Rho

Physical Description
Approx. 4' 11" in height with grey-violet eyes. Has hair that's long and dark, likely never having been cut; she doesn't care much about it and her dad struggles to do more than put it in a ponytail, so she's kind of a hair monster. Is all legs and arms (probably about to hit a growth spurt). Often wears a fancy purple science fiction-type suit, not unlike a wetsuit-and-vest combo.


Personality
Familiar situations:
Curious and good-natured. Smart and given to trying her best at new things. Can keep herself entertained and likes to perform tasks without help - a pretty self-sufficient kid.

Oblivious/distracted sometimes; prone to brief periods of hyperfocus. Kind of a smartmouth when she gets too energetic. Likely to take physical risks, confident that her unique properties will prevent her from getting hurt.

Unfamiliar situations:
Having been raised in the same house and environs her whole life, Rho is not very well-socialized. She hasn't met many folks who aren't her dad and interacting with strange kids probably wouldn't go well.

Changes in her routine are destabilizing. In addition to some restlessness and social withdrawal, you might be looking at irritability, impulsiveness, a greater chance of lashing out, a lot of talking to herself... an odd switch for the unprepared. Working through it takes a little time, but it can be sped up by offering her something to focus on - like a goal to accomplish.


Likes:

• PBS shows
• Cool obstacle courses
• Drawing

Dislikes:

• Nighttime
• Water
• Sudden loud noises (thunderstorms are rough)

Rho's special property is variable density.

She can use increased density to insulate herself from damage and to hit really really hard. (She’s only ever done that second one in controlled testing environments.) When very dense, however, she also becomes incredibly heavy and must avoid the dangers that this presents - she'd sink in water, break through weak flooring, injure others by accident. Theoretically she could also become dense/heavy enough to be a crushing hazard to herself.

On the flip side, while becoming lighter makes her easy to carry and enables her to cross brittle terrain or float on water, it can have a negative mental effect. If she decreases her density by too much, she feels scattered/faint, becomes disoriented, and edges toward incoherence.

Backstory
Raised from a zygote by her honorary father (some sort of scienceman by trade), Rho was created as part of a series of experiments meant to impart unique properties to a human from birth which could be cultivated and studied throughout stages of growth.

Rho's father did his work at the behest of some mysterious patron, following vague instructions and not expecting much in the way of results. He stepped up to take responsibility when an actual child resulted from the trials and tried to give her a decent life - maybe even a normal life (minus the occasional tests and trials, which are kinda fun anyway).

Home setting
A "Second Empire"-style house in a loosely populated neighborhood on the very edge of town. The house is set back a bit on a hill with an informally tiered front yard. The backyard is basically a small brick patio and some grass and is notably higher than street level. Underground lie several floors of sprawling basement-turned-"laboratory," which is where most ~science~ takes place.

Ongoing Story (Plot hook(s)?)

OR:

Basically a secret baby x-man, Rho is one of those characters you get a concept for and put on the pile. I don't know much about her and don't have any solid ideas for stories, so maybe RP is the best use of this character right now?

Because of her energy and lack of traditional social graces, I feel like Rho would be a good foil for characters who are gruff or grumpy, or more world-weary or jaded than she is. Someone she could sass at without getting in too much hot water, you know?

She might also suit small ensembles of similarly power-endowed characters, but I guess I haven’t thought of any end goal yet for arrangements like that! I’ll keep thinking.

Mini-playlist

Notes of no great importance:

• Her role model is Scruff McGruff, the Crime Dog
• Her favorite animals are frogs, and her least favorites are crows
• "Rho" is the Greek symbol used to denote density. I thought it would be really funny if the symbol referred to her, and then her dad tried to reverse-engineer a more normal name out of it. "How about Rhododendron? That's a flower. Do you want to be named after a flower?" "Dad, no, that's really bad!"
  
  Her dad calls her "Rhombus" as a nickname, and also to tease her a little bit. I think her actual, secret given name is "Rhodora," but I don't think she knows that.