Leah Wright

From Sinanju

Leah Wright
File:Iron Maiden.png
Jemima Rooper as Leah Wright
Played by	{{{player}}}

Statistics
Goes By	Iron Maiden
Status	Alive
Race	Human
Gender	Female
Age	26 (2008)
Primary Occupation	SF/F Novelist
Special Abilities	Touch TK--giving her invulnerability, strength and flight powers.

Background Story

Leah Wright knows the criminal mind well. She and her two younger siblings grew up among criminals. Her parents divorced when Leah was very young and she hasn't seen her father since. Her mother has lived with a series of men throughout Leah's childhood, including a drug dealer for several years. Family and acquaintances included other dealers, prostitutes, thieves and fences. Leah has witnessed drug deals, overdoses, violent disagreements, and countless other crimes plotted or the proceeds divided. On more than one occasion Leah had to barricade herself and her siblings away from one of her mother's drunked, enraged boyfriends, or sneak them out of the house, even brandish a firearm to keep him at bay.

Leah's mother neglected her children, whom she saw as impediments to her pursuit of sex, drugs and rock n' roll. She thought nothing of leaving them unattended for a day, for a night, or all weekend. Leah cared for her younger brother and baby sister on those occasions—somebody had to do it More than once, Leah and her siblings were whisked away to a new home--sometimes with their mother, sometimes without--with nothing but the clothes on their backs, forced to abandon everything else, including treasured possessions. They were occasionally sent to live with distant relatives for weeks or months before their mother arrived without warning to reclaim them. By the time she was a teenager, Leah was the primary caregiver for her siblings, and was working a part-time job not for pocket money but for necessities like food or rent, or having the power turned back on—somebody had to do it.

Leah hated her home life. She was appalled by the stupidity and venality of the people around her, including her mother. Didn't they see how badly they were screwing up their lives? Drunkenness, drugs, "easy" money that led to prison time if they were lucky and to the hospital or the morgue if they weren't. How could they be so blind? Only rarely, in moments of bleak depression, was she tempted by any of these things. Mostly she saw the world with a sharp edged clarity that nobody else around her seemed capable of.

She loved school. Her only responsibility there was to learn. Education was her ticket out and she meant to take it. She taught herself how to move in polite society by reading etiquette books, intending from an early age to escape the dismal world she inhabited. Reading had been her favorite escape for as long as she could remember, especially old pulp novels in which good and evil were clearcut and heroes invariably triumphed over villains. It was a world Leah desperately wished she could experience and she began writing, creating new adventures for her favorite characters, to fill that need—and thus discovered her passion. She loved writing. It was hard work, but for the first time in her life she was working hard at something she enjoyed, simply because she enjoyed it.

Leah graduated high school, started college and continued writing. She was selling short fiction regularly now, and working on novels. She even found time to date now and then. Leah cut off all ties to her family save for her brother and sister; the rest were unrepentant users and she refuses to allow them to draw her back into their lives. She graduated college and continues to work part-time managing the office for a small machine shop--the same job she's had since she was a teenager--while she works at becoming a full-time writer.

Leah's sister, Ellen, now seventeen, remained in high school at her insistence and was considering college. Though she remembered their childhood fondly, mostly because Leah had shielded her from the worst of it, Leah was pleased by her success. Not so her brother, Ben, who fell into the criminal life despite everything Leah could do. Ben drank heavily, used drugs, and was repeatedly jailed for petty crimes before finally dying of a drug overdose. His death wasn't terribly surprising, though her failure with Ben weighed heavily on Leah, who had continued trying to help him long after she recognized him as a lost cause.

Leah was attending Amrita Singh's yoga class at the Embarcadero YMCA in March of 2006, the day the Chimera virus was released. Leah was one of those infected. She woke in a hospital bed three weeks later to find that she was one of the few survivors. Though she appeared unchanged, it was quickly apparent that she had gained superhuman abilities. She did not immediately leap to become a super heroine. She has a life, thank you very much--a life she's worked very hard to create for herself.

But she's got too much sense of responsibility to ignore situations where she can make a difference. She started by rescuing people from accidents or natural disasters. threats not of their own making; how could she not? And if she can stop violent criminals and prevent them from hurting people—again, how could she not? She can fly, she's virtually invulnerable now, and superhumanly strong. She has nothing to fear from most criminals. She saw far too much pain, fear and misery as a child and is determined that no other little girls will endure what she lived through, not if she can help it.

Personality

Leah is intelligent, perceptive, and fiercely independent. She finds it difficult to trust the judgment of others, preferring to assess a situation firsthand. She works hard to anticipate other people's actions and reactions, and to organize her life so as to minimize her dependence on others or her vulnerability should they let her down.

A childhood of negelct and abuse (emotional, if not physical) has left its mark on her. Leah is constantly assessing her environment for threats and is very sensitive to to the emotions and intents of those around her. She is remarkably level-headed in a crisis, a skill she acquired by hard experience. She may break down later on, but never until the emergency is over. Leah can be quite a hedonist when she feels secure enough to let her guard down, but it doesn't happen often. She rarely drinks and never uses any other mind-altering substances. Leah believes in personal responsibility; she has high standards for friendship, and no patience for people who are unwilling to accept responsibility for themselves. By the same token, she'll move heaven and earth for those who deserve it or for whom she feels responsible. She can be charming when she chooses to be, but being a smart-ass is often more fun.

Leah enjoys writing and intends to make a career of it. She also enjoys tinkering with computers and software, and playing on the internet.. She corresponds with numerous on-line friends via instant messaging programs and maintains online journals where she writes about her life, posts some of her own fiction as well as fanfic. She also enjoys attending movies, plays, and trying out various restaurants with her friends.

Since acquiring superpowers Leah has taken to the superheroic lifestyle with enthusiasm. Her motives are two-fold. First, if someone is in danger—especially through no fault of their own—and she can help them, how could she not? If she can prevent or mitigate the effects of accidents or crimes, she will—it's the right thing to do. Second, the strangers whose lives or livelihoods she's saved tend to be grateful for the help, which is more than she could ever say about most of her family. After a lifetime of largely thankless work to care for and protect her siblings, it's nice to get some recognition.

Leah works at keeping her two lives—as Leah Wright and as Iron Maiden—completely separate. A novel by Iron Maiden might be wildly successful, if only as a novelty, but that's not what she wants. She wants to succeed by virtue of her talent, not her celebrity.

Appearance

Leah is of average height, with shoulder length black hair in a shaggy cut, green eyes and a round face. She's got a great figure, but is heavier than is currently fashionable--an unkind soul might call her fat. She tends to dress in a frilly style, though she's capable of dressing very conventionally when presenting a businesslike appearance is called for.

As Iron Maiden she is something of a clothes horse. The only consistent feature of her costume is a black Zorro-style mask. Otherwise she goes seriously goth, wearing black tights and boots, along with either a dress or tank top and skirt, over which she typically wears a corset trench coat or a coachman's or highwayman's cloak (a long, voluminous coat with a waist-length mantle or cape. Typically her costume is all black, but occasionally she adds a little color--dark blue, maroon or silver highlights.

Powers

Leah's powers all stem from a common source--an unconscious telekinetic ability limited by her ability to touch things. She maintains a nearly impenetrable force field which protects her from most injuries as well as from extreme pressure or vacuum, as well as extremes of temperature. She is able to fly using her telekinetic powers. She is also superhumanly strong, able to exert her telekinetic powers on anything she touches--making it possible for her to lift, catch or throw massive items even when she shouldn't have the leverage to do so, or when the objects would realistically collapse from the forces being exerted on them.

Leah's tactics are fairly simple. She grew up around violence, but rarely engaged in it herself--so she has very little experience with brawling or more sophisticated forms of combat. She tends to throw herself at her opponents, hoping to distract them and keep them focused on her since she's unlikely to be injured. She also likes to seize her opponents and fly away with them, getting them away from bystanders (and potential hostages). Since joining the Guardians, Leah has learned tactics and something about brawling but is still fairly inexperienced.

Supporting Cast

Leah's supporting cast is in flux. Her family and friends are in San Francisco, but the Guardians operate out of Denver, Colorado. The current supporting cast consists of:

Mug Shot	Vital Statistics
File:Sara Icon.png	Sara Jennings (agent)-- Sara is a divorced woman in her late 30s, working as an agent for numerous writers, including some big names. She's been Leah's agent for almost two years now; she helped Leah sell her first novel and later got her a three novel contract she's working on now. They share tastes in music, literature, art, and food. They don't see one another very often these days, but enjoy the "working" dinners they can manage occasionally.
File:Gershwitz Icon.png	Jonathan Gershwitz (therapist) -- Leah began seeing this therapist after her near death experience with the Chimera virus. She started the sessions believing that it was only the transformation that needed addressing, but Jonathan has helped Leah realize that her childhood scarred her more deeply than she'd been willing to admit. Jonathan is about 50, married with grown children, and has decades of experience in psychology and therapy. Leah doesn't see him often now that she's in Denver, but she makes occasional visits to check in and discuss her progress.
File:Rachel Icon.png	Rachel Hartman (best friend) -- Leah met Rachel in high school. A shared interest in SF fandom and writing led to a very close friendship. Rachel has a day job as a legal secretary, though she's now sold a novel as well. Leah and Rachel have shared everything, from collaborating on writing projects to the details of their sex lives; Leah told Rachel about her secret the day after it happened. Leah has kept her up to date ever since, mostly by email or telephone since moving to Denver.
File:Lisa Icon.png	Lisa Cooper (friend) -- Lisa, a transplant to Denver from Texas, is an RN. She and her husband Steve are Leah's closest friends in Denver aside from Amrita--and in some ways, they're much closer. In addition to their mutual interest in sex, they share an unseemly interest in all things fannish with Leah. The three of them spend a lot of time together, watching movies or television, discussing books and fandom, and trying new restaurants.
File:Steve Icon.png	Steve Cooper (friend) -- Steve and Lisa have become very close to Leah since they first met. They've learned to accept her occasional quick exits when paged and missed dates with good grace, though they do wonder about her mysterious second job. But she can't talk about it and they don't press.

Knowledge of Other Characters

She knows that Amrita Singh and Wild Lotus are one and the same, but that's no big surprise. She also knows that Anna is Shimmer. They know Leah's real identity too.

Romantic Relationships (If Applicable)

Steve and Lisa Cooper. It's not romantic, exactly--but it's definitely a relationship.

Future Plans and Goals

To become rich and famous as a science fiction and fantasy novelist.

Trivia

Iron Maiden is the second incarnation of this character. I played the same character, albeit with a different set of powers, as Gayle Roark aka Hell's Angel, in Richard Smith's Empire City campaign. What can I say? She's modeled fairly closely on my lovely and talented wife, whose childhood up through high school was pretty much exactly as I describe it here--save that the interest in writing is mine.

Side Pieces & Joint Posts

Iron Maiden's Blog Posts

Testing, Testing--Is This Thing On? [1]
Iron Maiden's Crimestopper Tips, Vol. 1 [2]
Fear & Loathing in San Francisco [3]
The Great Thing About Halloween [4]
They Say Confession Is Good For the Soul [5]
Title Fight [6]
Iron Maiden Goes to the Movies [7]
Tastes Like More [8]

Solo Fiction

Iron Maiden vs Blackguard (Leah's "face plant" game intro scene) [9]
Celebrity Has It's Price [10]
Leah's Blond Adventure (See Adult Wiki page)

Joint Posts

Influences

Character Profile

Note: “you” or “your” in this case refers to the character.

Section A - History

Question 1: When you were a child – what was your favorite toy?

The library. We moved around a lot when I was a child. More than once I was forced to leave everything behind but the clothes on my back. But there was always a library somewhere.

Question 2: Who was your best friend when you were eight? Are you still in touch? If not, why not?

I didn't have one. We moved around so often that I never really had a long-term friendship until I was in high school.

Question 3: What was your best school memory?

It's a toss up. Either lunch--there were a lot of days when the free school lunch was the only food I ate--or the year my English teacher, Mrs. Wallace, encouraged my writing. I still had to turn in my regular assignments, but she let me spend her class time writing.

Question 4: What was the highest level of school you attended?

Four years of college.

Question 5: Why did you leave home, how old were you?

I moved out of my mother's house when I was 16 to live with an aunt. I left her home when I turned 18. I wanted to be on my own, responsible for myself--and only myself.

Section B – Family Life

Question 1: Did you have brothers or sisters? Are you close to them? Do they live nearby? (provide names as necessary)

One of each. My older brother is dead now. He died of a drug overdose. My younger sister still lives at home, in San Francisco. I'm closer to her than to anyone else in my family, but--

Question 2: What was the most important thing your mom (or dad or both) taught you when you were a kid?

That the only person I could count on was myself. Not a lesson any kid should be forced to learn so young, but it's served me fairly well.

Question 3: Are you married? How long? Do you have kids? (please provide names as necessary)

No, I've never been married. No kids, either.

Question 4: When was the last time you saw your mom and dad?

I last saw my mother about three years ago. I haven't seen my father since I was sixteen, and don't really expect to see him again.

Question 5: Did your parents divorce? If so, how old were you and why?

My parents divorced when I was six years old. Why? Because they never should have married in the first place.

Question 6: How happy was your childhood? ... On a scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 being the highest) -- 2 Which is not to say that there weren't happy times--it wasn't unrelieved misery. But overall, it was a pretty awful way to grow up.

Section C - Personality

Question 1: What would you say your best character trait is?

Independence. I like being around people, but I don't need to be to have fun. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, and entertaining myself, whether anyone else is there or not.

Question 2: What would your friends say your worst character trait is?

You'd have to ask them.

Question 3: Do you have a best friend? What is their name, how long have you been friends?

I don't have a best friend. I've never understood that. I have several very close friends and a lot of acquaintances. Rachel, who went to high school with me, and shares my passion for writing. Wild Lotus, who was a good friend long before we became Guardians together. Lisa, who I haven't known for more than a few months, but who is very close.

Question 4: What personal items are on your work desk?

Didn't I answer this one already? Nothing much. I don't personalize my desk.

Question 5: When was the last time you took a vacation, where did you go?

I attended Worldcon 2008 right here in Denver. I stayed in the hotel and hobnobbed with my fellow geeks for almost a week. It was great fun. Before that...a daytrip to Hawaii. Having Wild Lotus for a friend means the whole world is your playground.

Section D – Your Secret Life

Question 1: What is your job? Do you enjoy it? How long have you been in it?

I write fiction. I love it. I've been writing since i was in elementary school, and getting short stories published since high school. I have two novels out, and a third in the pipeline for publication in six months. And more in various stages of completion

Question 2: What are the personal items on your work desk?

Nothing, really. I haven't personalized it.

Question 3: If you are involved, does your significant other know about your Heroic identity?

Am I involved? I guess I am, though it's an unusual arrangement. And yes, they (yes, they) do know about my Iron Maiden identity, though they only recently learned of it.

Question 4: When you go out for a night on the town, what do you wear? Where do you go?

I dress appropriately for the venue, she said slyly. I go to a lot of movies; to restaurants, occasionally to plays or the opera, occasionally to a club.

Question 5: Do you have any weekly recreational activities?

Yes, I spend at least a couple of evenings a week with my...significant others. Sometimes we go out, sometimes we stay in.

Question 6: You care about being fashionable? ... On a scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 being the highest) -- 3 I keep track of fashion and I'm mindful of it, but I don't obsess over it.

Section E – Your Heroic Life

Question 1: How did you get your powers? (short version)

I choose not to say. I've seen my abilities ascribed to being an alien, a mutant, a robot, a genetically engineered soldier, a demon, an angel, and many other sources. Why deprive my fans of the mystery?

Question 2: Who was the first criminal you captured? What was the crime?

That would have to be the Radiation Ravager. Some geeky college student who decided that, having discovered he had superpowers, it was time to terrorize everyone who'd made his life miserable. He was doing just that when I happened by and put a stop to it.

Question 3: Have you ever saved someone’s life (in costume)? Give a brief description of the incident.

It's happened a number of times. The first time it happened was, well, in North Korea. It's a long story. Wild Lotus and I stumbled upon some soldiers pursuing refugees. I think the soldiers were as surprised as we were. They shot at us. We disarmed them. The refugees got away.

Question 4: Who gave you your heroic name? Why?

I did. But I ran it by Wild Lotus first.

Question 5: What happened the first time your powers manifested, how old were you?

Oh my god, that's--I mean....Do you remember the Quickdraw MaGraw cartoon show? There was this dog, Snuffles, who would eat a dog biscuit and go into raptures, floating up into the air and then drifting slowly back to earth. He really enjoyed those biscuits, if you know what I mean.... Let's just say that I was...enjoying myself. Alone, in my bedroom. And when I opened my eyes the ceiling was a lot closer than it ought to have been. That's when I discovered I could fly. After that I started experimenting.

Section F – Miscellaneous

Question 1: The last time you attended church was? What kind of church was it? (if any)

I don't know--years, anyhow. Presbyterian? Methodist? Something like that.

Question 2: Have you ever been summoned for Jury duty, were you selected, what was the case?

Yes, I've been summoned. I was even selected for a jury in a criminal case, but it was settled before we were seated for it.

Question 3: Please tell me what you are passionate about and why? (arts, music, sports, food, movies, etc.)

Fiction. I've always loved reading, and I love writing too. Especially pulp and 'speculative' fiction, which means science fiction and fantasy. I like movies, but I wouldn't say I'm passionate about them. I'm also passionate about food; there's so much good food out there to be tried. Bad food, too, but you can't find the good stuff without stumbling across the bad sometimes too.

Question 4: What is in your wallet or purse? How many keys are on your key chain?

Cash, credit cards, identification, all the usual stuff. I have two keys on my key ring--my car key and my house key. I don't need more than that.

Question 5: Describe your ideal day?

It depends on my mood. Some days I want to be lazy. Some days I want to accomplish things. But the one thing my ideal days would have in common is that they all start and end with sex, and they involve delicious meals.

Question 6: You dislike having your powers? ... On a scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 being the highest) -- 0 I don't dislike my powers at all. What's to dislike?