Name: Junko Sophia Torv Corazon; only her mother calls her Junko, to everyone else, she is always Sophia.
Name Meaning: Her name breaks down into four separate virtues that comprise Justice: Junko, meaning "sincere child," or truth, Sophia, meaning wisdom, Torv, meaning fairness, and Corazon, meaning courage. Not only that, but her initials, J.S.T.C., are the consonants in "justice," the letters that form the structure of the word. In keeping with the letter trend, the first names of her father, mother and brother begin with U, I, and E respectively, and all are virtues that tend to weaken justice. After all, they are her weak spot, as vowels are the weaker letters that can be done away with.
Age: 10
Date of Birth: November 28
Astrological Sign: Sagittarius
Bloodtype: A
Alignment: Sophia's moral code is sharply defined, and her perception startlingly good, even for an adult. Thus, it is implausible to imagine her willingly joining or even being tricked into joining the Devil. She is rather an Archangel Michael figure- God's sword arm- ready to judge and strike down evil if needs be, or reward good.
Strengths: Sophia has absolutely blinding perception, an intuitive understanding of those around her. It's not an instantaneous judgement so much as an intense but subconscious scrutiny of someone's words, intonation, body language, motives... all of which combine to give her a clear picture of whoever she's with. Of course, as a result, she is an excellent judge of character and usually knows who to trust and who to keep at arm's length. She is intelligent and diligent in her studies, and this diligence extends to other areas as well, a desire to thoroughly complete any task she undertakes. It also helps that her focus and concentration are better than average for a child her age. She has excellent eye-hand coordination, and is a good marksman; she can fire a gun with a respectable degree of accuracy.
Weaknesses: Although her mind is mature, her body is no more developed than any ten year old girl's, and in fact, she is quite fragile in regards to muscular strength. She tends to get dehydrated, and must carry a bottle of water with her at all times. She also carries aspirin, since strong scents (perfumes, flowers, etc.) give her a headache. Moreover, she has insomnia, though she refuses to take sleeping pills- they come too close to drugs.
If anyone were to mention Erasto to her, or the old nickname "Curls," it would touch off a storm of emotions she usually represses. Anger, over his abandonment of her and his subsequent actions, fear that someone knows her weakness regarding him, anguish over his death, and even guilt, for although she knows what she did was just, was it right?
Likes: Drawing, although she seldom sketches things from real life. When she draws people, her judgement of them usually seeps in, and if her sitter is an unpleasant person, it may turn into something like "The Picture of Dorian Gray". (Then again, if her sitter is a good person, she may draw them more beautiful than they are externally.) Normally, she draws interlocking patterns, abstract, perfectly formed geometrical shapes or designs reminiscent of M. C. Escher. She also enjoys being a judge, because she sees her work as the first step towards bringing order back to Eden. Although she can't stay out long in the sun, she prefers hot weather to cold weather, simply because she dislikes the feel of so much clothing against her skin.
Dislikes: She hates hypocrites and liars with a passion; she can usually see right through them, and if she does, will invariably denounce them for all to hear. People who condescend her (and she gets that a lot, being only ten) really try her patience, although she can hold her tongue about it. She dislikes physical activity, because it tires her out quickly, strong scents because they give her a headache, and bright colors because she finds them garish (she associates them with her mother, Inaya). For these reasons, she is particularly adverse to most flowers, except for carnations, which are delicately colored and have barely any scent at all. She is slightly contemptuous of efforts put towards outward appearance: makeup, hairstyle, fashion, and the like. (Not that she skimps on hygiene, just that she believes the beauty found in creams, fancy clothes, and the like is totally false.)
Greatest Fear: Her greatest fear is of, for whatever reason, being unable to judge someone. This is why she stays emotionally aloof from everyone, for fear she will meet someone like Erasto, someone she cares about so deeply that it clouds her perception of who they truly are.
Motivation: She wants to see justice done in New Eden, evildoers punished so that good people can live their lives in peace. But on a smaller scale, she wants to meet someone she can judge to be a totally good person. This person would have to be able to truthfully judge her, accept the evil she has done, but still forgive her. In a word, she is searching for God. But, whether or not her search ends when she meets God is entirely up to that player; if God is played as an authoritative figure, Sophia will gladly follow him or her, but will keep searching for as good a person who can also be her friend. If God is willing to treat her as a friend, Sophia's search will end there.
Favorite Food: Perhaps the only thing really childlike about her is her love of sweets, especially chocolate. She loved biscuits dipped in chocolate, which her brother used to smuggle up to her room for "midnight feasts," but she hasn't had those in more than two years.
Least favorite food: Fast foods, especially hot dogs. They're rubbery, and when you think about what goes into them, pretty gross.
What grade are they in: 5th grade
Marks: As in academic subjects; Bs in Art and Physical Education.
Favorite Class: Algebra I (she is accelerated one year in math), because numbers are pure, and follow all the rules they were meant to in a way people never do.
Least Favorite Class: Art, because the teacher gives annoying, trivial assignments, such as making a flower in clay or drawing a portrait of a seatmate. Since Sophia rarely complies, even though she is a good artist, her grades suffer.
Personality:
At first glance, Sophia might seem like a normal shy, quiet little girl, but that couldn't be further from the truth. She _knows_ people, and having judged them, is not afraid of being judged in turn, so she has nothing to be scared of. The reason she might seem quiet is because she never wastes her words, always thinking carefully and making certain her comments are useful before speaking. However, just because she's fairly quiet doesn't mean she won't speak if she feels the truth must be heard. In fact, she is adamant about always speaking the truth, with no regard to how hurtful it might be to her listeners. She feels especially obligated to speak truthfully to those lying to themselves, as she believes the truth is always preferable to whatever psychological tactics people may be using to hide from themselves. If she does say something innocuous, her solemn, intense gaze and her soft, almost ironic tone hint that there is a deeper meaning, the more dangerous because it is cloaked.
She isn't jaded- she still expects all people to be good, to follow laws and avoid temptation- but nothing really surprises her, having seen in her years on the bench literally the worst New Eden has to offer. She still believes New Eden can be restored, though, and is committed to that end. Until she can find some way to stop the trouble at its source, she continues to judge, recognizing that in the face of rising crime and insidiously growing corruption, upholding the law is crucial. (She would never- _ever_- break the law; she thinks one time is already too many.) And until New Eden can be purged, she keeps a gun on her at all times.
Actually, she is very uncomfortable about carrying this gun, not because she can't fire it- she can- but because it is, of course, against the law. She does have a license, and in her own name since it is a "special exception," but the truth is that her father managed to get this license through favors- another sign of how widespread corruption has become. She consoles herself with the fact that, one way or another, she _must_ protect herself until she can cure Eden of its evil. Also, once she no longer needs it, she has promised herself that she will get rid of the gun. In fact, she will melt it down, since if she sells it, it may fall into the wrong hands again.
The years since Erasto's death have seen a curious change in, of all things, Sophia's sense of humor. Around her brother, she used to be as giggly as any child, but now never laughs. Although she understands, in an abstract sort of way, when someone is telling a joke, the joke seems to elicit no response at all (unless, more recently, it is her friend Olhado telling it).
As a matter of fact, the most casual mention of Erasto can bring Sophia to irrational fear and anger. Depending on the situation and the company she's in, she may or may not be able to keep it contained, or may only have enough control to excuse herself, so that she can explode in private. Other than this, she keeps herself in such tight control that she could well be described as emotion-deficit. She does, of course, exhibit righteous anger to liars, scofflaws, and such, but that is a cold, calm fury. It's entirely unlike the stormy, even childish weeping and yelling that occurs when she is forced to remember her brother.
Appearance: She stands at 4' 8", with dark brown hair, a pale complexion, and big brown eyes that seem eerily able to look right into and through one's soul, missing nothing. Her hair, which used to be such a deep brown that it was almost black, lightened as she got older to an almost reddish brown. Although her mother used to keep it in long, tight corkscrew curls, she now cuts it herself in a grown-out bowl cut with a very ragged edge. For school, she always dresses in drab brown or gray skirts and matching jackets, a white shirt underneath, black knee socks and plain black shoes, sometimes with a red ribbon at her throat. But for casual wear, her mother makes an effort to get her to dress in more attractive clothes, buying her cute tank tops, jeans, girls' blouses, hoodies, and the like. This ploy works- more or less. Sophia will indifferently put on almost anything set out for her, but if it's in bright colors, it will simply be left behind. As a result, Inaya has learned to only buy clothes in black, white, gray, brown, navy, olive, and other muted colors. Sophia keeps a small brown leather backpack with her at all times, a pouch on oversized straps. In it, she has a bottle of water, aspirin, a sketchpad and pencil, house keys, ID, pepper spray, and a small, lightweight derringer.
Social Status: Sophia has little patience for the childish games her classmates play: gossip, little power struggles, and other attempts to emulate adults. Moreover, she makes this perfectly clear in her words and actions, withholding her judgement from no one. This, along with her "nerd" status, makes her an outcast. She doesn't long for friends and popularity the way a normal child would, but regretfully acknowledges that she will probably never have a true friend. After all, people hate to have their flaws revealed, to others or even to themselves, and usually hate the one who exposed those flaws, instead of hating the flaws themselves.
Love Life: Hard to say, since she's never been attracted to anyone. This is partially because of her young age and partially because as hard as it would be to find someone admirable enough to befriend, it would be even harder to find someone to love. If she did find someone, she probably wouldn't quibble about gender. (I'm assuming same-sex marriages aren't against the law in New Eden for that. If they are, what with her "never break the law" policy, she'd only allow herself to be attracted to guys. ^^;;)
Family, Friends:
Umed Corazon - Sophia's father, a 62 year old judge. His name means "hope", and rather describes the lenient punishments he has meted out, in hopes that his prisoners will see the error of their ways and repent. He stands at an unimposing 5' 8" (actually 5' 10" with a stoop), with watery, pale eyes and salt-and-pepper hair. He loves both his children, and was terribly wounded by what happened to Erasto and the change it worked in Sophia. In fact, it caused him to gradually withdraw from the bench, and in an effort to draw Sophia out, as well as take the pressure to do trials again off of himself, he brought her to the courtroom, and persuaded the officials to accept an unusual arrangement. In his name, she now presides over the majority of his trials. Sophia recognizes both his generous heart and his weak spirit, and though she loves him, pity takes the place of a normal daughter's admiration.
Inaya Corazon - 32 years old, 5' 6", dark eyes, black curly hair, pale Spanish skin. Sophia's mother and Erasto's stepmother. Her name means "empathy", but instead of describing her, it more accurately names what she lacks; in her entire life, she has never done anything for anyone but herself. Obsessed from childhood with the ideals of wealth and society, she used Machiavellian means to marry Umed's money and prestige. However, she was so jealous of Umed's deceased wife, Maria, that she began an eleven year feud with Erasto. This was most clearly manifested in Sophia, whom Inaya tried to make fit her own ideals. She gave Sophia a long, overwrought name (based on the supposition that anything with a middle name is "classy," and two middle names are even better), styled her hair in curls, and dressed her in bright colors, frills, and lace. However, she was losing Sophia's affections to Erasto- right up until he walked out the door and left Inaya to mould Sophia as she saw fit. Things spun out of control, though, and after Erasto's death, Inaya became rather afraid of Sophia and her cold, understanding eyes that say so clearly what Inaya is, under all the fluff and pretension: nothing. Inaya began sleeping late in the morning, to avoid Sophia before she left for school, and going out at night with friends, leaving Umed and Sophia to dine alone. She even accepted Sophia's request for plainer clothes, and raised hardly a murmur of protest over her new raggedy hairstyle. Now, the two hardly ever see each other, never mind talk, and both are happy with the arrangement.
Erasto Corazon (deceased)- "Beloved". 6', black eyes, black, tightly curling hair, pale Spanish skin. Sophia's elder by twelve years, he adored his sister and doted on her constantly, spoiling her, calling her "Curls", and even mothering her in ways Inaya could not. Sophia in turn idolized him, and up until her eighth year was constantly at his side. However, as she was so young, she could neither comprehend nor prevent the hostile relationship he had with his stepmother, which culminated when he was 19 with his fleeing the house, and his subsequent descent into the underworld of Eden, via the Devil. He is the only person Sophia cannot judge, as she is unable to reconcile his terrible acts with how much she loves him.
Olhado Suleimao Gussman - "The Watcher", Sophia's companion and, to some extent, her guardian. 56 years old, 6', brown eyes, black hair, tan complexion, a lightly frosted moustache, Portuguese. After the woman he loved back in Portugal ripped his heart out and ate it, he retreated to New Eden, to start over. He arrived a little less than two years ago, and opened up a Spanish/Portuguese grocery store (he lives in the apartment right above it) that Sophia stops at on her way home from school. Having met Sophia a few months after Erasto's death, he only knows her as she is now, and has nicknamed her S�biana, a slurred version of "s�bia pequena", or "little wise one". They have a very warm (for Sophia) relationship, certainly closer to father-daughter than Sophia's relationship to Umed. Although Olhado doesn't know the details of Erasto's death, he knows the sort of crimes Sophia hears about and judges on the bench, and he is both angered and saddened that she had to lose her innocence so young. He tries to make it up to her by treating her like a daughter, with honest conversation, small gifts, games, and even jokes that somehow win a smile from her. He is a devout Catholic, and Sophia believes that he is the most admirable of anyone she has ever met. He has a tendency to jump to conclusions about people, and has a temper he can't always keep in check, but he is essentially a good, generous man. However, Sophia doesn't think he could be generous enough to forgive her, if she ever confided to him about Erasto.
Birthplace: New Eden
Current Residence:
The Corazons live in an upscale neighborhood, in a large, four-story (not counting the roof terrace) brownstone. The facade has large bay windows with soft, fluttery white curtains, a shrub-lined walkway leading to stairs that fan out invitingly, and elegant, polished wooden double doors at the top of the stairs. The house and the small, flowered, immaculate lawn in front of it are surrounded by a wrought iron fence that, increasingly, must be kept shut and locked lest riffraff should try to graffiti the walls. Inside are polished hardwood floors, gilt-edged mirrors, creamy walls that offset the colorful rugs and paintings, and an ostentatious crystal chandelier that Inaya insisted upon.
In contrast to this luxury, Sophia's room on the first floor is startlingly plain. Her walls are the same cream color, but without any adornment, and the only pieces of furniture are a bed, bookshelf, desk, and chair. The bed is under a large, long window and has a simple brown comforter. The ledge of the window is lined with stuffed animals and dolls Inaya used to give Sophia, and having no other use for them, Sophia simply placed them there, to gather dust. Her desk is immaculate, with nothing but a pencil holder with five or six pencils, a pad of paper, and a computer, to do her homework. Her bookshelf is dominated by books on law and historical cases, for her to research her own cases with, and next to the shelf, a recessed door leads to the closet that easily contains all her clothes. The only interesting spark is a poster tacked on the ceiling directly above Sophia's bed, a reproduction by M. C. Escher. She suffers from insomnia, and spends an ungodly amount of time staring at it, tracing the pathways and staircases leading to nowhere.
The Corazons have two live in servants, a cook/maid, and a personal maid for Inaya who is also a gardener. In addition to caring for the front lawn, she also tends the more spacious backyard, with its olive tree, several flowerbeds, and an unused swing set for Sophia.
History:
The tensions in the Corazon family, which shaped Sophia's life, originally began long before she was born, in both Barcelona and rural Spain. Umed Corazon was a well-respected judge in Barcelona, part of a venerable and highly regarded family. He was happily married to a loving woman, Maria Corazon, and had a young son. Tragically, Maria died when Erasto was but eight years old, in a terrible boating accident.
Meanwhile, Inaya Rodriguez was desperately longing for a way out of the peasant hell she had been born into. This desire for better things so twisted her that she was willing to do _anything_ to pursue her dream. She worked briefly as a prostitute to raise the money needed to get her to Barcelona, and once there, set about to try and marry herself into money. Some said she just happened to arrive at the right time to comfort Umed in his depression and loneliness; the less charitable claimed that she played upon those very emotions in order to seduce him. But whichever was the truth, Umed and Inaya were married within the year.
This caused quite a scandal, that Umed could marry so soon after Maria's death, and to a woman thirty years his junior. When even Erasto's classmates at school began taunting him for it, Umed finally realized he had committed an unpardonable sin in the eyes of society. Taking his money and his family, he fled to New Eden, to build a new life there.
Naively, Inaya had not expected the censure of society in Barcelona. the only explanation she could think of was that it was due to how well-known and admired Maria had been. Consequentially, she began to loathe Maria- and, by extension, Erasto. For his part, he'd already had a loving, wonderful mother, and was in no hurry to accept this scheming girl only ten years his senior. A pitched war ensued over everything, major or trivial- Inaya and Erasto simply wouldn't agree, despite Umed's desperate attempts to equivocate. When Sophia was born, she became yet another battleground, as both vied for her love. While Inaya pampered her lavishly, putting her hair in curls, condescendingly teaching her about makeup, and buying her clothes and toys, Erasto played with her and let her tag along with him practically everywhere he went. However, while Inaya didn't have the capacity to truly love Sophia, Erasto did, and she responded in turn. For years, the two were inseparable.
Finally, when Erasto was nineteen, Inaya pushed him past the breaking point. He had met the Devil a couple of times, and the conversations he'd had spurred him on to storm out of the house and join the Devil's gang, plunging himself into sin: sex, murder, drugs, rape, dealing, and other heinous crimes. Inaya delighted in this new turn of events and made it agonizingly clear to Sophia the kind of atrocities her beloved brother was committing. She even hired a detective to tail Erasto and report back his actions, forcing the seven-year-old to read every word. Inevitably, Sophia's heart hardened towards Erasto, for what he was doing was truly worthy of death. And then, there was also his abandonment of her, which surely proved he didn't love her at all. Such was Sophia's frame of mind after months without any option but to listen to her mother.
For Erasto's part, he had formed an insatiable cocaine habit and was desperately in need of more money to feed it. Perhaps he only came back home because it would be much easier to find money and valuables in his own house, or perhaps he also wanted to see Sophia. But was actually happened was that as he ransacked the dining room, having carelessly left his gun on the table, Sophia came home from school. Hearing odd noises, she walked silently into the room, and took in the whole scene. She had one terrible moment to make her decision, then she raised the gun and shot Erasto three times in the back, He died without ever seeing the little sister he loved, who he had betrayed, who had returned the favor.
She was a child and he was a crazed coke addict with a gun; it was clearly self-defense, and no one was going to persecute her. In fact, with his connections in the law, Umed managed to get the incident wiped off her permanent record. Erasto was buried quietly and hurriedly, and everyone tried to put it behind them.
Sophia, however, seemed unable to, despite the fact that she never said a word about it. About a week afterwards, she hacked off her curls without a care as to what Inaya or anyone else might think. She spoke less, but when she did, hers were statements of startling insight and sometimes almost cruel truth. She requested to be brought to her father's trials, and Umed, desperate to do _anything_ to help her, even let her take his place on the bench. She proved surprisingly adept, keenly attuned to just rulings. Gradually, Umed slipped out, letting her take more and more of his cases. Now, Sophia attends school in the day and presides over trials in the afternoon and evening. However, she has grown tired of simply dealing with miscreants _after_ they have committed their crimes. Now, she wants to find the source fueling these evil deeds, and somehow stop it.
Writing Sample:
The bells on the door jangled sweetly as Sophia came through, inhaling the scent of the store, mostly dozens of spices mixed together in cacophonous harmony. She loved the smell, if only because it didn't give her a headache the way sickly sweet scents did.
"S�biana!" Olhado exclaimed with a grin as he came from behind the counter to give her a hug. "It's been nearly a week! What have you been doing?"
She smiled up at him, returning the hug almost naturally, although she was quite unused to such contact. "There was a backlog of cases, you know- a whole gang netted and tried at once. Just listing what the persecutor was trying to indict them for took an hour."
"I see," Olhado murmured noncommittally, trying to hide his dismay over her job. They had been down this road before, him trying to argue her out of such a demanding life, and without the best of results. "Well, now that you're here, you can try this shipment that just came in. It's new, and to be honest, I'm not so sure if anyone will like it..." he pulled his face into a gravely doubting frown, and reached back to the counter to snatch a bar labeled "Cadbury's Flake Bar".
Sophia smiled again at the ridiculous expression, then eagerly tore the wrapper away and took a dainty bite. "Olhado, silly, it's delicious! You should sell it for twice as much as the regular chocolate bars! Here- let me buy another-" She reached too hastily for her bag, and it dropped, sending its contents out over the linoleum.
"Don't be ridiculous, I'll give you as many as-" Olhado's words were cut off as a small gun came skittering out of Sophia's bag. He bent down gingerly to examine it where it lay, afraid to touch it, and when he spoke again, his voice trembled. "Child, what's this?"
"It's my new gun," Sophia answered softly as she calmly replaced it and her other things in her bag, "Papa got it for me a few days ago." She swallowed and darted a glance at Olhado's stricken face, then flushed. "Olhado, I need it! One of my classmates was mugged for his lunch money a week ago, and once an armed coke addict broke into my house! It's just not safe for me to walk around anymore!"
Olhado sighed heavily, knowing it to be the truth. In fact, he himself kept a loaded pistol by the register. But even he doubted he'd ever be able to fire it, if it came to that, and- "Sainted God, that a child should have to carry a gun in these times..." he whispered bitterly, then sighed. "Alright, S�biana, alright. We all do what we have to." He patted her on the shoulder, and tried to summon a smile. "So- I'll see you this time tomorrow?"
Sophia nodded emphatically and rushed out the door, her face still burning and growing hotter by the second. She ran, not home as Olhado supposed, but to a place close by, a quiet, green place surrounded by a heavy iron fence, the gate of which she could only push open with difficulty. Without hesitation, she made her way to a single small square marker, alone in the plot that would one day also hold her parents, and herself. Erasto's grave. Sophia took the bag off her shoulders with a quick, violent shrug, and yanked out the gun.
"Look," she said to the marker, barely able to keep her voice under control, "my own gun. I've been practicing at the shooting range, you know. Practicing and practicing, honing the skill I didn't know I had until YOU taught me!" Her voice became shrill as tears slid down her cheeks, faster and more numerous by the moment. "I've got a gun now! So... so you'd better leave me alone! Just stop haunting me!! If- if I see you anywhere, I'll shoot you dead! So just leave me ALONE from now on!" She whirled around, shoving the gun back in the bag, and ran away, letting the wind dry her tears and the harsh gasps smother her sobs. By the time she reached home, she was calm.
Impressions: (After the end of episode 1)
Lucia Abandonn�: Don't believe I've met her.
Muneca Delvidrio: Dante, right? Very crass. But his intentions were good.
Yumeomiru Samezameto:
Arvel Greene: Sorry?
Tesu: He was very quiet, but seemed like a nice boy. Didn't really seem like the type to get such an obvious tattoo.
Nevan Alraune:
Barano Shittsui:
Alexei Parnikov: Clearly insane, to some extent.
Kisoku Capulet:
Parajo Delvidrio:
Lemuel Sammis: Only the last name rings a bell, and then only vaguely. But you say I've never met him? Has anyone in his family ever been imprisoned?
Kein Montague:
Darran Isanyeti: Never met him.
Lukas Devereau:
Nathaniel Hawthorne: I don't know who that is.
Thalia Fischer: No, haven't met her.
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