Amy Harper
Life in Phoenix: Amy is a doctoral student at Arizona State University studying Anthropology and Gender Studies. Amy works closely with Mark Herhley and is involved in local Civil Rights issues, focusing especially on women and gender rights. Her hope is that once she has completed schooling she can try to make her mark on the world, and leave behind a better, more equal society.
Prized Possession: a copy of The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. The book once belonged to Amy's mother, and was one of the few things left to her when the woman died at a very young age before she went into foster care.
Problem: Amy's personal life has recently become complicated. She ended a three year relationship with a fellow student activist but her ex is having trouble accepting that things are over. Then she has started something new with, or all people, the protege of Nicholas Mathewson, Michelle Wu. The pair have clicked in a way Amy had not expected, but her social circle is having trouble accepting the new relationship and is creating difficulties for Amy.
Drive: Amy has had a hard life, and she wishes to fight the systemic abuses which have made things difficult for so many other people: poverty, racism, sexism, a monolithic patriarchy that seems invincible. With the help of Mark Herhley she hopes that maybe she's begun to create the seed of an organization that will some day make a difference.
Pride: An orphan with nothing but her mother's book and a few photos, Amy has worked hard to earn the education and the opportunities available to her now. She's overcome poverty, racism, and sexism and risen above the hate and despair to create a life for herself. Amy has accomplished much, and those accomplishments have helped to drive her forward. She takes enormous pride her her education and her intellect, and strives to live up to the image of an intellectual.
Relationship with Others: Amy's relationship with Michelle makes no sense. The woman is an Outlaw biker, protege of a troublesome Professor who constantly stands in the way of justice, and is a convicted criminal. But when the two of them spent a few minutes talking, Michelle engaged her intellect in a way that she hadn't experienced before. The two share a background in Anthropology, but Michelle also has extensive knowledge of philosophy from her time with Mathewson, and has given her a mental sharpness that Amy finds appealing. Amy has fallen in love with Michelle (True Love Merit) despite the conflict this creates with her friends, though she doesn't know what kind of future the two of them can have.
Relationship with the Community: Amy has recently learned of the existence of magic, and that both Michelle and Professor Mathewson are Mages, and while she is aware that vampires and werewolves exist, that part of the world is closed off to her. In truth, she isn't sure whether she wants to know more, torn between the illusion of safety ignorance offers and the need to confront the truth before the truth confronts you.