Rikka Hishikawa (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
diamondlight) wrote2013-05-26 08:25 pm
diamondlight) wrote2013-05-26 08:25 pm
Entry tags:
Draft Application: Save the Earth
This is not the application that I eventually used for Save the Earth; it was my original concept, which got scrapped and became a different character entirely. That application is in Winter's journal, peacefulwinter. This version of Winter would have gone to ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
savetheearth.
OOC Information:
Name: MaxSalsa
Are you over 15? Yeeep.
Contact:![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
MaxSalsa; AIM UltimateSalsa
IC Information:
Name: Rikka Hishikawa; reincarnated, Winter Adamas
Canon: Dokidoki! Precure
Age: 14 preincarnated; to make her a little more versatile, her reincarnation will be 17.
Preincarnation Appearance: Rikka, and her form as Cure Diamond.
Any differences: Winter's hair reaches to just above her knees, and she actually needs her glasses (not pictured above; seen here, in one of Rikka's icons) to see, not just to read; she's a little self-conscious about wearing glasses, though, so she generally wears contacts, and supplements them with reading glasses as needed.
Preincarnated History: (Warning: Rikka's canon isn't actually finished yet, so while her Echoes restore everything else, they'll also edit any newly-introduced inconsistencies in her character that may crop up. I expect these to be relatively few by this point. Official romanizations of terms, when/if available, will be edited in and kept up to date on her info page as needed.)
Rikka is a middle-school girl that happens to have become a magical girl - a Precure - when her best friend found herself caught up in a conflict with the Selfish, a force that draws energy from the selfishness of humans. On the other side of that conflict is Makoto Kenzaki, Cure Sword, whose kingdom has been lost to an invasion by the Selfish. Her princess is now also missing. And Rikka's best friend Mana is exactly the sort of person that would jump headfirst into a situation she knows nothing about to save someone in need. Thus, Mana became Cure Heart, and when Rikka found that Mana was shutting her out and confronted her about it, Rikka took up the power of Precure herself to protect Mana, becoming Cure Diamond.
Not much time has passed since Rikka took up the power of Precure, and at this point, her daily life consists of her duties as student council secretary (serving Mana, its president), lots of studying to follow in her mother's footsteps and become a doctor, and occasional time with her head in a book of the Hundred Poems. Oh, and some time set aside to fight the forces of evil, who bring forward the selfishness in people's hearts and turn that into a monster, causing havoc across the city. Only the Precure - largely only Heart, but theoretically also Diamond and the others as well - can purify these monsters and restore victims' hearts.
As for Rikka herself, she's a relatively normal girl; her mother is a doctor and her father travels the world taking pictures, so she's home alone relatively often. Since she was a little girl, she was close to Mana, who lives close by, and over the years the two have become inseparable.
Reincarnated History: Winter was born the child of a Japanese father and an American mother; her mother was making a big name for herself as a medical researcher, and when the man that would become her father found himself meeting with her for a series of articles on her work, the two clicked. The two were married, though they stayed busy with work. And when Winter was born a few years later, the two were high enough in their respective careers that, over the first several years of her life, she wanted for nothing... except maybe her parents. Her father was frequently away from home for various interviews and stories for weeks at a time, and while her mother did the best she could, Winter couldn't help but feel a little distant from both of them. While she was fairly young, her mother was transferred to a hospital in Locke City, where her family now owns a home on the affluent side of town; she didn't really remember the place she was in before. She could tell you where it was on a map, sure, but it didn't really make an impression on her.
Early in life, Winter found herself with a thirst for knowledge that was hard to sate. She spet her days in the library, on the Internet and reading books on any topic that interested her. She resented her parents, and she briefly debated following her mother into medicine to become a bigger name, but quickly changed her mind, focusing instead on more arcane things, and on a wide pool of knowledge to build from. But she realized something else: with knowledge came prestige. With prestige, power. And without really noticing it, Winter began to gather that power to herself as she started to make a name for herself among her classmates. People started to trust her, to come to her for advice. They wanted to be her friend, though she was wary about such people. And she had just enough charisma to work this set of admirers into a set of people she could count on, should something happen.
Through middle school and into high school, Winter drifted apart from her parents; they were gone so often that she just stopped trying to get along with them. Her parents tried, but they just couldn't connect with her anymore, and they threw themselves even further into work. This left Winter to her own devices: continuing to make connections with her classmates, and forming an undercurrent of authority. Information. Money. Supplies. She was slowly coming to manage it in force. And she was starting to get drunk on the power, searching for more and more. That same power gave her confidence in herself, and she began to assert herself as a young woman with something to prove. Sure, she still had her bad days, and her personal triumphs without help. Those just seemed to galvanize her position - plus her own personal self-worth - even more, and as time passed she thought of her stock of assistance as something she could use in a pinch... something to be saved as a trump card until just the right moment.
Two months ago, a bright pink light in the sky caused a whole new problem for Winter: try as they might, neither her own research nor her contacts' web of information turned up anything conclusive on what the hell had happened. She tried to push it to the back of her mind, and go on with life. But now, as she prepares to enter her senior year of high school, she's won a position on the student council (not surprising, considering her connections among the student body). And for some reason, as she walked up to accept the position, she had a weird flashback to something that never happened. Now she's even more confused, and there's an odd set of numbers in her head that she's almost afraid to reveal to anyone else, even in her inner circle.
Basically, she's lost, which is new for her.
First Echo: Winter's election to the student council mirrors Rikka's; Rikka, however, served Mana, its president, and she was the whole reason Rikka ran in the first place. Winter gets a flash of a pink-haired girl asking a younger version of herself to run because she wouldn't be able to keep up with things by herself. She's not sure what it means, but whether she realizes it or not, she's a little less cold when she comes in the next day.
Preincarnation Personality: Rikka is a study in an uninteresting character made interesting by her friends. Alone, she'd be a bookworm with a desire to follow in her mother's footsteps. She doesn't leave the house much unless she's going somewhere with her friends (or to school), and she can almost always be seen with flashcards, a book, or something else to study with. She wants to learn things, and she does know quite a bit, but there's no meaning in knowledge for knowledge's sake, and Rikka realizes that.
It's through her friends, and Mana specifically, that Rikka shines. She's easy to tease, takes things way too seriously, and worries way too much. Perhaps more notably, she takes it upon herself to watch out for her friends, because she's used to her friends not watching out for themselves. That's largely resulted in her fussing over them every chance she gets - especially with Mana. In her case specifically, Rikka's devoted herself to protecting Mana from her excesses of selflessness, with selflessness of her own. Of course, we also know that Rikka gets jealous of Makoto butting into Mana's life, so it's highly likely there's something more there. Rikka probably doesn't even realize it, but she's gotten far closer to Mana than is safe, and it's going to turn into something more if she's not careful. Were Mana not to exist, it's entirely possible that she would latch onto someone similar in her life in a very similar fashion.
Amusingly, Rikka is easily flustered. She expects things to go a certain way - whether from experience or knowledge - and when something otherwise happens, she scrambles to keep up. If things get too ridiculous, she'll happily voice her opinion, but for the most part, she trusts in her friends to make things work out. That said, she's also somewhat passive; she trusts others to make reasonable decisions most of the time, and only steps in when no decision is being made, or the chosen course of action is likely to fail or hurt someone. Notable in this regard is Rikka bringing up a story about a prince and a swallow in canon; the prince gives everything of himself for others, but takes no time for his own needs and wants. Eventually it comes down to a swallow to help the prince see his error, and guide him to not be so selfless as to kill himself. Rikka sees this tendency in Mana, and passionately asks to become Mana's swallow. It's not unusual for her to try to help others in a lesser capacity, though. She commonly will help tutor her friends in subjects they're having problems with, step up to take over for someone if there's a problem, and generally be supportive.
You might notice that a lot of the last couple of paragraphs are less about Rikka alone and more about Rikka's relationship with her best friend. And that's honestly part of her personality - Rikka is more than happy to stand in the shadows and support her friends than to stand alone. She can step up and take charge, but at the end of the day, she exists for her precious people. And while she loves her parents, she'll always be by Mana's side, because Mana is the person that was there for her, no matter what.
Whether it's because of her relationship with her BFF or not, Rikka has also displayed a talent for karuta, a Japanese game involving the second halves of famous short poems put onto cards; when the first half is read, the player must find the second half before her opponent. Her reason for liking the game, however, is dubious; she liked the love poems and couldn't stop reading the Hundred Poems. But it's also something she can do for herself - she's not supporting Mana, she's not following her mother, she's just taking up the game for herself. And she honestly enjoys it, even as much as she overextends herself to try and make it happen.
Also of note is the jealousy touched on earlier. Rikka starts to notice herself getting angry when Mana befriends Makoto and begins to spend time with her; at a comment from the fourth member of their group, Alice, she realizes she's jealous of Makoto taking time with Mana that used to be hers and hers alone. She recognizes this about herself, and while she tries to suppress it, she's come to realize that she is very possessive of the few things she can truly call "hers".
Any differences: Rikka is defined by her friends. Winter grew up without a presence anywhere near as strong as Mana in her life, and with even less of her parents' presence. Winter, then, started down the path of isolation in knowledge. She craved any bit of information she could find. The girl designed experiments to prove theories she read about, worked out math problems to test formulae and work at "unsolvable" theories, whatever linked into the things she was learning. Her desire to discover new things continues to grow to this day, though she's not quite as fanatic about it as she was before.
As she got older, she began to attract a crowd of followers. And while she struggled to figure out what they saw in her, she ultimately discovered that knowledge had drawn them to her, and through knowledge she could keep them, and even make them useful. She's not quite manipulative, exactly, but she knows the right words to say to keep someone interested, and the right price to entice someone to assist her. Through a series of favors and connections, Winter has started to build a network in Locke. It's small, but it's got the potential to become an underworld of... non-criminal activity? For now she's just using it to keep herself connected on events and discoveries. Barring things behind closed doors, nothing happens in Locke City that Winter doesn't know about.
It's not uncommon for Winter to be a little petty about things. She's getting tired of her parents putting in half-hearted attempts to reconcile with her; of people ignoring her from the rumors about her; of the many that put her up on a pedestal because of who she is. If she's not paying attention, she casually drops barbs without really thinking about it; she can easily say something she didn't necessarily mean to say if she gets angry or annoyed. That leads to her trying to maintain a mask of control and calm, but she's not perfect. She knows that better than anyone. It's why she's the way she is now.
Winter is slightly vain about herself; while she doesn't spend hours on her appearance, she does make an effort not to look like trash, and she takes particular care of her hair. She's of the opinion that a person's inner beauty can surpass their outer appearance. She would know - she's fairly plain, in her opinion, but her mind more than makes up for it. (Did I mention she's just a little arrogant about her intelligence?) The girl also considers her time valuable; she'd rather not waste it doing pointless things, and she has a slight disdain for anything intended purely to waste time with no tangible benefit.
Somewhere deep inside, Winter knows that her network has nobody she can truly call a "friend" in it. She wants a true friend, dearly. But until the day she finds someone like that, she takes solace in the number of people that would come if she called. How long they'd stay is another matter entirely, but she tries not to think about that. Winter's general disposition is a little aloof; people are something that can be associated with, but she's looking for unique people that have something to contribute. Maybe, someday, she'll find someone for her. Someone that can put up with everything she is. But she's starting to convince herself that day will not come.
Abilities: Rikka's only ability of note at home is that she can become a magical girl at will. This is through the power of a Lovely Commune, a device looking not unlike a cell phone. Each of the girls' Communes, though, is the alternate form of a fairy; in their main forms, they look like plushies and can fly, and all have card suit decorations. Rikka's fairy is Raquel, who is blue and has a diamond motif. When she uses Raquel to transform, she becomes Cure Diamond. Simply being in this form raises her dexterity, strength, and toughness, but it also gives her access to special attacks, including Twinkle Diamond, a ranged ice attack, and (with access to her Love Heart Arrow she gets later in canon) Diamond Shower, which similarly freezes enemies but works in an AoE cone (and is also much flashier). Cure forms are technically disguise forms; the girls go by their titles (Heart, Diamond, Rosetta [club], and Sword [spade]) while transformed, although they do occasionally forget when not around civilians.
Though it's not a great resource, the Precure Wiki has information on Cure Diamond in its article on Rikka. There's not much there, which is why I didn't link it earlier.
Roleplay Sample – Third Person: As the door shut behind her with a click, the bluenette sighed. Today had been horribly dull - nothing interesting in new business, old business being accomplished with usual speed, and nobody on the council standing out in any way she cared about. Nope, Winter felt the last hour was largely a waste of her time. Sure, it had been important, but she'd been expecting more action. More... she wasn't honestly sure what, but something more than what had actually happened. The end of the year involved a lot of cleanup of loose ends and a lot of nothing otherwise, and her attention had drifted to the rain clattering against the windows toward the end.
As she pondered the past 60 minutes again, Winter made her way out of the building, absently drawing an umbrella with one hand and a ring of laminated flashcards with the other. She had an exam coming up soon, and while she was certain she could ace it without actually caring, she had to give the illusion of making sure everything was fine and that she was prepared. In truth, she would much rather be talking to her acquaintances, or curled up on the couch with something new to read, or figuring out what the hell that number meant... anything other than flashcards in the rain. Well, no, that was a lie - she also didn't want to deal with her mother trying to make amends with her again, should she be home. That was awkward every single time it happened, and she wanted to avoid that if at all possible.
The question was resolved for her, as her feet carried her to a coffee shop not too far from home. With a glance at the sky, she shook her head; the storm should pass relatively soon. So she went inside and ordered a cup of tea, and set herself in an armchair near the front window. Trading the flashcards for a book she'd been reading, she resisted the urge to drop her shoes on the floor and curl her legs under her, and settled for leaning back and losing herself in something new.
Roleplay Sample - Network: I don't know why I'm asking, but I need advice. What kinds of things are good ways to spend summer vacation?
[A pause.]
Yes, I know it's an odd question. But I think I need to do something other than stay inside with the air conditioning turned on full blast with a book. All day. Besides, I'm running out of books to read again, and I just ordered some that won't be in for a few days, so I don't want to search the internet again. Anyone whose answer is "go to the bookstore" will be glared at.
Things were so rough this last month or so, I just... [The girl runs a hand through her long hair, sighing heavily.] I need a break, and I'm not sure what to do with all this free time I suddenly have. Other than letting myself shut away the world, and I'm trying not to do that. Much.
Any Questions? Somewhere down the line, Winter will need to recover (individually) her fairy Raquel and her Cure Lovies in order to actually have powers. Raquel is a "pet" in the sense that he belongs to Rikka, but he's very much a sentient creature; there's not nearly enough there to app him (yet), but I figured I'd mention it now and make sure I'd be cool to take him back over the course of several Echoes in the future.
peacefulwinter. This version of Winter would have gone to savetheearth.OOC Information:
Name: MaxSalsa
Are you over 15? Yeeep.
Contact:
IC Information:
Name: Rikka Hishikawa; reincarnated, Winter Adamas
Canon: Dokidoki! Precure
Age: 14 preincarnated; to make her a little more versatile, her reincarnation will be 17.
Preincarnation Appearance: Rikka, and her form as Cure Diamond.
Any differences: Winter's hair reaches to just above her knees, and she actually needs her glasses (not pictured above; seen here, in one of Rikka's icons) to see, not just to read; she's a little self-conscious about wearing glasses, though, so she generally wears contacts, and supplements them with reading glasses as needed.
Preincarnated History: (Warning: Rikka's canon isn't actually finished yet, so while her Echoes restore everything else, they'll also edit any newly-introduced inconsistencies in her character that may crop up. I expect these to be relatively few by this point. Official romanizations of terms, when/if available, will be edited in and kept up to date on her info page as needed.)
Rikka is a middle-school girl that happens to have become a magical girl - a Precure - when her best friend found herself caught up in a conflict with the Selfish, a force that draws energy from the selfishness of humans. On the other side of that conflict is Makoto Kenzaki, Cure Sword, whose kingdom has been lost to an invasion by the Selfish. Her princess is now also missing. And Rikka's best friend Mana is exactly the sort of person that would jump headfirst into a situation she knows nothing about to save someone in need. Thus, Mana became Cure Heart, and when Rikka found that Mana was shutting her out and confronted her about it, Rikka took up the power of Precure herself to protect Mana, becoming Cure Diamond.
Not much time has passed since Rikka took up the power of Precure, and at this point, her daily life consists of her duties as student council secretary (serving Mana, its president), lots of studying to follow in her mother's footsteps and become a doctor, and occasional time with her head in a book of the Hundred Poems. Oh, and some time set aside to fight the forces of evil, who bring forward the selfishness in people's hearts and turn that into a monster, causing havoc across the city. Only the Precure - largely only Heart, but theoretically also Diamond and the others as well - can purify these monsters and restore victims' hearts.
As for Rikka herself, she's a relatively normal girl; her mother is a doctor and her father travels the world taking pictures, so she's home alone relatively often. Since she was a little girl, she was close to Mana, who lives close by, and over the years the two have become inseparable.
Reincarnated History: Winter was born the child of a Japanese father and an American mother; her mother was making a big name for herself as a medical researcher, and when the man that would become her father found himself meeting with her for a series of articles on her work, the two clicked. The two were married, though they stayed busy with work. And when Winter was born a few years later, the two were high enough in their respective careers that, over the first several years of her life, she wanted for nothing... except maybe her parents. Her father was frequently away from home for various interviews and stories for weeks at a time, and while her mother did the best she could, Winter couldn't help but feel a little distant from both of them. While she was fairly young, her mother was transferred to a hospital in Locke City, where her family now owns a home on the affluent side of town; she didn't really remember the place she was in before. She could tell you where it was on a map, sure, but it didn't really make an impression on her.
Early in life, Winter found herself with a thirst for knowledge that was hard to sate. She spet her days in the library, on the Internet and reading books on any topic that interested her. She resented her parents, and she briefly debated following her mother into medicine to become a bigger name, but quickly changed her mind, focusing instead on more arcane things, and on a wide pool of knowledge to build from. But she realized something else: with knowledge came prestige. With prestige, power. And without really noticing it, Winter began to gather that power to herself as she started to make a name for herself among her classmates. People started to trust her, to come to her for advice. They wanted to be her friend, though she was wary about such people. And she had just enough charisma to work this set of admirers into a set of people she could count on, should something happen.
Through middle school and into high school, Winter drifted apart from her parents; they were gone so often that she just stopped trying to get along with them. Her parents tried, but they just couldn't connect with her anymore, and they threw themselves even further into work. This left Winter to her own devices: continuing to make connections with her classmates, and forming an undercurrent of authority. Information. Money. Supplies. She was slowly coming to manage it in force. And she was starting to get drunk on the power, searching for more and more. That same power gave her confidence in herself, and she began to assert herself as a young woman with something to prove. Sure, she still had her bad days, and her personal triumphs without help. Those just seemed to galvanize her position - plus her own personal self-worth - even more, and as time passed she thought of her stock of assistance as something she could use in a pinch... something to be saved as a trump card until just the right moment.
Two months ago, a bright pink light in the sky caused a whole new problem for Winter: try as they might, neither her own research nor her contacts' web of information turned up anything conclusive on what the hell had happened. She tried to push it to the back of her mind, and go on with life. But now, as she prepares to enter her senior year of high school, she's won a position on the student council (not surprising, considering her connections among the student body). And for some reason, as she walked up to accept the position, she had a weird flashback to something that never happened. Now she's even more confused, and there's an odd set of numbers in her head that she's almost afraid to reveal to anyone else, even in her inner circle.
Basically, she's lost, which is new for her.
First Echo: Winter's election to the student council mirrors Rikka's; Rikka, however, served Mana, its president, and she was the whole reason Rikka ran in the first place. Winter gets a flash of a pink-haired girl asking a younger version of herself to run because she wouldn't be able to keep up with things by herself. She's not sure what it means, but whether she realizes it or not, she's a little less cold when she comes in the next day.
Preincarnation Personality: Rikka is a study in an uninteresting character made interesting by her friends. Alone, she'd be a bookworm with a desire to follow in her mother's footsteps. She doesn't leave the house much unless she's going somewhere with her friends (or to school), and she can almost always be seen with flashcards, a book, or something else to study with. She wants to learn things, and she does know quite a bit, but there's no meaning in knowledge for knowledge's sake, and Rikka realizes that.
It's through her friends, and Mana specifically, that Rikka shines. She's easy to tease, takes things way too seriously, and worries way too much. Perhaps more notably, she takes it upon herself to watch out for her friends, because she's used to her friends not watching out for themselves. That's largely resulted in her fussing over them every chance she gets - especially with Mana. In her case specifically, Rikka's devoted herself to protecting Mana from her excesses of selflessness, with selflessness of her own. Of course, we also know that Rikka gets jealous of Makoto butting into Mana's life, so it's highly likely there's something more there. Rikka probably doesn't even realize it, but she's gotten far closer to Mana than is safe, and it's going to turn into something more if she's not careful. Were Mana not to exist, it's entirely possible that she would latch onto someone similar in her life in a very similar fashion.
Amusingly, Rikka is easily flustered. She expects things to go a certain way - whether from experience or knowledge - and when something otherwise happens, she scrambles to keep up. If things get too ridiculous, she'll happily voice her opinion, but for the most part, she trusts in her friends to make things work out. That said, she's also somewhat passive; she trusts others to make reasonable decisions most of the time, and only steps in when no decision is being made, or the chosen course of action is likely to fail or hurt someone. Notable in this regard is Rikka bringing up a story about a prince and a swallow in canon; the prince gives everything of himself for others, but takes no time for his own needs and wants. Eventually it comes down to a swallow to help the prince see his error, and guide him to not be so selfless as to kill himself. Rikka sees this tendency in Mana, and passionately asks to become Mana's swallow. It's not unusual for her to try to help others in a lesser capacity, though. She commonly will help tutor her friends in subjects they're having problems with, step up to take over for someone if there's a problem, and generally be supportive.
You might notice that a lot of the last couple of paragraphs are less about Rikka alone and more about Rikka's relationship with her best friend. And that's honestly part of her personality - Rikka is more than happy to stand in the shadows and support her friends than to stand alone. She can step up and take charge, but at the end of the day, she exists for her precious people. And while she loves her parents, she'll always be by Mana's side, because Mana is the person that was there for her, no matter what.
Whether it's because of her relationship with her BFF or not, Rikka has also displayed a talent for karuta, a Japanese game involving the second halves of famous short poems put onto cards; when the first half is read, the player must find the second half before her opponent. Her reason for liking the game, however, is dubious; she liked the love poems and couldn't stop reading the Hundred Poems. But it's also something she can do for herself - she's not supporting Mana, she's not following her mother, she's just taking up the game for herself. And she honestly enjoys it, even as much as she overextends herself to try and make it happen.
Also of note is the jealousy touched on earlier. Rikka starts to notice herself getting angry when Mana befriends Makoto and begins to spend time with her; at a comment from the fourth member of their group, Alice, she realizes she's jealous of Makoto taking time with Mana that used to be hers and hers alone. She recognizes this about herself, and while she tries to suppress it, she's come to realize that she is very possessive of the few things she can truly call "hers".
Any differences: Rikka is defined by her friends. Winter grew up without a presence anywhere near as strong as Mana in her life, and with even less of her parents' presence. Winter, then, started down the path of isolation in knowledge. She craved any bit of information she could find. The girl designed experiments to prove theories she read about, worked out math problems to test formulae and work at "unsolvable" theories, whatever linked into the things she was learning. Her desire to discover new things continues to grow to this day, though she's not quite as fanatic about it as she was before.
As she got older, she began to attract a crowd of followers. And while she struggled to figure out what they saw in her, she ultimately discovered that knowledge had drawn them to her, and through knowledge she could keep them, and even make them useful. She's not quite manipulative, exactly, but she knows the right words to say to keep someone interested, and the right price to entice someone to assist her. Through a series of favors and connections, Winter has started to build a network in Locke. It's small, but it's got the potential to become an underworld of... non-criminal activity? For now she's just using it to keep herself connected on events and discoveries. Barring things behind closed doors, nothing happens in Locke City that Winter doesn't know about.
It's not uncommon for Winter to be a little petty about things. She's getting tired of her parents putting in half-hearted attempts to reconcile with her; of people ignoring her from the rumors about her; of the many that put her up on a pedestal because of who she is. If she's not paying attention, she casually drops barbs without really thinking about it; she can easily say something she didn't necessarily mean to say if she gets angry or annoyed. That leads to her trying to maintain a mask of control and calm, but she's not perfect. She knows that better than anyone. It's why she's the way she is now.
Winter is slightly vain about herself; while she doesn't spend hours on her appearance, she does make an effort not to look like trash, and she takes particular care of her hair. She's of the opinion that a person's inner beauty can surpass their outer appearance. She would know - she's fairly plain, in her opinion, but her mind more than makes up for it. (Did I mention she's just a little arrogant about her intelligence?) The girl also considers her time valuable; she'd rather not waste it doing pointless things, and she has a slight disdain for anything intended purely to waste time with no tangible benefit.
Somewhere deep inside, Winter knows that her network has nobody she can truly call a "friend" in it. She wants a true friend, dearly. But until the day she finds someone like that, she takes solace in the number of people that would come if she called. How long they'd stay is another matter entirely, but she tries not to think about that. Winter's general disposition is a little aloof; people are something that can be associated with, but she's looking for unique people that have something to contribute. Maybe, someday, she'll find someone for her. Someone that can put up with everything she is. But she's starting to convince herself that day will not come.
Abilities: Rikka's only ability of note at home is that she can become a magical girl at will. This is through the power of a Lovely Commune, a device looking not unlike a cell phone. Each of the girls' Communes, though, is the alternate form of a fairy; in their main forms, they look like plushies and can fly, and all have card suit decorations. Rikka's fairy is Raquel, who is blue and has a diamond motif. When she uses Raquel to transform, she becomes Cure Diamond. Simply being in this form raises her dexterity, strength, and toughness, but it also gives her access to special attacks, including Twinkle Diamond, a ranged ice attack, and (with access to her Love Heart Arrow she gets later in canon) Diamond Shower, which similarly freezes enemies but works in an AoE cone (and is also much flashier). Cure forms are technically disguise forms; the girls go by their titles (Heart, Diamond, Rosetta [club], and Sword [spade]) while transformed, although they do occasionally forget when not around civilians.
Though it's not a great resource, the Precure Wiki has information on Cure Diamond in its article on Rikka. There's not much there, which is why I didn't link it earlier.
Roleplay Sample – Third Person: As the door shut behind her with a click, the bluenette sighed. Today had been horribly dull - nothing interesting in new business, old business being accomplished with usual speed, and nobody on the council standing out in any way she cared about. Nope, Winter felt the last hour was largely a waste of her time. Sure, it had been important, but she'd been expecting more action. More... she wasn't honestly sure what, but something more than what had actually happened. The end of the year involved a lot of cleanup of loose ends and a lot of nothing otherwise, and her attention had drifted to the rain clattering against the windows toward the end.
As she pondered the past 60 minutes again, Winter made her way out of the building, absently drawing an umbrella with one hand and a ring of laminated flashcards with the other. She had an exam coming up soon, and while she was certain she could ace it without actually caring, she had to give the illusion of making sure everything was fine and that she was prepared. In truth, she would much rather be talking to her acquaintances, or curled up on the couch with something new to read, or figuring out what the hell that number meant... anything other than flashcards in the rain. Well, no, that was a lie - she also didn't want to deal with her mother trying to make amends with her again, should she be home. That was awkward every single time it happened, and she wanted to avoid that if at all possible.
The question was resolved for her, as her feet carried her to a coffee shop not too far from home. With a glance at the sky, she shook her head; the storm should pass relatively soon. So she went inside and ordered a cup of tea, and set herself in an armchair near the front window. Trading the flashcards for a book she'd been reading, she resisted the urge to drop her shoes on the floor and curl her legs under her, and settled for leaning back and losing herself in something new.
Roleplay Sample - Network: I don't know why I'm asking, but I need advice. What kinds of things are good ways to spend summer vacation?
[A pause.]
Yes, I know it's an odd question. But I think I need to do something other than stay inside with the air conditioning turned on full blast with a book. All day. Besides, I'm running out of books to read again, and I just ordered some that won't be in for a few days, so I don't want to search the internet again. Anyone whose answer is "go to the bookstore" will be glared at.
Things were so rough this last month or so, I just... [The girl runs a hand through her long hair, sighing heavily.] I need a break, and I'm not sure what to do with all this free time I suddenly have. Other than letting myself shut away the world, and I'm trying not to do that. Much.
Any Questions? Somewhere down the line, Winter will need to recover (individually) her fairy Raquel and her Cure Lovies in order to actually have powers. Raquel is a "pet" in the sense that he belongs to Rikka, but he's very much a sentient creature; there's not nearly enough there to app him (yet), but I figured I'd mention it now and make sure I'd be cool to take him back over the course of several Echoes in the future.