Kris Hartmann*

[Stark*]

Name: Kristina Hartmann
Gender: Female
Age: 17
School: Colehurst Secondary School
Hobbies and Interests: Skateboarding, art, slacking off

Appearance: At 5ft 8" and weighing in at 131 lbs, Kristina is a touch on the skinny side, with not much of a chest to speak of, although she's fit and in shape. Having short cropped, almost white blond hair, one could be forgiven for mistaking her for a boy, at least from the back. However, Kristina's face is distinctly feminine, with wide brown eyes, long lashes, and a cute little nose. Despite the fact Kristina has a generally smooth, clear complexion, she does have a large scar underneath her right eye. She is tanned more or less all over, not having many freckles at all. Kristina's elbows and knees seem to be constantly either scuffed up or scabbed, courtesy of her favourite hobby.

Kristina can usually be found wearing thoroughly ragged jeans (through use rather than deliberate style), equally wrecked trainers, and t-shirts of bands such as Rise Against, or skating teams like Birdhouse. Commonly, she will be wearing white elbow bands, although falls ensure they don't stay that colour for long.

Biography: Kristina was born and raised in Highland Beach, however, both of her parents hail from overseas. Her father, Erik, is Swedish, and her mother, Amilie, comes from Germany. Both psychology graduates, the two of them met whilst attending a seminar and hit if off more or less immediately. Three months and a whirlwind of activity later, the two of them were already engaged and planning on embarking on a new life in the states. Eleven months after that, and Kristina arrived, unplanned, but no less cherished for that.

From a young age, Kristina has had one huge passion, and that's skateboarding. When visiting her paternal uncle, Jan, at the age of five, Kris found herself captivated by the sizable half pipe that he had constructed in his backyard. Jan was delighted to see the interest his young niece was showing in what he referred to as his masterpiece, and for the rest of the time the family were there, spent every spare moment trying to teach Kris how to skate. Of course, it didn't go all that well, given her age, however, despite the bumps and tumbles she took whilst trying to get the hang of it (and her mother's worries), Kris just kept on getting back up and giving it another try. By the time the family left Sweden, Kris had found herself the owner of a brand new skateboard courtesy of her thrilled uncle.

Ever since then, Kris has been pretty much obsessed with the hobby. She takes her board with her more or less everywhere she goes, and prefers it to walking in the vast majority of cases. Kris spends hours at a time at local skate parks, just stretching her abilities. As soon as one task is accomplished, one trick landed, she'll move onto the next, not caring how many times she falls or screws up in the process. Apart from one major mishap when she was fifteen, though, Kristina has been lucky enough to avoid any injuries further than scrapes and bruises. This incident, an overambitious attempt at a trick, resulted in Kris catching her face on a railing she was planning in grinding on and badly gashing herself - resulting in the scar she still bears today. Kristina has always been determined to become a big name in skating, practicing whenever she can and constantly resolving to master everything she can about skating. With these advantages, Kris has placed in a number of local level competitions, walking away with first place twice.

Kristina is also fond of art, and carts around a sketchbook that's almost as inseparable from her as her skateboard. If she's not skating (which is rather rare), more often than not, she'll be scribbling away; regularly drawing designs for what she one day hopes will be her very own pro model. However, art for Kris isn't entirely about skating, and she enjoys drawing more or less anything, from fantastical creatures to renditions of a building that catches her eye.

So far as academics go, Kristina most certainly does not take after her parents. She's not stupid, just lazy. For her, there are many better to do than study and complete homework. Any schoolwork Kris does do is usually grudging and under significant coercion from either school or her family. Despite this, Kris still manages to hit C+'s-B's, taking full advantage of the generous helping of intelligence she was born with. However, her parents have become more accepting of her ways over time, both recognising the passion she has for skateboarding, even if it acts to the detriment of her schooling. Furthermore, her younger brother Alexander is incredibly bright, and this takes the pressure off Kristina to achieve academically. For Erik and Amilie, that one of their children is an overachiever is enough.

Kristina has a number of friends around school, mostly from artistic and skating circles, but a lot of others consider her a bit eccentric. Her boyish hair and obsession with skateboarding have led to some labelling Kris as a tomboy (not altogether unfair), and less kindly, a lesbian (the stereotype bothers her more than the inferences about her sexuality). Still, Kristina lets these minimal insults and rumours roll off her back. It will take more than a few remarks to dissuade her from her passion.

Advantages: Kristina is extremely fit and very much in shape from her near-constant skateboarding. Furthermore, this has also given her quick reflexes - necessary for being able to land many of her tricks. In addition, nobody really has any reason to mistrust Kris, so it probably wouldn't be too much trouble for her to find allies. Finally, Kris has fallen off her board enough times that she can comfortably laugh off most bruises, scratches and grazes, although anything more serious than that and Kris won't deal with it any better than anyone else.
Disadvantages: Kris tends to be incredibly reckless, and will often just plunge into situations headlong without giving a thought to the consequences. Needless to say, in a life or death scenario, this isn't the best mindset to have. Kristina's skateboard also had incredible emotional value to her, and being separated from it would be akin to losing a limb, especially since it's her preferred mode of transport. On the same lines, Kris is unused to travelling by foot and hence even though she's fit, she's likely to become worn out by the unfamiliar exercise. Finally, Kristina lacks any kind of combat training or ability, and wouldn't have the first idea on how to wield more or less anything.

Original Profile: http://sotf.wikia.com/wiki/Kris_Hartmann