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( application/information )
( PLAYER INFORMATION )
- ★ NAME: Helen
- ★ AGE: 20s!
- ★ TIMEZONE: EST
- ★ CONTACT: plurk @ ioke
- ★ CURRENT CHARACTERS & LATEST AC: N/A
( CHARACTER INFORMATION )
- ★ NAME: Yuzuriha Nekoi
- ★ AGE: 14
- ★ CANON & CANON POINT: X ( volume 18; on her way to go visit Sorata in the hospital, she's waylaid and comes here! )
- ★ CANON INFORMATION: wikipedia & yuzuriha specifically
- ★ PERSONALITY:
Yuzuriha wears her heart and soul on her sleeve. A cheerful, outgoing fourteen year old, she is friendly, optimistic, and upbeat; a girl who gives everything her best and most enthusiastic effort, whether doing chores, at school, making friends or doing her duties in the End of Days. That's not to say that she ignores the context or situation, or is ignorant to social cues: simply that she does not hold her emotions back, and tends to optimism, looking for the bright side wherever she goes.
Yuzuriha has not always had the easiest life. Born destined to fight in the End of Days, and born with a wolf spirit companion (Inuki) that only those with strong psychic abilities can see, she grew up isolated and somewhat lonely: her classmates teased and picked on her for her belief in her "imaginary" wolf, and the only family she ever mentions is her stern grandmother. In a way, the End of Days was the best thing that could happen to her — fighting for the sake of the world can't exactly be called fun, but at least she knew her companions would be able to see Inuki! At least she would make friends! It's no wonder, then, that she arrived in Tokyo so excitedly, and was so eager to get to know everyone. Yuzuriha is very eager to make friends: because she pours out her heart without hesitation or pretence, she tends to form quick bonds with others, because she wants them so badly. She'll happily praise and admire anyone or anything she finds interesting or admirable — and that's a lot of things — and because she does it without any hesitation or pretence, pouring out her soul, it appears as sincere as it really is. No matter how dark her circumstances become, she focuses on the positives, and the biggest positive of them all is all her wonderful new friends.
That said, her enthusiasm and outpouring of excitement can lead to certain foot in mouth tendencies and awkwardness: Yuzuriha really doesn't plan ahead or think before reacting, which can be charming… or kind of accidentally insulting. For example, upon meeting Kamui, her first reaction was to comment on his (lack of) height, and her attempts to make up for it after only dug her a deeper and deeper hole. ("Is he sensitive about his height? Oh, maybe he's grumpy because he's hungry? Here! Have a snack!") Her reaction to meeting someone on the street who could see Inuki was to burst into happy tears and hug him; while that turned out well, it's easy to see how it just as easily could not have. Yuzuriha is simply not very good at holding herself back. This goes for negative emotions as well: while not one ever driven to pessimism or defeatism, Yuzuriha is a pretty easy crier, and is often the first of her teammates to be upset by bad news — as is perhaps unsurprising, as she's also the youngest.
Because of this, she can also find herself easily upset or overwhelmed. While it's not that she's naive about the reality of the End of Days, knowing that she's ultimately in Tokyo to fight and protect, the reality of the situation has sometimes been a bit too much. Despite sincerely wishing to help fight and help protect her comrades to the extent of seeking them out and extracting promises that they'll call on her as an ally, she freezes up in her first real battle, pinned by her foe's questions ("why is it wrong to kill people?") and unable to respond or react, causing the death of Inuki and her own near death.
On the other hand, Yuzuriha has a lot of strength and maturity for her age. She's extremely empathetic: able to reach out to just about anyone, and try to understand them as best she can, for example noting that Subaru and Kamui are alike, and making a point to visit Subaru in the hospital when he's injured. She's relatively perceptive — she seems to be the only one to pick up on a normally stoic friend's crush on another teammate — and extremely clear about her own emotions. She knows who she likes, and who she loves, and isn't shy about letting them know: not to make a point, but because it's important to her, that they know. Over the course of X, Yuzuriha develops a crush, and then love for a man more than a decade her senior; they form a good (but platonic) friendship, and she eventually confesses her love for him: clearly and honestly, without self pity or demands that he like her back in that way; she's only happy that she did it, and that he didn't reject her for it. And in her second battle, despite having lost her powers and being trapped in an arena with the strongest of the opposing forces, she doesn't hesitate: although injured and powerless and unable to stand, she crawls towards the fight when she sees Kamui being hurt, wanting only to protect her loved ones. It's through this force of will and desire to live and fight that she creates a new power for herself; a new Inuki — a feat completely unmatched by anyone else in the series. Nor does she ever hesitate again: she wants to live, and she wants everyone else to live, and with that desire she keeps fighting. It's not for nothing that CLAMP associates her with the tarot card Strength.
- ★ COURT ALLIANCE:
SEELIE. Yuzuriha's destiny — the task she was literally born to do — is to be one of the Seven Seals; the protectors of humanity and preservers of the Earth's status quo, harmful to the Earth that it may be. The Seals draw much of their power from this will to protect and their love for others; it's actually a requirement, as without loved ones to protect, the Dragons of Heaven can no longer create kekkai and are no longer counted as protectors of humanity.
( REVISIONS: clarification on the chosen alignment. )
- ★ ABILITIES:
- ★ INVENTORY:
( SAMPLES )
- ★ NETWORK SAMPLE: @ the testdrive
- ★ LOG SAMPLE:
Yuzuriha looks around, all around, turning in place until she's back the way she started, and then once more, trying to take in everything at once with wide eyes. This building! This place! It's so different from Tokyo! Even the trees look different! It's almost overwhelming, scary — no, it is scary, a little bit; her heart is racing — but the apprehension is fighting a losing battle with the wonder and amazement of finding herself in such a beautiful castle. Inuki mirrors her movements, circling the opposite way she had, and although she isn't looking at him she knows his tail is wagging. She cranes her neck, staring at the ceilings, the arches and support beams, so different from Japan, and slowly the initial rush of excitement tapers off. She holds her basket closer to her chest, and crouches down to be more at a level with Inuki.
"Isn't this amazing? It's like we're in a fairy-tale castle!" she exclaims to the wolf puppy, who agrees with a wag of his tail. She doesn't really need to talk to Inuki to know what Inuki thinks, but she likes to anyway. "Only…" she trails off, lifting her chin to peer up at the ceilings again. "I'm… not really sure what we're supposed to do next." Hmm. That was a puzzle. She wishes briefly that the others were here, too. Maybe they will be! If she has this special gem thing, then the other Seals must as well! (Inuki cocks his head in agreement.) "But there's no point in sitting around waiting!," she affirms to him confidently, standing back up. She puts the basket down on the floor for a moment, to have her hands free to adjust her skirt. "We'll have to figure out what to do by ourselves. If everyone does come here…" she trails off, picking up the basket of cookies again, frowning at it as though noticing it for the first time… "…Oh no!" she claps her free hand over her mouth in surprise. "I forgot to deliver Sorata-san's snacks before we left!"
- ★ NAME: Helen
- ★ AGE: 20s!
- ★ TIMEZONE: EST
- ★ CONTACT: plurk @ ioke
- ★ CURRENT CHARACTERS & LATEST AC: N/A
( CHARACTER INFORMATION )
- ★ NAME: Yuzuriha Nekoi
- ★ AGE: 14
- ★ CANON & CANON POINT: X ( volume 18; on her way to go visit Sorata in the hospital, she's waylaid and comes here! )
- ★ CANON INFORMATION: wikipedia & yuzuriha specifically
- ★ PERSONALITY:
Yuzuriha wears her heart and soul on her sleeve. A cheerful, outgoing fourteen year old, she is friendly, optimistic, and upbeat; a girl who gives everything her best and most enthusiastic effort, whether doing chores, at school, making friends or doing her duties in the End of Days. That's not to say that she ignores the context or situation, or is ignorant to social cues: simply that she does not hold her emotions back, and tends to optimism, looking for the bright side wherever she goes.
Yuzuriha has not always had the easiest life. Born destined to fight in the End of Days, and born with a wolf spirit companion (Inuki) that only those with strong psychic abilities can see, she grew up isolated and somewhat lonely: her classmates teased and picked on her for her belief in her "imaginary" wolf, and the only family she ever mentions is her stern grandmother. In a way, the End of Days was the best thing that could happen to her — fighting for the sake of the world can't exactly be called fun, but at least she knew her companions would be able to see Inuki! At least she would make friends! It's no wonder, then, that she arrived in Tokyo so excitedly, and was so eager to get to know everyone. Yuzuriha is very eager to make friends: because she pours out her heart without hesitation or pretence, she tends to form quick bonds with others, because she wants them so badly. She'll happily praise and admire anyone or anything she finds interesting or admirable — and that's a lot of things — and because she does it without any hesitation or pretence, pouring out her soul, it appears as sincere as it really is. No matter how dark her circumstances become, she focuses on the positives, and the biggest positive of them all is all her wonderful new friends.
That said, her enthusiasm and outpouring of excitement can lead to certain foot in mouth tendencies and awkwardness: Yuzuriha really doesn't plan ahead or think before reacting, which can be charming… or kind of accidentally insulting. For example, upon meeting Kamui, her first reaction was to comment on his (lack of) height, and her attempts to make up for it after only dug her a deeper and deeper hole. ("Is he sensitive about his height? Oh, maybe he's grumpy because he's hungry? Here! Have a snack!") Her reaction to meeting someone on the street who could see Inuki was to burst into happy tears and hug him; while that turned out well, it's easy to see how it just as easily could not have. Yuzuriha is simply not very good at holding herself back. This goes for negative emotions as well: while not one ever driven to pessimism or defeatism, Yuzuriha is a pretty easy crier, and is often the first of her teammates to be upset by bad news — as is perhaps unsurprising, as she's also the youngest.
Because of this, she can also find herself easily upset or overwhelmed. While it's not that she's naive about the reality of the End of Days, knowing that she's ultimately in Tokyo to fight and protect, the reality of the situation has sometimes been a bit too much. Despite sincerely wishing to help fight and help protect her comrades to the extent of seeking them out and extracting promises that they'll call on her as an ally, she freezes up in her first real battle, pinned by her foe's questions ("why is it wrong to kill people?") and unable to respond or react, causing the death of Inuki and her own near death.
On the other hand, Yuzuriha has a lot of strength and maturity for her age. She's extremely empathetic: able to reach out to just about anyone, and try to understand them as best she can, for example noting that Subaru and Kamui are alike, and making a point to visit Subaru in the hospital when he's injured. She's relatively perceptive — she seems to be the only one to pick up on a normally stoic friend's crush on another teammate — and extremely clear about her own emotions. She knows who she likes, and who she loves, and isn't shy about letting them know: not to make a point, but because it's important to her, that they know. Over the course of X, Yuzuriha develops a crush, and then love for a man more than a decade her senior; they form a good (but platonic) friendship, and she eventually confesses her love for him: clearly and honestly, without self pity or demands that he like her back in that way; she's only happy that she did it, and that he didn't reject her for it. And in her second battle, despite having lost her powers and being trapped in an arena with the strongest of the opposing forces, she doesn't hesitate: although injured and powerless and unable to stand, she crawls towards the fight when she sees Kamui being hurt, wanting only to protect her loved ones. It's through this force of will and desire to live and fight that she creates a new power for herself; a new Inuki — a feat completely unmatched by anyone else in the series. Nor does she ever hesitate again: she wants to live, and she wants everyone else to live, and with that desire she keeps fighting. It's not for nothing that CLAMP associates her with the tarot card Strength.
SEELIE. Yuzuriha's destiny — the task she was literally born to do — is to be one of the Seven Seals; the protectors of humanity and preservers of the Earth's status quo, harmful to the Earth that it may be. The Seals draw much of their power from this will to protect and their love for others; it's actually a requirement, as without loved ones to protect, the Dragons of Heaven can no longer create kekkai and are no longer counted as protectors of humanity.
( REVISIONS: clarification on the chosen alignment. )
In the framework of X, the two sides are defined in the most basic terms as “revolution” versus “stasis.” The Seven Seals are “stasis,” choosing to protect and preserve humanity even though this means that humanity, and the Earth along with it, will eventually die out, represented by wastes and deserts. The Seven Angels are “revolution,” choosing to destroy humanity for the sake of the Earth; killing everyone so that the Earth itself might be reborn (represented by a lush jungle filled with wildlife). This does not make the Angels “evil”, for the most part — the man Yuzuriha falls for is in fact one of them (not that she is aware of this) and outright ignores his role as an Angel — and this does not make the Seals “good,” as obviously winning would be a pretty temporary victory in the long run! Rather than merely “good” versus “evil,” it is also “status quo” versus “change.” Or put another way, order vs chaos.
The Seals are conservative in other ways: Six of the seven come from major traditional sites and backgrounds, four of them additionally hailing from religious sites; Yuzuriha is one of these, hailing from a two thousand year old temple. While obviously one’s background and affiliation isn’t exactly an indicator of one’s own beliefs, I mention these things for a reason! Yuzuriha was born to be a Seal, born where she was to gain the power to be one, and, more critically, never wavers or shows any doubt or unhappiness about her role in the End of Days. She has personal reasons, certainly — she’s lonely, she wants friends — but she also wants to help and to fight, to help preserve humanity and fulfil this destiny. Even at her lowest point in the series (after the death of the first Inuki), she doesn’t waver. While the Seals use their power to protect others, it’s a pretty fragile thing: there’s a pattern of characters losing their will or loved one or struggling to figure out who they want to protect, something Yuzuriha never faces or wavers over, even when she’s lost her powers entirely. She never shows the slightest doubt or hesitation: she wants to fulfil her duty, and understands as well as any of the others what it means and what it entails for the Earth.
That is why I initially believed, and still think, that she is well suited to the Seelie side; while she could potentially join the Unseelie side, I do have a few thoughts on why I did not initially opt for that role:
First, the literal order vs chaos roles, that I elaborated on a bit above. The Seals — and Yuzuriha very firmly by extension, are really not big on change or uprising; while not closed-minded about it (it’s not like she wants the Earth to die), it’s still precisely what she’s devoted to fighting against, in the broad terms. Sure, she’s sympathetic, but the status quo!
keep safe what is hers by protecting loved ones — While, yes, obviously, she wants the people she loves to be safe, and while yes, obviously, having loved ones is a requirement for being one of the Seven Seals, I would argue that her motives are far more selfless than selfish in general. Yuzuriha is, of course, fighting to keep the people she loves safe, but by extension, she is fighting to keep everyone safe. In her first serious battle in the series, she freezes and fails; upon waking up in the hospital, her first thought is to worry about the nameless people who must have been caught in the battle; she blames herself when she realises they must all be dead, and is practically inconsolable. Never once during this fight or after does she think of anyone more personal than “people” in the general sense; in her next fight, she does think of her loved ones, but because one of them is getting injured directly in front of her. So yes, like most people, she loves and cares for her friends! But they are far from her only reason for fighting, or the only people she wishes to protect, even if her power is by necessity drawn from the will to protect.
defying social norms via confessions of love — While it is probably not usual for 14-year-olds to confess their love to much older men, Yuzuriha did so not to get him to enter a relationship with her, or with any expectation that she’d get something similar in response. At this point, Yuzuriha and Kusanagi were already good friends, meeting regularly for tea; he was the one who brought her to the hospital after losing her first fight. She is not blurting out her love to a stranger, but confessing to someone she, likely, already well knew would respond kindly to (if not reciprocate). On the other hand, it is certainly true that she doesn’t often think before speaking or reacting, but in this case, I think it’s fair to assume that she knew he wasn’t about to freak out on her. And indeed, he responds kindly.
freely using magic — as with everyone involved in the End of Days, Yuzuriha possesses powerful magic, in her case in the form of Inuki. However, she didn’t consciously create a new power; she had no idea what was happening or that it was even possible until it actually happened. Her reaction to the first Inuki’s death was that it was a death, permanent and forever; when getting into the fight where she creates the new Inuki, she initially is afraid, because she has no power left to fight. She tries to run, etc., and it’s only when a friend comes to her rescue and she witnesses him being badly injured in doing so that she summons the will and desire to create a new power, which, again, is basically a surprise to her and everyone else when it manifests.
So yes, she does freely use magic in order to fight and protect — as with everyone else in the series — but it’s not really a conscious effort on her part, or something she was even aware she could do until it happened. As far as X characters who know and use magic go, Yuzuriha is actually pretty low on the list; she doesn’t have a particular aptitude for spells (or any indication that she even knows any), a strong sixth sense, great magical knowledge, or really anything at all besides “dog spirit that turns into a sword, which is neat."
- ★ ABILITIES:
- Yuzuriha was born with a wolf companion, as are all the members of her family. The wolf — who she named Inuki — is actually an inugami (dog spirit/god), a traditional spirit associated with (usually dark) magic; in Yuzuriha's family, they serve as protectors. Inuki has his own senses and can act somewhat independently from Yuzuriha (for example, moving to protect her), but is not actually a separate being: he was born from her soul, and is more like a manifestation of it, not a fully conscious being even if Yuzuriha treats him like one. Inuki currently takes the form of a brown puppy, the original Inuki having been killed and Yuzuriha's will manifesting a "new" inugami to protect her. Inuki can change shape at Yuzuriha's conscious or unconscious will: usually taking the form of a tsuguri (straight, double-edged Japanese sword), but also shown taking the form of a shield or invisible netting to catch a falling companion. In canon, when asked if there's a limit to what Inuki can change into, Yuzuriha only replies "he's a hard worker," but Inuki only seems to change into things that can protect Yuzuriha or her friends. Inuki can only be seen or felt by those with a developed sixth sense or magical powers.
- As one of the Seven Seals, Yuzuriha has the ability to create a "kekkai," driven by her will to protect: if she ever loses this will, she will also lose the ability. A kekkai is essentially another dimension; it's imposes itself over the surroundings and makes a perfect copy of it, but only includes whatever people the creator choses to include (usually the creator's allies and whoever they plan on fighting). Any damage done inside the kekkai — ruptured streets, collapsed buildings, etc. — stays in the kekkai, and if it is removed by the castor, the damage will not transfer to the real world. However, if the kekkai is destroyed from the inside, the damage will transfer tenfold, via natural disaster (for example, an earthquake will suddenly strike the area). It's nearly impossible to escape a kekkai by walking out without causing yourself extreme injury, but killing, severely injuring, or in any other way sapping the creator's will to live/protect will crumble it.
- Those involved in the End of Days, including Yuzuriha, are shown to have several other, more passive abilities. Yuzuriha is more durable than the average 14-year-old, able to survive and recover from things somewhat outside of the bounds of normal possibility (for example, falling buildings and small explosions). Yuzuriha is also shown to be able to "fly," which in reality is just really fast and high jumping; the main means the Dragons of Heaven use to get around is leaping from street to roof to roof, and that they can cross Tokyo like this without losing breath speaks to endurance, not to mention that she's shown dodging falling rocks and speeding cables without much effort. Although Yuzuriha isn't shown to exhibit this ability due to a lack of serious injuries, all the other Seals are shown to heal a bit faster than is normal — one heals a broken leg in a day, another broken ribs in a week or so, small cuts in a matter of hours — and I think it's probably fair to assume her healing is similarly accelerated. Altogether, while not invincible or at 'superhero' levels, Yuzuriha is quite a bit stronger, faster, and more durable than the average human, and certainly more than someone her age and stature would normally be.
- Yuzuriha also displays on occasion a general "sixth sense." While she's not the most magically adept of the Seven Seals, she can tell when great amounts of magic are being used (for example, a kekkai being raised), and even, if she knows the person, whose power is behind the spell. She can see ghosts and spirits — obviously, since Inuki is one — and has a sort of general "sense" for magic and power if it's being used around her. She's not amazing at this, but in a pinch!
- ★ INVENTORY:
- The clothes on her back, and a basket filled with delicious, homemade cookies. :(
( SAMPLES )
- ★ NETWORK SAMPLE: @ the testdrive
- ★ LOG SAMPLE:
Yuzuriha looks around, all around, turning in place until she's back the way she started, and then once more, trying to take in everything at once with wide eyes. This building! This place! It's so different from Tokyo! Even the trees look different! It's almost overwhelming, scary — no, it is scary, a little bit; her heart is racing — but the apprehension is fighting a losing battle with the wonder and amazement of finding herself in such a beautiful castle. Inuki mirrors her movements, circling the opposite way she had, and although she isn't looking at him she knows his tail is wagging. She cranes her neck, staring at the ceilings, the arches and support beams, so different from Japan, and slowly the initial rush of excitement tapers off. She holds her basket closer to her chest, and crouches down to be more at a level with Inuki.
"Isn't this amazing? It's like we're in a fairy-tale castle!" she exclaims to the wolf puppy, who agrees with a wag of his tail. She doesn't really need to talk to Inuki to know what Inuki thinks, but she likes to anyway. "Only…" she trails off, lifting her chin to peer up at the ceilings again. "I'm… not really sure what we're supposed to do next." Hmm. That was a puzzle. She wishes briefly that the others were here, too. Maybe they will be! If she has this special gem thing, then the other Seals must as well! (Inuki cocks his head in agreement.) "But there's no point in sitting around waiting!," she affirms to him confidently, standing back up. She puts the basket down on the floor for a moment, to have her hands free to adjust her skirt. "We'll have to figure out what to do by ourselves. If everyone does come here…" she trails off, picking up the basket of cookies again, frowning at it as though noticing it for the first time… "…Oh no!" she claps her free hand over her mouth in surprise. "I forgot to deliver Sorata-san's snacks before we left!"