[CIVILIAN] banks, astrid

Astrid. 5'4", small, and weak. Naturally tan, but considerably more pale than she would be if she didn't spend so much time inside.

Her hair color is actually natural orange! The black in the shaved pattern is the dye. Not everyone believes that, but her eyebrows are even orange, and who dyes their eyebrows? No one, honestly.

She's got blue-green eyes, but the right one is kept obscured by her hair. Upon closer inspection, it is revealed that this eye is in some way injured. Permanently, actually; she's almost entirely blind in that eye, and it squints and weeps, and most of the time is covered by a patch, as well. Sometimes, it gets infected, and then it's a week or constant icky ooziness. Yuck. Better to just keep it clean and healthy!

Her style is... stylish, and cute! She's a big fan of oversized sweaters, and leggings with different patterns. Neither of those things help disguse the fact that she's built like a stick.

So, here's the thing; Astrid is a nerd.

Like, a super nerd, where she enjoys books and forms and paperwork, and sometimes spends days at a time doing research and taking notes and not sleeping when she should, because who needs sleep when you have easy access to caffeine? It's the exact same thing, right? Yeah. That sounds good.

While she's very invested in her research- the indigenous tribes, and their relationship to pokemon- she's not so much invested in... human contact. She's very shy, and naive, and she actually suffers from some rather crippling social anxiety. Corner her at a party and she might start having violent panic attacks, which is never good, and not fun for anyone involved.

She's not sure how normal people make friends with others... is there a special dance? A perfume? Some ritual she's missed training for? It hardly matters. People are less important than books and research papers. That's a fact, look it up.

She tends to bite her nails, when she's nervous, and sometimes mutters and reads aloud to herself. If it gets too quiet, and she's sure she's alone, she might even start singing under her breath. She does all of these things without realizing, and pointing it out will likely end in her flailing and running away, flustered.

What a darling.

Once upon a time, a horrible nerdy shy girl with crippling social anxiety was hatched from an egg, and crawled forth into the world. She looked upon it, decided it was simply too terrifying, and retreated to her room to just read about the complex mannerisms of crustacean pokemon, instead.

That's basically Astrid. Her history is not particularly exciting; really, most might call it dry! She was born to a family of middling wealth, and at an early age showed signs of being a true bookworm. She was also utterly incapable of speaking to anyone without a prominent stutter making it's presence known, which likely didn't help with her predisposition to anxiety. Hard to feel like people are worth talking to when they laugh at your "adorable" stammer.

The one you can't help. That you're terribly self-conscious about.

Once they realized that their daughter had issues, her parents got her a pokemon friend; as a Meowth, D'artagnan was already a certified mental health service pokemon. His presence helps considerably; it gives Astrid someone to talk to without fear of judgement, someone who can stand between her and strangers. She also likes to grab and pet his fur when she's nervous, as the texture helps to ground her.

As she enjoys reading, and researching, it seemed only natural that she would step into the world of adults as... a researcher! Specifically, she's interested in the indigenous tribes, and how they develop relationships with pokemon- and, how those relationships change, depending on which tribe! It's a fascinating subject.

Except it means she has to travel. And talk to people. And just generally interact, and she likely didn't plan on signing up for that. Oh well! It'll be good for her.

Currently, she's on her way to meet a representative of the Soclla tribe; she will likely spend a good deal of time with them, before she moves on. She's likely on the outskirts of Evter island, at the moment.

D'Artagnan the Persian

Certified Psychiatric Assistance Pokemon

A Total Ham and Cheese Sandwich

this guy, right here