History: Cara has always lived in Rome, more specifically in a two-story brick house at the corner of the street, only separated by a thin cement alleyway from the bakery on the left side. The first story of her house is her father's office, where he works as a doctor. The upper story is spacious, including two bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a wide hallway that doubles as a living room. Both bedrooms and the hallway/living room are crammed with books, most of them neatly stacked on bookshelves, but a few are always lying around. The kitchen is unusual in that there are no countertops, just an ironing board that folds into the wall. Cara's mother will fix meals using the ironing board as a counter, fold it into the wall, unfold the chairs and a small table, and serve the food. This has to be done in order for there to be space to eat. The Nascebenes would move, seeing as Mr. Nascebene is a successful pediatrician and a member of a wealthy family besides, but Cara and Mrs. Nascebene like their home, it being near the local pool.
   The lower story is a generic doctor's office, only smaller. Upon entering the building, there is a waiting room with a desk and computer, where Mr. Nascebene's assistant, Mrs. Romaniello, works. Instead of a magazine rack, there are paperback novels available, with Cara's old baby books for children. Behind the waiting room are a small examining room, a bathroom (primarily used for hand-washing, so no shower or bathtub), and a supply room.
   Cara is a first-generation Italian; her father is German-Italian-American and her mother Italian-American. Donovan and Rosa Nascebene moved to Italy a few years before Cara's birth because Rosa wanted to "rediscover her Italian heritage" as well as join her parents in Italy. (They had moved after Rosa began college.) The Nascebenes fell in love with the country and only leave for the yearly family vacation to Massachusetts in order to visit relatives. One of the reasons that Cara does believe in her "perfect guy" is because her parents are so happily married. They have their arguments, but generally are very happy together.
    Cara was always a cheerful, loving child, even if she was always doing continual battle against the neighborhood boys for slighting one of her many friends. She inherited her love of swimming from her mother and has known how to swim almost as long as she could walk. She went with her mother every morning to the pool, located in a building just a block away. Her father, determined to keep her inside for at least a few hours in the day, taught her how to read at a very young age. Cara fell in love with books but much to her father's dismay, simply carried them off outside to read.
    Because her parents were native speakers of English, Cara grew up speaking it as well, picked up from conversations at home as well as yearly summer visits to her father's relatives in Massachusetts. Despite being able to speak it well enough, Cara refused to learn how to read and write in the language until her father introduced her to the joys of Shakespeare on her eleventh birthday. Now she has become quite fluent.
    Cara always launches into a very long, drawn-out story whenever she is asked to explain her fear of being driven, much to her parents' embarrassment. Mrs. Nascebene, though she rules unquestioned over the family, is not the greatest of drivers, though Cara and Mr. Nascebene don't dare inform her of that fact. She enjoys tearing madly along the streets of Rome, barely avoiding mowing down anyone (and anything, for that matter) in sight. Several mailboxes, two street signs, and, once, a bag of groceries have fallen victim to her rambunctious driving. Mrs. Nascebene refuses to let anyone else drive and doesn't seem to realize the terror she inspires in anyone trapped in a moving vehicle with her.
    The most traumatic incident in Cara's life came when her grandmother died of cancer when Cara was twelve years old, followed by her grandfather's death from grief a few months afterwards. Cara lost a few less understanding friends in those months because of her predilection towards temper tantrums when upset.
    Academically, Cara did well, except the occasional B- in math or an excruciatingly dull class. She was well-liked overall and fit in pretty well. No tragic past here. ^^;
    Right now, Cara attends Romulous Public High School, and is generally friends with the slightly-less-than-popular-but-still-not-losers crowd, if that makes sense. Her closest friend is Pamela Lofaro. She has some popular and unpopular friends for the sake of variety, but is wise not to attempt to mix the two. She also has the ability to win over upperclassmen, much to the envy of some people. It's the tiny, cute exterior. ^_- No boyfriends, due to the "perfect boy" syndrome.

NPCs:
    Rosa Nascebene (Rose Well-born) - A pint-sized (5'1") woman with a towering personality, Rosa rules the household with an iron fist, albeit one gloved in velvet. She makes all major household decisions and if Cara or her father gets in trouble, it's Rosa they have to answer to. Rosa has her daughter's love of swimming and makes a point of swimming at least a few laps every day. She is a housewife in that she doesn't have a job, but she certainly doesn't spend much of her time in the house! When the cleaning is done, she will go off on extensive window-shopping trips or strolls in the park. This woman likes to be outside constantly. Physically, she tans easily thanks to her Italian heritage, and she has boyishly short, curly brown hair and blue eyes. She has the same body type as Cara and dresses in flowing, pretty clothing like long skirts or dresses. Rosa met Donovan while she was in college and he was finishing medical school. After six months of dating, they were married.

    Donovan Nascebene (Dark Warrior Well-born.. Hmm, all of their names work better read in reverse order.) - Chestnut-haired, blue-eyed, about average height and weight for a man of his age (45), and he dresses in jeans and T-shirts when not dressed as a doctor. Growing up in the United States, he always dreamed of becoming an author, but his parents declared there was better money in the medical profession and convinced him to enter medical school. Although he genuinely enjoys his job as a pediatrician, writing is still his passion and he sometimes resents his parents for forcing him into another career. He works on a novel in his free time and has had a few short stories published in magazines. The Nascebene family is quite wealthy, enabling the annual visits to Massachusetts from Italy. As a father, he is a good one, if a bit quiet. He is content to let Rosa run the household while he concentrates on hammering out another book. Donovan is quite glad that Cara has an appreciation of the literary arts, but wishes she would spend a bit less time outside and with other people.

    Pamela Lofaro (All Sweetness Light House) - A slender, graceful 15-year-old, standing at 5'5". Pamela (known to those closest to her as Pam) wears her black hair in two buns, one on either side of her head. Once let down, it goes to her shoulder blades. She has VERY dark brown eyes, deeply tanned skin, and generally looks the part of the southern Italian. She likes long skirts, sandals, and tank tops in pastel shades. As a person, Pamela is a quiet, gentle girl with an equally quiet, gentle sense of humor. She shares most of Cara's loves: swimming, reading, and plays and musicals. She lives two houses down from Cara, goes to Romulous High with Cara, and is in most of her classes. Cara and Pamela have known each other for about ten years and have been best friends for the same amount of time. Cara likes Pamela for her sense of humor and sweet personality and vice versa. ^_^

Part III: Senshi Information

Special Skills: Cara can predict which couples will work best together, and also dispenses good romantic advice, which has to stem from her identity as Sailor Cupid, seeing as she can't do it from experience, seeing as she never had a boyfriend. Cara doesn't like to matchmake because she's afraid of making a mistake and causing two people to be angry with her, but her friends have learned to listen to her passing remarks about who might be good with whom.

Cara is pretty strong and completely unhesitant about defending those she loves. ^^; Beware!

This isn't really a power, but MANY people underestimate her because of her tiny height, innocent appearance, and cheery personality.

Henshin Item: A round, reddish-pink jewel encased in silver. She wears it in the center of a choker made up of round silver links when not in Senshi form.

Transformation: "Cupid Deus Power Make-Up!" Cara removes her brooch from the necklace, holds it up to the sky, and shouts her henshin phrase. It emits a rosy light, which becomes reddish-pink ribbons that wrap around her body. At the same time, silver-white angel wings made of light form on her back. She places the brooch on her chest as the ribbons solidify into her shoes, wristbands, collar, bodice, and skirt. The wings fold inward onto her chest, growing smaller and smaller until they form silver armor with a wing-shaped pattern on the back of the metal. A final reddish-pink ribbon spirals around her waist, forms a second skirt for a brief instant, and then pulls apart into the leather straps. The symbol of Cupid appears on her forehead as she poses with one hand on her hip, the other upraised as one finger plays with a stray curl, her symbol glimmering reddish-pink behind her.

Color: Deep reddish pink

Symbol: A heart with an arrow through it, the symbol of a heart enpierced by passion.

Fuku/Costume: Sailorcupid's fuku follows the standard Pantheon fuku with only a few variations. Her skirt is deep reddish-pink and the straps are a translucent pink. (I know that leather isn't really translucent, but... call it magic. ^_^) Her wristbands are of the same material and go from her elbows to the base of her middle finger, but don't have fingers. The bodice is white and the collar, choker, and symbol the same deep reddish-pink. Her armor is standard Pantheon armor, silver with the brooch in the usual place, the only exception being the small wing-shaped pattern engraved in the back. Her shoes are reddish-pink and are knee-high, heeled boots that lace up with black cord.

Powers/Attacks:
"Flames of Passion!" Sailorcupid shouts "Flames!" and places her right hand over her heart as reddish-pink tendrils of fire stream underneath her palm. At the cry of "Of!" she withdraws her hand, holds it straight out in front of her, fingers outspread and palm facing the target, and brings her left hand next to the right, posed in the exact same position. When she finishes with "Passion!" reddish-pink fire blazes forward and strikes the target, causing it to be consumed by desire for the nearest being. The target will automatically rush forward to the object of its affection, hopefully another Senshi, who could easily take it out with one attack. This attack can be dodged by a quick enemy, blocked by an energy shield or water, and doesn't work if the target doesn't have any passions/emotions. Although you can see the fire, what you're seeing isn't actually fire, more like the aura that passion has... if that makes sense. ^^; Sailorcupid can perform this three times, and then she's too exhausted to make a run for it, much less do it again! Also, her attack can harm more than it helps if the target began charging after a terrified civilian.

Weapon: The Wings of Desire
    This weapon pretty much IS Sailorcupid's secondary power as a Senshi. The armor she wears has a wing-shaped pattern on the back; when Sailorcupid is, say, falling from a great height, the armor will glow bright silver and then unfold, becoming two silver wings. This isn't as useful a power as it sounds, though. ^^; Sailorcupid can't control this power, can only use it under extreme stress, the transformation of armor to wings leaves her chest vulnerable, and flying tires her a great deal, especially if she's toting another person. If she rescued a fellow Senshi, she'd only be able to carry her as long as she could carry her normally in her arms, on the ground. Sailorcupid might learn to control her weapon with time, but for now she can't.

Guardian: Nope

Part IV: Miscellaneous Information

Why you: Why me? Because I feel I can really contribute something to this RPG, and I'd have a LOT of fun doing it. ^_^ I enjoy writing and RPGing a great deal, and what's more, I'm good at it, too. I don't spam or flame and I know my Netiquette. ;P
Miscellaneous revision comments: I apologize muchly for the lateness of my revision... The end of the school year left me with barely any free time. ^^; Also, thanks very much for all of the suggestions to make Sailorcupid better... I used a lot of them, as you can see. I had more fun with Cara this time around. I especially like the mental image of Mrs. Nascebene making dinner on an ironing board. ^_^

Part V: The Writing Sample

The alarm went off at the unholy hour of 6 A.M., much to the occupant of the bed in the corner's dismay. Groaning as her body sullenly protested at being forced to move, Cara shoved the covers off and sat up in bed, resting her feet on the cool wooden floor. She stumbled her way across her room, moving with precision born of experience to avoid the numerous piles of books and shoes strewn across the floor.
"Cara, is that you?" Rosa Nascebene asked, not turning from the stove as Cara flopped noisily into a chair. "If you don't want any scrambled eggs, there's cereal in the pantry."
"Mmph," was all the occupant of the chair replied. When it became apparent that her mama wasn't in the mood to sympathize with her daughter's early-morning exhaustion, Cara sighed and got down a bowl and a box of cereal.
On her way to get the milk out of the rifridgerator, Mrs. Nascebene offered, "You know, Cara, you wouldn't have to get up so early if you'd just let me drive you to the pool."
"That's all right, Mama!" she cried nervously, almost spilling the milk in her agitation. "You know how much I like walking! I know, I know, I'm not a proper Italian girl, but blame it on Papa! Besides, no one will see me at this hour!"
"True," her mother agreed. Crisis averted, Cara breathed a deep sigh of relief. Perhaps someday she'd have the courage to tell her mother (politely, of course), just how terrifying an experience it was to drive with her, but that day would not be today.
After breakfast and getting dressed, Cara felt slightly more human, and certainly more awake. She could already feel the sugar from her cereal entering her system, restoring her to her custom level of perkiness. Shoving a towel into her combination swimming/school bag, Cara hurried out the door and down the two blocks to the pool, keeping one eye out for anyone she knew and hoped to impress. Just because she didn't like driving didn't mean she was proud of her status as a pedestrian. She could hardly wait until her best friend, Pam, got her license. Then she'd be free of the tyranny of walking!
Cheered by this thought, Cara began humming as she entered the girls' locker room. Five weeks 'til Pam's sixteenth birthday, and then the road would be theirs! Before heading out the door into the pool room, she stopped to pose triumphantly in front of the mirror.
"Cara, what are you doing?" laughed Pam, who had just arrived without Cara realizing it.
"It's... It's an exercise," she lied hastily, retrieving her towel from the floor while she attempted to look dignified. "I'll be waiting for you at the pool!"
Cara recovered from her embarrassment the very moment she entered the cool water. If only it were ocean water, not water that stank of chlorine. She stared up at the ceiling, counting tiles as her body effortlessly slid through the water in practiced backstroke motions. She was only dimly aware when Pam got into the water, wasn't even conscious of the passage of time as she moved back and forth across the lane. It was like entering another world, where time was so fluid that it simply flowed together uninterrupted, unimpeded, perfectly peaceful.
She opened her eyes. Cara, from her position underwater, could just make out Pam's lips moving as Pam stood at the side of the pool. Her image wobbled crazily as Cara looked up from the bottom of the pool, but from the way she was tapping her foot, it was time to go and Cara was once again holding them up.
She burst through to the surface, pulling off her goggles and swim cap as soon as her head was above water. "Is it *really* time to go, Pam?" she asked pleadingly, glancing at the clock.
"If we're late for school, your mother will have to drive us," Pam replied matter-of-factly, smiling inwardly as Cara's expression abruptly changed to one of panic.
"God forbid!" Cara exclaimed fervently, pulling herself out of the pool in one quick motion. "C'mon, let's GO already!"
After showering and dressing, the two friends practically ran to school, dodging manic drivers. Cara kept both hands firmly clenched around the handle of her school bag, remembering having to explain to her fifth grade teacher not only why she was late, but why there were tire tread marks on her science book. The teacher had not been amused.
"We... barely... made it..." Cara gasped out, collapsing at her desk as the bell rang, signifying the beginning of first period. Still panting, she dug out a pen, a notebook, and her algebra textbook, scowling down at them. In her opinion, starting the day off with math was a cruel and inhumane method of torture envisioned by a particularly vengeful teacher.
"At least we did this time," Pam replied with a chuckle. "I don't particularly like hearing lectures on punctuality."
Cara sighed ruefully. "At least you don't have to explain to Mama why your teacher had to call her!"
Finished with the attendance, Mr. Marchetti glared over through the slightly tinted lenses of his glasses at the chattering class. "That will be enough out of you. Today we will be reviewing scientific notation..."
Cara sighed deeply, picked up her pen, and opened her notes.

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