staging: character-sarah.md task=49ba6cea-957d-4a8a-9fe7-b8b8512c96ce

projects/whispers-in-the-dark/staging/character-sarah.md

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+# Character Sheet: Sarah
+
+## Identity
+- Full name: Sarah Miller
+- Age: Unknown
+- Role: supporting / colleague-turned-potential-love-interest
+- Faction/School: The Archive (Oakhaven facility staff)
+
+## Voice Signature
+(REQUIRED -- this section is injected into every chapter to enforce consistent voice.)
+- Stress expression scale: "Hmm, that's peculiar" = minor | "This defies all logic!" = upset | "Get a grip—what the actual fuck?!" = furious
+- Verbal tic: prefixes doubts with "empirically speaking" or "from a rational standpoint" even mid-argument
+- Sentence length pattern: clipped and precise under stress, expansive qualifiers when dissecting evidence
+- What they REACH FOR: analytical -- probes data patterns, waveforms, or logical inconsistencies first
+- What they NEVER say: flowery supernatural affirmations like "It's a sign from the beyond"
+- Imperfection signature: stammers initial consonants ("Th-this frequency...") when audio feedback triggers her headache
+- One example line of their dialogue that could not belong to any other character:
+  "Elias, empirically speaking, radio ghosts aren't a thing—unless this damn hum in my skull says otherwise."
+
+## Magic / Power / Special Ability
+(Complete this section only if the project involves paranormal / fantasy / speculative elements.)
+
+## Arc
+- Want: A rational, scientific explanation for the Whisper signal to restore normalcy and safety
+- Need: To integrate empirical evidence with intuitive fear, trusting allies like Elias over isolation
+- Fatal flaw: Rigid skepticism that dismisses mounting evidence as "interference" until personally threatened
+- Wound: Unknown prior incident (inferred: debunked a colleague's "paranormal" claim, leading to professional isolation)
+- Transformation: Embraces the signal's supernatural reality, actively partnering with Elias to confront it
+
+## Relationships
+- Elias Thorne: Professional colleague and investigative partner; dynamic of skeptical anchor challenging his growing paranoia while owing him support
+- The Curator: Distant administrative superior; dynamic of frustrated underling resenting his dismissive attitude toward real threats
+
+## Notes for Writers
+- Physical habit or tell: Frequently massages her temples or winces at sudden noises due to persistent audio-feedback headache—never fully hides the exhaustion lines under her eyes.
+- Speech quirk specific to this character: Inserts "data doesn't lie" as a pivot when conceding a point reluctantly, even if no data exists yet.
+- Always carries a small digital recorder clipped to her belt, tapping "record" during tense moments without thinking.
+- Readers must NEVER see her dismiss Elias's occult knowledge outright—instead, she probes it analytically before rejecting.
+- NEVER see her exhibit blind faith or panic; she freezes analytically first, muttering frequencies under breath rather than screaming.