Jenna Koroleva
Xe/xem
Jenna grew up in Novosibirsk, within the Russian Region. When xe was a child, the artificial intelligence known as the Mainframe sent microscopic technology to fuse with Jenna's body. Jenna grew up with paraplegia from a spinal cord injury caused by a car accident when xe was seven years old. Xir family was alright; they did the bare minimum to accommodate Jenna and acted like they were saints for it. That was probably why Jenna dreamed of moving out as soon as xe got into college. At least Klavdiya was a great friend.
In the late 2190s, Jenna was recruited by the Antistasi to join the Sivylla—a group of other teenagers who the Mainframe fused with technology. Miraculously, Klavdiya was also part of this group. During this time, the group discovered side effects of the technology: enhanced abilities. Jenna discovered that xir capability was essentially shapeshifting. Xe could change xir hair color, length, and texture; xir skin tone, freckles, moles, and birthmarks; xir eye color; xir body weight and shape; and more. Jenna and Klavdiya admitted their romantic feelings for each other. But then they had an argument that led to their breakup. After the Mainframe events, xe returned to Novosibirsk.
By the beginning of "Death's Mending Touch," Jenna lived with a friend and worked as a fashion designer in Novosibirsk. Xe hadn't contacted Klavdiya since the Sivylla disbanded. When the deceased Bian appeared around the world, the Antistasi called Jenna and the other Sivylla together to address this. After reuniting with Bian, the group decided to work with the Antistasi part-time under a new name: the Enforcers. Jenna made up with Klara/Diya (Klavdiya) and decided to try dating them both.
This section includes major spoilers about "Death's Mending Touch." Please read the book first, unless you want the ending spoiled.
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Appearance
Jenna was born a human. Due to xir shapeshifting capability, xir appearance changed all the time. Xir default appearance tended to be an older version of how xe was before the shapeshifting began: a Brown person with coily, brown hair and brown eyes. Xe loved wearing a lot of makeup. Xe had several piercings on xir ears, plus a nose piercing and a tongue piercing. Jenna's shapeshifting didn't magically repair xir leg paralysis, so xe used xir electronic wheelchair to get around.
As of "Death's Mending Touch," xe decorated xir wheelchair with colorful physical and digital stickers (since the chair's metal portions are color-changing).
Personality, Behavior, Et Cetera
Jenna would often keep a straight or stern face, even when joking around, to keep people on their toes. Xir humor could be dry, which relieved others when they understood it.
Xir favorite color was black. Xe enjoyed wearing a lot of different colors though. Xe also designed clothes in xir free time, taking commissions from all kinds of clientele.
Jenna was nonbinary and lesbian.
Xir paraplegia (leg paralysis) was from a motor vehicle incident. Although there was some motor function below the spinal cord injury, half the muscles couldn't move against gravity. Xe had to take medication to help with the chronic pain. Xe could somewhat feel and move their lower body, but it was too difficult to walk without a mobility aid.
Relationships
Jenna's family did the bare minimum to provide xir with accommodations for xir paraplegia. Even so, xir family thought they went above and beyond to advocate for Jenna, which got annoying since they weren't doing much to actually help xir. Growing up, Jenna felt like xir family treated xir like a burden, which became tiresome.
Fortunately, Jenna's high school art teacher—and xir favorite teacher—helped xir grow and maintain xir confidence. Klavdiya, Jenna's best friend growing up, also never treated Jenna like a burden or someone to pity. Klavdiya felt like an actual advocate without considering herself any better than Jenna. Maybe it was the actual bare minimum, but with that and Klavdiya's sunshine personality, Jenna couldn't help but develop a crush on her.
In "Death's Mending Touch," Jenna lived with a friend xe met in a fashion class to balance their expenses. Xe hadn't contacted Klavdiya in a while—not since the Sivylla group disbanded. The two fought after Klavdiya got her healing powers. She wanted to train herself to potentially heal Jenna's paraplegia. But because Klavdiya's healing only worked when she was nearby, Jenna would be dependent on Klavdiya. Jenna didn't say that, but xe hoped Klavdiya would realize why the suggestion sounded so violating. After Klavdiya was divided into Klara and Diya, they reconciled and started dating.
Trivia
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Jenna's birthday was April 28, 2182
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If I had a nickle for every time I wrote a character with xe/xem pronouns who uses a wheelchair, I'd have two nickles. (Believe it or not, this was intentional for spoiler reasons.) I've written more characters with neopronouns, but it happens that the two books I release first have two nonbinary characters who are foils of each other
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Some of Jenna's personality was inspired by a stylish choir member
