Character analysis: Lysis Fox

Some of you who read the name "Lysis Fox" know exactly who I am talking about.  For those of you not in know, Lysis happens to be one of my characters.  For this blog update I've decided to focus on her.  I have quite a number of characters, and I like to think that most, if not all of them, have pieces of me at their core. 

Origins
I don't recall exactly when she was born, but I'm pretty sure it was in winter at the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009.  A lot of factors played into her creation, mostly characters from other franchises mixed with my own ideas.  Another big reason for her creation was simply because I like seeing women who can, pardon my language, kick major rear.  I've been that way for as long as I can remember.  Any tv show or movie I would watch I would gravitate towards the female characters.  Now, 90% of what I watched was action-y stuff, so said women were not only fictional but also generally had superpowers of some sort or some mad skills at the very least.

I would watch these women very carefully, and cheer when they were allowed to show off, especially when they got the edge over a man, and I would be very disappointed when they weren't allowed to shine.  I wouldn't say that I was/am a feminist by any means,  but I've always had the mentality that girls can rock as much as boys do.

I'm not one for the damsel in distress, so I never liked characters like Daphne from Scooby Doo.  An example of a character I liked would be the Pink Ranger, from Power Rangers, or Linka and Gi from (lol) Captain Planet, Storm from  X-Men, ect.

I especially gravitated towards female villains.  I loved them.  I still do.  The Queen from Snow White, Demona from Gargoyles, villainesses from the Batman series like Harley and Poison Ivy, and I'll even count Angelica from Rugrats here because she was such a bully.  I didn't always like any female protagonist, but if there was a female antagonist I was and still am pretty much guaranteed to adore them.

It was my love for these types of characters that went into her creation.

Her name, Lysis, is taken from the name Lysistrata, a character in an old Greek play.  It wasn't until after I created her that I became aware that lysis is a biological term, but I didn't feel like suddenly changing her name.  The name Lysistrata generally means "army destroyer" and I thought it appropriate, since Lysis can do that, though not in the same way the character Lysistrata did.

Personality
So, with that in mind you're probably wondering just what kind of woman this Lysis Fox is.  I'll admit that at first she started out leaning more towards the antagonist end of the spectrum, but throughout her existence she has settled quite comfortably in the neutral or grey area between good and evil.  Here's an excerpt from something I've written - a conversation between two people concerning the lovely Miss Fox.

"What is she like?" Lyle asked.

"I'm not sure how I would describe her..." Elaina answered.  She thought for a moment and then continued.  "Imagine that vanity had a physical form - that's what she is.  Imagine a woman who knows how beautiful she is, who knows that other people see how beautiful she is.  Her confidence in who she is draws people to her.  People aren't used to being around that level of confidence, that level of assurance.  It draws people like moths to a flame.  People look up to her, almost worship her like an idol on a pedestal, as if she has all the answers in the universe, and even though I know she doesn't, I have to admit that she's a bit inspiring."  Elaina paused.  "People gravitate towards her, despite her being emotionally distant and even a little cold.  But she's something that I think they ultimately realize that they cannot ever attain.  They could never be like her.  She could never belong to them.  They merely have the pleasure, the honor, of being in her presence.  It is ironic then,  that she is as discouraging as she is inspiring."

"It sounds like you admire her," Lyle commented.

"Perhaps a little," she admitted.  "But I think I mostly pity her.  She is completely self-obsessed.  She is her own drive in life.  She strives towards anything that is for her benefit.  I don't think she could ever completely love someone else because she's so in love with herself.  She may care for other people, but in the end she will always come first.  She's dangerous.  A personality like hers matched with her unique and powerful gifts - she could have anything she wants."

That gives you a pretty good idea of the person we're dealing with here.  Lysis was the textbook narcissist, that is until she realized that she more than met all of her own expectations for herself.  She can't help but see herself as not merely "better" than most everyone else, but she may even put herself in a different class entirely.  A step above.  She genuinely believes that she's perfect.

Despite this, she isn't snooty or and doesn't turn her nose up to those who she perceives as beneath her.  She accepts that she was born with more than what other people are typically born with, but she still encourages people to be the best that they can be in her own twisted way.

Lysis looks intimidating, but a bit less though when you're talking to her.  She acts sultry, but she is pleasant, quick-witted, generally plays well with others and likes to have fun.  She loves dancing, whether it be at a formal gathering or at a club downtown.  She likes to keep active and to stay in shape, and she loves vehicles.  She's entered several races, both legal and not so legal, and either won them or gotten very close to it.

A materialist, her eyes are always on what is in style, and she always dresses very well, able to wear a variety of styles with effortless ease.  She always has the latest clothes, and she enjoys living the high life - which she is able to thanks to her vast wealth, which she originally gained not so legally as well.

The woman loves most kinds of alcohol but is not a heavy drinker, simply due to the reason that it could cause health issues.  She's very concerned with her health and vitality and abhors anything that could detract from that.  For this reason she also doesn't smoke.  The one thing Lysis hates or even fears is the fact that she will grow old one day, and her beauty and strength will fade.  She hates it because there's nothing she can do to  control it.  Her ultimate goal is immortality, and soon, seeing as she's in her early 20s and wants to always be in her prime.

Lysis recoils from the idea of marriage and commitment, and doesn’t believe that she needs anyone to take care of her physically or mentally or otherwise.  She has a habit of defying the woman stereotype, and takes pride in it and in who she is.  This attitude was generated because of her past, which, as terrible as it was, rarely occupies her mind nowadays.

A bit of an adrenaline junkie, she's always looking for something to keep her senses wired.  She adores combat.

Not really a spiritual person, Lysis is agnostic.  She never saw God present in her terrible childhood, and so since he didn't seem to care that she and so many other troubled people existed she sees it fit to not really care if he exists. 

Appearance
 Lysis Fox is Caucasian, with long, jet black hair that is worn in a variety of styles.  Her skin is fair with a cooler undertone, and her eyes are an unnatural midnight blue, a color that is due to her not being a normal human.  Her facial features are sharp and she almost always has some sort of grin on her face.  She stands at 5 feet, 11 inches, though is usually even taller than that since she often wears heels.  Lysis has a bit more muscle mass than the average woman, and her body is very toned.

The latest styles typically adorn her body and she wears most everything well.  She's able to look the part in an elegant cocktail dress but also able to rock a tougher look.

These physical traits combined with her confidence make her a bit intimidating, someone who you have to stop to look at.

She received a tattoo of a red 'R' above her right hip on her midriff when she was very young.  She later accented the R with a dark blue butterfly on top of it.

History (Please don't judge me.)
As mentioned above, Lysis' history wasn't the best.  To put matters simply, her parents were paid a large sum of money to have and support her for the first few years of her life.  It was then that a private company took her into their care, along with several hundred other children.

The children, unbeknownst to themselves at the time, all had psychic powers, and it was the goal of the company, named Shuttle, to weed out the weak and cultivate an army of super soldiers.

The children were divided into twenty-six groups, each represented by a letter of the alphabet and a word that started with the letter.  The words were fairly elementary, something you would find on an alphabetical chart for children.  Lysis was part of the R group, also called the Rocket group, and had a red R tattooed onto her soon after she arrived

The training the children went through so soon after arriving was brutal, and many didn't make it.  Lysis herself noticed that all of her 'friends', mostly girls, were the ones quickly dying off.  She had even heard a conversation between two of the facility's workers that the dying of mostly girls was expected.  It was then that she decided that she wouldn't be one of the ones who died.

She worked non-stop to become the best, and by the end of her life at the facility she was considered just that.  Training included several different things that were best believed to culminate together to produce efficient soldiers.  Training consisted of everything from martial arts, marksmanship, and swordsmanship to other, more athletic based activities such as track, gymnastics, swim, dance, and weights, to other skills such as music, foreign languages, and vehicle operation.

Life in Shuttle was extreme and difficult, and once the children got past the idea that they would never see their parents again they had to constantly worry about making the cut.  There was a lot of desperation and the children had no one to turn to but each other.  It wasn't till later that the children accidentally found out that they only reason they existed was because someone had paid their parents a lot of money to have them, and that they had no parents to return to.

Eventually they overpowered their instructors and destroyed the facility before the program was completed.  Lysis was seventeen by that time.  Many of the survivors decided to stick together in groups, but Lysis had decided to go on her own.  Using the skills of precision and stealth that were given to all of the facility’s subjects, the young woman amassed a large amount of wealth through acts of thievery, whether it was from museums, bank safes, or the wallets of the rich.  She also became a well-respected hitwoman, which gave her access to several useful individuals.  Once she had her money she was easily able to pay for fake identification, a birth certificate, and other necessary documents.

With her identification in-hand she was able to establish bank accounts and purchase several luxurious homes around the world.  She began and continues spending her time as she likes, her fortune getting only larger sitting in bank accounts and her skill with the stock market.

Personal Impact
Since her birth Lysis has left quite a bit of impact on me.  Like my other characters, sometimes it feels like she's actually alive and that she's making her own decisions and directing her own life.  That's when I know I've made a good character, when I feel like they're breathing on their own.  When I feel like I'm not writing them so much as I'm having to keep up with what they're doing on their own.  It makes me feel like I've got what it takes to be as successful as I would like.

It's actually because of her as well that I came out of my shell a bit.  I used to not have all that much confidence, but looking at her inspired me to at least act as confident as I should, even if I didn't feel it.  Walk strong, with purpose, and with your head up like Lysis does, I'd think to myself.  Granted, she's confident for not all the right reasons, but it worked in the end.  In the end I actually gained that which I lacked, which was a very good thing.  But, yes, a little bit of how I act now, from composure to some mannerisms, were originally hers.  I suppose through creating her I've managed to create some sort of inspiration for myself.

Also by looking at her, just like with any of my characters, I think I've gained more insight into the heart of God.  I know most of you who read this wonder just what's so great about Lysis.  She's selfish, she's self-absorbed, she's the glamorization of a hollow lifestyle, she's this, she's that.  But do believe me when I say that I adore her anyway.  Plus she's still got some future waiting for her, and not everything will turn out as well as she'd like it to.  I can't wait to see that for myself, to write it down, and see how she changes before my eyes.

I won't say what pieces of me I used in her creation, so you'll have to ponder and guess.  It's more fun that way ;)  Comments are more than welcome.  And thanks for even reading this far.  I know that this is a huge update.  If you guys like it though then I'll introduce you to more of the crazy cast in my head.

PS.  Yes, the red R is a Team Rocket shout out.  If I ever tell you I'm not at least a little nerdy it's a terrible lie.

The character Lysis Fox is ©2008 James Curry a.k.a Sem