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Cavalier: Cavalier Jadeite of the South

Name: Riley Emma Maddox

Nickname: Rem, or Riles -- to friends.

Age: 17 (willing to adjust to fit with other Cavaliers, if we keep the approximate who-is-older-than-who thing from their pasts)

Birthday: April 22nd

Sign: Taurus

Blood Type: B+

Fav. Food: Steamed vegetables, pot roast, and pasta of any kind.

Hated Food: Strawberries. The seeds get stuck in her teeth. Ew.

School: Meadowview

Hobbies:

Drama Club -- Since she was little, Riley has been an excellent impersonator. Perhaps "acting" isn't the right word for it. Riley never wanted to play the straight man, or the leading lady. She wanted to play whatever role required the most transformation. An old lady with one leg and a lisp? Sign her up! It is her extracurricular activity of choice, and Riley is constantly fighting to make Meadowview's drama department just as good as Crystal Academy's.

Archery -- Her family grew up hunting, taking long camping trips that involved lots of shared moments around the fire and dead animals. Riley was never one for guns, but she found that she loved to hunt with a bow and arrow. As a kid, she would pretend to be a Native American stalking down a kill and would run through the forest, lobbing arrows at squirrels and rabbits. As she grew, Riley became quite the little marksmen, and at her father's urging, she participates in archery contests from time to time.

Building Birdhouses -- Her grandmother owns an online owl and bird house company. Riley spends most Saturdays helping her grandmother make them. For a teenage girl, she is pretty good with carpentry, at least in terms of smaller projects (like birdhouses). Chances are that most of her friends get some kind of wooden house as a gift for major holidays.

Virtues:

Loyal like a Puppy – Riley is a people-person who does not want to let her friends down. She is incredibly loyal – to her friends. She won't tell your secrets, and she won't date your ex-boyfriend. If you look fat in a dress, she will tell you because that is how much she cares. Having grown up with the pack-mentality of a big family, Riley's goal in life is to surround herself with people who will support her just like a mini-family. She is constantly seeking out kindred spirits to get to know, people who can keep her entertained and challenge her to be a better person. If you are her friend, Riley will be there for you, and she will stand by you, even when you don't do the same for her. To her, friendship is synonymous with devotion, and Riley doesn't really believe in casual devotion.

Adventurous – Riley is always up for activity -- big or small. She will help search for your contact in the grass for an hour. She will help break into the school to change your grades. She will plot with you to bring down the boy who has been mean to you. While she is keen on helping friends, Riley is prone to adrenaline rushes and will go along with anything that sounds like it might be fun, even if it is with someone she does not know well. She likes activity. She thinks cliff-diving sounds exciting. She would like to try bungee-jumping. For this reason, she will not turn down requests for assistance, as each activity represents a new possibility for adventure and discovery.

The (De)terminator – Riley is a determined girl who understands the importance of the phrases "for your own good" and "by any means necessary." If you are trying to quit smoking, Riley will rip the cigarette from your lips and flush it down the toilet. If you resist, she will pin your arms and prevent you from trying to light another up. She does this out of a single-minded determination to task. It isn't that she sees the world in black and white; she simply believes that a person should always follow through with what they say. Friends should be careful about saying things like, "Riley -- don't let me talk to that guy ever again. He is such a jerk." Because Riley really won't let you talk to him again. She will hide your phone. She will tell him off in public. She will otherwise do everything within her means to see that you stick to your guns. Promises and secrets are very important to Riley, and this translates into an excellence in regard to seeing a mission through, or accomplishing a prescribed task. She can do the more painful, less favorable thing because she knows that she should.

Captain Impersonator – All her experience on the stage has made Riley quite the little impersonator. She doesn't really think of it as lying, but it is not unusual for Riley to take on the voice of her friend's mother and order that her daughter be sent home early from school. Or to dress up like a boy and try to figure out if the boy of her dreams actually likes her or not. She is the kind of person who always gives a different name in line for Starbucks. She thinks Halloween is the greatest holiday of all time. In practice, Riley could fool most people with her disguises; she is incredibly dedicated to all the masks that she takes on.


Gemstone: Diamond


Flaws:


Scrappy McThrowsapunch – Riley does not like being talked down to by others. She is sensitive to it. She is not great about letting things roll off her back, but instead stores away grievances for a later date. This isn't to say that she is super paranoid that EVERYONE is ALWAYS mistreating her. No, not at all. But when she feels like someone is, she does not typically handle that confrontation in a productive way. Riley does not fancy herself a particularly diplomatic person – because she isn't. When someone threatens her to the point of no return (assuming talking has pretty much been reduced to swapping insults), she finds that the best way to deal with it is to have some good ole fashioned competition. Like a wrestling match. Or slap fight. Or a three-legged race around the cul-de-sac. For this reason, many of the daintier girls and insecure boys are put off by her. She is not conventionally feminine in this way and tends to get caught up in competition. If you insult her enough, Riley will start shoving, and if you shove her, she will quickly escalate the situation.

(This is the most significant diversion from Jadeite in the past. His calculating, controlled ways did not serve him well under Beryl; there is a reason his new vessel is more confrontational. This trait has much to do with Riley's immaturity too, and when Jadeite's soul is awakened, it will be a point of contention and development for the character. The rivalries that Jadeite is prone to result from a similar vein, but Riley the human is simply less skilled at dealing with it. As a hybrid persona cognizant of the past, Jadeite will have to hone his control with her spunk to become a more well-rounded person.)

Attention-Seeking – Being the youngest and only daughter in a family with four children produced a rough-n-tumble attitude that has made Riley not only competitive, but also attention-seeking. It is why she likes theater so much, and why she might throw a temper-tantrum in the middle of the mall if her mother does not hand over the five bucks for ice cream. If Riley feels ignored, it rattles her to the core. The silent treatment makes her go nuts. She will say anything to get a response out of someone who has chosen to ignore her. This kind of treatment will sink her to low depths, causing her to retreat inward, even cry. She is not above slapping a friend on the arm – hard – if they appear to be excluding her from something. If necessary, Riley would even lie to get attention, but she would pick something that she perceives as minor to lie about for fear of getting caught in it and further rejected. This ties in to her other flaw (“The Lonely People-Person”).

Need for Approval – Her entire life, Riley has felt the need to prove herself. Her brothers have all been very successful in life. One is a doctor. The other has just started his own restaurant. The one closest to her age was recently accepted into an Ivy League university. Then there is Riley. It isn't to say that she does not also have potential for great success, but sometimes, it is hard for her to believe that. She is still trying to figure out her life, but her older brothers are already forging successful paths. Around the dinner table, Riley hears only of her brother's accomplishments – or, at least that is how it seems to her. More than anything, Riley wants to feel needed and appreciated. She wants to be the one that people look to for help. She wants to feel like she is making a difference. This need for approval leads Riley down dangerous avenues at times. She becomes single-minded, willing to do anything to achieve her goal. That “anything” could be quite a costly thing in the end, since it could easily be used to manipulate her.

The Lonely People-Person – Having grown up in a house full of people, Riley feels lonely now that all of her brothers have moved out. It doesn't help that her personality can sometimes turn away potential friends, and that her scrappy nature is a turn off to most boys. The worst part is that Riley really, really needs people. She likes teamwork. She likes bonding. She would let you braid her hair and paint her toenails. She is a pack animal with a hive mind. Riley is just looking for her fellow bees. When feeling especially lonely or like she is being left out of something, Riley will lash out in anger and then retreat somewhere to be alone and cry.


Challenge: In the name of the prince, I fight for justice!
((The shorthand cert-version might just be: For justice!))


PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: China blue, heavy lashes, almond-shaped.

Hair: Honey-blond. In some kind of "up" style. Maybe like this or this or this or this style. Slightly unkempt. Tomboyish. I'm very open to artist-inspiration.

Face: Heart-shaped with a light speckling of freckles across her nose; tanned skin from being outdoors; a beauty mark to the left of her mouth.

Fuku Colour: Up to Natsu. I imagine there would be red.


A Hybrid Personality – Where Jadeite Meets Riley

The biggest dividing point between Jadeite and Riley (other than gender) is her love of company and his choice to fly it alone. Though Jadeite had a heart for his Queen and his fellow Shitennou, his plans of attack were typically executed all by his lonesome. Riley thrives on those around her, and when alone, Riley feels incredibly downtrodden. This is something that she will have to equalize when Jadeite comes out, balancing her memories of loneliness with her present draw toward people. In all likelihood, this is an area where old Jadeite will lean toward Riley, learning to accept and even treasure the companionship of others (especially in a battle situation). Working with other Shitennou on the side of good will strengthen this attitude.

While Jadeite and Riley are both performance-oriented and approval-seeking in their own rights, J-riley is a bit conflicted over how that attention is gained. Riley is prone to immature whining and fighting, but Jadeite is prone to catty and condescending remarks -- especially at the expense of women. It is likely that J-riley will display both, but the latter is a bit more problematic. Upon awakening, J-riley will have to rationalize misogyny with the fact that most of Riley's friends are women and Riley herself is a woman. There is no doubt that she will begin to show more cruelty toward her friends, underhanded comments about their usefulness.

Riley wants to be a success. Jadeite is mission-oriented. With those two drives combined, J-riley will only be more motivated toward action within the Shitennou ranks. The dual memories will command J-riley to seek out more action, more planning, more decision-making, and this will also make the typically calculating cavalier a touch more reckless than his previous life. Jadeite was never allowed to reach his potential in the past, and he is keen to make up for lost time. (He is currently planning out schemes, in all likelihood, hunched over a writing desk, brows knitted together in concentration.) J-riley will listen to orders, but will no doubt be a warhawk, constantly prodding Kunzite to make bigger moves toward bringing down the Dark Kingdom once more. If J-riley sees an opportunity to take out a Negaverse agent, then she will jump at the chance, even at the risk of personal cost.

To me, Jadeite was the more feely-feely of the Shitennou, and this is something that would carry into his awakening, amplified by Riley's own desire for company and mutual success.

[Additional Personality Explanation] Basically, when Jadeite comes out, maturity and calculation will reign. Riley's whining will become scathing digs and condescending quips. She has the soul of a reserved, intelligent, calculating man within her, but she is still a 17-year-old girl -- intelligent and charismatic in her own right but prone to immaturity at times. Her cunning shows in her determination and her dedication as a human, which will only be amplified when Jadeite emerges within her. They are both followers with a desire to succeed so strong that it often makes them fail. They overthink, they overplan, they overdo to the point of exhaustion. In this new life, Jadeite will have to atone for his wrongdoings against the Prince while navigating his new existence and the looming threat of the woman who wronged him so gravely in the past.

Sounds like fun!

Just in case I randomly need extra space...