Name: Jaime Valentine Fergus
Meaning: Technically a form of James which means (in a round about way surplanter), Jaime is also a reference, according to behindthename.com, to the French j'aime, which means "I love." Valentine refers to St. Valentine but is from the Latin valens, which meant "healthy, strong." Fergus is from the English version of the Gaelic fearghas, which means "man of vigour." "I love healthy man of vigour..." was just too humoruous a name meaning to resist XD
Age: 16
Birthday: February 14 (Now you understand her middle name ^.^;;)
Zodiac: Aquarius
Height: 5’2" if she stands on tip-toe or in heals! In the odd chance you catch her barefoot, Jaime measures up to 5’1," barely. She is a wee little star, that Jaime.
Likes:
* Love Ballads/Pop Songs/Happy Music: What do Bryan Addams, 98 Degrees, the B-52s, and Luther Vandross all have in common? Besides being human beings and musical artists, not much... except sharing valuable space in Jaime’s CD collection. She is the ultimate sap when it comes to music, to the point she occasionally feels the need to hide her musical taste to avoid friendly ridicule. The more cheese, the more excessive use of the "l" word, the more gratuitous the references to a partners eyes-- the more Jaime will be sure to absolutely adore the song. As for why Jaime adores music of this variety, that is a pretty complex question. While it is true she’s as much a hopeless romantic as a 16 year old can be, it is also true that Jaime holes herself up in her room and zones out to the music-- satisfying her need for alone time while also daydreaming to her happy music. As a introvert hiding in an extroverted shell, Jaime needs her alone time and daydreaming to happy music is definately a worthwhile expenditure of effort-- not only is she fighting off boredom, but she’s also stretching her creative muscles at the same time.
* Cheesy Reality TV Shows: American Idol? Check! Extreme Makeover? Check! Extreme Makeover: Home Edition? Check-Check! Shows that encourage the best in people and thus inspire other people automatically become Jaime’s favorite TV shows. She enjoys adventure shows like The Amazing Race, but actively loathes shows like Survivor and Big Brother where people are encouraged to fight dirty. She doesn’t like the dating reality shows because they are either all about a woman showing her boobies or capitalize on couples fighting-- two things she feels uncomfortable about. KEEP YOUR BOOBIES SECURE. This is a complete reflection on Jaime wanting to fix things to achieve her view of a utopian and peaceful society-- even if it’s just a high school.
* School: While Jaime is set in her views of how the world *should* be, she is always open to learning new skills-- especially if they’ll help her further her dreams. Gaining a good education to begin the rest of her life has been a high priority to Jaime since she left gymnastics. That introverted core recognized that, despite all the social skills you can have in the world, if you can’t balance a checkbook you pretty much were SOL in the game of life. Jaime enjoys her classes and really has a lot of fun learning new material-- even though she tries to hid that enjoyment from the squad. But Jaime’s efforts are fruitless, because it’s only obvious that Jaime isn’t really reading a fashion mag but working on math problems. Oops!
Misc. Likes: Salads, Pink Lemonade, Espresso/Mocha/Latte/Starbucks, Kitties, Gossip, Female Bonding, Women in genderal, High School Femininism, Cute Boys, and Calculators. Seriously.
Dislikes:
* Jules: Sibling rivals since the moment Jaime was born, Jules represents all that is wrong in American Society to Jaime. She will dislike anyone who reminds her of her sister and will try very hard to avoid them at all costs. Jaime can be seen as a younger sister who does everything as a reaction against her sister-- Jules wears all black, Jaime is seen in colors; Jules presents herself as an antisocial goth, Jaime presents herself as an extroverted cheerleader. Although there is love for her sister hidden beneath all that sibling angst, it would take something extreme to bring it out. And then Jules would go to her grave laughing at Jaime. Jules represents the ultimate reflection of an outgroup for Jaime-- which is why anything that Jules is ultimately is something Jaime must avoid.
* Aggressive Competition: Jaime is not a big fan of the aggressive competitions that make up teenage life. She isn’t on a quest to snare Mr. Right-This-Minute, she isn’t trying to be the coolest girl in school, and she could care less about competing in a bloodthirsty cheerleading competition. Jaime is a fan of the honorable old style competitions-- happy gymnastic meets where the girls all support each other, kiddie soccer games where everyone gets a prize at the end, and any TV show that brings people together in friendly competition. Fear Factor is obviously not something she enjoys. It should be interesting how she handles the aggressive competition of the warrior teams. This is a reflection of her innate desire for peaceful, harmoneous interactions that she has unconsciously pushed so far down she’s completely unaware of it.
* Boredom: Being without anything to do is as close to hell on earth as Jaime feels can exist. She needs to be inspired to do things, to be active, to not allow her mind to wander because she tends to feel anxious and will attempt to find something wrong to fix to make that anxiety go away. Boredom and anxiety go hand in hand according to Jaime, and they are both things she tries to avoid at all costs. A busy Jaime is a happy Jaime, a Jaime who isn’t obsessed with overreasoning things to death and frantically trying to think of all the causations. Jaime is much happier waving pom poms instead of debating human behavior because it’s the action of doing something and thus fueling her hope for her own idealistic future where EVERYONE is happy. Except Jules.
Misc Dislikes: Girls who use their gender as an excuse (especially for Math ability), "Ugly" People (Wear products! Brush your hair! How can you be happy in plaid?!), Bullies, People who like the "darkness" in the human condition, Soda/Energy Drinks, Rock/Rap/Nasty Against Women Music, anything perceived at the "outgroup."
Hobbies:
* Cattery Chores: Jaime’s mother breeds the rare Egyptian Mau cats for a living. And, naturally, both Jules and Jaime are forced into helping out. Jaime has helped the breeding cats give birth, clean babies, even potty train the wee kitties. She’s pretty fond of cats in general, but she specifically loves the Mau cats-- both because their eyes are the same color as her own and because Egyptian Mau’s have an uncharacteristically cheerful temperament for cats. In brief, Jaime sees a reflection of herself in the Egyptian Mau’s-- an introverted being that puts on a show of extroversion and charm but, when no one is looking, returns to cattish, independent behavior. Jules, however, loathes the creatures because they are "abnormal." Go figure ;)
* Cheerleading Practice: Jaime is determined to be the best cheerleader that she can be. She views the cheerleading team as her Mission-- to get the squad good enough to garner some respect.She is dedicated and stubborn, refusing to back down, and tends towards overpracticing because she can’t help but think if she only tries a LITTLE harder, everything will fit together. She actually likes the Squad’s coach, finding him a wonderful instructor, but she tries to keep that opinion to herself when everyone else is complaining of aches and pains.
* "Secretly" Composing Horrible Poetry: Jaime has a problem communicating her emotions beyond "giddy/happy/slightly-sad." She is so sensitive to being absolutely not like her sister that she has developed an inability to express her anger, and instead crafts some of the worst song lyrics/poetry you’ll ever see. Jaime has no training in harnessing whatever meager creative talent she might have-- her creativity has always been expressed in physical motion, not through a pen. Jaime has been scribbling down horribly mushy and sappy and incredibly bad poetry for at least 4 years. She keeps a pink notebook around to scribble down the next big poem, and if her sister ever found them, Jaime would *die* from embarrassment.
* Sticking Her Nose Where It Doesn’t Belong: Ah, woe be those who stay around Jaime too long, for she will being sticking her nose into their business. Matchmaking, makeovers, unwanted advice, and flat out spying seem to be common hobbies associated under this trait. The humor inherent here is, despite eyeing people for potential changes and spying on them for her own benefit, she has a defective ability to realize when people are doing something against her. It takes being hit dead on with the revelation of a betrayal for Jaime to know she’s been deceived, and even then she’ll probably forgive the person.
Appearance:
* Hair: With hair just above shoulder length and a tendancy for scrunchie abuse, Jaime tends to wear the majority of her mane up in two ponytails, letting the bangs she's been growing out since the accident fall loose. Jaime has discovered the joy of dyeing hair and alternates the colors semi-regularly. She naturally has dark brown hair, but it has been bleached a pale yellow-blonde recently (but her roots will invariably show up soon). She occasionally will color the bottom tips of her hair pink with a Crayola marker or gel pen if she’s bored. Beyond that, her hair is very fine and very prone to having glitter scattered about in it. ^.^;;
* Eyes: Gooseberry green, very wide and innocent looking. Her eyes tend to be very accentuated by her overuse of heavy eye makeup, especially any shimmering pastel shade.
* Skin: Medium tan from sunbathing (she doesn’t trust tanning booths), although she seems to have perpetually natural pink cheeks. She has freckles on her arms and even sports an almost complete freckle big dipper on her right arm. Granted she had no clue what Jules was talking about when her sister informed her of it, but once she discovered a Big Dipper wasn’t a horrible skin disease, she uses the factoid in conversations as ice breakers.
* Build: Tiny! Years of first gymnastics and later intense cheerleading training has led Jaime to develop a very thin, very low body fat ratio, but fairly tightly muscular build. to be underweight and sport a low body fat ratio. Unfortinately, Jaime’s figure is further hindered by her lack of a chest. Really, she barely can wear an A cup! At 16! The only part of herself that Jaime is not confident about is her lack of a chest, to the point that she will try to cover up with ANYTHING, including toilet paper. Yes, she stuffs her bra so she can be an A cup ^.^;;.
* Wardrobe: She’s overly fond of the colors pink and yellow and tries to work them into as much of her daily wardrobe as is possible. She likes loud styles that bring attention to her and isn’t afraid to wear the latest styles-- as long as her lack of boobies is covered up. Poor girl has a breast inferiority complex ;.;. She likes to wear unusual backpacks (such as made out of stuffed animals) and bizarre purses (bright red plastic anyone?), but none of this seems to be a conscious drive to fit in with what the rest of what the teen fashion world is doing. Rather, Jaime seems to grab onto styles right as they are emerging and come out looking like a trend setter, which all she was really doing was wearing one mismatching shoes on accident. She’s extremely lucky in this regard ;).
The typical cheerleader is not known for her independent nature. Jaime is the exception to the rule, a girl who appreciates solitude and her own space even as she enjoys the company of others. There is a dualism between extroversion and introversion in her character-- a push towards peaceful solitude alone in her room and a drive towards raucous extroversion with the squad. This does not endear her with her fellow squad members, but there is no denying that Jaime is a fantastic cheerleader, so some of the members feel obligated to keep her around.
It doesn’t hurt that Jaime is the listener of the group and always has the best hair styling advice, granted most of it is filtered down through her mother, the ex beauty queen. No wonder Jaime is a Momma’s girl-- everything her mother gave her has ensured her popularity and success, while Jules, the Daddy’s girl, is as unpopular and seeminly depressed as they come.
Jaime was not born an extrovert, but converted due to life experiences. Extroversion in an Aquarius may be something people may have a problem grasping, especially with Jaime expressing key Aquarius character traits, but there is a feasible explaination. The expression of extroversion in her behavior behavior is simple: Jaime has always been a youngest sister struggling to define herself as everything her older sister is not, and basic interactions with other people definately have caused this to express itself in her personality. Jules is a broody introvert who remains cynical against the world at large, and Jaime prides herself in appearing to the world as a cheerful extrovert who will eternally be idealistic about the world.
Idealism and inspiration drawn from the common man are two things that really come up in Jaime often. She loves watching people change for the better-- it inspires her to better herself, which is partly why she loves the makeover shows. It is also why she is always trying to fix people, even though they may not want her help. This tendency towards fixing things is directly tied into her idealism-- her fear of things not turning out they way she hopes is represented as a subconscious drive towards making sure things happen-- by fixing them before they get broken.
And while Jaime on the surface trusts people, there’s always a nagging voice in the back of her head that something could go wrong, and the only person she can trust to do something is herself. But Jaime tries not to listen to that impulse too often.
Strength is something Jaime naturally has in spades. A strong will is expressed when confronting something she views as wrong-- so strong it may appear foolishly stubborn to outsiders. But Jaime has sacraficed herself in the past for something she believes in, which explains her devotion to cheerleading despite the disportionate results to the effort the squad puts in. There have been times that Jaime will believe in something so strongly she loses sight of the whole picture, no longer able to look at a situation with logic alone. A logical person who depends on reason is never free from bias-- people aren’t vulcans after all-- and Jaime falls victim to this more often than she would care to admit.
Besides sticking up for an unpopular opinion if she believes it’s just, Jaime will also stick up for the underdog if she empathizes with them or their situation. She can be a regular bleeding heart, especially when animals are concerned, if her sympathies are brought into the equation. Whatever the reason, Jaime often will view herself as the martyr of the High School, thanks to her efforts at bridging a gap between the Cheerleaders and the "other" folk populating the halls.
Jaime has complete trust in whatever ingroup she is in. Since becoming a Cheerleader, Jaime has reversed her opinion of the group and cannot comprehend one of her group members doing wrong. If someone brings to her attention that one of the members is verbally bullying someone, Jaime will consider it an exception to the norm and brush it off to PMS or Boy problems. The ingroup is never the problem-- it’s some outside force, and occasionally the victim themselves if Jaime finds them unsympathetic.
But there is an element of distrustfulness in Jaime’s make up that makes for interesting interaction. She is wary of people she has not interacted with before. If she encounteres strangers in a group, she tends to mimic the groups reaction without being conscious of it-- greeting someone like an old friend even though she has never met them before, cheering blindling at strange people in the stands at games, mocking someone for wearing bad clothing choices just because everyone else was doing it. As the Cheerleading group tends to be distrustful of new people at first, Jaime is usually distrustful right along with them. You see, when inside a group, Jaime’s independence weakens under peer pressure, and she finds herself doing and saying things she might regret later.
But it’s never the group at fault. It’s always something, or someone, else.
As a note-- Jaime would never blindly follow the group if they are going against something she strongly believes in. This is why, despite her early tendency towards leadership positions (especially in her old gymnastics club), Jaime is comfortable with a follower role, staying in the back of the clique hiding her homework in a fashion magazine. Studies are important, and Jaime would never stop being "smart" just to please a group. She simply hides it to minimize the difference between her and the group-- but sure as rain the rest of the Cheerleaders pick up on it and most choose to ignore it.
After all, Jaime is pretty helpful with lending her studying notes.
But when Jaime is apart from the group, she is more likely to respond to a situation in her own brand of logic. She relies on environment cues and first impressions to decide who she can and who she can’t trust. It may seem superficial-- and you would be right, it is a highly superficial way of looking at situations. But it works for Jaime, so she continues to trust her first instincts about people-- which is why she’s highly succeptible to flattery/charmers/flimflam games.
Cues play a large factor in how Jaime interacts with other people and were the first manifestations of her personal brand of logic. She is not the most receptive to feelings people out there and often will misread a situation. But the calmer you are, the more likely she’ll be more receptive to you. Giddiness and ultra feminine cues are also things she’s receptive to-- and she’ll mirror that behavior back at you, even if she’s feeling depressed. She does not feel comfortable around angst, depressed, loner types and will try to avoid them at all costs-- as well as overly hostile/aggressive/loud people.
But the way Jaime typically reacts to people nowadays is as that cheerful, overjealous cheerleader. She thrives pretending to be that ra-ra bubbliy gal, finding more joy in pretending to be happy then trying to seek out things that would make her happy. Playing the dumb-blonde is NOT something you’ll see Jaime do, but she won’t overtly advertise the fact she’s intelligent either. Instead she’ll occasionally spout something ‘surprisingly deep’ and rational and then go back to coloring the tips of her hair pink with her glitter pen.
Part of the reason Jaime doesn’t advertise herself as that smart person is Jaime doesn’t feel she has to vindicate herself that way. She is so confident in herself and her abilities that she lets her actions do the talking for her in most scenarios. Her maturity level as a young girl was always higher than her age group-- gymnastics gave her a drive to success while other kids her age were running around playing aimless games of tag. When she switched focus from gymnastics to school, Jaime jumped head first into improving her grades and being the best that she could be. Joining the cheerleading squad helped her develop socially while still holding on to that maturity she gained earlier. She remains able to focus and get things done, even while others of her ilk flounder without the support of the group.
And that is how Jaime’s independence eventually shows up. While some cannot exist without the group, Jaime is able to function *better* by herself. But her social training has taught her that she will do better in a group, and that instinct is what Jaime acts upon.
In the end, Jaime is a girl who on the surface appears to be one of the stereotypical cheerleaders; focused on the superficial details of life and not caring much for the world outside the sphere. But when you corner Jaime and get her alone, you really see a layered individual who defies that cheerleading stereotype, even if she’s unaware of it.
All of that said, Jaime’s base mood she projects to others is one of peaceful happiness. She appears to be one with her world, giddy with love of life, and very much a 16 year old-- but if a perceptive person looks into her eyes, they can recognize there is more to the picture then at first meets the eye.
It’s all about layers and looking beyond the pink glitter to see the introvert inside ;)
(I’d also like to note that for Jaime, following the crowd is an expression of peaceful activity and one of her ways of "fixing" things towards what she would consider Utopian group. Outward conformity = a HUGE thing for Jaime, so you could expect more of the same in relations with Fool’s team.)
Jack Fergus had no idea what he was in for when he married Jean Kelly, daughter of the then Mayor of Grand Bend. He was a rather eccentric PE teacher from LA, she was a lifelong resident of Grand Bend and a former Beauty Queen. It was a union that was only made more bizarre by the appearance of first Julia April Fergus and then our fearless Jaime. The two sisters were as different as night and day. Jules (who smites people if they called her either Julia or April) was a quiet, broody child who some how managed to be cynical even from her crib. Jaime, only 11 months junior, was loud, cheerful, and loved to cuddle everything-- including her annoyed sister.
The Fergus household had braced itself for 18 years of sibling squabbles, but was completely unprepared when Jean’s father had a stroke and was forced to resign as Mayor. Jaime’s beloved but completely bonkers Grandpa Kelly came to live with the family the same summer Jaime discovered television... and the great sport of Gymnastics.
Jaime spent the next 5 years focused on Gymnastics and being a Pretty Pretty Princess. She was prone to hosting tea parties in poofy pink dresses for the neighborhood girls, much to the horror of Jules, who even at 6 wore only black and was prone to scoffing at most anything-- especially where Jaime was concerned.
The feeling was mutual by then.
She was happy in elementary school, making friends, being a natural leader for her peer group, and having a great deal of fun being a teacher’s pet. She had her first boyfriend in 2nd grade after a game of "I’ll show you mine if you show me yours" ended up with both of them flashing their chests at each other. As she aged, she spent more and more time training with her coach, desperately chasing the elusive dream of a spot on the Olympic Team. The goal of being one of the elite gymnasts in the US-- of which there are only 100-- still haunts her dreams at night.
But fate had another plan for Jaime. Or really, Jaime had another plan for her fate. Jaime decided to invest in her academic career instead of bank on the uncertainty of achieving the goal of elite level gymnastics and dropped the team towards the end of her middle school career. It was painful and incredibly hard for her to admit ‘defeat,’ but she adapted to the loss by overcompensating socially and gaining the friendship of several future members of the high school cheerleading team.
Jaime spent a great deal of time hiding herself from her friends-- she hid her wacky grandfather, tried to hide the fact she was related to Jules, and had a desperate attempt to hide the fact that deep in her heart, all Jaime wanted to do was march to her own drum. She managed to fool even herself into believing in the new extroverted Jaime and began to fall deeper into the social group that would become Grand Bend Park High’s future Bree’s Girls.
With her previous work as a gymnasts and a natural grace to her movements, Jaime easly made the squad and suddenly was vaulted into a world she was uncomfortable with but would deny to her grave of ever feeling. So Jaime masks any unhappiness she may feel about life as a Cheerleader with a tremendous smile, a perky personality, and a cheerful wave of the pom pom, trying enjoying her teenage years in a way she had ignored when the looming competitions dictated her time in gymnastics.
Not to mention catching up on her reality TV shows ;).
History - Past:
* Name: Gizare fia Irazen ili Kematisk
* Nickname: Zarie (Her first name was pronounced Gee-zar-ee)
* Homeworld: Cups
* Position: Arcana Priestess
* Rank: Noble/Baby Animal Handler
* Subposition: Friend to animals and sappy horrible poet. You laugh now, until you hear her poetry. Then you’ll be crying in horror XD.
* Misc.: Gizare was noble enough as the daughter of a prominent Senate Orator on Cups, but she spent the early years of her life out of the glamorous cities kept away to the family estate. To keep herself from boredom, she "helped" tend to the cute and fuzzy babies. When she was five years old, the previous Star arrived, who just happened to be her maternal Aunt Tilari, and suddenly Gizare was thrust out of the backwoods and into the thick of society. The experience never turned her into an introvert because Gizare honestly enjoyed her new position, even if she just wanted to go home and snuggle a baby rabbit most of the time. She was a cheerful, amicable girl with a smile so bright it could induce blindness and kept her tiny home on Major Arcana stocked with cute animals to play with. Fool most likely got Gizare onto her side by insinuating that Death killed baby puppies. :D
Soldier/Knight/etc Name: THE STAR. Really. :D
Sphere of Power: Hope, inspiration, and peace
Uniform Colours: Pale Turquoise and Rose Pink. There is a hint of pale yellow to her uniform, but not enough to get excited about.
Uniform: Her uniform is predominately a shimmering pale turquoise diaphanous material. It begins with an off the shoulder blouse with a plunging peasant neckline, strung up loosely with pale yellow laces. She wears a form hugging rose pink girdle, which not only protects her stomach from sharp weapons but also gives her body the illusion of rather attractive feminine curves. It not only helps support her chest, but also secures her long, pale turquoise skirt that falls about her bare legs just under her knees. Her feet are clad in pale yellow sandals.
For whatever reason, her hair returns to her normal brown-color and is always falling down into her face when she transforms.
Team/Alignment: She follows the Fool! Oye, the jokes her sister would come up with if she only knew...
Transformation: "Arcananum mutatio, Star!" Jaime kneels, one leg resting on the earth and the other bracing herself as she leans forward. One arm is stretched out with the card firmly in hand, the other arm resting on her thigh. Shimmering turquoise emerges from the card and slithers about her body until she is arrayed in her uniform.
Powers:
"Celestial Uncertainty!"
* Star crosses her arms over her chest and calls out: "Celestial..." A wind whips about Star, blowing her hair and skirt about. Pale turquoise, rose pink, and pale yellow stars sparkle about her as she shouts "Uncertainty!" and flings her arms open. The miniature stars fly towards the target, twinkling blithely.
* If all things go well, Star’s attack stars will encircle the target and create feelings of minor doubt, mistrusting other teammates, or a feeling of complete despair in the worst case scenerio. The strength of the attack depends on two factors: the number of stars the attack creates (the more stars the more potent the attack) and the strength of character of the attackee. The attack largely depends on how a person reacts to stress-- the worst the reaction, the worse the affect of the attack.
* The little stars, first of all, are visible-- so a victim is aware they have been hit with the attack and may be able to fight it off mentally. The stars will follow the target around, so running away from them is definately not an option. On average 20-30 stars are floating around the attacked party, so trying to smother each star or bat them away will not be very effective unless you have nothing better to do. Using an attack or weapon to neutralize the stars or mentally fight off the effect is the best way to avoid the attack-- but in the middle of a battle, when you might be disoriented, the attack might led someone to throw in the towel-- in worst case scenerio from Star’s perspective, give them the strength to continue fighting. And as an aside, it’s up to the victim to decide how the attack will make their character feel. I believe in subjective attacks I guess XD
"Shaking Spirit!"
* Star raises both arms above her head and shouts: "Shaking Spirit!" A bright swarm of multicolored stars sparkle as they spin above the crown of her head, forming the shape of a star before they... implode. A warm, multicolored mist is emitted and passes over the area.
* Shaking Spirit directly ties into the inspiration aspect of her sphere. The brilliance of this attack-- and it is an offensive AND defensive attack all in one-- is that the mist actively is aware of who Star considers an enemy. Those her mind marks as enemy will be struck with a lack of inspiration and hope (the stronger the feeling against the person, the stronger the feeling), while those her mind marks as a friend will be struck by a brilliant feeling of hope and inspiration. Again, the stronger the feeling for the person, the stronger the feeling.
* The only problem with Shaking Spirit is Star has to consider the person an enemy. So if she doesn’t like someone on her own team, there is a chance the attack could diminish their hope. The reverse happens if she likes someone who isn’t on the team.This is actually stronger than Celestial Uncertainty because it works with more people and works on both extremes at the same time.
Writing Test: Jaime was absolutely thrilled to discover Jules had failed Algebra II again-- until she realized it meant her sister would now be in her math class!