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Character name: Alisa Kukolnik
Age: 19
Favorite Color: Red
Region: Panymium
Likes: Dolls, quiet, secrets, and Ilya.
Dislikes:Fighting, death, idleness, tight constraints, and burnt anything.
Occupation: Doll Maker Info
Intended Faction Fellowship Of Mages
Parents: Alive, her father is a court painter and her mother assists him.
Appearance: Alisa is very petite, being only 5'. She has long brown hair that is always tied back in a ponytail with string. She also has many little scars and scratches, from working with wood and metal, on her hands and arms. Her eyes are a pale blue which almost fades to a grey in certain light. She is usually dressed in pale dresses which are very plain but sturdy so that they don't tear from the materials and tools she works with.

History:
Alisa grew up with her father as a painter and got to see many different households as she grew up. She was their only child and therefore they did their best to take care of her despite hard times. She did pick up a bit of reading and writing from her father as well as from those who lived at the houses he would paint at. She grew up learning about painting as well as teaching herself to watch her mouth around the clients her father had so she wouldn't get him in trouble. She would occasionally help him mix paints but he would watch to make sure she wouldn't touch any of the ingredients for too long so that she wouldn't stain her skin like he had.

As she grew older, her father noticed her fondness of the dolls that some of the clients had purchased for their children. He had wanted to make some as another way to bring in a bit of money but painting was a lot to do without adding in anything extra. He introduced her to one of his friends who was a doll maker, he taught her how to make many types of dolls as well as how to maintain and repair them. They became great friends and would spend hours talking about the families that her father worked for as well as stories of how he had met her father. When he had taught her all that he could, her father took over and taught her the art of painting faces on the dolls as well as adding small details that may not have been easily visible to his friend's old eyes.

Personality:

Quiet Introvert: Alisa has kept to herself since her parents brought her along to many of the house he painted at. She was always nervous to say something that may get her father in trouble. This has been a bit of a problem for anyone who might want to learn more about her or her past. When entered into a conversation by others, she speaks just enough so that they don't think she is daft. Unfortunately she speaks very softly so others have to lean in to hear her. Deep down inside she wants to talk to others but after all the years of being quiet so her father could paint has made it difficult for her to start.

Curious: Alisa is always looking for new things to learn about, especially different ways of designing and making dolls and marionettes. She has read over all of the books she had leftover from her parents at least a dozen times. She will try new things as well, whether it be a game or a new route through the area. Unfortunately her curiosity carries to other people's business. She won't ask about things but she'll try to eavesdrop on people in the street or customers in her shop.

Kind: Alisa is very kind although quiet, she may not talk to others but she will point them the way or offer them a kind gesture of some sort if it is storming out. She often thinks of ways to try and repair her bond with her parents with kindness but she hasn't tried in the past few years.

Open-minded: Alisa is always open to new ideas and activities, she loves listening to lectures as well as casual conversations between educated people. The one occasion that she will speak up is when academics are brought up into a conversation, or dolls, as she knows a wide variety of information about both topics.

Active: Alisa is always on the move, whether it being at work on gathering materials. She despises being idle for long periods of time as it reminds her of some of the lessons her parents had taught her when she was young. She also realized that people may recognize her work more if she remains diligent and ever improving with the times.

Quirks:

Nervous/Jumpy: Alisa also is quite a bit jumpy and often will hop back if there is a loud noise or if something new enters her peripheral vision. She also hates loud noises do to this because people will laugh at her for being jumpy.

Eavesdropper: Alisa is quiet the eavesdropper, she wants to know all sorts of information but dislikes having to deal with others face to face in order to obtain it. So she has tried to master the art of sneaking around and blending in to help her listen in on others. Unfortunately not everyone is easy to listen in on and she has been caught on a few occasions.

Little Miss Klutz: Alisa, well, does random gravity checks. She often forgets to look when going up stairs or walking on the streets which aren't always that smooth. She'll get right back up after and look around quickly to see if anyone saw before cursing under her breath at herself.

Fears:

Losing her shop: Alisa frequently worries about her shop, she doesn't know what she would do. It isn't as if rebuilding is impossible, it's more of that all of the reminders of the old doll maker would be erased as well, especially if there was a fire.

Being unable to work: Alisa is utterly terrified of getting hurt or sick in such a way she would be unable to craft and work. To her, being bed-ridden is a worse fate than death. Especially since she has seen such trauma can come from being out of work by witnessing a few times when her father was ill.

Thunder and Storms in general: Alisa is afraid of storms because she always thinks of what kind of destruction it might cause as well as all sorts of problems that is causes people.

Frustrations:
Alisa often gets frustrated with people who laze around as well as when anything goes wrong. She sometimes throws things if aggravated enough but usually that happens less in public and more when she does something she thinks is stupid. She also gets frustrated if things don't match well or look aesthetically pleasing to a point.

Guilt:

The main thing that comes to mind when reading your quest is that your Grimm's height puts her in the realm of dwarfism. While that could be an extremely interesting character aspect, it does make me wonder about certain elements such as how she pulled down a branch from a tree to create her marionette. If you choose to keep her so short, you might also want to take into account some of the health issues that can sometimes occur with dwarfism as well as some of the practical issues she would have to overcome.

I would really love to see you expand upon Alisa's history. Why are her parents not supportive? How did she get into dollmaking? These are elements that judges are going to really look at when they're considering your quest. Fleshing out her history will also help you later with further character and plot development.

Last, for Ilya, it feels like "stubborn" and "apathetic" are somewhat at odds with each other as far as character traits go. He fights stubbornly, but doesn't care about much? A little clarification here might help these two traits make more sense together.

Good luck!

Gonna answer a few questions in this post since it's easier for me lol.

About height: I was going for somewhat short but then realized I miscalculated the average height of the time period. She is a bit sickly but that is do to something else that is in her family. I'm adding a bit in though about the fact that the branch was cracked already making it lean down close to the ground.

Interactions Between Ilya and others:
Ilya is pretty open to others, he does come off as a bit lazy though due to the fact that they may not have anything interesting enough to say which would motivate him. He will go off on his own tangent either way but more so if the person or plague he is talking to is a new face which he hasn't spoken too before. He slowly may become more empathetic towards others as he gets to know them but his number one priority will be Alisa if an argument comes up involving her and someone else.

Alisa and Ilya:
Alisa actually opens up to Ilya more so than she would to others. She find him very nice and at the same time he reminds her of the old doll maker who took that first stand and protected her opinion. She does bicker with him a bit but usually things blow over when he asks her to tell him stories about all the dolls. There have been times that she has proved him wrong, which makes him quite a bit sad and frustrated, and afterwards she cheers him up by showing him little outfits she had made for some of the dolls.

Ilya feels like he should protect Alisa's opinion since he notices that she tries hard to get herself to say things when her opinion or ideas are being muted out by others. On the other hand he really enjoys her company as well as being extremely amazed by her ability to make dolls. There are times in which he gets frustrated about her being quiet around others but he knows that getting mad at her would damage how she talks to him as well as how she may be working on trying to speak to others.

(Still filling this answer thinger out)

Old History to pick away at:

Ever since she was young her parents wanted her to be just like them, they would dress her up in what they wanted her to wear, make her eat the foods they liked, as well as read the books that they liked. They wanted her to be safe and well off, hiding from her that she was not the first child they had. Alisa had an older sister but he passed away from a high fever. Her parents blamed themselves for not protecting her sister and thus they want to take no chances with Alisa especially with what has been going on in the world. Their first ideas of her doing something else were disappointing to them so they simply brushed it off and acted as if she never said anything. The continued pounding their views and ideas into her little head when she was young and made sure she knew how to read and write by the time she was 10. She was a little doll to them and she would inherit the family's fortune when they saw fit. They gave her less and less freedom since she refused to speak, thinking her to be agreeing to everything they were doing. She was never allowed to answer any questions herself which strengthened her social timidness whether or not her parents had intended that.

Alisa was ok with it at first but slowly a small spark began inside her, begging to be let out. Many things that she wanted to do were not allowed and so she missed many opportunities to have fun and do something new and different. She wanted to go exploring, to see new places and read new books that weren't approved by her parents. The thing she hated the most was how her parents introduced her to many people and forced her into social gatherings and dances when all she wanted to do was sit quietly and read or think of new things she wanted to do.

One thing they did let her have was a doll, and she will never forget the day she went to the doll shop. As she walked in with her parents, the owner came up to them. He smiled and asked her what kind of doll she wanted, her parents interjected but the owner shook his head and reminded them that it was her doll and not theirs. Alisa stood there for a moment, she almost cried as this was the first time anyone thought of her as her own self and not as the daughter of her parents. She followed him and began to look at dolls, each one was crafted beautifully and kept in beautiful condition. He spoke to her about all the different kinds of dolls he had, she smiled widely and nodded. After they made a pass through the store she actually spoke to the man. Her parents were a bit shocked at this and the owner had a puzzled look on his face before going and grabbing the small wooden doll with a red dress for her. Alisa smiled and said thank you as her parents paid, she bid the man a good day as her parents hurried her out the door. In the back of their heads they hoped she wouldn't go back since they had heard him cough once or twice while they were there.

Little did they know that Alisa would sneak out and watch the old doll maker work, she watched him craft everyday until one day he noticed her. Letting her in to learn instead of just watching him work. He never forgot the way she looked when he had met her that day in his store. She had such a look of worry and despair at first as her parents prepared to make her choice themselves. The look of pure joy on her face made him smile too, it was such an innocent and happy face which contrasted severely from the previous face she had on. She had muttered quietly to herself as they had ventured around the store, she wanted to be able to make something beautiful like he did.

He didn't push her to speak and over time they became friends in a way, she would practice on small pieces of wood left over from the bigger dolls that he made. They were friends for years until one day her mother happened to visit the store and spotted her. The doll maker saw her happy face freeze back into once filled with despair and sadness, it nearly broke his heart. Over the years she had become a daughter to him in a way, she had even begun to speak to him in the past year. Alisa was taken away from there and soon after she heard the terrible news that her old friend had passed way. That was the last night she stayed in her parents home, and it was also the last night she would be their doll.

She ran to the store in the middle of a heavy downpour, wearing some boyish clothes that she had found in a chest in the corner of the guest room. The doll shop was empty except for a small box with her name on in. She searched high and low for her dear friend but to no avail. She sat next to the box and cried, she wanted him to tell her it would all be ok. She just wanted someone to tell her that it was all a lie. But as she sat there in the darkness, she knew that it was all true and that she had to find somewhere else to go. She cried herself to sleep on the table, waking up in the morning to a knock on the door.

It was her parents, the looked down upon her in silence for a while. In the end she didn't even care anymore, she picked up the box that the old man had left for her and walked out. She didn't even look back until her father put a hand on her shoulder. "Why are you doing this? You should follow the family, you shouldn't be going out and doing something that hasn't been a source of success for generations." She simply looked up at him for a moment and for the first time in ages she spoke.

"I won't be your doll anymore."

She stayed away from the store for few days and kept the box close to her. It was only after the rain ended did she open it. Inside was little doll with a key around her neck, there was also a letter tucked underneath the doll. Alisa looked over it quietly and sniffled a little as she began to cry. The letter told her that the doll maker had known his time was short a few weeks ago and that the key in the box was to the store. The letter continued to tell her how much he enjoyed having her around the shop, she was like a daughter to him and he wanted to leave the shop to her so that she could continue working on dolls in a place where she was welcome. She ran over to the store and let herself in, she felt sad at first knowing that he wasn't around anymore. Eventually she looked at the bright side, he had given her, not a future but, the tools and ability to make her own future.