| CHARACTER SHEET: ONRYŌ IZANAMI |
[18 Oct 2009|05:48am] |
NAME & BASICS
Character's Full Name: Izanami Okiku Onryō
Reason or meaning of name: Izanami is a Japanese goddess of creation and also death; elements that my Izanami will be encompassing in Kesshi. Okiku is the name of a woman in Japanese folklore who was wronged in life and has come back in death to seek vengeance on the man who wronged her. Finally, in Japan, an Onryō is a ghost who is able to return to the physical world to seek vengeance. Obviously, vengeance is going to be a large element for the Onryō family, especially Izanami.
Nickname: Nami
Reason for nickname: It's simply shorter. She rarely goes by it, though.
Birthdate: October 23, 1969
Astrological Sign: Libra
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE:
Age: 41
How old does s/he appear?: Late 30s
Eye Color: Dark brown
Weight: 109 lbs
Height: 5'1"
Type of body/build: Petite
Skin tone: A very pale, apricot color
Skin type: Sensitive skin, but not many break outs; mostly clear.
Shape of face: Rectangle, sharp jaw line
Predominant feature: Her eyes; they're rather large and almost alien-esque.
Distinguishing Marks: Do tattoos count? Her back, as well as most of her arms and also her thighs, are covered in tattoos. Instead of getting random images to blend into her tattoos, her ink tells the story of Kiyohime, with the snake version of Kiyohime being the center of the piece, located in the center of her back. Kiyohime's tail winds down and twists around her left leg, ending just above her left knee. Other than that, she doesn't really have any natural distinguishing marks.
Hair color: Black
Distinguishable hair feature (bald, receding hairline, etc.): Nothing really; her hair is just extremely thick and pretty long when worn down.
Type of hair (coarse, fine, thick, etc?) Very thick
Glasses or contacts: Neither
Character's typical hairstyle: Worn pulled back, in a bun and secured with a hair ornament.
Resembles: For the most part, Lucy Liu (ala Kill Bill); however, given that Izanami is Japanese and Lucy is Chinese, there are obvious differences due to differing heritages. But all in all, she mostly looks like Lucy Liu.
Is s/he healthy? Yes, very much so.
If not, why not: N/A
Physical disabilities: She's not as strong as her male adversaries, which is definitely a problem.
FAVORITES:
Character's favorite color: Scarlet
Character's least favorite color: Orange; she just hates how it looks and thinks it's a very gaudy color.
Favorite Music: Anything calming or relaxing, really--but rock music also makes her feel alive. She also has a guilty pleasure for American music from the 1940s: though she doesn't understand a thing he's saying, Izanami is nevertheless a sucker for Old Blue Eyes and his music.
Least favorite Music: She isn't a fan of what the Americans call "country music"...it's just too...twangy for her.
Food: Ichigo daifuku! She doesn't care if she shouldn't have too many sweets, she's addicted!
Literature: She loves classic Japanese literature, with her favorite book being "Kokoro" by Natsume Sōseki.
Expressions: "Ishi no ue ni san nen." ("Sitting on a stone for 3 years."/perseverance wins)
Favorite book & why?: As said earlier, it's "Kokoro" by Nastume Sōseki. Izanami adores it because she loves how it explores human relationships as well as focusing on the changing roles and ideals of Japanese woman at the time.
Expletives: She does her best to abstain from using expletives; however, she uses "bastard" a lot.
Mode of transportation: She drives a crimson Ferrari. As it is her "baby," she tends to drive pretty cautiously with it...unless she's feeling a bit adventurous.
HABITS:
Smokes: Yes; she's a casual smoker and goes through about 1/4 of a pack a day. Though she doesn't smoke often, she would like to quit.
Drinks: Izanami is quite the drinker, however, she much prefers to drink "classier" drinks (like an expensive wine or champagne) as opposed to hard liquor; and she does enjoy sake.
Hobbies: Izanami is a big fan of the arts and whenever she does find some free time, she likes to dive headfirst into them...either by catching up on her reading or perhaps even trying to focus on a painting. Unfortunately, she realizes that her artistic skills aren't very good, so she likes to keep her passion for doing such things as secret as possible.
How does character spend a rainy day? Rainy days are no different from any other day; she doesn't stop what she's doing simply because it's raining. Business must go on.
BACKGROUND:
Hometown: Tokyo, Japan
Type of childhood: That's hard to say. After her parents were murdered by members of the Inagawa-kai clan, she was adopted by a Yakuza member who took pity on her. He and his wife raised Izanami, and she lived a very nice life; but she was still deprived of her biological parents--something that she could never forgive her adopted parents for.
First memory: Her first memory, believe it or not, was when she was four years old and Mamoru (seven at the time) slapped her hard across the face. Though she can't remember why he slapped her, Izanami finds this so odd to think about nowadays, since their relationship changed so much growing up, with Mamoru practically skinning any man alive who placed a hand on her.
Most important childhood event that still affects him/her & why?: Obviously the fact that her biological family was murdered by the very people who took her in. Though she was too young to even remember her biological family, she was nevertheless informed of what happened to them and to this day, she wonders what her life would have been like had they never crossed paths with the Yakuza.
Education: Formal education; she completed high school but not university.
Religion: Shinto; however, she doesn't really practice and she's not too terribly dedicated to it.
Finances: She's well to do, if that's what you mean. She has people taking care of her finances for her, and they know better than to screw her over.
FAMILY:
Mother: She doesn't know her biological mother's name, but her adopted mother was named Ayumi Kurosawa.
Relationship with her: Ayumi was a terribly vain woman, but nevertheless seemed to love Izanami very, very much. Shortly after having Mamoru, she found out that she was practically infertile, and any hopes of having another child were crushed. Thus, enter Izanami. Ayumi and her husband adopted the young girl (around one at the time) after her parents crossed the Yakuza and had to be "dealt" with. Feeling sorry for her and full-well knowing of his wife's condition, Daisuke Kurosawa took Izanami and the two raised her as their own. Ayumi used Izanami to flaunt what a caring person and adoring mother she was, showing her off every chance that she got.
Father:
Relationship with him:
Siblings: She doesn't think that she has any biologically, though she cannot remember. However, she did have an older adopted brother: Mamoru.
Relationship with each: Her relationship with Mamoru was one of respect and admiration. He was cruel to her only when she needed it and he certainly helped make her into the woman she is today. It is safe to say that she loved him as if he truly were her brother by blood.
Children of siblings: Mamoru ran off and was eventually killed a year later. To Izanami's knowledge, she is not an aunt...but she cannot be certain of this.
Extended family?
Close? Why or why not?
CHILDREN:
Does character have child(ren)? Yes.
How many children does character have? Three, all boys: Tarou, Naosuke, and Anjin.
Are all children with the same partner? Yes.
If no, Why? If no, what is the custody arrangement? N/A
How does character relate to his/her child(ren)?
Which child is character's favorite? Why? Though she claims she doesn't have a favorite, it is without a doubt Tarou. He was her first child and the first physical symbol of her love for Akinori.
What is characters most favorite memory of his/her child(ren)? Why? Giving birth to each of them...is that too cliche to say? Though it was hell and she wouldn't want to experience the pain again, the act of actually bringing all three of them into the world still gives her butterflies and puts a smile on her face.
What is characters least favorite memory of his/her child(ren)? Why?
Is relationship with children important to character? Extremely. Since Akinori's death, she'd held them extremely closer to her.
OCCUPATION
Where does Character work? For how long? She's the head of the Inagawa-kai Yakuza clan and has been for about a year and a half.
How does s/he feel about co-workers? Like any other boss would feel about them, she imagines. None of them really have a warm place in her heart, however, she is nevertheless grateful and respectful for their service to her.
Get along with co-workers? Yes, of course. If she didn't get along with them, they wouldn't be working under her.
Like his/her job? Why or why not? For the most part. It gives her the money she desires and keeps her entertained. Her job is her life.
Character's dream job: It stems back to her childhood dream, but simply a geisha. It's about as similar as a young American girl wanting to be a ballerina: childish and not something that will ever be accomplished.
ATTITUDE:
Character's greatest fear:
Why?
What is the worst thing that could happen to him/her?
What single event would most throw character's life in complete turmoil? It's already happened: the death of her husband, Akinori. At this point, losing any of her sons would absolutely wreck her. They're the only flesh and blood characters she has left in this world.
Character is most at ease when: Things are going smoothly and she doesn't have to worry about anything...but then again, who isn't most at ease when this is occurring?
Most ill at ease when: Being threatened.
Depressive or SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)? Yes. It used to be simply mild depression that would come and go from time to time; but after Akinori's death, Izanami finds herself terribly depressed most of the time. She's starting to work past this, however.
Priorities: Currently, seeking out vengeance upon Kiyoto Taiso and anyone who played any part in Akinori's death. She wants to see the entire Yamaguchi-gumi clan taken down.
Philosophy:
How s/he feels about self: As one can imagine, Izanami isn't a bubbly person who is in love with herself. She can be quite self-loathing and, like most women, is very self conscious--despite what she might say, she still worries about what people think of her.
Past failure s/he would be embarrassed to have people know about:
Why?
If granted one wish, what would it be? To bring Akinori back--for obvious reasons. She misses the love of her life.
PERSONALITY:
Greatest source of strength in character's personality (whether s/he sees it as
such or not):
Greatest source of weakness in character's personality (whether s/he sees it as
such or not):
Character's soft spot:
Is this soft spot obvious to others?
If not, how does character hide it?
Biggest vulnerability:
Which of the 7 deadly sins does your character fight (or give into, willingly or not)?
(lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, pride) Izanami is definitely a wrathful person with touch of lust and even envy thrown in there.
Which of the 7 virtues does your character have (or fight against)?
(chastity, abstinence, leberality, diligence, patience, kindness, humility) She's certainly not chaste, doesn't practice abstinence, and though she is quite patient, that doesn't mean she doesn't struggle terribly with it.
TRAITS:
Optimist or pessimist & why?: Pessimist; she just always has been. She's not so bad that she can't see things optimistically from time to time, though...and if she wants something bad enough, she can be pretty optimistic.
Introvert or extrovert & why?: Somewhere in the middle, to be honest. In dealing with her family and friends, she's very talkative, but can also be very quiet and even a little on the shy side.
Drives and motivations:
Talents:
Extremely skilled at:
Extremely unskilled at:
Good characteristics:
Character flaws:
Mannerisms: She has a habit of tilting her head to the side when listening to someone speak and she has a bad habit of biting her nails and picking at the skin on her lips when they become chapped.
Peculiarities:
Biggest regret:
Minor regrets:
Biggest accomplishment:
Minor accomplishments:
Character's darkest secret:
Does anyone else know?
If yes, did character tell them?
If no, how did they find out?
SELF-PERCEPTION:
One word character would use to describe self:
One paragraph description of how character would describe self:
What does character consider best physical characteristic?
What does character consider worst physical characteristic?
Are these realistic assessments?
If not, why not?
How CHARACTER thinks others perceive him/her:
What four things would CHARACTER most like to change about self? (#1 most
important, #2 second most important, etc.)
1.
2.
3.
4.
Why?
If change #1 was made, would character be as happy as s/he thinks?
If not, why not?
INTERRELATION WITH OTHERS:
Is character divorced & why? No, she is not. She was married to Akinori Onryō and he was killed, thus obviously ending their marriage.
Has character ever cheated on significant other? She has before, but not with Akinori...sort of. She was dating another man when she began an affair with Akinori and she's cheated on other men in the past, but not on Akinori.
How does character relate to others?
How is s/he perceived by...
Strangers?
Friends?
Wife/Husband/Lover? Akinori absolutely adored his wife; she was truly the light of his life and could do no wrong in his eyes. However, a while after he died, a new man eventually took his place: Dantalion Samael. Dantalion, on the other hand, is physically attracted to Izanami, and there's certainly some sort of attachment there, but being a sociopath of sorts, Dantalion isn't exactly attached to anyone by love as he seems incapable of it. He nevertheless is sexually attracted to her and tends to focus on her more positives qualities, as well as doing pretty much anything for her.
Hero/Heroine? Well, Izanami is really the heroine...and she's sort of into the whole self-loathing thing. However, if we're talking about Kesshi Takahiro, then he absolutely loathes Izanami and everything about her. The two are mortal enemies.
How does character view hero/heroine? Again, Izanami IS the heroine, and she's pretty self-loathing. But again, if we're talking about Takahiro, then she hates him. The very thought of him makes her physically sick and she wants nothing more than to make him suffer to his last breath.
First impression & why? Hatred. Absolute, unadulterated hatred. After all, the first time she meets him, he's capturing her clan and threatening to kill her sons--plus, he's Kiyoto Taiso's right-hand man.
What happens to change this perception? Absolutely nothing.
What do family/friends like most about character?
What do family/friends like least about character?
GOALS:
Immediate goals: (This is prior to the novel) Seek revenge on the Yamaguchi-gumi clan and, specifically, kill Kiyoto Taiso and anyone who helped in the murder of her husband.
Long range goals: (This is during the novel) Kill Takahiro Kesshi and every single person related to him; make his life as absolutely miserable as she possibly can and make him suffer every single second of his pathetic life.
How does character plan to accomplish goals? She's too grief-stricken to think; so that's where Dantalion comes in. It is he who comes up with all of the plans for revenge and Izanami simply goes along with them.
How will other people around character be affected? Well, that depends on what side you're on. Chances are, if you're on Team Kesshi, you'll see a lot of blood, pain, and even death. However, if you're on Team Onryō, then you better be ready to help out and do whatever is necessary...and reap the benefits of your efforts.
PROBLEMS/CRISIS:
How character reacts in a crisis:
How character faces problems:
Kinds of problems character usually runs into:
How character reacts to NEW problems:
How character reacts to change:
GENERAL:
Favorite clothing & why?: Either traditional Japanese garments (like kimonos) or expensive, high class fashion as she feels both present her in a very professional manner.
Least favorite clothing & why?: Trendy, teen clothes. She just doesn't see the appeal, honestly.
Jewelry: Though she likes diamonds, she would be lying if she said that they were her favorite. Instead, Izanami is a fan of silver and pearls and garnet stones; necklaces are a favorite for her, though she tends to only wear them on special occasions or when she has to.
Other accessories: Expensive hair ornaments.
Drives: A crimson Ferrari
Where does character live?
Where does character want to live? Right where she is...she actually really like Tokyo. But she wouldn't object to having a vacation home somewhere in Paris...she hears it's very nice there.
Spending habits (frugal, spendthrift, etc) & why?: She has quite a bit of money, but usually tends to save it and only spend it on the things that she truly wants. She isn't the type to throw her money around.
What does s/he do too much of?
Too little of?
Most prized possession & why?:
Play musical instrument? Yes...sort of.
Which? The piano, but only to a certain extent
How did s/he learn? She was given piano lessons when she was younger, but after voicing her severe distaste for the instrument, the lessons were discontinued. However, she took them long enough to pick up on enough information and can still play at a moderate skill level.
UNCATEGORIZED:
Person character secretly admires: It's not a secret to her family or those within the Inagawa-kai clan, but she's Dantalion's girlfriend...and nothing changes, even when she's forced to marry Nozomu. However, things are just kept much on a hush-hush level then.
Person character was most influenced by: Her adopted brother, Mamoru. He taught her everything she knows and helped shape her into the woman she is today.
Most important person in character's life before story starts: If Akinori doesn't count since he's deceased, then it would have to be her three sons: Tarou, Naosuke, and Anjin...followed by Dantalion.
Describe what your character was doing a week before the novel takes place: Izanami was engaged in fierce battles between the Yamaguchi-gumi clan. These duels were becoming much more heated and it looked like the war might be coming to an end...with the scales tipping rather unfavorably in the direction of her enemy, Kiyoto Taiso. However, after enacting a genius plan created by Dantalion, a few rogue members of the Inagawa-kai clan successfully murdered Kiyoto, the head of the Yamaguchi-gumi clan. The victory was short lived, and all members who helped in the assassination were killed themselves. Izanami spent the week before the beginning of the novel regrouping with the rest of her subordinates, Dantalion, and her sons and coming up with what was going to happen next--only to be captured by Kiyoto's right hand man, Takahiro Kesshi, accompanied by several members of the Yamaguchi-gumi Yakuza family and Takahiro's very own sons.
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