about suzy

[mentalmap]

GENERAL

Name: Suzy Su-ji Choi.
Nickname(s): Su.
Gender/Pronouns: She/her/hers.
Birthdate/Age: February 2. 17. [Aquarius sun, Gemini moon, Libra ascendant]
Grade: Senior
Sexuality: Probably straight. ??? a giant lesbian let's stop pretending

Major Arcana: [II] The High Priestess.
Minor Arcana: Swords

Concept: Bright-eyed perfectionist constantly bandages a bleeding heart.

APPEARANCE

Height:	5'2"	Hair Color:	Black; occasional highlights
Build:	Small; athletic	Eye Color:	Brown

Su is a small, neat girl with dark eyes and long black hair (occasionally shot through with highlights, though they never seem to keep for long). She carries herself airily, but with purpose -- there's almost always somewhere to go, and once she's up and at 'em for the day, she'll stay that way until her head hits the pillow. If it ever does. Eventually.

Out of uniform, Suzy's personal style is feminine and simple, with a slight and purposeful "school girl" feel. Su wears a lot of oxfords, pleated skirts, collared shirts, big fuzzy sweaters, and boxy tees. In general, her style is conscious -- it's obvious she curates her wardrobe -- but mostly just easy. She prefers what she deems straightforward and "classic" every time: neatly brushed hair, minimal make-up with perhaps a swipe of red lipstick, etc.

Like a snail with its home on its back, Su constantly lugs her life around in one of a collection of satchels and bags. Do you need a pen? A snack? A sweater? Perhaps some alternate reading material? Try her.

PB: Victoria Song.

PERSONALITY

Likes: junk food -- especially sweets, research, philosophy class, cooking, coffee, music, clubbing, dressing up, modern dance, yoga, running, pot, the beach, makeup, attention, video games, graphic novels, ramyun, SCHOOL, hot sauce.

Dislikes: tedium, close-minded people, bugs, clutter, dirt, usually alcohol (in excess, at least; she's an extremely bad drunk who always ends up crying somewhere), stupid comedies, smoking.
---

+ curious, intellectual
+ open-minded
+ creative
+ responsible
+ energetic
+ determined
= hard-working
= selective loyalty
= perfectionist
= secretive
- selfish
- jealous
- self-destructive
- sensitive
- grudge-holder

Suzy has spent her life embracing the title of "good girl." If her life were a drama, she would be the main character's glossy, responsible little friend: the one who accompanies them to the party, then skips out before midnight to study for tomorrow's test, still tipsy. (A good candidate for a very special episode, maybe, after a couple too many nights like this). Suzy has always been a person who cares, with a tendency to view success in classes and extracurriculars as personal wellness. She has the kind of bottomless semi-nervous energy that lends itself well to hard work and diverse hobbies and saying yes to everything, but less to sleep and relaxation and taking it easy.

If asked, Su would define herself as an "intellectual." She is responsible, open-minded, and creative, but with the chronic "muchness" that often walks hand-in-hand with academic overachiever. In short, Su tries very hard. She doesn't have an off button. She bounces from responsibility to responsibility, and thrives on the sort of structure that others might find stifling. This is because, though she really wants to impress and be good at everything, she's also genuinely curious, a natural researcher. Finding out the answers to things is one of the purest pleasures in life, don't you think? She's that type. Suzy has laser focus when it comes to working, completing goals, and acquiring achievements. It might not necessarily be difficult to get her to see other points of view or possibilities, but she wants what she wants, and that's usually the end of it -- whether that's a want to believe, a want to know, or a want to acquire. She loves the feeling of being "successful" and doing things for "herself," even if at heart she doesn't know what either of those things personally means.

The downside to this, of course, is a tendency to push slightly too hard, which can be disastrous when paired with her perfectionist streak. Su can be very particular about things, and is fine with taking responsibility to make them that way. It can be hard for her to understand why when it can't happen, or fails to happen -- while she needs balance to feel right about anything, her need for just-so and exactly often tips scales either way, leaving her frustrated and obsessed with achieving whatever expectations she'd set for herself. It can be an asset or a curse, and quickly accelerates into self-destruction if left unchecked. Suzy has been to known abandon things when they become too hard to come out of looking perfect, or veer too far away from what she wants.

Su's busy bee act would be more irritating, probably, if it were all there was to her. Thankfully, it's not -- there's a colder edge to Suzy's intellectual ambition that has tainted her approach to life and relationships. The door is open for cutting throats, for example (just, really gently!) and due to her upbringing she has a far easier time committing to ideals than other people. Love and trust are both really nice things, but you can't count on them to guide your choices all the time, and her parents have provided more than enough of an example of what can happen if you keep giving people chances after they've hurt you. Never mind that both of her parents are actually quite happy now that they're divorced. It's the principle of the thing (and it usually is, with Su).

Though Suzy will be your friend for life -- and is a good friend, actually, kind of a party girl, and willing to drag you to success with her -- she always has one foot in a secret inner world that remains unshared. This buffer of question marks and omissions makes it easier to walk away from things, and she will, though she'll love you forever from afar if she has to. Suzy has a strange way with loyalty. Once she's truly cast her lot in with something, she's there for the long haul even if it doesn't show, and sometimes even at odds with other commitments. Despite this being true, however, she can say "forever" one day and walk away the next (thanks, Gemini moon). She can want something, or find it perfectly sensible or good, and still spitefully poke holes in it justified by emotional calculation or impulse. The highs are high and the lows are so low.

Su is kind of... sensitive. Though she can go on and on like the energizer bunny, this is a bunny that takes cry breaks by necessity. This is a girl who will debate heatedly with you about anything in class, but burst into tears if you raise your voice at her outside of it (while continuing to needle until you have shown sufficient understanding of her side). When the going gets tough, so does Su, either straight into bed or an overly I'm-okay-and-I-don't-give-a-fuck public demonstration. She struggles privately with depressive thoughts and feelings, and the great memory she has for facts and figures is also really useful at remembering past mistakes and failures. Even years later, Suzy can be found pondering things she could have done differently, or past situations that would have been better handled with experience recently gained. She also remembers exactly what you said, what you did, and how it affected her or her friends. ...But don't worry about it. It's fine.

Her worst (though perhaps most inevitable) quality is a tendency for jealousy. While she'd like to be, she has a hard time being supportive of other people getting what she thinks she deserves, or achieving the things she'd rather have achieved. She can be sincerely happy for friends or people who have been encouraging of her themselves, but otherwise it's sooo hard (though she's gotten better with age, and has even tried to make up for it here and there).

SKILLS

DANCE: Suzy started ballet/tap lessons in kindergarten, then segued into modern dance and hip hop sometime in middle school. It's become a medium of self expression, though she approaches it more functionally now that she's at Finchwood: as exercise and stress relief. Su is strong, flexible and graceful, great in ensemble pieces, but not an especially good choreographer. She has a bad habit of showing off in social situations.

GENERAL ATHLETICISM: A daily runner and yoga enthusiast. Will try any sport or new exercise fad at least once. Also very good at soccer.

SCHOOL: This absolutely counts as a skill, right?? It's what Suzy does best, anyway. Research, time management, studying, note-taking, discussion, extra credit. Su thrives in an academic environment and is used to massive amounts of work under pressure. She's... kind of annoying. And very organized.

COOKING: Suzy's mother and aunt run a cute Seoul cafe. She's spent summers and holidays helping out there for years, and knows how to make some decent Korean food and snacks. No one would call her a culinary genius, but she feels comfortable in a kitchen, knows how to choose flavor profiles, produce and ingredients, and can do some creative improvisation. She also enjoys reading recipe books for fun (nerd).

VIOLA: One of those family imposed hobbies that you take up, try to exceed at to impress said family, and then can never quite let go of for whatever symbolic or stubborn reasons. Su is talented and really enjoys playing. She had lessons after school for a number of years. That said, it's a real effort to hang onto first or second chair, and since coming to Finchwood viola has really become more of a pleasant break from other activities.

KOREAN LANGUAGE: Su reads and writes fluently, and speaks well enough to express herself comfortably (especially just after coming back from visits to mom's). Her sister is a little smoother and more natural, which irks her.

HISTORY

Family:

• Sung-hoon "David" Choi, father. David is a high-up in some sort of tech company that Suzy knows little about. He is very strict, efficient, and usually majorly stressed out. A first generation American, he grew up in California, the son of two equally strict, efficient, and usually majorly stressed out Korean immigrants who are way less intense now that they have grandchildren.
  
  
• Ji-hye Rang, mother. Ji-hye lives with Suzy's aunt Ji-young in Seoul. Having emigrated to the States to be with David, she divorced him suddenly and moved back to South Korea sometime during Suzy's freshman year of highschool. This is a move widely regarded as positive despite making holiday visits a bit of a production. Ji-hye and Ji-young work the family cafe together, so at least there's lots of snacks.
  
• Ji-young Rang, aunt. Su's only (and favorite) aunt.
  
  
• Coco Choi, sister. Coco is a senior at Stanford, studying Engineering Physics. She and Suzy call themselves best friends, but are less in contact now that both are busy with demanding programs. Also, Coco's longterm boyfriend is super dumb and not in a fun way.
  

Hometown: San Francisco, CA.

Suzy was born the second child of two Los Angelenos: a Korean-American boy who had grown up in Orange County, and the shy Korean exchange student he met his junior year at UCLA, then married partially on a whim. Their union wasn't necessarily ideal -- who proposes after six months of dating in college?? -- but it was received with legitimate excitement by both sides of the family, who happened to have a lot in common including the fervent desire for their children to end up with Korean partners. Thus, David and Ji-hye's little life began with relative sparkle and excitement. They graduated together with their shared group of friends, and, after a summer of back-packing, moved to Silicon Valley together after David received an internship at one of several tech companies he'd thrown his resume at like a paper airplane.

Of course, life wasn't without its ups and downs. The first up-and-down was Coco, Suzy's older sister, whose birth put stress on the relationship that neither partner was entirely ready for at such young ages. Still, they stuck it out. David climbed the ladder at his company with surprising and quick success -- a "wunderkind" -- with Ji-hye dutifully picking up part-time work and staying home to care for their new baby, and then the next three years later.

Despite growing tension between her parents (David only seemed to spend more and more time at work, and Ji-hye struggled with the stress of caring for the two girls, bored and unfulfilled despite her love for them) Suzy's early childhood was relatively carefree. Like Coco, she was a bright, boisterous kid, somehow oozing enthusiasm for every after-school enrichment activity, play date, and Korean language class her parents insisted on. Su knew what she was good at from a young age: school. Especially since it made both parents happy to see her succeed at it. It didn't matter how much mom and dad argued -- whenever she and Coco brought home good grades, they got ice cream parties and movie dates and big hugs, which made up for the awkward silences after dad swooped out of the house without warning, or the way mom sounded on the phone sometimes when he called to say he'd be late.

So that was life, really -- waking up, shuttling off to private school, working hard, shuttling off to another activity, home, study and homework, practice ballet or viola, sleep again. Dad in and out. Mom run ragged. Weekends were equally busy, except for the rare lazy Saturday or trip to visit LA grandparents'. Su and Coco became those weird overachieving kids who aren't entirely sure what to do with time off, running babysitters ragged with their need for structure. It only got worse in middle school, especially the year Coco went off to highschool and became way too cool to hang around with Suzy much, even after school. They still referred to themselves as "best friends," but it was somehow totally different -- and then Coco was out of highschool entirely, a freshman at Stanford, with Su only in ninth grade.

____

As soon as Coco left, something changed between David and Ji-hye. It was like having only one kid to worry about daily gave them more room to be angry at each other. Years of pent up aggression and disappointment and misaligned priorities came to a head, and one day Suzy came home from school and Ji-hye wasn't there. She'd totally run off. And what was worse, both parents seemed... okay with it. Dad talked about it casually, even, answering Suzy's questions with tired honesty and then disappearing into his office for a conference call. When she and Coco called mom together, outraged, they got the same frank certainty from her on the other end. This was better. Would be better. Better.

And then, of course, Coco was back to her Stanford campus, leaving Suzy alone with her dad. Which was, really, like being completely alone. He was so busy and self-involved he rarely had time to even sit down with her for meals, ending up hiring a "nanny" figure who could purchase groceries and make sure Suzy didn't die or run off while he was at work. A lot of teenagers would view this as freedom -- and Suzy did at first, kind of. She definitely stayed out with friends more often, though in Su's case that often meant intensely studying for hours and then maybe smoking an illicit cigarette or taking halfhearted sips from someone's mom's liquor cabinet. She was a good girl. Always had been. And even if she were actually quite upset, at least her grades never dipped. It made dad happier than anything else she could offer, seemingly, and had always been the best measure that everything really was okay. There was no reason that shouldn't be true now, in this upside down world where it was totally acceptable to everyone that Su's mother had basically abandoned her children.

... Though she hadn't. Not really. She sent her daughters glittery, happy emails and care packages, one every month, full of candy and cute accessories and Korean make-up. The summer between freshman and sophomore year was Suzy and Coco's first full summer in Seoul. They'd been there for weeks-long snatches before, but never so long all at once, and never just with mom and mom's family. It did change things, to see mom fully happy and fully alive in the family cafe she was now helping Aunt Ji-young at. Nothing would be the same again, but maybe that was all right.

Su returned home happy and renewed. Sophomore year passed, and she seemed to flourish.

____

Then her dad accepted a contract overseas, in Europe. She was thrilled at first at the idea of coming with him -- Europe!! -- but then he surprised her with Finchwood Academy paperwork instead. Suzy was a shoe-in somewhere like this, he argued. It looked amazing, and truthfully (she knew this without even having to read about it very much) smacked of the kind of hype and "new-prestige" that had always easily impressed him.

Suzy hated the idea. She hated every second filling out her application forms, and maybe -- for the first time in her life, and motivated by total spite -- tried to fail her entrance exam (bolded and italicized for total, unthinkable heinousness!! Su wishes she could forget this ever happened). It... somehow came back a total pass, and dad gave her no choice but to continue with the process. He wasn't wrong that it would be an interesting edge for college admissions, and frankly, if she'd done so well on the entrance exam while actively trying not to, she'd have to do well in general, right? She could come out Valedictorian. Ace her courses. This could be really good, something new!

Su entered the second portion of her exam buoyed by this confidence, but left the Velvet Room, started crying, and didn't stop for an entire afternoon. It couldn't be said that she didn't understand what she was doing when she signed the contract -- and she definitely signed it, like, with purpose and even a flourish -- but it felt like a culmination of everything stupid and unfair that she'd been put through so far in life. Somehow it was easy to transfer this over, sort of paste it awkwardly on top of her tensions with her father. It was his fault she was doing this, that this was happening, that she'd felt pressured to sign the stupid paper and now had to keep this secret forever.

It's strange, though -- the things that bring you comfort as a child often continue to do so. And school had always been comforting to Suzy: the ritual of studying, the timetables to follow, the facts to memorize and the validation of straight marks. When she started classes, it was amazing how quickly she began to feel better, like herself again. She made friends. She joined clubs -- some just to impress, and some because the new lightness in her limbs needed an outlet. Su cried a little less and put more and more of herself in her training, when it turned out she was also good at fighting Shadows. They hadn't been wrong about her potential.

By the end of the first year, she was actually... kind of sad, leaving for Seoul to see her mother and Coco and Aunt Ji-young. She counted down the days until returning.

COMBAT

Persona: Haamiah. [x, x]
Element: Air.

Stats here.

ACADEMICS

Core Classes: English*, Mathematics*, Science*, Social Studies*, Training.

Elective Classes: Music (Viola), Philosophy.

Clubs: Athletics, Dance, Drama, Student Council, Gaming.

General Performance: In this arena, Su is a goody-two-shoes overachiever, full stop. She's always thrived in academic environments, and yes, actually enjoys being at school, thinking about school, planning the next four years of school, etc. She is the kind of person who structures her life (and perception of self-importance, maybe) around how well she is or isn't doing in her classes. She obsesses over her schedule and reads ahead compulsively. A bad mark can ruin her week. Su has publicly stress-cried about final exams multiple times in her life, despite it usually being laughable to think she might fail.

It's a natural tendency, but also due to growing up with parents who gave her the most positive reinforcement for her good grades. Since her mom moved to Seoul and her dad's somehow gotten even more busy, though, Su's had more room the last few years to develop her own interests, which... isn't always easy for her. Instead, she has a tendency to take on everything, and constantly juggles a frankly horrific schedule of honors courses, demanding electives, random clubs, and self-driven projects. The most annoying thing about her is that she'd probably do just fine if she gave even a 1/3 less effort, but she... can't.

Suzy "enjoys" all her classes -- there are reasons to like all of them -- but apart from training, which is really fun, she most favors courses with lots of note-taking and reading. Social Sciences is a particular favorite, as well as general Science and her Philosophy elective. Her most challenging course is absolutely Mathematics, and it's the only one she actively seeks tutoring for. Meanwhile, English is just okay. She does like to read, but her personal tastes tend more toward nonfiction and graphic novels than the kind of fare they tend to cover in class.

OOC

Player: Kay
Email: lifesizeghosts@gmail.com
CDJ: n/a
Other Contact: contact post here or at spicecake c:
Time Zone: Pacific