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Jun. 22nd, 2009 08:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
worm_dancerYour name: Hedge
Your LJ: http://fightingbishie.livejournal.com/
Your email: this one
Your AIM, MSN, or Yahoo handle: taoofcrime
Character's name: Sheeana Brugh
Character's LJ: registered upon acceptance
Character's canon: Frank Herbert's Dune
Brief (around 300 words) personality outline of your character:
There are three layers to Sheeana's personality.
At the base is resentment. She hates the Worm for devouring her village and everyone she knew as a child thus far. She calls him Shaitan (Satan) in front of the priests that worship them. She would have been perfectly happy living out her life in her hardscrabble desert village. On some level she knows this. She also deeply hates the Honored Matres for destroying her home planet, even former ones like Murbella.
Next is arrogance. When she was taken in by the Rakian priesthood, she became rather spoiled. Her every whim was catered to by sycophantic priests. This had an effect on her budding psyche. She has ever since had problems taking orders or advice from others.
When the Bene Gesserit took her, she learned responsibility finally. From them she learned about duty to the greater universe, Leto 2's Golden Path and what it means to truly guide and educate. She learned how to make long term plans and sacrifices. This third layer is what she tries to listen to, but the other two are always ready to disrupt her.
It's noted by other characters that Sheeana has hidden depths to her. She is a maverick, an independent thinker, with a fierce temper.
History: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dune_Bene_Gesserit#Sheeana
The wiki fails to note that she is able to command the worms because she is a distant descendant of Siona Atreides, the first prescience immune human, herself a descendant of Ghanima Atreides.
Sample post: From here, it didn't seem like very much. Just a small animal circling in a red tub of sand seemingly secreted out of some calciferous, corallike substance.
It was about three feet long, made of leathery rings. Already tiny teeth lined the mouth. The internal fire burned too, little flames flickering in its stomach like a model of a city burning used as a prop in an ancient movie.
It traced endless circles in its presence.
Sheeana leaned over the lip of the tub. Her long, wavy black hair spilled forward. Blue-within-blue eyes regarded the creature.
She asked it: "Does your consciousness pace circles in there too, Tyrant?"
Instantly there was a response. The creature reared up on its rear segments and emmitted a hissing, squeaking skree that was a precious harbinger of the roar it would make as an adult. It tried desperately to climb out of the basin to her, scraping the tender leather of its skin against the rough coraline. It wasn't an attempt at an attack though. The mouth flaps didn't display its little teeth. It simply desperately wanted to be near her, driven as mad as a mindless creature could be.
Not mindless. Divided. She corrected herself. I see what it wants...
Sheeana stepped back, raised one foot and spun. She danced a complex, arythmic staccato on the bulkhead...Or perhaps it did contain a rythm, one measured in hours rather than half seconds. She whirled and stomped, calling and soothing the creature as she had done for the poor ignorant priests at home on Rakis. The infant worm swayed with her, hypnotized. If it had eyes it would have affixed them to her.
"Better?" Her smile was almost benevolent. There was no answer from the worm, merely a hiss as it burrowed to rest.
Non-superhuman special abilities of note:
Sheeana is able to command the giant sandworms of Arrakis due to her ancestry shared with Leto Atreides the Second, whose consciousness lies split among the worms. The infant worm she brings on board will obey her, though what good that could possibly do her remains to be seen.
Also pulled from wiki, through Holly. There's no indication that Sheeana is a truthsayer but she'd recognize one if she saw one. She's unusually talented with the Voice, having developed a rudimentary ability in it without training as a child.
Bene Gesserit Skills:
Other Memory: the combined ego and memories of all her female and male ancestors, passed on through genetic memory, and thus, up to the point where each following ancestor was born and the physical contact with the mother broken. The ego/memory combination remains a distinct identity within Ghani's mind, and is able to inject itself into her awareness at appropriate or emotional moments, though her own ego is always dominant.
The Voice: all Bene Gesserit are trained in the use of their Voice to compel obedience in listeners on a subconscious level. By controlling the subtleties of her voice, Ghani can directly address and issue commands to another person's unconscious mind in a way that the other person might not be aware of, but is unable to resist. The Voice can be used on one listener but it can also be used on large groups as well. In some way, Voice is an extreme version of oratorical ability.
Voice control is not magical or mystical. It is an innate talent, present in greater or lesser amounts in everyone, requiring only training to be made useful. A Bene Gesserit need not be a Reverend Mother to use Voice, and others outside the order may be taught to use it.
The Voice is useless against targets who cannot hear (e.g., someone who is deaf or otherwise deliberately inhibiting their ability to hear sounds by other means). The effectiveness of the Voice is also limited by how well Ghani can analyze her target's personality and vocal patterns to determine what pitch of Voice will be most effective, though this is usually negated by the her skills in observing her targets and perceiving their weaknesses. Since the Voice is a manipulation of her target's subconscious mind, it's really limited again an extremely disciplined mind.
Petit perception: Bene Gesserit are trained to exercise petit perception at all times, noticing to a terrifying degree minutiae that others miss. When combined with their analytical abilities, Bene Gesserit appear to be witches (hence the nickname for them), capable of divining secrets in persons and circumstances that are invisible to everyone else. Slight differences in air currents or the design of a room will allow a Bene Gesserit to detect hidden portals and spyholes; variations in a person's voice and tiny reactions allow Bene Gesserit to deeply understand a person's emotional state, and manipulate it.
Truthsaying: Bene Gesserit trained as Truthsayers are able to detect whether someone is lying by detecting inflection and change in a subject's voice, observing and interpreting their body language and analyzing physical signs like pulse and heart rate. Such perception of someone else's veracity is an ability that all humans have, in principle, but that requires extensive training to develop to the point of usefulness.
The training of the Bene Gesserit is very useful for developing this ability, but is not the only way. It is not a skill: It is the development of a latent talent. One character describes the talent as "whenever I hear someone tell a lie, I want to turn my back on them."
Truthsayers are used widely in politics and trade; the Padishah Emperors are never without one. Combined with Voice, Truthsaying is also useful for interrogation and torture. Truthsayers have been known to be wrong or deceived, most often because they are facing another Bene Gesserit who has of course been trained to disguise the very signs the Truthsayer is analyzing.
Simulflow: Bene Gesserit also have the ability to practice simulflow, literally the simultaneous flow of several threads of consciousness at any given time; mental multitasking, as it were. The combination of simulflow with their analytical abilities and Other Memory are responsible for the frightening intelligence of the average Bene Gesserit. This simulflow can also be held with Other Memory.
Prana-bindu training and the Weirding Way: The Bene Gesserit develop their physical abilities as well as their mental abilities. A trained Sister has full control over each muscle in her body; this is called prana-bindu training. It allows her to bend the last joint in her little toe while remaining otherwise motionless, bend and contort her body in ways that most would consider impossible, or put a remarkable amount of force behind a physical blow. The mental part of prana-bindu, or prana-nervature (prana stands for breath, bindu stands for musculature) is the precise control of the totality of nerves in the human body.
Unarmed attacks are part of the specialized martial art called the Weirding Way, which incorporates the prana-bindu methods of optimized muscle control, which enable one to deliver powerful blows and to move with extreme precision and speed. The basic principle behind the Weirding Way is that, as Farad'n Corrino says, "My mind affects my reality." A user of the Weirding Way has to know that the action he or she 'wants' to perform has already been performed. For example, to imagine oneself behind an opponent at the current moment in time; when trained well, this knowledge will place you at the spot desired. As the art's prana bindu incorporation allows even small attacks to do massive damage, Weirding Way combat is to the death.
Internal organic-chemical control: Just as the Prana-bindu allows the Bene Gesserit to precisely control each muscle and nerve, they also have complete conscious control over the functions of their internal organs and body chemistry. A Sister can completely control her breathing and heart rate to the degree that she can appear dead to most tests even after intense physical exertion. They can control their need for food and water to the extremes of hunger and thirst, and even commit suicide at will by simply stopping their hearts. The Bene Gesserit are therefore immune to poisons, as they can simply change the chemical makeup of any harmful substance in their body and render it harmless. It is hinted that should a Bene Gesserit wish to, she could slow her aging process dramatically, controlling every aspect of her metabolism.
One of the most significant biological abilities of the Bene Gesserit is their control their own menstrual cycles, and their ability to control (at conception) their child's gender.
Sexual talents: The Bene Gesserit are notable for their extensive skill in seduction, sex and sexual imprinting. But we don't really need to go into this for Trans9.
Your LJ: http://fightingbishie.livejournal.com/
Your email: this one
Your AIM, MSN, or Yahoo handle: taoofcrime
Character's name: Sheeana Brugh
Character's LJ: registered upon acceptance
Character's canon: Frank Herbert's Dune
Brief (around 300 words) personality outline of your character:
There are three layers to Sheeana's personality.
At the base is resentment. She hates the Worm for devouring her village and everyone she knew as a child thus far. She calls him Shaitan (Satan) in front of the priests that worship them. She would have been perfectly happy living out her life in her hardscrabble desert village. On some level she knows this. She also deeply hates the Honored Matres for destroying her home planet, even former ones like Murbella.
Next is arrogance. When she was taken in by the Rakian priesthood, she became rather spoiled. Her every whim was catered to by sycophantic priests. This had an effect on her budding psyche. She has ever since had problems taking orders or advice from others.
When the Bene Gesserit took her, she learned responsibility finally. From them she learned about duty to the greater universe, Leto 2's Golden Path and what it means to truly guide and educate. She learned how to make long term plans and sacrifices. This third layer is what she tries to listen to, but the other two are always ready to disrupt her.
It's noted by other characters that Sheeana has hidden depths to her. She is a maverick, an independent thinker, with a fierce temper.
History: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dune_Bene_Gesserit#Sheeana
The wiki fails to note that she is able to command the worms because she is a distant descendant of Siona Atreides, the first prescience immune human, herself a descendant of Ghanima Atreides.
Sample post: From here, it didn't seem like very much. Just a small animal circling in a red tub of sand seemingly secreted out of some calciferous, corallike substance.
It was about three feet long, made of leathery rings. Already tiny teeth lined the mouth. The internal fire burned too, little flames flickering in its stomach like a model of a city burning used as a prop in an ancient movie.
It traced endless circles in its presence.
Sheeana leaned over the lip of the tub. Her long, wavy black hair spilled forward. Blue-within-blue eyes regarded the creature.
She asked it: "Does your consciousness pace circles in there too, Tyrant?"
Instantly there was a response. The creature reared up on its rear segments and emmitted a hissing, squeaking skree that was a precious harbinger of the roar it would make as an adult. It tried desperately to climb out of the basin to her, scraping the tender leather of its skin against the rough coraline. It wasn't an attempt at an attack though. The mouth flaps didn't display its little teeth. It simply desperately wanted to be near her, driven as mad as a mindless creature could be.
Not mindless. Divided. She corrected herself. I see what it wants...
Sheeana stepped back, raised one foot and spun. She danced a complex, arythmic staccato on the bulkhead...Or perhaps it did contain a rythm, one measured in hours rather than half seconds. She whirled and stomped, calling and soothing the creature as she had done for the poor ignorant priests at home on Rakis. The infant worm swayed with her, hypnotized. If it had eyes it would have affixed them to her.
"Better?" Her smile was almost benevolent. There was no answer from the worm, merely a hiss as it burrowed to rest.
Non-superhuman special abilities of note:
Sheeana is able to command the giant sandworms of Arrakis due to her ancestry shared with Leto Atreides the Second, whose consciousness lies split among the worms. The infant worm she brings on board will obey her, though what good that could possibly do her remains to be seen.
Also pulled from wiki, through Holly. There's no indication that Sheeana is a truthsayer but she'd recognize one if she saw one. She's unusually talented with the Voice, having developed a rudimentary ability in it without training as a child.
Bene Gesserit Skills:
Other Memory: the combined ego and memories of all her female and male ancestors, passed on through genetic memory, and thus, up to the point where each following ancestor was born and the physical contact with the mother broken. The ego/memory combination remains a distinct identity within Ghani's mind, and is able to inject itself into her awareness at appropriate or emotional moments, though her own ego is always dominant.
The Voice: all Bene Gesserit are trained in the use of their Voice to compel obedience in listeners on a subconscious level. By controlling the subtleties of her voice, Ghani can directly address and issue commands to another person's unconscious mind in a way that the other person might not be aware of, but is unable to resist. The Voice can be used on one listener but it can also be used on large groups as well. In some way, Voice is an extreme version of oratorical ability.
Voice control is not magical or mystical. It is an innate talent, present in greater or lesser amounts in everyone, requiring only training to be made useful. A Bene Gesserit need not be a Reverend Mother to use Voice, and others outside the order may be taught to use it.
The Voice is useless against targets who cannot hear (e.g., someone who is deaf or otherwise deliberately inhibiting their ability to hear sounds by other means). The effectiveness of the Voice is also limited by how well Ghani can analyze her target's personality and vocal patterns to determine what pitch of Voice will be most effective, though this is usually negated by the her skills in observing her targets and perceiving their weaknesses. Since the Voice is a manipulation of her target's subconscious mind, it's really limited again an extremely disciplined mind.
Petit perception: Bene Gesserit are trained to exercise petit perception at all times, noticing to a terrifying degree minutiae that others miss. When combined with their analytical abilities, Bene Gesserit appear to be witches (hence the nickname for them), capable of divining secrets in persons and circumstances that are invisible to everyone else. Slight differences in air currents or the design of a room will allow a Bene Gesserit to detect hidden portals and spyholes; variations in a person's voice and tiny reactions allow Bene Gesserit to deeply understand a person's emotional state, and manipulate it.
Truthsaying: Bene Gesserit trained as Truthsayers are able to detect whether someone is lying by detecting inflection and change in a subject's voice, observing and interpreting their body language and analyzing physical signs like pulse and heart rate. Such perception of someone else's veracity is an ability that all humans have, in principle, but that requires extensive training to develop to the point of usefulness.
The training of the Bene Gesserit is very useful for developing this ability, but is not the only way. It is not a skill: It is the development of a latent talent. One character describes the talent as "whenever I hear someone tell a lie, I want to turn my back on them."
Truthsayers are used widely in politics and trade; the Padishah Emperors are never without one. Combined with Voice, Truthsaying is also useful for interrogation and torture. Truthsayers have been known to be wrong or deceived, most often because they are facing another Bene Gesserit who has of course been trained to disguise the very signs the Truthsayer is analyzing.
Simulflow: Bene Gesserit also have the ability to practice simulflow, literally the simultaneous flow of several threads of consciousness at any given time; mental multitasking, as it were. The combination of simulflow with their analytical abilities and Other Memory are responsible for the frightening intelligence of the average Bene Gesserit. This simulflow can also be held with Other Memory.
Prana-bindu training and the Weirding Way: The Bene Gesserit develop their physical abilities as well as their mental abilities. A trained Sister has full control over each muscle in her body; this is called prana-bindu training. It allows her to bend the last joint in her little toe while remaining otherwise motionless, bend and contort her body in ways that most would consider impossible, or put a remarkable amount of force behind a physical blow. The mental part of prana-bindu, or prana-nervature (prana stands for breath, bindu stands for musculature) is the precise control of the totality of nerves in the human body.
Unarmed attacks are part of the specialized martial art called the Weirding Way, which incorporates the prana-bindu methods of optimized muscle control, which enable one to deliver powerful blows and to move with extreme precision and speed. The basic principle behind the Weirding Way is that, as Farad'n Corrino says, "My mind affects my reality." A user of the Weirding Way has to know that the action he or she 'wants' to perform has already been performed. For example, to imagine oneself behind an opponent at the current moment in time; when trained well, this knowledge will place you at the spot desired. As the art's prana bindu incorporation allows even small attacks to do massive damage, Weirding Way combat is to the death.
Internal organic-chemical control: Just as the Prana-bindu allows the Bene Gesserit to precisely control each muscle and nerve, they also have complete conscious control over the functions of their internal organs and body chemistry. A Sister can completely control her breathing and heart rate to the degree that she can appear dead to most tests even after intense physical exertion. They can control their need for food and water to the extremes of hunger and thirst, and even commit suicide at will by simply stopping their hearts. The Bene Gesserit are therefore immune to poisons, as they can simply change the chemical makeup of any harmful substance in their body and render it harmless. It is hinted that should a Bene Gesserit wish to, she could slow her aging process dramatically, controlling every aspect of her metabolism.
One of the most significant biological abilities of the Bene Gesserit is their control their own menstrual cycles, and their ability to control (at conception) their child's gender.
Sexual talents: The Bene Gesserit are notable for their extensive skill in seduction, sex and sexual imprinting. But we don't really need to go into this for Trans9.
