ooc; 001
Student Name; Rikku Araxie.
AIM; wild swirl
Occupation; Part-time employment at campus garage.
Age; 17.
Year; Freshman.
Dormitory; Hibiscus, Room 311 with Rinoa Heartilly.
Day/Evening; Day.
Major; Engineering.
Minor; Chemistry.
First Period; Classical Mechanics.
Second Period; Analytical Chemistry.
Break Period; 11:05 AM - 12:50 PM.
Third Period; Electricity and Magnetism.
Fourth Period; Numerical Methods I.
Extra Curricular; Theatre.
Personality:
Rikku is a bubbly and lively seventeen-year-old girl who was born and raised in Home, an Al Bhed settlement on Bikanel Island. She isn’t afraid to flirt, and will use her attractive body to her advantage. She loves to talk and sometimes waves her arms around when she gets excited. Whenever she does this, the circles and arcs that she draws in the air seem to have meaning to no one but herself. She tends to make humorous remarks in dangerous or anxious situations, and often speaks without thinking. Most people view her as a total ditz, but there’s much more to the package.
Since she is an Al Bhed, she can speak both her native language, surprisingly called Al Bhed, as well as English. Rikku has a strong sense of what is right and wrong (even though she’s a thief, born and bred), and will usually put another’s safety before her own. She's very caring and will help out whenever and where ever she can, even if it can mean getting into trouble. When push comes to shove, though, she’s an apt fighter and isn’t afraid to bleed or spill a little blood if the need arises. When she gets really frustrated with one thing or another, she has been known to pick fights in order to “vent.” Sometimes, though, she can be childish and selfish, but over the years these instances have decreased tremendously. She has a fetish for toying with machina, and will gladly mix up explosives when asked or sometimes if she’s just bored.
It’s obvious that she’s extremely confident in herself, not just because of her garment choices, but also because of her entire demeanor. She’s outgoing, speaks her mind, and is rather egotistical at times. Insulting her is a chore, because she usually takes any lewd comments in stride, sometimes shooting back one of her own. I mean, when you think about her growing up in a house full of men in a community that didn’t discriminate based on gender, you have to believe that she can hold her own when it comes to bawdy jokes and the like. She knows that she can get what she wants, is aware that she’s attractive, and is perfectly willing to do almost whatever it takes to achieve a goal.
Appearance:
Rikku’s hair is much longer than it was in Final Fantasy X; it looks like the end would be somewhere around her lower back, maybe even her upper thighs. Most of her hair is pulled up into a ponytail at the top of her head, and some of it is taken into little sections and braided with multicolored beads throughout. Her bangs are a bit shorter than in the first game; they’re now cut about an inch above her eyes. Her hair is kept out of her face by a large blue bandana, and she wears the orange-yellow feathers, which she once wore in her hair, as earrings. She has a narrower face and more arched brows than in the first game, giving her a more mature look.
Rikku has an extra-long scarf along her neck; it’s mostly red, but it fades to yellow near the ends. She wears yellow bikini bottoms with a navy-green mini skirt over them. The skirt has a yellow belt around it to support two bags, which she uses to hold items. Each bag has two orange strings hanging from the top center piece. Her arms are covered by off-white arm-warmers that start right below her shoulder; the material has been cut and then tied into a series of bows that lead from shoulder to wrist. She has brown, fingerless gloves on her hands and ankle-high boots on her feet that flare out slightly at the top and have a small, yellow bow on the back of each. The top portion of the boot is navy-blue, and the bottom half is a light shade of beige.
She has lightly tanned skin, some of which is almost always visible on her torso and legs. Also, because of her Al Bhed heritage, she has blonde hair and green eyes with a swirled pupil.
History:
Rikku was born in an unnamed town, much larger than the size of Lindell, to a set of reasonably well-off set of parents in a tiny community that consisted mainly of Al Bhed. Due to widespread dislike directed at them from a religion whose followers were called Yevonites, in order to keep this place somewhat of a secret they usually just referred to it as “Home,” and even created their own language, aptly named Al Bhed. Because of the extremely cramped living arrangements in the Al Bhed society, they’re a very close-knit sort of people, and tend to isolate themselves from outsiders. As a result, Rikku was taught to watch her own back as she grew up, to be particularly wary of strangers, and to take whatever she could get by whatever means necessary. This last lesson is why she became such a great thief later on in her life. However, she had always been considered a bit of a wild card to her people, and became more outgoing and trusting than normally accepted. But, since her father, Cid, was the leader (or maytan) of the group, no one ever spoke out about her odd behavior. Besides that, she is considered something of a “princess,” though she has never embraced this title. Thus, Rikku matured to be happy-go-lucky and restless, longing to get out and see the world.
At the young age of six, Rikku was running an errand for her father, taking a shortcut through an alley even though he had told her not to, when she was cornered by a group of Yevonites. She called out for help, but was aware that no one was likely to hear her. However, just before she was attacked, her mother rushed in and started to fight off her assailants, yelling for Rikku to run away. She obeyed, but not before she had seen her mother struck down, killed for her sake. She managed to make it home, and upon telling her father what had happened, she was forbidden from ever going into alleyways again. Her mother’s death has always weighed heavily upon her, and she will likely never forgive herself for being so foolish. Shortly afterwards, a terrible storm raged through her city. Rikku was on her front porch watching the storm when lightning struck ridiculously close to where she was standing, knocking her back into a wall and initiating her astraphobia.
Cid ran a garage closer to the more populated part of the city, so for as long as she can remember, she’s been surrounded by tools and machina. She and Gippal, a boy-next-door type of friend, were considered childhood sweethearts, and it was often said that they would end up married one day. Rikku never objected to this prediction, and neither did Gippal; however, both were known to date other people sporadically, and somehow always ended up together again. But when Gippal turned sixteen, he planned to leave the safety of Home to make his own way in the world, confidently saying that he would join some military group that was rumored to be Al Bhed-friendly. Outraged, Rikku demanded to know why he was leaving and, in the midst of their argument, he kissed her to make her stop talking, which led to them having sex for the first time. The morning after Gippal left, Rikku departed as well, intending to explore the world in full, as she had been sheltered from over three-quarters of the country for her entire life.
After a few months, during which she located some of her exiled, non-Al Bhed family, she returned to her birthplace just in time for it to fall under attack by a group of Yevonite radicals. Outnumbered drastically, her people had to flee, becoming nomads of the countryside. As a last-ditch effort, Cid set off a string of bombs that had been set around the perimeter of Home, destroying the entire community. Rikku’s eldest brother, Keyakku, was killed in the attack along with countless other Al Bhed, and for some reason she blames herself for his death. Rikku has never been back to Home since it was destroyed.
The next two years of her life were spent wandering all around the world; she created a convenient little hideaway just outside Lindell, stocking it with potions and the like in case she ever needed to lay low for a while. Cid abandoned his garage, and so Rikku decided to take over, and ran the entire place more or less by herself for a while, sometimes hiring a few muscular boys to help her move some of the larger machina around. She also tended to go out on dates with these boys, though has never let a relationship last longer than a few months. She also started to advertise herself as a thief-for-hire at the age of sixteen, against her father’s wishes. Because of this, she and Cid are rather distant with each other, as are Cid and her older sibling, simply named Brother. But hey, her priority is the paycheck, since she has more than a slight obsession with money. Seriously, she hoards the stuff, rarely spending it if she can steal instead.
Once she turned seventeen, Cid received an acceptance letter to Evergrove University, even though Rikku had not applied there to his knowledge. Finding this a perfect chance to civilize his otherwise rough-around-the-edges daughter, he replied to the letter, letting the administration know that she would indeed be attending the school. Cid personally went to his daughter and told her she was being sent to school and with surprising little argument, she agreed. The opportunity to meet people who were unlikely to scorn her for her ethnicity was too tempting. So she packed up her few belongings, sealed up Cid’s old garage, and hitched a ride on the airship. So begins her attendance at Evergrove. Enjoy.
Constructive Criticism:
In addition to listing her classes/life/random info, this post will double - or is it triple? - as a constructive criticism post for Rikku.
Now, remember, the key word here is constructive. If your criticism is just... well, criticism, the comment will be deleted immediately. Which will more or less just be for my benefit, since all comments are screened~ But, yes. I don't take kindly to people needlessly bashing my characterization. I'd appreciate it if solid proof was given, just like in a courtroom. Can't have a case without evidence, y'know.
Ah - and if you have anything to say about her history, cool beans. Have at, darlings. Suggestions are always welcome on how I can spruce up Rikku's childhood and the like.