Profile: Ava

A proper visual ID guide for Ava. Mostly for my own benefit so I actually know what she looks like, lol.

Ava was an RP character I created that I just fell in love with. I think she's one of the best characters I've ever created, so she has expanded outside of the RP realms and is now my #1 character to draw.

This was her original RP profile;

Name: Ava
Age: 17
Sex: Female.
Eye Colour: Blue.
Length: 17 ft. (5.2 meters)

Dorsal: Ava's dorsal is completely straight and has a small notch at the base of it.

General Appearance: Ava weighs in at 4,900 pounds (2 222 kg) , giving her a pretty average build. Her eyepatches are long and slender. They have a small scoop taken out the front, and have a cluster of 4 freckles along the top of the left eyepatch. Her mouth chip is a kind of “M” shape, and just after her mouth chip on the left, her white marking curves up towards her eyepatches, almost touching. The right side doesn't have this curve. Her saddle has 3 small dots in it on the left side, while the right side is slightly 'open' with a small dot.

Personality: Ava has always been a sweet girl, but since she was transferred to a new facility, communication breakdowns have caused her to become a little more introverted. She's dying to be heard, and is trying really hard to learn the pods language and make some friends.

Wild or Captive Born: Captive

Back Story (Accurate to 1 week post move): Ava was born head first to mother, Avelyn, at 7:45pm, with trainers watching on. The trainers were particularly excited about Ava's birth, because Avelyn was the only other orca at the facility after Ava's father, Duke, passed away a year earlier. They were happy Avelyn would finally have a companion. The pair become the most famous attraction at the small facility, until 2 years later Avelyn became ill and passed away shortly after. Instead of keeping the orphan alone, they decided to put a small pod of dolphins with her.

For the next 15 years, Ava grew up happily among her dolphin family. She grew up learning their language and always felt at home. She was extremely talkative, and enjoyed the irony when she learned that her name “Ava” actually meant “Voice, Sound”.

As she become older, though, she become more and more aware that there were none of her species here...particularly those of the male persuasion... and she would often find herself fantasizing about what they would be like.
Then, the small facility she had been in her whole life was shut down, and a Large facility bought her. When she arrived at the new facility a week ago, she was shocked that she was finally face to face with others of her species, but even more shocked that she couldn't understand a word they were saying. She quickly realized that the dolphins must have spoken a different language, and this new one was completely foreign to her. Now she laughs at the NEW irony of her name, meaning “Voice”, when she doesn't even have one.

She tried her best at communicating, but her failed attempts made her quite self conscious and she became very introverted. Instead of the whale companions, she sought out attention from her new trainers, and the guests of the park. Performing was her favourite part of the day, because it made her feel 'normal'.

Attitude Towards....
Trainers: She adores them. Like her, they can't communicate with the whales, either. But they obviously try their best, just like she tries.
Performing: She LOVES performing. All the signals are universal, so it goes over the language barrier. She loves that she can be with the other whales, be given the same signals as them, and know what to do. In a way, it makes her feel closer to the other whales.
Other orcas: She's trying so hard to learn their language, but is finding it difficult, so she's shy. But really, she would love nothing more then to spend time with them and talk to them.
Guests: She finds it easier communicating with guests then the whales! She finds humans fascinating. “I poke my tongue out, they poke their tongue out”. Simple communication, yes, but still communication nevertheless.