Name: Springer, Madison Abigail
Gender: Female
Age: Eighteen [18]
Grade: Senior [12th]
School: George Hunter High School
Hobbies and Interests: Baking, cheerleading, arguing, celebrity gossip
Appearance: Madison is a striking figure in the halls of George Hunter and is widely regarded for her beauty; a fact she's not blind to, but is frequently annoyed by. With a square set jaw, chin, and high cheekbones, her face has a sharp angular quality to it and remains quite beautiful, albeit somewhat angry looking, when at rest, but can get slightly harsh if she smiles too wide. Her lips are plump and pouty, often parting in the center without her noticing and follow an average sized, upturned nose. Her eyes are hazel and easily her most prominent feature, being slightly smaller than average, hooded, and perfectly almond shaped, giving them a smoldering, almost feline-esque quality. Madison keeps her eyebrows plucked and shaped into a high arch and their color mirrors her nearly pitch black hair. Her hair extends slightly past her shoulders and is parted down the middle, despite numerous attempts to train it otherwise. She has light layering in the front to give her some semblance of a long bang, the shortest piece reaching just below her chin. Madison's skin is nearly flawless thanks to a strict skincare regime, though she's prone to breaking out during menstruation, and is a light tan in shade due to her mostly Germanic ancestry, with naturally rosy cheeks that deepen heavily when she's angry. She keeps a typical make-up regime of someone her age, rarely being seen without mascara, eyeliner, and some kind of lip- typically tinted chapsticks as she prefers to call attention to her eyes. Her ears are pierced twice in each lobe, though she frequently abstains from putting earrings in unless she wears her hair up. She's near-sighted and has a pair of tortoise shell oval framed glasses that she always has in her purse, though she favors her contacts.
Standing at a staggering 5'11" and weighing no more than 130lbs, Madison has a body type very reminiscent of a runway model. Her legs are exceptionally long and the part of her body she likes showing off the most, typically wearing too-short shorts and skirts to accomplish this. The only gripe she has about her body is her hands, which she feels are too large and 'mannish', though it doesn't stop her from regularly painting her nails. She won't get professional manicures, however, as she's prone to peeling the paint in times of stress or boredom. Her fashion style is typical of a girl of her age and social standing, with much of her wardrobe coming from stores such as Aeropostle, Forever 21, and Victoria's Secret. She has a tendency to show slightly too much skin from time to time and has had a few run-ins with dress code violations. Typically, she dresses more for comfort than anything and will avoid really structured pieces. Madison's voice is fairly husky and her natural speaking voice is slightly slow and bored sounding, if not monotone.
At the time of her abduction, she was wearing a loose chartreuse colored spaghetti strap tank top over a black and white striped baby tee. Beneath that was a pair of cropped black leggings with sheer paneled designs around the calves and black Adidas Ultraboost running shoes. She was also sporting her typical makeup, loose hair, black nail polish, and had in her contacts.
Biography: Born November 5th, Madison is the first born of Chattanooga natives James and Hannah Springer. The Springers were married young and stayed that way for a long while, both wholly dedicated to their careers (James in marketing and Hannah in architecture) and moving up their respective ladders. Children were an eventuality and neither were prepared for Madison's accidental conception, but were nonetheless as excited for her as they were scared. Albeit not without the typical growing pains of new parents, her early life went as smooth as possible, with both parents continuing to pursue their careers while relying lightly on outside help from grandparents and friends to help out when needed. Within a couple years, both Hannah and James had each moved up respectably in their careers, but it wasn't without issue. As things got more hectic and stressful between heavier workloads and Madison's rearing, their relationship took a bit of a hit, long hours leading to less time spent together and frayed nerves that were then taken out on one another. It was a slow decline, but one that persists to the present.
Whether it was a shot at rekindling their relationship or because they didn't want Madison to grow up as an only child, the Springers became pregnant once more, though not by accident the second time around. Things were fine throughout Hannah's pregnancy, with no complications to speak of either medically or within the family dynamic. James and Hannah finally let bygones be bygones during the pregnancy, but things took a turn for the worse with the birth of Madison's sister Cassidy shortly after her third birthday. Cassidy, born with down-syndrome, turned the Springers on their head and they almost immediately had to re-evaluate their lives. Her disability meant that they'd need to care for her far differently than they had done for Madison. They tried for a short time to make things work as they had with Madison's birth, with both parents maintaining their full-time jobs, but with Cassidy's medical and emotional needs, it proved too much to juggle and after much deliberation it was decided that James would scale back his hours and position within his marketing team, much to his chagrin. James and Hannah's relationship soured nearly completely following this, likely due to lingering resentment, though neither blamed Madison or Cassidy and loved both of their girls very much. Despite their dysfunctions, the Springers weren't interested in divorcing out of dedication to their girls and are still trying to make things work fifteen years later and while they've gained some ground, they're still very much two people who cannot see eye to eye and argue frequently.
Madison and Cassidy, on the other hand, were extremely close growing up. Madison was raised knowing that Cassidy had special needs and that she was expected to help out, a role that Madison was eager to accept, often serving as her sister's interpreter and letting her needs be known. Although she was the typical bossy older sister, giving Cassidy all the unwanted roles and characters during games of make-believe, Madison was generally very caring and gentle toward her sister, the first to stand up for Cassidy if someone remarked about her looks or intelligence. As she got older and typical preteen issues cropped up, however, she grew to be slightly embarrassed by her, with more callous classmates commenting on her status as the 'girl with the retarded sister'. She didn't like being seen in the halls with Cassidy and frequently went out of her way to avoid her in school as much as she could, typically only helping her on and off her bus
Once the girls had gotten old enough, their parents arguing became far more apparent to them and began to affect them negatively, though James and Hannah tried their best to do it behind closed doors. Madison, already in the throes of puberty, became far more withdrawn and introspective, frequently locking herself in the room for hours on end despite Cassidy's insistence on playing and being around her. A part of her, already distancing herself from her 'embarrassing sister', had begun to resent Cassidy, disliking the responsibility that Cassidy brought into her life when she was already trying to sort out her own feelings, let alone having to help Cassidy with hers. The arguing only made Madison angrier at her situation, frequently causing her to lash out, typically directed at Cassidy as she was the easiest and closest target, though she was careful to keep it out of sight of their parents lest she be scolded.
Similarly, Madison's relationship with her parents is hanging on by a thread. Their fighting has left her embittered and jaded to them and despite their efforts to get the family together for activities, she's quick to decline. James, as the parent who's home more often, takes her resentment far harder and does his best to try and lift her spirits with jokes and invitations to grocery trips and TV viewings that fall on deaf ears. She maintains very little respect for both of them equally and tries to have as little involvement with them as possible.
The older she got, the more trouble Madison had controlling her emotions, especially her anger, and frequently acted impulsively, often yelling at her classmates her annoying her, whether it was in the middle of class or not. She became a mainstay in detention much of her middle school career because of her disruptive behavior and saw the guidance counselor regularly, whom suggested to her parents that she see a therapist. Hannah and James abided and sent her to therapy against Madison's wishes. She didn't see the reasoning behind it, nor did she want to talk to a stranger about her problems, and after several months, the sessions slowly dwindled after a loss of interest and no large steps in her mood, though her therapists suggestion that baking could curb her anger has stayed with her since and she frequently does it in times of great stress as a way to keep her mind occupied and focused on a task. While Madison still maintains her short fuse, she tries her best to keep it out of sight of authority so as not to get in more trouble, though she still finds herself in detention frequently.
With age and maturity, Madison began getting more and more noticed for her looks. Growing into her initially gangly appearance, she got more attention than she ever had before. Around sophomore year, she had been adopted by the popular crowd, likely in part due to her looks. Because of her reclusivity and emotional instability, she didn't have many friends in middle school and was slightly wary of her new indoctrination, but went about the steps to try and fit in. She joined the cheer squad and started dating because she thought it was what was expected of her within her friend group and also got her out of the house and away from her family, whom she'd started almost completely ignoring. To be expected, she's not terribly dedicated to cheerleading and while she remains on the squad, she often finds herself feigning injury to sit out a fair bit of the time during practices. In a similar vein, she's pretty well versed in the latest celebrity gossip, partially because it keeps her busy and partially because it gives her something to talk to other people in her social group about.
Madison has been in a committed relationship with Connor Lorenzen since Junior year, mostly out of peer pressure and comfort than anything else. A fair bit of them getting together also coming from her distaste of some of the more lecherous attention she received and wanting an excuse to keep it away. Their relationship is as strong as it will ever be, likely, with them spending a majority of their time together, but she's yet to let down her guard, truly rely on him, or deeply invest emotionally in him. While she says she loves him, she's not sure if she means it or not, as he's the closest thing she has to a best friend, but she could imagine life without him. While stable, their relationship isn't exactly the healthiest and she pushes him frequently, between her jealousy and her temper, often accusing him of not loving her and not being happy with her. Despite her own doubts in the relationship, she fully believes he can do better, but still wants him to love her.
Unfortunately for Madison, peace doesn't come easily to her and she's very wary of times where there's no strife, because she always knows it's right around the corner. As such, she typically finds herself speeding that process along and will instigate fights with people and argue, not because she wants to, but because it's what she knows; she's far more accepting of chaos than peace. She doesn't trust easily, if at all, and tends to always be on guard around even those closest to her. In the same breathe, she's the meanest to those she's closest to, blowing things they say and do out of proportion and picking fights with them far more than anyone else, perhaps to see how far she can push them before they leave. Madison is not a sensitive or empathetic person and dislikes when people are happy and content, likely because she's feels that she's never experienced that and gets incredibly jealous of those that do/have. Often, if she hurts someone's feelings and they confront her on it, she'll double-down and it becomes that person's fault for being so sensitive. She has a hard time apologizing and being vulnerable. Her world view is very black-and-white. She can go from intensely liking someone one moment to despising them and having nothing nice to say about them the next if they do something she dislikes or perceives as a slight, likely as a way to distance herself from them before than can do it to her.
Academically, Madison keeps decent grades and has an easier time with subjects like English and History than she does with Sciences and Maths, likely because stories and myths and the like hold her interest more than cold hard facts. She hasn't applied to any colleges, nor does she know what she'll do following high school, aside from taking a year or two off and moving away from home as soon as possible. At one point in her life when she was younger, she wanted to teach Special Education, but that is a far gone dream.
Advantages: Very few aside from her light athleticism and her looks. She has a decently sized group of friends that might keep her safe, but her chances without them are slim.
Disadvantages: Madison is very emotionally unstable and acts irrationally, very rarely thinking situations through. She's not well liked aside from her group of friends and may have a target on her back for her callous remarks towards other. There isn't much driving her to fight for her life aside from pure fear of dying, so once that's run its course there may not be enough determination to keep her going. Aside from one fight in middle school, she's never gotten physical and likely will not know how to defend herself in a physical altercation.
Madison Springer
Moderator: Critique Staff
Hi Mimi! Before Madison can be given a proper critique, please change the title of the app so that it solely consists of her name. Thanks!
"Art enriches the community, Steve, no less than a pulsing fire hose, or a fireman beating down a blazing door. So what if we're drawing a nude man? So what if all we ever draw is a nude man, or the same nude man over and over in all sorts of provocative positions? Context, not content! Process, not subject! Don't be so gauche, Steve, it's beneath you."
Hey Mimi!
Madison is looking good, but I'd like to see a few small rewrites and elaborations before she gets the green light. Grammar corrections are in yellow and content comments are in cyan.
Let me know when you've made the changes by posting here and I'll give her another look. Thanks!
Madison is looking good, but I'd like to see a few small rewrites and elaborations before she gets the green light. Grammar corrections are in yellow and content comments are in cyan.
Name: Springer, Madison Abigail
Gender: Female
Age: Eighteen [18]
Grade: Senior [12th]
School: George Hunter High School
Hobbies and Interests: Baking, cheerleading, arguing, celebrity gossip I wouldn’t count arguing as a hobby/interest especially since it seems to be more a defence mechanism for her than something she genuinely does for kicks.
Appearance: Madison is a striking figure in the halls of George Hunter and is widely regarded for her beauty; a fact she's not blind to, but is frequently annoyed by. With a square set jaw, chin, and high cheekbones, her face has a sharp angular quality to it and remains quite beautiful, albeit somewhat angry looking, when at rest, but can get slightly harsh if she smiles too wide. Her lips are plump and pouty, often parting in the center without her noticing and follow an average sized, upturned nose. Her eyes are hazel and easily her most prominent feature, being slightly smaller than average, hooded, and perfectly almond shaped, giving them a smoldering, almost feline-esque quality. This last part is getting a bit colourful for a profile. Remember, terrorists are going to be clinically objective and not get poetic about her appearance. Madison keeps her eyebrows plucked and shaped into a high arch and their color mirrors her nearly pitch black hair. Her hair extends slightly past her shoulders and is parted down the middle, despite numerous attempts to train it otherwise. She has light layering in the front to give her some semblance of a long bang, the shortest piece reaching just below her chin. Madison's skin is nearly flawless thanks to a strict skincare regime, though she's prone to breaking out during menstruation, and is a light tan in shade due to her mostly Germanic ancestry, with naturally rosy cheeks that deepen heavily when she's angry. She keeps a typical make-up regime of someone her age, rarely being seen without mascara, eyeliner, and some kind of lip- typically tinted chapsticks as she prefers to call attention to her eyes. Her ears are pierced twice in each lobe, though she frequently abstains from putting earrings in unless she wears her hair up. She's near-sighted and has a pair of tortoise shell oval framed glasses that she always has in her purse, though she favors her contacts.
Standing at a staggering 5'11" and weighing no more than 130lbs, Madison has a body type very reminiscent of a runway model. Her legs are exceptionally long and the part of her body she likes showing off the most, typically wearing too-short shorts and skirts to accomplish this. The only gripe she has about her body is her hands, which she feels are too large and 'mannish', No need for quote marks here. If you want a more technical word, you could use masculine instead. though it doesn't stop her from regularly painting her nails. She won't get professional manicures, however, as she's prone to peeling the paint in times of stress or boredom. Her fashion style is typical of a girl of her age and social standing, with much of her wardrobe coming from stores such as Aeropostle, Forever 21, and Victoria's Secret. She has a tendency to show slightly too much skin from time to time and has had a few run-ins with dress code violations. Typically, she dresses more for comfort than anything and will avoid really structured pieces. Madison's voice is fairly husky and her natural speaking voice is slightly slow and bored sounding, if not monotone.
At the time of her abduction, she was wearing a loose chartreuse colored spaghetti strap tank top over a black and white striped baby tee. I'm assuming this combo covers the midriff as required by the school dress code, so please fix or justify it if the intention was otherwise. Beneath that was a pair of cropped black leggings with sheer paneled designs around the calves and black Adidas Ultraboost running shoes. She was also sporting her typical makeup, loose hair, black nail polish, and had in her contacts.
Biography: Born November 5th, Madison is the first born of Chattanooga natives James and Hannah Springer. The Springers were married young and stayed that way for a long while, both wholly dedicated to their careers (James in marketing and Hannah in architecture) and moving up their respective ladders. Children were an eventuality and neither were prepared for Madison's accidental conception, but were nonetheless as excited for her as they were scared. Albeit not without the typical growing pains of new parents, her early life went as smooth as possible, with both parents continuing to pursue their careers while relying lightly on outside help from grandparents and friends to help out when needed. Within a couple years, both Hannah and James had each moved up respectably in their careers, but it wasn't without issue. As things got more hectic and stressful between heavier workloads and Madison's rearing, their relationship took a bit of a hit, long hours leading to less time spent together and frayed nerves that were then taken out on one another. It was a slow decline, but one that persists to the present.
Whether it was a shot at rekindling their relationship or because they didn't want Madison to grow up as an only child, the Springers became pregnant once more, though not by accident the second time around. Things were fine throughout Hannah's pregnancy, with no complications to speak of either medically or within the family dynamic. James and Hannah finally let bygones be bygones during the pregnancy, but things took a turn for the worse with the birth of Madison's sister Cassidy shortly after her third birthday. Cassidy, born with Down-syndrome, turned the Springers on their head and they almost immediately had to re-evaluate their lives. Her disability meant that they'd need to care for her far differently than they had done for Madison. They tried for a short time to make things work as they had with Madison's birth, with both parents maintaining their full-time jobs, but with Cassidy's medical and emotional needs, it proved too much to juggle and after much deliberation it was decided that James would scale back his hours and position within his marketing team, much to his chagrin. James and Hannah's relationship soured nearly completely following this, likely due to lingering resentment, though neither blamed Madison or Cassidy and loved both of their girls very much. Despite their dysfunctions, the Springers weren't interested in divorcing out of dedication to their girls and are still trying to make things work fifteen years later and while they've gained some ground, they're still very much two people who cannot see eye to eye and argue frequently.
Madison and Cassidy, on the other hand, were extremely close growing up. Madison was raised knowing that Cassidy had special needs and that she was expected to help out, a role that Madison was eager to accept, often serving as her sister's interpreter and letting her needs be known. Although she was the typical bossy older sister, giving Cassidy all the unwanted roles and characters during games of make-believe, Madison was generally very caring and gentle toward her sister, the first to stand up for Cassidy if someone remarked about her looks or intelligence. As she got older and typical preteen issues cropped up, however, she grew to be slightly embarrassed by her, with more callous classmates commenting on her status as the 'girl with the retarded sister'. She didn't like being seen in the halls with Cassidy and frequently went out of her way to avoid her in school as much as she could, typically only helping her on and off her bus
Once the girls had gotten old enough, their parents arguing became far more apparent to them and began to affect them negatively, though James and Hannah tried their best to do it behind closed doors. Madison, already in the throes of puberty, became far more withdrawn and introspective, frequently locking herself in the room for hours on end despite Cassidy's insistence on playing and being around her. A part of her, already distancing herself from her 'embarrassing sister', No need for quote marks here either. had begun to resent Cassidy, disliking the responsibility that Cassidy brought into her life when she was already trying to sort out her own feelings, let alone having to help Cassidy with hers. The arguing only made Madison angrier at her situation, frequently causing her to lash out, typically directed at Cassidy as she was the easiest and closest target, though she was careful to keep it out of sight of their parents lest she be scolded.
Similarly, Madison's relationship with her parents is hanging on by a thread. You’ve jumped from past tense in the previous paragraph to present here, back to past tense in the next paragraph, which is a bit disorienting. This information might do better coming a bit later in the profile to maintain flow. Their fighting has left her embittered and jaded to them and despite their efforts to get the family together for activities, she's quick to decline. James, as the parent who's home more often, takes her resentment far harder and does his best to try and lift her spirits with jokes and invitations to grocery trips and TV viewings that fall on deaf ears. She maintains very little respect for both of them equally and tries to have as little involvement with them as possible.
The older she got, the more trouble Madison had controlling her emotions, especially her anger, and frequently acted impulsively, often yelling at her classmates for annoying her, whether it was in the middle of class or not. She became a mainstay in detention much of her middle school career because of her disruptive behavior and saw the guidance counselor regularly, whom suggested to her parents that she see a therapist. Hannah and James abided and sent her to therapy against Madison's wishes. She didn't see the reasoning behind it, nor did she want to talk to a stranger about her problems, and after several months, the sessions slowly dwindled after a loss of interest and no large steps in her mood, though her therapists suggestion that baking could curb her anger has stayed with her since and she frequently does it in times of great stress as a way to keep her mind occupied and focused on a task. Why baking, specifically? This is the only time this hobby shows up in the profile, and it could do with more elaboration. While Madison still maintains her short fuse, she tries her best to keep it out of sight of authority so as not to get in more trouble, though she still finds herself in detention frequently.
With age and maturity, Madison began getting more and more noticed for her looks. Growing into her initially gangly appearance, she got more attention than she ever had before. Around sophomore year, she had been adopted by the popular crowd, likely in part due to her looks. Because of her reclusivity and emotional instability, she didn't have many friends in middle school and was slightly wary of her new indoctrination, but went about the steps to try and fit in. She joined the cheer squad and started dating because she thought it was what was expected of her within her friend group I’m not clear on when she joined the cheer squad; you said in the last paragraph she was adopted by the popular crowd in her Sophmore year, but you open this paragraph talking about her middle school years. A little clarification would be appreciated. and also got her out of the house and away from her family, whom she'd started almost completely ignoring. To be expected, she's not terribly dedicated to cheerleading I didn’t actually have any expectations going in on what her opinion on cheer squad would be. A light reword would be helpful here to avoid presumptions about the reader. and while she remains on the squad, she often finds herself feigning injury to sit out a fair bit of the time during practices. Does she actually enjoy it at all? Has her fake injuries jeoperdised her postiion on the squad at all, or damaged other squad members' opinion of her? In a similar vein, she's pretty well versed in the latest celebrity gossip, partially because it keeps her busy and partially because it gives her something to talk to other people in her social group about. Again, does she actually enjoy this at all? What about regular gossip about her fellow students?
Madison has been in a committed relationship with Connor Lorenzen since Junior year, mostly out of peer pressure and comfort than anything else. A fair bit of them getting together also coming from her distaste of some of the more lecherous attention she received and wanting an excuse to keep it away. Their relationship is as strong as it will ever be, likely, with them spending a majority of their time together, but she's yet to let down her guard, truly rely on him, or deeply invest emotionally in him. While she says she loves him, she's not sure if she means it or not, as he's the closest thing she has to a best friend, but she could imagine life without him. While stable, their relationship isn't exactly the healthiest and she pushes him frequently, between her jealousy and her temper, often accusing him of not loving her and not being happy with her. Despite her own doubts in the relationship, she fully believes he can do better, but still wants him to love her.
Unfortunately for Madison, peace doesn't come easily to her and she's very wary of times where there's no strife, because she always knows it's right around the corner. As such, she typically finds herself speeding that process along and will instigate fights with people and argue, not because she wants to, but because it's what she knows: she's far more accepting of chaos than peace. She doesn't trust easily, if at all, and tends to always be on guard around even those closest to her. In the same breath, she's the meanest to those she's closest to, blowing things they say and do out of proportion and picking fights with them far more than anyone else, perhaps to see how far she can push them before they leave. Madison is not a sensitive or empathetic person and dislikes when people are happy and content, likely because she's feels that she's never experienced that and gets incredibly jealous of those that do/have. Often, if she hurts someone's feelings and they confront her on it, she'll double-down and it becomes that person's fault for being so sensitive. She has a hard time apologizing and being vulnerable. Her world view is very black-and-white. She can go from intensely liking someone one moment to despising them and having nothing nice to say about them the next if they do something she dislikes or perceives as a slight, likely as a way to distance herself from them before than can do it to her.
Academically, Madison keeps decent grades and has an easier time with subjects like English and history than she does with sciences and maths, likely because stories and myths and the like hold her interest more than cold hard facts. She hasn't applied to any colleges, nor does she know what she'll do following high school, aside from taking a year or two off and moving away from home as soon as possible. At one point in her life when she was younger, she wanted to teach Special Education, but that is a far gone dream.
I’d like to see one more hobby/interest in Madison’s repertoire, as I don’t have an entirely clear picture of what she does outside of school. I get that she bakes from time to time in an effort to control her anger and does some unenthusiastic cheerleading, but unless she’s doing that all the time she’s not at school we’ve still got a gap. Is she out with her friends a lot? Doing something of interest when she’s locked up in her room for hours on end?
Advantages: Very few aside from her light athleticism and her looks. She has a decently sized group of friends that might keep her safe, but her chances without them are slim. While I agree that the odds are against her, I’d prefer at least one more advantage. Consider that keeping people at arm’s length protects her from relationships going wrong, for instance.
Disadvantages: Madison is very emotionally unstable and acts irrationally, very rarely thinking situations through. She's not well liked aside from her group of friends and may have a target on her back for her callous remarks towards other. There isn't much driving her to fight for her life aside from pure fear of dying, so once that's run its course there may not be enough determination to keep her going. Aside from one fight in middle school, she's never gotten physical and likely will not know how to defend herself in a physical altercation.
Let me know when you've made the changes by posting here and I'll give her another look. Thanks!
This character biography has had no alterations for more than two weeks and has been put in the abandoned characters forum. This profile is eligible for resubmission by the handler upon alterations requested by the staff.
"Art enriches the community, Steve, no less than a pulsing fire hose, or a fireman beating down a blazing door. So what if we're drawing a nude man? So what if all we ever draw is a nude man, or the same nude man over and over in all sorts of provocative positions? Context, not content! Process, not subject! Don't be so gauche, Steve, it's beneath you."