#outofempress

[holy-empress-of-begnion]

{ 30 Days of Character Development: Day 12 }

~ How is your character with technology? Super savvy, or way behind the times? Letters or email? ~

     { Well, as this is roughly the middle ages, there isn't much of any technology. Sanaki prefers to write her own personal letters, whereas she usually employs a scribe to take dictation for formal notices or the like.

     However in a modern AU, Sanaki would be fairly above average in terms of technological capabilities. She relies on others to provide most of her technology to her, but she does appreciate the ability to know what's happening herself, so if she runs into any issues by herself she can muddle through them. She still prefers letters, though she realizes their impracticality and thus saves her stationary for special occasions. Her business phone is always the latest and greatest, though the one she uses for friends and family is quite older - the old verizon enV, which serves her purposes fitfully. }

[holy-empress-of-begnion]

     { Ah, hey there! I am returned (I couldn't leave Sanaki all alone) and I'd like to interact with everyone more! Also, I'm going to pick up where I left off on the 30 Days of Character Development Meme, at Day 12. }

[holy-empress-of-begnion]

{ 30 Days of Character Development: Day 11 }

~ Is there an animal you equate with your character? ~

       { Not quite. I've spent a good twenty minutes agonizing over this, and I've decided that I can't decide. To me, Sanaki seems to be about 25% pure bred housecat, 20% lioness, 45% fox, and about 10% octopus. She's regal (but tiny!) and proud, similar to a housecat, and she's certainly treated as such - in both a positive, pampered luxurious princess (or empress) way, and a caged pet, toyed with by the Senate. But at the same time she's fierce and noble, like a lion, and she leads her pack (though, granted, she isn't a fat, lazy male that lets the lionesses do all the hunting), and she's incredibly clever, like a fox. She's intelligent, like the fox, but also like the octopus. If I had to pick one out of the four, then I suppose I would settle for a fox. }

[holy-empress-of-begnion]

       { Wow! I really didn't think this blog would last very long, let alone to reach 100 followers, back when I made it, so I'm really happy and very grateful! Thank you all, and I apologize for my inactivity (on all my blogs, though I don't want to come clean juuuust yet *v*), but the semester's over so hopefully things should all clear up soon! Thank you all, truly! }

[holy-empress-of-begnion]

{ 30 Days Character Development: Days 7, 8, 9, & 10 }

Day 7 : ~ Is there one event or happening your character would like to erase from their past? Why? ~

       { First and foremost, Sanaki would wish to eradicate the Serenes Massacre from ever occurring. It is, essentially, the direct cause of the bulk the guilt she has experienced in her young life, and root of her strife. She was ecstatic when she first met the Heron Prince, Reyson, thinking that it was an opportunity to apologize for the heinous atrocities her people commited. She feels the blame for the near complete loss of an entire race of Laguz placed squarely on her shoulders, though she knows the Senators are to blame - that doesn't truly matter, though. She can't help but blame herself, if not her direct actions, then her relation to those from which the occasion occurred. }

Day 8 : ~ Day of Favorites! What’s your character’s favorite ice cream flavor? Color? Song? Flower? ~

       { Sanaki's favorite...

Ice Cream Flavor : Vanilla. Ice cream is treated as something of a delicacy in Begnion, and there isn't a large variety of flavors, as artificial flavoring does not yet exist. That being said, she adores it to the point of refusing to deviate from her beloved flavor.

Color : Crimson, tied with violet. Both are associated with royalty (though the latter more), and most of Sanaki's robes consist of one or the other. Begnion is also known for it's blood-orange armor and scarlet banners, as well, so though Sanaki secretly favors the royal purple moreso, she feels obligated to name red first.

Song : Sanaki always found herself intoxicated by the melody of the Galdr of Release when she was taught it as a child, though she was always terrified to hum the melody aloud. That being said, she has not a favorite song, as many she hears are never the same (aside from the classic folk song popular among the commoners), but she does have a royal harpist under her employ that often entertains her, and she appreciates the original and improvised compositions she bears witness to.

Flower : The cardinal flower, Lobelia cardinalis. It doesn't grow in surplus in the gardens surrounding and in the Mainal Cathedral, but she always admires its beauty and elegance. }

Day 9 : ~ Who does your character trust? ~

       { Sanaki trusts different people in different ways. There are select few among her advisors and inhabitants of the Senate that she would feel even remotely comfortable sharing her dinner plans with, let alone her life. Among those that surround her that Sanaki views as trustworthy are Sigrun, Tanith, Sephiran. Following are General Zelgius and Marcia, both of whom spend far too much time away from Begnion for her to place her full trust in them.

       She trusts Ike to be honest and blunt, traits that she appreciates, simply because of their severe lack in her home. She would most certainly not go telling him her personal thoughts and feelings on different matters and politics, but she trusts him to not stray from an honest path.

       After the war, however, Sanaki experiences something akin to paranoia, and becomes supremely susceptible to suspicion, hesitant to place her faith in anyone aside from Sigrun and Tanith, and in part, Micaiah. With Ike's departure to lands unknown, Zelgius's reveal as one of Daein's most prominent and capable generals, and not to mention Sephiran's - Lehran's - newly exposed secret of being an ancient Heron, Sanaki's ancestor, and the servant to the goddess that would destroy the world, Sanaki finds herself mourning {the loss of her father figure and} her shattered trust, unwilling to experience the pain of a broken heart again. For some time, she distances herself from those she used to call friends and shares her feelings with no one. }

Day 10 : ~ Can you define a turning point in your character’s life? Multiples are acceptable. ~

       { Several. To name a few: the time when she discovered the mistreatment of Daein under the Begnion Occupation; the day when Sanaki was held hostage in her own residence while her people suffered and rioted and war was waged without her; and the day when she witnessed {Lehran and} the Goddess's demise.

       Sanaki was never naïve in her youth, but she was, admittedly, aghast when she learned of the situation and the condition that the former Daein citizens were forced to live in, supposedly under her name. She had known from an early age that the Senate was corrupt and festering under a guise of jewels and powder, but she knew not the extent of their audacity until that moment. She was furious, disgusted, and humiliated all at once, though she hid her emotions well. At that moment, she knew the Senate needed to fall.

       The weeks spanning Sanaki's imprisonment were some of the worst in her life; the entire time, all she could think of were her people rioting in the streets - she could even hear them, but was powerless to do anything. That day, she learned how truly powerless she was, and how little titles and status and extravagances meant when people wanted your life to end.

       The day Ashera fell marked the end of the War of the Goddess and the day peace finally arrived to Tellius. (In name, at least; there were far too many negotiations and tense diplomatics to arrange afterwards.) As Sanaki witnessed her goddess's demise {and her mentor's downfall}, she was faced with the realization that most everything she thought she knew was false. The entire journey to Sienne, she had denied any trauma poking at her conscience, pretending that all would right itself in the end. In actuality, at the end, all was laid to rubble, with nothing but the pieces left for Sanaki to pick up, alone. }

       Brief Legend:

{Brackets} = An event in the game that can be averted, if the correct steps are taken beforehand.

[holy-empress-of-begnion]

{ 30 Days of Character Development: Day 5 }

~ What’s your character’s ranking on the KINSEY SCALE? ~

       { Sanaki is thirteen, and though she does occasionally develop an almost child-like crush, she yet doesn't have the capacity to feel sexual desire. That being said, her sexuality lies on the heterosexual side of the scale.

       While she hasn't had serious romantic feelings herself, she does see romance to be something of a silly burden - always destroying kingdoms, causing wars, hindering the growth of empires simply because some wayward prince or princess wished to "marry for love" - , and she is determined to not let any physical or emotional attachment stand in the way of her duty as Empress. In her eyes, the smartest decision would be to arrange a beneficial political marriage for herself in several years, and she has accepted the circumstances of her birth and the effect that her position will have on any potential future love life. }

[holy-empress-of-begnion]

{ 30 Days of Character Development: Day 4 }

~ How vain is your character? Do they find themselves attractive? ~

       { Sanaki does not allow herself to be vain - vanity and egotism have been the downfall of many a ruler, and Sanaki knows that quite well. She does maintain a fierce pride, however, though she views that very differently than conceit. She stubbornly views her pride as something necessary, as though it were a glass wall of dignity to shield her from the judgements of others. Because it is glass, however, it does maintain the ability to crack and shatter, and it has, several times, leaving Sanaki only the option of picking up the pieces and placing them back together again. At others, her pride must be set aside in order to come to an agreement or compromise, and she understands this, and will do what is necessary to come to the optimal outcome in a situation.

       As said before, Sanaki is a child, and Sanaki knows that, quite well. While she finds herself to be aesthetically pleasing, in a pretty, dignified, and simple way, she views her own intellect to be much more charming, and she hopes that others judge her based on status and acumen rather than appearance. }

[holy-empress-of-begnion]

(( AAAAAAAAAAAA A SANAKI BLOG! *kidnaps your muse* ))

{ Eeee! Nooooo, my muse! Mine! >w< }