Asuka: Profile.
Character Name: Asuka Citèis (pronounced ah-SOO-kah cy-TEE-is; yes, not the correct pronunciation for his given name, I know, but he insisted!)
Background: Asuka hails from the world Desuya, which at first glance seems to be uninhabitable. The world is locked in synchronous rotation with its twin suns, leaving the sunny half of the world a barren wasteland of sandy dunes and scattered oases (nobody knows what lies on the dark side of the world-nobody who goes there ever returns). The suns are harsh and the winds harsher, sandstorms known to rend skin from bone and leave only corpses where once were men. But there is a thriving society on Desuya-or rather, inside Desuya. Years ago a group of eight mages hollowed out a large section of the crust, moving the entirety of their society belowground. Since then, the Desuyan people have lived belowground. (That’s all I’ll talk about the world for the most part; if you would like to know more, please click here! ♥)
Asuka Citèis was born to parents Siytosouma and Iriela, the first of four children. He had a normal enough childhood, discovered his element the same as all children do-but at sixteen, his life was changed forever.
Desuya has no source of water; they have relied since the village’s creation on those known as summoners. These summoners were originally the same eight that had hollowed out the town in the first place, but when they passed on their powers continued to live, coming to live in another of the villagers. Since then, it has been the same: when one summoner dies, another villager finds himself with a new ability. When Asuka was sixteen, the summoner Thenusu died-and Asuka became the newest summoner of Desuya, guaranteeing himself a charmed life.
Unfortunately, that charmed life didn’t apply to the rest of his family or his home life. Just two years later, Asuka’s mother died of a disease that had been eating away at her for years-and his father threw himself headlong into finding a cure, knowing that his youngest daughter had inherited that same disease. He became obsessed with his task, never stopping, and Asuka wound up taking over the house, raising his twin sisters as he would his own daughters.
That’s where Asuka’s at now. It’s been five years since his mother’s death, leaving him at 23 years of age, and he’s come to terms with his lot, finding an odd sort of balance in his life. He’s a normal enough guy, going out with his friends and partying it up, but coming home to ensure that the girls have brushed their teeth before bed and tucking them into bed, joining the rest of the summoners in the town square to replenish the reservoirs. Asuka’s content with his life, and while it might not be the most exciting, he’s having fun.
Personality: First and foremost, Asuka is a dork. He loves life, and he loves to laugh. He’s enjoyed a fairly privileged life on Desuya, and his happiness shows through. He uses nicknames with a lot of people, regardless of whether or not they actually like said nickname (one great example of this is a boy he nicknamed “tadpole”), and often he’ll refer to people younger than him as “kid.” This is particularly true with people he considers himself close to. Asuka likes to play the fool, and often acts as though he hasn’t aged past seventeen. He likes things to stay unchanging, and pretending that nothing changes is always good for a laugh.
And to an extent, Asuka’s right. Desuya doesn’t seem to change-it’s been the same for years before his birth, and it will continue to be the same after his death. But one thing that never changes is the lack of water beneath the surface. Asuka may be a bratty, whining dork, but he has a strong sense of responsibility that drives him. As a summoner of the village, he is one of eight responsible for the entire world’s continued life. He has also been in charge of his three siblings ever since his mom died five years back. He raises his twin sisters as though they were his own daughters (not so much Bre, who is 17 and almost grown already), and he is fiercely protective of them all. Asuka has a tendency also to “adopt” other people into his family, such as the aforementioned tadpole, and although he’ll mess with them mercilessly (“Oi, tadpole, you might want to still the eyebrow-I think it’s starting to breathe!”), that same sense of obligation he feels for his siblings expands to cover whoever he “adopts,” as well. Any time there’s a crisis, he’ll be the one to step to the front, he’ll be the one to lead the charge: Asuka has a ridiculously strong belief in himself, and he couldn’t care less what happens to him, so long as everybody else is safe. (“Eh… it’s okay. I’m invincible, don’t’cha know?”)
This doesn’t necessarily make Asuka the be-all-end-all, though. Asuka may have his strong moral code, but he is ridiculously immature in other ways. For starters, Asuka absolutely hates his father, to the extent that he cannot even be in the same room with the man. He says this is because Siytosouma abandoned his family after Iriela’s death, and to a certain degree, he’s correct. However, Asuka refuses to listen to Siytosouma at all-he won’t let his father attempt to make amends or patch the rift between the two of them; he only just stops short of putting his fingers in his ears and singing “lalalalala” to ignore it. He probably won’t ever listen to reason, and it’s highly unlikely that the two men will ever reach any form of reconciliation before Siytosouma’s death. Asuka holds onto grudges like no other-if you’re on his bad side, it will take a lot for him to change his opinion of you, if ever. Once Asuka has come to that decision and is holding that grudge, he’ll stand by it, come hell or high water, and he won’t listen to anybody else asking him to see reason and give it up, either.
Asuka also, as stated before, is wary of change, to the very extent of denying it outright. Within Desuya, the small changes are fine-people come and go, things grow, but their way of life always remains consistent. But outside of his own world, Asuka seems to have a mental block when it comes to accepting new things. Trees, for example, are almost nonexistent on Desuya. The closest thing they have is scrubby brush. Trees could be introduced to Asuka time and time again, but he’ll still refer to them as “treh-ees” and wrinkle his nose as though they’re unnatural-he’ll purposely overpronounce it because so long as he’s not pronouncing it right, it’s not really a part of his world. It takes him a long time to adjust to something so new, and he’ll still refer to the new object as though it were foreign until something forces him to accept it. (He’ll continue to refer to them as “treh-ees” until a crisis-and then he’d be sprinting full-on out towards them shouting that “There’s something in the trees!”)
Desuya, as stated before, is a world where things don’t really tend to change and where the summoners “rule.” So in his world Asuka doesn’t have to fear much. The council exiles anyone who commits fault (whether crime or heresy; speaking out against the Maiden will have you out on the surface in minutes), and so while Asuka has heard of the bad things that happen in the shadows, he has very rarely ever seen them. To that end, he is trusting to a fault and will follow you right up until you stab him through. Asuka also doesn’t really understand the idea of keeping his hands to himself. He will ruffle hair, tug on pigtails, put people into headlocks and drape himself all over people-or at least, he’ll certainly try to!
All in all, Asuka is a very affable person. He’s very outgoing, very friendly, and is always a source of entertainment wherever he goes. On the flip side, he’s very ignorant of the outside world, which could prove to be a fatal mistake, and Asuka absolutely cannot take anything seriously. He’ll crack jokes while hiding from assassins. He’s obnoxious enough at times to get on anyone’s nerves. His ignorance and laid-back personality lead a lot of people to believe that he’s stupid, and while Asuka will play that up, he also finds it incredibly frustrating. On the boat, he’s going to be thrown in way over his head, and is going to have a hell of a time adjusting to it all.
Appearance: Asuka
Starting from the top and working downward, Asuka is a tall man, standing at about 6’3”. He’s got the muscle tone of a man who knows how to fight, and he certainly spends time working out, but as Asuka’s a lover, not a fighter, he’s not built like a tank, either. He has silver hair that falls to a little bit past his chin, quite choppy and thick, with a fringe that follows the hairline, longer at the sides than in the middle. He has a bronze skin tone (about like this), and he has bright blue eyes.
As Asuka is from Desuya, he wears the ka’a, which is quite similar to the Egyptian kohl, meant to protect his eyes from the harsh sun of his homeland. He wears dark powder on his eyelids, and rims his eyes. Long eyelashes also help to shadow his eyes from the sun, a trait that has evolved in Desuyans over the years.
Asuka wears simple clothes-he’ll most often be seen in a pair of black pants stuffed into ankle-high black boots, a white button-up shirt, and a black button-up over that, neither of which are tucked into the pants. He wears holsters on either arm for his daggers (he likes flicking a knife out into his hand), and he wears a thin black ribbon, looped twice about his throat and tied into a bow. This ribbon is in tribute to his mother, and he’ll never be seen without it.
Finally, Asuka has a tattoo underneath his right eye: a thin green triangle, broken into three parts, that starts just under the waterline and curves to just under his nose.
Spoken / written languages: Common
Abilities: Listing, because I am lazy!
1- Water magic. As one of the eight summoners of Desuya, Asuka has a control over water magic to rival anyone else you could think of. Once a week, he and the other seven would summon enough water to the town to fill up the baths, the drinking reservoirs, and flush any waste from the town, so you can imagine how much magic is used for that. Outside of the summoning Asuka isn’t quite as powerful (as the ceremony tends to drag all his power out of him) and on the ship it will be even less so, but his magic is still very strong and is probably the most notable thing about him.
(Added note to explain magic: Strength of magic is determined through two variables: your lineage and your spirit. Family lines provide a person with a base level of magic-your spirit determines how strong it is from there. Determination, mental health, and sense of self are all factors in this.
Each element is produced from each individual. To use magic, one calls forth the magic in their own body and shapes it-during the summoning, the water isn’t brought forth from any source on the planet but from the summoners themselves, who are using their power to create water. In the interest of again, not spending ridiculous amounts of space on how magic works, please click here for more information!
2- Fire magic. Desuyan people are proficient in one of two magics-fire or ice. summoners gain control over water in addition to whatever magic they “major” in (not that it’s a choice). Asuka’s heritage lends him a strong reservoir of magic, so his control over fire is almost as good as his control over water. However, he is not a master, and fire left uncontrolled can and will burn him. Masters can walk through flames unscathed, but Asuka is by no means a master (once he became a summoner, he stopped focusing on developing his control over fire as much). Much like his water magic, onboard the ship Asuka will find it much more difficult to control.
3- Teleporting. This… will likely rarely if ever come up, but the eight summoners are taught to teleport themselves from one location to the other. Asuka’s not really good at this at all, though; he can only travel around 70-80 yards at a time, and the power required to make such a jump leaves him gasping for breath, his heart racing. Teleporting more than once in fifteen minutes can lead to bad consequences (he’s managed to knock himself unconscious more than once before by doing this, the idiot). Because of how limited his powers are when it comes to teleporting, Asuka rarely ever uses it, as it’s kind of useless in his case unless he’s fleeing someone. And even then it’s only really a bit of a head start.
Items: Since Asuka can’t bring any of his weapons with him, he’ll just be bringing his ka’a wrapped up in a cloth, his gloves, and several packs of cigarettes in a rucksack with him. (He used to have a cowl to wrap around his face as protection from sandstorms, but Bre set it on fire the last time they fought :<)
Third Person Sample: [Backstory: Leaving Desuya in search of his missing brother, Asuka and his two companions, Kaz and Cel, have crossed the sunset line for the very first time. Sunset line; Desuya's door to the surface lies roughly within the large blank area on the afternoon side of of this globe; the three journeyed across the surface until they crossed the Dusk Line visible at the left.]
“What are you doing out here, ‘Suki?”
Asuka closed his eyes, the wind wisping hair across his eyelids. “Nothing really. What is it?”
He felt her draw closer; after a moment, her hand found his. “It feels weird.”
He didn’t respond. She continued, quieter now, but still audible. “I’ve… never left home before. You know? And now we’re out here. And… it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”
Her head touched his shoulder-Asuka glanced down, then back to the skies.
But his arm wrapped around her waist.
“What is it up there?” she asked after several long moments. He didn’t know the answer, but he wondered it as well: after spending most of their waking hours crossing the vast and scorching desert dunes, the suns had finally sunk lower and lower in the sky until they’d disappeared over the horizon entirely. It had been eerily quiet, and still, and they’d continued walking, eyes wide at the appearances around them and all the new things they were seeing. First the red-streaked skies, like blood on the dark sands-it had silenced them all when it was first pointed out, but they’d continued walking. Then the skies grew darker-now, they were entirely dark.
That wasn’t true. They were black as the deepest shadow, but there were pinpricks of light everywhere. They weren’t in any specific pattern, but they spiraled all around, tracing across the sky in all directions. Some shone with a fainter light than others; others tried to take over the sky; still others shone with faint color. He could pick out green, blue, red… it was unlike anything he’d ever seen before, and he couldn’t fathom never knowing it.
“You know…” his voice died in his throat. It was a strange thought, but… “Something like that-something so awe-inspiring. That… it seems fitting of our lady Maiden, I think.”
Cel glanced up at him. “Yeah…”
“It’s weird,” he agreed finally, in response to her earlier words. “We… really don’t know much about the world, do we? If all of this is here and we’ve never even seen it.”
“There’s not a lot we can do, Asuka,” Cel noted quietly. “Not with things as they are.”
“Not with things as they are…” echoed Asuka lamely. “That’s just… everything seems like an excuse now. If all that’s out there, waiting to be explored…”
He wanted to go.
First Person Sample: [Asuka is staring at his communicator. He’s not exactly a stranger to technology, but this is something far beyond him. BUTTONS GO. He fumbles around with it for a bit-oh look, he’s managed to activate the video function! Greetings, Elegante, you are now seeing a very odd view of a white-haired man-he’s holding it around his chest level and looking down at it. He’s also holding it upside down.]
-more Bre’s sorta thing, but I’m sure I can figure it ou-hey! It’s flashing now.
[He pulls the comm in close to peer at the blinking light-all you’re seeing is his eye now.]
What’s it doing? Recording?
[His voice gets louder-if he speaks louder and slower, maybe someone will understand him and answer!]
Heeeeeeey! Anybody out there? CAN YOU HEAR ME?
…nothing.
[Aaaand he’s bored now. The comm goes flipping to land on his bed; the video shows Asuka wandering away to start opening drawers and the closet.]
What is this place, anyway?
[The feed cuts out.]