From Sailor Moon Flash!
| Sailor Mars | |
|---|---|
 Atarimae (Relia) | |
| Profile | |
| Name: | Naien Atarimae |
| Birthday: | November 1 |
| Age: | 18 |
| Affiliation: | Lunars |
| Powers: | Fire |
| Player: | Odile |
Contents |
The Basics
Name: Naien Atarimae. Naien (内炎) means "inner flame", and Atarimae (あたりまえ) means "natural". Goes by Mae.
Position: Lunar Senshi of fire, itako apprentice
Appearance: Hair: Raven black in color, it falls in thick curls down to her waist. She tends to keep her unruly ringlets away from her face by wearing the sides in a braided bun in the back of her head. She'll also usually braid two strands in the back, one on each side of the bun, threading a red ribbon in with the braids. Eyes: Wide and almond shaped, tilting upwards slightly, they are a deep sea green in color with tiny silver flecks. Framed with heavy long lashes, her eyes tend to be the most prominent feature on her face. Face: Mae's face shape is the diamond (well defined cheekbones and delicate chin line), which gives her face a balanced yet dramatic look, a la Katherine Hepburn, which is heightened by her peaches-n-cream skin tone. She has a nice, relatively average ski-slope nose and her lips are fairly normal too, save her bottom lip is full. Build: Standing at an average 5'5" she's very lithe and thin. Bird comes to mind when one looks at Mae, although she does have very soft feminine curves. Clothing: When not in her traditional itako kimono, which is white like a bride's, one can usually find Mae in very feminine clothing. She's definitely a dress kind of girl, preferring flowing skirts to restricting pants. Pastels are right up her alley, however she'll also don darker colors if she's in the mood. Voice: Mae has a very deep alto voice, a bit of an oddity for a girl, but it suits her well. (Think of the singer Natasha Atlas' voice.) It also works great when she reads her tarot cards.
Age/Birthday/Astrological Whatnot: November 1st, age 18, Scorpio (yes, it's a water sign, but the secondary ruling planet is Mars ^^)
Mundane Life
Friends and Family: Roshou Shinka (sacred flame hearth) -- Mae's 65 year old grandmother and ogamisama (itako 'teacher') -- She is a small, fiery woman and a whole lot of grandma. She stands at rotund 5'2," but she has a presence that makes her seem much taller. Her salt and pepper hair is always tied back in a severe bun and she is always dressing in the red kimono of an experienced itako. Her mother was an itako, her grandmother, great-grandmother, and for as far as she can go, all the women in her family were itako. (So Mae's inherited a huge, huge tradition.) Shinka is very much a no-nonsense kind of woman, taking her job very seriously, and won't take any kind of crap from anybody. However, as she is a grandmother, she can be quite the sweet old lady when she puts her mind to it.
Usual Daily Routine:
Background: It all started a long time ago in Tokyo when Shinka, Mae's grandmother, gave birth to Ketsuraku, who would eventually be Mae's mother. All the women in Shinka's lineage up until Ketsuraku had become itako, Japanese shamanesses, but the force wasn't strong in Shinka's daughter. In fact, it wasn't there at all. Shinka was disappointed because she thought the tradition would die with her, but she still had hope because it was divined that Ketsuraku would give the world an even more important gift than her ability to become an itako.
That gift came many years later in the form of Atarimae, Mae for short. At first, Mae was more of burden than a gift. She was a feisty little whipper-snapper who's first word was a very emphatic, "NO!" Needless to say, her terrible two's started a little early. ^^;; She drove both her mother and her father, Tsuyoi, who were very capable parents and people, absolutely bonkers. It wasn't that Mae was a bad kid, she was just a feisty little thing and stubborn as a mule. If she didn't want to do it, she WASN'T going to do it. Plain and simple. Luckily, her parents learned early on, with the promise of a bubble bath, Mae'd be much more acquiescent.
This went on for a while, each year getting a little bit better, since as Mae got older, she was able to squash her stubbornness because the other kids at school (not to mention the teachers) found her personality ... a little too strong.
Now, the turning point in Mae's life occurred when she happened upon her mom's old tarot deck. She was eleven, so she knew how to play card games, but these cards were different. So, she figured she'd try and come up with her own game. Shuffling the deck, she picked up the first card, flipped it over, and promptly freaked out. Well, not quite.
She flipped up the card and immediately received a vision of her grandmother who told her, "Now is the time. Come." This isn't too freakish on the whole, however Mae hadn't seen her grandmother for seven years and didn't remember what she looked like, yet still somehow knew the figure was her grandmother. The second really creepy thing was all of a sudden she HAD to obey the command. Her gut instinct told her she MUST go and every time she tried to rationalize it off, the feeling intensified. The third creepy thing was her mom was in total agreement on the matter. Mae asked if she could go and her mother said yes; no ifs, ands or buts involved. And to top it all off, when they arrived, Shinka was waiting for them, declaring Mae was to be an itako. Mae balked at this, trying to get out of it by noting itako are supposed to be blind, like her grandmother, while she herself could see perfectly fine. But Mae soon learned her grandmother was just as stubborn as she was and there was no arguing, especially since Shinka was determined to keep the itako tradition from dying with her even if it meant training her non-blind granddaughter.
So, thus begins Mae's pre-itako training. Pre because she had to first prove she was worthy of becoming an itako in the first place. Consider this her qualifying round.
Initially Mae did everything she could to get out of it, but she learned very quickly that butting heads with her grandmother was like beating your head against a brick wall that's 50 feet thick. There's no getting through. So she 'submitted' herself to the training, even though deep down, she knew it felt right. Once she stopped fighting it, the training came much easier to her. She'd spend hours upon hours learning the sutras, practicing divination, and memorizing norito (words addressed to a deity or deities in an ancient style of Japanese) that her grandmother taught her. Mae also ended up running whatever errands her grandmother needed. Since she was training to be an itako, she had to learn discipline, so whatever her grandmother wanted, whether it be to stand on her head and recite the sutras backwards or something as simple as picking up groceries, Mae had to do it, no questions asked.
Finally, after a year and a half of extensive training, Mae was ready to qualify. The ritual began with one week of invocation and prayer, followed by twenty-one days of fasting (this taking place while school's out). During the first seven days all grains were omitted from the diet, and she was allowed to eat only potatoes, nutmegs, and chestnuts. During the next seven days salt was omitted from her diet, and she was given tiny unsalted rice balls. The final seven days omitted cooked foods ("fire"), and she was fed only thinly sliced raw potatoes and sweet yams. During this twenty-one day period, Mae performed cold-water ablutions (religious cleansing of the body) in the stream flowing in back of the house, and she stayed secluded in a small training hut built for the purpose beside the Sumida river.
If eye contact was made with anyone or anyone saw her, Mae was forced to perform extra ablutions to keep herself wholly 'untainted' by the outside world. Needless to say, this was a serious trial for Shinka's granddaughter, the only thing keeping her from quitting was her own sheer stubbornness telling her not to give up because she was so close. Then, three days before her initiation ceremony, she had a revelation. No longer were the ablutions painful, her body weak, her breathing ragged; Mae had reached the breaking point and got through it. She could perform her tasks easier now, much like a runner who finally pushes himself until the mile run is just another sprint.
At the end of the final day, in total darkness, Mae was brought out to where her grandmother and about fifteen other shamanesses and shamen were. Each of them splashed a final bucket of water on her to finish the purifying ritual, then she was brought into the inner living room of her grandmother's house. With Shinka holding a very weak Mae, the initiate bowed to the four directions: North, South, East, and West. Being led to the center of the room, Mae was held in the lap of Shinka, while the other shamen chanted the sutras in a circle around her. This would continue for about three hours or so until Mae finally voiced the name of the god who possessed her, the god Fudo,* completing her qualification by being accepted by a god, and promptly passed out.
When she awoke she was 'reborn.' The entire ritual was symbolic of her dying in the 'everyday' world and being reborn into the spiritual world of the itako. However, she wasn't an itako YET. What she went through before was just the qualifying round, remember? Now that she's qualified, she can begin the final round and act as an apprentice to her grandmother, learning the itako 'trade' so to speak. Mae wouldn't become a full itako until her grandmother decided she was ready for it, after proving herself in a solo itako ritual, which will be observed by her grandmother.
So from then on out she worked with her grandmother everyday after school, then once she turned sixteen and left school, simply everyday; learning the actual itako rituals. (She wasn't allowed to learn them before her initiation, in case she wasn't 'accepted.') Shinka learned early on during the training that divinations were Mae's strong point, so a lot of her training was focused on honing that skill. It worked out perfectly because that was, in fact, Shinka's weakest talent, so together the pair made quite a team. Mae would use her tarot decks (she accumulating two other decks as gifts from Shinka upon her initiation) to divine answers for those seeking spiritual aid, while Shinka contacted the spirits of the departed for those wanting peace of mind.
Things have been continuing like this up until the current time, except for the fact Mae's been experiencing odd divinations when it comes to her own personage. Normally, she doesn't perform divinations for herself unless the same instinct that told her to visit her grandmother on that first day demands it of her. Lately, the damn thing won't shut up. It's even gotten to the point where if she leaves her loose deck out, somehow, the cards always manage to spill off the table or dresser she's got them on and fall to the ground -- only a handful of cards facing up. Not being stupid, Mae'd collect the face up cards, knowing they're a sign, and immediately be bombarded with images of fire. Lots and lots of fire. And that's it. No places, people, or events -- just fire. It's brought on some spaz attacks, since Mae really wants to know what it means, but every time she tries to divine further the gods put up a huge spiritual Dead End sign. If only she knew ...
A Little More Specific
Quirks: Okay, here's the dynamic of the Inner Senshi family: We've got Misao, who is the mom of the group; Oki, the sarcastic one; Toukai, the sporty one; and Kia, the sweet as sugar one. (For some reason, I keep wanting to give them 'spice' names. Kia would be Baby Spice, Toukai, Sporty Spice ... Aiyah, I better stop while I'm ahead. XD) So where does that leave Mae? She is j00r Daddy. This probably has something to do with the fact her planet is Mars (a very warrior-esque, manly planet) and the fact her symbol also happens to be the universal sign for male. And here, just to make things clear, I'd like to point out, that regardless of all this, she is in fact heterosexual. ^^;;;
First off, like most dads, Mae will tell it too you like it is. She is blunt. Damn blunt. Do NOT expect any kind of sugar coating from her, much less sympathy. If you ask her, "Do I look fat in this?" and you do, she's going to tell you straight up, yes, indeed you look fat. Yes, you've just been burnt. The questioner will generally act as if he/she's been slapped in the face, look at Mae likes she's evil incarnate, sputter, whine, what-have-you; and then, in the end, realize Mae was right. If one doesn't know Mae very well, and asks her something like this, they usually walk away feeling that she is down right rude and never speak to her again. Those that know her better or realize the value of her bluntness, stick around, but ask her things only when they want someone to be brutally honest. Why does Mae do this? Well, she doesn't see the point in beating around the bush: it doesn't do her any good because she's lying and it doesn't do the questioner any good because he/she won't benefit from Mae's answer in the long run either. They'll still be wearing stuff that makes them look fat and still get snickered at because of it. That's no good.
And do NOT argue with her, because it'll be the equivalent of arguing with a stop sign. Shinka, Mae's grandmother, was able to discipline most of the argumentativeness and stubbornness out of her. Mae won't argue with anyone on her own volition. HOWEVER, big however, if someone starts an argument with her, she'll be more than happy to oblige them. And she's very stubborn about the whole thing. As far as Mae's concerned, she's right and the person who started the argument is wrong. Hands down, even if she does realize half way through the argument she's wrong, Mae will still insist she's right. And she will keep insisting until the other person gets tired of arguing and gives up or calls a truce. Regardless of the outcome, two things will always happen: (1) Mae will never actually verbally admit she was wrong. The words, "I was wrong," are not in her vocabulary. (2) She will have the last word. Mae is one of those annoying people that MUST have the last word, even if it's something totally stupid. The only person she's come across that she'll acquiesce this to is her grandmother, who is even more stubborn and more argumentative than Mae is. Mae learned very early on that she's no match when it comes to arguing or disobeying her grandmother. Must run in the family. ^^;;
Because of all the above, Mae tends to stay on the quiet side. She's not one for fluff ball conversation about boys or what happened on the latest soap opera. Instead, she'd very much sit off to the edge of the group and just listen. Mae's a people watcher. While it might not look like she's actively engaging in discussion, in reality, she's absorbing and digesting ALL of it. The only time she'll generally pipe up is if her Voice of Reason kicks in and she needs to point something out in the conversation that needs to be addressed. Since she's an itako, she's been trained not to let her emotions seep in when making decisions, since that is a disservice to those she is divining for. So because of this, she is able to offer very reasonable and rational advice without letting outside factors like emotion get in the way. Sometimes, people don't like hearing it, especially when they're in a highly emotional state, but Mae's going to tell it to them anyway, even if they tell her to shut up. As far as Mae is concerned, they need to hear it anyway. Also, let it be known that, while it may seem like she's being a prick, Mae's doing this for the person's own good.
Now, it kind of looks like Mae's not much fun. Au contraire. She LIKES fun. And she likes people too. Mae is much more comfortable in one on one situations or small groups. She will talk to you if you talk to her and, yes, she will enjoy your company too. She will gush on and on about jewelry if you ask her about it, sparklies being one of her favorite things. She'll even help you pick out jewelry that 'goes' with your type. So girls' day out is right up her alley. She'll probably be the most reserved of the bunch, since some girly things (like soap operas and boy gushing) aren't her thing, but Mae'll certainly enjoy herself and the others around her will most likely enjoy her company. So yes, even disciplined itako can have fun -- she is a teenage girl after all.
She is also quite dedicated to whatever she decides on doing. Above everything, her dedication to being an itako comes first (and when she becomes a senshi, that will come first). Mae will give 110% to whatever it is she's doing. If she's got a choice between going to a local concert or giving up her daily training session, she'll fork over the concert because the training is more important. To her, the training is much more beneficial in the long run. And this is how she makes a lot of her decisions: which is more beneficial on the whole. It makes much more sense to her, and is more beneficial to everyone on the whole, that she go fight the bad guys, even if she does have a cold, than staying in bed. Her friends might insist that she stay in bed and get better, but it's her DUTY to go fight the bad guy and no runny nose is gonna get in the way.
Ever since she became an itako, she's learned to put a lot (not all) of the fluff stuff behind her. She's learned there are more important things in life than being kissed before you're sixteen, whether or not to be concerned if she hasn't had a boyfriend yet, or if an outfit isn't fashionably correct. She already knows there is more to life than all that stuff, and while a lot of kids her age think she's on the weird side because of it, Mae tries to show them through her words and actions that there is actually MORE beyond their somewhat 'limited' scope.
Darkest Secret:
Reactions to Sudden Hugs:
Virtues and Vices:
Badassery
Power Sphere: Fire.
Asswhoopery:
(1) Divination -- Duh. Mae is an itako, and thus the gods' personal Glade plug-in. They plug her in, insert in their divination of choice, and she gets bombarded by lots of images that are Important and she has to figure out why. She's gotten quite good at figuring them out, since the gods normally tell her straight up and not on the rocks, and has been successful in her training as an itako, even impressing Shinka with her skills. However, Mae does need a tarot deck in order to divine, so if one's not around the gods'll nag her (via her gut instinct) until she performs a reading. If something's really Important, the cards'll fall off whatever perch they're on and kind of 'divine themselves.' It's gotten to the point where Mae'll always have a deck on hand, just in case.
(2) I Can See Through You -- As part of her 'job,' it's Mae's responsibility to understand how a person ticks. In fact, before she was allowed to begin her divination training, Shinka took her out and made her spend hours simply people watching, showing her how to look for things in people, like posture, tone, carriage, expression, that can give her an idea of what they're like. This in turn, allows her to give them a better divination: for the more she can understand the person, the better a divination she can give them. Usually, she gets a pretty good understanding of a person after spending a decent amount of time in their presence. Someone like Toshiro, for example, would take a hell of a lot longer, since he's spent practically his whole life hiding his real 'self.' On the flip side, the same person would fascinate Mae to no end, since the complications would make her even more determined to figure him/her out.
(3) I'm a Survivor -- If the senshi are ever caught by the Elementals or kidnapped and sent to a desert island, Mae'd have a slightly better chance at surviving than the rest of them, considering the ordeal she went through during her itako qualification. For all express purposes, she was quite literally sensory deprived (save taste, although raw potatoes don't do much for the palate) for three weeks, stuck in a training hut and not allowed to do anything but pray and/or think and get splashed with a whole bunch of freezing ass cold water. So she might fair a little better, having a bit of experience in the matter -- I'm not saying she'd last a heck of a lot longer, but she'd be one of the last to drop.
(4) Voice of Reason -- If one wants a rational explanation or needs to hear a voice of reason, talk to Mae. If you want sympathy, go far, far away. Mae is quite good at squashing emotional decisions with her very cut and dry reasoning. Sailor Moon wants to rush in blindly and save people? Mars will very bluntly point out that rushing in head long would be, in fact, quite stupid, since there's a damn good chance going through the front door would be a death sentence and the bad guys are probably EXPECTING it. She would in turn, offer a more reasonable counter solution. And if there's complaint her solution will take too long, she'll simply counter with, "Would you rather have the kidnap-ees be a little bruised when we get there? Or would you rather rush in, risking not only yourself, but the rest of us, AND the kidnap-ees because the bad dudes are probably COUNTING on you rushing in head-long?" Boo-yah.
Greatest Weakness:
Attacks:
1) Fire Soul / Bird -- Footage: Mars shouts "Fire" as she clasps her hands together; her two index fingers and thumbs coming together to form a 'gun,' while a fireball charges at the tip of the gun. She then shouts, "Soul," and 'fires' her gun, shooting the fireball at the enemy. A slightly more powerful version of this attack is "Fire Soul Bird" in which Mars throws out a tarot card before performing the regular Fire Soul. When the fireball hits the card it turns into a fire bird which launches itself at the enemy.
Smackdown: These are both low level attacks for Mars, yet very easy for her to perform since they don't waste too much of her energy. Fire Soul would do some damage to a small or medium sized youma, but probably just really annoy a major bad guy. Fire Soul Bird would do the same for a medium to large youma and the same for a major villain. [For a better break down of the differentiation, on a butt whomping scale of 1-20, Fire Soul would be about a 3, Fire Soul Bird a 5]
(2) Burning Mandala -- Footage: Mars shouts, "Burning," as she draws a circle around herself with her index finger, a trail of fire forming in the wake of her drawing. Round symbols form around the fire circle, then as she draws her hand to her chest, the symbols coalesce around her hand. She then shouts, "Mandala," throwing her hand (and the rings) forward and they shoot toward the enemy she's pointing at. Smackdown: This would be Mars' medium-low attack. It expends a little more energy than the Fire Souls (for every two Fire Souls, she can do one Mandala) and it causes more damage. It'd seriously hurt, even destroy a medium youma and hurt a large one badly. The fun thing about this attack is since there are multiple rings (six) there is a chance the might possibly hit nearby targets as well as the one she's aiming for.
(3) Mars Snake Fire -- Footage: Mars crosses her arms in front of her, so that they form an X, shouting "Mars." She then shouts, "Snake," and a large snake made of fire forms at the center of the X. Finishing the attack by saying, "Fire," she brings her hands to her side in a rush, releasing the snake in the direction of an enemy. Smackdown: This'd be the medium-high attack of Mars. It was strong enough to wipe out Eudial in the manga, so it'd probably take care of youmas fairly well. However, since it is a strong attack, it takes a good amount of energy to perform. (Going with the little conversion chart I've got going, it'd be one Snake Fire for every two Mandala.)
(4) Mars Flame Sniper -- Footage: Summoning up her flame bow, Mars starts this attack off with, "Mars Flame," causing the large flame arrow to appear, which she quickly notches up and takes aim at her target. Then, with the shout, "Sniper," she releases the fire arrow at the enemy. Smackdown: Flame Sniper is the high attack for Mars, it being not only an arrow with a massively ouchie pointy tip, but a flaming arrow with a massively ouchie pointy tip. This baby's gonna hurt. Sniper is going to slice and dice smaller youma like julian fries and give the Elementals a nice owwie instead of just a little annoyance. However, this attack takes a lot out of Mars, and she can fire off this power two, maybe three times and then she's pretty much kaput energy wise.
Fuku: Starting from the top, she has the typical gold V-shaped tiara all the Lunarian senshi have, with a scarlet colored jewel in the center. From there one would find a dangly six pointed star earrings red in color, followed by a choker in the same color around her neck with a gold star in the center. After that there's the sailor collar in scarlet with the single white pin stripe, which is attached to the white bodice/leotard by a purple bow with a red heart shaped brooch in the center. The sleeves of the fuku are transparent pale red with two rings underneath. Then, a little further down her arms one would find her white gloves, starting at her elbow with three red rings as cuffs. At the end of the V in the fuku base her scarlet colored skirt is attached, while a long ankle length purple bow is nestled in the back of the uniform at her waist. Finally, rounding out the fuku, one will find her red high-heels (something Mae herself hates with a passion).
Henshin: Mars' bow and arrow interlock with her symbol (the arrow through the center of the symbol's heart), which then appear in the red orb that forms the top of her henshin stick. She grasps the stick with her hand, nails painted scarlet. Shouting, "Mars Crystal Power, Make-Up!" the Mars symbol flies at the 'screen,' then the camera pans out to reveal the henshin wand shooting out streams of fire. Those streams then encircle Mae as she spins around, her fuku forming on her in the process. She then throws her hands out, dispersing the flames, while going into her end pose: body facing to the left, feet splayed, while she turns towards the camera, left hand on her hip, right hand at her side.
