Chidori Tsukino

[Chidori Tsukino]

Name: Chidori Tsukino

Age: Technically 4, but really 19

Date of Birth: 29th of February 

Birthplace: Kyushu, Japan

Gender: Female

Sexual Orientation: Bisexual  

Face Claim: Rise Kujikawa from Persona 4~

Appearance:

Height: 5'4

Distinguishing Features: There is thin white scar line across her throat, normally hidden by deft application of makeup or a choice clothing accessory; a remnant of her traumatic experience.

Class: Persona-User

Arcana: Priestess

Occupation: Artist, Designer & Photographer

Weapons and Proficiencies (Optional): Whilst perhaps not a normal weapon, it does have its uses as one with the right application - Chidori is proficient with needles as a Pierce weapon.

Personality: Chidori is both energetic and reserved, depending on her company - before her accident, she was a bright, cheery high-schooler who, whilst somewhat quite and shy, would still work hard and toil away behind the scenes. With a passion for drawing, photography and needlework, the brunette found lots to do, even as a background member of clubs; making costumes, advertisement artwork and model shoots. Underneath it all, she was still friendly and still easily-excitable with the right kinds of people around her, like her parents. Some of that previous energy is still present years later; it is not all that uncommon to see her frantically jumping and wiggling about, trying to pantomime something to the person she's attempting to communicate with. That being said, she does suffer from panic attacks when her disability's disadvantages aggravate the situation far enough, and enters a semi-catatonic state that involves shutting down and withdrawing into solitude. Since signing and pantomiming often proves fruitless or simply too much energy, she's growing accustomed to keeping a book and pencil with her, using art to communicate her meanings - anything from simple doodles to well-crafted images that employ much her practised skill.
Or simply writing her thoughts plainly, though that makes her feel even more vulnerable most of the time.

Whilst still holding a friendly disposition at first contact, she doesn't bond very well with people without a lot of interaction; her first instinct is to observe, patiently, occasionally reaching out with a brief spurt of courage before retreating again to watch. She does have a very strong interest in art in general, and as such, does tend to be a little more forward if art is involved, in any form, be it drawing, painting, writing or music.
When all is said and done though, the incident changed Chidori into a much quieter person, who still wants to help more often than not, despite her shyness.

She does however, have an aversion to prolonged physical contact, and if someone's voice resembles that of her kidnapper's, she freaks and runs (as has happened with one of her tutors, who was then quickly replaced). Anything with a bladed edge has similar results if brought near, for reasons that will become rather obvious. 

Likes: 

~Drawing

~Photography

~Sewing/Needlepoint

~Lavenders 

Dislikes:

~Sharp, bladed edges

~Crowded spaces

~Pushy, overbearing people

~Bananas

History: Her childhood was rather happy all things considered, spent playing games with other kids, drawing with rather dismal skill but happily spending the time to practice and continue with it. In fact, she enjoyed it enough that her parents bought her a proper set of pencils and drawing implements, at the age of 8, and she begun spending most of her time sitting outside, drawing whatever she saw - from the landscapes in front of her, to the insects that passed by in the grass next to her. School was both trying and enjoyable, mixing some of her favourite things with a lot of social pressure. Pretty quickly, she became one of those quiet people who happily pass the time by as a background player. Attending an all-girls boarding school was an intriguing experience, and in some ways, lessened the pressures of boyish influences, even if some of that was replaced by overeager schoolgirls falling in love at the drop of a hat. Thankfully, as a shy and less talkative student, much of that skipped over her without a great deal of fuss, leaving her to focus on the work itself, and just learning in general.

Drawing close to the final weeks of her first year, Chidori slipped home for a day - her birthday - to visit her parents, who took her out for a big dinner after a long day at the zoo and whilst they were paying the bill at the counter, she made the mistake of wandering out by herself, to wait by the car. Unfortunately, by this time, it was rather late, and despite the fairly friendly restaurant, the neighbourhood wasn't particularly safe when it got late. Oblivious to the danger because of how wonderful the day had been, Chidori didn't even notice when the stranger came up and grabbed her from behind, knocking her out cold with a blow to the head.  

The next two days were possibly the worst of her life - the stalker had kidnapped her during the brief moment of recklessness on both Chidori's, and her parents', parts. She never saw his face, but his sickening voice disturbed the heck out of her, and she shrunk into herself whenever he was around. He wasn't the smartest though - the police did track him down, and forced him into a corner where he held her at knife-point as a hostage. Seeing no real way out, he panicked and tried to slit her throat, to silence her, consequently receiving a bullet to the head from one of the officers, stopping him from fully slicing through the tissue.  

Rushed to hospital and losing consciousness several times, it was almost a full fortnight before she came to properly, immensely relieved that the first faces she saw were her parents, though the worry on their faces was concerning. Chidori tried to speak, but sharp pains in her throat limited her to guttural sounds and sighing were about the extent of what she could manage. Crying fortunately didn't hurt, as she did a lot of that when she realized the surgery had kept her alive, but the damage to her larynx was irreparable - she likely would never be able to speak again. 

The following two years followed a very similar pattern; constant care, regular counselling and lots and lots of rest. When her mental health was considered strong enough, tutors were called in to help her keep up with the school she was missing - no one thought it would be a good idea for her to return yet, not until her social anxieties became manageable, and Chidori could handle her muteness without breaking down. Art became her medium - she was already passionate about it, and it helped pass time when she practised.
Her grades went from okay to very good with the right tutoring as well, allowing her natural intelligence to cultivate and express itself properly.

With the counselling bringing her stability, and the tutoring bringing up her baselines far past what was ordinarily required, there was a good deal of hope for a semi-normal life to come. A few more months, and each specialist advised that it would be possible for her to return to school, though counselling could be continued on-site or off-site if Chidori was having too many problems adjusting back. Fortunately for the brunette, her new roommate made life very much interesting and yet strangely comfortable to deal with. On the reverse, her mutism made things far easier for the purple-haired girl as well, forming a symbiotic friendship that made the rest of her school years bearable, and at times, even fun.

Her love of drawing, taking photos and creating outfits combined for an interesting set of talents as Chidori approached the end of her highschool days, getting ready to go into the world and hopefully be able to work and learn. Even the mutism didn't hold her back fully; having entered a great number of competitions at the insistence of her teachers, a smaller company that dealt with photography and artwork for anime-related events took an interest in her, offering a reasonable pay job if she completed an internship to their satisfaction. To her credit, Chidori did that and more, impressing a number of bigger names in the business. Finally starting to find her place in the world, the brunette began working with the smaller company first, developing a portfolio before she stepped into the larger pool, pleasantly surprising herself when she landed a design conception job that involved all three of her passions. In fact, the job was even lenient enough that she didn't have to work specifically in an office so long as she met her deadlines and contributed accordingly.

This worked out very well when news spread to her parents about an up & coming surgeon using state of the art technology to perform what some would consider miracle operations. Sparking a wildfire amongst the Tsukinos, they quickly inquired as to whether physically-induced mutism happened to fall under this umbrella of miracles - fortunately enough, it was indeed. However, it would cost a great deal of money, and require them to move to Mosaic City whilst things were prepared, as the equipment as all located there, and the surgeon primarily worked there as well. With the permission of her employers and a very generous sum of money from her parents to pay for the initial living expenses and the surgery, Chidori quickly made plans to move to Mosaic City, settling in nicely with a modest apartment near the hospital facilities. Most of her parents' funds went to providing the equipment she needed to continue working and paying the rest of her expenses independently, as the surgery was to be one part of a progressive & ongoing treatment. 

Of course, that was when her good fortune began to run out; the enclosing of the circle around Mosaic City led to the surgeon, who had been away on an urgent operation a few towns over, being stranded outside. With all contact lost, any hope of getting the treatment was dashed, as there were no others currently capable of performing such delicate and complicated work within the perimeter. Crushed by the revelation and having what little hope she'd built up torn away, Chidori retreated well inside of herself, barely managing to keep herself going with even the basics. Her workload piled up, deadlines came and went without any response. The brunette struggled for a month just to keep things together, and it was only as she was coming out of her depressive state that she finally realised something odd was going on. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get in touch with her employers, nor had she even received any kind of reprimand or warning about missing her deadlines. 

Eventually, Chidori came to understand that this also meant she had no way of getting any more money from her job, either. She had some savings, plus a little of the funds her parents had given her but that could only last so long. Anxieties she'd forgotten and gotten over a long time ago suddenly resurfaced, and in a panic, she tried to find work within the city right away. Her portfolio was good enough that she didn't have to look very long, but the anxiety beneath it all never receded - something was still wrong with the whole situation. Curiosity burned alongside her anxiety, and whilst she did have work to do again, there was still so much downtime that was spent wondering, almost to the point of madness, about what the heck was going on. Her old habit of distrust wouldn't let her believe what the authorities had said - military simply moving in and closing up the city because of radiation? What kind of leak encircled an entire city like that? And if it was just radiation, why couldn't she get in touch with anyone? No, something was definitely going on.

A few months ticked by and the urge to investigate only deepened over time. Eventually, she was unable to restrain herself; grabbing one of her cameras & a set of lenses, Chidori tried to be as inconspicuous as possible as she neared the perimeter, getting as close as she dared before going upwards to find a good vantage point. With her array of lenses, specifically her telescopic ones, the brunette quickly set about abating her urge to understand what was happening. At first, it seemed as if there really was nothing out of line with the official story; she could see nothing to suggest otherwise. Unphased, she returned to scope things out for several more days, methodically observing and taking photos. It wasn't until the ninth day that she finally spotted something, just as she began to contemplate giving up her strange new obsession. Far past the blockade, at the extremity of her lens' capability, Chidori caught sight of what was quite certainly dilapidated ruins...in an area that was meant to be simply overrun with radiation. 

Frowning to herself, an overwhelming sense of wrongness enveloped her; she had to go out there, past the safe circle. She had to know. It was as if an unknown force was guiding her, pushing her onwards to discover whatever it was that was being covered up. Another week went by however, as she prepared as best she could; some food and water, a little money, her compact camera and appropriate clothing. Of course, if she ran into trouble, she didn't have any real weapons, so Chidori made do with the one sharp object she could really handle well - needles. Ironically, there was a tutor who insisted on her learning the various uses of needles when she expressed her interest in sewing. As it turned out, they could do a great deal when accompanied by the right knowledge, especially medical knowledge. Practice with throwing and handling them only further extended such usefulness, and looking at the ones she had on hand, Chidori knew it was her only choice right now. 

Armed with hidden needles on her person, the mute steeled herself, falling back to the shy, reserved appearance that came so naturally; it would be easier to slip past the blockade that way. Not exactly her best decision, as it turned out - whilst she did indeed get past the blockade, outside of the safe circle the world became very real, very fast. Unable to comprehend why she couldn't see it before, she was surrounded by ruins, cloaked by a peculiarly purple sky. She could breathe normally, but that was the least of her worries when she was quickly beset by massive black hulks, whose masks instilled a bewildering fear in her. Not wanting to stick around to find out what they wanted from her, the brunette made a run for it....only to stumble into a section of ruins that was completely different to the way she came in. Even navigating cautiously, lady luck was not on her side today - a dead end met her, leaving her stuck with her back against the wall as one of the faster creatures loomed in the only entryway. 

Annoyed with herself for getting lost, terrified by the prospect of being assailed by some bizarre monster & wishing she was not so helpless that she couldn't even call for help, Chidori filled with a growing desire for power to actually protect herself, to be of use and not always the one needing help. She'd come to Mosaic City with the hope of living independently once she could speak again, but really, it all stemmed from the same root - she would not be the helpless little girl anymore. Enough was enough. Gritting her teeth, she retrieved some of the needles, poising them with careful precision between her fingers. It was time to fight for herself, for once. Her burning desire quickly washed over her entire body, stifling the anxieties and worries she normally held, focusing her thoughts and giving her a strange sense of calmness. That was when a faint whisper echoed in the otherwise silent confines of her mind, filling her with hope again as she witnessed a flash of light burst in front of the creature, blinding it. Her opportunity having arisen, Chidori flicked her wrists expertly, releasing the needles in a shower of deadly points. The shadowy creature dissipated violently into small fragments that slowly faded from view. Now standing in the doorway where it had once stood was the embodiment of her power - a princess who would shield her physical body and stand proudly against danger. She did not need to speak for the princess, for her persona as it had whispered into her mind, to respond to her. Quickly encasing herself in the protective bubble at the hem of the dress, Chidori did not risk spending too much longer. With her newfound power, she slipped away from the dead zone, a little saddened when the princess disappeared from view. But the voice was still there, in her mind. Lucia...

Armed thus, the mute's resolve to uncover the secrets of the dead zone hardened; she would record as much as she could with her camera, gathering what evidence she could. She would have to do so carefully, as to not arouse suspicion. But she was not alone now, in her task. Besides, if she could call upon this power, surely there were others too?

OOC Name: Aphyria

Persona: Lucia

Appearance: 

Persona Lore: Saint Lucia or Saint Lucy is the Christian patron saint of the blind. She was a devout young woman whose belief in consecrating her virginity for God and whose urge to spend her life on alms enraged her pagan betrothed, who then reported her as a Catholic to the magistrate. After her refusal to burn a sacrifice to the emperor, she was immediately sentenced into execution. Christian traditions state that her body was filled with holy spirits that the guards were not able to take her in by force, and they decided to cut her throat and gouged her eyes. Even so, she was still able to see and continued prophesising. As a final act, the guard stabbed and killed her. Catholic and Orthodox Christians venerate her now as a martyr and saint.

Skills: Dia & Hama

Strengths and Weaknesses: Weakness to Slash, Resistant to Dark

Special Note: When inside Lucia's protective bubble, Chidori can project her thoughts through her Persona's voice.

[ChromaticTruthsayer]

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