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Name: Kizal
Stage: Prentice
Race: Pure-blooded Water
Gender: Female

3 Base Traits:
[] Wistful A cheerful disposition and a tendency to dream big can sometimes make it difficult for Kizal to keep her head out of the clouds and back down in reality. She's rarely one to miss the silver lining in most situations, and does her best to spread the cheer around.
[] Wary Cautious is... an understatement when it comes to describing how Kizal deals with those outside her family. Though friendly even to strangers, she's always on guard, waiting for what trust she tries to place in them to be used against her. A large part of Kizal wants nothing more than to feel comfortable around any she meets. But despite her confident wishes when among company she trusts, putting her into social interactions with any whom are outside her normal circle will only result in Kizal waiting for a stab in the back if she's not careful.
[] Flighty Joined with her tendency to be overly cautious of strangers and when dealing with unknowns in the world, Kizal is very much the type to flit around. In her speech, in her movements... and in her usual habits of flitting right out the door or window if the situation feels overbearing or otherwise gives her the impression it's turning south for her.


Personality:

{+} Cheerful
xxxKizal likes to smile. She likes to laugh. She likes to cling to the good vibes and spread the joy around her. Sure she'll stutter, sure she'll be anxious around those she's not... really familiar with, but her general distrust of people still doesn't diminish her desire to keep the people around her happy. After all, even if she can put a little bit of brightness into someone else's day, they might keep the trend going and... well, she can dream of a brighter future, right? Kizal tries to give a smile, if only a tentative one, to each person she meets, and does keep a generally optimistic outlook on the world around her. She's seen some of it's... not so good sides, but it's her hope that the good vibes and well-meaning people can continue to change things for the better for all.

{+} Ambitious
xxxDream big, or go home. Despite her anxieties around others, Kizal's got nothing to hold her back in her head. She dreams of getting over her fears and anxieties of other people, and of trying to use her bad experiences in her childhood to help not only improve the lives of her people, but share the knowledge to other races. Her gratitude towards the other races of Tendaji has formed into the sense that she must, somehow, repay the efforts and losses suffered by all that enabled her people to be freed, and her ideas quickly go to all the possible ways she could try and help people. These visions of grandeur in her head can make for great plans, especially with all the time she usually tends to put into them. Something she certainly can apply to really... any task set before her. Social anxiety aside, she's willing to put in the time and effort to make her projects--or her friends' projects, or however it works out--excel and stand out in the crowd. Once Kizal's set her mind to a task, it's not so much a question of if she can accomplish it... but more a matter of when she'll figure out how to make it best work for her using whatever resources she has at her disposal.

{+} Forthcoming
xxxLying's almost a crime in her mind. Partially because Kizal's so absolutely horrible at it herself. Both out of her own dislike of lying, and her own inability, Kizal's a willing open book to anyone she can strike up a conversation with. She's not one to shy away from details if someone asks questions, and though she won't necessarily be spilling her deep dark secrets or thoughts on a whim to a complete stranger--she is capable of technically lying by omission--if someone asks the right questions or is willing to listen to her ramble? Her thoughts, her dreams, her feelings, heck even her life's an open book. In turn though, she'll always be willing to hear others out for as much--or as little!--as they want to share. When it comes to information, she doesn't necessarily believe in equal reciprocity, and wouldn't become offended if she spilled her guts to someone and they didn't feel comfortable doing the same.


{-} Cautious
xxxJust because she can run her mouth for days at a time, doesn't mean she's not watching her back every second. Kizal's seen some of the nasty things people can do to one another, and while she'd like to think the world can have more good than bad... She refuses to let her guard down long enough for her to be proven wrong. Due to this, Kizal is extremely nervous around people she does not know, and can come across as skittish if not backed up by someone familiar to her. This caution does extend to her plans and actions, always trying to make sure she's got a safe route ahead of her, and various backup plans if her initial ideas fall through. She considers them suitable safety measures, but the reality is that her attempts at figuring things out before she acts can certainly stall her for long periods of time.

{-} Flighty
xxxSoon as the bad comes in, Kizal runs on out. Which also translates to whenever Kizal perceives anything as "bad," she's ducking out and running in the opposite direction. Hostility from others makes her get sheepish and meek and quick to zip on out, be it verbal, or gods' forbid actual physical violence. Even just stern voices can make her jump and shy away if she's not familiar with the person, quick to believe she's upsetting them or somehow causing offense. Her attempts to avoid conflict often result in her appearing fickle and, well, flighty, and it can often take a bit for someone to coax Kizal back out of her chosen refuge if she believes she's caused some sort of offense.

{-} Overwhelmed
xxxToo much of a good thing can be too much. Kizal's the type to want to take on as much as possible--both to make other people happy, and to try and push her own goals forward as quickly as possible while she's got the motivation. Her heart's in the right place, but if she's not careful the girl can very quickly overwhelm herself and cause herself to get bogged down with work and stress. The resulting stress can often have some pretty big consequences, as Kizal's the type to try and dig herself out of problems by focusing on just the problem at hand--meaning sleep, food, and social obligations? All go right out the window, and someone trying to press her to focus on more important matters would be quickly met with a frustrated and tearful Kizal just trying to get things done.


Description:
Hair: █ Multiple braids in various widths cascade around her, the longest of her braids reaching down to her mid-back. Smaller braids along the top of her head pull her bangs away from her face, and either form larger braids when connected together, or the loose hair is collected into larger braids when the smaller braids end. Kizal has an adoration for adorning her hair with stones and shells she collects.
Eyes: █ Wide, and heavily lashed
Skin: █ / █ Kizal has a few slender scars across the backs of her forearms, and a few along her back, that have begun to fade a bit as she's aged.
Speckles: █

Clothing: Predominantly in tones of blue and black with bright greens and yellows as accessories, Kizal accessories her outfits as much as she can. Her most typical attire consists of wispy, slitted skirts over sturdy shorts, with shirts that often bare her midriff. Sandals slip on and off with ease, and after that? Accessorize, accessorize, accessorize.
Accessories: The two pieces Kizal always has on her person are: a multi-layered necklace of freshwater pearls and tiny stones that had been a gift from her elder sister, and a satchel she keeps at her hip often filled with trinkets from her explorations.


History:

Born the youngest of three elder siblings--two girls, one boy--Kizal did not have a lot of time to become especially close to her family before she was taken into slavery by the Oba, along with her mother and eldest sister, however she was not able to remain with her family. Still very young and bought by a family without any of her relatives taken with her, she was trained to act as a serving girl. The mistress of the house was relatively kind to her and the other Matori slaves whom Kizal was able to learn more of her heritage from, willing to answer her countless questions and support her almost boundless curiosity when the time allowed. Even the mistress of the house seemed willing to encourage her openness, allowing Kizal to speak her mind when serving her mistress in her quarters, or her mistress' workroom--politely, of course, and Kizal was still made plainly aware of her place in society, but the woman did not consider Kizal's honesty to be something to curb.

The master of the household and their three children were far less hospitable, however. Kizal was often tormented by the Oban children she served with physical beatings and psychological torment--their threats to get Kizal to go along with their often violent "games" usually involved the children telling Kizal the children would get their father if she did not obey them, or that monsters would catch her in her sleep if she did not listen to them. Their father was no kinder, a clear believer in harsh punishments to affirm what he considered proper behavior--mainly, that he expected his slaves to be barely even seen, never mind never heard. This drastic shift from how his wife treated the slaves resulted in Kizal becoming extremely watchful for what she considered signs of potential threat--a harsh voice, stern tones, raised voices, heavy footsteps, and dark looks, were only the beginning of the body language and social cues she quickly associated to mean she'd best shut up, and get hidden, fast if she wanted to avoid punishment. The only physical scars she bears to this day are along her forearms and back from the children, however psychological scars she's retained from her time in slavery have morphed into a distrust of all people outside of a circle of individuals she considers safe.

She was released from her bondage five years prior, and was returned to her family, reuniting with her parents, and since then finding herself as the elder sister of two younger brothers. With the return to their lands, Kizal's family has managed to grow close and reaffirm their connections, with Kizal trying to find her place within the newly forming society she's since found herself amongst. Her father has since returned to his place as a craftsman, and Kizal is fond of joining him and her eldest sister in finding materials to form into jewelry and home goods, while her mother and other elder siblings have taken their roles as hunters in the group.

In recent years, Kizal has begun to acknowledge her fascination with other races beyond the Matori an the Obans, and though she still has a very hard time interacting with other people when her family or friends are not present, she is aware she cannot hope to try and pay back, or pay forward towards a brighter future for her people, if she doesn't interact with the other peoples of the world. She's formed a love of listening in when traders come to visit, listening to stories of far away places and peoples she'd never seen. Her dreams often make her picture herself traveling to unknown reaches, meeting strange and exotic peoples... it's just the process of getting out into the world to accomplish that, that seems to be where she's stuck.

Does she have any traumas from her slavery? Its been.. 5 or 7 years about since they were freed (if I recall my timelines correctly) so she may or may not have healed during that time. You hint at them within your personality but nothing really concrete.


How does she view the rest of tendaji? Does she feel anything for the people who fought to free her (even though they were honestly fighting to keep oba out.. and only decided to free matorians since Naria (NPC) came with a Yaotl and turned the tide of the war) ?


Was she this cheerful and forthright as a child/slave?

She is (from history) exceedingly distrustful of people but her personality makes it seem like she's just nervous. Is it just really nervous or always thinking the other is up to no good/a bad person? If so: how does she manage to maintain her smile for these people she distrusts so much?

Hey Kae! Thanks for the respond and clarification on what Robo asked.

As someone with such a huge background focused on a specific race, and clear anxiety about the experience, how do you see her reacting potentially with Obans? Obviously I can see her Ambitions and Cheerfulness impact this, but do you see her as struggling with interactions with Obans, and is that a plot point you want to explore as you build this character through RP?

How does a relationship with someone else evolve past the caution? Is there anything that she sees as a sign of trust, and something that helps her relax around others...or is that simply time...or maybe she never trusts someone as fully as she'd like?

I see she's more of a flighter than a fighter...but do you think she'd ever be pushed too far (maybe backed in a corner)...what would she do? Shut down, or fight?

Hope these questions help...just love to explore more of the potential RP interactions or plots you might be thinking up!

X] I keep alternating between calling you Fini and Ely rofl~

To answer your questions~

As someone with such a huge background focused on a specific race, and clear anxiety about the experience, how do you see her reacting potentially with Obans? Obviously I can see her Ambitions and Cheerfulness impact this, but do you see her as struggling with interactions with Obans, and is that a plot point you want to explore as you build this character through RP?

This is a big plot point I want to explore with Kizal in Rp. Right now, I can see Kizal being extremely timid and overly polite around Obans, out of almost nervous habit. She would likely begin reverting back to the trained behaviors and actions that were expected of her as a serving girl, unless told otherwise by the Obans that she didn't need to do that--without being told she can relax, Kizal would sort of have it ingrained in her head she should act this specific way to avoid potentially upsetting them. Largely, because she'd be afraid of them treating her like the master of the house and his children did if she didn't behave in the very respectful, polite, and largely silent way that was expected of her around most Obans.

That being said, if the Obans she interacted with were willingly to flatly state that they didn't see her as a slave, or didn't want her to revert back to those behaviors around them, she would be open about her concerns due to her history, and would be very willing to work with them to try and overcome the impulses ingrained into her due to her childhood.


How does a relationship with someone else evolve past the caution? Is there anything that she sees as a sign of trust, and something that helps her relax around others...or is that simply time...or maybe she never trusts someone as fully as she'd like?

So my answer above kinda goes into this! If people speak plainly to Kizal, and repeatedly state she can trust them... yeah she'll give some stock into that. But as you said, a lot of it is time. Kizal will for a while keep expecting the people she meets to turn around and somehow mistreat her if she's not guarded, or isn't careful to do whatever she can to keep them from getting upset with her. But over time, and if the person is willing to keep assuring her with actions and words that she does not need to be so tense, and can relax, then she'll begin to feel comfortable enough to do that. So it's largely just having people be patient enough to work with Kizal, and show her that they mean well.

It could end up being in Rp that she might not fully trust people 100% that aren't her close family, to be honest I'm not quite sure on that. It's very possible that, if she began to really trust other people, and they somehow betrayed her, she would likely shut down a lot of her social interactions after that point, so that is something that would obviously depend on Rp and her connections she forms with others.


I see she's more of a flighter than a fighter...but do you think she'd ever be pushed too far (maybe backed in a corner)...what would she do? Shut down, or fight?

8'D Oh she's a corner fighter, to be sure. Kizal's first instinct is always to run and hide, but once she's out of options, her fear and frustrations are actually enough to make her boil over and--in a fit of tears and desperation, largely--fight back. Not well since she doesn't have any actual training, but the survival instinct is there in her to fight if necessary. I'm hoping that through Rp she'll form a stronger sense of self-confidence, and learn that it's not a good coping method, to keep running away all the time.




8D Thank you~

do you see her being a battle class or strictly non-battle? Do you have any idea what direction she might move in, or are you letting her figure it out as you go?

Right now, I've actually got plans for her to eventually go into the Beast Master route 8'> <3 The idea is that by having a creature around she can feel comfortable with, it would be that assurance that she has someone there she can trust, and help alleviate some of her anxieties. I do hope she'll be able to form more connections through Rp obviously, but my intent is to slowly gear her into a battle class, and use that as one of the ways for her to begin getting out of her shell a bit more.

Approved before I popped on to see your response XD

Thank you for the clarification <3 Love her btw!