Post by ohlookahails! on Dec 23, 2010 12:46:01 GMT -5
Full Name: Gertrude "Gerty" Clarice Wilson
Gender: Female
Age:
Appearance: (1032 characters.) With her plain grey dress, pantyhose, and practical orthopedic shoes, Gerty fits the typical image of an old lady. Her hair, once a bright chestnut brown, is now grey with age and pulled into a tight bun. Her bright emerald eyes are fading with cataracts and hidden behind garish thick-framed glasses, complete with a chain to keep them from falling off her now-prominent nose. Despite having aged more gracefully than others, her face is wrinkled and sagging while her eyes are framed with deep crow’s feet. On her hands are a few liver spots as a remnant of her beach-going youth and her joints are swollen with arthritis.
Despite creaky joints and fragile bones slowing her down, Gerty still gets around rather well. She keeps her trusty cane close and shuffles along slowly yet steadily. Though she has considered getting one of those fancy motor scooters, that would prevent her from waving her cane at young hooligans. Besides, motor scooters are for old people and she will vehemently deny that she is a day over 60.
Background: (1613 characters.) Gertrude’s childhood was rather normal in that she had a homemaking mother, a working father, and a younger brother who pulled her hair and stole her dolls. As soon as he was 10, her brother left to find his fortunes as a Pokemon Trainer while a then-12 Gerty stayed at home to learn ‘womanly’ things like cleaning and cooking. Her family had Pokemon at home, of course, her mother had a Meowth named Brownie, and her father had brought home a little Growlithe named Rover.
Gertrude, being a simple middle-class girl raised in the suburbs, spent more of her time shopping and talking on the phone than dreaming of becoming a trainer or even a coordinator. But things changed when a handsome young Trainer rolled into town by the name of William. Gertrude was 16 then and he was 18 and young love burned brightly between them. She announced to her family that she was leaving to travel with William and off they went. They were married 2 years later and William taught her the ways of the trainer. Her first Pokemon was a Wingull and though she didn’t favor a certain type, her husband trained Fire-types.
When Gertrude became pregnant at 22, she and William settled down in a nice, quiet town to raise their family. Though their children and then their grandchildren went on to become trainers, by the time Gertrude and William were empty-nesters, their beloved Pokemon had long since passed on. They contented themselves to enjoying each others’ company until William’s death nearly 4 years ago. Gertrude couldn’t stand her empty house any longer and set off to begin again as a trainer, in her husband’s memory.
Personality: (1062 characters.) In her old age, Gertrude has become a bit of a spit-fire. She was raised to be nice and polite but what does she have to lose by being a loud, rather obnoxious old woman? She threatens folks with her cane, cackles when she laughs, and seems to genuinely enjoy herself while doing so. Now that she is widowed, she does things for herself and cares little for society’s norms and what others think of her, after all, she spent her life so far either caring for her little brother, her husband, or her children. She’s only got a few years left and she’s determined to live them to the fullest.
However, she’s also a sensible woman in that she knows how to travel safely and pack efficiently. Being on the road was hard enough when she was young and with company, never mind being old and alone. Though she is confident that nothing bad will happen to her, she does carry a can of pepper spray to be on the safe side.
All in all, she’s a friendly, though eccentric old lady and will bore passerby’s ears off with tales of her kids while pinching their cheeks.