helena voloshin
# ruthless mad scientist (don't call her that tho, she hates that), war criminal, questionable ethics all around
# smartest person in the room, self-confident, needs to be in charge
# a little mean, and very intimidating
full name: dr. helena voloshin
gender: i always jokingly say 'scientist', because there's definitely something going on in the gender department, but she's too busy doing science to ever actually interrogate that. somewhere between agender and transmasc maybe.
pronouns: she/her (or, another half-joke answer: she/sir lol)
age: 54 by the time she brings fia back from the dead [x]; 48 when she meets fia [#]; early-mid 20s when she meets westmoreland and addie [#]; 16 on elysium [#]
race/ethnicity/class: white, colony-born citizen of the Terran Empire (which puts her a step below earth-born in some people's eyes). reasonably well off (upper middle class?) because she's a high ranking government employee and actually pretty frugal and good with money, but also i haven't really figured out all the economics and class dynamics of the world building yet lol.
describe them physically: pretty pale, very slender and not really any curves, 5’7’’/170cm, always stands up straight. dark shoulder-length hair with some gray streaks. intense gray eyes, strong expressive eyebrows, features overall a little too sharp and angular to be called pretty. rarely smiles, overall just gives off a very serious, intimidating vibe.
describe how they dress: no make-up or jewelry, and a very nondescript, plain clothing style, mostly black - it's just not something she cares about. practical shoes. lab coat whenever feasible.
favorite things: her work - research, infectious diseases, toxins, medical oddities, autopsies. good whiskey, good food. fia - wouldn't admit that tho.
least favorite things: stupid people. rude people. loud people. actually, maybe just 'people' in general, safe for a few exceptions.
hobbies: once again, her work. reading - physical books, old scifi, pre-Empire lit. drawing - anatomical sketches, 'mindless scribbles'. fucked up sex and sadism.
quirks: her love for paper books is somewhat unusual, very old-fashioned in that world. almost never calls people by their nickname/shortened name even when they usually go by that (literally the only person who calls fia by her full name 'sofiya'). wants to get referred to as 'sir' or 'doctor' and might stab you for 'ma'am'.
what's up in the romance department (and if they're aro, are they in a queerplatonic relationship): actually *is* very much aro but would never call the thing with fia a QPR lol. dubiously consented boss/employee casual-sex-thing turned into a mutually obsessed & dependent idek-what-to-call-it with a side of power imbalance. they need each other to survive but god. should they. Helena threw away her whole life and career and spent a year trying to bring Fia back from the dead because she couldn't let her go, yet she would never actually say that out loud - even tho Fia so desperately wants to hear it. she once called her 'my most priced possession' which is probably the truest thing she ever said about that relationship. they are terrible for each other and i love them so much in all their toxic glory.
best qualities: insanely smart and perceptive, rational, eloquent. no-nonsense, gets shit done, very good at her job.
worst flaws: control freak with no empathy - she knows best, no matter what other people say and want. extremely good at justifying things to herself - of course she's not *petty* or *vengeful*, she has clear and good reasons to destroy someone who wronged her in some way. can't you see it's the most rational choice? surely.
would you say they're a good person: oh god no. no, not even remotely.
fears/phobias: she would say 'none', because she's very good at rationalizing things and in control of her emotions - so it's not like she's ever afraid of things, she's just cautiously aware of possible unfavorable outcomes, if applicable. definitely no 'irrational' phobias.