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 Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 7:07 pm
Ideas are harder to exterminate than bedbugs. Also, this shop is too awesome for its own good. That is all.
For Azusa's other quest thread, see Sailor Quaoar, Senshi of Creativity
Quest thread is still under construction (and will likely remain so for quite a while), but is open for critique. <3
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Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 7:09 pm
Name: Azusa Reid- her name came from an old Jack Benny joke, "everything from A to Z in the USA"
Nicknames: Zuzu (if you're not her sibling she may hit you for calling her this)
Age: 16
Birthday: probably February 23rd
Sign: Pisces - I Believe (Moon in Taurus)
Piscean traits: artistic, deep, easily-led, escapism, hypersensitive, withdrawn, idealistic, imaginative, impressionable, inventive, misdirected, secretive, self-sacrificing, spiteful
Blood Type: AB-
Type AB traits: cool, controlled, rational, critical, sometimes standoffish
Fav. Food: Lowfat strawberry frozen yogurt - it lets her feel like she's indulging without all the calories. She's also partial to fresh fruit, especially berries, and tomato soup.
Hated Food: Onion Rings - deep fried ANYTHING makes Azusa want to gag, and the calorie count is astronomical! Also not a big fan of meat, particularly burgers and bacon, and really just about any greasy food.
School: Crystal Academy- Azusa went to a scholarship audition as a learning experience, to prepare her for how professional auditions were conducted. She did not expect to be granted a scholarship and very nearly refused it, saying that she should start working rather than go to school. Her mother insisted she accept, and since she has, Azusa's dedication to her art has increased a thousandfold.
Hobbies: None. No, really. Azusa considers people who have a number of different hobbies (*coughRoxannecough*) indecisive and unfocused. Once upon a time she was interested in things like art and canoeing, but she has dropped all former hobbies in favor of the following activities:
Family: Azusa's life. Despite her differences with a couple of family members, she is by and large devoted to them and does everything she can to help out. She does grocery shopping, laundry, dishes, and any other menial tasks she's asked to do- and many she's not asked to do- to try and help. This is the main reason she doesn't board at Crystal, but she is considering switching to the dorms next year so her parents have one less child to worry about at home.
Ballet: Azusa's soul. While her dad signed her up for a number of classes when she was little, ballet was her mom's idea. Initially, Azusa thought it was boring, and tired of doing endless plies at the barre. But one of her teachers started teaching choreography and theory in addition to technique. That teacher's passion for her art was what truly inspired Azusa, and she began to love it as well. While she even enjoys the rigor of technique practice now, her true passion is for choreography and improvisation, which is evident when comparing her performing that to a set piece.
Work: Paper or plastic? Absolutely determined not to be a burden on her family, Azusa found a job as a grocery bagger at a supermarket near her school. While she feels no attachment to her job, it's mindless enough that she can do it and think about other things, like ballet combinations and math equations. The money from this job goes towards expenses not covered by her scholarship, as well as food and clothing so her parents don't have to pay for it all.
Gemstone: Rainbow Agate
Virtues:
Hardworking: Simply put, Azusa does not stop working until she considers herself finished. It is difficult to keep her from completing a task once she gets started, and her expectations of herself are generally higher than what others would imagine. She has an excellent record of hard work, and will accept nothing less than the best from herself- or anyone else, for that matter.
Dutiful: As the eldest girl, Azusa is expected to set aside her own desires for the sake of the family. 99.9% of the time, she does. When someone Azusa respects asks her to do something, she will comply without complaint. This does not only apply to her mother, or even just to adults, but to anyone who has earned her respect.
Frugal: Azusa does a lot for her family, including most of the shopping. What the rest of the family doesn't know is that she goes to great lengths to pinch pennies. A store on the other side of town has a two-for-one sale on canned corn? Azusa's there. Pair of jeans ripped at the knees? She'll turn them into cut-off shorts and denim bag, or at least tell her family how to do it. What may seem like a simple task to others is serious business for her, and she researches all local stores looking for the best way to make her budget stretch.
Time-Management: The only way Azusa manages to get things done is by managing her time well and sticking to a strict timeline. Every day she wakes up early and goes to bed late, to get the most out of her day as possible. She carries a datebook with pre-planned agendas, and fights to stick to them. Most of these have built-in cushions for inevitable delays, but in spite of this she always acts like she's in a hurry and tries to save time whenever possible.
Flaws:
Perfectionist: Though it's true that Azusa puts a great deal of time and effort into getting things done, this is one of the results. She is not satisfied with anything other than perfection in herself, and will continue working towards it against the most negative circumstances possible. In the past, she has been known to work through injury, without food or sleep, until she accomplishes what she wants to, at great physical and emotional costs. She expects the same of others as well, and is easily annoyed by people she views as "lazy" or "unmotivated."
Caustic: A habit formed to protect her from hurtful people, Azusa is blunt and has a tendency to say hurtful things. Sometimes they are the truth, at least in her mind, and she's doing the person a favor by telling them. As often, they're simply harsh words tossed out there in hopes of tripping up her opponent. And when that doesn't work, she's not afraid of turning things into a good old fashioned smackdown, even though she is a pansy.
Avoidant: Between her family, her passion, and her position as a scholarship student (read: not one of the upper echelon), Azusa has no time for friends. She views anyone who isn't giving 110% as wasting their time and hers. Even truly dedicated people can be viewed as useless, if their goals don't coincide with her own. As such, she ignores most people, and when necessary, goes out of her way to be left alone. Teamwork is not something that comes easily to her; when given the option, she'd rather do all the work and share the credit than split the work with someone else. The real source of this trait is not her disdain for others, but rather her social awkwardness and fear of criticism that stem from her insecurity (see below).
Insecure: Despite her willingness to tell people off for being unproductive, Azusa doesn't think she's better than them. Far from it, actually. Those who compliment her are likely to be ignored, but anyone who says anything against her is taken at face value. Whether it's an offhand comment about her hairdo or a correction in class, Azusa takes all criticism personally and seriously. After obsessing over what she did wrong, she'll do whatever she can to fix the perceived mistake, even if nothing was really wrong. This is something she does unconsciously, without her trying to do so. If she changes something subtle, she's not likely to notice the change unless someone brings it up. If it's a larger change to her lifestyle, she'll think it was her own idea. Regardless, she'll "fix" herself according to any critique given, no matter how small.
This trait is Azusa's Achilles heel, and the rest of her personality is deeply connected to it. If someone tells her something about herself that could even remotely be construed as negative, she will take it as criticism and try to change it. If someone mentions a feature they like in a person, she will try to take on that feature. This affects her behavior as well: she can be hyper one day and calm the next, depending on who she's been talking to. While Azusa tries to tune out and/or avoid criticism when possible (see Caustic and Solitary), she can't totally escape it, and any comments she hears she will try to mold herself to, without knowing she's doing so. The only exception to this rule lies with change that would require her to physically harm herself or another person. Tell Azusa to jump off a cliff, or to push someone off? Not going to happen. Tell her you could use help studying? Expect her to ignore you and show up at your door two hours later. This trait makes Azusa extremely easy to manipulate, provided you can actually get her to stick around long enough to listen to you.
Physical Description:
Hair: Naturally white and wavy. Azusa has been dyeing her hair with Kool-Aid since a classmate called her an old lady when she was twelve. She rotates flavors depending on what she can find; her current favorite is grape, which makes her hair bright purple. It's a bit longer than shoulder length, with bangs, usually worn in a messy ponytail or bun.
Eyes: Hazel
Face: Heart-shaped, with a somewhat wide forehead that she tries to hide behind bangs. A small mole on her right cheekbone. She keeps her skin, which is a light tan/olive tone, well cared for.
Body: Tall for a ballerina, which worries her. Quite thin, but not quiiiite to the dangerous point. What meat is on her bones is muscle, but that isn't evident from afar.
Fashion: Azusa likes to wear things that are easy to move in, and will always have a leotard and tights or some variation thereof underneath whatever else she's wearing. Most of the time that's a simple t-shirt and leggings. Although she rarely admits it, Azusa does like feminine clothing with lots of lace and frills, and that shows up in her small selection of dressy clothes. She never wears heels, preferring ballet flats or Mary Janes, even when paired with her normal slouchy clothing.
- In regards to physical appearance, I've decided to let the artist decide most of it. My only request is that the Kool-Aid hair dye is kept, but the color and style are up to the artist, as are all other physical traits. The above is just for my reference.
Other Info:
Name Origin: Though Azusa's appearance doesn't lend itself specifically to any culture, her parents suspect that she's at least partially Arabic, Native American, or Indian. In an effort to give her a name that would encompass all possibilities, her dad came up with Azusa from an old Jack Benny skit. The name of a city in California, many people know the meaning as "everything from A to Z in the USA." In fact, the name traces from the Tongva place name Asuksagna, referring to the San Gabriel Valley and meaning "a place of water" or "skunk place" depending on who's asked. Coincidentally- or perhaps not- Azusa's name shares its roots with Quaoar, which was named after the Tongva creation deity.
Power Naps: Since Azusa doesn't go to sleep until quite late and wakes up early, the only way she can get through her day is by taking power naps. Usually she'll take a half hour nap during her lunch period, and, if necessary, another one between ballet practice and her shift at work. In order to avoid detection, Azusa takes her naps in a place not many Crystal girls would go: under the bleachers in the gym.
Structure vs. Freeform: Azusa prefers things to be structured. She has schedules and routines and works herself to the bone to fit into other people's framework. And, since she puts so much effort into it, she can. Sort of. But she doesn't realize that she works much better letting things come naturally and working problems out as they come along- in short, improvising. The fact that she doesn't realize this is a strength of hers means she doesn't use it except in dire situations when all her plans have gone to hell in a handbasket.
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Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 7:12 pm
Cavalier Aeris of the Mountain
A mountain is a large landform that stretches above the surrounding land in a limited area usually in the form of a peak. In the Oxford English Dictionary a mountain is defined as "a natural elevation of the earth surface rising more or less abruptly from the surrounding level and attaining an altitude which, relatively to the adjacent elevation, is impressive or notable."
In traditional cultures, air is often seen as a universal power or pure substance. Its fundamental importance to life can be seen in words such as aspire, conspire, inspire, perspire, and spirit, all derived from the Latin spirare ("to breathe").
The pairing of the element of Air with the domain of the Mountain is full of contradictions. Air is a freeflowing, unbound element, subject only to its own whims. Mountains are sturdy and bound, unmoving, reaching in only one direction. Mountains themselves are contradictions as well: while they are often viewed as distant, isolated peaks, many forget that they are all connected to the earth (and thus, to each other).
These contradictions summarize Azusa's personality very well. She strives to be the unmovable distant peak, and has essentially molded herself into a mountain that reaches for the sky. What she does not realize is that her talent lies in freeform expression and spontaneous creativity, and that while a mountain may reach notable heights, air reaches higher still. She also fails to realize that while she may think she's isolated and alone, because that is what she forces herself to be, her base will always be connected to others, united by a common cause. In this case, the cause of the Prince and the Cavaliers.
A heap of rock, shaped only by the air that beats against it, striving ever higher but never quite reaching the top- that is what Azusa has made of herself. But what is she really? Her current persona is almost completely manufactured, hiding a fragile inner self that she reveals to no one. Every rock has its breaking point, and Azusa's is not very well hidden. While she appears strong and immovable, she is in fact quite easily influenced, battered this way and that by the whims of others as if a mote of dust on the wind.
Azusa as a Cavalier
Why a Cavalier? Because of the unique potential for development. Cavaliers bring to mind old codes of honor and loyalty, and while I admit I'm still a bit unclear on the details, I feel that her rock-solid work ethic and sky-high goals fit better with the Cavaliers than the Senshi. Puns maybe half intended. I could be totally wrong, but as this is a new direction and much about the Cavaliers is still shrouded in mystery, I'm going with my gut.
Azusa as a Cavalier would be just as much of a perfectionist as normal Azusa, possibly moreso. Despite the fact that she'd have no swordplay skills and no diplomacy and no real idea what the deal is (since Aeris has no preset soul- confirm?) she would feel bound to be perfect. She wouldn't give up her dancing or her job, but instead feel the need to succeed at everything in order to be a good Cavalier. Eventually, she would have to realize that her focus is splitting in the way that she feared most. She would have to choose between dedicating herself to being the best Cavalier she can be (taking swordplay lessons, other training, patrolling, and dedicating herself to being Aeris almost all of the time) and her dreams of being the best ballerina, which is a dream she would be unlikely to realize because of lack of innate talent.
In addition, she would one day have to realize that she can never be the BEST Cavalier, since Kunzite would naturally outrank her (to say nothing of Endymion himself). I still don't know how she would take that revelation, since it would depend how it was presented and what else happened in the meantime, but never being the best would basically mean her ideal is something she will never reach- like a mountain can never reach higher than the air.
No matter how she is incarnated, one of my main goals for Azusa is for her to learn to work with others. While this is possible for her as a Senshi, it may come more naturally as a Cavalier. Since she has no swordsmanship training whatsoever, she will be forced to plug into a Senshi in order to function. Her ballet training will serve her well in terms of aiding her speed and grace in battle, and she will be a better thinker on her feet than she would have initially thought, but her fighting ability is still nil on her own. In addition, her purpose will be to protect rather than to just fight, which would provide a new dimension for her development as a warrior of any type. Eventually, I'd like her to work with others less out of desperation and more out of mutual respect, but that would not be for quiiiite some time.
Furthermore, as a (dedicated? loyal? these traits would come in time) knight of the Prince, Azusa would eventually have to come to terms with the fact that she will never be the perfect, ideal person she dreams of becoming. Being a protector is one thing, but being subservient to someone she may or may not respect in this lifetime is another. I look forward to this happening. It will crush her, but it is also something I look forward to her working through- again, waaaaay off in the future- and coming to terms with her worth as a person, judged only against herself. Someday, she may be comfortable with who she is. She will never stop aiming way too high and being unsatisfied at anything other than the best from herself. She will never stop trying to change herself if she thinks she'd be better off acting another way. But she may one day appreciate herself for who she is, which is as close to perfection as she will ever get.
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Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 7:16 pm
Family and other information:
Bill Reid (50), father: A real-estate agent with a taste for the unorthodox, he alternates between being a businessman and an adventurer. He tries to choose unusual names for the kids, to take the family on quirky trips, and his hobbies include noodling (also known as barehand fishing), making chainmail, and planting tulips in the neighbor's garden. He encourages the kids to try new things, which makes his relationship with one-hit wonder Azusa a bit difficult.
Amelia Baker-Reid (46), mother: A silk painter and stay-at-home mom. Once upon a time, Amelia had a desk job, but she gave it up when she was found to have breast cancer. Three years and a double mastectomy later, she decided to spend her second chance at life doing things she enjoys. Her motto is "carpe diem" and her main encouragement is for her children to do what they enjoy. Azusa is very close to her mother, and tries very hard to help support her.
Vijaya "VJ" Reid (18 ), brother: A student at Meadowview High and pizza delivery boy. These days, Vijaya prefers to go by "VJ" and is a strong member of the Meadowview track team, especially in jumping events like high jump and hurdles. While dedicated to his sport, he does it because he enjoys it and is fairly balanced in his other interests. By far the most social of the Reid siblings, VJ is a stereotypically protective big brother- as long as his friends aren't around. As the oldest two, he and Azusa are especially close.
Roxanne Reid (14), sister: A student at Meadowview High, and self-professed Jack-of-all-Trades. Roxanne is easily bored and jumps from one activity to another like a ping-pong ball. Some of the activities she tries aren't exactly legal, and if Hillworth was co-ed, she might have found herself there. Instead, she has been through most of the clubs in Meadowview already, some more than once. Her selfish "anything for fun" attitude goes against Azusa's strict focus, and the two have clashed from a young age. Currently, they're obsessed with outdoing each other.
Kiara Baker (14), cousin: Amelia's niece, who came to live with the Reids when her parents were killed in a car accident. Kiara is a sweet girl who tries her best to please everyone and rarely acts for her own gain. One fairly noticeable aspect about her is the fact that she's missing most of her left arm. Kiara is still getting used to this aspect of herself and hates being treated differently because of it- not that she'd ever say so. Azusa adores Kiara, considering a far better little sister than Roxanne, and tries to help her whenever possible (or at least whenever it's not inconvenient).
Still need to expand on Azusa's personal and family history!
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Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 7:17 pm
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Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 7:19 pm
And one to grow on. Quest progress goes here.
My current focus is on the BP plot, this is here more to get the ideas down while they're fresh than to work on developing straight away. After BP dies down and I know what's happening with Tara and Joanne, I'll be able to put more focus on Azusa and pick a direction I want to focus on for her.
That said, if anyone wants to crit, I certainly wouldn't object to the help. <3
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Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 11:06 pm
Okay. I said I'd give you some crit. Pardon any clumsiness.
First of all, it seems Azuza is a health food person, and yet it seems she's too much of a perfectionist and Doer of Everything to really take care of herself. Is she of the opinion that her health is an acceptable sacrifice for her family? Why then the healthy food? Is it for keeping a ballerina figure? I know basically nothing about ballet, so.
Also, I believe Kool-Aid is a pretty weak hair dye and washes out rather quickly, but I'm not sure. Also, "like a mountain can never reach higher than the air" sounds odd. I don't think it's the clearest way to phrase it. Anyway, that's besides the point.
Does she work every day after school? I think you should incorporate a sense of her daily schedule, because I know I look at her and think, "is that really humanly possible?!" That's the main believability issue for me. Otherwise, I really do like her a lot.
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