ooc; 001
History:
Born to a set of Al Bhed parents, Rikku was raised as most others of her race were-behind the walls of Home in the Sanubia Sands, away from the religious influences of Yevon. Bikanel Island is where she grew up; it's an out-of-the-way island that's basically just one big desert. She was pretty much raised in a garage, surrounded by tools and machina, her world's version of machines. As she got older, she came to understand the hate between her people and most of the rest of Spira, and grew accustomed to ethnic slurs and dirty looks anytime she set foot off of the island her people had dubbed a safe haven. As her father, Cid, was the self-appointed maytan (leader) of her entire race, she was considered a sort of “princess.” However, she has never embraced this position, and expertly avoids any mention of it; she also becomes quite annoyed and upset whenever it's brought up, even if in a completely innocent and unassuming manner.
When she was six years old, she got into an argument with her family and ran into the desert; there, she came into contact with a haywire machina which attempted to stab her. Right before it could impale her, however, her mother rushed in and took the blow, dismantling the machine before dying right in front of Rikku's eyes. Ever since, the girl has had a strong sense of family and won't tolerate her friends being injured in any way. Even though she often argues with her relatives, she would never abandon them or let them come to any harm if there was something she could do to prevent it. She has an undying strength of loyalty to those she considers important, and would willingly make the same sacrifice her mother did, if need be. This fierce love for others played a big part in her later decision to become a Guardian.
Just before her mother's death, she met a boy named Gippal; he had come to Home with his mother, without any trace of his father. Intrigued by his eye patch and the murky story surrounding his arrival on Bikanel, she was determined to find out more about him. Quickly (after a few minor scuffles, I'm sure), he and Rikku became the best of friends and were basically inseparable; one could call them childhood sweethearts, in spite of the fact that he was a year older than her. Also, Cid became sort of a father-figure to Gippal, and the one-eyed boy's mother assumed the role of Rikku's surrogate mother. It was a convenient, if bitter, turn of events that only brought the two young Al Bhed closer together.
A few years after she met Gippal, Rikku was at the oasis with Brother. A water fiend rose from the depths, and attacked her without warning. Still clumsy in the field of magic use, he shot a thunder spell at the creature, but missed horribly. Of course, he ended up hitting his younger sister instead, throwing her back into the rocks and knocking her unconscious. After suffering from amnesia for three days, she recovered her memories, but has never really forgiven her elder sibling for his lack of aim. Ever since, she has suffered from astraphobia, the fear of thunder and lightning.
At the age of fifteen, she found out that Gippal, was leaving Home. Rikku had no idea of where he was going or why - all she knew was that her best friend was leaving her, and the thought terrified her. Finding him the night before he left, she demanded an explanation for his abandonment. After he refused to give one, she told him that she had decided to become a Guardian for her cousin, Yuna. The two realized that they were both heading out for dangerous futures, and knew they might not see each other again once they set out. With this knowledge in mind, they made the mutual decision to make love for the first-and possibly last-time. That was the second time Gippal had ever asked Rikku to trust him, and she did so without question.
About halfway through the Pilgrimage, Rikku caught up with her elder cousin, and enrolled herself as a member of the diverse crew of Guardians. Quickly, she came to look up to Lulu (the resident black mage) and Auron (the resident warrior) as role-models. She and another Guardian, Wakka, became friends as well; however, Wakka was an avid believer in Yevon, and the moment he found out that Rikku was Al Bhed, he renounced their friendship. After attempt after attempt to prove to him that she was not a heathen, he finally relented and admitted that he liked her anyway, no matter her ethnicity.
Before Home was put under siege, Rikku received word that Gippal had joined an Al Bhed-friendly faction of the Crusaders. Knowing that the Crusaders had worked in unison with Al Bhed to create a machina to destroy Sin at Operation Mi'ihen, she assumed that was where Gippal had been stationed. With the knowledge that many of her people had died there, she sought out the one person she was positive would know her best friend's whereabouts-Rin. He told her that Gippal had already been sent to Home, so she knew he was alive, for the time being. As not all the Al Bhed got away on the airship, one of which was Gippal, there was an extended period of time where Rikku was under the impression that Gippal was either missing or dead, and he thought the same of her. Not until much later is it assumed that the two find out that the other is indeed still alive.
Just before Yuna's marriage to Seymour, the Guado launched an attack on Home. Desperate to save both the Summoners and her people, Rikku led the other Guardians into the bowels of the machina city to try and rid it of fiends. Unable to do much except slow them down, all of the remaining Al Bhed piled onto the airship, Fahrenheit, and abandoned their haven. In a last-minute act of defiance, Cid decided to destroy Home; the airship launched several missiles at it, sending the city back into the sands from whence it had come, along with all the monsters inside. Rikku's eldest brother, Keyakku, was killed before she and the other Guardians arrived on Bikanel to help; his death weighs heavily on her conscious, as she still believes that if she had been perhaps a few seconds faster or a tiny bit stronger, she would have been able to save him.
Two years pass after Sin is defeated; Spira finally has the pleasure of the Eternal Calm. During this time, Rikku changes rapidly (in character and dress), and travels all around the world to teach people about machina and its various uses.
However, peace doesn't last long; a new threat has arrived, and it's up to the Gullwings-Rikku and Brother's sphere hunting group-to clean up trouble. Yuna, Rikku, and Paine-better known as YRP-fly across Spira on the airship Celsius, beating down their sphere hunting competition and defeating fiends and corrupt Aeons alike. At one point in their journey, in the Den of Woe, Rikku becomes possessed by an Unsent called Shuyin, and actually attacks her comrades, under the delusion that they're fiends.
Also, Rikku meets up with Gippal again at the centre of the Machine Faction, Djose Temple. Immediately recognizing him, she tries to play it cool with her now-famous cousin and describes him as "alright." In turn, the eighteen year old boy remarks that he and Rikku "made quite the couple." Obviously embarrassed by this, she becomes flustered and can't really find anything else to say to him. This initial meeting is short-lived, but the two continue to run into each other as YRP makes their way towards Bevelle to finally reveal Vegnagun and expose Yevon's (and New Yevon's) secrets.
Note; All events that take place before FFX/X-2 are part of my personal background for Rikku. Almost everything that happens during this time, especially those dealing with other characters of the fandom, is subject to change at other muns’ discretion.
Personality:
Rikku is a bubbly and lively seventeen year old girl who was born and raised in Home, an Al Bhed settlement on Bikanel Island. She isn’t afraid to flirt, and will use her attractive body to her advantage. She loves to talk and sometimes waves her arms around when she gets excited. Whenever she does this, the circles and arcs that she draws in the air seem to have meaning to no one but herself. She tends to make humorous remarks in dangerous or anxious situations, and often speaks without thinking. Most people view her as a total ditz, but there’s much more to the package.
Since she is an Al Bhed, she can speak both her native language, surprisingly called Al Bhed, as well as English. Rikku has a strong sense of what is right and wrong (even though she’s a thief, born and bred), and will usually put another’s safety before her own. She's very caring and will often help out others whenever she can, even if it can mean getting into trouble. When push comes to shove, though, she’s an apt fighter and isn’t afraid to bleed or spill a little blood if she has to. When she gets really frustrated with one thing or another, she has been known to pick fights in order to “vent.” Sometimes, though, she can be childish and selfish, but over the years these instances have decreased tremendously. She has a fetish for toying with machina, and will gladly mix up explosives when asked or sometimes if she’s just bored.
It’s obvious that she’s extremely confident in herself, not just because of her garment choices, but also because of her entire demeanor. She’s outgoing, speaks her mind, and is rather egotistical at times. Insulting her is a chore, because she usually takes any lewd comments in stride, sometimes shooting back one of her own. I mean, when you think about her growing up in a house full of men in a community that didn’t discriminate based on gender, you have to believe that she can hold her own when it comes to bawdy jokes and the like. She knows that she can get what she wants, is aware that she’s attractive, and is perfectly willing to do almost whatever it takes to achieve a goal.
Strengths:
Because of where she was born and how she was raised, Rikku is more or less the perfect thief. Well, in spite of her lack of coordination while walking upon flat surfaces, anyways. And her short attention span. Moving on. She’s relatively good at disguising herself, and isn’t opposed to dressing as the opposite gender in order to get closer to whatever undoubtedly shiny object she’s trying to snatch. She can pick any lock, crack any code, break any window she has to in order to get what she wants. And oh, does she have a steel will-nothing is too well-guarded or too far out of reach for her to get a hold of. Once she sets her sights on something, it’s pretty much already in her pocket.
Also because of her Al Bhed heritage, Rikku has been around machines-or machina-since birth. She’s a grade-A engineer and can pretty much build anything out of whatever she can get her hands on. Scavenging for machina is generally how she gets parts she needs, but she’d probably steal or barter for something if she was desperate. This is what we call technomania. Nothing is too complex for her to disassemble or create, and she has a special fondness for explosives. That’s right-she’s also something of a chemist. Grenades and potato smashers are her favorites, but she’s perfectly happy to work with some C-4 or dynamite if need be. Yay for mild pyromania. She can also make custom potions, including her people’s Al Bhed brand which cure just about any ailment you can think of.
While physical fighting isn’t her forte because of her small frame, she can hold her own in a one-on-one fight if need be. Her eldest brother was in charge of sparring with her on an almost daily basis, so she’s been trained to fight from a relatively young age. Most often she uses little tricks and cheap shots to knock down her assailant’s guard, but she’s not opposed to using her daggers to slice them up a bit. Usually, getting away is more important than winning outright, but of her opponent finds a way to piss her off, then she’ll stay until one of them is knocked out cold. And Al Bhed is her first language; English is her second.
Weaknesses:
She’s naïve. Wait, let me rephrase-she’s very trusting and open. People are some of her favorite beings in the world, and she’s likely to go up to a complete stranger, shake their hand, smile, introduce herself, and ask them out for pie all in the span of about three and a half seconds. If they’re a cute boy, the time is knocked down to around two seconds flat. She’s got a thing for handsome men of all ages, okay. She also craves attention; since her father never paid much attention to her as a child, she’s not above throwing a fit or acting completely outrageous just to be noticed. In relation to those hissy fits, she’s extremely sensitive to remarks about her race or appearance, and will absolutely not tolerate any slurs regarding her people.
And then there’s the astraphobia. This is, as dictionary.com puts it, “an abnormal fear of thunder and lightning.” Anyone who played FFX at all will remember how obnoxious it was when you got to the Thunder Plains and Rikku screamed about every five seconds. Which is funny, really, since lightning is basically electricity, which powers the machina she loves so much. I do love irony. Anyways, it says that in FFX-2 she’s over it, but I say screw that, she needs to be afraid of something. And so my Rikku is Astraphobic. Mm creative license.
Brought to Nuadoria:
Daggers.
Tetra Master Garment Grid equipped with the Thief Dress Sphere, Berserker Dress Sphere, Samurai Dress Sphere, Gunner Dress Sphere, and Black Mage Dress Sphere.
Grenades.
A few ethers and potions.
Healing Bracer (Auto-Regen).
Angel Earring (protects from Death).
Constructive Criticism
We all need a little bit of that now and then, right? But please note the "constructive" up there right next to the "criticism." Outright flaming will not be tolerated, and any comments of that sort will be deleted immediately.
But comments are screened, anon comments are on, and IP logging is off, so let's hope we won't have too much trouble~
Born to a set of Al Bhed parents, Rikku was raised as most others of her race were-behind the walls of Home in the Sanubia Sands, away from the religious influences of Yevon. Bikanel Island is where she grew up; it's an out-of-the-way island that's basically just one big desert. She was pretty much raised in a garage, surrounded by tools and machina, her world's version of machines. As she got older, she came to understand the hate between her people and most of the rest of Spira, and grew accustomed to ethnic slurs and dirty looks anytime she set foot off of the island her people had dubbed a safe haven. As her father, Cid, was the self-appointed maytan (leader) of her entire race, she was considered a sort of “princess.” However, she has never embraced this position, and expertly avoids any mention of it; she also becomes quite annoyed and upset whenever it's brought up, even if in a completely innocent and unassuming manner.
When she was six years old, she got into an argument with her family and ran into the desert; there, she came into contact with a haywire machina which attempted to stab her. Right before it could impale her, however, her mother rushed in and took the blow, dismantling the machine before dying right in front of Rikku's eyes. Ever since, the girl has had a strong sense of family and won't tolerate her friends being injured in any way. Even though she often argues with her relatives, she would never abandon them or let them come to any harm if there was something she could do to prevent it. She has an undying strength of loyalty to those she considers important, and would willingly make the same sacrifice her mother did, if need be. This fierce love for others played a big part in her later decision to become a Guardian.
Just before her mother's death, she met a boy named Gippal; he had come to Home with his mother, without any trace of his father. Intrigued by his eye patch and the murky story surrounding his arrival on Bikanel, she was determined to find out more about him. Quickly (after a few minor scuffles, I'm sure), he and Rikku became the best of friends and were basically inseparable; one could call them childhood sweethearts, in spite of the fact that he was a year older than her. Also, Cid became sort of a father-figure to Gippal, and the one-eyed boy's mother assumed the role of Rikku's surrogate mother. It was a convenient, if bitter, turn of events that only brought the two young Al Bhed closer together.
A few years after she met Gippal, Rikku was at the oasis with Brother. A water fiend rose from the depths, and attacked her without warning. Still clumsy in the field of magic use, he shot a thunder spell at the creature, but missed horribly. Of course, he ended up hitting his younger sister instead, throwing her back into the rocks and knocking her unconscious. After suffering from amnesia for three days, she recovered her memories, but has never really forgiven her elder sibling for his lack of aim. Ever since, she has suffered from astraphobia, the fear of thunder and lightning.
At the age of fifteen, she found out that Gippal, was leaving Home. Rikku had no idea of where he was going or why - all she knew was that her best friend was leaving her, and the thought terrified her. Finding him the night before he left, she demanded an explanation for his abandonment. After he refused to give one, she told him that she had decided to become a Guardian for her cousin, Yuna. The two realized that they were both heading out for dangerous futures, and knew they might not see each other again once they set out. With this knowledge in mind, they made the mutual decision to make love for the first-and possibly last-time. That was the second time Gippal had ever asked Rikku to trust him, and she did so without question.
About halfway through the Pilgrimage, Rikku caught up with her elder cousin, and enrolled herself as a member of the diverse crew of Guardians. Quickly, she came to look up to Lulu (the resident black mage) and Auron (the resident warrior) as role-models. She and another Guardian, Wakka, became friends as well; however, Wakka was an avid believer in Yevon, and the moment he found out that Rikku was Al Bhed, he renounced their friendship. After attempt after attempt to prove to him that she was not a heathen, he finally relented and admitted that he liked her anyway, no matter her ethnicity.
Before Home was put under siege, Rikku received word that Gippal had joined an Al Bhed-friendly faction of the Crusaders. Knowing that the Crusaders had worked in unison with Al Bhed to create a machina to destroy Sin at Operation Mi'ihen, she assumed that was where Gippal had been stationed. With the knowledge that many of her people had died there, she sought out the one person she was positive would know her best friend's whereabouts-Rin. He told her that Gippal had already been sent to Home, so she knew he was alive, for the time being. As not all the Al Bhed got away on the airship, one of which was Gippal, there was an extended period of time where Rikku was under the impression that Gippal was either missing or dead, and he thought the same of her. Not until much later is it assumed that the two find out that the other is indeed still alive.
Just before Yuna's marriage to Seymour, the Guado launched an attack on Home. Desperate to save both the Summoners and her people, Rikku led the other Guardians into the bowels of the machina city to try and rid it of fiends. Unable to do much except slow them down, all of the remaining Al Bhed piled onto the airship, Fahrenheit, and abandoned their haven. In a last-minute act of defiance, Cid decided to destroy Home; the airship launched several missiles at it, sending the city back into the sands from whence it had come, along with all the monsters inside. Rikku's eldest brother, Keyakku, was killed before she and the other Guardians arrived on Bikanel to help; his death weighs heavily on her conscious, as she still believes that if she had been perhaps a few seconds faster or a tiny bit stronger, she would have been able to save him.
Two years pass after Sin is defeated; Spira finally has the pleasure of the Eternal Calm. During this time, Rikku changes rapidly (in character and dress), and travels all around the world to teach people about machina and its various uses.
However, peace doesn't last long; a new threat has arrived, and it's up to the Gullwings-Rikku and Brother's sphere hunting group-to clean up trouble. Yuna, Rikku, and Paine-better known as YRP-fly across Spira on the airship Celsius, beating down their sphere hunting competition and defeating fiends and corrupt Aeons alike. At one point in their journey, in the Den of Woe, Rikku becomes possessed by an Unsent called Shuyin, and actually attacks her comrades, under the delusion that they're fiends.
Also, Rikku meets up with Gippal again at the centre of the Machine Faction, Djose Temple. Immediately recognizing him, she tries to play it cool with her now-famous cousin and describes him as "alright." In turn, the eighteen year old boy remarks that he and Rikku "made quite the couple." Obviously embarrassed by this, she becomes flustered and can't really find anything else to say to him. This initial meeting is short-lived, but the two continue to run into each other as YRP makes their way towards Bevelle to finally reveal Vegnagun and expose Yevon's (and New Yevon's) secrets.
Note; All events that take place before FFX/X-2 are part of my personal background for Rikku. Almost everything that happens during this time, especially those dealing with other characters of the fandom, is subject to change at other muns’ discretion.
Personality:
Rikku is a bubbly and lively seventeen year old girl who was born and raised in Home, an Al Bhed settlement on Bikanel Island. She isn’t afraid to flirt, and will use her attractive body to her advantage. She loves to talk and sometimes waves her arms around when she gets excited. Whenever she does this, the circles and arcs that she draws in the air seem to have meaning to no one but herself. She tends to make humorous remarks in dangerous or anxious situations, and often speaks without thinking. Most people view her as a total ditz, but there’s much more to the package.
Since she is an Al Bhed, she can speak both her native language, surprisingly called Al Bhed, as well as English. Rikku has a strong sense of what is right and wrong (even though she’s a thief, born and bred), and will usually put another’s safety before her own. She's very caring and will often help out others whenever she can, even if it can mean getting into trouble. When push comes to shove, though, she’s an apt fighter and isn’t afraid to bleed or spill a little blood if she has to. When she gets really frustrated with one thing or another, she has been known to pick fights in order to “vent.” Sometimes, though, she can be childish and selfish, but over the years these instances have decreased tremendously. She has a fetish for toying with machina, and will gladly mix up explosives when asked or sometimes if she’s just bored.
It’s obvious that she’s extremely confident in herself, not just because of her garment choices, but also because of her entire demeanor. She’s outgoing, speaks her mind, and is rather egotistical at times. Insulting her is a chore, because she usually takes any lewd comments in stride, sometimes shooting back one of her own. I mean, when you think about her growing up in a house full of men in a community that didn’t discriminate based on gender, you have to believe that she can hold her own when it comes to bawdy jokes and the like. She knows that she can get what she wants, is aware that she’s attractive, and is perfectly willing to do almost whatever it takes to achieve a goal.
Strengths:
Because of where she was born and how she was raised, Rikku is more or less the perfect thief. Well, in spite of her lack of coordination while walking upon flat surfaces, anyways. And her short attention span. Moving on. She’s relatively good at disguising herself, and isn’t opposed to dressing as the opposite gender in order to get closer to whatever undoubtedly shiny object she’s trying to snatch. She can pick any lock, crack any code, break any window she has to in order to get what she wants. And oh, does she have a steel will-nothing is too well-guarded or too far out of reach for her to get a hold of. Once she sets her sights on something, it’s pretty much already in her pocket.
Also because of her Al Bhed heritage, Rikku has been around machines-or machina-since birth. She’s a grade-A engineer and can pretty much build anything out of whatever she can get her hands on. Scavenging for machina is generally how she gets parts she needs, but she’d probably steal or barter for something if she was desperate. This is what we call technomania. Nothing is too complex for her to disassemble or create, and she has a special fondness for explosives. That’s right-she’s also something of a chemist. Grenades and potato smashers are her favorites, but she’s perfectly happy to work with some C-4 or dynamite if need be. Yay for mild pyromania. She can also make custom potions, including her people’s Al Bhed brand which cure just about any ailment you can think of.
While physical fighting isn’t her forte because of her small frame, she can hold her own in a one-on-one fight if need be. Her eldest brother was in charge of sparring with her on an almost daily basis, so she’s been trained to fight from a relatively young age. Most often she uses little tricks and cheap shots to knock down her assailant’s guard, but she’s not opposed to using her daggers to slice them up a bit. Usually, getting away is more important than winning outright, but of her opponent finds a way to piss her off, then she’ll stay until one of them is knocked out cold. And Al Bhed is her first language; English is her second.
Weaknesses:
She’s naïve. Wait, let me rephrase-she’s very trusting and open. People are some of her favorite beings in the world, and she’s likely to go up to a complete stranger, shake their hand, smile, introduce herself, and ask them out for pie all in the span of about three and a half seconds. If they’re a cute boy, the time is knocked down to around two seconds flat. She’s got a thing for handsome men of all ages, okay. She also craves attention; since her father never paid much attention to her as a child, she’s not above throwing a fit or acting completely outrageous just to be noticed. In relation to those hissy fits, she’s extremely sensitive to remarks about her race or appearance, and will absolutely not tolerate any slurs regarding her people.
And then there’s the astraphobia. This is, as dictionary.com puts it, “an abnormal fear of thunder and lightning.” Anyone who played FFX at all will remember how obnoxious it was when you got to the Thunder Plains and Rikku screamed about every five seconds. Which is funny, really, since lightning is basically electricity, which powers the machina she loves so much. I do love irony. Anyways, it says that in FFX-2 she’s over it, but I say screw that, she needs to be afraid of something. And so my Rikku is Astraphobic. Mm creative license.
Brought to Nuadoria:
Daggers.
Tetra Master Garment Grid equipped with the Thief Dress Sphere, Berserker Dress Sphere, Samurai Dress Sphere, Gunner Dress Sphere, and Black Mage Dress Sphere.
Grenades.
A few ethers and potions.
Healing Bracer (Auto-Regen).
Angel Earring (protects from Death).
Constructive Criticism
We all need a little bit of that now and then, right? But please note the "constructive" up there right next to the "criticism." Outright flaming will not be tolerated, and any comments of that sort will be deleted immediately.
But comments are screened, anon comments are on, and IP logging is off, so let's hope we won't have too much trouble~