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Player Information
Player name: Alicia.
Contact: SKYPE | zombiejosette PLURK | zombiejosette.
Are you over 18: Yep! 23.
Characters in The Box Already: N/A

Character Information
Character Name: Belle.
Canon: Once Upon a Time.
Canon Point: The s2 finale.
Is your character Dead, Undead or Alive: Alive.
History: In both pre-curse and post-curse editions!
Personality:

Belle sums up one of the most crucial points of her personality rather succinctly: "I always wanted to be brave. I figured, do the brave thing, and bravery would follow." Her confidence and, yes, her bravery, define her in some aspects, and, yes, are usually the things people note first about her. As a princess in the Enchanted Forest, as Belle grew up, she was shoved into formalities and positions, given a soldier as a fiance attachment, and expected to obey. It was simply what women did. But it didn't satisfy her. Belle had dreams and windows and books, and she developed a want for adventure (in the great, wide somewhere, if you will). A want to be the hero. She has amazing strength and will not let anything sway her from her stance on things. When faced with things most would cower from, she does not back down.

"No one decides my fate but me," she said, when her father begged her to stay. Belle is unafraid of sacrifice, when it is necessary. She will do what she must to save the people she cares about. Again, Belle is not delicate, and she refuses to fit into the molds that people attempt to shove her in. She's far too willful for that. Some may consider it a blatant disregard for authority - or her safety, even, but that isn't it at all. The problem is that Belle does not appreciate others assuming that they know what's best for her. She's grown, she's had her own experiences, and she will not accept the ties that people attempt to bind her with.

She is willful and impulsive, at times; she's the type to seize opportunities that she knows are golden. At the same time, Belle knows how to be realistic and when to breathe. Her first certified adventure, her first real fight pitted her and a new comrade against a yaoguai. When her friend sustained an injury, Belle's first instinct was to stop fighting; one couldn't defeat the creature alone. Ultimately, after some convincing, Belle was able to go after it, but it proves that she isn't all (or even mainly) action: there is an incredibly active thought process in every one of her actions.

Along with her assertiveness, Belle is also incredibly intelligent. She is rarely seen without a book; in fact, in Storybrooke, she took up a position as the town's librarian. Before being separated from her original party while hunting the yaoguai, Belle was the only one who could read what is presumably the Enchanted Forest's equivalent of Chinese. She was able to track the creature in hours, whereas it took others days to do the same. She's very curious and inquisitive; it's unlikely she's ever heard of a stupid question, or ever had a fear of asking one. Some may consider her nosy or prying, but Belle means nothing by it. She only wants to know things.

She sees herself as someone who desires things, experience and knowledge, and questions are the best way to start with that. She wants do do things, to get out and see the world. Belle believes in living by experiencing things. She also experiences - and sees, understands - things in a very different way than many people. As previously stated, she can spin most negatives into a positive, and she distinctly believes in moving forward, and her first instinct when meeting people is to trust them, more often than not. When most people saw the man she fell in love with (Rumplestiltskin) as a monster, a villain, something to be feared, Belle saw something else. She saw a human being there, one who had gone through incredible trauma. One who would not open himself to love and compassion, as though the thoughts of others had molded his own perception. At times, she has been known to get her hopes too high, to perhaps be too idealistic and optimistic. She knows first hand that idealism doesn't always work; it would be a lie to say that this doesn't disappoint her. In fact, if there is a surefire way to anger Belle, it's to invalidate her views. The most sobering is likely her rejection by Rumplestiltskin. When true love's kiss (a near-certain cure-all in her world) did not break his curse and he gained the impression that she was manipulating him, Belle left with the knowledge that love doesn't always last, and at times, things can be as grim as they seem - just perhaps in a different way.

So, Belle does have the ability to be disappointed. She's not all brightness and action; there's a certain hesitancy there, as well. After her encounter with Rumplestiltskin, she was released. She finally had the opportunity to see the world, as she always wanted. But adventure? She thought that she would just stick to her books. Perhaps another brave move so soon would prove to be just as disastrous, and with something so dangerous, Belle was initially wary to put her life on the line. But it ended well, and Belle's optimism proved her well: not all chances are bad. If anything, it added to her enthusiasm - and Belle can be very enthusiastic. She has an appreciation for little things: keepsakes, sunshine in the spring, pancakes. And when she's comfortable, she's playful. She isn't afraid to get that that snarky little quip in with the smirk pulling at her lips (regardless of if you are the Dark One). And at the end of the day, Belle is one of the most loyal and faithful people in the world to the ones she holds dear. She is unafraid to work to help them, or to jump into the line of fire - whatever may be necessary. She will never stop fighting for them.

Belle does (or rather - did) have a cursed counterpart who took the form of Lacey, more or less a flirtatious, promiscuous barfly (the memory - or personality, rather, was implanted into her by Regina as a shot at Rumplestiltskin). Obviously, during this time, she was the exact opposite of Belle - the main point being that she thrived on the darkness in people and encouraged it. A night of Van Halen, drinking, and watching a man being beaten to near-death definitely topped her list for a good night. She was later revived from this persona, but does retain the memories of her time as Lacey.

Abilities, Strengths and Weaknesses:

ABILITIES

All in all, Belle is completely human. She possesses great strength of will, which, put bluntly, allows her to get shit done. Any supernatural abilities are out of the question, apart from those given to her (one time she used fairy dust, but it's not something that she inherently possessed). She can use a sword halfway decently, if given the chance, and she's very good at picking up on languages.

STRENGTHS

♕ INTELLIGENCE - As stated before, Belle is very smart; she's book smart and possesses common sense. Difficult things such as languages come very easily to her.
♕ WILLPOWER & OPTIMISM - The amount of time that Belle was locked up by Regina in the Enchanted Forest isn't explicitly given, but given the fact that there are countless tallymarks in Belle's cell, it can be inferred that it was a few years. She didn't escape on her own, but when the opportunity is given, she leaps at the opportunity, having truly believed that it was never far off. She often has enough willpower to go against Rumplestiltskin's wishes in order to do what she thinks is right - and, as said before, gets shit done..
♕ BRAVERY - Belle's defining characteristic. The thing that most proves this is when she was willing to give herself up to Rumplestiltskin in order to save her family and her kingdom. Heroism is something that she lives for.
♕ FAITH - Belle always believes that things will turn out for the best, and that attitude is incredibly difficult for her to shake. Most recently, her true love left her to go on what he perceives to be a suicide mission, and told her as such. Belle's final words to him express that she knows she will see him again. After reuniting with him, after a few hiccups, never once does he doubt that he is a good man, but he's too lost in his own terrible self-perception to see it.

WEAKNESSES

♕ TRUST - A counterpoint to her faith, Belle also tends to trust the majority of people she's met, until they wrong her. It's a testament to her innocence despite her common-sense that she wouldn't consider the idea that some may want to manipulate her. It's gotten her into trouble since her time in the Enchanted Forest; her first encounter with Regina ended in an attempt to save Rumplestiltskin (from Belle's perspective), and rid him of his power, rendering him nearly helpless (from Regina's).
♕ DRINKING PROBLEM - Nothing terribly drastic, but Belle has been shown to have a drinking problem that's brought on by very stressful situations - usually brought on by something Rumplestiltskin's done.
♕ LOVE - Perhaps not a weakness in the common sense, but much of Belle's actions are motivated by true love. Because of the fact that her true love is, for all intents and purposes, the fairy tale version of Voldemort, this is often used against her - and gets her into more trouble (kidnapping, shot, attempts at wiping her memories) than perhaps anything she has done directly. And she accepts it all because she believes in the power.

Samples
Network/Action Spam Sample: d-m AND a meme!
Prose Log Sample:

It takes her a moment to collect her thoughts, once she leaves the dock. Takes her a moment to rid her throat of the unbreathable lump that's formed in it, and Belle wipes any tears that may have sprung from her eyes as she stands nearby, letting them stain the royal blue of her coat. She takes a deep breath, letting it fill her chest, and exhales slowly.

"He'll come back," Belle tells herself, the same words she's already said countless times and the ship hasn't even left yet, but she doesn't let herself turn toward it's hulking form on the water lest she be tempted to throw all caution to the wind and climb aboard herself. He'll come back, but somehow, it isn't fair, because it can't ever be calm with them. There will always be something in the way, and regardless of how much Belle tries, she can't shake that idea from her head.

She can only fight through it. And even if he isn't there, she's fared on her own before; it isn't that she needs him.

Belle laughs. Because, if anything, there's the constant. A tiring constant, but a constant nevertheless. When it comes to true love, perhaps things aren't as simple as one reads, all one large upheaval before Happily Ever After. Another sigh and a slightly hesitant laugh, and she's wiping her face again. And then, calmer and simpler, "He'll come back."

As though it's a fact (and it is).

In the meantime, however, there's work to be done. She plucks the small bottle from her pocket and bites her lip, eyes flicking to look at the town spread out in front of her. True love gone or not, she isn't going to let the town fall under siege, that much is absolutely certain. Her feelings on magic were and are complicated but no harm would come of this.

It's necessary.