Difference between revisions of "Naomi Suzuno"

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Naomi Suzuno
Personal Information
Real Name	Naomi Suzuno (Spencer) 鈴野直美(スペンサー)
Aliases	None
Arcana	XIV - Temperance
Nature	Persona User
Gender	Female
Age	16
Birth Date	November 30, 1992 (Sagittarius)
Preferred Weapon	Rapier
Organization Information
Faction	Unaffiliated
Job	High School Student, Heiress
Divisions	None
Assignment	Seven Sisters High School, Class 2-B
Persona - Ma'at
Ma'at
OOC Information
Origin	Original Character
Voice Actor	Ayumi Hamasaki

Overview

Born to a wealthy British-born expatriate and his investor's personal assistant (oooh, scandal!), Naomi Suzuno's life is typical of those who come from a privileged background; legal battles, business propositions, and more than enough family drama as other relatives jockey for control over the myriad of trusts and assets accumulated by the Spencer family over the decades. After a devastating plane crash that left her illustrious father incapacitated, the heiress is thrust in the uncomfortable position of taking care of the family business and all that entails...or at the very least attempt to ensure that it stays where it is until she becomes of age. A former student of St. Hermelin, she transferred to Seven Sisters High School at the wake of her household's move to Sumaru City.

Personality

Naomi is sweet tempered and charitable. Her generosity, thoughtfulness, and her unique brand of quiet vivacity has won her, at the very least, amicable relations with those she deals with at a regular basis. She is a warm person, driven by the sincere desire to be the best person she could be, though whether she succeeds in this or not has yet to be determined. While mostly quiet, it is not coldly so -- in fact, she can carry on conversations easily, and she has an honest fascination with the lives of others. A voracious reader, she is comfortable in being alone with a book as much as she is in the company of others. In public, her manners are impeccable and practically Victorian; her hair is always up and rarely is she discourteous. Her family's money afforded her the best education available and she isn't one to squander it or flinch away from its application to her every day life, having grown to prove herself both intelligent and articulate. An observant creature, coupled with her passionate heart, she steps on the fine line between romanticism and pragmatism. Nothing delights her more than to be able to take care of those whom she considers very dear to her, and she is typically easy to please. It takes a lot for her to lose her temper, however while she could be very patient, this has a limit. While she may appear like a delicate milksop, she is surprisingly forthright when expressing her opinion and she has very little patience for the coyness expected from her gender.

While she exudes a soothing presence, she isn't afraid of confrontation, especially if she knows she's right. However, she isn't hard-handed when doing so and more often than not will seek a diplomatic solution to the problem. She is, for lack of a proper term, a cautious optimist, and while she makes an effort to see the best in other people, she also knows that sometimes, there just isn't any. It is rare to see her give up on anything she sets her mind to and her more obvious gentility typically masks the bullish tenacity she applies in risks she deems worth taking.

Her life since the plane crash has become one giant juggling act, and finding a balance between being a child and being a woman saddled with heavy responsibilities is a constant struggle. When it gets overwhelming, she becomes quieter than usual -- not because she necessarily likes brooding, but rather she needs to stop and think before moving again to recover that sense of harmony that she feels is essential to her overall well-being. It would not do her any good, after all, to implode due to all of the pressure she places on herself, though there are, of course, some very bad days in which she feels she can't do anything right. There are times in which she becomes resentful - it's not so much that she has a strong sense of justice, but rather that she has a strong sense of fairness. The concept of equity is important to her and being able to take the good and the bad in equal parts. After all, nothing worth having (and, after that, keeping) is easy to get and if there was anything the business world has taught her, anything worthy always comes with a price.

History

Like most stories that involve legacies and fortunes, Naomi's beginnings were rife with conflict. Her father, British-born Miles Spencer, was the CEO of Spencer & Strassen -- a business that specialized in luxury entertainment, goods (like art and antiques), and travel; a company that catered almost exclusively to the international elite. Based in London, by the 20th century, S&S expanded its operations worldwide. Asia, with its economic boom during the early 90's, was a prime target for it and it didn't take much to convince the distinguished executive to open a base of operations in Japan. It was there when he met Midori Hisakawa, a middle-class local woman and the personal assistant of one of his more important Japanese investors. Against his family's wishes (and this event would remain, to the rest of the family's eyes, a black spot in its history), he married her and settled in Lunarvale, where his only child, Naomi, was born.

Now the wife of a wealthy businessman, Midori concentrated her efforts in being an attentive wife and mother and took an active interest in her daughter's upbringing. Concerned about her gaijin last name and how her future classmates would react to it, she convinced her husband to register Naomi under her maiden name so she would better fit in with the rest of the children in her class -- since then, school records knew her daughter as Naomi Suzuno while important legal documents bore her full name (Naomi Suzuno Spencer).

She was thrown into an egregiously messy turning point in her young life at the age of 13. Returning from yet another vacation with her parents, an inexplicable engine failure in the family's jet sent the aircraft crashing into the private landing strip reserved for their arrival at the local airport. Given her position on the plane, situated close to her mother and belted into her seat, Naomi would have died if it wasn't for the intervention of a strange manifestation that protected her moments before the impact occurred. While injured, she miraculously survived the accident and the emergency surgery afterward that compelled attending, medical personnel to remove most (but not all) of her ruptured spleen. Her parents weren't so lucky -- her mother was killed instantly and her father's spinal cord was severed. Miles Spencer left the hospital paralyzed from the neck down, able only to move his head and right hand.

Chaos reigned over family matters during Naomi's recovery. Other members of the Spencer family wasted no time trying to assert their rights to the company and control over the family coffers, either through direct legal action or through more indirect ways (like wresting Naomi's guardianship away from her invalid father, being heiress). An investigation was launched upon examination of the plane's remains in which it was discovered that the engines were sabotaged before it left its last stopover, which put the entire household as suspects. Through the canny maneuverings of the family lawyer, Christopher Kent (working through his colleague, Akira Tanaka, who was based in Sumaru City), attempts to seize the family fortunes stopped, and guardianship of Naomi was passed onto her uncle, Henry Spencer, Miles's youngest and favorite brother. However, given Henry's uneagerness to move to Asia, and Naomi's unwillingness to move to London, Henry executed a series of legal documents denoting the family butler, Anthony Robinson, who had served and assisted Miles for a good fifteen years, his official agent to oversee his niece's welfare in the East. The seriousness and complexity of the entire affair had a profoundly sobering effect on Naomi, who realized in spite of her youth that she was going to have to maintain an active hand on responsibilities she knew little to nothing about. She pulled out of school and was tutored at home while she and Robinson saw to her father's condition. She started depending heavily on Messrs. Kent, Tanaka, and Conroy Wright, S&S's deputy CEO and a trusted friend of the family, in handling the Spencers' business and legal affairs.

Naomi decided to return to school in her first year, enrolling at St. Hermelin when she was 15 years of age. Now that the family's seclusion after the disastrous crash seemed over, the media, on top of everything else, came calling -- Miles's accident had reached his prominent business partners in Europe. After a year of struggling against repeated attempts by the paparazzi to get the story, Robinson suggested that the family move from Lunarvale to Sumaru and while reluctant to do so, Naomi agreed. Not only was Sumaru bigger, but the family had holdings there, medical facilities were more accessible, and it would put her in the same geographic location as Tanaka. After finishing her first year at St. Hermelin and beginning her second, she had her father moved to one of their high-class hotels in the area (the current Spencer home is, in actuality, a series of renovated penthouse suites in the Peninsula Sumaru) and transferred to the Seven Sisters High School to continue her schooling there.

Persona

Naomi's persona is the Egyptian Goddess Ma'at, who represents Truth, Balance, Harmony, and Order in the culture's pantheon of gods. She's usually represented by a young woman with a scepter while carrying an Ankh on her other hand. Her role is significant in Duat, the Egyptian underworld, where she weighs dead souls' hearts with an ostrich feather on a pair of scales to determine their worthiness to enter Aaru, the Egyptian heaven. Those that were deemed unworthy had their hearts eaten by Ammut, a part-crocodile demon.

It was said that when Ra started to create the world, he created Ma'at first and installed her in place of her counterpart, Isfret (Chaos), so he would have a stable canvas to work with.

Associated Abilities

Freebies and Specials

Resonance

For those who can detect Persona-users, there seems to be an extremely peaceful, serene presence around Naomi. It could be the young woman herself, for she is almost always calm, or it could be something else. The case is most probably quite the latter, for with this aura of placidity comes with a sense of pure order and rightness; that, somehow, everything is right with the world and things are exactly the way they should be. For those who are able to detect Persona-users by scent, this particular ambience smells like mint.

Inner Circle

Miles Spencer - Naomi's father, who left the devastating plane crash paralyzed from the neck down and able only to move his head and one hand. Despite his present state of health, the man seems to have lost very little of his infamous joie de vivre that he exhibited in the days when he was whole. He is extremely dependent on his daughter and his staff to take care of matters for him. Blessed with an old world charm, his keen mind and business sense are invaluable guides to his heir.

Anthony Robinson - Called "Robin" by Naomi, he has served as Miles's butler, assistant, and confidant for the last 15 years. Extremely dedicated to his boss, Robinson's loyalty to the Spencer patriarch seems to have been passed down to his only daughter. Given the rather messy enterprise that followed after the plane crash, circumstances have thrust him in the position as Naomi's legal guardian in Japan. He does not like it when people call him "Alfred."

Akira Tanaka - In tandem with London-based barrister, Christopher Kent, he is one of Naomi's advisors in a multitude of legal and business matters. He works for the Sumaru office of the international law firm Allen & Overy, which is headquartered in the United Kingdom. A relatively young attorney, he recently made partner in its M&A and Corporate division.

Conroy Wright - Spencer & Strassen's deputy CEO and a trusted friend of the family, he and Miles have known each other for decades since their schoolboy years at the University of Oxford. He maintains control of the company's daily operations at the behest of his old friend.

Notable Social Links

• IV - The Emperor
  • Akatsuki Enda: "When I do name him, let it be thy part to praise him more than ever man did merit." -- Much Ado About Nothing; Act III, Scene 1
    • Akatsuki's blurb here.
• V - The Hierophant
  • Shinjiro Aragaki: "He expressed no regret for what he had done which satisfied her; his style was not penitent, but haughty. It was all pride and insolence." -- Pride and Prejudice; Chapter 36
    • Shinjiro's blurb here.
• VI - The Lovers
  • Tohya Kidzuki: "For in my youth, I never did apply hot and rebellious liquors in my blood." -- As You Like It; Act II, Scene 3
    • A senior in Seven Sisters High School, Tohya counts for one of the first people Naomi met in her first few days as a new transferee. While she fostered a reputation for being intimidating, Naomi managed to somehow get along well with her and addresses her as "Kidzuki-senpai." A bit of a mentor in the ways of the supernatural, Tohya was instrumental in Naomi's continued education regarding her Persona's talents and abilities, having offered herself up to be her "spotter" to ensure that she didn't bite off more than she could chew. In that regard, Naomi accords Tohya with the courtesy and respect that she believes the senior is entitled to. Recently, she explained a few things to Naomi that motivated her to join KNOWS. So far, she is the only one who has seen her residence.
• VIII - Justice
  • Kai Nakamoto: "In that day's feats, when he might act the woman in the scene, he prov'd best man i' th' field, and for his meed was brow-bound with the oak." -- Coriolanus; Act II, Scene 2
    • A first year when he should be a senior, most of the circumstances regarding Kai's situation continues to mystify Naomi given he was far from a simpleton. Nevertheless, she is presently tutoring him so that he would be eligible to take an acceleration test so he could skip a year and join his age group. While intimidating due to his sheer breadth and stature, she found him to be surprisingly shy and friendly. Recently, she proposed the idea that the both of them learn sign language to ease communication between them, and while hesitant at first, a single question from her prompts him to change his mind.
  • Ichiya Chigiri: "Let every eye negotiate for itself and trust no agent; for beauty is a witch against whose charms faith melteth in blood." -- Much Ado About Nothing; Act II, Scene 1
    • Unbeknown to her, Naomi already met him; as his alter-ego, "Fox," a masked individual who aided her group's efforts in Mikage-cho and who taught her a few bare-handed techniques in exchange of a few fencing lessons. As handsome, college-aged mechanic Ichiya Chigiri, he was recently contracted to see to the upkeep of the Spencer household's vehicles. He seems to have taken a shine to her and has asked her to address him by one of his nicknames.
• XIII - Death
  • Shirou Sekigawa: "Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them?" -- Hamlet; Act III, Scene 1
    • Despite their first accidental and largely inconsequential meeting, this hardworking Inaba country boy became the first among her newest acquaintances to address her by her first name and is one of the few who she sincerely liked instantly. Their friendship during the Mikage-cho incident developed quickly, and while she sensed a degree of awkwardness from him around her, she wasn't quite certain as to why. She worried about him constantly while she stayed at Fort Junes with him, given his tendency to work his fingers to the bone at the expense of his well-being, and made conscious efforts to ensure that he got the rest he needed at Thora's or Yosuke's absence. Recent run-ins has her confiding in him as to the circumstances of her awakening and vice-versa, becoming better and closer friends in the process after they parted ways.
• XIV - Temperance
  • Miwa Saitou: "O, she is ten times more gentle than her father's crabbed, and he's composed of harshness." -- The Tempest; Act III, Scene 1
    • A senior in Seven Sisters High School, Naomi met Miwa the same time she met Tohya. She occupies the first chair cello in the Music Club, and encouraged Naomi to join. They have plenty in common; gentle mannerisms, fondness for classical music and a certain love for fashion among the foremost of these, albeit their similarities were hinted at to run deeper than that. Naomi regards Miwa as one of the most beautiful people she has ever met, in looks and demeanor.
• XVI - The Tower
  • Himeru Namikawa: "But I have that within which passeth show; these but the trappings and the suits of woe." -- Hamlet; Act I, Scene II
    • Himeru's Blurb here.
  • Takahisa Kandori: "How poor are they that have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees? Thou know'st we work by wit, and not by witchcraft; And wit depends on dilatory time." -- Othello; Act II, Scene 3
    • Naomi met SEBEC's infamous CEO by chance, coming across him with Himeru cooking breakfast in Mikage-cho's version of St. Hermelin and promptly engaged him in a deeply intellectual conversation about food (as well as the preparation of) standing in as a metaphor for the human condition. While content with the idea that she would never speak to the man again, she was surprised to receive a sword forged by his own hand the next days after thanks to Tohya's request for supplies, and then later in Okina where he imparted on her certain truths about Sumaru City. The growing consistency of his interactions with her may or may not be one of the main reasons why she agreed to join KNOWS.
• XIX - The Sun
  • Tatsuya Suou: "Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once." -- Julius Caesar; Act II, Scene 2
    • Tatsuya's Blurb Here

Social Stats

• Understanding: 3 - While she can certainly demonstrate a good amount of empathy, Naomi's overall way of thinking sometimes gets in the way of actually relating to the person she is speaking to at a given time.
• Courage: 4 - Naomi has survived a devastating plane crash, frolicked with an oxygen tank in deep water, has gone cave diving and throws herself off planes for a weekend hobby.
• Knowledge: 4 - Not only a voracious reader and a consummate academic, Naomi's present position has her learning many complex financial, business, and economic concepts and the value of diplomacy out in the real world.
• Diligence: 4 - She has to work hard and despite her age, she has a lot of "adult" problems that need clever and often complicated solutions.
• Expression: 2 - While warm, she gives off the impression of being largely unflappable and perpetually courteous. She is reluctant, however, to expose her more volatile reactions...not because she is ashamed by them or even thinks they are improper, but rather they are her own and it is her prerogative to share them when she feels like it.
• Charm: 5 - Her wit, eloquence, and genuine interest in the lives of others have coaxed many a stranger to tell her things they wouldn't normally tell anyone at the first meeting, and the active way she engages people in conversation makes her generally likable.

Equipment

• Clothes - Quite positively her most versatile pieces of inventory, Naomi doesn't appear to wear the same thing twice, save perhaps her school uniform. She also wears her hair differently each time, but it's always up.
• Shoes - The same as her clothes, though she prefers boots for the colder months and ballerina flats for the summers. She occasionally wears sneakers.
• Satchel - A well-kept, leather messenger's bag that's probably worth more than an average teenager's allowance for three months. Contains every day essentials such as her cellphone, a swiss-army knife and a can of mace.
• Butterfly Pin - A gift from her mother, usually placed on her hair. She rarely leaves home without it.
• Kandori's Claymore
  • A new acquisition, Naomi was given the sword during her stay in Mikage-Cho at Tohya's request, when she asked Takahisa Kandori for supplies before entering the Karma Palace. It is a slim, basket-hilted sword designed to be wielded in one hand, forged to be brutally functional but has enough personal embellishments situated there by the forger to make the weapon a unique piece. TS Eliot's The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock has been engraved around the handle (a poem especially familiar to her for reasons yet to be revealed), and Kandori's trademark 'K' signature carved on the hilt.
  • It was given to her with a message: Only use it to cut away people's expectations and help them to question, in reference to Naomi's first, heavily intellectual conversation with the infamous CEO. It was enough to tell her who it was from, even without Tohya mentioning his name the moment it was given to her.

Contacts

• Five Minute Makeover -
• Bribery -
• Philosophical Discussion -
• Trivia -

Trivia

What's in a name? - Naomi's Japanese name means "honest beauty of the bells."

Appearance - At 5'4", Naomi is taller than the average Japanese female. She takes after her mother's looks. The only indicators of her mixed descent, really, are her height and the shape and color of her eyes, which are rounder and violet in hue.

Does She or Doesn't She? - Naomi does have a British accent, but this only manifests when she speaks in English. Her Japanese, however, is flawless and formal. She also follows Queen's English (ex. Biscuit = Cookie, Jumper = Sweater, Shedule and not Skedule, Lift = Elevator, paycheque as opposed to paycheck, etc etc).

The Residence - The current Spencer home is the Peninsula Sumaru, a luxury hotel located in the heart of the city, at its topmost floor. It is in actuality a series of penthouse suites renovated for the use of Naomi's family and her household. At present, the staff comprises of Anthony Robinson, a driver, and two maids. Physicians occasionally come and go to see to Miles's health.

Favorite Foods - Naomi is guilty of having a sweet tooth, and she likes desserts of all kinds. While her palate is rather refined, some of the simpler items make her list, like teriyaki beef and miso soup.

Hobbies - The Spencer heiress is a voracious reader, and she regularly exploits her father's connections in the antiquities and rare book industries to acquire first editions. She loves art and literature, and she goes to museums often. She is fascinated with Ancient Egypt and other middle eastern cultures. She fences on occasion, and skydives whenever she can out of the desire to completely overcome the egregious acrophobia she developed after the plane crash. She also plays the piano well.

Movies, Television, or Theatre? - All of the above. She's particularly fond of the Action-Adventure genre and romantic comedies (she will, however, be hardpressed to admit the latter and hides her copy of Bridget Jones's Diary under her bed). She watches documentaries often, and likes watching cop dramas, though if asked what her favorite television shows are, it would be Mythbusters and MacGyver. She may or may not secretly harbor desires to build her very own Hwacha...or at least just figure out how to pass the Egg Drop test.

Revolutionary Fashion! - Clothes and accessories may very well be Naomi's greatest vice and she can be quite the fashionista. No matter the occasion, she dresses to the nines and she tends to have her school uniforms custom-tailored. In public, she is never seen with her hair down.

Soundtrack

Character Playlist

Mirrorcle World - Ayumi Hamasaki - Lyrics
Should I leave my body, or remain trapped inside it? Should I pretend I can see it, or is it just not there anyway? Should I fight, or raise the white flag?

Duty - Ayumi Hamasaki - Lyrics
I saw the end of an era with my own eyes. But I didn't want to know that it's my turn next.

Miss Understood - Ayumi Hamasaki - Lyrics
I said to myself "I'm OK" and showed my usual smile. I didn't feel desperation, but a kind of defiance.

The Tower - Vienna Teng - Lyrics
I need not to need. I've always been the tower, but now I feel like I'm the flower trying to bloom in snow.

Fashion - Lady Gaga - Lyrics
I need some new stilettos. Can't walk down the street in those. You are who you wear it's true. A girl's just as hot as the shoes she choose.

The Dream - The Birthday Massacre - Lyrics
It said, "You're not the first to dream this, little girl. You know it's never happened once in this world. It never crossed my mind that one so young could hope to find a power greater than my own."

Fully Alive - Flyleaf - Lyrics
All my complaints shrink to nothing, I'm ashamed of all my somethings. She's glad for one day of comfort. Only because she has suffered.

Wide Awake - Lacuna Coil - Lyrics
The struggle within, now I understand freedom begins. When you get out of the cage you built. It looks like I'm crazy but I'm not the only one.

Now is Mine - K's Choice - Lyrics
Grateful, humble, I allow these words to be the past somehow. I wonder, am I here now? Am I here now? I feel, hear, see and it confuses me. I am wrong. I am here. Now is mine. I'll take it all around the world. Take my future past, it's fine. But now is mine.

I Hate Everything About You - Three Days Grace - Lyrics
Every feeling that I get, but I haven't missed you yet. Only when I stop to think about it. I hate everything about you...why do I love you?

Sacrifice - Christopher Beck (from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer soundtrack)

Moonlight Sonata - E.S. Posthumus

Piano Pieces

Moonlight Sonata - Ludwig van Beethoven

Sonata in A minor, K 310 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Piano Concerto 3 in D Minor, op. 30 - Sergei Rachmaninoff

Nocturne in E-flat Major, opus 9 no.2 - Frederic Chopin

Swan Lake - Pyotr Tchaikovsky

Danse Macabre - Camille Saint-Saens, arranged for piano

Lux Aeterna (Requiem for a Dream) - Clint Mansell, arranged for piano

Who Wants to Live Forever? - Queen, arranged for piano

My Immortal - Evanescence, piano solo

Don't Wanna Miss a Thing - Aerosmith, arranged for piano

Livin' on a Prayer - Jon Bon Jovi, arranged for piano

I Hate Everything About You - Three Days Grace, arranged for piano

Disclaimer and OOC Contact Information

All images are copyrighted by their respective artists. I don't know who created them, but it isn't me.

Toss me a @mail if you need (or want) a scene or a plot hook, I'm game for almost anything! People can also reach me as Syblaze on AIM and kyootulu@gmail.com by e-mail.