Sailor Ometeotl
Senshi: Ometeotl, Calhua/Day Senshi of Duality
Name: Sander Thalberg
Meaning: Defender of the Valley and the Mountain
Age: 21
Birthdate: June 11
School/Occupation: School of Visual Arts, Third Year
Major NPCs:
Deviney Turgeon: Sander's current roommate in New York. She is studying interior design at the School of Visual Arts. Deviney is well-aware of the hard work involved in her major and studies constantly, maintaining an eccentric sleep schedule. She's lax about cleaning and sometimes aggravating to talk to on account of her lack of sleep, but Sander forgives her faults because Deviney's calm temperament is beginning to rub off on her.
History
Sander spent most of her childhood in Dubuque, Iowa as the only child of Michael and Lynn Thalberg. Friends of the family believed that she was overprotected by her parents--they shielded her from pain, disappointment, and most contact sports. As a result, she grew up with a deep-seated fear of others concealed by a façade of arrogance. She would pester her parents to give in to her demands, and they relented as best they could; however, this behavior desisted when Sander was twelve and began asking for another family member.
When she brought it up to her mother, she paled and ended the conversation. Her father, unsure of the correct parenting method, attempted to direct her attention to material objects like toys and treats. Sander, still emotionally immature and unfamiliar with having anything withheld from her, continued to badger until her parents finally sat her down and tried to explain the science of infertility. From that conversation and others that followed in the next few years, Sander pieced her birth together: Her mother, unable to get pregnant through conventional means, underwent in vitro fertilization with two eggs. Both seemed healthy until the end of the first trimester, when one absorbed the tissue from the other and the womb became occupied by a single fetus.
This revelation influenced Sander to consider human nature as a potential study. Her teachers noted an increase in her active listening, as if her self-centric habits were becoming unappealing. Although she was too young to recognize it, she displayed an interest in gender roles and sociology, especially the dichotomy between the conventional man and woman and their respective stereotypes. As she opened her eyes to the world around her, the protective shield that her parents built up around her began to break down, culminating in her move to New York to study visual communication at the School of Visual Arts. Her parents provided some funds for her education, but Sander's self-reliance pushed her to seek part time work as a customer service rep for a telecommunications company. It was a job that often revealed the best--and more often, worst--sides of human nature.
After living on campus, she rented a small apartment in Park Slope, rooming with one of her classmates, Deviney Turgeon. Their relationship is mostly agreeable: Sander's anxiety is mellowed by Deviney's relaxed personality, and Deviney's work ethic is spurred on by Sander's desire to be productive. They both take public transit, and Sander flies to see her parents over Christmas and summer vacation. She is not romantically involved with anyone and rarely has the monetary resources to go out on weekends.
Her relationship with her parents continues to be strained. Her mother, unable to accept her only child's zeal for living so far away from Dubuque, continues to pester her about coming home as often as possible (and perhaps transfer to the University of Iowa?) Her father remains as involved as he can--after Sander is finished talking with her distraught mother, he takes the phone and attempts to steer the conversation to schoolwork, weekend activities, and the weather.
Sander has been pursuing an education in advertising, a field that used her expertise in persuasion and zeal for psychology. She researched television and literature's impacts on children's gender association and was more conscious of her own nature. In high school she began to identify herself as bisexual, aware of her attraction for both men and women. She is hesitant to reveal this to many people, not because of the possible stigma, but because she fears that her friends will see her bisexuality as her only identifying characteristic. Deviney has known since they became roommates; however, she has not told her parents: Although same-sex marriage is legal in Iowa, her parents have shied away from discussing homosexuality, other than making vague claims that marriage between a man and a woman is "different" than a marriage between two people of the same sex. Sander is completely confident about her sexuality and has had short term relationships with both sexes, but for whatever reason (most times, a lack of commitment on her part), these relationships don't pan out.
Personality
Sander's pride has defined her as a self-assured, independent person with few close ties. Outwardly, she is brash and confident, quick to criticism and ready to point out flaws or weaknesses. This negativity is a reflection of her own self-doubt and anxiety, stemming from a childhood of worry. As a child, it was difficult for her to try something unless she had gone over all of the consequences in her head. That obsession manifested itself as recklessness later on, as she believed that risk-taking was an effective antidote to fear. If she acted, she would have no time to think.
She often has inconsistent opinions about current events and is stubborn about defending her beliefs, only to change them the following week. Arguments have been interwoven into her life since childhood, so much so that she will disagree with others for the sake of introducing a different opinion, whether she honestly believes it or not. Sander's social passion lies within her need to control a conversation, though not vocally--instead, she will attempt to steer its direction and launch new topics if the current subject matter is not interesting enough to her.
When she isn't in class, Sander enjoys going to campus lectures and art galleries. She sees all artwork as surreal and otherworldly, in the sense that it came from someone else's experiences. She believes that all knowledge is good, although it is difficult for her to physically express her mental stimulation. For instance, if a friend asks her what she thought of a lecture, her response is made up of sound effects and gestures, and often includes, "It was like blah blah vroosh", or "…and the part where he did that yadda thing, I was like, 'Kraaa.'" She gets impatient easily and is frustrated if she believes someone is talking down to her.
Sander is driven by conflict, though not by choice. She is repeatedly at odds with herself, her education, and her peers. Some classmates would describe her as driven, or even single-minded. In reality, her one-track thoughts start strong, then dissolve into contradictions. For instance, last semester she decided she would center her final ad campaign around pregnancy products--featuring a pregnant superhero as the mascot. Initially, she believed it would be incredibly effective, if not edgy. After researching stages of pregnancy and superhero evolution, the idea began to break apart into questions: How would expecting mothers react to a pregnant superhero who, by superhero definition, was constantly faced with violence? Did her superpowers come from being pregnant, or was she a superhero before? Did the demographics even belong together? Sander eventually abandoned the idea and settled on something that had less discord.
Keeping a part time job while going to a competitive school is not without its complications. Convicted in remaining financially stable and (for the most part) without parental assistance, Sander has mastered the art of scheduling. She keeps a well-documented planner with copious notes--Deviney has taught her that there is no such thing as too much information. Still, she's prone to making some mistakes and if an assignment or a shift is documented incorrectly, she becomes stressed out and single-minded, ignoring everything else until the error has been reversed or amended.
Her job in customer service has forced her to explore the middle ground between a rock and a hard place. She has limited responsibility and often goes home feeling helpless, which is warped into righteousness. Despite her conceit, Sander is naïve and thinks that every person is inherently driven by love--whether that love is internal or external depends on the person. Sander herself experiences both: Externally, she loves the thoughts of others and the patterns of human nature; and inwardly, she loves the challenge of making herself a more valuable human being.
Appearance
Sander is 5'8", about 140 lbs, with a slender build and pale skin that burns easily. Her hair is cropped into a blunt pixie cut and dyed dark brown, though if she left it alone, it would be a dirty blond color. She has a few freckles on her face and a small dent on her left temple from when she had chicken pox. She is lithe and strong, with a small chest that she either accentuates with a padded bra or plays down with loose shirts. She has a low voice when talking face to face with someone, but takes on a higher lilt when she's on the phone with customers. Sander has makeup, but rarely uses more than the foundation and some mascara--she gets too confused with color options for additions like eye shadow and lipstick. Her eyes are almond-shaped, grey, and creased with dark circles, a genetic trait. She has a pointy nose with a small bump where she was accidentally hit with a golf club at a friend's house. Her lower lip is disproportionate to her upper lip, so she always looks like she's in various stages of pouting (which drives her crazy, because people sometimes ask why she's so mad).
Her casual clothes range from feminine dresses and heels to baggy jeans and t-shirts, depending on what mood she's in. Her skirts and frilly tops often bring out her feminine side and a shy, more reserved demeanor. Jeans and no-fuss tops give her a different personality that is more gruff and standoffish. It's difficult for her to identify with a specific wardrobe, so her closet is a hodge-podge of attire from sweatpants and sports bras to stilettos and scarves. She often sticks with the bare essentials when in public, hopelessly lost at accessorizing.
Fuku
Ometeotl's fuku begins at the boots--they are rigid black leather, flat-heeled, divided into 1.5 inch pleats of dark grey and black, laced up her calf, and stop before the knee. Her asymmetrical white linen skirt starts above the knee and is cinched high around the waist in a loose fold that extends into a large disorganized bow against the left side of her back. The bow is white as well, tied with two five-inch wide ribbons accented with one black arrow-shaped stripe on one leg and two stripes on the other. The linen is lightweight but double-layered to prevent transparency. It creases easily where it gathers around her bellybutton, having zero elasticity.
Ometeotl's shirt covers her chest and wraps around her upper right arm but leaves her left shoulder and stomach bare. Obsidian stones about one inch long and a quarter inch wide dangle in teardrops from her right sleeve, while her left arm is decorated with intertwined black sleeve tattoos of fellow Aztec deities. These tattoos vary in size, shape, and detail, but begin at her wrist and end at her shoulder. Hammered copper lines the neckline of her shirt in bright circles, attached to a matching copper collar an inch wide. Her head is decorated with a white helmet that folds up with a flap that's three inches high, studded with obsidian crystal the size of eighth-inch beads along the fold. A pendant about the size of her palm is fixed above her left ear. This pendant is her method of transformation, the symbol of Ometeotl: A black and white mesh of geometric shapes laid against each other to form a complimentary dichotomy. Six black feathers ranging from three inches to a foot long protrude from her headdress, held together by a copper collar and circles consistent with those around her neck.
Transformation
Holding her pendant out with both hands, Sander says, " Ometeotl, I surrender to my duality." The pendant breaks in two--each side runs down her legs and circles back to her head. As they move up her body, her fuku is woven from emerging fibers that intertwine and become boots, a skirt, and a matching linen top. After her headdress is formed, the two sides mesh together again, resting against her crown as a single piece.
Powers
Dual Blade Staff: This is Ometeotl's weapon, a staff that hides two knives, each sheathed in the other. She calls for it by holding out her hands, palms down, and saying, "Bipartite." A gray fog appears under her hands and melds into a 3' staff, half obsidian and half bone, with copper bands around the base and head. This weapon can be used as a blunt object, or if necessary, split into dual eighteen-inch knives for two-handed use in short-range attacks. The knives are sheathed in staff form. Ometeotl will be very skilled with this weapon as she uses it more, but when she first summons it, its potential injuries may be off-putting to her and prevent her from doing much with it.
False Dialectics: This is a psychological attack that affects the opponent's reasoning ability. Ometeotl crosses her swords' blades, says, "False Dialectics," and runs each of the blades along the other once, as if to sharpen them. As she does this, a thin strand of blinding light is hurled at her opponent. If it connects, the attacker will become convinced that his/her reason for attack is incorrect and will either waste time trying to out-reason the effects of the attack or completely rebel against attacking at all, choosing a less violent activity. Ometeotl will use the recovery time to either decide to retreat or employ her knives. She is only able to use this attack once--the recovery time is a few hours, at least. The consequences of the attack don't last long on more powerful opponents and negatively affect Ometeotl's stamina if she attempts to extend its effects. However, it is a brief but helpful period where she can choose to flee or continue the battle.
Guardian
Sander has no guardian, and is unaware of her senshi deity.
Explanation
Ometeotl, "Two God," is missing from most Aztec art, since s/he was more of an idea than a person. His/her origin was from the idea that the universe is made up of complimentary ideas, like day and night or control and chaos. Aztecs believed that Ometeotl was the first god, who created himself/herself as the quintessential heart of the universe and the basis of belief that polar extremes could not exist without each other. After appearing in the void universe, Ometeotl gave birth to four children, who presided over the cardinal directions. S/he had no specific sex, identifying himself/herself as simultaneously male and female.
Ometeotl's fuku reflects on this nature with the asymmetrical design, feminine skirt with masculine boots, and a top that is both revealing and subtle. She wears her god's symbol as headgear and tattoos her arm with representations of other gods as a sign of respect of the deities that followed her. The obsidian in her swords was a local resource for the Aztecs, and the bone is a reference to another translation of her name--"omi" meaning "bone" instead of "ome" meaning "two." She has a two-bladed staff because it can be broken up or merged together, effective in both situations. Her "False Dialectics" attack gives her the ability to choose the course of action in a battle while simultaneously preventing her opponent from having the same choice.
Name: Sander Thalberg
Meaning: Defender of the Valley and the Mountain
Age: 21
Birthdate: June 11
School/Occupation: School of Visual Arts, Third Year
Major NPCs:
Deviney Turgeon: Sander's current roommate in New York. She is studying interior design at the School of Visual Arts. Deviney is well-aware of the hard work involved in her major and studies constantly, maintaining an eccentric sleep schedule. She's lax about cleaning and sometimes aggravating to talk to on account of her lack of sleep, but Sander forgives her faults because Deviney's calm temperament is beginning to rub off on her.
History
Sander spent most of her childhood in Dubuque, Iowa as the only child of Michael and Lynn Thalberg. Friends of the family believed that she was overprotected by her parents--they shielded her from pain, disappointment, and most contact sports. As a result, she grew up with a deep-seated fear of others concealed by a façade of arrogance. She would pester her parents to give in to her demands, and they relented as best they could; however, this behavior desisted when Sander was twelve and began asking for another family member.
When she brought it up to her mother, she paled and ended the conversation. Her father, unsure of the correct parenting method, attempted to direct her attention to material objects like toys and treats. Sander, still emotionally immature and unfamiliar with having anything withheld from her, continued to badger until her parents finally sat her down and tried to explain the science of infertility. From that conversation and others that followed in the next few years, Sander pieced her birth together: Her mother, unable to get pregnant through conventional means, underwent in vitro fertilization with two eggs. Both seemed healthy until the end of the first trimester, when one absorbed the tissue from the other and the womb became occupied by a single fetus.
This revelation influenced Sander to consider human nature as a potential study. Her teachers noted an increase in her active listening, as if her self-centric habits were becoming unappealing. Although she was too young to recognize it, she displayed an interest in gender roles and sociology, especially the dichotomy between the conventional man and woman and their respective stereotypes. As she opened her eyes to the world around her, the protective shield that her parents built up around her began to break down, culminating in her move to New York to study visual communication at the School of Visual Arts. Her parents provided some funds for her education, but Sander's self-reliance pushed her to seek part time work as a customer service rep for a telecommunications company. It was a job that often revealed the best--and more often, worst--sides of human nature.
After living on campus, she rented a small apartment in Park Slope, rooming with one of her classmates, Deviney Turgeon. Their relationship is mostly agreeable: Sander's anxiety is mellowed by Deviney's relaxed personality, and Deviney's work ethic is spurred on by Sander's desire to be productive. They both take public transit, and Sander flies to see her parents over Christmas and summer vacation. She is not romantically involved with anyone and rarely has the monetary resources to go out on weekends.
Her relationship with her parents continues to be strained. Her mother, unable to accept her only child's zeal for living so far away from Dubuque, continues to pester her about coming home as often as possible (and perhaps transfer to the University of Iowa?) Her father remains as involved as he can--after Sander is finished talking with her distraught mother, he takes the phone and attempts to steer the conversation to schoolwork, weekend activities, and the weather.
Sander has been pursuing an education in advertising, a field that used her expertise in persuasion and zeal for psychology. She researched television and literature's impacts on children's gender association and was more conscious of her own nature. In high school she began to identify herself as bisexual, aware of her attraction for both men and women. She is hesitant to reveal this to many people, not because of the possible stigma, but because she fears that her friends will see her bisexuality as her only identifying characteristic. Deviney has known since they became roommates; however, she has not told her parents: Although same-sex marriage is legal in Iowa, her parents have shied away from discussing homosexuality, other than making vague claims that marriage between a man and a woman is "different" than a marriage between two people of the same sex. Sander is completely confident about her sexuality and has had short term relationships with both sexes, but for whatever reason (most times, a lack of commitment on her part), these relationships don't pan out.
Personality
Sander's pride has defined her as a self-assured, independent person with few close ties. Outwardly, she is brash and confident, quick to criticism and ready to point out flaws or weaknesses. This negativity is a reflection of her own self-doubt and anxiety, stemming from a childhood of worry. As a child, it was difficult for her to try something unless she had gone over all of the consequences in her head. That obsession manifested itself as recklessness later on, as she believed that risk-taking was an effective antidote to fear. If she acted, she would have no time to think.
She often has inconsistent opinions about current events and is stubborn about defending her beliefs, only to change them the following week. Arguments have been interwoven into her life since childhood, so much so that she will disagree with others for the sake of introducing a different opinion, whether she honestly believes it or not. Sander's social passion lies within her need to control a conversation, though not vocally--instead, she will attempt to steer its direction and launch new topics if the current subject matter is not interesting enough to her.
When she isn't in class, Sander enjoys going to campus lectures and art galleries. She sees all artwork as surreal and otherworldly, in the sense that it came from someone else's experiences. She believes that all knowledge is good, although it is difficult for her to physically express her mental stimulation. For instance, if a friend asks her what she thought of a lecture, her response is made up of sound effects and gestures, and often includes, "It was like blah blah vroosh", or "…and the part where he did that yadda thing, I was like, 'Kraaa.'" She gets impatient easily and is frustrated if she believes someone is talking down to her.
Sander is driven by conflict, though not by choice. She is repeatedly at odds with herself, her education, and her peers. Some classmates would describe her as driven, or even single-minded. In reality, her one-track thoughts start strong, then dissolve into contradictions. For instance, last semester she decided she would center her final ad campaign around pregnancy products--featuring a pregnant superhero as the mascot. Initially, she believed it would be incredibly effective, if not edgy. After researching stages of pregnancy and superhero evolution, the idea began to break apart into questions: How would expecting mothers react to a pregnant superhero who, by superhero definition, was constantly faced with violence? Did her superpowers come from being pregnant, or was she a superhero before? Did the demographics even belong together? Sander eventually abandoned the idea and settled on something that had less discord.
Keeping a part time job while going to a competitive school is not without its complications. Convicted in remaining financially stable and (for the most part) without parental assistance, Sander has mastered the art of scheduling. She keeps a well-documented planner with copious notes--Deviney has taught her that there is no such thing as too much information. Still, she's prone to making some mistakes and if an assignment or a shift is documented incorrectly, she becomes stressed out and single-minded, ignoring everything else until the error has been reversed or amended.
Her job in customer service has forced her to explore the middle ground between a rock and a hard place. She has limited responsibility and often goes home feeling helpless, which is warped into righteousness. Despite her conceit, Sander is naïve and thinks that every person is inherently driven by love--whether that love is internal or external depends on the person. Sander herself experiences both: Externally, she loves the thoughts of others and the patterns of human nature; and inwardly, she loves the challenge of making herself a more valuable human being.
Appearance
Sander is 5'8", about 140 lbs, with a slender build and pale skin that burns easily. Her hair is cropped into a blunt pixie cut and dyed dark brown, though if she left it alone, it would be a dirty blond color. She has a few freckles on her face and a small dent on her left temple from when she had chicken pox. She is lithe and strong, with a small chest that she either accentuates with a padded bra or plays down with loose shirts. She has a low voice when talking face to face with someone, but takes on a higher lilt when she's on the phone with customers. Sander has makeup, but rarely uses more than the foundation and some mascara--she gets too confused with color options for additions like eye shadow and lipstick. Her eyes are almond-shaped, grey, and creased with dark circles, a genetic trait. She has a pointy nose with a small bump where she was accidentally hit with a golf club at a friend's house. Her lower lip is disproportionate to her upper lip, so she always looks like she's in various stages of pouting (which drives her crazy, because people sometimes ask why she's so mad).
Her casual clothes range from feminine dresses and heels to baggy jeans and t-shirts, depending on what mood she's in. Her skirts and frilly tops often bring out her feminine side and a shy, more reserved demeanor. Jeans and no-fuss tops give her a different personality that is more gruff and standoffish. It's difficult for her to identify with a specific wardrobe, so her closet is a hodge-podge of attire from sweatpants and sports bras to stilettos and scarves. She often sticks with the bare essentials when in public, hopelessly lost at accessorizing.
Fuku
Ometeotl's fuku begins at the boots--they are rigid black leather, flat-heeled, divided into 1.5 inch pleats of dark grey and black, laced up her calf, and stop before the knee. Her asymmetrical white linen skirt starts above the knee and is cinched high around the waist in a loose fold that extends into a large disorganized bow against the left side of her back. The bow is white as well, tied with two five-inch wide ribbons accented with one black arrow-shaped stripe on one leg and two stripes on the other. The linen is lightweight but double-layered to prevent transparency. It creases easily where it gathers around her bellybutton, having zero elasticity.
Ometeotl's shirt covers her chest and wraps around her upper right arm but leaves her left shoulder and stomach bare. Obsidian stones about one inch long and a quarter inch wide dangle in teardrops from her right sleeve, while her left arm is decorated with intertwined black sleeve tattoos of fellow Aztec deities. These tattoos vary in size, shape, and detail, but begin at her wrist and end at her shoulder. Hammered copper lines the neckline of her shirt in bright circles, attached to a matching copper collar an inch wide. Her head is decorated with a white helmet that folds up with a flap that's three inches high, studded with obsidian crystal the size of eighth-inch beads along the fold. A pendant about the size of her palm is fixed above her left ear. This pendant is her method of transformation, the symbol of Ometeotl: A black and white mesh of geometric shapes laid against each other to form a complimentary dichotomy. Six black feathers ranging from three inches to a foot long protrude from her headdress, held together by a copper collar and circles consistent with those around her neck.
Transformation
Holding her pendant out with both hands, Sander says, " Ometeotl, I surrender to my duality." The pendant breaks in two--each side runs down her legs and circles back to her head. As they move up her body, her fuku is woven from emerging fibers that intertwine and become boots, a skirt, and a matching linen top. After her headdress is formed, the two sides mesh together again, resting against her crown as a single piece.
Powers
Dual Blade Staff: This is Ometeotl's weapon, a staff that hides two knives, each sheathed in the other. She calls for it by holding out her hands, palms down, and saying, "Bipartite." A gray fog appears under her hands and melds into a 3' staff, half obsidian and half bone, with copper bands around the base and head. This weapon can be used as a blunt object, or if necessary, split into dual eighteen-inch knives for two-handed use in short-range attacks. The knives are sheathed in staff form. Ometeotl will be very skilled with this weapon as she uses it more, but when she first summons it, its potential injuries may be off-putting to her and prevent her from doing much with it.
False Dialectics: This is a psychological attack that affects the opponent's reasoning ability. Ometeotl crosses her swords' blades, says, "False Dialectics," and runs each of the blades along the other once, as if to sharpen them. As she does this, a thin strand of blinding light is hurled at her opponent. If it connects, the attacker will become convinced that his/her reason for attack is incorrect and will either waste time trying to out-reason the effects of the attack or completely rebel against attacking at all, choosing a less violent activity. Ometeotl will use the recovery time to either decide to retreat or employ her knives. She is only able to use this attack once--the recovery time is a few hours, at least. The consequences of the attack don't last long on more powerful opponents and negatively affect Ometeotl's stamina if she attempts to extend its effects. However, it is a brief but helpful period where she can choose to flee or continue the battle.
Guardian
Sander has no guardian, and is unaware of her senshi deity.
Explanation
Ometeotl, "Two God," is missing from most Aztec art, since s/he was more of an idea than a person. His/her origin was from the idea that the universe is made up of complimentary ideas, like day and night or control and chaos. Aztecs believed that Ometeotl was the first god, who created himself/herself as the quintessential heart of the universe and the basis of belief that polar extremes could not exist without each other. After appearing in the void universe, Ometeotl gave birth to four children, who presided over the cardinal directions. S/he had no specific sex, identifying himself/herself as simultaneously male and female.
Ometeotl's fuku reflects on this nature with the asymmetrical design, feminine skirt with masculine boots, and a top that is both revealing and subtle. She wears her god's symbol as headgear and tattoos her arm with representations of other gods as a sign of respect of the deities that followed her. The obsidian in her swords was a local resource for the Aztecs, and the bone is a reference to another translation of her name--"omi" meaning "bone" instead of "ome" meaning "two." She has a two-bladed staff because it can be broken up or merged together, effective in both situations. Her "False Dialectics" attack gives her the ability to choose the course of action in a battle while simultaneously preventing her opponent from having the same choice.