Suzuko Tsukino ●

[Suzuko Tsukino]

Name: Suzuko Noriko Tsukino Nicknames: Suzu, Oni, Nori Age: 27 Gender: Female Sexuality: Demisexual/Asexual Faction: Criminal Occupation: Massage Therapist/Assassin Playby: Hakuoki Shinsengumi Kitan, Chizuru Yukimura Traits Positive Discerning Observant Respectful Tactful Graceful Calm Thoughtful Negative Bitter Vengeful Manipulative Distrustful Apathetic Cynical Stubborn To most people, Suzuko appears to be have a gentle nature and graceful mannerisms, she is actually more bitter and negative than one would imagine. Those that see her more easy going nature would scarcely believe that she has such angry, bitter feelings locked away behind such innocent appearing eyes. Though her words are light, soft, and easy to deal with, this is only because she holds back the more cynical part of herself. Why she does this, Suzuko has a general idea but can’t actually pin down, yet this need to make everything at least appear alright has dominated a good deal of her personality – at least the portion of it she permits others to see. Below this layer of gentleness, Suzuko’s feelings towards most people are nothing short of pure unrequited hate. She hates just about everything in the world and can hardly see any sort of good in anything. As of yet, there is that Suzuko can reveal her true feelings to or willingly trusts with such information about herself. Suzuko has become rather guarded over the years and trusts nobody because nobody was there to help her when it truly mattered. As far as she's concerned, the world can burn and Suzuko could care less about the pathetic humans and their lives. Suzuko reacts to most situations with a graceful air just as she was taught to do so at her father’s command. Though she doesn’t realize it herself, even with her father dead he still has control over her to this day. Often Suzuko will submit to other peoples’ decision even if she disagrees with it personally because she has in a sense been programmed to back down to whomever she perceives as the ‘alpha’. Superiors are among these ‘alphas’ and she despises the control they have over her and would like nothing better than to find a way around this. Suzuko hates being seen as helpless and tends to try and avoid situations where she can’t have at least some control over the outcome. She isn’t a doormat certainly, far from it in fact as Suzuko despises being called weak and does get angry quite easily when the topic comes up. Hers is more of a quiet rage however and it’s rather difficult to tell when Suzuko is angry because of her calm, princess-like demeanor. She is not one to take to take disrespect towards herself or her friends without a fight and has become quite skilled in manipulating those she perceives as enemies and luring them close under the pretense of good will. Considering how she prefers staying out of the spotlight lest her image of a gentle princess be tainted, Suzuko tends to prefer quiet, less evident ways of dispatching her opponent. Suzuko takes the world in stride and works on her own time rather than a set schedule or deadline that’s posed to her. When placed in a stressful situation, she takes it well and doesn’t seem to panic, addressing such things with a clear head and a positive outlook. As long as she can think through a situation, she can generally work it to her advantage. Suzuko likes to be in control and though she doesn’t particularly like surprises, she is able to bounce back quickly and come up with a response appropriate to the situation at hand. Though Suzuko really does have sour feelings towards the world, that doesn’t mean she can’t learn from it and enjoys ‘people watching’ and will often just sit and watch them for hours taking in what exactly they do and how they do it. She’s learned that the best way to control a situation is to watch and learn and the easiest Suzuko has learned to do that is to observe the world around her. It’s a method she’s used in the past to take control by simply being the innocent observer that most wouldn’t bat an eye at. When observing others, Suzuko is careful not to bring attention to herself lest she lose the opportunity to glean important information about those around her. This being said, when pushed into regular conversations, she is quick to retract into her façade in order to obscure the fact that she had been watching only moments before. Deep down, and though she would never admit it, Suzuko harbors a good deal of envy towards the people she watches. She’ll catch herself focusing in on close friends or a couple only to reflect on the fact that she doesn’t have them. In reality, what Suzuko truly wants is the very thing she fears the most: love. Should anyone point out her near obsession of books, especially romance novels and other books where there is such a happy ending, Suzuko will often say it’s simply an interesting read and move on. In truth, she actually reads them because there were very few things to read back home and it helps her to escape, if only for a moment, and forget her current circumstances. She wants to be loved and to have the security of knowing someone is there but finds it extremely hard to actually open up to others. Though she claims various things about her heart’s affairs here and there, she has a number of fears that cloud her judgment on such things often leading to a reserved and submissive nature when anyone does take interest in her. History From the very start, Suzuko’s life was already planned out for her. Her parents were well known throughout Japan for their martial arts and it was expected that the firstborn would become heir and take over the dojo. Kaemon wanted a son he could pass the teachings down to but was given a daughter instead of the son they so desired. Unfortunately, Hana’s health was fragile and thus opted not to take the risk of another child. Hana adored her daughter and spoiled Suzu as much as she could before her training started. Shortly after Suzu learned to walk, Kaemon began to teach his daughter about who she was going to be. In awe that she was going to be someone really important, Suzu did whatever her father asked so that she could be the bestest best teacher she could be; she wasn't going to let everyone down after all! This desire to learn pleased Kaemon who praised Suzu for her determination even at a young age. As time passed, Suzu gradually became stronger and did everything she could to make her father proud. Kaemon was proud of his daughter’s progress and grew quiet interested in her natural ability in the martial arts but all that changed when Hana became ill. Concerned for her mother, Suzu began to spend more time with Hana instead of training like Kaemon wanted her to despite it all. Kaemon became sterner with Suzu as Hana’s health grew worse and urged her to continue to train so that she could protect Hana. This motivated Suzu to get stronger so she could do just that until Hana passed away the day she turned five. Depressed that she couldn’t protect her mother after all the hard work she had done, Suzu stopped training completely and sought solace in the garden, her mother’s favorite place to go when she was well. At first, Kaemon allowed it because Hana’s death had hurt him as well and even helped his daughter learn about the different flowers and herbs that were Hana’s favorites. Years passed in this manner until Kaemon decided that it was time to start training once again and Suzu agreed after her father’s insistence on the matter. Something was different this time though; training wasn’t as fun as it used to be before Hana had died. Kaemon was quick to punish her if she dared to talk back to him or didn’t understand something. The first time Kaemon hit her was after she had failed what he had deemed to be simple. Stunned, Suzu didn’t know what to do at first and yelled back at him for doing that only to be hit again with enough force to be knocked down to the ground until she listened like a good girl. Kaemon even went so far to say that she was useless if she didn’t become strong enough. Suzu couldn’t believe what she had heard her father say and instead of yelling back at him, went back to the lesson, determined to prove that she was worthy of being called his daughter again. The lessons continued to become more difficult as Kaemon continued to beat and berate her if she even so much as questioned him. This slowly distorted her personality and over time she learned to not question Kaemon’s authority and simply do as she was told with a smile. Shortly after Suzu turned fifteen, she returned home from school to find her father in a drunken state. Knowing very well that Kaemon grew increasingly more violent when he was drunk, Suzu simply smiled and asked if there was something wrong only to be slapped aside and called useless before yelling that if she had been stronger they wouldn’t have been challenged by a rival dojo. In his drunken state, Kaemon continued to beat Suzu for being so useless, weak, something that was not good enough to be called his heir. Once he passed out, Suzu retreated to the gardens that had since become her sanctuary and treated her injuries as much as she could using her knowledge of various herbs that she had grown there. The rest were covered up as best she could so that others wouldn’t ask about what had happened to her, they couldn’t know, they wouldn’t understand after all…of that, Suzu was certain. Still, the news shook Suzu to the core and distorted her personality further. Rage consumed her but her father’s ‘training’ ran deeper than this hate for the world and everything she had gone through. No, it simply wouldn’t do to let everyone see how much she despised them. Henceforth, Suzu created the gentle, kind persona that she knew her father expected her to be and shoved away the thoughts and feelings of loathing of everything that she had gone through thus far...and all for nothing. Suzu resumed training the next day and for the next few months, Kaemon left her alone after drinking himself into a stupor. It seemed that he was fine with the new change as long as he had something to drink after all which suited Suzu just fine. As long as he left her alone, then she could train and prove herself both to him. She would continue training, if only to kill each and every one of those brats that dare rob her of her birthright and cause her this much pain in the process. Unfortunately for Suzu, Kaemon soon came to accept this new lower status and instead of look for a new solution, opted to take it out on his daughter. He started to observe her training once again except this time every time that she made a mistake, no matter how minor, he would beat her severely. Though Suzu would hide what she could her friends could tell that something was wrong to some extent but rather than admit what was going on, she pushed them aside and withdrew further into herself. One day, when Kaemon was about to beat her again for making a mistake, Suzu tried to protect herself and tried to fight back. That was a mistake she wouldn’t soon forget as her father lashed out and overpowered her before taking out his blade and carving her ‘lesson’ -the kanji for listen and obey- into her back so that she would never forget her place. It was a weeks before Suzu could move without every nerve in her body screaming in agony. She had claimed to be sick during that time so that her friends wouldn’t worry and simply continued on with life as if nothing happened. Instead, Suzu focused on herbs and medicine that would help ease the pain as well as a few that could kill if the need should arise. Time passed and Suzu learned to become adept at making her own incense and poisons as she continued to train. Over time, Suzu opted to try and learn as much as she could about the more natural means of healing such as acupuncture, aromatherapy, and the like and decided to study to become a massage therapist. Since her body was still recovering, Suzu spent more time away from home and at school where she could avoid the possibility of being hurt again. It wasn’t until a few years had passed that Suzu felt that she was well enough to resume training though her father was still just as cruel if she did anything wrong. Another year passed before Suzu received the welcome news that their family was finally restored and their dojo was once again in good standing. Kaemon too was pleased that Suzu was good for something once again after all and continued to press her to try harder so that they wouldn’t be removed twice. After hearing nothing but criticism from Kaemon since her mother had died, Suzu had enough and put poison in his tea that night, claiming that it was a new herb used to enhance the flavor. In the weeks that followed, Kaemon appeared to be struck down with a fever while Suzu relished watching her father grow weaker every passing day all the while pretending to be the good dutiful daughter and care for her ailing father. Two months later, Kaemon finally succumbed to the poison and with no other heirs, the estate and everything else was left to Suzu. Not wanting to be reminded of the past, Suzu placed it under someone else’s care until she returned and left as soon as she had packed her belongings. Thereafter, Suzu resumed her studies and went to a university to learn more about the human anatomy and ways to heal using herbs and other natural medicine. Once she graduated, Suzu used the money given to her to establish her own business as a freelance massage therapist. This way she could still enjoy her freedom and take on jobs as an assassin under the guise of supposedly helping others. After some time, Suzu began to make a name for herself and her services were being requested more frequently. It seemed that there were more scumbags out there that people wanted out of the way permanently. Known only as the Oni, Suzu was rather skilled at slipping in and out undetected after all, it was quite easy to slip poison into somebody’s drink or even rub it into their skin when giving a massage. Those who knew her would never guess that someone as seemingly kind-hearted was truly a killer but then that was the point, wasn’t it. Truth be told, the only reason Suzu was in Georgia was to take care of a little ‘problem’ for one of her clients. Considering she travelled frequently for her job, it wasn’t unusual for her to fly frequently. However, instead of returning home as had been the initial plan she found herself trapped and forced to play a part in this foolish ‘game’ that the gods insisted they participate in. The only good thing that came of it was the wish which Suzu took full advantage of to rid herself of the accursed pain in her back that had plagued her ever since her father had carved the kanji into her back. Apparently she was granted powers as well to help in the supposed game. So much the better to aid in her cause for Chaos, despite how idiotic Suzu believed the game to be. Insignia Level 1 Suzuko’s insignia is in the shape of a blossoming Sakura tree that wraps around the length of her right arm while the trunk and some of the branches extends down the length of her back, effectively hiding the mark carved into her lower back. Passive – Suzuko has a pine marten whom she has deemed Sable as her familiar. Though Sable seems to serve no purpose, Suzu is quite fond of her and treats her well. If nothing else, she is quite amused at the marten’s aggressive behavior since Sable is apt to bite the fingers off those that come near her other than Suzu. Petal Darts - Level 1 – Suzu is able to take the petals from the branches and materialize them into miniature blades. With these, she can throw them at people or move them around to create a sort of petal storm though the latter requires more energy and can only be done once per thread. There are a restricted number of petals that Suzu can use and once gone, the tree doesn’t ‘bloom’ again until the next day (or thread). Respectively, Suzu can only use the petal darts for three posts or until she uses up to 15 of the petals, whichever comes first. Extra Likes • Reading • Animals • Rain • Music • Art Dislikes • Authority • Disrespect • Storms • Impudence • Liars OOC OOC Name: Elayne How did you find us?: Nai Other Characters: Alena Maksim

[Neko]

Accepted!! Great job, put your profile link in your mini profile and put your claims in the Face Claims and the Directory!