Birchwood Isle Family Roleplay

Basic Information

Where do you live? Northern Isle
Are you married? If yes, to whom? No
Do you have any children? If yes, list them. None
Is your family open to adopting children or adolescents? Potentially in the future

Appearance
Height: 5'5"
Build: willowy
Hair Color: blonde
Eye Color: blue
Distinguishing Features: very high cheekbones, sharp jaw
Brief Description: Tori's sharp-featured look often gives her an intimidating look, especially with middle adolescents. Her high cheekbones, the angle of her jaw, her sharp chin, her long, straight nose, and even the pale blue shade of her eyes give her an cool appearance that lacks natural warmth. Even her blonde hair is on the cool side of the spectrum of blondes, straight and without even the hint of waves as it falls to her shoulders, where she typically wears it loose. These features are somewhat softened by her style, usually wearing long, flowing skirts and t-shirts, sweaters, or tank tops, depending on the weather. In warmer months, she wears sandals on her feet, giving her a much more casual style than her facial expressions would suggest. Although not conventionally beautiful, Tori does manage to be pretty.

Personality
Strengths: excellent problem-solver; good teacher; holds boundaries well; rational; loyal; loving; bold; encouraging; straightforward
Flaws: unstable; unforgiving; stubborn; not physically affectionate; contradictory; changing; blunt; hot-tempered; impatient; private
Likes: watching the sunset; picnic lunches; resting in the garden; hanging out with her favorite people; going to the pub with her friends; sail boating; iced lattes; board games; Disney movies; helping with homework
Dislikes: excuses for poor behavior; cooking; elaborate meals;
Vices: romantic relationships
Fears: commitment, particularly marriage
Personality: In a word, Tori is contradictory. The greatest contradiction, in fact, is that she can be both totally straightforward and entirely made up of contradictions. She is remarkably sweet-natured, gentle, and loving while at the same time she is private, prone to fits of temper, and struggles with physical affection and touch. Her love, therefore, has to be expressed in different, often varied, ways. Because of this, if for no other reason, Tori has had a lot of practice in finding ways to demonstrate love without being demonstrative. In addition, she often comes across quite aloof and cold, but in other circumstances Tori is quite warm and affectionate with her words (but not physically affectionate!). What might make her personality the strangest overall is that in spite of this, she's easy to get to know and makes friends easily!

Something that came up later in this application is that Tori is the sort of person who will show up for you even when she's mad at you. She will defend you even if she's angry about something that you've done. This serves her well in almost all of her relationships and despite any negative traits that could otherwise damage those same relationships, this one thing tends to keep people coming back to her.

Relationships & Discipline

How do you normally get along with other adults? Well. Adults always seem to have fewer expectations and preconceived notions than younger people do, resulting in lasting friendships and stronger relationships. Friends favor her loyalty and can put up with some of her contradictory behavior because she is so consistently loyal to them. Even though she gets into arguments with her friends often, she'll be the first to show up for them, even if she's angry. It's probably one of her best personality traits.
How do you normally get along with teenagers? Tori's expectations can make her relationships with teenagers challenging. Ironically, she gives teens what most of them want the most, which starts with the expectation that they behave in a mature, age-appropriate way. When they don't meet her expectations, Tori doesn't become disappointed; she often becomes angry, and this can be hard on her relationships with teens. Most teens will ultimately adapt to her, but it will take repeated interactions to get to that point.
How do you normally get along with children? Because her expectations for them are reasonable, Tori generally gets along pretty well with young children because she understands their basic development and doesn't anticipate them behaving like mini-adults. On the flip side, she talks to them as though they are people and not infants, which helps to improve their development considerably.
Link to your discipline sheet: click here ✅

Orphan Village

What is your role at the Orphan Village? Tori is a 3rd shift staff member of Willow House
Which house or building do you work for? Willow House
Do you live in the Village or commute? Commute
Do you have any special training, certification, or skills relevant to your role? No
Do you prefer to work with a particular age group? Which one? Surprisingly, teenagers, although Tori is also good with older children
Do you struggle with a particular age group? Which one? Very young children

Briefly describe your caregiving or mentoring style. Tori is very... no-nonsense. In spite of her two-sided nature (sweet, but hot tempered), she is quite straightforward and doesn't pull any punches. She's the type of person who tells it like it is, doesn't mince words, and won't try to preserve your feelings. This works surprisingly well for a lot of young people because they always know what to expect from her, even if she is temperamental. From her perspective, the rules are the rules and the kids are supposed to obey them. If they don't, there are consequences, and the consequences are incredibly straightforward. She doesn't punish more for one thing than she does for another, but she "grades" discipline based on the age (and sometimes individual needs) of the person being punished.

Describe how you see your role in the village. For Tori, this is a job rather than a vocation. According to her, that's why she took on the night shift.

Is there anything else we should know about your role in the Village? Tori is very single-minded when it comes to the way that she does her job. She arrives on time every evening, she leaves when her shift is over in the morning, and she doesn't linger or try to form long-term bonds with the children and adolescents she cares for. Likewise, she doesn't attempt to care for children outside of Willow House -- one of the benefits, she says, of working the night shift: She's not expected to venture around the Village and take care of children who aren't under her direct authority.

Background

Education: Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science
Work History: Tori has worked a number of jobs, mostly relating to web design, but also some programming jobs. Very little has stuck.
Current Goals or Challenges: Permanence. Not much in Tori's life has been permanent up to this point and she struggles with trusting the job to stick.
Reason for Living on Birchwood Isle: Tori needed a change and this was it!
Brief History: Tori doesn't talk much about her past, and it's odd that people don't tend to notice. She spent most of her youth drifting through foster homes, and the drifting seemed to continue as she got older. She only finished her bachelor's degree in computer science because that happened to be her major at the time that she finished college, and she drifted through jobs afterward because nothing quite felt satisfying to her and she often struggled to trust her employers not to fire her. It was always better to quit than to be fired.

Now she's determined to make the current job stick. It's nothing like anything she's done before, even if she did briefly study child psychology in college. If things work out, she's willing to switch to a daytime shift, but she doesn't trust the people of the Orphan Village yet. She's a bit like the youngsters she cares for that way.