Post by Tempest on Jun 11, 2011 6:44:45 GMT -5
Full Name: Azcalxochizin Reina Ortiz Luna (the first surname is her legal, paternal surname. The second surname is her mother's maiden name) She usually goes by Nova. This is both a joke and a reference to her history.
Gender: Female
Age: 17
Power(s): (in order to understand why these are connected, you need to look at her history)
Firstly, she usually has an unearthly glow about her person. This waxes and wanes, depending on her physical state and the stars. Secondly, she is stronger than the average human. Not too much stronger. Not lift-a-bus-over-her-head-and-toss-it strong, but able-to-overpower-an-adult-male strong. Thirdly, she has an ability she calls "energy reassignment". This used to mean that she could cause things to spontaneously combust, but now it only means she can use her own energy to heal light to moderately serious wounds. Unfortunately, this tends to have drastic side effects. She avoids it like the plague. (See History for details) (healing powers likely to change in nature as she gets older)
Appearance: Azcalxochizin stands at about 5'7" in height, quite a frame for a girl from a family headed by a man who stood at 5'6". As a result, she tends to slouch just a bit to make herself seem shorter when she's around other people.
Her skin changes depending on the amount of sun she gets, ranging from a light tan during the winter and a deep bronze-brown during the summer. It carries olive undertones and, of course, her preternatural glow. This glow is more easily discernible at night. Ritual tattooing in light brown becomes easier to see during the winter and almost invisible during the summer. These tattoos are harsh and jagged, sometimes looking more like scars than what they actually are.
Azcalxochizin is often underestimated because of her thin (depending on the time of the year, sometimes almost skeletal) frame. Along with the slouching, she often doesn't carry her form in the most confident of fashions, especially when others are around. She tends to wear long sleeves and baggy clothing due to the thick iron bands grafted to her skeleton at her wrists and upper arms (both of them, the picture is misleading). These bands have often made clothing-shopping a traumatic and frustrating experience for all involved. As a result, she usually doesn't get around to wearing the latest fashions until they've already passed. Currently, she seems stuck in the late nineties.
Her eyes are large and of a rich brown color, framed by thick lashes. They almost seem soulful. During specific times of the year (see History), the irises disappear and the spheres take on a violent light, like that of the sun at midday.
Her face is soft, almost contradictory to the angularity of her body. Her mouth is (deceptively) small, her nose narrow. Her face's softness is played up by the cloud of flyaway brown hair that frames her face. It is usually tousled and messy, but she never seems to mind.
She loves loves loves jewelry of any shape or form. She has several piercings on her ears and usually wears several rings. Nova doesn't like bracelets and armlets, for obvious reasons, but she does like necklaces.
Personality: She might carry herself in an awkward and seemingly shy way, but Nova is anything but shy. The only reason she doesn't stand up straight is because she is much taller than all the girls in her family and it has always made her feel uncomfortable about her frame. Otherwise, she is startlingly outgoing and confident. She stands up for herself and for those she likes, often vehemently. She could be in the wrong, but she is stubborn enough to argue about it endlessly.
Despite some serious social obstacles, she manages to make friends easily and handle herself in groups quite well. She's always willing to try new things and go to new places, despite her handicap. (I will get to this later) She loves to tease people she knows well, in a good-natured way. She goes out of her way to help those in need. In light of all this, she also has a quiet, secretive side. She never explains why she can go out most nights, but not those of the eclipse or other, random days.
She can be quite impulsive and she has a tendency to steal things. This kleptomania was fostered by the fact that her family was never exactly wealthy. However, she never steals anything she really needs, and she usually gives it away or tosses it aside once she's gotten it. This has gotten her into serious trouble in the past, but she refuses to change her ways.
Azcalxochizin also has a fascination with fire. Perhaps it is due to her heritage, or to the powers that were locked away, but she loves fire. She's not impervious to getting burned, so her pyromania could be detrimental to her health.
Sometimes she's careless with her strength. Nova gets inordinately angry when she accidentally breaks something. Once angry, she takes a while to cool off. In the meantime, she often goes off to sulk by herself.
Just before eclipses, she gets very sleepy. She'll fall asleep standing up if that's how it takes her. However, her personality takes a drastic, violent turn for the worse when she wakes up. It is at this point that she gets a craving for human flesh (most of the time, any raw meat will do if she can't get her hands on a human). For this, special amenities have to be made for her wherever she goes. She must be locked in a reinforced room and given a particular diet of raw meat until the spell is over. Nova calls this "wolfing out", but she doesn't like to talk about it. It's a part of her being that she despises, and it has been the cause of lengthy bouts of depression in her past.
Her moods are variable, sometimes explosive. She's easily pleased, but also easily angered. She has two types of anger- the loud, verbose anger at somebody who has annoyed her... and the quiet, brooding anger at herself and somebody who has legitimately ticked her off. The latter is more dangerous, naturally, though she sometimes scares people with the former.
She shows almost all of her emotions except sadness. If she's sad, she'll hide it valiantly. Nova has gotten quite good about lying about that, at least.
As far as academics go, she's average. She has more common sense than book learning, which suits her just fine. Nova likes music, likes to play guitar. She wants to join a band and go on tour... unfortunately, she realizes that this dream is nigh impossible to realize unless she acquires a sort of cell-on-wheels in order to keep her wolf-outs from killing innocent people.
Picture(optional):
Weaknesses: Well, her power wanes and waxes, though in contrast with her glow. She seems to be at her weakest during her brightest normal glow. This can be explained that since she is healthiest then, she doesn't need the strength to catch "prey". When she's wolfing out, she needs her strength to catch "prey". The wolf-outs are a definite social weakness. They keep her from going on lengthy trips away from her cell.
Her powers can't prevent her from getting hurt the way regular people get hurt. She can be stabbed, shot, burned, drowned, etc. She's had no formal training in the martial arts and no wish to use her abilities to fight unless she is provoked.
At the moment, she can only heal herself. If she tries to heal a serious wound, it would almost definitely trigger a wolf-out right afterward.
Kleptomania and pyromania are definitely problems, especially since they can hurt her directly.
She's not book-smart and has very little motivation to do well in school.
She doesn't trust anybody with the knowledge of what she is. She's terrified of what people might think of her if they were to ever find out.
Strengths: She's physically strong. Since people underestimate her, this strength often takes people by surprise. This suits her just fine.
Azcalxochizin has some very good social skills. It doesn't take her long to make friends. She is incredibly loyal to people, even if she doesn't trust anybody with her secret.
Despite her bluster, she definitely cares for people. It tears her up inside that she's really a monster in a human suit. She'll go out of her way to help somebody who needs it.
History/Family:
Tzitzimimeh (singular: tzitzimitl) were dual-natured star-deities in the time of the Aztecs. For most of the time, they were benevolent and kind to people, especially pregnant women. They were said to have resided in a paradise in the stars. The Aztecs also believed that the Tzitzimimeh would attack the sun during times of eclipse. They also believed that some of the Tzitzimimeh would come to Earth to devour humans as well (not only on eclipse days, but on days of bad fortune as well).
Some of Nova's ancestors were Aztec. They were there when the Tzitzimimeh, led by Itzpapalotl ("Obsidian Butterfly"), attacked their civilization. Led by a great warrior, Eyahue, they fought back. Despite ranks of their soldiers being burned and swallowed whole, they kept the Tzitzimimeh from gaining the city.
One Tzitzimitl heard Eyahue's roars of fury and bloodlust and she stopped fighting. She knelt at Eyahue's feet and asked him to take her as a lover or that he allow her to die at his hand. He, intrigued, took her up on the former on the condition that she allow herself to become mortal, human. She agreed and priests representing all members of the Aztec pantheon came together to perform a complicated and arduous ceremony. She was bound in iron, skin, and blood. Her frame was tattooed and her powers sealed away.
The ceremony was completed, but it was insufficient. The Tzitzimitl and Eyahue lived for many years together without mishap, but she heard the call of the eclipse one night and ate him. When she came out of her spell only to truly realize what she had done, she disappeared into the mountains, presumably to die.
She left behind a daughter. This daughter grew up normally, had children of her own, and they all forgot about their astral legacy. However, this legacy emerged when Azcalxochizin was born.
Her parents were horrified by what had come from their union. Their youngest daughter had the torso of a human girl baby, but her legs were only bone and she glowed too bright to look at for long. The baby's presence coincided with things catching on fire, animals disappearing. They thought she was a devil, some unholy thing that warped the appearance and demeanor of their daughter. They took her to a priest, who tried to exorcise her, to no avail. He went to others, to seek advice.
It was then that he found a group of people who had been studying some Aztec artifacts and temples. They seemed to have an answer for him.
In the dead of night, without informing her parents what they were going to do, exactly, they bound the baby the same way her ancestor had been bound. When they were done, she was ostensibly human, save for the diminished glow and the ritual bands and tattoos. Oh, and the wolf-outs.
Her parents had been so happy to have their baby back, they had not minded the cosmetic oddities. Unfortunately, she was still afflicted by the eclipse-madness. They quickly discovered how to deal with it without her killing somebody. Every time she went through a growth spurt, they contacted the priest and he set up the ritual to be re-done so that the bands could keep up with her growth.
When she was ten, she was outside when she wolfed-out. Even though the person she had consumed had been a derelict, the event had changed her psyche dramatically. Nova became more responsible about that aspect of her life. When she was fourteen, she stopped growing, much to her parents' relief.
As she grew older, she became tired of being tied to her home. Something inside her was itching for change, a call to go somewhere else. Her parents eventually noticed this and decided to take action.
One day, she came home from school to the news that her parents had made the arrangements for her to attend Foresta, with special dispensations about her quarters and diet.
In Character sample: *gestures to post count* Need I even bother anymore?
What is the sentence spelt out in the rules?: Are you even reading this!?? Well, ARE YOU?!?!?!
Gender: Female
Age: 17
Power(s): (in order to understand why these are connected, you need to look at her history)
Firstly, she usually has an unearthly glow about her person. This waxes and wanes, depending on her physical state and the stars. Secondly, she is stronger than the average human. Not too much stronger. Not lift-a-bus-over-her-head-and-toss-it strong, but able-to-overpower-an-adult-male strong. Thirdly, she has an ability she calls "energy reassignment". This used to mean that she could cause things to spontaneously combust, but now it only means she can use her own energy to heal light to moderately serious wounds. Unfortunately, this tends to have drastic side effects. She avoids it like the plague. (See History for details) (healing powers likely to change in nature as she gets older)
Appearance: Azcalxochizin stands at about 5'7" in height, quite a frame for a girl from a family headed by a man who stood at 5'6". As a result, she tends to slouch just a bit to make herself seem shorter when she's around other people.
Her skin changes depending on the amount of sun she gets, ranging from a light tan during the winter and a deep bronze-brown during the summer. It carries olive undertones and, of course, her preternatural glow. This glow is more easily discernible at night. Ritual tattooing in light brown becomes easier to see during the winter and almost invisible during the summer. These tattoos are harsh and jagged, sometimes looking more like scars than what they actually are.
Azcalxochizin is often underestimated because of her thin (depending on the time of the year, sometimes almost skeletal) frame. Along with the slouching, she often doesn't carry her form in the most confident of fashions, especially when others are around. She tends to wear long sleeves and baggy clothing due to the thick iron bands grafted to her skeleton at her wrists and upper arms (both of them, the picture is misleading). These bands have often made clothing-shopping a traumatic and frustrating experience for all involved. As a result, she usually doesn't get around to wearing the latest fashions until they've already passed. Currently, she seems stuck in the late nineties.
Her eyes are large and of a rich brown color, framed by thick lashes. They almost seem soulful. During specific times of the year (see History), the irises disappear and the spheres take on a violent light, like that of the sun at midday.
Her face is soft, almost contradictory to the angularity of her body. Her mouth is (deceptively) small, her nose narrow. Her face's softness is played up by the cloud of flyaway brown hair that frames her face. It is usually tousled and messy, but she never seems to mind.
She loves loves loves jewelry of any shape or form. She has several piercings on her ears and usually wears several rings. Nova doesn't like bracelets and armlets, for obvious reasons, but she does like necklaces.
Personality: She might carry herself in an awkward and seemingly shy way, but Nova is anything but shy. The only reason she doesn't stand up straight is because she is much taller than all the girls in her family and it has always made her feel uncomfortable about her frame. Otherwise, she is startlingly outgoing and confident. She stands up for herself and for those she likes, often vehemently. She could be in the wrong, but she is stubborn enough to argue about it endlessly.
Despite some serious social obstacles, she manages to make friends easily and handle herself in groups quite well. She's always willing to try new things and go to new places, despite her handicap. (I will get to this later) She loves to tease people she knows well, in a good-natured way. She goes out of her way to help those in need. In light of all this, she also has a quiet, secretive side. She never explains why she can go out most nights, but not those of the eclipse or other, random days.
She can be quite impulsive and she has a tendency to steal things. This kleptomania was fostered by the fact that her family was never exactly wealthy. However, she never steals anything she really needs, and she usually gives it away or tosses it aside once she's gotten it. This has gotten her into serious trouble in the past, but she refuses to change her ways.
Azcalxochizin also has a fascination with fire. Perhaps it is due to her heritage, or to the powers that were locked away, but she loves fire. She's not impervious to getting burned, so her pyromania could be detrimental to her health.
Sometimes she's careless with her strength. Nova gets inordinately angry when she accidentally breaks something. Once angry, she takes a while to cool off. In the meantime, she often goes off to sulk by herself.
Just before eclipses, she gets very sleepy. She'll fall asleep standing up if that's how it takes her. However, her personality takes a drastic, violent turn for the worse when she wakes up. It is at this point that she gets a craving for human flesh (most of the time, any raw meat will do if she can't get her hands on a human). For this, special amenities have to be made for her wherever she goes. She must be locked in a reinforced room and given a particular diet of raw meat until the spell is over. Nova calls this "wolfing out", but she doesn't like to talk about it. It's a part of her being that she despises, and it has been the cause of lengthy bouts of depression in her past.
Her moods are variable, sometimes explosive. She's easily pleased, but also easily angered. She has two types of anger- the loud, verbose anger at somebody who has annoyed her... and the quiet, brooding anger at herself and somebody who has legitimately ticked her off. The latter is more dangerous, naturally, though she sometimes scares people with the former.
She shows almost all of her emotions except sadness. If she's sad, she'll hide it valiantly. Nova has gotten quite good about lying about that, at least.
As far as academics go, she's average. She has more common sense than book learning, which suits her just fine. Nova likes music, likes to play guitar. She wants to join a band and go on tour... unfortunately, she realizes that this dream is nigh impossible to realize unless she acquires a sort of cell-on-wheels in order to keep her wolf-outs from killing innocent people.
Picture(optional):
Weaknesses: Well, her power wanes and waxes, though in contrast with her glow. She seems to be at her weakest during her brightest normal glow. This can be explained that since she is healthiest then, she doesn't need the strength to catch "prey". When she's wolfing out, she needs her strength to catch "prey". The wolf-outs are a definite social weakness. They keep her from going on lengthy trips away from her cell.
Her powers can't prevent her from getting hurt the way regular people get hurt. She can be stabbed, shot, burned, drowned, etc. She's had no formal training in the martial arts and no wish to use her abilities to fight unless she is provoked.
At the moment, she can only heal herself. If she tries to heal a serious wound, it would almost definitely trigger a wolf-out right afterward.
Kleptomania and pyromania are definitely problems, especially since they can hurt her directly.
She's not book-smart and has very little motivation to do well in school.
She doesn't trust anybody with the knowledge of what she is. She's terrified of what people might think of her if they were to ever find out.
Strengths: She's physically strong. Since people underestimate her, this strength often takes people by surprise. This suits her just fine.
Azcalxochizin has some very good social skills. It doesn't take her long to make friends. She is incredibly loyal to people, even if she doesn't trust anybody with her secret.
Despite her bluster, she definitely cares for people. It tears her up inside that she's really a monster in a human suit. She'll go out of her way to help somebody who needs it.
History/Family:
Tzitzimimeh (singular: tzitzimitl) were dual-natured star-deities in the time of the Aztecs. For most of the time, they were benevolent and kind to people, especially pregnant women. They were said to have resided in a paradise in the stars. The Aztecs also believed that the Tzitzimimeh would attack the sun during times of eclipse. They also believed that some of the Tzitzimimeh would come to Earth to devour humans as well (not only on eclipse days, but on days of bad fortune as well).
Some of Nova's ancestors were Aztec. They were there when the Tzitzimimeh, led by Itzpapalotl ("Obsidian Butterfly"), attacked their civilization. Led by a great warrior, Eyahue, they fought back. Despite ranks of their soldiers being burned and swallowed whole, they kept the Tzitzimimeh from gaining the city.
One Tzitzimitl heard Eyahue's roars of fury and bloodlust and she stopped fighting. She knelt at Eyahue's feet and asked him to take her as a lover or that he allow her to die at his hand. He, intrigued, took her up on the former on the condition that she allow herself to become mortal, human. She agreed and priests representing all members of the Aztec pantheon came together to perform a complicated and arduous ceremony. She was bound in iron, skin, and blood. Her frame was tattooed and her powers sealed away.
The ceremony was completed, but it was insufficient. The Tzitzimitl and Eyahue lived for many years together without mishap, but she heard the call of the eclipse one night and ate him. When she came out of her spell only to truly realize what she had done, she disappeared into the mountains, presumably to die.
She left behind a daughter. This daughter grew up normally, had children of her own, and they all forgot about their astral legacy. However, this legacy emerged when Azcalxochizin was born.
Her parents were horrified by what had come from their union. Their youngest daughter had the torso of a human girl baby, but her legs were only bone and she glowed too bright to look at for long. The baby's presence coincided with things catching on fire, animals disappearing. They thought she was a devil, some unholy thing that warped the appearance and demeanor of their daughter. They took her to a priest, who tried to exorcise her, to no avail. He went to others, to seek advice.
It was then that he found a group of people who had been studying some Aztec artifacts and temples. They seemed to have an answer for him.
In the dead of night, without informing her parents what they were going to do, exactly, they bound the baby the same way her ancestor had been bound. When they were done, she was ostensibly human, save for the diminished glow and the ritual bands and tattoos. Oh, and the wolf-outs.
Her parents had been so happy to have their baby back, they had not minded the cosmetic oddities. Unfortunately, she was still afflicted by the eclipse-madness. They quickly discovered how to deal with it without her killing somebody. Every time she went through a growth spurt, they contacted the priest and he set up the ritual to be re-done so that the bands could keep up with her growth.
When she was ten, she was outside when she wolfed-out. Even though the person she had consumed had been a derelict, the event had changed her psyche dramatically. Nova became more responsible about that aspect of her life. When she was fourteen, she stopped growing, much to her parents' relief.
As she grew older, she became tired of being tied to her home. Something inside her was itching for change, a call to go somewhere else. Her parents eventually noticed this and decided to take action.
One day, she came home from school to the news that her parents had made the arrangements for her to attend Foresta, with special dispensations about her quarters and diet.
In Character sample: *gestures to post count* Need I even bother anymore?
What is the sentence spelt out in the rules?: Are you even reading this!?? Well, ARE YOU?!?!?!