[OOC - Rikku, FFX/X-2 Application]
OOC:
Name: Emma
Are you over 16?: Yes ma'am!
Personal LJ: daisytux
Email: emmabear625@gmail.com
Timezone: EST
Other contact: AIM- emmabear625
Characters already in the game: N/A
How did you find us?: dear_mun
IC:
Character name: Rikku
Fandom: Final Fantasy X/X-2
Timeline: Post X-2, pre-International & Last Mission
Age: 18
~*Magical*~ abilities and strengths:
Pros: Rikku is exceptionally fast (think roadrunner?) and very adept when it comes to anything machine/technology related- oh yes, she can bust out the mad hacker skills. Also, she can totally bring it on the battlefield.
Cons: Somehow extremely clumsy with this surreal ability to lose herself walking in a straight line.
How would they use their abilities?:
Not even going to lie, she will pick-pocket (more so in some level of revenge... but I wouldn't put it passed her to take things from anyone if she just decides to) and she will "borrow" some supplies that may be of help to any little project she's working on. Now to throw some positives into the ring, Rikku will be very helpful and driven to work/go on missions. But, her clumsy nature is likely to cause some unintentional problems.
Appearance:
[Picture!] Rikku is of average height, with a lean and slender muscular build. (Both qualities help in her ability to snipe things from people without notice.) From a distance, Rikku's most blunt attribute is her hair: long, golden, and held high in a ponytail (one littered with an assortment of colored beads and braids). Wrapped around her head is a bright blue bandanna; functional in keeping her bangs out of her eyes yet fashionable in that pirate aesthetic. Up close, however, one may be distracted by another feature of hers: her eyes. Being an Al Bhed, Rikku's emerald eyes lack a pupil, replaced instead by a pair of black swirls.
Rikku will arrive wearing her infamous yellow bikini top, cargo miniskirt, blue/white ankle boots, and white bow sleeves. Though she won't wear the same thing every day, Rikku can typically be seen adorned with her two staples of choice: a giant scarf, knitted into a bright gradient of the colors red, orange, and yellow; her fingerless, rust-colored gloves; and since she's been working heavily on the excavation and allocation of machina parts the last few months, she's been accustomed to wearing her goggles (the ones from FFX- picture).
Background/Personality:
Key terms:
Machina: Badass crazy machines
Summoners: People who undergo extensive training in select temples in order to summon Aeons and eventually defeat Sin to bring forth the Calm.
Guardians: Protectors of Summoners; they accompany the Summoner throughout their pilgrimage to make sure they get through it safely. A Summoner can have an unlimited number, as they chose them themselves
Aeons: Physical fabrications of the dreams of the Fayth (used in battle)
The Fayth: Those who willingly allowed their spirit to be encapsulated in stone over 1,000 years ago (located remotely undersea); they remain in a dream-like state and can communicate with Summoners. The people of Spira view them almost as angels or heavenly temper; those in control of the afterlife.
Pyreflies: An armor surrounding the wall embedded by Fayth to protect them
Sin: A bastardy Aeon created by the Fayth; for 1,000 years Summoners have attempted to put down this beast in order to bring about the Calm. When the final Aeon is summoned- which is the only way to defeat Sin- one of the Summoner's guardians is selected as a sacrifice to the beast. The soul of this person is then embodied by Sin until the next; thus, its cyclical rebirth continues.
The Calm: Period of peace without Sin
Eternal Calm: Permanent peace without Sin.
In order to truly understand Rikku's past, we must take a journey 1,000 years prior to her birth; more specifically to Zanarkand, a metropolitan scope in the world of Spira. Not only was this the site of Sin's first annihilation, but it isn't even real. Yep, a catch already. The real Zanarkand was the site of an ongoing "Machina War" between a neighboring nation Bevelle. Because Zanarkand’s Summoners lacked the ability to defeat Bevelle’s machina warfare, the Zanarkand government was on the verge of forced surrender. It was either that, or Bevelle was going to blow Zanarkand to sheiße. Yu Yevon, the brains behind Zanarkand’s operation during the war, could not stand the idea of Zanarkand being fated in either direction. So, Yevon came up with a scheme in which every party would seemingly win: Bevelle could destroy Zanarkand to a mere detriment of what it was and the people- Yevon including- would be able to live eternally in the Zanarkand they remember. But how, you ask? Well, Yevon was able to convince all of Zanarkand’s survivors to encapsulate their body in stone, thus binding their soul to it, leaving Bevelle to do what they will to Zanarkand (And yes, they did blow it to sheiße). Now there are two parallel worlds, dream Zanarkand, and real Zanarkand located in real Spira. Those who bound their spirit to stone are known in real Spira as “The Fayth” and considered to be exponents of the afterlife. Now, this is the confusing bit: Sin, a bastardly Aeon created by the Fayth, struck dream Zanarkand. It then did a black-hole ordeal and started attacking real Spira. The only people who could defeat Sin were Summoners, and the only way they could do so would be to summon the final Aeon after a psychologically/physically demanding trek across Spira (known as “the pilgrimage”). This journey would be completed alongside a hand-selected group, Guardians, for whom the Summoner had complete trust in. After calling upon the Final Aeon, the Summoner would sacrifice its soul to Sin. This would bring about a period of temporary peace (the Calm). However, Sin would eventually be reborn from the Summoner’s soul and the cyclical process would commence. Sin abolished thousands of cities, murdered millions of people, and tore to shreds Spira’s faith.
Rikku was born into a publicly ostracized race of people, the Al Bhed. Other than their uniform appearance (blonde hair, swirls replacing pupils) these people were known for their abilities with technology and machinery. Using these skills, the Al Bhed built themselves a technological oasis in the heart of the Bikanel Desert. Rikku grew up in the centerfold of people’s scorn; this display of cruelty and discrimination factored heavily to Rikku’s accepting and forgiving nature geared towards others. In fact, Rikku was witness to a direct attack on the Al Bhed people while her father Cid headed the coalition; an attack which resulted in the complete demolition of Home and seized the lives of a majority residing there. It took years for Rikku to accept herself for who she is (traumatized yet by the events), and is still uncomfortable with getting on the bad side of any one person. Sometimes, what comes across as overly-eager or naïvely kind is really Rikku’s attempt at fitting in to her surroundings. Though she is quick to build relationships with others, these relationships are not necessarily fundamentally sound and it will take a long period of time before Rikku is willing to open herself up to anybody completely; however, once she has put her trust in someone, it will be nearly impossible for that person to be rid of her. And if they so happen to abuse her trust, Rikku’s guard immediately returns making it difficult to get that trust back.
At a very young age, Rikku suffered the loss of her mother, thus growing up in a male-dominated society. She had her father, her brother, and her best friend Gippal- none of whom are particularly known for their high degree of maturity or nurturing nature. This lack of female guidance can attest for Rikku’s rough-housing and strong-willed personality. Her childish, naïve ways may also be rationalized by this absence. So basically, this compiles into one giant slew of abandonment issues accompanied by a heavy mother complex. Rikku has a strong sense of community and justice, as well as an idealistic outlook on how a family should function (to compensate for the lack of family she grew up with).
Now here is Rikku’s connection with Sin’s first attack: Tidus. Tidus was a star Blitzball player for the (dream) Zanarkand Abes. The black hole instigated by Sin’s attack was what brought Tidus into the real Spira. Not long after his arrival, he met an Al Bhed faction headed by Rikku. In an indirect way, she was the reason for Tidus’ meeting with Yuna, daughter to High Summoner Braska (the last to defeat Sin) as well as Rikku‘s cousin. The two had an instant connection, similar to that of a brother and sister; they both possessed similar traits when it came to their selflessness and headstrong ways. Rikku became Guardian to Yuna, even though it killed her to watch her cousin walking death row. She wanted more than anything to be for there for cousin, all the while trying to find some way to prevent Yuna from summoning the Final Aeon (Al Bheds don‘t condone suicide missions of any sort; their beliefs are more pacifistic). Rikku was willing to put aside her opinion on the matter outwardly, though internally should would never be able to give up. Tidus (who had fallen in love with Yuna) sacrificed himself in order to save Yuna from having to do so and brought about an Eternal Calm (permanently without Sin). From that point on, Rikku’s carefree and lighthearted character increased.
Two years later, evidence of Tidus’ return surfaced. That on top of her strong family values attested for Rikku’s dedication in helping Yuna find her beloved. During the years following the Yuna’s pilgrimage, Rikku’s emotional development was regressing (in a way). Not being faced with a constant impending doom allowed Rikku to be more relaxed and less focused on the future. Instead, her stance was on life was to “live in the moment”. Her previous opinion on love also changed; her faith in marrying her first love developed into a more flirtatious nature (which even led to some bisexual tendencies). She constantly keeps herself busy, to a point so severe she can barely sit still. However, laziness does seem to overpower any sense of urgency on a number of occasions, and it is not unlike her to pass off some unpleasant duties to others. Yet again, this is contradictory because she also is the one to initiate and convince others to get out and be active in life. Whether they’re momentary burn outs or momentary highs, Rikku seems to be a living contradiction.
Overall, Rikku is a bright and warm presence. Though many times she finds she’s unable to hold her tongue, it’s not in a sense of crude dialect; swear words are just not in her vocabulary (be it sheer ignorance or just plain old-fashioned opinions on the topic). She spans no further than terms like “crap” or “damn” and is more likely to call someone “meanie”, “jerk-face”, or some made-up term. When it comes to biting her tongue, it’s more in regards to Rikku’s way of insulting someone beyond her recognition. Rikku’s bubbly personality is accompanied by a teasing, childish sense of humor. These traits generally tend to leave a lasting impression, beyond her actual blinding intellect (especially when it comes to technology and machinery like all Al Bhed- not in every book smart sense, though. It‘s mainly just sciences and math where she excels). Rikku, in all honesty, is an awkward nerd who doesn’t have full grasp on how to express herself appropriately. But she does know who she is and has a clear definition of what she wants; as long as she is able to achieve those all the while having fun, she’s met her goal.
Have you read up on how the game works?: -FlamingFerret
-Missions, freelance work, stealing
1st person sample:
Text- strikes completely and utterly 100% unhackable//001 Respect Point
I can't be scared.
I want to worry about them all, yah know? If it's true- if it's all gone? Yuna... she, she worked so hard to find him.
How selfish I’ve been… to barely talk to ’em all in 3 months? Yunie, Wakka, Lulu… God, their baby? I’ve been so busy jumping from here to there and everywhere and now to think it's all over? I can't.
They’re strong, I’m sure they’re somewhere safe. No, I know they’re somewhere safe… yeah.
Rikku's exploration, day 1: not having money is definitely on the list of unenjoyable things. Ok, well I have a little but not enough to spend on all of life's awesome. I passed this guy sitting on the side of some restaurant eating this frosted-coated deliciousness. I've never seen anything like it before in my life and man, oh man, did I want it. I think he got a little uncomfortable... I was kinda staring him down. Now that I think about it, I would have been pretty wigged out too, if I were him. I even created this fantasy conversation with him in which I would bribe him for his frosted wonderfulness with anything I had to offer.
Me: That looks pretty tasty, that thing you've got there.
Man: Oh yes, girl I do not know, it is very tasty.
Me: What if I were to trade you the rest o' yer treat for a one-man puppet show?
Man: I don't see any puppets on you.
Me: I never said I had any puppets.
Man: I don't think so.
... If he only knew what I was thinking while I was looking at him. Actually, I guess it'd make him even more uncomfortable.
Maybe I'll go for another walk...
3rd person sample:
Rikku woke in a state of heavy languor; her body unresponsive, unable to process where she was or what she was even doing there. As each of her senses began reassociating themselves with her, she drew herself up.
“Wh-where…” Rikku immediately slumped back down against the wall- well presumably the wall. It was hard to decipher any of her surroundings. She tilted her chin back and shook her head a little bit, hoping to bring everything into focus. She immediately regretted it. “Ahh, no. Not a good idea, not a good idea!” Rikku recoiled back into a fetal position.
… third floor, have a nice day.
The voice startled her; it sounded almost robotic, chrystal-clear and definitive in pronunciation. As her surroundings gradually brought themselves into focus, Rikku was able to understand more clearly where she had arrived. But even though she could actually see everything, there really wasn’t much to see; just four, plainly colored walls and a hard, metal floor.
“Huh?” Rikku asked the automated tone.
“It said you’re on the third floor.”
Rikku had to do a double take at this reply. A man? Well, certainly an impatient one at that. He didn’t have to be so snippy and couldn’t he tell she was completely lost? That she had no clue what in the world she was doing in this strange place?
“And would you mind taking your hand off my foot? You‘re going to get it dirty.” Rikku immediately drew her hand away from him, using the wall to help bring herself to her feet.
“Y’know… you could try to, uh, be a little nicer…” Rikku wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and pouted at his insincerity. “I- I didn’t even know…”
“… Where you were? That you woke up in some foggy haze inside an elevator? Yeah, heard it all before. We get a number of you here every month. Now, if you excuse me, I’m late for work.” The elevator door slid open and revealed a slick, futuristically garnished hallway.
“Wait! Hold up!” Rikku called to the stranger. “Where am I?”
Welcome to the S.S. Thor. Going down…
Questions?: Does cheese really enhance any meal?
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