[Meme(s)/fanon?]
This is just a meme I wanted to do for Aerith. Pay no attention to the meme behind the curtain.
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is she heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
Aerith's slender but definitely has a womanly figure--her hips in the original art are pretty damn impressive, and her breasts aren't prominent like Tifa's but they're there. At 5'3", she's on the short side of average and is easily dwarfed by Zack or Sephiroth.
2. How old is she? 22/23
3. Describe her posture. Does she carry herself well or does she slouch? Her posture can betray her mood. She's usually perky--and carries herself accordingly--but a noticeable slouch can appear when she's depressed.
4. How is her health? Is she fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Her health is good; she's fit, active, and able to fight if she needs to. No physical conditions.
5. How does she move? Is she clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
I wouldn't describe it as tense, but she seems to be a bit careful in how she moves, as though mindful of her surroundings.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does she perceive herself in the mirror?
Aerith is a very pretty young woman, and she's aware of it. While she isn't conceited enough to think her looks would snag her any guy she wants, she knows that in terms of what's considered attractive, she came out on the lucky end of the gene pool.
7. Describe her complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred? Clear. She has a healthy glow to her skin. I'd imagine her skin tone is a touch darker in Luceti than in canon because lol no longer living under plate, but nothing dramatic.
8. Describe her hair: color, texture, style. Medium brown; in sunlight, red highlights stick out and make it look more auburn. Her hair is well-cared for but not "silky"--there's a slight stiffness to it. Of the time she spends on her looks, the most is spent on hair, with it almost always braided back and two curls left hanging on the side. There's probably some spray used on her bangs, because that doesn't seem completely natural.
9. What color are her eyes? Bright green.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features? She's smiling most of the time.
11. What are her chief tension centers? UMMM IDK. Shoulders?
12. What is the character's wardrobe like? Casual, dressy, utilitarian? Bright colors, pastels, neutrals? Is it varied, or does she have six of the same suit?
Aerith's wardrobe tends to consist of clothes that are casual for but are clean-cut, neat enough that she could go to say, a family dinner and not feel embarrassed (IF SHE HAD FAMILY BESIDES HER MOM) and look good on her. Practical clothes are good; she has a pair or two of high heels but for the most part, if it constricts movement she's a little averse to it. Bright colors and pastels are both lovely, but since she does like her colors, neutrals are unlikely. Pink is the dominating color and she does love dresses, but it's definitely obvious she's wearing something different every day.
13. Do her clothes fit well? Does she seem comfortable in them? Yes.
14. Does she dress the same on the job as she does in her free time? If not, what are the differences? Exact same clothes.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando? Briefs. Sometimes with lace.
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
A bit on the high side of pitch, but at the same time I've always thought of Aerith's voice as pretty "average".
...I mean, she's had three guys mistake her voice for their mom's. So.
2. How does she normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does she talk easily, or does she hesitate?
Soft, with a tendency to "bubble up" during chats. She talks pretty easily.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
Noooot really? She occasionally says "Well" to start sentences.
4. What language/s does she speak, and with how much fluency? COMMON lol fantasy worlds.
5. Does she switch languages or dialects in certain situations? No.
6. Is she a good impromptu speaker, or does she have to think about her words?
Once it gets to an emotional situation, she likes to take her time and think about things before she says them, but she can still come up with some impassioned stuff in a split second. ...Just, y'know, the passion might be a little misguided then.
7. Is she eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
"Cloud...I'm searching for you."
"...?"
"I want to meet you."
"But I'm right here."
"(I know, I know...what I mean is...) I want to meet...you."
"...No, seriously, what does that mean?"
...There's actually a few other examples I could probably give BUT basically: in normal conversation, Aerith is perfectly articulate. Start talking to her about very personal/emotional/lolCetra things and she might fumble a bit because she hasn't really put those feelings into words before and because she doesn't feel the need to explain everything that she's thinking (note that she tells Cloud on the Gondola that he reminds her of another guy without making it clear it's Zack she's referring to). At the same time she WILL actually voice her feelings somehow, even if it's not 100% clear to the listener, so. Better than some people. Her speech is fairly plain, so I wouldn't say she's ever really eloquent. Rather, she's expressive.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is she book-smart or street-smart? Street-smart from living in the slums. She can follow a plot--she talks about going to discuss things with the Cosmo Canyon elders, wrangles a plot arrow from Hojo, and at one point discusses with Cloud what Sephiroth is likely to do next, but just not that academic.
2. Does she think on her feet, or does she need time to deliberate?
She thinks on her feet. The escapade with Holy is alllll about thinking on her feet.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is she more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Very emotional, gut feeling and intuition oriented, is idealistic but has touches of pragmatism (LOL CLOUD LET'S TAKE THIS TINY BRONCO, never expresses any issue and/or discomfort about traveling with a group of former terrorists).
4. What kind of education has the character had?
She's never had any formal schooling, just some home teaching from Elmyra and whatever a small child would learn in a lab. Which actually, she probably did have some sort of schooling in the labs, or at least testing to record the learning development of a Cetran child and basic resources (books for her to read, etc.) for her to explore on her own.
5. What are her areas of expertise? What, if anything, is she interested in learning more about?
LOL THE PLAAAAANET. Also my Aerith is a bit of an arts & crafts person. She's nearly always curious about other people.
6. Is she an introvert or an extrovert? Social extrovert.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is she even-tempered or does she have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
Even-tempered, cheerful, laidback until it involves the Planet and then it is "BRB GUYS, HAVE MISSION WILL TRAVEL o/"
8. How does she respond to new people or situations? Is she suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic? Relaxed, curious, enthusiastic.
9. Is she more likely to act, or to react?
She likes to take the initiative and act on things, but the way her life has been, a lot of her decisions are directly reacting to something.
10. Which is her default: fight or flight? Um. This is hard to describe. Physically, she defaults to flight if she's solo but is perfectly capable of fighting. Emotionally if someone insults her, she's going to toss something right back, but her behavior about the subject of Zack throughout the original game is very avoidant. ...IDK what the answer is here.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does she appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks? Jokes and teasing. She doesn't aim to demean the other person but can occasionally misgauge the other person's comfort zone...and also, just doesn't mind shoving people a little out of comfort zones.
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does she deal with them?
...She hears voices. She's okay with that. She's more concerned when she can't hear them.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined her as a person?
Her mother's death.
Meeting Zack. Having him disappear. Sensing his death.
Meeting Cloud.
:|a
14. What does she fear? Being treated as "other".
15. What are her hopes or aspirations?
Having a happy life; helping Zack get back to Gaia alive and making Cloud happy. ...She's rather simplistic on these things.
16. What is something she doesn't want anyone to find out about her?
She doesn't want most people to know she'll die, though she did talk about it with Buffy. She doesn't want to talk about being scared she'll lose her connection with Gaia through experimentation/shifting.
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with her parents.
Her relationship with both Ifalna and Elmyra has been loving. Elmyra's definitely had her share of frustrations with Aerith but adores her daughter anyway and is protective of her. She's never had a father figure though some part of me wonders if she identified Hojo as a very distant father figure when she was a small child, which would just be messed up.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like? None.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom she is close? Are there ones she can't stand? None other blood relatives.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom she considers part of her family? What are her relationships with them?
She doesn't really think too heavily in terms of "family", as she mentioned to Zack once (Um. I mean, considering how messed up her childhood's been and what kind of place she grew up in) BUT Zack and AVALANCHE would qualify. Also there's probably a few unnamed children back in the slums who she likes to act as a kind of big sister to.
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
Tifa. They giggled over Cloud in a dress and plotted ways to devastate Corneo's balls. Please don't take this entirely seriously.
6. Does she have other close friends?
Yes, particularly in Luceti--I'd say at least Buffy and Myuria count and other people probably, I just don't want to assume
7. Does she make friends easily, or does she have trouble getting along with people? Pffft she makes friends ridiculously easy.
8. Which does she consider more important: family or friends? Both important. :|b
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has she been married more than once?
MARRIED ON THE ASTRAL PLAAAAANE
Married to the Planet
Aerith is very much single. ...in marriage status, anyway.
10. Is she currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
SO WE'VE FINALLY GOT THIS THREESOME THING ROLLING A BIT. She's been in a romantic relationship with Zack for quite a while and fairly recently started a sexual relationship with him too. And now involved with Cloud.
As of the reset, single.
11. Who was her first crush? Who is her latest?
SURPRISE her first crush was not Zack. She was 15 when they met; she probably had a few crushes before that. For all we know it was Tseng in this really weird way like "he was ordered to take me in but he hasn't so he's kind of protecting me but I still don't like him but he's protecting me and he's kinda handsome and he's so mature but he's really dangerous which is kind of hot in a bad boy way--oh my goodness he's coming this way his hair looks really nice today WAIT IS HE GOING TO KIDNAP ME RUN AWAY" and Tseng wonders if all thirteen-year-old girls are this strange or if this is a Cetra thing.
...Cloud is her latest crush, that one's fairly self-explanatory. Her crush on him started in Wall Market because it is just beyond sweet when a guy is (reluctantly) willing to let his masculinity suffer a slow death so he can make sure his friend is all right. ♥
12. What does she look for in a romantic partner?
Sincerity, kindness. Being able to laugh at yourself or at least tolerate a few giggles in your direction.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does she relate to them? If no, does she want any?
No. She really loves to interact with children so the thought of having some is tempting, but she's never seriously believed she'd have one because of how unstable her life has been. Also she would have a few issues about conceiving a child given the whole Cetra business--she turned out just fine, but she would not want to saddle a child with a life of being pursued for what they are.
14. Does she have any rivals or enemies? Sephiroth and Kadaj probably count to some extent, but it's more "possible threats" than "enemies".
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does she fall on the Kinsey scale?
Strictly canonically, she's had only heterosexual romances, so she'd be a 0. I could see her being a 1, though, with some past attraction to females.
16. How does she feel about sex? How important is it to her?
Sex is like the rest of life: it can be fun, it can be scary, it can be really meaningful, it can be wasted if you don't treat it right. She likes it fun, but she's not into casual flings. She talks about it casually with certain people, but it's not something she'd just toss around in polite company.
17. What are her turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits? I...should really know this but have no answer right now.
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does she fit type?
So by Western astrology, Aerith is an Aquarius. Aquarius both fits and doesn't fit. For example, Aquarius is in the Eleventh House, described this way: "The Eleventh House is sometimes called the House of Friends, Hopes and Dreams. Friends will support our dreams of the future. Here, in the Eleventh House, we're not concerned with our day-to-day responsibilities. Instead, we are thinking about our ideal situation and dreaming of ways to get there. Whether we do or not is less important than keeping the dreams alive". The key planet is Uranus, both known for its eccentricity and associated with suddenness, great things being short-lived. At the same time, the element of air means Aquarius are said to put intellect and thought above other things and be emotionally detached--Aerith is the polar opposite.
If we want to try our hand at Chinese astrology, according to this site's timeline Aerith was born February 7th, 1985, making her a Wood Rat (2/2/84-2/19/85). They're described as people who "are quite attractive with a charming disposition"...and beyond that it doesn't fit Aerith at all, describing a shy introvert and perfectionist. She'd fit a bit better as a wood ox but she's a few days too early for that! Likewise, I'd feel she'd be better as a Pisces than an Aquarius.
tl;dr, Aerith was born about two weeks too early for me to want to apply horoscopes to her. BUT THIS MAKES PERFECT SENSE because Aerith takes off so often she was probably rarin' to get out of the womb. :>
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in her life?
Aerith is very spiritual, respecting her connection to the Planet and its life. It's something that affects her day-to-day life as well as major decisions.
3. Does this character have a personal code of morals or ethics? If so, how did that begin? What would it take to compromise it?
Aerith's primary morals are to not seek revenge for wrongs done, but focus instead on protecting and living life. She sees conflict as a necessary part of life, but also believes it's very important not to create more fighting than there has to be. This was influenced by early childhood but probably only really became cemented in teenage years.
4. How does she regard beliefs that differ from hers? Is she tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
Both tolerant and curious, although I believe an exception would be a belief system that fostered disrespect toward the environment.
5. What prejudices does she hold? Are they irrational or does she have a good reason for them?
Canonically, prejudiced against SOLDIERs, although that was solved pretty quickly by meeting Zack. In headcanon, she's had some prejudice against men since childhood (majority of Shinra staff and particularly executives is male, the only known benevolent figure was female, Hojo is a spectacular creeper). This is mostly gone and she never acted meanly toward men because of it, but she would have been more suspicious of a strange man's motives than a strange woman's. And also there might be a "Oh boys" attitude sometimes. Scientists also get one or two glances; again, she'd try not to treat them badly for it, but ff like she wants to tell them she's the last of a unique race.
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is she rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
She's poor but comfortable.
2. What is her social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected her?
She never had a lot of renown or anything, but she was always friendly toward people in the slums and particularly after Zack's disappearance she had a tiny hope that maybe if she was easily recognizable, people might talk about her and Zack would hear and realize 'hey, stupid, your girlfriend's still waiting for a word from you.' (...Okay maybe without the 'stupid'.) There's probably about a few people in every sector who know Aerith as a regular acquaintance. Except sector six--she might have gone there on a few occasions, buuuut it'd be pretty skeevy for her to be going on her own a lot.
3. Where does she live? House, apartment, trailer? Is her home her castle or just a place to crash? What condition is it in? Does she share it with others?
A small but rather nice (considering the location) house with her mom. She sometimes sleeps in the church, but it's a public area so she doesn't keep anything there besides some basic gardening tools. She'd share the church with anyone who wanted a place to sleep and has probably brought a few people in need home to her house, even.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does she spend her money on?
A flower basket, gardening supplies, small knickknacks like the ribbon she wears around her neck.
5. What does she do for a living? Is she good at it? Does she enjoy it, or would she rather be doing something else?
She's a flower girl. She loves growing flowers and she enjoys meeting people and making them happy. As a job, it's great. She'd want to explore the world someday, though, and maybe she'd find a new job she loves even more while doing that.
6. What are her interests or hobbies? How does she spend her free time?
Gardening, socializing, occasionally reading (she probably tends toward romances she knows are unbelievably corny).
7. What are her eating habits? Does she skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
She eats regular meals at home (but occasionally eats out for dates), doesn't believe in skipping them (YOU CANNOT RUN FROM KIDNAPPERS ON AN EMPTY STOMACH), is not really a drinker, social or otherwise. It's iffy if she's even tried it.
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is her favorite:
1. Color? Pink. red. ...green. brown. blue. yellow. UM.
2. Smell? Floral ones.
3. Time of day? Afternoon.
4. Season? Spring.
5. Book? TWILIGHT romance she can either be thrilled at or find hilariously bad enough to make fun of. Gardening books, maybe some craftsy stuff. She probably had only ten books MAX at any one time back home. In Luceti, there's probably also a book or two about ecology/planet life/LIIIIIIFE in general with Aerith slowly working through it and making little notes of her thoughts in the margins. ...um, hopefully it's not a library book.
6. Music? She loves singing and would probably find a capella groups amazing. But in general, peppy songs and some flute music.
7. Place? Church in the slums.
8. Substance? Ribbons
9. Plant? FLOOOOOOWERS
10. Animal? dogs. cats. chocobos. moogles. IS IT CUTE? Okay, she loves it.
END
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Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is she heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
Aerith's slender but definitely has a womanly figure--her hips in the original art are pretty damn impressive, and her breasts aren't prominent like Tifa's but they're there. At 5'3", she's on the short side of average and is easily dwarfed by Zack or Sephiroth.
2. How old is she? 22/23
3. Describe her posture. Does she carry herself well or does she slouch? Her posture can betray her mood. She's usually perky--and carries herself accordingly--but a noticeable slouch can appear when she's depressed.
4. How is her health? Is she fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Her health is good; she's fit, active, and able to fight if she needs to. No physical conditions.
5. How does she move? Is she clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
I wouldn't describe it as tense, but she seems to be a bit careful in how she moves, as though mindful of her surroundings.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does she perceive herself in the mirror?
Aerith is a very pretty young woman, and she's aware of it. While she isn't conceited enough to think her looks would snag her any guy she wants, she knows that in terms of what's considered attractive, she came out on the lucky end of the gene pool.
7. Describe her complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred? Clear. She has a healthy glow to her skin. I'd imagine her skin tone is a touch darker in Luceti than in canon because lol no longer living under plate, but nothing dramatic.
8. Describe her hair: color, texture, style. Medium brown; in sunlight, red highlights stick out and make it look more auburn. Her hair is well-cared for but not "silky"--there's a slight stiffness to it. Of the time she spends on her looks, the most is spent on hair, with it almost always braided back and two curls left hanging on the side. There's probably some spray used on her bangs, because that doesn't seem completely natural.
9. What color are her eyes? Bright green.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features? She's smiling most of the time.
11. What are her chief tension centers? UMMM IDK. Shoulders?
12. What is the character's wardrobe like? Casual, dressy, utilitarian? Bright colors, pastels, neutrals? Is it varied, or does she have six of the same suit?
Aerith's wardrobe tends to consist of clothes that are casual for but are clean-cut, neat enough that she could go to say, a family dinner and not feel embarrassed (IF SHE HAD FAMILY BESIDES HER MOM) and look good on her. Practical clothes are good; she has a pair or two of high heels but for the most part, if it constricts movement she's a little averse to it. Bright colors and pastels are both lovely, but since she does like her colors, neutrals are unlikely. Pink is the dominating color and she does love dresses, but it's definitely obvious she's wearing something different every day.
13. Do her clothes fit well? Does she seem comfortable in them? Yes.
14. Does she dress the same on the job as she does in her free time? If not, what are the differences? Exact same clothes.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando? Briefs. Sometimes with lace.
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
A bit on the high side of pitch, but at the same time I've always thought of Aerith's voice as pretty "average".
...I mean, she's had three guys mistake her voice for their mom's. So.
2. How does she normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does she talk easily, or does she hesitate?
Soft, with a tendency to "bubble up" during chats. She talks pretty easily.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
Noooot really? She occasionally says "Well" to start sentences.
4. What language/s does she speak, and with how much fluency? COMMON lol fantasy worlds.
5. Does she switch languages or dialects in certain situations? No.
6. Is she a good impromptu speaker, or does she have to think about her words?
Once it gets to an emotional situation, she likes to take her time and think about things before she says them, but she can still come up with some impassioned stuff in a split second. ...Just, y'know, the passion might be a little misguided then.
7. Is she eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
"Cloud...I'm searching for you."
"...?"
"I want to meet you."
"But I'm right here."
"(I know, I know...what I mean is...) I want to meet...you."
"...No, seriously, what does that mean?"
...There's actually a few other examples I could probably give BUT basically: in normal conversation, Aerith is perfectly articulate. Start talking to her about very personal/emotional/lolCetra things and she might fumble a bit because she hasn't really put those feelings into words before and because she doesn't feel the need to explain everything that she's thinking (note that she tells Cloud on the Gondola that he reminds her of another guy without making it clear it's Zack she's referring to). At the same time she WILL actually voice her feelings somehow, even if it's not 100% clear to the listener, so. Better than some people. Her speech is fairly plain, so I wouldn't say she's ever really eloquent. Rather, she's expressive.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is she book-smart or street-smart? Street-smart from living in the slums. She can follow a plot--she talks about going to discuss things with the Cosmo Canyon elders, wrangles a plot arrow from Hojo, and at one point discusses with Cloud what Sephiroth is likely to do next, but just not that academic.
2. Does she think on her feet, or does she need time to deliberate?
She thinks on her feet. The escapade with Holy is alllll about thinking on her feet.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is she more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Very emotional, gut feeling and intuition oriented, is idealistic but has touches of pragmatism (LOL CLOUD LET'S TAKE THIS TINY BRONCO, never expresses any issue and/or discomfort about traveling with a group of former terrorists).
4. What kind of education has the character had?
She's never had any formal schooling, just some home teaching from Elmyra and whatever a small child would learn in a lab. Which actually, she probably did have some sort of schooling in the labs, or at least testing to record the learning development of a Cetran child and basic resources (books for her to read, etc.) for her to explore on her own.
5. What are her areas of expertise? What, if anything, is she interested in learning more about?
LOL THE PLAAAAANET. Also my Aerith is a bit of an arts & crafts person. She's nearly always curious about other people.
6. Is she an introvert or an extrovert? Social extrovert.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is she even-tempered or does she have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
Even-tempered, cheerful, laidback until it involves the Planet and then it is "BRB GUYS, HAVE MISSION WILL TRAVEL o/"
8. How does she respond to new people or situations? Is she suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic? Relaxed, curious, enthusiastic.
9. Is she more likely to act, or to react?
She likes to take the initiative and act on things, but the way her life has been, a lot of her decisions are directly reacting to something.
10. Which is her default: fight or flight? Um. This is hard to describe. Physically, she defaults to flight if she's solo but is perfectly capable of fighting. Emotionally if someone insults her, she's going to toss something right back, but her behavior about the subject of Zack throughout the original game is very avoidant. ...IDK what the answer is here.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does she appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks? Jokes and teasing. She doesn't aim to demean the other person but can occasionally misgauge the other person's comfort zone...and also, just doesn't mind shoving people a little out of comfort zones.
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does she deal with them?
...She hears voices. She's okay with that. She's more concerned when she can't hear them.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined her as a person?
Her mother's death.
Meeting Zack. Having him disappear. Sensing his death.
Meeting Cloud.
:|a
14. What does she fear? Being treated as "other".
15. What are her hopes or aspirations?
Having a happy life; helping Zack get back to Gaia alive and making Cloud happy. ...She's rather simplistic on these things.
16. What is something she doesn't want anyone to find out about her?
She doesn't want most people to know she'll die, though she did talk about it with Buffy. She doesn't want to talk about being scared she'll lose her connection with Gaia through experimentation/shifting.
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with her parents.
Her relationship with both Ifalna and Elmyra has been loving. Elmyra's definitely had her share of frustrations with Aerith but adores her daughter anyway and is protective of her. She's never had a father figure though some part of me wonders if she identified Hojo as a very distant father figure when she was a small child, which would just be messed up.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like? None.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom she is close? Are there ones she can't stand? None other blood relatives.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom she considers part of her family? What are her relationships with them?
She doesn't really think too heavily in terms of "family", as she mentioned to Zack once (Um. I mean, considering how messed up her childhood's been and what kind of place she grew up in) BUT Zack and AVALANCHE would qualify. Also there's probably a few unnamed children back in the slums who she likes to act as a kind of big sister to.
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
Tifa. They giggled over Cloud in a dress and plotted ways to devastate Corneo's balls. Please don't take this entirely seriously.
6. Does she have other close friends?
Yes, particularly in Luceti--I'd say at least Buffy and Myuria count and other people probably, I just don't want to assume
7. Does she make friends easily, or does she have trouble getting along with people? Pffft she makes friends ridiculously easy.
8. Which does she consider more important: family or friends? Both important. :|b
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has she been married more than once?
MARRIED ON THE ASTRAL PLAAAAANE
Married to the Planet
Aerith is very much single. ...in marriage status, anyway.
10. Is she currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
SO WE'VE FINALLY GOT THIS THREESOME THING ROLLING A BIT. She's been in a romantic relationship with Zack for quite a while and fairly recently started a sexual relationship with him too. And now involved with Cloud.
As of the reset, single.
11. Who was her first crush? Who is her latest?
SURPRISE her first crush was not Zack. She was 15 when they met; she probably had a few crushes before that. For all we know it was Tseng in this really weird way like "he was ordered to take me in but he hasn't so he's kind of protecting me but I still don't like him but he's protecting me and he's kinda handsome and he's so mature but he's really dangerous which is kind of hot in a bad boy way--oh my goodness he's coming this way his hair looks really nice today WAIT IS HE GOING TO KIDNAP ME RUN AWAY" and Tseng wonders if all thirteen-year-old girls are this strange or if this is a Cetra thing.
...Cloud is her latest crush, that one's fairly self-explanatory. Her crush on him started in Wall Market because it is just beyond sweet when a guy is (reluctantly) willing to let his masculinity suffer a slow death so he can make sure his friend is all right. ♥
12. What does she look for in a romantic partner?
Sincerity, kindness. Being able to laugh at yourself or at least tolerate a few giggles in your direction.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does she relate to them? If no, does she want any?
No. She really loves to interact with children so the thought of having some is tempting, but she's never seriously believed she'd have one because of how unstable her life has been. Also she would have a few issues about conceiving a child given the whole Cetra business--she turned out just fine, but she would not want to saddle a child with a life of being pursued for what they are.
14. Does she have any rivals or enemies? Sephiroth and Kadaj probably count to some extent, but it's more "possible threats" than "enemies".
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does she fall on the Kinsey scale?
Strictly canonically, she's had only heterosexual romances, so she'd be a 0. I could see her being a 1, though, with some past attraction to females.
16. How does she feel about sex? How important is it to her?
Sex is like the rest of life: it can be fun, it can be scary, it can be really meaningful, it can be wasted if you don't treat it right. She likes it fun, but she's not into casual flings. She talks about it casually with certain people, but it's not something she'd just toss around in polite company.
17. What are her turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits? I...should really know this but have no answer right now.
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does she fit type?
So by Western astrology, Aerith is an Aquarius. Aquarius both fits and doesn't fit. For example, Aquarius is in the Eleventh House, described this way: "The Eleventh House is sometimes called the House of Friends, Hopes and Dreams. Friends will support our dreams of the future. Here, in the Eleventh House, we're not concerned with our day-to-day responsibilities. Instead, we are thinking about our ideal situation and dreaming of ways to get there. Whether we do or not is less important than keeping the dreams alive". The key planet is Uranus, both known for its eccentricity and associated with suddenness, great things being short-lived. At the same time, the element of air means Aquarius are said to put intellect and thought above other things and be emotionally detached--Aerith is the polar opposite.
If we want to try our hand at Chinese astrology, according to this site's timeline Aerith was born February 7th, 1985, making her a Wood Rat (2/2/84-2/19/85). They're described as people who "are quite attractive with a charming disposition"...and beyond that it doesn't fit Aerith at all, describing a shy introvert and perfectionist. She'd fit a bit better as a wood ox but she's a few days too early for that! Likewise, I'd feel she'd be better as a Pisces than an Aquarius.
tl;dr, Aerith was born about two weeks too early for me to want to apply horoscopes to her. BUT THIS MAKES PERFECT SENSE because Aerith takes off so often she was probably rarin' to get out of the womb. :>
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in her life?
Aerith is very spiritual, respecting her connection to the Planet and its life. It's something that affects her day-to-day life as well as major decisions.
3. Does this character have a personal code of morals or ethics? If so, how did that begin? What would it take to compromise it?
Aerith's primary morals are to not seek revenge for wrongs done, but focus instead on protecting and living life. She sees conflict as a necessary part of life, but also believes it's very important not to create more fighting than there has to be. This was influenced by early childhood but probably only really became cemented in teenage years.
4. How does she regard beliefs that differ from hers? Is she tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
Both tolerant and curious, although I believe an exception would be a belief system that fostered disrespect toward the environment.
5. What prejudices does she hold? Are they irrational or does she have a good reason for them?
Canonically, prejudiced against SOLDIERs, although that was solved pretty quickly by meeting Zack. In headcanon, she's had some prejudice against men since childhood (majority of Shinra staff and particularly executives is male, the only known benevolent figure was female, Hojo is a spectacular creeper). This is mostly gone and she never acted meanly toward men because of it, but she would have been more suspicious of a strange man's motives than a strange woman's. And also there might be a "Oh boys" attitude sometimes. Scientists also get one or two glances; again, she'd try not to treat them badly for it, but ff like she wants to tell them she's the last of a unique race.
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is she rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
She's poor but comfortable.
2. What is her social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected her?
She never had a lot of renown or anything, but she was always friendly toward people in the slums and particularly after Zack's disappearance she had a tiny hope that maybe if she was easily recognizable, people might talk about her and Zack would hear and realize 'hey, stupid, your girlfriend's still waiting for a word from you.' (...Okay maybe without the 'stupid'.) There's probably about a few people in every sector who know Aerith as a regular acquaintance. Except sector six--she might have gone there on a few occasions, buuuut it'd be pretty skeevy for her to be going on her own a lot.
3. Where does she live? House, apartment, trailer? Is her home her castle or just a place to crash? What condition is it in? Does she share it with others?
A small but rather nice (considering the location) house with her mom. She sometimes sleeps in the church, but it's a public area so she doesn't keep anything there besides some basic gardening tools. She'd share the church with anyone who wanted a place to sleep and has probably brought a few people in need home to her house, even.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does she spend her money on?
A flower basket, gardening supplies, small knickknacks like the ribbon she wears around her neck.
5. What does she do for a living? Is she good at it? Does she enjoy it, or would she rather be doing something else?
She's a flower girl. She loves growing flowers and she enjoys meeting people and making them happy. As a job, it's great. She'd want to explore the world someday, though, and maybe she'd find a new job she loves even more while doing that.
6. What are her interests or hobbies? How does she spend her free time?
Gardening, socializing, occasionally reading (she probably tends toward romances she knows are unbelievably corny).
7. What are her eating habits? Does she skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
She eats regular meals at home (but occasionally eats out for dates), doesn't believe in skipping them (YOU CANNOT RUN FROM KIDNAPPERS ON AN EMPTY STOMACH), is not really a drinker, social or otherwise. It's iffy if she's even tried it.
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is her favorite:
1. Color? Pink. red. ...green. brown. blue. yellow. UM.
2. Smell? Floral ones.
3. Time of day? Afternoon.
4. Season? Spring.
5. Book? TWILIGHT romance she can either be thrilled at or find hilariously bad enough to make fun of. Gardening books, maybe some craftsy stuff. She probably had only ten books MAX at any one time back home. In Luceti, there's probably also a book or two about ecology/planet life/LIIIIIIFE in general with Aerith slowly working through it and making little notes of her thoughts in the margins. ...um, hopefully it's not a library book.
6. Music? She loves singing and would probably find a capella groups amazing. But in general, peppy songs and some flute music.
7. Place? Church in the slums.
8. Substance? Ribbons
9. Plant? FLOOOOOOWERS
10. Animal? dogs. cats. chocobos. moogles. IS IT CUTE? Okay, she loves it.
END
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