Winona Chotke

the basics

full name♦ Winona Chotke
nicknames ♦ Win
age ♦ Twenty eight
birthday ♦ September 3rd, 1990
occupation ♦ ER Nurse at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital
school ♦ Primrose Academy
species ♦ Human
ability/power ♦ Astral/Spiritual Projection
how the ability works ♦

Winona has the ability to leave the physical-material plane and enter the astral-spiritual. Known as "spirit-walking" among her people, the ability has passed down the maternal line of her family for generations. The spiritual plane is a mirror image of the material, and while there, Winona is capable of passing through matter in all directions, and "flying" at high speed. While she can observe the material plane, her ability to interact with it is limited. The most she can do is cause sounds, including speech, though only a few words at a time. More profoundly, her ability has allowed her to make very limited contact with her ancestors, most notably her grandmother, and other spirits for short periods of time. These encounters first began as feeling their emotional presence, to glimpses of their spectral form and voices, and finally, brief contact.

Her ability does not come without its limitations, and risks. When emotionally distraught, or simply due to a lapse in concentration, Winona's emotional energy or even her spectral form can manifest to those in the physical plane (which was incidentally how her grandmother discovered she was a spirit-walker). Recently, her ability has begun to manifest itself, albeit weakly, when she daydreams, leading to more than one awkward situation in the workplace. In addition, Winona is psychically tethered to her body, which limits the distance she can functionally travel. Since first learning of and experimenting with projection, the distance she can travel has greatly increased from just a few hundred feet, to tens of miles. However, the further she strays from her body, the weaker her connection becomes. Her mother had warned her of the risks of becoming lost in the spirit world, and the threat of becoming preyed upon by the more sinister spirits that walk there. Always the rebellious daughter however, Winona continued to push the limits of her ability until a terrifying encounter that left her far more reverent.

gender ♦ Female
sexuality ♦ Heterosexual

the appearance

face claim ♦ Tanaya Beatty
height and weight ♦ 5'6'' and 125 lbs
identifying features ♦

Winona has a tattoo of a Sioux Uname on her left wrist. It is a spiritual symbol of the four spirits that send messages in the four directions of the winds, with the earth at the center. The symbol reminds her of the importance of staying connected to the physical world.

overall appearance ♦

Winona is of average height and build, and keeps herself physically fit. Her light brown skin is of smooth complexion, and her straight jet-black hair, which she often keeps in twin braids or just past shoulder length, is complemented by her golden-brown eyes. Unfortunately, Winona is known to suffer from resting bitch face, giving people the false impression that she is angry or annoyed. Fortunately, the same cannot be said for her bedside manner - patients often complement her friendly demeanor and warm smile. As an ER nurse Winona wears a simple pair of blue scrubs while on duty. Off duty, she tends to dress modestly, with a preference for denim, and never goes heavy with makeup, preferring a simple black eyeliner for most occasions. Winona also has pierced ears and wears a small collection of Sioux tribal jewelry passed down from her deceased grandmother.

the personality

likes ♦
+ loves her younger brothers - despite personality conflicts and a rough upbringing, she loves them    and wants nothing more than for them to become good men
+ helping people, particularly patients, especially as part of the ER team
+ learning more about her culture and where she came from - Sioux is a strong part of her identity
+ being in nature and around wildlife - Louisiana is nothing like Nebraska, but has its own charms
+ speaking of Louisiana - Cajun cuisine. Mexican cuisine is also up there.
+ politics - she is a staunch environmentalist but otherwise pretty moderate

dislikes ♦
- cities - she hates the crowds, dense buildings, lack of nature, and much prefers rural life
- littering - it makes her vision go red with rage
- drugs and alcohol - a recovering alcoholic, she despises how it has affected her family and people,    and as such has pretty strong opinions about them
- rude people, whether they be strangers, supervisors, or coworkers
- her parents - her father for what he did to her brothers, and her mother for letting him
- herself - that she wasn't strong enough to protect her brothers

strengths ♦
+ headstrong - she has strong convictions and will never let anyone take advantage of her
+ cool-headed - handles stress well, a necessary trait in the ER setting
+ determined - when she puts her mind to something, she'll get it done
+ compassionate - she finds fulfillment in helping people, also a necessary trait in her line of work
+ can speak Teton Sioux fluently, which helps her connect to her culture

weaknesses ♦
- headstrong - she can be uncompromising at times, especially with things she is passionate about
- anger - she has quite a bit of this about her past pent up, and sometimes she'll release it on the    wrong people, but feel terrible about it after
- alcoholism - she is recovering from her teens and early 20s, but has had the occasional lapse    when her anger takes over

dreams ♦
+ to find the strength to forgive, and reconcile with her mother
+ for her brothers to mature and find themselves, especially Dakota, the most troubled of them
+ to be able to more directly help the people on her old reservation, who still struggle
+ to start a family of her own

fears ♦
- that her mother, a heavy smoker, will die before she can reconcile with her
- never being able to forgive herself
- that Dakota's self-destructive behavior will kill him
- losing herself in the astral plane

overall personality ♦

If there is one thing that can be said of Chotkes, it's that they are headstrong, and Winona is no exception. She cares deeply about the things she is passionate for, and is oftentimes uncompromising in her opinions. Compared to her younger brothers, she was always the mature one, and always sought to be the good big sister. Their parents lead busy lives, so the role of parenting would often fall on their grandmother. When she passed, Winona tearfully stepped into the role. Unfortunately, as much as she tried, Winona could never negate the effects her father's abuse had on her brothers, nor the impact of growing up on a reservation, despite her family's overall wealth. Around her thirteenth birthday, Winona's special ability began to emerge. She was the first of her siblings to be moved, far away, to a private school in New Orleans. One by one her brothers joined her, but the damage of her absence had been done.

The Chotkes dabbled in drugs and alcohol, and again, Winona was no exception. She drank out of anger for her parents, and out of despair for her brothers. Things turned around for Winona after a spiritual encounter in the astral plane. She embraced the words of her grandmother and would do everything she could to better her own life, and that of her brothers. Through her determination, she gradually conquered her demons, began to excel in her studies, and eventually completed a nursing program. As much as she could never admit it, she followed her parents footsteps into the medical field, but her reasons were altruistic, not financial. Unfortunately this took her away from her brothers, who continued to spiral downwards, especially Dakota. Today, Winona is trying to reconnect with her brothers and set them on the right path. Despite her new lot in life, she still holds much anger for her parents, and despite her grandmother's pleas, has been unable to find the power to forgive them. Her dream in life, after helping her brothers to succeed, is to have a family of her own, and to be a better parent than her own.

Winona can be outgoing at times and generally very easy to get along with. She has a sarcastic, sometimes dark sense of humor, which often comes with the territory of being an ER nurse. She loves her job and the team environment that is centered around helping people in dire need. She is loyal to her family, friends, and and coworkers, and will defend them with a fiery passion. Unfortunately Winona still has her demons - she has anger issues relating to her past and is a recovering alcoholic - which can be triggered under the right (or wrong) set of circumstances. As far as potential relationships go, she isn't interested in casual encounters or hookups, but seeks a long-term romantic partner.

the history

father ♦ Lootah, 60, Neurosurgeon 
mother ♦ Angpetu, 51, Anesthesiologist

brothers ♦ Kohana, 26; Chatan, 23; Dakota, 23; Mika, 19

hometown ♦ Niobrara, Nebraska

overall history ♦



Winona was lucky to be the first child. While her parents were both busy with their respective medical careers, the free time they did have was devoted entirely to her. It would later be shared among four brothers. Nevertheless, her parents attention was far from nurturing. Her father wanted sons, and was never afraid to admit it. Her mother on the other hand, doted over Win at first, but that wasn't to last. As Winona's brothers entered the picture, her parents would gradually leave it. It was her grandmother who stepped in to raise the Chotke siblings. She was everything their parent's weren't - loving, attentive, caring, and protective. She took it upon herself to see that they were all raised right. It was a tall order. Despite living on the wealthier end of the reservation, it was still the reservation. Drugs, alcohol, and domestic violence were a fact of life, and tried as she did, their grandmother couldn't insulate them forever. Nevertheless, she instilled in her grandchildren a sense of identity and pride in their Sioux culture, teaching them the language and customs of their people. Sure there was all the bickering and fighting that plagues sibling relationships, but at the end of the day they were all loyal to each other. Despite the rough environment and absentee parents, Winona's grandmother blessed her with a good childhood.

Everything changed when she passed, and no one was more devastated than Winona. As if with the flip of a switch, her whole world came crashing down. Her mother became depressive and even more distant, turning to cigarettes to cope with her increasingly abusive marriage. That abuse would quickly extend to the Chotke brothers. He never laid a hand on Winona, he saved it all for them. Winona, just twelve years old, could do little to protect them from their father. Her mother did nothing. Winona tried to step into the role her grandmother played. As the oldest sibling, it was her responsibility, but she was just a child herself, and she couldn't protect them from their father, and the toxicity of reservation life. She had her first drink when she was thirteen and her life quickly spiraled downhill from there. She began to engage in riskier behavior, and began to isolate herself from her brothers. She couldn't raise or protect them so what was the point?

During these years, not only was her body beginning to change, but something else was emerging from within her. It began as vivid dreams which gradually became more lucid in nature. These dreams progressed to out-of-body experiences, mostly at night, but sometimes while she'd daydream. She would soon realize that these were not mere dreams - she would observe things n this state that actually occurred; recall conversations that actually happened. She remembered a story her grandmother once told her, something about spirit-walking. A myth among her people. Could this be what she was experiencing? Winona took it upon herself to read up on spirit-walking and astral projection. Everything she read seemed to correlate perfectly with what she was experiencing. Each night she would explore the astral plane, each time going a bit further. She became more confident, and found it amusing to listen in on people's conversations and activities. Watching neighbors getting it on was always fun. It was like being a ghost. Her only mistake was talking about her experiences with her brother Kohana, and their mother overhearing it. She forcefully pulled Win aside and with fearful eyes demanded she tell her everything. She did, and her mother revealed that her ability was passed down the matrilineal line, and that there were many dangers to using it. She made her promise to never dabble in it again. Winona lied and said she wouldn't. That very night she disobeyed her mother and returned to the astral world. In this world she could do whatever she wanted and nobody could stop her. It was exciting, it was fun, and moreover it was safe, that is until the night she couldn't find her body.

She remembered falling asleep alone in a field somewhere outside of town, as she often would, staring up at the night sky. Once asleep she spent hours in the astral world, traveling farther than she ever had. She still kept to her usual routine of spying on conversations, sex, and exploring areas she couldn't access in the real world. Eventually she realized she was miles away from her body, and a feeling of dread began to set in. She couldn't explain why, but it began to grow stronger. That feeling of being watched, but far more intense. Like something was coming for her. She began to wander back to where her body laid, or at least, where she thought it was. She found the field, or at least, the field, some time later. But she wasn't there. Fear began to set it, which overwhelmed whatever sense she had for the tether that seemed to connect her spirit to her body. Did she go to far? Did she break it? Was she trapped here? Fear turned to panic as the looming presence of dread drew ever stronger. She turned around. A pale figure in the distance was creeping ever towards her. She couldn't run, she was transfixed, like a deer in the headlights, overwhelmed with fear. As the figure crept closer and into view. It looked like her, but a corpse-version of herself. Completely nude, bloated and pallid skin, blue lips, sunken eyes that were nevertheless transfixed on her own. Winona wanted to scream and run but she was paralyzed with fear. The next thing she remembered was waking up in an ambulance.

A group of late night hunters had found her, she was convulsing and undergoing cardiac arrest. Had they not found her she would most certainly had died. After her recovery the decision was made. Winona couldn't control her ability, or at least certainly not where she was. Her father and his resources discovered that there was a boarding school in New Orleans for gifted children. That was where she was sent. For months, Winona refused to explore the astral plane, even after entering it. She would lay with her body in fear of what was out there, waking up exhausted and stressed. During the day she lead a miserable life. She had been separated from her brothers and her community - she had failed them and now lived in a strange place with people she could never connect with. No matter what distracted her in reality, she still felt that sense of dread, that death itself was coming for her. It was inescapable. One night, heavily drinking alone in her room, she decided to end it all. She downed a bottle of anxiety medication and entered the astral world for good. What she was greeted with was not the image of her corpse, but a brilliant light, and the spiritual presence of her grandmother. Winona can't remember what she had said but she had felt it. She awoke days later in a hospital bed with purpose and a new lease on life. Her brothers still needed her.

One by one her younger brothers joined her at Primrose Academy, each exhibiting their own supernatural ability, along with their own dysfunctional baggage. Nevertheless, at Primrose, so far away from home, they began to reconnect and grow closer. Winona, now grateful for surviving her suicide attempt, gave up alcohol, and buckled down and began to excel academically. While she still felt a large degree of anger for her parents, she was attracted to the medical field, where they had made their careers. She graduated Primrose with honors and attended a nearby nursing program. Her goal was to help people, not make a fortune. Four years of intense schooling would pay off and she landed her first job as an ER Nurse at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital. All the while, her brothers floundered in their schooling, a result of their poor upbringing. Dakota most of all became the most troubled, but eventually landed himself a promising internship. Winona, having passed her grueling schooling, has begun to insert herself more into the lives of her brothers, hoping to help them along to finding their paths in life. She has also begun to explore her ability once more, having a far more reverent view of the astral-spiritual world. She has managed to make contact with her grandmother's spirit twice since, and is learning to protect her own spirit against the sinister entities that inhabit that world.

the role player

alias ♦ scrubert
age ♦ 27
pronouns ♦ he | him | his
code ♦ ADMIN EDIT
other characters ♦ Mary Magdalena Sutton