Character Name: Deanna Reznik
Age/Birthday: 28/April 12th 1982
Sexuality & Relationship Status: Heterosexual & Married
Job: Lifeguard at the Lodge
How did they find Heritage Lake?: She moved here with her husband
Appearance: Deanna has thick, long, wavy light brown hair. Her skin has a healthy tan to it and her body is long with her height being just an inch above the average making her five foot six. She's very tone and fit though athletic would be too extreme to describe her body because she has curves but nothing exaggerated enough to call her an hour glass no is she sporty enough to be an inverted triangle. Her eyes are brown and have an amber glow in the light. She holds herself with confidence though her body language often shows defense and submissiveness. She has a habit of crossing her arms and legs and keeping her head down.
As far as clothing goes Deanna is just starting to get used to the idea of playing with fashion. She has a love of dresses and a slight obsession with jackets. She likes browns, grays, and dark greens though every now and again she'll dabble with something brighter. Even though her body is in good shape she is modest and will go with clothing that isn’t as form fitting as most women she sees wearing though she still appreciates feminine fashion.
Portrayed By: Alicja Bachleda
Example Images: http://images.askmen.com/photos/alicja-bachleda/alicja-bachleda-87599.jpghttp://img.interia.pl/pomponik/nimg/3/t/pom3622063.jpghttp://c.wrzuta.pl/wi6981/213bb2960027741c49c77de0/0/alicja%20bachleda%20curus-sesja%20galaPersonality:Deanna is contemplative and enjoys deeper conversations. She can be intense at times wanting to delve into parts of people that they might not be comfortable sharing. Finding it impossible to side with one or the other Deanna is often the Devil’s advocate in arguments and finds most things in life to be situational. She isn’t argumentative but when she is 100% sure about something she will not back down. Luckily she has openness to learning and accepting when she’s wrong so long as she understands why. Forgiving and trusting Deanna likes to believe in the goodness of man. She isn’t necessarily gullible but when she believes in her gut that someone is honest she’ll buckle. She’s ruled by what she calls instinct and others would call gut reactions. Ever watchful Deanna is like a hawk even when she’s in a comfortable setting. She likes to be aware of her surroundings because she tends to be anxious about the what ifs in life.
Easily excitable she is just as easily prone to bouts of depression as her bouts of glee. Some would call her manic depressive but Deanna says that it means she is alive. She doesn’t like the idea of denying herself her feelings though she isn’t quick to express them to others. She has a strong work ethic and will go till she can’t keep her head straight. She can be very stubborn but is wavering if the situation is appropriate. As much grief as she gets from American women Deanna’s idea of female and male roles in the household play a strong part in who she is even though she is trying to be in the sense that it is used here independent.
History: Deanna didn’t have an easy childhood but neither did many of the children in her village. Life wasn’t living it was survival. As soon as Deanna was old enough stand she was put to work. Her parents had a small farm with wheat and chickens. The older she became the more labor intensive tasks she was given. School wasn’t a part of her childhood. Her education was in traditional male and female roles, god, and communication. Her mother a Russian Pole spoke to Deanna in only Polish, her father, Ukrainian only in Ukrainian, and because of everyone else it was essential to know Russian. She didn’t know how to read and all she knew how to write was her name and a few numbers.
When Deanna had that rare chance of free time or was left alone she spent her time either in or around the river that ran through their village but she always went far out between her home and the next village. Swimming wasn’t a particular necessity or skill that would serve her well in life but it was something she enjoyed. The serenity of nature and it’s soft noises. It was the only time she felt she had any sort of control over her life. It was her need to escape and have alone time that opened up her mind to a world she never thought was possible. One day she was having her alone time swimming when something out of the ordinary happened. A pair of backpackers came by. They didn’t know much Russian and even less Ukrainian.
She took the two into town to one of the few people who spoke English. The two backpackers stayed for a few days and helped out at Denna’s parent’s farm for food and a place to stay. The communication was poor and she didn’t really understand half of what they were trying to say but they left a great impression on the sixteen year old. She caught a glimpse of a world that was possible beyond her own. As strange as it would sound to her now neighbors Denna was engaged in an arranged marriage. She had one more year before she’d be married to the son of the village’s butcher. With no money of her own she stole some from her parents and made her way to Poland.
Afraid and unsure of the world around her Deanna struggled to find work but in the nick of time landed a job as a maid in an upscale hotel. There she worked and mailed the money home that she had stolen from her parents and continued to send them money. It took her two years to get the nerve to leave her new home but she did so none the less. Deanna was determined to get herself out of the east, to learn English, and how to read and write. She only got as far as Berlin but found herself happy with this choice. Again she took a hotel job though this time in a place that was aimed towards Americans and British. Her goal was to hear as much English as she could and to try and teach herself.
It took her a very long time but Deanna became proficient enough in English to where she was able to work a receptionist job. Deanna never had any dreams in life till she had the inspiration to leave home. Since she had left home and accomplished her goal of learning English and to read and write in it she felt that she didn’t need anything else out of life. That is she didn't want anything else until she had the chance to fall in love. A young German man just a few years older than her had struck up a bit of a thing with her. The idea of being with someone because you loved them was a strange idea to her. Growing up she had very ridged and traditional gender roles beaten into her and even though she had left her home she still only knew what she was taught. So everything that she learned in this new progressive industry of life was shocking, confusing, and liberating.
Things with this young man would have lasted if it weren’t for the fact that he wanted to go off and see the world. Deanna had no desire to travel when she had no money. She was too busy learning her new soundings that she wouldn’t be able to handle the constant culture shock. This big fancy hotel that she had worked for had an indoor swimming pool and Deanna took advantage of it everyday. Even though the pay was less than being a receptionist she wanted to be a lifeguard so she took the necessary steps to certify herself and had her blissful time of being around a body of water everyday. As brave as Deanna was to leave everything she had ever known in hopes of something bigger and better she was much too afraid to leave Berlin. She had found herself after five years too comfortable to leave and was too afraid of what else the world had to offer even though she desperately wanted to get away. What she wanted to get to on the other hand well she had no idea.
What changed or rather who fundamentally changed her life (whether or not it was for the better is yet to be determined) was a gentleman who had for the past several years been a patron of the hotel that Deanna worked at. They both had an affinity for water and when no one else was around they’d talk about nothing. He never told her what he did though she could guess it was something important or that involved a lot of money since he was not coming here so frequently for holiday. It’s hard to say if Deanna had feelings for the man in a romantic way but she had an appreciation for his company. After one of their chats about nothing the subject of where he lived came up which was in America. She confessed her slowly dying dream to move there someday and before he had to leave he approached her with a proposal.
Most women by the western world’s standards expect marriage proposals to be romantic and while Deanna fancied the notion of one day falling in love, having a family, and having that storybook ending she was realistic. This businessman who she had developed a strange friendship with had proposed marriage as an opportunity for her to come live in America. He had done so at the end of his stay to give her time to think about it and she demanded that he think on it as well so that if he wanted to change his mind he could. Four months had passed and when he came back Deanna and this enigmatic business man married.
They honeymooned briefly in the highlands of Scotland granted it wasn’t a traditional sex filled honeymoon. They spent their time enjoying the land and working out details that they’d need to have straight for when their marriage would be questioned not only by his family and friends but the authorities. This was all a rouse to get her to become an American citizen without all the red tape. Now that they have survived several rounds of interrogation from all sorts of people they’ve settled in Heritage Lake. He still takes long business trips though now they’ve become less and less but why this is Deanna isn’t sure.
Fears: Not seeing her family ever again, not knowing what it is she is supposed to do with her life, and people thinking she's stupid because her English isn't perfect.
Desires: Children, a room full of chocolate Easter bunnies, and grow gills.
One Secret: She's a kleptomaniac.
