Name: Parajo Delvidrio
Name Meaning: Well, Parajo is Spanish for "bird" and Delvidrio is "of glass" so
I guess that her name comes out to "Bird of Glass." Of course, in her case,
it�s not exactly fitting since she�s not really delicate nor fragile in any
sense, nor is she really birdlike. Oh well.
Age: Seventeen
Date of Birth: 31 October
Astrological Sign: Scorpio
Bloodtype: O
Alignment: Parajo�s probably as neutral as neutral can be and, really, at this
point, I don�t see much that could bend her to one side over the other. Of
course, Muneca�s position in it all could be a factor, but I don�t really know
if it�d be a draw or an aversion.
Strengths: A well of hyperactive energy, Para�s usually the last person to tire
out on even the most draining and unpleasant chores and, once she starts
something, then she�ll keep at it until it�s entirely finished. Also, she�s
generally more than willing to jump head-first into something for a friend and
she�ll usually be one of the first to volunteer to help someone out, regardless
of the task. Beyond that, with the financial help of Muneca, she�s basically
become the surrogate mother for her younger siblings and she often tries to make
herself strong for their sakes. Like her brother, she can tend to be immensely
strong-willed and, oftentimes, it�ll take great amounts of convincing to get her to budge on something about which she feels strongly.
Though not immensely strong by any stretch, Para definitely knows how to take
care of herself and she can usually do a good job of protecting herself should
any of her dates, clubbing-partners, or random strangers get a little too
friendly with her. She�s a rather good dancer, but nowhere near professional
quality good, and she can also usually manage to look damn good while doing it.
Like her twin, she tends to be good at sports and, because of this, she has a
good bit of strength, flexibility, and lithe grace in her compact frame. Of course, her greatest skill and strength is photography and, though rather young, she�s already had an exhibit of her work-- the less suggestive examples of it, anyway-- displayed in Eden�s most prestigious art gallery. On a less important note, Para also has a marked ability to matchmake and it�s extremely rare for a couple whom she sets up not to have a good, if not lasting, relationship.
Weaknesses: Para�s primary weakness is probably that she isn�t honest with
herself; when it comes to her emotions or feelings toward other people, she
tends to lock them all up deep within herself and, instead of showing or dealing
with these, she shows the world only a bright and easy smile. So, of course, she
can�t confront her feelings about her twin, nor about many of the other people
in her life, and, as such, she�s really unable to have a true relationship.
Beyond that, she�s also been known to be insanely stubborn on things about which
she feels strongly and it can often be hard to make her change her mind when
it�s set upon something. Of course, there�s also the fact that, at the tender
age of seventeen, she�s been put in sole charge of her siblings and, as such,
she has to dedicate an awful lot of time to supporting, caring for, and
otherwise helping them, one of whom is a special needs child. Her incredibly
deep and lingering fear of water is also quite troubling as she tends not to trust any water that comes up deeper than her knees and, though it would have likely helped, she never learned to swim. Of course, her brother�s position at the Sodom and Gomorrah is a weakness for her as it would probably be only too easy for Shittsui to use her against Muneca in some shape or form without her even realizing exactly what�s going on.
Likes: Naturally, like any good girl, Para loves her family and, though she
tries not to play favorites, Cordero is highly adored. Of course, she also
adores her friends and, as is her nature, she enjoys doing things for these
same. Matchmaking is a great hobby of hers and, unlike most people, she actually
has a rather high rate of success at this. Another great hobby, and one by which
she�s been publicly acclaimed, is photography; though it tends to annoy her
brother and any other cute people in the city, she enjoys nothing more than
snapping candid photos of people in any number of situations. In fact, she has a whole closet full of photos and cds from just such ventures and it�s some of these same that have been proudly displayed in the city�s finest museums. Beyond that, Para also adores clubbing and there�s little that she enjoys more than spending a night out dancing at the city�s hottest places. On a more shallow note, she�s also incredibly fond of Wingless and she�d probably like nothing more than to capture its members on film.
Dislikes: One of Para�s deepest dislikes is water and she will absolutely never
go in any deeper than her knees, regardless of how safe or harmless that it may
be. Though it�s somewhat complicated, she also somewhat dislikes her twin, if
just for the circumstances surrounding their mother�s death, but she�d never
dare show or say this to anyone. Of course, she was also less than fond of her
father, but, again, she�d never say or show that to anyone, especially now that
he�s dead. On a lesser note, Para absolutely despises cooking as she can�t even
boil water without ruining the pot, let alone actually cook something substantial.
Greatest Fear: Para�s greatest fear could almost be considered twofold; on one
hand, she has a deep and lingering fear ever since she nearly drowned, more than
once, and, on the other hand, she has a fear that, someday, she�ll have to not
only admit her true feelings, but also that she�ll have to confront these same.
Motivation: As cliched as it sounds, Para�s motivation is probably just to keep
everyone in her life happy, healthy, and well in every sense of the word. Of course, on the other hand, another motivation for her could be just to keep all the feelings, thoughts, and desires to which she doesn�t want to admit as deeply buried as possible.
Favorite Food: Para�s favorite food is probably strawberries just because you
don�t have to cook them, they�re incredibly sweet, they�re fun to eat, and they
make your lips look deliciously red, sweet, and moist when you eat them.
Least Favorite Food: Para�s least favorite food is anything that�s traditionally served whole, like lobsters, crab, some fishes, and the like and
the reason behind this is just that it grosses her out to actually see a head on anything which she intends to eat.
What grade are they in: Para�s a junior in high school, eleventh grade.
Marks: Generally, Para makes average marks and she only tends to really excel
in classes that genuinely interest her.
Favorite Class: Para�s favorite class is probably Literature, simply because
she enjoys reading and discussing some of the old classics, not to mention
occasionally getting to act out scenes from some of these same.
Least Favorite Class: Conversely, Para�s least favorite classes would have to
be any branch of mathematics or economics simply because they�re so damn boring. Really, it�s a wonder that she manages to stay awake in any of these, let alone to make passing grades.
Personality: Talented at putting up fronts, Para never shows the world around
her anything but the smiling, bubbly, cheerful side of her nature and, no matter
what she may feeling inside, she never even acknowledges the more negative
emotions. Instead, she tries to act as if things roll of off her like water off
a duck�s back, and she absolutely refuses to let anything hurt her. Of course,
this part of her psyche has made it damn near impossible to deal with some of
the more unfortunate and painful events in her life--such as her father�s
actions towards her, Muneca�s behaviors, her mother�s death--and, as such, she�s never really been able to cope with them. Some of these, especially her father�s actions, have even made it rather difficult for her to have meaningful or lasting relationships with people and she often tends to end things just when they get more intimate in nature. Still, despite this, Para tends to flirt endlessly with the people around her and, though fairly innocent in nature, this can still lead her to problems.
Of course, towards her siblings, she believes that she feels nothing but love, but, on some deeply buried level, she probably resents them a little, since she�s had to give up her own life to support theirs. In this same way, she probably resents Muneca since, although she�d never say as much, she does believe that it was his fault that their mother killed herself. Naturally, though, this doesn�t stop her from being grateful toward him for the sacrifices he continues to make for her and the rest of the family. Though, of course, Para
shouldn�t play favorites within the family, she does find herself having a
special connection as well as a special amount of care for the youngest,
Cordero. Now, this simply could be because he�s the youngest or because he�s
always been a little sickly or even because of his autism, but, regardless of
reason, she truly loves, adores, and dotes upon him.
Rather enjoying the freedom from responsibility and from care that it brings her, Para just loves to go out clubbing whenever she has the chance and she seems to like nothing better than to spend the night dancing to all the loud music with all of the city�s beautiful people. Obviously having something of a voyeuristic bent to her personality, Para loves taking pictures of other people, especially handsome young men in either various states of undress or in compromising positions; hey, what can be said? She�s a fangirl of the deepest tradition.
Appearance: Almost painfully short, Para just barely squeaks by five feet and,
though her athletic frame is lithely toned, she is still rather lacking where
most boys tend to like more padding. As said, her general tone is athletic and,
though she does bare some muscle, it shows in more of a toned, athletic sense
over a more bulky, masculine manner; so, basically, she�s more tomboyish over
being a froo-froo girlie-girl. Still, thanks to both her athletic persuits as
well as her fondness for dancing, she has a killer set of lithely muscled,
perfectly toned legs that�ve been known to earn a few appreciative glances and it�s these that she tends to show off, since she has basically very little bust of which to speak. In terms of tone, her skin is a warm, soft shade of tan and, though marked with both the regular cuts, bruises, and whatall that comes from being athletic as well as number of older scars, it�s otherwise smooth and attractive. As would be expected, her facial features are both cute and attractive, though, easily the highlight of these would be her absolutely stunning green hazel eyes. Heavily lashed and expressive, these same are usually the first thing that one notices about her and it�s these same that draw attention to her. Topping all this and framing her features is a head of soft, thick hair in a rich, warm shade of brown which is habitually streaked in varying colors; at current, Para�s chosen a nice warm green which rather nicely compliments the shade of her eyes. The bangs and frontmost sides of this hang long to her bustline, but the rest tapers back until, at the back, it�s cut to about the very top of her ears.
As far as clothing goes, Para definitely seems to favor the style generally seen on most clubber girls or ravers, though, when that�s inappropriate, she can wear things that are more conservative. As for piercings, she has quite a few-- multiple in her both ears, her left eyebrow, both her nipples, and her bellybutton-- though she generally only wears jewelry in all of these when she�s going out to party; otherwise, she may just have a few earrings in either ear and leave it at that. For other adornment, she�ll usually wear a variety of things anything from mundane necklaces, bracelets, and rings to things like cat�s collars, straps of leather, handcuffs, and the like.
Social Status: Being a naturally bubbly and friendly girl, Para is respectably
popular, but, really, she just has a fairly small group of friends with whom she
hangs out instead of having a huge circle of friends. Still, when out clubbing,
she tends to be popular and, generally speaking, she�s never wanting for a dance
partner.
Love Life: Though she tends to flirt shamelessly with just about anyone, Para
rarely makes good on any of this as she�s usually just too afraid to get into
even a one night stand situation. So, she may get a significant other for a
time, but the relationship usually ends before it can get anywhere.
Family, Friends:
Mancha Delvidrio ("Stained Glass"): A powerful and wealthy man, Mancha left his
home in Mexico to escape some ugly rumors, but these same only dogged him to New
Eden; of course, it didn�t help that these rumors were true nor that he didn�t
stop these things, even after the move. Of course, considering his wealth and
his power, no one would have dared to say anything to his face, but whispers of
embezzlement, underhanded business deals, and unfortunate family situations all
made the rounds. Naturally, these rumors only increased in volume and in macabre
glee when the man was found shot in his home; no one was ever able to determine,
exactly, how the man died, but many were sure that it all went back to his shady
business deals. Of course, for Para, her father�s death was a mixed blessing;
yes, it saved her from the regular abuse he�d been showing her since she was
quite young, but it also robbed her younger siblings of their only
father. So, though she was glad to be free of Mancha�s abuse, she was also
guilty in that she was taking pleasure in something that hurt her family.
Bendijo Delvidrio ("Blessing of Glass"): A deeply religious woman by nature,
Bendijo stood by her husband even as the world hurled the most disgusting
insults at him and, for all she was worth, she�d deny each and every rumor as
they rose. Never could she believe that her loving husband could do such
horrible things and, even though she knew in her heart that everything was true,
she still continued to deny them vehemently. As a means to escape these
horrible things, she threw herself deeper into her religion and, with a deep reverence, she almost desperately tried to pass these on to her children. Of course, she gave up early on Muneca since he was nearly a direct replica of his father, but Parajo, she took under her wing. Still, Bendijo�s crumbling sanity wasn�t helped when the whole family was upped and moved to New Eden and, desperate for a new way to block out the sins that seemed to be all around herself, she threw herself into acts of charity. Unfortunately, though, these couldn�t sustain her for long and it was only shortly thereafter that she slit her throat. Having loved her mother deeply, Para was absolutely devastated by this, but deciding to be strong, she only took her mother�s words and beliefs to heart so that the woman could, in a sense, continue to live on through her eldest daughter.
Muneca Delvidrio ("Doll of Glass"): Para�s twin brother, Muneca has been
through many of the same things as his sister through their childhood and, even
from the time that both were very young, he always tried to protect her. Of
course, he couldn�t always do this and there were many times that his failures
brought the girl new scars or even near deaths; still, that didn�t change anything and, even to this day, Muneca is almost dreadfully overprotective of the girl. Though naturally reticent to date, Para isn�t helped by the fact that
any potential boyfriends are often driven away by her brother�s overprotective
threats and yet, on some level, she�s grateful toward him for the help and the protection that he�s given her. Still, the twins� relationship is nothing if not complicated; certainly, there�s a deep love there that goes beyond even that between normal siblings, but there are also other feelings, some less kind and pure, beating just under all this. Even as Para looks after her brother, trying to get him to eat regularly and take care of himself, she still bears feelings towards him that she�d never allow herself to admit, chief among them anger for their mother�s death.
Iago Delvidrio: The next eldest Delvidrio child to the twins, Iago is fifteen
years old and a sophomore in college. Like his elder siblings, he too has a mark
of stubbornness to him (in fact, it�s more like a streak), as well as deep well
of determination. The quietness by which he is known would normally belie
someone who�s shy or uncertain, but, in Iago�s case, it�s more just that he�d
rather be quiet and think rather than just spouting off whatever comes to him in
the moment. In school, he excels and, as can be told, he was able to skip quite
a few grades so that he�s made it to college long before either of his elder
siblings. Naturally, this has led to its own set of social problems, but he
deals with these as they come. Towards his eldest sister, Iago tends to feel a
deep gratitude for all that she�s done and, as much as possible, he tries to
help her take care of the younger ones.
Gitana Delvidrio ("gypsy"): One of the middle Delvidrio children, Gitana is
thirteen years old and very true to the meaning of her name. Though still young,
she�s already the mythical wild child and she spends as little time at home as
possible. More often than not, she�s out every night partying and, naturally,
her schoolwork has rather badly suffered because of this. Still, it doesn�t seem
to matter so much to Gitana, just as long as she can continue to enjoy herself.
In fact, really, that�s all that actually matters to her.
Cochiti Delvidrio ("forgotten"): Another of the middle Delvidrio children,
Cochiti is nine years old. Sweet and rather gentle, she tends to blur into the
background at times, but, when needed, she�s more than glad to do what she can
to support the family. Though she was rather young when it happened, the death
of her mother affected Cochiti rather badly and, ever since, she�s been all the
more quiet and withdrawn. Naturally, though, she never learned of the circumstances surrounding the death, and, as such, she never knew to blame or to
hate her eldest brother.
Cordero Delvidrio ("lamb"): At five years old, Cordero is the youngest of the
Deilvidrio children and he is probably also the most loved. Born very premature,
he has been very sickly ever since he was very young and, beyond that, he is
also an autistic child. Still, Cordero remains the sweetest, kindest, most gentle child that anyone would ever want to meet and, no matter how old he grows, he still retains his child-like innocence. Too young to have any remembrance of his mother, he has absolutely no reason to have any hard feelings
towards Muneca and, as such, he loves the elder as unconditionally as he loves anyone.
Birthplace: Morello, Mexico
Current Residence: At current, Para lives in her parents� less than modest
house in one of the more posh districts of the city; of course, considering
current circumstance, it�s rather doubtful how much longer they�ll all be able
to stay here. Still, the house has two floors, not counting the basement, and
the facade is very tasteful brick interrupted here and there by large, airy
windows. At the front of the house, there is a large, mulit-level porch and,
heavily weighed by plants of just about every variety, it has the usual
inviting, drawing look. Only helping this is the nice arrangement of tasteful
furniture arranged just to the side of the door as well as an absolutely
stunning old-fashioned porch swing which had been hand-carved by the family�s
long-dead grandfather. The grounds around this are tastefully kept-- the grass
kept short, the various bushes trimmed, the flowers vibrant and lively-- and it
also has a very large swimming pool in the back, surrounded by various
trimmings in a tropical style.
Inside the house itself are rich, highly polished woods, tasteful interiors in a more classical style, lots of comfortable furniture, and any number of Para�s own pictures. The children�s rooms are done to the individual�s style and tastes-- tidy or unkempt by personality-- and only the younger have to share a bathroom. Para�s room is somewhere between clean and messy; there are some clothes and things strewn about, but it�s still fairly far from a disaster area. The walls are painted a rich and warm yellowish-gold, which only brings out the rich tones of the wooden floor, and they are heavily hung with some of her favorite examples of her photos. The wall of her room facing the backyard is entirely glass and, though she has gauzy white curtains overhanging this, she, more often than not, leaves this open so that natural light floods the room. Near this, there is a conversation group of comfortable chairs, as well as a beanbag, and a low coffeetable. On the wall opposite the window-wall is her bed, which is usually neatly made in brightly colored sheets and comforter, and, directly beside this, is a rug in much the same colors. On one of the adjoining walls is a large bookcase, a sleek desk upon which rests her computer and a small deal of her photography equipment. Opposite this, and arranged to be viewable from the aforementioned group of chairs, is a smallish television set, as well as her cd player, video game systems, and other such trappings.
The kitchen is clean and modern, filled with shiny examples of professional-quality equipment, and it opens on a tasteful dining room, complete with a rather pretentious dining set. The most used room, though, is a large and comfortable family room filled with comfortable, overstuffed furniture, toys, books, and all the other trappings of family life.
History: What choice did she have? Bendijo was just a poor, beautiful village
girl and, when the great businessman Mancha Delvidrio came asking after her, how
could her parents say no? They had nothing to lose, certainly, but it was sure
that Mancha could take away what they did have, not to mention their lives. So,
their courtship was brief and not all that romantic and, without ever really
agreeing at all, Bendijo soon found herself as the bride to the richest
businessman in all of Morello. Day after day, the woman found herself locked in
opulence when all she ever really wanted was to be back in her more modest home
with her parents. Still, her desires didn�t factor in at all into the situation
and, left with nothing else, she fell hard on her religion. Every day, she
filled her hours with prayers for hope, prayers for strength, prayers for an
escape, but, of course, even her devout beliefs couldn�t keep her from hearing the terrible rumors about her husband�s less than reputable business dealings. Still, raised to be a loyal, faithful wife, she stood by her husband, regardless of what rumors were hurled, and her determination to be a good wife was only strengthened when she found herself pregnant.
From the time she first knew that she was pregnant, Bendijo was sure of two
things: one was that she would be having twins and the other was that one of
these two would be just exactly like its father. Disturbed by this, she, for a
time, wrestled with the idea of giving up both children, but, too deeply seeped
in her church�s tradition, she knew that she simply couldn�t do this. So, she
carried the children to term and, when the time came, she found that both her
predictions had come true. Still, despite this, she did what she could to raise
both of the twins well, but she couldn�t help but feel badly when she looked to
Muneca; he was his father in every sense, in every way, and he�d surely grow up
to be just as evil and sinful as Mancha. Soon, she couldn�t even look to the
child without crying and, pushed to desperate ends, she even tried to beat the
demons out of him. Still, while Muneca faced these things from his mother,
Parajo only reveled and grew in the faith of her mother. Though young, she loved to hear her mother talk about biblical stories and it was from the Bible that the girl first learned to read. Sadly, though, her faith couldn�t help her when her father�s eye turned to her and, even at a young age, she often found herself in uncomfortable and unfortunate situations with him. Naturally, Para tried to turn to her mother for comfort and for help, but, by then, Bendijo was busy with her pregnancy, as well as her other children. Not knowing what else to do, Para turned to her twin and, for a time, Muneca protected her from their father; unfortunately, though, this protection often only meant that the situation changed only to include both of them. By the time Para was eight and her mother was pregnant with Cochiti, Para had been nearly drowned almost three times and she�d been in and out of the hospitals more often than any person ought to be. Still, it was around this time that the rumors surrounding Mancha broke big time and, unable to show his face around Morello, he quickly made the decision to move his family to New Eden.
Unfortunately, though, this move changed nothing; Mancha only continued to abuse
his daughter and, worse still for Para, Muneca took to wandering the streets
instead of staying with her. Left alone with her quickly crumbling mother, her
abusive father, and her growing siblings, she could do nothing but deal with
what lay before her. The only real light that she found was the blessing of the
Delvidrio family�s last child, Cordero, whom she loved from the first moment
when she laid eyes upon him. Still, the fact that it had been a hard pregnancy
and that the baby had been born both very premature as well as autistic did
nothing for Bendijo�s crumbling sanity and, soon after having an argument with Muneca, the woman slit her throat. Left as the eldest child in the house now that Muneca had left, Para took the responsibility of raising her siblings at the tender age of twelve.
Of course, the death of his wife did nothing to change Mancha and, quite to the
contrary, he seemed to only revel in his new freedoms with his eldest daughter.
Still, Para did all that she could to be sure that Mancha never touched any of
the younger ones, even as she took all the abuse which he offered. Her life went
on in this vicious and cruel cycle for five years and, in that time, her only
real comfort came from Cordero. In watching him and caring for him, she often
found hope that she couldn�t find elsewhere and something in the guileless depth
of his eyes always seemed to give her the strength which would otherwise be lost
to her. Still, the end for which she�d been hoping came one day when she found
her father shot dead in his study and, though she never knew that Muneca was
responsible for the man�s death, she was guiltily thankful to whomever had done
it. Left alone as the eldest sibling, Para found the responsibility for the lot
heavy upon her shoulders, but, determined to raise them well, she dedicated herself wholly to giving her siblings as happy, healthy, and fortunate a life as possible.
Writing Sample: Her short skirt flaring about her legs, Parajo giggled as she
spun in a circle before the mirror and, catching her own green hazel eyes in the
mirror, she winked cheerfully. It was one of the rare nights when she�d be able
to go out and, as she surveyed her reflection, she was confident that she would
be one of the most beautiful creatures seen in any of the city�s clubs. Still,
sighing slightly, she pulled a bit at the front of her shirt, but, of course,
nothing could be done for that; she�d just have to hope that her graceful legs�d
be enough of a distraction to keep anyone from noticing that she was as flat as
two aspirins on an ironing board. Oh well, not all boys were breast mad, after
all, and, even if they were, then it was just their loss!
Giggling easily at this thought, Para quickly grabbed her jacket from the back
of her computer chair and, after checking to be sure that she had all the
essentials, she ran down the stairs and into the family room. Still, she stopped
short as she caught sight of a small, fragile form curled in an overstuffed
armchair and, stepping further into the room, she blinked at what she found
there.
Curled lightly into an overstuffed chair of rich chocolate brown was a child
that one could easily mistake for being only two or three despite the fact that
he was already five. This same child, only barely identifiable as a boy, had his
head bowed and, just barely hidden by a few stray curls, his sinless eyes stared
out distantly through the nearest window. His painfully slight frame haking
slightly, he had his thin arms wrapped tightly around himself and it was these
that held he colorful blanket securely around his shoulders. Really, looking at
the child curled there, so lost in himself, was like staring at innocence
personified.
"Cordy...?" Para murmured quietly as she crossed to the chair and, dropping to
her knees at its side, she gently reached across to brush the curls away from
her youngest brother�s forehead. Her touch light, loving, she soothed the skin
of his cheek before letting her hand fall away entirely. "Are you okay, Cordy?
You really should be in bed..."
Slowly, almost as if it were a great work of effort, Cordero turned his dark
eyes to his sister and, after a moment�s study of the girl�s features, he
offered a smile as innocent and beatific as any ever seen. Letting the light
from this creep into the depth of his eyes, he raised his arms and, holding them
out toward Para, he silently begged her to pick him up, to hold him.
"Okay, Cordy, but just for a minute..." Naturally, Para couldn�t resist this
opportunity and, scooping Cordy into her arms, she held him lightly against her
hip. Getting to her feet, she slid into the chair and, settling the boy on her
lap, she hugged him against her body. Closing her eyes, she nuzzled her cheek to
the top of his head and, rocking slightly, she spoke quietly to the younger. "Is
something wrong, Cordy? It�s awfully late for you to be awake..."
"Stay..." It was the only word the younger murmured in his soft, angelic voice,
but it had more effect upon Para than an hour�s speech. Sighing softly for her
lost freedom, she nodded slightly and, hugging the younger briefly, she reached
off to the side. Shifting Cordy�s position in her lap, she took up his favorite
book and, holding this so he could see the words, she began to read that same
story for easily the fifty millionth time.
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