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Name: Mai
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E-mail: What's an ema- oh. Mikanhime@gmail.com
AIM/MSN: AIM: xMaichix (I have MSN but I nearly never use it)
Current Characters at Luceti: None, Nada, and Zilch!
Character
Name: Polka
Fandom: Eternal Sonata / Trusty Bell: Chopin's Dream
Gender: Female
Age: About 14
Time Period: After Polka goes cliff diving
Wing Color: White at the base, dark purple on one side, pink on the other (just like the heavens mirror flowers ♥)
HISTORY: Polka, the only daughter of a single mother by the name of Solfege, was born in the laid back village of Tenuto. The people were all remarkably kind, and if there was anything to be said for the village, it was that it certainly didn't have a lack of flowers. In fact, just past the forest one could reach a valley full of beautiful flowers. It was here that Polka often found herself, when she wanted to be alone to think (or mope). She would often sit at the cliffside and stare out at the ocean, or stare at the city of Ritardando that was within walking distance of her hometown.
When she was old enough, she helped out her mother with selling floral powder, by making a daily trip to Ritardando to attempt to sell their wares there. The only problem was that there was an alternative to the floral powder being provided by Forte which was far cheaper and more useful. And no one was aware of the side effects of the powder - while it will cure almost any illness, it is more of a poison than a cure. Those who have used it too much gain the ability to use magic, and go mad and attack others; animal and human. Another difficulty in selling her powder was the fact that the people of Ritardando were afraid of her - for Polka could use magic, and those who used magic in her world (or Chopin's dream, depending on your interpretation), which is a side effect of having an uncurable illness (Which ...is never really elaborated on... ) and people believed that they would become infected if they touched her.
Shortly after Polka meets Frederic Chopin, she resolves to make the most of what little time she may have left. Between people not buying floral powder, and Count Waltz raising taxes, her family and the people in Tenuto and Ritardando both were struggling. She informed her mother of her decision to go to appeal to Count Waltz and request that he lower the taxes for her people's sake - it was as much for the good of floral powder as her want to help as many people as she could, in order to become a heaven's mirror. Along her journey she and Frederic encountered other friends and allies.
Eventually Polka's true fated was revealed - because her shone so brightly, she was destined to be a repeated sacrifice to the realm of Astra. Only her heart, it was said, could illuminate the world, and by sacrificing her life, their world - should it be thrown too much into turmoil - would be able to continue to shine in peace. Her mother continually drilled this into her head, telling her that one day she would make the ultimate sacrifice for her world - but this has happened many, many times before, and would happen many, many times to come for all anyone knew. It was a cycle in which Polka was born, would journey, and her journey would end by her own desire, hurling herself into the sea from atop a cliff, and this journey was no different.
In the end, Polka threw herself from the cliff into the sea - but instead of beginning the cycle again, bringing light to her world, she found herself in a new world entirely.
[ And here's a OOC LINKto the game canon ]
Personality: Polka is a pleasant young girl of fourteen, with a heart and spirit that shines more brightly than any star. Unfortunately she is also cursed under the fortune of bad luck- a girl born only to die, for she has a terminal illness that most people believe to be contagious.
Incredibly compassionate, her love for people and even monsters is depthless, - she even has compassion for monsters that are trying to -kill- her for heavens sakes. Who else will fight a monster and then apologize to it for causing pain? Polka, that's who. She was always a kind girl, from the very beginning of her journey - kind, generous, and above all, self sacrificing. In spite of that kindness, at first she was distrustful of people who could be so very cruel to someone like her. After meeting her first friend in Chopin and deciding to go on her journey to Forte, she becomes more trusting and open to new people, finding it easier to help people when she was more trusting.
Was she afraid of death? Did she resent the people who were cruel to her for being sick? Maybe a little, but her most shining attribute was her forgiveness and love, the desire that people be happy and at peace. She wanted to help people as much for herself as for them, believing that she could become a heavens mirror - according to legend, this was a person who could bring light to the darkness of a world. Fourteen and she was already making hard, mature decisions between moving on in the face of her impending death and helping other people.
Of course she could be a little selfish - initially she was helpful and kind because she wanted to make friends with someone - a desperate manuever that failed. Continuous rejection from people left Polka depressed often, and even a little resentful. However she was quick to get past that momentary lapse, and by the next day the cycle would continue: she would try to make friends, be rejected, and go home unhappy. When she was alone, she would find herself thinking about her impending death, and how people were suffering every day, and she would become understandably depressed. Of course, during the course of her journey she sees more pain and suffering that it was impossible to turn away from - it only strengthens her resolve to help people all the more. Her smiles came few and far between, and her expression would develop the expression of a perpetually worried girl who feared that she would die before she could do anything. She would lie to herself every night - that she wasn't afraid of dying, that all she wanted was to help people. But the truth is, she did fear death, at least a little. Given a choice, she would easily choose life Yet she had the strength of heart and will to walk towards her death without looking back, for the sake of people she cared about.
Her mother could be blamed, or thanked, for that - for even as a little child she was told that one day she may have no other choice than to throw herself into the sea, for then the world would calm down. Believing this with all of her heart, that sacrificing herself would bring peace to the world (like a giant reset button), Polka's self worth was considerably low in comparison to ...well.. anyone else. Everyone and everything else was more important than her - their needs easily came before hers, and she never complained about it. She may keep her feelings to herself from time to time, but in matters of human cruelty she can and would be vocally opinionated. Not a very intimidating sight, but all the same, she had a heart and mind of her own, and was willing to use it.
As she was raised only by her mother, she never learned any bad habits, and has an almost formal manner of speech and bearing. Painfully polite, any kind of rudeness would be simply out of the question for her - even anger seems to be out of the realm of possibilities for her, though she can get quite upset if someone is being mean. She can be painfully stubborn and impulsive, between rushing into situations to help people who are in danger, or being confronted by a situation she simply doesn't know how to handle - such as anything even a teensy bit romantic. Of course she wouldn't know anything about romance - for years she didn't have any love but for maternal love, so she wouldn't know how to identify anything other than the platonic affection between friends.
Strengths: As weak as her body may be, her magical aptitude makes up for where she lacks in the physical department. Primarily her spells rely on healing or attacking people within a minimum radius of fifteen feet or more. Her spell repertoire stands more firmly in light than in shadow, making her an excellent wielder of healing magic. Her strength of will is quite formidable as well- she's only fourteen, and knows that she's going to die. Most people might spend the rest of their time moping about it or lashing out at the unfairness - and while she IS prone to pouts of sadness, the first thing Polka thinks of is not herself, but the people of Tenuto and Ritardando, wanting to use the time she has left to do as much good as she possibly can. Even towards the end of her journey, when she realizes she's made the same journey several times before, and what her ultimate fate truly was, she didn't deviate from her path in the slightest, thinking only on her friends even as each step brought her closer to her own death. Lastly another strength of hers, is her infinite capacity for forgiveness and compassion - a gentle personality and genuinely loving heart that her mother has described makes her shine so brightly. It was from her mother that she first heard of her fate, albeit she was too young to understand at the time. Polka was born to die not once, but as many times as needed, shining with a soul so bright that it could illuminate the darkness of a world in turmoil.
Weaknesses : Polka is only fourteen years old, and the extent of any exercise she's had is walking to and from Ritardando, or fighting the occasional monster. She doesn't make a habit of attacking the beasts, as mercenaries may need to do for jobs, so her strength is just barely average. In addition to her low physical strength, she has a frail body, tiring easily and being more susceptible to catching colds, which would be more severe than a normal cold. Presumably she has a low white blood cell count, making it difficult for her to fight off minor colds. Emotionally, she can be prone to depression, being a young girl with big dreams, and knowing she was fated to live only a short time before her fatal illness claimed her. In addition to that, she is a sensitive girl and can be hurt emotionally rather easily.
First Person: Q&A
1. What is your greatest fear?
My greatest fear... I guess you could say I have a few. I know I tell everyone I'm not afraid of dying, and I'm not - it's just... being unable to make a difference, to help people. Especially the ones I care about most - I set out on my journey because I had so little time left, and the people in Tenuto and Ritardando were suffering. And then so many other people were suffering, I found - helping them is important to me. I'm also afraid of losing my power to heal, even if I only have it because of my illness. I'm not strong like the others, and healing is really the only thing I can do if someone was hurt because of me, and I couldn't heal them - that terrifies me ... it's like a nightmare.
2. If you had to choose between saving someone else's life and saving yours, which would you pick? Why?
I was born to die. That is my purpose- for the sake of the one I care for, mom told me. So really, this isn't even a decision I would have to think on for very long. If I can do something to keep another person from dying, even if it means my own life in exchange, then I will gladly do it. I know it would make my friends unhappy, but... in the end, it's for the greater good. I'm going to die soon anyway, but if I do it saving another's life, I think I could die happy. With no regrets.
3. Describe what you might call a good day.
A good day for me? I guess that would have to be any day I can spend with my friends, traveling and helping people in need. Healing the injured, finding lost items, even just sitting around and talking is something I never had before, so being able to participate in that kind of conversation makes me really happy. My best day was the day I met Frederic - that day had started out so poorly, with floral powder selling less, and me being unable to make friends because I'm sick. But then Frederic appeared, and we became friends and started on our journey. Yes, I would have to say, being able to spend time with the people I care about, working together to help others, is one of the best days I could possibly experience.
4. What's the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?
Oh that one is easy too. The nicest thing anyone has ever done for me, is not judge me because of the stigma surrounding my illness, and become my friend. Thanking me for helping them isn't even necessary - but friendship, that's something that is forever, and can be treasured for as long as I live. I can't possibly repay any of my friends for making the last few days of my life so wonderful, even when I was afraid and worried about things in the world. I've never had a friend before - but it seems that once I met Frederic, I made so many new friends! I truly am thankful.
5. If there is one thing about yourself that you could change, what would it be?
If there was one thing I would change about myself? I guess.. I would wish I didn't have to die. I enjoy living day to day with my friends, but knowing that death hangs over my head, and not knowing when - it puts a bit of a damper on things. But if I weren't sick, I wouldn't have the ability to heal and protect the people I care about, so I can't be too bothered by that. More than that, I suppose if I could change one thing... it really would be wishing that I didn't feel so hurt whenever I'm rejected by people. It's happened a lot so I tell everyone I'm used to it but... it still hurts.
Third Person:
The ground was soft, earthy and damp from a recent rainfall when Polka awoke. Blue-green eyes blinked slowly, and groggily she propped herself up to look around, confused. The last thing she remembered was falling over backwards from the cliff, falling towards the sea. It was all as her mother had said, and that fortune teller. She would throw herself into the sea, to calm the turmoil of her world.
If only she had done it sooner, perhaps they wouldn't have had to fight dear Frederic. Still weak, Polka sat up a bit more and shivered. Something felt strange - perhaps it was in her unusual surroundings, or the neatly folded clothing that was very familiar. Or perhaps it was the wings that fluttered nervously on her back. Wait. What?
She glanced over her shoulder to make sure she hadn't imagined things. No, there they were, small but real. "This must be a dream...or perhaps I truly am dead." Polka smiled sadly, "So this is heaven. I had imagined it differently." More clouds, more halos - other angels certainly. "This is very strange." No halo, and her clothing was folded up neatly nearby. She herself wore different clothing, which was a relief to her. "I wonder, if this is heaven, why was I simply left here? I would have imagined someone would need to await my waking ... unless they haven't gone quite so far." She patted herself down.
Of course, she didn't have any personal possessions. What need did the dead have of things like that?
"I wish I had been able to spend more time with my friends - but I am truly blessed to know them for even a short amount of time." She rose and gathered her clothing into her arms, "...I wonder if I will see them again..." She mused quietly to herself and set off towards what appeared to be a village. Huh. Heaven has villages. Who knew? "Frederic and everyone... I truly would like to see them all again." She closed her eyes and sighed. "Enough moping. I suppose I should find someone to tell me what is to become of me now."