Yoshida, Izanami

        FULL NAME:
        → Yoshida Izanami

        AGE:
        → 24

      SEX:
        → Female

        BIRTH PLACE:
        → Osaka, Aerugo

        RACE:
        → Aerugese

DEPARTMENT:
        → Ministry of Heaven - Interpreter for the Shogun

        DATE OF BIRTH:
        → August 27th, 1988




        HEIGHT:
        → 5'3"

        WEIGHT:
        → 140 lbs.

        PICTURE:
        →

Spoiler:

      DESCRIPTION:
        → One of the things that makes her stand out amidst the general population of girls her age (sporting their shorts and tank tops and whatnot), is that she hasn't pursued modern fashion in the least sense. She is found in either a kimono or yukata. Maybe that isn't so strange, but from what she's seen of people in her age group is that they have embraced other forms of dress more than her. The only modern hint of fashion on her body is the red jacket with a fur collar that was a gift, and the boots that she wears upon her feet. She can be found in a variety of colors from a sky blue with a white under layer and orchid colored obi, to a simple white with a red under layer, or maybe she's wearing something a bit fancier. Either way, it is always a style of dress that very few wear every day of their lives. She wears what most would on a festival day.

She's about the average height for an Aerugese woman and really doesn't weigh that much at all. Sometimes people wonder if she gets enough to eat when in reality she just has a fast metabolism and is rather sinewy as opposed to bulky with her muscle structure. She isn't some babe with the curves of her body, but the curves are certainly there. They are merely more… modest. In a manga, she is that traditional girl that boys might drool over for her demure nature and subtleties as opposed to just tits or ass.

One of the differences between her and that manufactured image, is that she has short hair as opposed to flowing locks that extend to crazy lengths. There is a reason for why it is so short, but no need to get into it now. The color is the darkest brown before black, but she'll either say one color or the other for the sake of simplicity. Her eyes are a distinctive grey just like her brother Izanagi.

She is soft spoken and often appears meek and demure. In reality, that is just the surface image that she maintains because of her parents. She isn't that demure little kitten all the time. Once she doesn't have to maintain it anymore, her face falls and she almost seems… expressionless. She doesn't speak quite as quietly, and she certainly doesn't quite use the same language when she talks.



        PERSONALITY:
        → Izanami is an introvert. There is just no way that she can escape it, and that is the simple fact of her life. She does not make friends easily either because she does not speak up, or because they are intimidated by her family name. Or at least, thats how it was in school when she was growing up. She was that child that people always whispered about when they thought she wasn't looking or when she was a safe distance away, but she knew. She always knew. From the dresses she always wore, to how perfectly she was groomed, to the fact she generally got picked up from school… Yes, she felt very distant from anyone her own age then. But what of now? Well… She isn't much better than she used to be. Especially since she often has responsibilities she has to attend to at home and so doesn't get out often. She would love to be able to escape the shell that has kept her from connecting with other beings that AREN'T her family, but the bottom line is that it is difficult for her to.

There are two very specific people she blames for her rather sheltered life, for making her life something she has not relished or enjoyed. Her parents. She always watched her brothers get to go and do whatever, learn martial arts, have fun. Meanwhile she was trapped learning "womanly" things like how to properly serve sake, how to be a good housewife for her future husband… The only thing that she learned that she enjoyed was the shamisen. She hates how they are molding her only for her husband, not for anything. She had to learn how to dance, how to speak, when not to speak, more and more lessons every single day once she graduated high school. She was not allowed to go off to college like she wanted to, no. All her life she has been held back, held down, and told to be a proper lady.

She is not the type to wallow about in self-pity, however, and will instead turn her attention to things that she enjoys doing. She has a strong love of languages and places that she doubts she'll ever get to see, so she filled her time learning every major language of the known world. She'll play her shamisen. What she loves most though, is when she sneaks off to learn how to wield a knife and katana from an old man she met on the street once. He apparently used to have a dojo, but has since retired. Oh yes, you can bet your lucky stars that she finds way to rebel against her parents. She finds the loopholes and exploits them for as long as it’s safe to. The only people in her family that she respects and listens to are her two brothers, but especially Izanagi. He practically raised her after all. She would do pretty much anything he asked of her, and is the only one she will listen to consistently.

Maybe it’s all the pent up frustration at her parents, or the injustice of a patriarchal society, but there is a lot of rage within her. She doesn't have a temper tantrum like when she was a child, she stopped having those the day that her father slapped her hard across the mouth. No… when she gets angry, it’s that cold sort of rage. Any hint of anything leaves her entire being and she just acts or speaks. She will give one verbal warning, and if that is ignored, then their fate is sealed. When it clears, it is as if a mist is lifted and she returns to how she was before she shut down. When her brother Izaya saw it for the first time, he was quite creeped out. There are only a few ways to trigger her anger, but two sure-fire ways are to do any kind of harm to Izanagi. You better count the seconds at that point because they may very well be your last.

Now she sounds like a very dark and brooding person, but she is actually not. She's just a little bit awkward in social situations, but she certainly is friendly. She can be very sweet, and she always wants to stop to take care of a stray cat whenever she sees one upon the street. She doesn't dare bring them home though. She has a rather calm and peaceful expression when she is out on a walk at night, and she does try to be a bit more outgoing now.

        LOVE:
        → Her brother, Izanagi.
        → Her brother, Izaya.
        → Kimono's.
        → White lilies.
        → Night time.
        → Knives.
        → Katana's.
        → Fireflies.
        → Languages.
        → Reading.
        → Her red jacket that Izanagi gave her.
        → Those little ice cream cups that you get that have those little spoons with them.
        → Ice Cream.
        → Not living with her parents anymore.
        → Her apartment.
        → Cats.
        → Other people who try to take care of the stray cats in the neighborhood.
        → Boots.
        → The colors white, blue, and red.
        → Playing the shamisen.
        → Children.


        HATE:
        → Her parents.
        → When she gets a brain freeze from eating ice cream too fast.
        → Being restricted.
        → Being seen as weak.
        → Being a burden to Izanagi.
        → Sunny days.
        → One of her greatest fears.
        → The fact that she can't seem to overcome that particular fear.
        → Cicada's. Specifically the sound they make.
        → When Izanagi thinks that he needs to help her with EVERY aspect of her life.
        → When people are rude.
        → How embedded certain things are within her.
        → When people ignore her warnings.
        → Anyone who threatens or harms Izanagi.
        → Those who are in Izanagi's way.
        → Anyone who harms cats.


        DEEPEST SECRET:
        → She absolutely is NOT comfortable in the least bit with needles. Shots still terrify her, and tattoos are out of the question.

      IDOL:
        → Queen Elizabeth I
        → Izanagi
        → Izaya



        HISTORY:
        → Have you ever wondered what it would be like growing up in a traditional family? Take my word for it, its absolute hell.

My name is Yoshida Izanami, and I am one of three siblings born to this family. I am the youngest and the only daughter. My older brother Izanagi, and my eldest brother Izaya are the real prides of my parents. They were the light of their lives, and though they were as crass as ever, they still allowed them so much freedom. Maybe I should stop calling them my parents since I don't think of them that way, but I have no other name for them so it will have to do. They certainly were hardly responsible for truly raising me. All of the credit? It goes to Izanagi.

I was always told to wear dresses or skirts, never any pants or anything. So I stuck with kimono's because they remind me of butterflies or maybe it’s because they are tied to better times in my thoughts. Either way, I prefer them anyways even if they might be more work to put on. My brothers rarely ever had to wear anything traditional which only made me question even more what the difference must be between me and them. I certainly didn’t understand it when I was a young child. I just assumed that I wasn’t as special to them. It wasn’t until I was seven when my father looked at me and told me I couldn’t do something because I was a woman. It wasn’t until my mother swept me away to learn things that I later found out my brothers didn’t have to worry about, that it struck me that was the true reason why I would never have as much freedom as they did.

Whenever I went to school, I was alienated and removed from my classmates because of my family. ”Oh, wasn’t her father a war hero? Wasn’t he a high-ranking officer?” “Oh yes, and her uncle was one too!” “I heard he was killed by a Xingese person!” “No way!” Oh I heard them. They thought I might not have, and probably hoped I hadn’t, but I did. I tried to talk to some of the people in my class, but we just never… connected. Izaya seemed to notice this the most and would often come and visit me, sometimes even walk me home from school. He and Izanagi… I truly do not know what I would have done without them. Even if I had friends, I’m sure they wouldn’t have been allowed over to our house, or if they had been there would have been a list of rules as long as my arm of things we could or could not do. So I found solace in books, in some of my teachers. My brothers helped a little bit, but then it sometimes felt like they were always fighting. Izaya was always jealous of Izanagi. I hated it when they fought. I really hated it a lot. It always made me feel like crying, and more often than not when they saw how it hurt me one of them would stop.

So my life continued into high school. I remained quiet, I worked in the library and I found my friends in knowledge. I let my mind wander to the languages I was learning whenever the tutors hired by my parents taught me whatever new lesson it was that would make me a “better” house wife. If I did not obey, the consequences were unfortunate and so I listened. What choice did I have? Not even my brothers could save me from that fate. He had Izaya to deal with, and I could only watch from the sidelines and ask for them to stop. They also had their own lives to lead, I certainly couldn't depend on them for that wouldn't be fair! So I took what time they could offer, and try to make their lives easier. One day during my senior year, Izanagi saw how I was suffering as I watched some high schoolers walking through the park full of laughter and mirth. I did not have any friends like that. I had him, I had Izaya, but that was all. That was the day he gave me my red jacket. I still have it, and I still wear it even to this very day. It is certainly one of my most precious items in my possession.

Once I graduated, my parents began to mention a word I have come to dread. Marriage. Yes… they were thinking of marrying me off in the traditional fashion in the hopes of furthering my brothers standing. This was also when Izaya first threatened to leave. I talked to him, I asked him to reconsider, to see if there was anything I could do to try to ease this situation out. There was no changing his mind, and I grew ever fearful of being left alone or shipped off to some foreign household. He assured me that he would always stay in contact with me, that if I ever needed him that I should call him, but I was still scared. The three of us had always been a team! By the end of my 20th year, he left. He had had enough. I have never seen him since, though I have tried to call him.

When I was twenty one, my mother told me I was going to meet a suitor that day and I for once told her, ”No.” She slapped me, and yelled at me. I did not give in. I grabbed the scissors off my desk and cut off the long hair that she had always groomed so meticulously. I wanted to take that away from her, to show her that I wasn’t some puppet for her to control my entire life. It shut her up for sure, and I had never felt better. She grew stone faced and slammed the door to my room as she left. I promptly snuck out of the house and wandered down the street with my hair short about my neck. Sure my head felt lighter, but I also felt lighter. As if the stone that had been lodged in my chest had been removed or alleviated. Izanagi even applauded me later for my bravery.

That was the night I met Jin-san. Jin-san is the reason that I did not lose my mind in that household, that I wasn’t defenseless or weak. He was a man that helped change my life. He was patient with me, and he appreciated how I took care of stray cats that I saw on the side of the road. He was another person who was saddened to see how people treated them when they couldn’t help how their lives were! He was just a man who minded his own business and worked at a little ramen shop that I often passed by. Apparently though, he used to be a part of a dojo that unfortunately dissipated into nothing. He taught me what he knew and this was how I learned how to wield a blade. Perhaps I saw some of myself in those sad eyes that didn’t trust the people that walked by. I became more complacent at home because I knew… I knew that once I could sneak out, I could go to my lessons and wield a knife again! I tried to practice with a pencil when I was at home and not doing any chores. It was then that I began to pool extra money on the side (aside from what I saved to take care of the cats), for I had a plan in mind to finally uproot my parents hold once and for all. Jin-san helped me find a job, and I found ways to sneak out of the house to go work.

When Izanagi told me his plans for the country, I instantly asked him how I could help. He wanted to take control and change how the system worked which marked him poorly in the eyes of everyone else he worked with. I work as his interpreter as he wanders through the world, and (though he doesn’t quite know it) his bodyguard. He was quite surprised when he caught me one time practicing. He worried what our parents might do if they found out, but I told him my plan. I told him about the money I'd been saving, about the little place that Jin-san had pointed out to me where I could live on my own. He was there when I told our parents that I was moving out. There was nothing that could say that would prevent me from going, and they knew it. I didn’t care when my father warned me that it meant I would become dead to them, they were already dead to me. So I moved out with my meager belongings, and moved into that new place in my life. Not too long afterwards, I formally requested to join the military so I could work for my brother officially and remain close to him.

My name is Yoshida Izanami. I work as an interpreter for my rebel of a brother, Izanagi. I will no longer bow my head, or accept the pressures placed upon me or him. I am a woman, I am a warrior, and I will be silent no longer.



      TRIVIA:
      → She always has a knife hidden on her person.
      → When she works with her brother, she’ll bring her katana. Unless he tells her not to.
      → She will go out late at night to distribute cat food, and try to take care of the stray cats nearby.
      → Usually you can find her wearing the jacket Izanagi gave her.
      → She wants to travel out of Aerugo someday.
      → She hopes to always be at her brothers side.
      → She still wonders how Izaya may be doing.
      → She still lives in an apartment by herself.
      → She still works at a ramen shop to pay the bills when she’s not with Izanagi.
      → She is thinking about adopting some of the cats that she takes care of.
      → She does not speak or even give two thoughts about the house she left.
      → She has a stuffed cat that she's had since she was a child from Izaya.
      → She loves to tickle Izanagi.
      → She doesn't quite know how to feel about technically being in the military yet.
      → Aerugese, Amestrian, Xingese, Cretan, Esparian, Creig, Drachman, Rouenian (Gelemortian dialect), Cerisian, Ishvallan




        ALIAS:
        → Vi

        OTHER CHARACTERS:
        → Vivian, Alisa, Jeu-Hee, Rosaleen, Zabulon, Cora, Rebecca, Hanna, Lisbeth, Kasumi, Sabina, Selina, Wei, Constanza

      CREATOR'S COMMENTS:
        → I have permission to make her without having to delete anyone. However, if I cannot handle my load, I will speak to a mod about it at a later date should it occur.

        FACE CLAIM:

Code:

[b]The Garden of Sinners/Takashi Takeuchi[/b]/[i]Ryougi Shiki[/i]

      CUSTOM RANK:
        → Cat's Claws

REVISE

Just basic things.

1. Department: She wouldn't be the Shogun since that's where Ammy's character stands. As an assistant you'd be probably one of the officials. Look up assistants for the Shogun and their titles. Make sure you know the basic layout of the Aerugese bakufu.
2. Description: "One of the things that makes Izanami extremely distinctive is the fact that she is always, and I mean, ALWAYS wearing a kimono or a yukata." -- How is that distinctive in Aerugo??
3. Description: Isn't average height for Aerugese women about 5'2"? Or maybe shorter I'd say. Well, there you go: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_average_height_of_a_Japanese_woman
4. History: "When Izanagi told me he was going to try and become shogun," -- Just the wording here is a bit off. Izanagi is going to invent the title of Shogun. You might want to just say that he planned on conquering the country and taking control to govern it militarily.
5. History: Who exactly is Jin-sama and why does she call him sama?

I love the last line of the history corresponding to the fact that she is an interpreter.
Curious, what's her relationship with Shigeru going to be like??

Fixed!

APPROVED

=3