Sanya Aashini: Official OC Bio
Just wanted to introduce you guys to one of my first OCs growing up, just because I started rewatching some of my favorite Saturday morning cartoons and I just remembered this one and decided to do an in-depth expansion of her character! She was actually the first character I based off myself when I was little, so she's probably the closest thing you guys are gonna get to a self-insert. I made a lot of changes to her character since first creating her in my head back in 2006, (also I've matured a lot), so be aware of that! Also Ik this is kind of out of the blue, but I had an itch to scratch, so if you're not interested, move on, I needed to contribute to the Xiaolin Showdown fandom anyway :3
Basic Info:
Full Name: Sanya Aashini
Age: 17
Species: Human
Hometown: Amaravati, India
Current Residence: Xiaolin Temple
Eye Color: Amber Brown
Hair Color: Black
Skin Color: Cocoa Brown
Appearance: Sanya is a girl who stands at average height. She is South Asian with naturally tanned skin and amber-brown eyes. She has medium length black hair tied in a slightly wavy ponytail and a beauty mark on the right side of her face.
Attire: Her Xiaolin robes are slightly unique in comparison to her fellow dragons-in-training. Her red robe has a white collar to it and though she wears the same white pants, they have jade cuffs in addition, and she wears black shoes without socks.
Outside of the temple, she wears a cropped faded yellow t-shirt with a gradient white-and-pink lotus on it and a half-sleeve black tee underneath. She wears jeans with the Third-Arm Sash acting as a sort of belt. Her ears are pierced and she wore tiny blue studs at first, then began wearing two peacock feather conch earrings, a gift from Raimundo.
Personality: Sanya starts out as a very soft-spoken, timid girl who prefers to avoid conflict where she can, though it is eventually revealed to be a farce she enforced on herself growing up to keep her powers from getting out of hand. However, after becoming more comfortable with the group, she is shown to be very bright and excitable, though she comes of as hectic as a result.
At her best, Sanya is confident and kind, though she is often jealous of those with better authority if pressed over it enough. Upon being interested in the flow of ideas and concepts, she's somewhat of an intellectual type, and seems almost compelled to educate anyone who engages her in conversation. And although she is very empathetic towards her friends when they are in need of comfort, she's not as good with her own emotions, which she often considers too subjective, even within herself.
Likes & Hobbies: Reading, dancing, soccer, fairytales, cooking, jogging, going for walks in the rain (only if she has an umbrella tho, she hates walking with just a raincoat), pineapple fried rice
Dislikes: Tourists, being compared to Bollywood stars, soup, abandonment, monkeys
Powers and Abilities:
Xiaolin Apprentice:
-Plasma Dash Lightning: Sanya's first and primary elemental attack when reaching the rank of Xiaolin Apprentice. It consists of her announcing the attack name before crouching and charging her own electrical energy before taking off at an incredible speed. Due to her advanced agility, she bounces off her enemies or any walls she comes into contact with during the dash.
-Elemental Combination: Upon reaching Xiaolin Apprentice, Sanya has the ability to combine her element with a respective Shen Gong Wu.
-Dragon X-Kumei Formation: When all five monks became Xiaolin Apprentices, they were able to perform this group attack that allowed them to fight in unison. When each monk would have a glowing aura outlining their bodies representing their element's presence, Sanya's aura appeared yellow.
Wudai Warrior:
-Wudai Saturn Lightning: Sanya's second and primary elemental attack when reaching the rank of Wudai Warrior. It was performed similarly to Plasma Dash Lightning, but instead of bouncing around or off of her opponents, Sanya would dash in a more controlled, circular motion, throwing her enemies into disarray, whether mentally or physically.
-Wudai Orion Formation: When all five monks became Wudai Warriors, they were able to perform this group attack. It was performed similar to Dragon X-Kumei Formation, but with several differences; the monks would transform into black figures outlined by their respective auras. Sanya could summon lightning from the sky and use her element with greater ability.
Shoku Warrior:
-Shoku Uranus Lightning: Sanya's primary and only elemental attack when reaching the rank of Shoku Warrior. It consisted of her calling out its name and then unleashing several massive bursts of lightning to destroy opponents.
-Elemental Combination: Upon reaching Shoku Warrior, similar to reaching Xiaolin Apprentice, Sanya has the ability to combine her element with a respective Shen Gong Wu.
-Shoku Star/Rocket Formation: When all six monks became Shoku Warriors, they were able to perform this group attack, similarly to the Dragon X-Kumei Formation and the Wudai Orion Formation.
-Shoku Solar/Mother Nature's Fury: A move coined and performed by the Xiaolin Dragons themselves, this consisted of all the elemental dragons combining their power for one last resort move involving all of their elemental powers in a final twisting blast emitted from the mouths of their respective dragon in energy form.
Items:
Primary Shen Gong Wu of Choice: Denshi Bunny
Secondary Shen Gong Wu of Choice: Shard of Lightning, Thorn of Thunderbolt, Third-Arm Sash
Other Shen Gong Wu Used: Eye of Dashi, Wings of Tanabi, Star Hanabi, Changing Chopsticks, Crystal Glasses, Reversing Mirror, Emperor Scorpion, Fancy Feet, Gills of Hamachi, Golden Tiger Claws, Longi Kite, Mantis Flip Coin, Monsoon Sandals
Wudai Weapon: Vajra of the Solar Flare
Strengths: Her kind and patient nature makes her a good listener, and more disciplined than her fellow Dragons, and she's a great cook, often the source of their best meals when living at the temple.
Weaknesses: She has abandonment issues due to all her siblings leaving her family to pursue greater things all around the world, she is afraid of monkeys due to the street monkeys in India acting aggressively, and she hates being undermined by those she'd prefer to see as equals.
Relationships:
Family: Sharman Aaishini (father), Ritu Aaishini (mother), Master Monk Guan (distant relative)
Friends: Omi, Raimundo Pedrosa, Kimiko Tohomiko, Clay Bailey, Master Fung, Dojo, Jermaine
OC Friends: Leseidi Adisa (by @dance--apocalyptic, Zippy Fire, Crystal Zen (by @crystal-zen), Baird (by @harvesteran)
Enemies: Jack Spicer, Chase Young, Wuya, Hannibal Roy Bean, Pandabubba
OC Enemies: Alana Young (by @spectra-nym)
Love Interests: Raimundo Pedrosa
Sanya and Raimundo share a strong relationship. They first met at the circus where Raimundo's family worked at, where after watching the act with her family, Sanya kindly engaged in a brief game of soccer after she caught him cleaning up after a particularly messy show by himself. Upon being the first kid his age he ever interacted with outside his siblings, Raimundo treasured the memory forever and wished on a shooting star that they would meet again that same night.
That same wish came true years later, when Raimundo was left injured and vulnerable after the destruction of a Shen Gong Wu and ended up landing in front of Sanya, who saves him from a collapsing building. Grateful to be rescued, he accepts her request to return to the temple with the others and train to be a Xiaolin Dragon as well.
Initially, Raimundo's behavior towards Sanya was how it was to most girls introduced to the team: flirty and extremely showy. But as they got to know each other more, he became more friendly and genuine with her, even being open to her advice when it came to studying the ancient scrolls, something she recommended after the mishap with the Sword of the Storm. Though she isn't immune to his teasing, it's often more playful and good-natured than mischievous, in contrast to his other teammates.
Sanya, in turn, almost idolized Raimundo, believing he was an incredibly skilled and strong warrior, one she was eager to learn from. However, upon growing closer, she began to see him as a person she could feel safe talking to about her own insecurities, something she never had before. As a result, she has an immense, practically unbreakable trust in him, which even withstood his days on the Heylin side, believing he valued his friends more than the material wealth Wuya offered him. That loyalty ends up being requited, as Raimundo displays in "The Return of Master Monk Guan", when he offers to come along with her to Master Monk Guan's temple so that she won't be enduring his harsh training to convince her parents alone.
Any signs of them catching feelings for one another were not displayed until the aftermath of "Citadel of Doom", where Raimundo admits how he struggled to fight Sanya because though he couldn't explain it at the time, he couldn't bring himself to hurt her, instead choosing to give up all the riches he was promised rather than doing so. When an eavesdropping Kimiko takes the opportunity to tease him and claim it's out of love, Raimundo sternly denies it, though he's extremely flustered at the idea. Sanya confronts her own feelings for him for the first time in "Screams of the Siren", where Dyris indirectly blackmails her into keeping quiet about her suspicions by using her crush on him to her advantage.
Eventually, the two find out for their feelings for one another when Hannibal Roy Bean exposes Raimundo's fear of being rejected by Sanya to combat the other Xiaolin monks, but due to the more pressing matter at hand, the incident is left up in the air, and the two are left more distant than ever in fear of the other's response.
But in the end, after the events of "Time After Time: Part II", Raimundo is overjoyed to see Sanya brought back to life after her sacrifice in the final showdown, and she in turn is happy for him when he rises to the rank of Shoku Warrior and team leader. The two finally admit their feelings for one another when Raimundo states that having her by his side was all he ever needed to feel like he was enough.
However, they had their strains even while they were dating, as Raimundo would occasionally make passes at any attractive girls the team encountered, much to a jealous Sanya's dismay. Still, at the end of it all, she never lost her faith in him and Raimundo always prioritized his girlfriend first, as shown through his determination to free her from the Thousand Layer Mountain where Chase imprisoned her after destroying the original Xiaolin Temple.
Backstory:
Xiaolin Showdown: Sanya's first encounter with the group happens while the monks are on the hunt for yet another Shen Gong Wu, an unnamed emerald elephant on Barren Island that has the power to make opponents weigh a ton, which ends up getting destroyed in the fight. Thrown by the blast of its destruction, a wounded Raimundo ends up landing near Sanya, just on her way to the airport to begin her own travels. Frazzled but wishing to help him, she pulls him out of a collapsing building, inadvertently using her lightning element to do so.
Though not conscious enough to notice her usage of elemental power, Raimundo recognizes her from their youth and once she realizes he's a Xiaolin Dragon in training, she asks if she can accompany him and his friends back to the temple and they agree. Once there, she admits she was sent there for monk training by her parents. Master Fung is slightly puzzled as to why, seeing as she was not one of the Chosen Ones, but allows her to stay for primary training anyway. Ecstatic to have someone naïve and mildly disciplined to train, Omi takes to Sanya right away, though he is discouraged to see her and Raimundo hit it off instead, upon sharing similar interests.
Nothing eventful happens up until "Night of the Sapphire Dragon", where Sanya is yet again told to stay behind for her own safety, only this time, Raimundo sneaks her along without Master Fung's knowledge in an attempt to show off his skills during a Shen Gong Wu expedition. When the mission nearly goes south, Sanya uses her element to retrieve the soot-covered Sapphire Dragon, a shock to the other monks.
When Master Fung is informed of the incident, he reveals that there was a fifth elemental dragon, the Dragon of Lightning, and it was once included along with the other four. However, according to legend, its speed, power, and reckless fury made it so dangerous, the other dragons rebelled against it, trapping it in the sky, which was the origin of thunderstorms. Master Fung admits he assumed a Lightning Dragon would never be chosen as a result, but now that Sanya has been revealed to be one, he is unsure of how to handle her. Later on in the episode, a fretful Sanya is distraught to find all her friends turned to sapphire, but in a moment of daring, teams up with Dojo to neutralize the Sapphire Dragon. After her triumph, Master Fung believes she should begin proper training as a Xiaolin Dragon in hopes of obtaining more control over her element.
Her next major role is during "In the Flesh", where she tries to comfort a disheartened Raimundo, who is envious of his friends getting promoted to Xiaolin Apprentice while he remains a trainee alongside her because of his disobedience in the previous episode. Due to his anger and Wuya twisting her words into mere pity, her consolation goes unappreciated and he eventually joins the Heylin side. Throughout Raimundo's Heylin arc, Sanya tries the hardest to get him to come back, refusing to fight him and claiming it was him who inspired her to become a Xiaolin monk and train to protect all that was worth fighting for. Though he is provided everything he ever wanted by Wuya, Raimundo harbors a silent guilt over letting the friend who once looked up to him down.
In "Citadel of Doom", Wuya starts to see the threat Sanya poses to her concerning Raimundo's loyalty and orders him to trap her in the puzzle box meant for her in order to solidify that loyalty once and for all. Unable to bring himself to hurt her, Raimundo traps Wuya in the puzzle box instead and saves his friends. Once reunited, Sanya admits that she knew he'd rescue them in the end because she never stopped trusting him. Agreeing to train hard until they also become apprentices, the two grow closer.
In "The Shard of Lightning", Sanya participates in and loses her first ever Xiaolin Showdown, an embarrassment that makes her doubt her place in the team. Things get worse when Jack Spicer and his robotic duplicate use it to steal all their Shen Gong Wu. When Master Fung advises her that only one who could not move, but think as quickly as a bolt of lightning can catch them, Sanya resolves to prove herself worthy.
When the Silver Manta Ray Shen Gong Wu activates, she, Jack Spicer, and his robo-twin get into a Showdown Trio, a three-way stalemate with a chance to win four Shen Gong Wu instead of three, and she wagers the Tongue of Saiping against the Shard of Lightning and the Shroud of Shadows. When she uses the Tongue to summon hummingbirds, jaguars, and an elephant to beat them, Robo Jack Spicer attempts to cheat by swiping the Shard from his creator and using it to grab the Silver Manta Ray first, but by using her element, Sanya outpaces him and wins the showdown, winning all four Shen Gong Wu. She is promoted to Xiaolin Apprentice for her impressive feat.
She plays a minor role in "Screams of the Siren", where she displays mild jealousy over Dyris stealing all the attention of her friends, though she herself is not completely immune to the mermaid's charms. She only keeps her suspicions quiet due to Dyris pointing out how ruffled she gets when it comes to Raimundo, hinting that she knows of her blossoming crush on him. Though this silence comes back to haunt her when Dyris is revealed to be an evil siren, Sanya is left to think about her advice regarding love being a beautiful pain.
Sanya plays a much bigger role in "The Last Temptation of Raimundo", where they talk about home and how she insists how she doesn't miss hers, as she came from a very strict household. When Raimundo questions her on why her parents sent her to the Xiaolin Temple for monk training if that was the case, she avoids the topic and leaves him to rescue his own hometown by himself. When the Shen Gong Wu fuses with him and turns him into a beast, by the influence of the Heylin Comet, Sanya manages to get through to him while possessed by Wuya by telling him she believed his story from the start. After he's back to normal, Raimundo suggests that he wouldn't mind visiting her hometown sometime. He then gives her a gift, a pair of peacock feather conch earrings, leftover remnants from when he reverted to his former self, to remind her of home whenever she missed it.
She plays a semi-major role in "Finding Omi", where she and Raimundo act as the team captains to a soccer game Xiaolin Showdown and cook up a strategy together to free Omi from Chase Young's servitude. Due to their outstanding performance in the game, they win easily and are promoted to Wudai Warriors alongside all their friends.
In "Bird of Paradise", Sanya puts their first Wudai Quest on hold to help a singing old lady find her missing walking stick, which has been stolen by a cranky black vulture. While the others are eager to get a move on, Sanya takes her time in coaxing the bird to return the old woman's walking stick. As a result, Chase Young gets ahead of the heroes, which Sanya blames herself for, but at the end of the quest, The Bird of Paradise then tells them their greatest qualities—courage, loyalty, strength, kindness, and integrity.
Sanya has her next minor role in "Omi Town", where she admits to the others that the monk training her parents sent her to was actually the mountains in Tibet, where the Buddhist monks lived. Wanting to take control of her own life, she left for the Xiaolin Temple instead, but fears what they would think of her if they knew she lied to them.
During their next Wudai Quest in "Treasure of the Blind Swordsman", Sanya claims the Vajra of the Northern Flare, her Wudai Weapon, from an abandoned dam, which enhances her elemental powers and enables her to store bolts in the bulbs on its ends.
She plays another major role in "The Return of Master Monk Guan", where her parents have actively come to the Xiaolin Temple, having found her out, and scold her for disobeying them. They plan to take her to the temple she was meant to train at, but Master Monk Guan interferes, offering to let her train at his temple instead and promising his teachings will be strict to their standards. The other Dragons come along too, not wanting Sanya to be alone, and true to his word, Master Monk Guan drills the young monks to their limit. It gets to the point where Raimundo seemingly betrays them yet again, but he pretends to be beaten in a Xiaolin Showdown by Sanya, displaying to her parents just how beneficial her Xiaolin Dragon training has been and earning their permission to continue training as one. However, Raimundo's ruse puts a strain on their relationship, as Sanya was hurt he didn't let her in on the plan.
Her anger and hurt still lingers for weeks after the incident in the episode "Dream Stalker", and Raimundo worries he's ruined their friendship for good. Hannibal Roy Bean uses these fears to his advantage, taunting him with how he knows he's afraid Sanya will never look up to him as her hero after the way he betrayed her over and over. After being exposed to Raimundo's true desires regarding her, their feelings for each other are left up in the air as Sanya is left doubting what's more important to them: becoming leader, or being with one another.
Sanya plays her last major role in Xiaolin Showdown during "Time After Time: Part II", where she helps the others fight in the final showdown against the four main villains. However, when the villains cheat and team up with four-on-one, Sanya sacrifices herself so Raimundo and Omi can rescue Dojo and win the showdown. When Omi restores the past and is transported back to the present day with everyone else, Sanya is brought back to life and she celebrates when Raimundo rises to the rank of Shoku Warrior and team leader. When he admits she was all he ever needed to feel like he was enough, the two admit their feelings for one another and start a relationship.
Xiaolin Chronicles: In the first episode "New Monk on the Block", Sanya and Raimundo are still dating and have been promoted to Shoku Warriors. She has just recently acquired the ranking herself and is asked to help pick the next Xiaolin Apprentice, believing alongside the others that young Ping-Pong is the most likely candidate so far.
Their relationship gets rocky in "A Girl Named Willow" with the arrival of Willow, who uses her beauty and charm to will the boys into letting her become the next Xiaolin Apprentice. Along with Kimiko, she gets suspicious of her motives, which Raimundo brushes off as jealously. Eventually, she discovers her true intentions in "The Fall of Xiaolin", but is kidnapped by Chase and Shadow, Willow's true identity. They trap her in the Thousand Layer Mountain, but she is freed by them again alongside Princess Kaila in "Princess Kaila of the Thousand Layer Mountain", much to Raimundo's relief, as he had been troubled over her wellbeing in the episodes up until then.
For her final major role in "The Mark of the Dragon Spirits" and "Fly the Dragon", the girls find the Dragon Helmet and to their alarm, are both chosen to be the first dragon riders of their generation, and Sanya struggles to bond with her dragon, Indra, in order to stop Chase Young from bonding with the spirits of former Xiaolin Warriors. When he succeeds, they are tasked with awakening Tai-Shui, the Cosmic Dragon. After defeating Chase, the responsibility of creating Shen Gong Wu fall to them, and by using Indra's breath of lightning, Sanya creates the Denshi Hare, a rabbit talisman that can transform the user into pure energy.
Trivia:
-Voice claim is Wendee Lee in XS and Kira Buckland in XC (would've preferred to choose actual South Asian voice actresses for her, but finding an American-South Asian VA is hard to come by 😅)
-Sanya's last name, "Aashini", is a Hindu word for "lightning", appropriate for the element she represents
-In XC, Sanya occasionally refers to Raimundo as "maahi", a Hindi term of endearment meaning "my beloved"
-In response, Raimundo refers to her as "amor", a similar term of endearment, only in Portuguese
-Sanya's character is based off of Starfire from "Teen Titans", Lola Bunny from "The Looney Tunes Show", and Geet Dhillon, the main heroine from one of the creator's favorite Bollywood movies, "Jab We Met"
-Sanya was one of the creator's first OCs, though not the first to go public
