted on learning the languages in order to read these books, and quickly discovered she was a natural linguist, and had a knack for picking up languages. When her mother insisted on keeping her family's Jewish traditions alive by placing her in Hebrew school, she even picked up the ancient Hebrew language.
She thought at first she would become a historian, specializing in Earth That Was and reading literature written in its native tongue. This led her into liberal arts studies, but as soon as she discovered Drama club, she abandoned most of her studies and never turned back, putting all her efforts into this new pursuit. She spent a lot of time perfecting her dialects and accents, and grew to be a talented actress, but lacked the means to make it big.
When approached by a man named Flint Carrigan, who promised he could make her a star, she naively agreed to his help. Flint succeeded in propelling her to a fair amount of fame. He was always reluctant to share the particulars of how he worked, but she just assumed he knew the right people with the right connections. She didn’t question it. In reality, Flint did have the right connections, most of which included organized criminals that operated under the guise of business, right under the noses of the Ariel authorities. In fact, his connections probably included some prominent figures on Ariel, anyone can be bought for the right price.
For a time, life for Xiana was good. Then, once the money started rolling in, Flint came demanding extra repayment for his services, above and beyond what was promised, claiming it was only his fair share. Naturally, Xiana declined. She claimed that while he did help her career, she paid her debts and they were now square. She no longer needed Flint's services. Next thing she knew. a mysterious video was sent anonymously to her. In it, she could see through the window to her parents home, her family sitting down to an evening meal at home. The barrel of a gun entered the frame, aimed at her mother's head, and the video cut to black, No sooner did she finish watching, did she receive a video message from a figure clouded in shadow. With a computer-distorted voice, it said, "Flint owns you, for as long as you want them to live."
Xiana, now realizing what sort of man her benefactor was, knew she had little chance of standing up to Flint and his goons. She decided to do the only thing she could think of to preserve the lives of her family: she convinced a friend in the movie business to help her fake her own death. She figured it Flint couldn't get his money, and she was no longer any value to him he'd have no reason to pose a threat to her family anymore.
With the aid of a really good practical FX engineer named George Scott, they managed to rig up a complicated system to make it seem like the pyrotechnics exploded, collapsed the set, and trapped Xiana under burning rubble. In reality, and with the aid of classic misdirection, Xiana was dropped to safety and able to escape, like an elaborate magician's trick. Her body was even replaced by a cadaver surreptitiously acquired from a local university, and that's the body that was found when the smoke cleared. She's not sure how her friend managed that one. Since it seemed the death was so obviously an accident, there was little investigation, and the secret, it seemed was safe.
After the news picked up on reports of her death, she then quietly disappeared, never to return to her home planet. It seemed to work, but Xiana knows she's only one bad slip-up away from ruining everything. The weight of this stress gives her terrible nightmares that often end with seeing her family dragged before her and killed. The lack of contact is hard on her, and even though she has convinced herself that they are safer without her, she still worries.
Recent Events
Xiana had been stuck on Persephone with few credits to her name and mounting anxiety that she should not stay put. In an effort to raise some money, she had been taking on odd jobs, mostly cleaning, courier jobs, and the like. After saving up a decent amount of credits, she put out a wave to a captain of a ship bound for Paquin, where Xiana figured she could at least look into plying her trade as an actress far from anyone who might recognize her. She met with Captain Ansiel Ezikla and was given a generous offer. It was decided that Xiana could stay aboard on Ansiel's ship and travel with her crew in exchange for some light chores or whatever other help was needed.
Personality
Xiana’s usual bubbly and outgoing personality took a hit when she got into trouble with the wrong people, but she’s since rebounded for the sake of keeping up with appearances. In the back of her mind she misses home and family, and the threat of someone finding her is a constant source of anxiety, though she is really good at keeping those feelings buried. At her core, Xiana is good-hearted and people-oriented, but if need be, she is willing to do whatever it takes to get what she needs. Coming from a wealthy and relatively care-free life, Xiana used to believe only in leaving the ‘verse a better place a better place than she found it, but after her ordeal, she now believes she has to do whatever is necessary to protect herself and her own. She’s not above lying or deceiving to reach her goals, though she still has hesitation when it comes to killing. She has no desire to harm the innocent. She is still somewhat naive, and since it was her naivete is what got her into this mess, she takes steps to rectify that as much as possible. Xiana is a curious type, prone to falling down rabbit holes and seeing just how far they go.
Trivia
- Xiana is an accomplished and talented film actress under her real name, Shoshana Lange. She was known for a few years in the frame of pop culture up until her "death."
- While Xiana is a somewhat small woman, she is moderately trained in Krav Maga as a defensive style.
- Auburn is not her natural hair color, but she does an excellent job of making it seem that way.
- Xiana has no tattoos or atypical piercings, mostly due to her career as an actress, but also partially due to her family traditions.
Known Affiliations
- TBD
RP Hooks
- Xiana is not using her real identity, which is actually that of a film actress, Shoshana Lange, presumed dead on Ariel. Though she disguises herself fairly well, it's possible someone well versed in cinema or Ariel pop culture may recognize her, though it's more likely they'll believe Xiana simply reminds them of someone they just can't put a name to.
- If the wrong people found out that she were actually alive, it could be very bad for her.
Music
"Barracuda" by Heart
"Roundtable Rival" by Lindsey Stirling
"Sedona" by Houndmouth
