Charlotte Banks



Full name: Charlotte Renee Banks

Nickname: Char (her best friend called her this and her best friend is dead, killed by a vampire)

Species: Human

Age: 19

Gender: Female

Face Claim: Candice Accola

Appearance: Standing at an average height, Charlotte used to use her heels to make herself taller, to intimidate others. After all, she was a Queen Bee and a head cheerleader. Naturally, intimidation was her best card. However, since the war, she's been wearing a lot of combat boots and sneakers, throwing away some of girlier clothing. She has a slim, lithe and curvy body from years of gymnastics, fitting in her jeans in a way that makes heads turn. She has smooth pale skin, high cheeks with dimples, bright blue eyes surrounded by dark, long lashes, a high forehead, and full, luscious pink lips on a slightly round face. A halo of pale golden blonde hair falls around her back and shoulders. Her hair is just between the line of shoulder-length and long; it used to be waist-length, but she cut it. Her hair is naturally wavy and Charlotte tries to keep it that way simply because styling isn't that big of a deal anymore. But she will straighten it sometimes.

Before all of the mess in her life, Charlotte wore some of the most stylish clothes and was the queen of accessories. She wore dresses, skirts, and was epitome of girly-girl. She wore light colors and was always sunshine. Now, she's seen wearing darker clothing and dresses are pretty much banned from her wardrobe unless she actually has to wear it - which is a rarity of its own. Skirts will be worn only if they're a wrap skirt and look good with leggings and boots. But she mainly wears jeans, a top and her jackets, which range from denim to leather. Converse are her staple and the fashionista inside of her is not dead yet. She makes sure she looks good, but that's not her main priority. Her real goal is to live and clothes are not that important anymore. However, Char wears a silver cross necklace that belonged to Drew. As he lay dying, blood dripping from his body, Drew asked her to take it, keep it forever. And she promised that she will, having never taken that thing off. It's probably the most important thing to her right now.
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Before the end of her world, Charlotte was the it-girl of her school. She was beautiful, popular, and sweet with a touch of bitch. No, scratch that. She was more bitch than sweet. She liked perfection and would be damned if everything she did was not complete and utter perfection. Whether they be her cheer routines, the Student Government Association, or simply the cafeteria at her school - which seriously sucked before Char added her two cents - everything had to be her way or no way. For everyone else, she was selfish, spoiled, pretentious, and a lot of other words that Char refused to ever acknowledge. She partied hard and never cared about the rules her mother set out for her; she even yelled at her father and called him out on not being involved in her growing up when he tried grounding her. No one ever thought there was anything good inside of the brat that was Charlotte.

Except for her best friend, Drew.

With Drew, Char showed a much more pleasant side of her - much more pleasant. Sure, she had occasional spurts of bitch and wanted control. But Drew kept her in check, teaching her when to shut up and let stuff go. With him, you found a calmer side of Char and this side was definitely wiser, more controlled. More than anything, she was happy. And then he was killed, murdered before her by a vampire that would've killed her had her own father not saved her life by staking him. After that, the Char that everyone hated kinda...died. She revealed that beneath all of the Queen Bee she portrayed, there was a little girl that was a lot smarter than what most people took her for. She was severely depressed, feeling insignificant even though she was extremely popular. Why? Because her father was never there. Why? Because her mother would praise the grades of some super-Christian family's daughter even though Charlotte brought mostly As with a splash of Bs? Why? Because she felt fat despite the fact that she lost all of her baby weight from childhood. She showed that the Charlotte everyone else knew was a façade and that she was only afraid of showing how weak she was.

Now, she's officially alone...at least in her mind. Her parents are both dead, leaving behind a distraught daughter that does not understand why she is alive. But that's not to say that Charlotte has given up on life. No, she's actually learned to fight back, acquiring some useful defense skills and weapons. She still has splurges of wanting control like if she sees another human being helpless, she'll make them follow all of her instructions for safety while trying to defend them. She uses her intelligence to her advantage, remembering different tactics that she learned to kill different beings. She's a lot nicer now, calmer still even though Drew is gone. She has a sharp tongue, however, and will bite back with whatever hurtful words she can use to affect you. Char is definitely more bark than bite and isn't too skilled with weapons, though she knows how to protect herself. She is compassionate and shows a deep, intense concern for others, always sticking up for them. She is stubborn at times and refuses to back down, even when she knows she can lose the battle. Why? Because the battle is within her heart and her heart's the strongest thing she possesses.

However, Char is still very vulnerable. That necklace she wears is the only thing keeping her together. It's the reminder of Drew that keeps her moving along. The pain of losing those closest to her have really broken her spirit and she has surprised herself with staying alive when all she's wanted to do was to end the agony of living in the harsh, unforgiving, and dark world. Death of children have taken bits and bits of her heart and stomped all over the organ, tearing Charlotte down. But she refuses to let anyone see her tears. Humans all over have slowly given up and Charlotte wants to be one of the few that still rises up to defend humanity. That, however, leaves her with the difficult decision on which side she wants to stand on. There is the light and before all of this, Charlotte was the epitome of everything light and radiant. She would've stood with them immediately before all of her pain and would've trusted that she was following the right path. However, there is some darkness in her heart now and Charlotte is conflicted with whether or not she should go with it. After all, the dark is what took everything away and yet...they're offering a chance of protection...

Likes:
Adrenaline rushes
Chocolate
Animals
Liquor
Fun
Romance
Happiness

Dislikes:
Darkness
Sadness
Being told what to do
Arrogant people
Jerks
Crying

Fears:
Dying too young
Not being able to be truly happy again
Never having the chance to find love
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As stated before, Char used to be a mega bitch and perferctionist. Her mother was a model and served as the town doctor. Her father skipped out on her life until she turned fiftteen and that absence really affected Charlotte. She felt insignificant to him, like she didn't matter. As a child, she used to be a bully and call out anyone whose clothing was not as expensive as hers. She was a brat to the max and did not care about other people's feelings. Her father obviously did not care about hers when he left, so why should she care for others? Charlotte went on a mean streak up into high school.

But she met Drew before that.

Drew was one of the few that actually stood up to her and called her faults out, effectively humiliating Charlotte. But then he apologized, which angered her. For almost three months, she refused to even acknowledge his presence, skipping out of his view the minute he spotted her in the halls of their middle school. Drew cornered her one day when her guard was down and smiled, reintroducing himself with a dashing smile and bright eyes. He told her that he could see through her, that she wasn't as bad as she portrayed herself to be. He told her all of the little quirks she had and her habits, that he'd been paying attention to when she said things she didn't necessarily mean. But above all, Drew said that he discovered that she was only hurt.

From that moment on, they were inseparable. Despite him being the typical toner type and her being the Queen of high school, he was always in the limelight with her or she'd take a step back and be with him. Not a lot of people noticed the change, her parents included, but that didn't matter. Charlotte had her best friend and that was all that mattered. Sadly, while they were trying to walk home, a vampire grabbed Charlotte. But Drew acted quickly and tried staking the thing, which shocked Char because she didn't even realize they existed. She hadn't truly taken the broadcast seriously and just assumed someone was playing games. But she found herself thrown to the ground and helplessly screaming as the vampire tore into her best friend's throat, slurping loudly of his blood. Just barely breathing, Drew was thrown to the ground and the vampire stared at Char hungrily, ready to lunge when her father shot an arrow from his crossbow, piercing the vampire's heart and killing him. Charlotte sobbed painfully as she cradled Drew in her arms, willing his wound to stop bleeding. But even Drew knew he was dying and asked her to take his necklace. He promised that they'd always be together, that the necklace would connect them. He'd always be there, watching her, protecting her. He died while Char held him, burying her face into his chest.

Before long, her Dad was teaching her how to fight and her mom was teaching her what was poisonous to the creatures that lurked around, waiting to kill them. They lived underground for awhile with two other families, training and protecting. But on a trip to find remaining humans, her parents were both killed in front of Char. And with not a huge background in fighting or killing, she ran. Ever since, she has blamed herself, knowing that there were other lives that needed saving other than her own. Now, she vows to protect as many as she can and hopefully find an end to the madness that is her life.


Theme Song: Wide Awake by Katy Perry (acoustic cover by Alex G)
I'm wide awake
I'm wide awake

I'm wide awake
Yeah, I was in the dark
I was falling hard
With an open heart
I'm wide awake
How did I read the stars so wrong?
I'm wide awake
And now it's clear to me
That everything you see
Ain't always what it seems
I'm wide awake
Yeah, I was dreaming for so long

[Pre-Chorus]
I wish I knew then
What I know now
Wouldn't dive in
Wouldn't bow down
Gravity hurts
You made it so sweet
'Til I woke up on
On the concrete

[Chorus]
Falling from cloud nine
Crashing from the high
I'm letting go tonight
Yeah, I'm falling from cloud nine

I'm wide awake
Not losing any sleep
I picked up every piece
And landed on my feet
I'm wide awake
Need nothing to complete myself, no

I'm wide awake
Yeah, I am born again
Out of the lion's den
I don't have to pretend
And it's too late
The story's over now, the end

[Pre-Chorus]
I wish I knew then
What I know now
Wouldn't dive in
Wouldn't bow down
Gravity hurts
You made it so sweet
'Til I woke up on
On the concrete

[Chorus]
Falling from cloud nine (it was out of the blue)
I'm crashing from the high
I'm letting go tonight (yeah, I'm letting you go)
I'm falling from cloud nine

I'm wide awake
Thunder rumbling
Castles crumbling
I'm wide awake
I am trying to hold on
I'm wide awake
God knows that I tried
Seeing the bright side
I'm wide awake
I'm not blind anymore...

I'm wide awake
I'm wide awake

[Chorus]
Yeah, I'm falling from cloud nine (it was out of the blue)
I'm crashing from the high
You know I'm letting go tonight (yeah, I'm letting you go)
I'm falling from cloud nine

I'm wide awake
I'm wide awake
I'm wide awake
I'm wide awake
I'm wide awake