Name: Adiv Baara
Name Meaning: Adiv is a Hebrew name meaning gentle or delicate and
Baara is a biblical term for a flame or purging, so, all together, it
comes to gentle purging. The meaning? Well, Prometheus named him, so maybe
it was a not-so-subtle announcing of his future plans or maybe just a
physical statement of his wishes to purge the humans. Or maybe he just
liked the way it sounded.
Age: Fourteen
Date of Birth: 14 March
Astrological Sign: Pisces
Bloodtype: AB
Alignment: It seems almost predestined that Addie go to the good side
of things as his very nature seems to make him unable to perform
anything even remotely bad. Still, on the other hand, he is rather easily
manipulated, so, really, I suppose that he could be tricked or manipulated
into working for the evil side. Erm. Point. He�s neutral, let�s say,
and be done with it.
Strengths: Though it�s a bit odd, Addie has an unique sort of
emotional strength and resiliency in that it really does take a lot to
dishearten him and, when it comes to other people, it takes nothing short of a
major event to even make him think of losing faith, once he comes to
trust them. What he lacks in physical strength and skill, he more than
makes up in both intelligence and in musical skill. A very bright child,
Addie tends to pick things up very quickly and he very much excels in
his classes at school. Also, he seems to be able to play music by ear
and, oftentimes, he can play an instrument well the first time he picks
it up, though he�s not quite as eager to do this as he had been. Perhaps
both a strength and a weakness, Addie is very much innocent and, even
though he faced some quite unpleasant things in his short time, he
retains a naive and childlike quality in every aspect of himself. Also a bit
dubious, the boy has an androgynous sort of beauty that has a varied effect: for some, it makes them want to protect the boy and to keep him safe, while, to others, it makes them want to hurt him, to break him, to shatter him.
Weaknesses: Perhaps the most obvious of Addie�s weaknesses is that he
is far from physically strong and, really, it doesn�t take much to tire
him out. This, along with the fact that he probably wouldn�t fight to
save his own soul, is probably what makes him such good bully fodder
which is, in fact, another of his great weaknesses; something about him
just seems to beg for all the bullies and the perverts to prey on him and
it isn�t like he tries to defend himself from them. Also, the fact that
his mother, with all good intention, has kept him absolutely
sheltered-- even if it is a case of locking the barn door after the horse�s been stolen-- doesn�t help his natural wide streak of absolute naivete. In fact, it only makes him all the more vulnerable to manipulation as well as to being used for just about any sick scheme. On the mention of sick schemes, the whole kidnapping fiasco in his past-- and the memories from which he�s diligently tried to repress-- are a glaring weakness as they have made him somewhat less than trusting of the people around himself, especially strangers, and, if these and other choice repressed memories were to come to light, then I doubt Addie would be a very happy little boy. Of course, the kidnapping has
soured his taste for his musical career, but, since it makes his mother so
happy and so proud, he wouldn�t ever consider quitting, no matter what
sort of stress and pain the playing causes.
Likes: One of Addie�s greatest loves is gardening and, just as soon as
the weather turns favorable to it, he devotes himself to making the
patch of land behind his mother�s house into a paradise of flowers of just
about every color and every variety you could imagine. Carrying this
over to the inside, he often quite liberally arranges flowers and things
throughout the house, as well, just so that they can enjoy the beauty
at all times; he also grows fresh herbs and vegetables for his mother�s
cooking. Following close to this, though, is Addie�s love of reading
and, though he�ll happily read anything, fantasy remains at the very top of his
list. Other things that he tends to enjoy are butterflies, shopping trips, strawberry-- or peanut butter-- ice cream, video arcades, and just sitting in the park and reading.
Dislikes: Addie�s greatest dislike is one to which he�d never own up.
Though he continues to play and to act as if it�s his favorite thing in
the world, he secretly hates the his musical performances, if just for
the memories and emotions it tends to stir within him, and each becomes
more painful than the last. Of course, these memories and emotions are
rather less than liked by the boy, even if he really won�t do anything
for them. Another deep dislike is the marks which run over his front, back, and down either arm and, though he doesn�t remember their meaning, he knows that they stir deep, rather painful memories within him. Perhaps more a fear than a dislike, Addie doesn�t do well in large crowds and he tends to harbor a good deal of distrust for strangers. Also, though he never goes there, he has an intense dislike of the Forbidden Ground at the edges of Eden. Beyond that, he�s not entirely fond of the fame brought to him by being a child prodigy in things musical, if just for the recognition with some and scorn from others. Also, he�s the sort who can�t stand to see people in pain or trouble and,
even for the strangers whom he doesn�t trust, he�d be willing to do
anything to help them. On a lesser note, he dislikes shellfish--he�s highly
allergic to it--as well as anything which taints natural beauty.
Greatest Fear: Addie�s greatest fear is that his mother would come to
realize just how much his musical performances hurt him and how great a
toll they put upon him as she always seems so proud and so happy when
he plays, and that has become such a rare thing ever since Prometheus
died.
Motivation: Addie�s motivation is to simply keep his mother happy and
smiling and there is absolutely nothing which he wants more, no matter
what it may mean for him.
Favorite Food: Addie�s favorite food is pasta mixed with peanut butter,
simply because it is the comfort food which his mother always makes
whenever he gets himself into trouble. Beyond that, he always likes ice
cream, though he�s just about constantly trying to decide if he likes
strawberry flavored or peanut butter flavored best.
Least Favorite Food: Addie�s least favorite food is shellfish of any
kind as he�s very highly allergic to it and he tends to have very bad
reactions to even the smallest amount of it. Also, he has a strong
aversion to bottled drinks of any kind, from soda to water to anything else
which comes in that fashion.
What grade are they in: Having skipped a few grades, Addie�s a junior
in high school, eleventh grade.
Marks: Addie tends to get almost perfect grades in school and it�s
really very rare that he gets anything lower than an A.
Favorite Class: Addie�s favorite class is natural sciences, if just for
the fact that it teaches him all about the plants, flowers, vegetables, and such that he so loves planting and tending.
Least Favorite Class: Though it was once his favorite class, Addie has
come to hate the musical classes, if just for the memories and such
which they stir. Of course, he tries to keep this from being apparent,
though, and he continues to act as if there was nothing which he enjoys
more.
Personality: Addie is simply an innocent. Even after all he has seen
and all he has been through, he is still innocent, still naive, and
still the sort to want to better the world around himself. Even for the
trauma of his father�s actions and the actions of those who had kidnapped
him, he still absolutely has a wide streak of innocence and naivete.
Those memories deeply repressed, he sees the world through the fabled
rose-colored glasses and he tends to have a hard time understanding how or
why people could ever want to be cruel to each other. Of course, the
fact that he�s been sheltered by his mother ever since his kidnapping doesn�t help him to understand things any better and it only tends to deepen his naivete. Then again, it also tends to make him all the more dependant on his
mother for just about everything in his life and it also only strengthens
his need to make the woman as happy as she was before she lost her
husband. Really, the need to make his mother happy tends to be a driving
force in his life and it is also this which makes him brave the repressed
memories and stress which are brought up just about anytime he�s made to
sit before a piano. Still, he�s become something of a master at hiding
these signs and this stress and even those who know him best seem to have no idea that anything�s wrong. Of course, how long this can possibly last is a total unknown as is what, exactly, would happen if it ever became all too much for him, though a complete breakdown seems the most obvious of answers. That aside, his past kidnapping has also made him understandably wary of strangers,
but, despite that, it hasn�t killed his natural drive to help those around himself, even strangers. Though, again, this only opens himself to the bullies and the perverts of the world to whom he is all too easy a toy and whom seem to derive no greater joy than in harassing the boy. It may be this which allows him to get so much joy and so much pleasure from the simple acts of reading and of gardening or it may simply be the sort of pride one gets from seeing a garden in bloom and knowing that it was done by one�s own hands. The reading,
though, seems natural for one as intelligent, book-wise, at least, as Addie and the fact that he like fantasy books best, too, seems fitting as it
allows him an escape from the world around himself.
Appearance: Addie is truly an androgynous beauty and, when he dresses
in the more feminine examples of his wardrobe, he could quite easily be
mistaken for a little girl. Standing only a little over five feet, six
inches, he is rather short for a boy and, though slight, his body is
still wonderfully graceful and lithe. His skin is soft and almost
perfectly snow white and the only marks showing on it are the words scrawled
in the ancient angelic script running over both sides of his torso and
down either arm. Not wishing it to be seen, though, he tends to favor
shirts which cover just as much of this skin as possible while still being
attractive. His features, in general, are very attractive and very open,
the sort which seem to invite one to either befriend him or abuse him,
depending on personal bent. Wide and very expressive, his eyes of a rich
emerald betray every emotion and every thought as do his soft pink and
entirely mobile mouth. Pale ash blond in color, his hair falls in a
gentle sheet just to chin and, though it frames his face in quite a lovely
fashion, it also tends to obscure his features at times. As far as
clothing goes, Addie tends to favor things of a more feminine bent, though,
of course, he does have the sense to dress a bit more sensibly when the
time calls for it. As said before, though, he tends to like shirts
which cover as much of his skin as possible so that his marks aren�t
readily seen, but don�t sacrifice any attractiveness for it. For
adornments, he tends to like to wear a large number of rings so as to
compliment the beauty of his gracefully tapered fingers as well as bangly
bracelets on his wrists, just because they look pretty. He also has his ears
pierced a few times, twice in the lobe, and three times at the
cartilage, and he tends to wear earrings in these as would compliment his
style, as well as various necklaces about his neck.
Social Status: Addie would probably be best described as bully fodder.
As mentioned throughout, he tends to call to the bullies and the
perverts of the world and, since he won�t defend himself, they have free
reign over him. Also, the fact that he�s a piano virtuoso and an advanced
student tends not to make him very popular, neither in school nor on the
streets, even if many of the adults of Eden recognize his name and respect his ability.
Love Life: Addie�s never known love. Hell, he�s never even had so much
as a friend, let alone a lover, but he doesn�t put much thought into
those things; well, conscious thought, anyway. Still, if it were to
happen, I�d guess that he�d have to be gay, if just for the whole androgyny
thing; not too sure that many women�d go for that look. Also, he�d have
to be the uberuke of uberukes; he totally couldn�t be seme, regardless
of the situation.
Family, Friends:
Prometheus: Prometheus was the name taken by one of God�s fallen angels
when he made himself as man so as to escape the Sealing which all the
other angels were made to face. Blending himself well with humans, he
stayed with them through time and, though there is no
concrete evidence of it, it is well believed that he was a catalyst to
many of man�s greatest achievements. Still, regardless of his other
deeds, the angel-made-man was only biding his time until he could find and
break the Seal put upon the other fallen angels. So, when he learned of
the location, he finally stepped forward to take any who would come
with him and, declaring it as an act of defiance for all the evil which
had seized the world, he led them out to find what was truly a promised,
pristine land. As the city of what would be known as Eden was settled,
Prometheus sought out the Seal and, once he was sure of what would need
to be done, he took a human woman as his wife. Shortly thereafter, she
bore him a son and, with this act, Prometheus�plans were laid. To break
the seal, he needed a being of mixed human and angel blood and, after
marking it with sacred words in the angelic script, its blood would
break the Seal. Still, something went wrong. Though the child was of
the required blood and marked correctly, Prometheus was the one to die
as the Seal was broken.
Majeeda Baara: Majeeda was a simple, but passionate woman and, when
such a vibrant and charming man as Prometheus came to court her, she
found she had no choice but to accept his advances. After all, he was an
unofficial leader and, to some in Eden, he was all but a Savior for
leading them from the corruption of the outside world. She loved him. She
loved him desperately. He was her world and her life, more than anything else,
and she would do anything for him. It was a joy when she came to bear his
son and she loved the infant just as strongly, if not moreso, than her
husband. She was wholly content with her life and simply overjoyed to
find that her baby son was a child prodigy. Of course, she nurtured this
ability and she was so proud to see him become famous at a rather
tender age that she was devastated when this ability led to a tragedy. She
was crushed when her baby was kidnapped and it was only made worse by
the shape in which Addie was returned to her. Still, once the boy was
nurtured back to health, she swore that she wouldn�t let this happen
again... only to see the boy taken by his own father. Majeeda never knew what
happened, but, when she saw her son, bloody and crying, curled on her
doorstep one early morning, she swore that she�d never leave him alone
again.
Birthplace: Adiv was born and raised in New Eden.
Current Residence: Thanks to Prometheus� position in Eden, the Baara
family is located in the Xanadu district, but, instead of a mansion or
even an overblown house, they maintain the sort of two story house one
would typically find in just about any suburb you could name. Nothing
overly fancy, it has aluminum siding, shutters, and just enough of a
porch to hold a small swing. Still, even for the smallness of this, Addie
keeps, when in season, any number of plotted plants strewn about just to
add color and beauty to what would otherwise be rather unremarkable.
Perhaps a mark of Majeeda�s need to keep her son safe, the front door
has any number of locks and, if one were to look closely, they could see
bars at the windows. The interior of the house is tasteful in a rather
bland way. Colors are very muted leaning more toward the beiges, the
whites, the olives and such and, really, the only true bursts come from
the flowers arranged throughout by Addie. The first floor is occupied by
a formal dining room, a kitchen, and a sitting room which is, quite
obviously, the room in which the family spends most of their time as it is
strewn both with Addie�s books as well the things for Majeeda�s
knitting and crocheting. The piano is also in this room and it is arranged by
the window so that, when one sits behind it, one can get a lovely view
of the garden behind the house. The upstairs is mostly just taken by
Addie�s and Majeeda�s bedrooms, as well as a bathroom for each of them.
Addie�s bedroom is rather surpisingly tidy for one belonging to a t
eenage boy and, other than the bed, the only other real
features in this are a desk for his homework as well as any number of
cluttered bookshelves. Still, it is in here where the splay of flowers
are most concentrated and, whatever the season, he tries to ensure that
he always has fresh flowers in abundance. Also, he has a small bonzai
tree which he has only had for a short time, but was inspired to get
after reading about them in a book. Speaking of flowers, it was through
Addie�s own effort that the expanse of land behind the Barano home is
turned into a lush garden, the types of which seem only possible in
fairytales. Flowers of every kind, he plant sand, in the spring and the
summer, it�s an absolute paradise of colors and fragrance.
History: Prometheus was the one angel to outsmart Him or, at least,
that�s how the angel, himself, saw it. Escaping the sad fate of the other
fallen ones, he blended himself with the lowly, hated men and, biding
his time, he lived amongst them for many ages. Still, in this time, he
was far from idle and just about all of his attention was absolutely
focused upon finding and then breaking the Seal placed upon his fellow
angels. Of course, it took him aeons upon aeons to learn anything of this, but he latched upon any news he was able to find. Once he was sure that the Seal lay far from any place where man had settled, he stepped forward into the public attention and, declaring that the world had fallen to corruption, he volunteered to lead any man strong enough to follow to a Promised Land. With a trusted group of men, Prometheus wandered out into the unexplored lands and, after a long time of struggle, he finally found what he sought. The Seal.
As the men settled and began their civilization, Prometheus studied the
Seal and, once he was sure of what must be done, he lowered himself to
taking a human woman as his bride. Of course, he was careful to court
her and to give her every appearance of love and, for her part, Majeeda
was overwhelmed. The two settled to a married life and, not too long
after, Majeeda bore Prometheus a son. Though his plans were another step
closer to completion, he knew that he�d have to bide his time and, as such, he fell to the role of loving husband and father.
Addie, for himself, proved to be a perfect son. He was obedient and
loving. He did as told and he absolutely adored his parents. Then there
was the fact that he was able to play the piano at a professional level,
even at five, as well as that he seemed able to understand things a
child of his age should never be able to know. Of course, this gift was
not something which should be hoarded and, before long, Addie was known
throughout Eden as a child prodigy. He was famous for his ability and also for the fact that he was the son of the city�s founder, so it wasn�t surpising that he drew unwelcome attention. One day, while the parents were out, the Baara home was broken into and Addie was kidnapped from his room. Majeeda was the one to discover that Addie�s room was empty, except for a mess of books, broken things, and a spray of blood against one wall. While the woman took to shock, Prometheus swore to get his son back, regardless of the cost, and, even though it took almost a month, he did manage to do as promised.
Addie was in the hospital for about three months, afterward, and, though he never spoke as much to his parents, he was never able to look at the piano in the same way again. It hurt him, on a physical and an emotional level, to play it, but, since it meant so much to his mother, he found that he couldn�t simply give it up. So, bearing all the pain in silence, he went back to his old fame. Still, as life settled back to normal, Prometheus grew ever the more anxious. He wanted the Seal broken. He wanted his fellow angels to be free. Deciding that the time had come, he ushered his son from the house, one night.
Coming the the place of the Seal, he stripped away his son�s clothing
and, not heeding the crying nor the screaming of the child, he burnt the
proper words onto Addie�s flesh. It was believed that, with these words
and with the blood of a child bearing the mixed blood of an angel and a
human, the Seal could be broken, but something clearly went wrong.
Prometheus was the one to die, that night, and, nearly a week later, Majeeda found her only son curled in a bloody mess on her front porch. Dazed and confused, the woman swore that she would never ever let anything happen to her son again, even if she had to watch him every waking minute.
Writing Sample:
"Addie, dear?" Majeeda questioned softly as she raised her attention
from the knitting sprawled in her lap. Her pearl black eyes only
magnified by the lenses of her glasses, she smiled gently at the boy curled on
the couch and, yet again, she felt the deep sorrow for all which had
happened to her son. Still, never again. She�d never let anything happen
to him ever again, if it could conceivably be stopped. Meeting the
lively green of her son�s eyes, she let her smile grow. "Could you play me
something?"
"Oh, I..." Adiv winced a bit at this request, but, swallowing past an
overlarge lump in his throat, he nodded dumbly; he would play for her.
Setting aside his book, he rose slowly and, an arm wrapped about his
slight form, he approached the rather beautiful piano as if it were some
sort of wild beast which would attack him at any second. Chewing his
bottom lip, he tried to ignore the echoes of voices which came to him so
clearly at moments like this, as well as the phantom pains racing through his fingers, his wrists, his arms. It was all his imagination. His... imagination.
Trying to push this away, he slid silently onto the piano bench and,
after a moment�s search, he picked out the music sheet for a song he knew
his mother�d enjoy. Still, even though his features showed no change as
his fingers touched the coolness of the keys, he was inwardly crying,
screaming, shaking. He shouldn�t be doing this! This was why he was
taken, why those men had done those things to him! They had shattered his
arms, his wrists, his hands for a reason! It wasn�t senseless violence!
All those things, all those lessons and for what? If he still played,
then he had learned nothing and, perhaps, they�d simply have to return
someday so as to continue these lessons. Was that what his mother wanted?
Still, as he glanced to the woman from the corner of his eye, Addie
could only see that gleam of true happiness which had become such a rare
thing since his father had died and he knew that he couldn�t stop
playing, ever, if it made her so happy.
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