Ximena
Summary
A cynical and self-serving young woman with a bit of a God complex. Ximena was changed forever when her family had her exorcized at the age of nine hoping to "cure" her. No one understood the psychic powers she was born with and her parents assumed she was possessed by a demon.
Because of this, Ximena became very antisocial and abrasive, opening up to and befriending very few people. She thinks of her powers as a double-edged sword: they have caused her great pain in life but she can do amazing things that no one else can, like increasing her strength, reading minds, and suppressing her emotions. But no matter how hard she tries, she cannot truly outrun or escape her feelings.
Personality
Ximena has an extraordinary level of composure as a defense mechanism. She never really feels anger or sadness unless in extreme situations. Even happiness is elusive to her, though she still feels disdain for many things and people. When she hurts people it’s often underhanded and calculated if she’s not straight up breaking people’s fingers. She refuses to let emotions cloud her decisions, and as mean as she can be, her friends actually appreciate her “objective” point of view.
Ximena is aloof and seems to float through life without passion or strong emotion, there is not much in life that truly compels her. Drugs? Impairing her mental state could be disastrous. Socializing and meeting new people? Ximena is as cynical as they come. Ximena doesn’t have long term goals or ambitions. If you were to ask her what she wants she would likely say she just wants to live comfortably.
It may be very helpful to keep your emotions under control, but Ximena has spent so many years repressing them that she has no idea how to feel human anymore. She often "forgets" that emotions are a part of normal human existence and sometimes shuns her friends for being "overemotional," but is she any better herself?
Story
Ximena’s psychic powers may be incredibly helpful in a lot of situations, but they are a double-edged sword. Her days in school were easy because she could read the minds of her classmates and copy their answers. She can strengthen her body and improve her senses, and she can control her own mind and emotions. But she also had to deal with a lot of ostracization. Her family were ashamed at her “strange” behavior and what people thought of her, so when she was nine years old they had Ximena exorcized and shamefully moved to a different state.
After this incident she developed a very abrasive and cynical world view, and everyone who already thought she was weird ended up thinking worse of her. Why would anyone befriend or willingly talk to the cold, creepy girl who glares at everyone? Ximena could hear the thoughts of her peers and the adults around her, she knew what everyone thought of her. Ximena was alone for her entire life up until middle school where she met Forrest, her first friend.
Ximena is incredibly possessive of the few people she holds near and dear to her heart. Truth is, even an immovable object like Ximena is ruled by fear. She may not fully feel fear itself, but her fear of yet again being alone has a tight grip on her. Anyone who messes with her friends faces a great risk.
Trivia
- Ximena has bright green eyes that glow when she uses her powers.
- Ximena keeps two tarantulas as pets. She likes them because they are very low maintenance and she enjoys decorating their enclosures. She keeps their enclosures under her bed.
- Any amount of mental impairment negatively affects Ximena's powers. Missing out on sleep causes more intense headaches and makes controlling her powers more difficult. It's unknown how drugs and alcohol affect her and she wouldn't bother with the risk just to find out.
- After being exorcised, Ximena's media consumption was heavily controlled. Her parents didn't want her watching or listening to anything they believed would make her "regress" into what she was before. Because of this, she is only familiar with Mexican media, and any other media she knows about she learned about through others.
Likes
- Sleeping
- Her few friends
- Birds, especially chickens
- Forrest
- Psychoanalysis
Dislikes
- Excessive optimism
- Levity
- Religious people
- Innocent people getting hurt
- Most of humanity
Relationships
Forrest
Ximena's very first friend, and the person she cherishes and values the most. They’ve been inseparable friends since middle school and Forrest is a source of light and goodness in her mind. He provides companionship and emotional support, while Ximena defends him and gives emotional support in her own unique way. No matter how much it upsets or irritates him, she will continue to be there for him. Forrest is the only one she is comfortable opening up to emotionally, and only he knows her “true” self.
Junko
Ximena's second friend ever, they met through Forrest in tenth grade. Despite being her exact opposite in personality and outlook, Ximena is very fond of Junko, who is interested in her romantically. But she's not all that interested in romance, nor does she think it would work out, so they try to have a "friends with benefits" relationship and not much else. Ximena’s very emotionally distant and doesn’t open up much to her, which causes frustration and sadness in Junko.
Mortimer
For quite a while, Ximena disliked Mortimer for being "suspicious." She didn’t see any plans of hostility or backstabbing in his mind, nothing even close, but she just wanted an excuse to dislike him; it takes her a very long time to warm up to people. Eventually she gets over herself and they become good friends. Now it's as though he's always been part of the group. Because of some fairly complicated factors, poor Mortimer didn't grow up with Mexican culture like she did, so Ximena takes this issue into her own hands. Mochito doesn't seem to enjoy it as much as she had hoped, though.
