[Phantom]

Pruu Eleanor Choi

Full Name: Pruu Eleanor Choi
Pronouns: She/Her
Nicknames: N/A
Age: 25
Gender: Female
Room #: -
Birthplace: Tampa, Florida
Birthday: April 24th
Orientation: Demisexual
Status: Single
Power: Insect Manipulation
Play-By: Krystal Jung
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 125 lbs


Personality:
Pruu is oddly peaceful, she just has a different level of zen than most people. She is a freethinking, colorful person who lets out a steady stream of oddball ideas. She's gentle, and sentimental. Pruu is very trusting- and if her trust is betrayed, she doesn't beat herself up about it- they broke her trust, she's not wrong for trusting. Then again, it's not like she trusts complete strangers with her bank pin. Pruu brings a verve and enthusiasm to everything she does, and she's not shy about it.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that Pruu lives with her head in the clouds, right? She's dreamy, and can become absentminded when she's having a particularly vivid daydream. In school, she used to look out the window, and daydream about opening it, floating out into the sky. Pruu is very girlish. She giggles about everything- and while part of it is her nature- part of it is an act. She prefers to be underestimated.

She is messy to the point that people have questioned whether she cares about her possessions at all. Pruu spills things all. the. time. And it's been years since she could blame poor motor control for it. Pruu's quirkiness and oddball nature can be off-putting to people- especially if they don't like bugs. She can be fickle, although there are some things that- conversely- she is very strong-willed about. Yet, Pruu can also be very blunt. if she thinks something needs to be said, she won't tip-toe around it- but she'll deliver the message in a calm way.

Pruu is an airy, youthful individual. Even by herself, she's perfectly capable of having fun. While she can be erratic sometimes, she's never in a rush. If she is, it's probably best that you start running in the same direction! Pruu is gentle in demeanor and gesture, but she is capable of being boisterous. She is crafty- and, lest you forget- Pruu is an actress. While she usually uses her skills exclusively on stage in the club, she is more than capable of playing a role.

History:
Pruu has always been an odd duck. But, to quote Bob Ross, that's okay- she has more fun than most people. She couldn't talk to animals or trees- but she could talk to insects: and they told her all sorts of things. If she were a different person, she probably would have done something more useful with her power, like have a fly help her cheat on tests.

Instead, she mostly relied on her little friends to help her get through her crushing loneliness. At daycare, or later, school, Pruu had friends- at home, her parents were usually busy. They even forgot to pick her up from school- multiple times- over the years. She probably should have been angry at them, but it was all she knew. Dozens of little incidents dotting the patchwork of her life.

To be fair to them, when they did have time, they spent as much of it as possible with her. She learned one of her favorite hobbies- scrapbooking- from her mother. She makes one every single year, and has twenty-four. Her mom made the first eight.

For the first four years of her life, Pruu wore braces- not teeth braces- leg braces. Her legs were slightly twisted (they still are, but you'd have to be looking really close to notice!) and they figured that was part of why she was falling all over the place. After she got the braces off, her legs were looking better, but she was still falling. She tried all sorts of mobility devices, and, eventually- she found the best fit for her: forearm crutches. They were the kind with the spring tips- if she fell she could tripod, and catch herself at almost any angle.

She didn't need them all the time- usually if she was going to be walking for longer than ten minutes, or on rough terrain. At school she only used them during recess, or gym.

Both at home and at school, Pruu was on high alert when she saw someone staring at the floor, or the wall. When she could, she'd tell flies, bees, and wasps to leave- so they wouldn't get killed. Pruu couldn't talk to spiders- but she felt bad, and tried to stop people from killing them. She thought the fuzzy ones were especially cute. If she could, she'd take them outside. She was never worried about being bitten- she still isn't. When kids on the playground started killing ladybug larvae and eggs she made posters, and stood out in front of their nest all recess.

As Pruu grew up, she decided she wanted to be an actress. Like many other kids, she dreamed about being in all the usual greatest hits- Harry Potter, High School Musical, iCarly. Whatever was on TV, really. When she was in Middle school, she decided to audition for that season's school play. She was so excited! She knew all of her lines, and thought she nailed them.

Instead of one of the lead roles that she auditioned for, she was cast as a background role. It probably wouldn't have bothered her too much if she thought that she just wasn't good, but the casting director told her (gently,) that they didn't know how to choreograph with her. She stood by the side of the stage for the number she was in, holding a prop. Most kids probably would have been crushed- and Pruu was, for a couple of weeks.

After that, she didn't try auditioning for anything again.

Pruu developed another interest.

Somewhere along the way, while channel surfing, (once she was eleven, her parents figured that unless they were going to both be gone for a couple of days she could be home alone without a babysitter. One of them would pop in for at least ten minutes to make sure she wasn't dead,) she stumbled across a movie. The actress was doing a strip-tease- and the performance of sensuality intrigued her. She continued down that rabbit hole- and started listening to artists like Lil Kim and Foxy Brown.

As a sophomore in High school, she had soft-core ascetics like the Playboy bunny all over the inside of her binder (she tried putting one or two on the outside, but she got in trouble,) and locker. She was more than a little interested in the culture. It struck her as odd and puritanical the way that people reacted to these women (funny that, male strippers and sex workers are basically invisible in society, unless they're being used as a joke,) flaunting their sexuality. You couldn't show skin, or be sexy, and be intelligent. Lil Kim was her favorite- she stuck two fingers up to that notion.

And, of course, she had access to the internet. She happened to see a video of a pole dance on twitter, and she followed the stripper who posted it. She wasn't just performing- she was an acrobat.

She knew getting up on stage and looking pretty wasn't all there was to the job. She was also very aware that for most people, this wasn't a lifetime career. But there was an opportunity to make a lot of money in a short amount of time.

It was just skin what was everyone freaking out about?

Pruu was prudent. She was going to make a ten year plan. She knew that she wanted to give it a try. But she was also aware that even if she enjoyed it, and was in the game for a while, she wouldn't be there forever.

She wasn't in the top fifth percentile, but she did as well as she could in school. She didn't really know what she wanted to do yet- but she had plenty of time to think about it, no?

Before her junior year, her parents got divorced. They had been growing apart for years. Her father was acting like a petulant child, so she was on her mom's side (which- she realized later- at that age she probably shouldn't have had to- shouldn't have felt compelled to- choose a side). She threw a divorce party which was awesome.

But her parents were united on one thing. They absolutely did not approve of her future plans. Unfortunately for them, Pruu was set on it. Unless she couldn't find a club that met her needs, there was no way she wasn't going to do it. Her dad was obstinate, but her mother eventually came around- after they had a conversation or three.

Pruu graduated. That summer, she went shopping for clubs, and took an actual pole-dancing class (she had one at home that she'd been practicing on, but she hoped to learn a trick or three there).

There was one little snag in her plan. She had a strong suspicion that her crutches would cut into her tips. She had seen a video on twitter of a club that had a pole that was set up like a fire station, where the dancers entered from above- so maybe there was one like that in the city.

As long as she was on the pole, or near the bar or the stage- she had nothing to worry about. She could incorporate those little quirks of needing to lean on, or against, something into her character.

Yes, her character. Pruu hadn't totally given up on acting.

Stripping was a customer-service job. There was the dancing, where she got to be an acrobat and learn new skills- and then there were the hours that she sat with dudes in the champagne room, or at the bar. Nobody ever believed her when she said that the hardest thing about being a stripper was laughing convincingly at men's jokes!

She found a club, and within the first few weeks- she found her best friend- another baby stripper. They clicked immediately, and were attached at the hip ever since. They got a place together and were roommates within a month.

So she was doing decent at the stripping game. She was refining her dancing skills, and her character that she switched into the moment she stepped into the club. She really liked the place- they weren't all best friends, but she got along well enough with the other dancers there- and the bartender.

Pruu had never drank much before she started working there: she was a lightweight. Within the year, she was drinking straight vodka- no ice- and drinking dudes under the table. (She needed a little something to drink, especially when she got unlucky and was stuck talking to the human version of the New York Times opinion section.)

If there was ever an issue that wasn't bad enough to get them dragged out of the club by security- if they were rude to a dancer, or being overly touchy and not paying for it- well, it just so happened that there was a beehive not to far from the club. Rude dudes got stung, wasn't that a lovely coincidence?

She was making decent money as a no-extras dancer.

She had also developed a good relationship with the club's security guard. That was probably why they approached her first.

Pruu wasn't sure about it- but it was only in the club, and only in the champagne room. They'd talk to her guy first, and then go back with her.

If they weren't buying coke from her, they were going to buy it from someone else. It was a choice spot, with very little risk involved. Compared to her friend, who she went with after hours to motels around the area (she always stayed out on the terrace- or in the hall- with a gun, in case things went left,)- it was a much safer side business.

Then she was making 2k a night- easy. She stopped going in every night, and usually only worked three nights a week. If she wasn't at the club, or "out" with her friend, she was probably home watching The Office all day.

Sounds lame, right? She was a stripper, she should be living an exciting life! But this was what she got into the game for. To make a comfortable amount of money without overexerting herself.

That and, at twenty-three, she and her friend spent the entire year travel stripping. They visited clubs in every state in the contiguous 48. Before they left, they started a joint Instagram account for the trip (before that, the only pictures of Pruu that existed on the internet were the ones that her friend posted of them together). They didn't post anything explicit- best not to anger the Instagram police- the most "racy" thing they ever posted was the occasional video of a pole dance- clothes on.

It was so exciting! Her scrapbook from that year was amazing.

They got their fill of travel and went back home. She was doing great on her ten year plan, living the life- and then things went left.

Not for her- for her friend.

After Backpage got taken down things got much more risky. There was no way for her to screen clients, so Pruu always went with her. Even if she was tired, even if she wanted to go home, she was not going to leave her friend completely alone with a stranger. Sometimes she had to stay in the room next door. Whatever, she would just play a game on her phone- or read- to pass the time.

Pruu had never properly appreciated the term "roach-motel" before that night. They had a code for when she was in the next room, or if her friend wasn't able to yell for help.

She ran into the room, gun in hand. She knew how to shoot- she was ready to.

But there was a better way. A way that would leave no evidence.

She asked her friends for help.

The swarm was quick- and it was ugly (well, to her it was pretty- the noises that he was making were ugly.) They didn't stick around to see what happened. She grabbed her friend's hand, and they left immediately. For all Pruu knew, he was still alive somewhere.

That seemed unlikely though.

She should have felt guilty, but he had it coming.

They were both in shock. It was a while before they talked about it. Then, life went back to normal. Pruu was still selling. Her friend was too shaken to for a long while. She didn't blame her.

There was no evidence, but there was no way that she was going to get away with it forever, right? She still didn't feel bad about it. But this was her punishment. Being taken away from her life, to go somewhere to learn to control her gift. The recruiter lady said it in a nicer way, but she got the feeling that if she said no she'd be seeing the inside of a jail cell.

There were some free college courses she could take there. Maybe she'd check that out.

Before she left- she bugged her mom- and made her promise that she would feed her Neopets at least once a week (she wanted her to feed them every day, but beggars, choosers, etc). What if they died while she was gone?!?!

Other:
The Powers:
Insect Manipulation- Pruu can control, and communicate, with insects. She has fine-tuned her power over the years, and considers almost all bugs her friend. While Pruu can use them to attack, she can also use them to scout and spy for her. Sometimes, she prefers the company of insects to people.

Love her, hate her, wanna date her?