Bio and Personal Stuff
Name:Dakota Stella Middleton
Age:16
Date of Birth:May 14th
Height and Weight:5'8 / 107 lbs
Appearance:Dakota is quite thin and bony, having no real curves to speak of. She has a wiry frame and lean muscular structure, but no apparent muscle definition either. Her most distinctive feature is definitely her long, violet hair, which is constantly falling in her face and snagging itself on every possible surface. Second on that list would have to be her eyes. They are the expressive sort of eyes that can make a person either look truly alive, or like a zombie, depending on the mood. But Dakota's eyes are nearly always "alive". She likes to think of their color as "ocean blue", but in reality they are hazel, so the exact shade shifts depending on what she is wearing. As far as her other facial features are concerned, nothing particularly stands out. She has a small, slightly-upturned nose and a relatively undefined jawline, typical for Caucasian females. And indeed, her skin is very, very white. So pale in fact that strangers have actually approached her with concern, believing her to be sickly. No matter how many times she tries to get a tan, her skin simply burns and peels away, leaving the new skin just as pale as before. It has relatively few blemishes: a small mole on the left side of her stomach, close to the hip, and a few razor scars on her legs (she can't seem to get used to shaving without cutting herself.)
She generally wears long pants- leggings or tight-fitting jeans for the most part, which only serve to highlight her small frame. Dakota has always been a fan of black clothing, even if it does make her look even more pale. She mostly wears t-shirts with interesting designs, but will occasionally try other sorts of tops, when it suits her. She is, however, not a fan of showing cleavage (not that she has much to show). Whenever a shirt she likes is a bit too revealing, she wears a white tank top under it to contrast the generally dark material. The black leather wrist cuffs and fingerless gloves which she constantly wears on both hands somewhat resemble the gauntlets she wears in combat, and though they do no significant damage, they provide her with a sense of security during daylight hours. Dakota has a confident, upright stance and a permanent grin plastered across her face. Her walk is also very distinctive- long, bouncing strides that almost make it seem as though she is skipping everywhere she goes.
Personality:Dakota is an extremely happy person. She's hyperactive and incredibly outgoing- one of those people that one assumes must be hiding something because
nobody smiles that much. But Dakota does. And no, she isn't hiding some deep, dark secret. In fact, she can't lie to save her life. Every time she tries, she becomes instantly flustered and breaks into a fit of laughter. This is her defense mechanism against any uncomfortable situation, which is unfortunate for her as it tends to anger people or make situations even more awkward. But Dakota always finds a reason to keep a smile on her face. She's an optimist, always striving to see the good in life, and in people. Perhaps this makes her a bit naive, but that's better than keeping everyone at arm's length right?
That's how the world sees Dakota. And most of the time, she manages to fool even herself. She really does want to look to the bright side of every situation. But the reality is that at any given moment, Dakota is one step away from breaking down entirely. Dakota sees sadness as weakness, suppressing every negative thought that comes into her head. To her, the real heroes are the ones who can take everything the world throws at them with a smile on their face. That, she thinks, is real strength. Not the brooding husks that fight for vengeance, or the "strong" emotionless figures that allow themselves to go numb just because life is difficult. Ironically, she allows herself to feel nothing, save for the vague sense of hope and positivity she manages to drum up for herself. Some would say that she is no different from the type of figure she criticizes. That is, if anyone knew what really went on behind those sparkling, cheerful eyes. But she doesn't see it that way. Negative emotions make a person weak, and she has no desire to be anything but strong. That is what she has always had to be.
Deep down though, Dakota feels the pains of life just as strongly as anyone else. Her one escape is music. In fact, her musical talent is the reason she was accepted into Casper. She plays fourteen different instruments, composes all of her own songs, and possesses a fantastic singing voice. Clumsy, uncoordinated, and constantly distracted, she was never much good at any other subject. But she is
very good with music. Most of her songs match her appearance- cheerful, upbeat melodies that bring a smile to people's faces. But a few of her compositions, which she keeps in a hidden notebook, are quite the opposite. These pieces are haunting, filled to the brim with all of the emotions Dakota never allows herself to express. Sometimes, when she is rehearsing alone, the smile will vanish from her face as the music sweeps her away. For just that moment, she finds herself in a place where it is okay to feel sad or angry or tired- a place to let everything go. But that is not the world she lives in. As far as real life is concerned, Dakota Middleton will never stop smiling.
History:Dakota Middleton was born in Phoenix, Arizona to Alex and Denise Middleton. Her mother died in childbirth, leaving Alex to raise Dakota and her two older brothers on his own. He was a kind man and a wonderful father, but the need to provide for three children kept him constantly working. So for most of her childhood, she was essentially raised by her brothers, Hayden and Joshua. Being the youngest, and the only female, Dakota was the darling of the family. She learned quickly that she could usually get what she wanted out of any of them with a smile and a "please?". While she did occasionally exploit this, the family did not really have enough money to spoil her either. But most of the time, all she really wanted out of people was to see them happy. Dakota loved her family, and people in general. But seeing people sad confused her. For some reason, she always felt that she had done something wrong. Even if she had no relation to the person, she felt as if it were somehow her fault that they were sad. So little Dakota always did her best to keep everyone happy, and she quickly found that smiling at people was the best way to get them to smile back.
As Dakota grew older, she began to look more and more like her mother. This tended to make her father smile, though it was a smile of mixed emotions. Her two brothers, on the other hand, seemed to take it very hard- especially Hayden. Always the most emotional of the siblings, all it took was one look at Dakota to send him into a fit of depression. This was of course, very concerning to her. When she was five years old, Hayden locked himself in his room for three days straight. Dakota, wildly concerned for her brother and unsure of how to cheer him up, decided she was going to sing for him. But for a job this big, she couldn't just use her tiny toy keyboard. Climbing onto a chair in the front room, she began to string together notes on her father's massive electric piano. She was so short she hand to stand on the chair, and her tiny fingers could barely spread across the keys, but she was a natural. As she played, she sang silly lyrics that probably made sense in her five-year-old brain.
Hayden emerged from his room. As he walked into the living room, he was visibly shocked to see his little sister playing so well. Immediately he called his father and brother into the room, and they too listened in awe. This was the first time they had heard Dakota play (aside from on that little toy of hers. When she had finished, she turned to face them, ginning from ear to ear. After a moment of stunned silence, the three of them burst into laughter and applause- even Hayden. Her father pulled her aside, pointing over to were Hayden was now sitting on the couch talking with his brother.
"I've haven't seen him so happy in ages! You're a miracle worker, little one." Dakota grinned again.
"If he starts acting all sad, from now on it's your job to cheer him up, okay?""Okay!"Dakota certainly took that to heart. And once she saw the effect music could have on people, she became obsessed with it. She began learning to play every instrument she could get her hands on. She played at recitals and talent shows, even once at a festival. But her favorite audience was still her father and brothers. But after a while, even Dakota's music couldn't cheer Hayden up anymore. As it turned out, Hayden had clinical depression. When he grew old enough to leave the house, things grew worse and worse. He turned to alcohol, and stopped visiting his family altogether. He died of alcohol poisoning when Dakota was thirteen. To Dakota, this meant she had failed. No matter what she did, she couldn't cheer him up. She couldn't save him. But she was never going to let that happen again. She would be there to comfort her father, and Josh. And she wouldn't even cry.
She had just finished her second year of high school when she received a letter from Casper Academy in Seattle. The letter stated that they were excited to offer her a position based on her proficiency in musical arts. Apparently they had seen a video recording of her performance at the festival talent show the previous year, and had identified her as "gifted." Dakota had no desire to leave her family, but her father insisted that she go. He told her that if she went to a high school for gifted kids, she was a lot more likely to get into whatever college she wanted. She didn't really like the idea, but it wasn't like her grades were gonna win her any points. Besides, she could always look on the bright side. Sure she was gonna be living away from her family, in a new place full of people she'd never met. But this could be a great new adventure!
Combat (Non-Persona)
Weapon Type:Gauntlets
Fighting Style:When in combat, Dakota stands in a boxing stance- feet spread apart, hands up in front of her face, and head lowered. She shuffles forward as she approaches an enemy, bouncing as she moves. She strikes rapidly with her fists, often planting her feet and striking multiple times at the same area. Very rarely does she use her legs, at least not for attacking- and as such she must always get within very close range to land an effective blow. When in team combat, she tends to trow around taunts and make flashy moves to draw attention away from her teammates, since she knows she can take a lot more damage than she can deal out.
Strength:Average-
Dakota is stronger than she looks, but that isn't saying much considering she's a stick figure. While she can put a decent amount of force behind her blows, she relies mainly on speed.
Endurance:High-
Dakota can take a hit a lot better than she can dish it out. This makes her good for absorbing damage, but her small frame makes it much easier for her to be knocked down, even if it doesn't hurt a whole lot.
Agility:Poor-
Dakota is quite possibly the clumsiest person alive, one of many reasons why she chooses the firm boxer's stance as opposed to the range advantage of striking with her feet. It's a good thing she can take a hit, because she is very bad a dodging.
Luck:Insane-
The stars always seem to be aligned for Dakota (Get it?). Even more than her ability to take a hit, luck is by far her greatest advantage in battle.
Persona
Name:Lyrika
Arcana:Star
Appearance:Resistances:Fire (Strong)
Light (Repel)
Weaknesses:Dark
Ice
Strength:Low-
Lyrika focuses largely on magical buffs and healing, combined with a few low-level magic attacks. She only uses physical strength as a last resort.
Magic:High-
Most of Lyrika's magic is devoted to supporting her teammates, or buffing herself and Dakota to stay alive. She uses a lot of magical power to offer protection, health, attack boosts, and cures from various ailments.
Endurance:Low-
Unlike Dakota, Lyrika relies on magic for protection. Therefore she is, in a sense "squishier." Of course, she is also a hell of a lot tougher than Dakota because Dakota is a human, but proportional to other Personas and spirit creatures, she has fairly low endurance.
Agility:High-
Also unlike Dakota, Lyrika is incredibly graceful. She further increases her agility through magical buffs. Whereas Dakota relies on her ability to take a hit, Lyrika relies on avoiding it.
Luck:Insane-
Luck is the greatest asset for both Lyrica and her human counterpart.
The Extras
Hobbies:Anything music-related, video games, spinning around in circles until she gets dizzy and then watching the ceiling spin, people-watching
Likes:People, Music, Movies, Spicy Food, Dogs, the color Purple, Lemons
Dislikes:People who say she's annoying, Makeup, Dresses, Bitter Foods, Coffee, Cigarette Smoke, Academic Studies
Random Facts:-Lyrika is named for the constellation Lyra ("The Harp")
-Dakota is violently allergic to cats
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