Name: Shizuka Atsushi
"Well, don't be acting all friendly with me now."
Age: 25
"So what? It's not like I'm still in my prime or something."
Gender: Female
"Can't I own a building?"
Personality: Shizuka has a somewhat rebellious and obnoxious attitude that somehow gets her into trouble most of the time. Within the dormitory, she can get pretty laid-back and carefree that leads people to think that, if Eden wasn't a privately owned establishment, she would've been sacked a long time ago. Still, she is approachable, always ready to lend an ear to her boarder's troubles. It doesn't mean that she'll do something about it though.
Regarding Eden's notorious past and talks about apparitions and extraordinary experiences, Shizuka stands neutral. She remains skeptical about the things her boarders report to her, unless they can give her some sort of valid proof of their claim. Despite that, she respects the boarders when it comes to taking countermeasures for themselves exemplified by the fact that she allows house blessings even when she's no religious person herself or someone putting up talismans on their room.
Occupation: College Graduate - Fine Arts Course. Eden's Current Landlord.
"Would you like a painting? It's not for free though."
Appearance: She has blonde hair that she keeps tied up, with some hanging by the side. She has a slender build, standing at around 5'8" and weighs around 62 kg. Not someone who makes a lot of effort dressing up, she just grabs whatever is in close proximity. Usually seen wearing a tube top and shorts, topped with a crimson jacket.
History: Shizuka's past isn't really something she likes to dwell on. Her family was a rather conservative group, preferring to indoctrinate their children about the roles they are tasked to fulfill. She was the third among five of them, making her the middlemost daughter. As such, the strict eyes weren't really placed on her and she was free to grow on her own rather than being guided by her parents wishes. Side-effect is that she developed unorthodox hobbies and interests.
She finished her tertiary education while she was still 19 at Kurogane. Since the demand for Fine Arts graduates aren't particularly high, she soon found herself unemployed longer than what is allowed. To ease the trouble of having to provide for her, her father, one of the original owners of Eden's Wall, gave her full custody of the dormitory, using the money her dormers pay her to provide for herself and to teach her how to handle the business well while she looks for a job. Still, she remained unsuccessful over the course of 3 years, leading her to think that she may end up unemployed at a regular job for as long as she lived.
She did get some recognition during the 4th year of her ownership of the dormitory, acquiring clients who had taken an interest in her pieces. As such, she now works as a freelance artist who makes paintings for an independent design firm. Since she still isn't a regular employee, she remains as Eden's landlord until such time comes.
Roleplay Sample: "I heard you kicked out another boarder. Why?" A journalism student addresses the woman in front of her as they sat in one of many dining establishments that lined the nearby University. The woman didn't answer immediately; instead, she finished drinking her coffee first. Putting the empty cup down, she began to talk.
"You want to know why? He was running along the corridors, shouting insane rants like "Judgement is coming!" or "Redeem yourselves and seek forgiveness!" and other crazy stuff like that--It has gotten past the breaking point. The other residents also thought so as well." Shizuka finished her explanation. The food they ordered still hasn't arrived so the student proceeded to continue with her questions.
"But, what made him go mad like that? Some say that he saw something in the dormitory's basement. Do you know anything about that? Did he approach you or anything?"
"Well, I was told not to tell you anything but--" Shizuka glanced around first before leaning closer to tell it in a tone that only they can hear. "He said he went downstairs to check on the water valve as it had been acting up all morning. When he reached that area, which was adjacent to a mirror, he claimed to have seen two shadows on the wall. When he leaned closer, he claims to have seen that one of the shadows had small horns on its head.
"Creepy. Well, do you believe him?"
"I don't. But I allowed him to go with the rituals and shit he claims will ward off what he saw, if only to put his mind at ease. It got bad though, and he started dragging the other residents as well. So, yeah. That's why he got the sack." After that, their waiter finally came, bringing a tray filled with the food they ordered. They stopped temporarily as they both dug in. When they were finished, the student continued.
"Personal opinion though, do you think it is possible that what he saw was really a, well--demon, for lack of a better word."
"Who knows? I personally think it was something else or that he just wanted an excuse for doing what he did. Life is pretty stressful so, maybe it was his way of blowing off steam. I don't know. I don't really have all the answers you need. If you want to believe, go ahead and believe. Just respect others who don't see things the way you see them."
"I'm not really implying anything. Just wanted to get something to write for our Halloween feature."
"Well, think of it as just me wanting to unload something on my mind. This is all I can offer though. Are you sure it's enough? For one thing, writing about a kid who saw a "demon's shadow" in his dormitory basement sounds more like a crappy, Hollywood B-Movie to me."
The student merely gave her a weird grin through her glasses. "My job is to write stories someday. Of course, there are times when we have to "alter" a few things to match what the people want to hear."
"Well, don't do it often. You'll ruin your reputation faster if you do." They left the establishment at around 9 in the evening, which was rather late for the both of them. "So, shall we head back?"
"I still have to drop off the recorder back at Kurogane. You go without me. Still, I'll try to write it retaining much of the original facts just, altered to make it legitimately scary. Thanks for the insight though. It really helped."
At the student's words, Shizuka glanced at the night sky. The stars were out so, it probably won't rain. Still, she pondered on what they discussed just now. "People sure have their differences. We all live in the same place yet, we still cannot see things the same. Maybe there is more to this world than what we originally think." She glanced back and called out to the girl who started walking away. Motioning for her as she grabbed her car keys, she made her an offer. "It's a little late. You won't be able to rely on public transportation at this hour. Come on, I'll drive you there."
"Really? Thanks."
"No problem, Shiori."
Trivia:
- Aside from being a landlord, she does commission artwork as an alternate means of making money.
- She has been landlord of Eden's wall for 6 years already.
- She took up kendo once. She's alright with the blade but also knows a bit about hand-to-hand combat. She owns a wooden sword which is kept in her quarters.
- Despite some people saying that she makes for a bad landlord, her records says otherwise.
- Within her 6 years though, Shizuka has yet to experience anything extraordinary.
- She owns a car that she drives around. It is a black 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer ES.
- Her face claim is Saber of Red from Fate/Apocrypha.