Ceridwen Underwood
| Ceridwen Underwood | |
|---|---|
| IC Information | |
| Full Name: | Underwood, Ceridwen Marie |
| Gender/Sexuality: | Female/Lesbian |
| Species: | Elf |
| Place of Origin: | ??? (England, UK) |
| Age/Birthdate: | 158 (March 7, 1864) |
| Zodiac Sign: | Pisces |
| Height: | 5'10" |
| Hair Colour: | Blonde |
| Eye Colour: | Blue |
| Romantic Status: | Probably offscreen |
| Romantic Identification: | Monogamous |
| Residence: | Exeter, UK |
| Occupation: | Anthropologist |
| Preferences | |
| Likes: | Reading, studying, fancy dresses, ballroom dancing, solitude, red wine, luxury, French food, dusty old books, croquet, dolphins, most things old-fashioned |
| Dislikes: | The uncultured, bars, women who see her as a conquest, poor hygiene, excessive heat, television, public displays of affection, touching |
| OOC Information | |
| Source: | Original Character |
Ceridwen Marie Underwood is a rare example of an Elf living in Yuriba. Despite her heritage she was raised by humans in the late 19th century. She is a quiet woman, and though she can often be found at the Dragon's Brew or in the Village Center she speaks very seldom, always taking care to guard her dignity.
She teaches courses on literature and archaeological studies at Rinkei Gakuen and has authored several academic texts on Yuriban culture and religion.
Contents |
Psychological profile
General personality
Ceridwen is a quiet, even-tempered woman who speaks only when she has something on her mind. She guards her dignity with great care and is polite even to those whom she dislikes, an artifact of her high-class English upbringing as well as of her natural good nature. Seldom does she allow more than surface emotions to show, partly because she finds displays of emotion undignified and partly because she is not comfortable sharing her feelings with others in most public venues. Ceridwen's restraint and her calm demeanor give her an aloof and almost detached air, but this is not entirely the case, as she does watch the world around her with care, content to observe and comment only when the need strikes her.
Discussions of matters pertaining to Elves tend to leave her a little uneasy given her unique history. She lacks confidence in her "Elvenness", as she puts it, considering herself a second-rate elf by virtue of her human upbringing.
Romantic preferences
For the most part Ceridwen is asexual. She is far too dignified for casual romance and has seldom considered the idea of friends with benefits, believing that her heart is too precious to be shared with just anyone. Her idea of romance strays well away from the carnal side of things and even from such frivolous things as snuggling. She is never one to rush into love; whirlwind romance is exceptionally rare for her. It is often difficult even for those close to her to get past her perpetual air of dignity; she dislikes excessive closeness and touching of any sort, even shying away from hugs, and is more interested in conversation and shared activities than in anything sexual.
Ms. Underwood often describes herself as serially monogamous. She has occasionally drifted towards romance, notably with Siofra Maguidhir and Adrianna; the former blossomed into outright love upon Siofra's recent return.
Academic pursuits
At the moment Ms. Underwood is involved in a long-term, full-scope anthropological study of the Lily Civilization and has authored several articles and texts on the subject, ranging from analyses of pottery shards and engravings to elaborations on Lilian customs and rituals. She is also compiling an exhaustive index on the modern Yuriban culture.
She is likely the most prolific and academically qualified foreign writer to study and write about Yuriba.
History
Though Ceridwen is an Elf, she has lived her entire life among humans. Her earliest memories are of a church-run orphanage and the sisters administering it. In 1866 she was adopted by Alec Underwood and his wife Catherine, a wealthy couple in their forties residing in a luxurious estate in the English countryside.
While Ceridwen's pointed ears stood out, her adoptive parents assumed it was a birth defect and raised her as they would any young girl, but it rapidly became clear that there was something odd about her. For one thing, Ceridwen appeared to age at a slower rate than humans, at least physically. In spite of this she actually learned much more quickly, and at the age of ten she was frighteningly intelligent, testing at genius levels of IQ. To conceal their adoptive daughter's slow aging her parents hired her a new tutor every year, preventing any one teacher from making notes. As neither Alec nor Catherine realized what their daughter really was, they assumed her ears and her slow physical development were birth defects. However, a routine trip to the doctor in 1881 revealed additional curiosities to the worried parents, exposing key differences in Ceridwen's body that related mainly to her metabolism and the content of her blood. Though Ceridwen herself was never told, the Underwoods began to realize that their daughter was not precisely human.
Ceridwen herself had her suspicions, but she did not learn of her true nature until 1896, when her adoptive father lay on his deathbed, struck down by a heart disease. Before he passed he revealed to her that she was an Elf.
Though her family has long since passed on, Ceridwen has lived a full life without them and has dedicated much of her time to learning about Elves and investigating how she could have ended up in England given that Elves seem not to exist. Modern medical science and her own body's refusal to age have confirmed that she is not simply an example of a coincidental birth defect.
Upon arriving in Yuriba she eventually did encounter other Elves. She soon struck up a friendship with Siofra Maguidhir, whom she is both learning from and guiding in the ways of humans, though the other woman has since been scarce on the island. She befriended Ahe'ssta Jennestas; the two fast became friends and shared a number of conversations. Fairly early in her stay she took an interest in the Lily Civilization and resolved to begin a detailed study of them.
She befriended Satsui Azuga, believing her to be a kindred spirit, but her hopes were dashed when the woman revealed herself as Seishi Sakurazuka and confessed an intent to kill her. The revelation wounded Ceridwen deeply; she had developed a strong affection for the other woman, and her attraction had begun to run deeper than simple friendship. She fled to her home and suffered a brief nervous breakdown but was comforted by Ahe'ssta, her truest friend. When her resolve returned she bore the incident with grace and iron thenceforth, though she took to sleeping with a rifle near her bedside for a couple of weeks.
She enrolled as a teacher at Rinkei Gakuen, teaching courses on comparative literature and Yuriban archaeology. In cooperation with the school's research staff she began working in earnest on her study of the ancient Lilians, hoping to publish a manifesto on the culture, likely the first of its kind in a non-Yuriban language.
Even as she immersed herself in work, however, her social life began to change again. She encountered Seishi by merest chance at the Dragon's Brew, finding the woman disheveled and dirty but seemingly more at peace with herself. Taking pity on the woman who had once threatened her, Ceridwen reached out to her and found that she had indeed changed. In recognition of the other woman's changes she reached out to her and offered her a second chance at friendship, but with conditions: Seishi would have to earn her trust again. Seeing the woman's filthy state she took her home and offered her baths and her hospitality, and the two began to find common ground again - while Ceridwen herself began to rediscover the attraction she had felt before Seishi had turned on her, beginning to salvage it from beneath the mistrust and bitterness. Since then she has encountered Seishi a few times more, and under much more friendly circumstances.
Later she encountered the lost dark-elf Adrianna at the Dragon's Brew; the woman interrupted her tea quite rudely, but Ceridwen quickly reined her in with a few sternly polite words. During the ensuing conversation Miss Underwood found herself hitting it off quite well with the drowish woman, and she further found herself enjoying the opportunity to exchange flirtations with someone both mature and subtle. She extended great courtesy to the other woman in the hopes of establishing a lasting friendship. Her introduction to Adrianna proved to her yet again that the Dragon's Brew was her luckiest place in which to meet people, and she thus began to linger there often. The two spent much time in each other's company and skirted around the edges of intimacy, though the relationship never went much further than suggestion. Unfortunately Adrianna vanished not long later.
She took to spending a great deal of her time on the southern and southeastern beaches of the island and frequently hiked to the north side of the island in search of ruins and ancient artifacts. At the moment she is engaged in studying the ruined temple on the slope of Akibimi-san. At some point she befriended the former runway model Fudo Jun, though in a somewhat inequal sense, as Ceridwen inadvertently took on the role of mentor and role model to the remarkably innocent woman. She has encountered this individual infrequently since their first few meetings.
Most recently she reunited with Siofra, who returned to the island after a long sojourn. The two elvish women quickly resumed their relationship and cemented themselves as lovers for the long-term.
Relations
Ceridwen is involved in a love relationship with Siofra, whom she loves to distraction. She considers Ahe'ssta to be closest to her and counts breisleach among her acquaintances. She considers Eimi Kozuka a casual friend and a worthy employer. She has developed a close friendship to the dark elf Adrianna. Her relationship with Aoki began somewhat awkwardly when the girl caught her skinny-dipping, but she has since come to accept her as a casual friend despite their wildly divergent worldviews. Though she considers Fudo Jin a casual friend, she is often exasperated by the woman's innocence and childish personality, but her teacher's instincts have led her to feel obligated to help the former runway model develop a mature, adult personality.
While she had struck up a relationship with Satsui Azuga and was highly romantically attracted to her, the other woman later revealed herself as Seishi Sakurazuka and admitted to harbouring murderous intent towards Miss Underwood. Their association appeared to have come to an end bitterly. Though she did encounter her again at one point, she has not gone out of her way to speak to her and continues to keep a rifle by her bed in case of a repeat performance by the dark woman.
Academic works
Dr. Underwood is typically not seen in the village proper but spends significant time between Underhill, Rinkei Gakuen and various Lilian sites accessible throughout Yuriba, conducting long-term research on the Lily Civilization. Beginning in the mid-2010s, elements of her research are available through the Yuriba Free Library. Underwood is credited with research suggesting a proto-Ainu origin for early Lilians.
Trivia
- Ceridwen does not know her true birthday, celebrating instead on March 7, the date of her adoption.
- At some point in the 1940s Ceridwen was married to a woman by the name of Teresa, who was able to arrange the marriage by masquerading as a man named Terry. The pair lived in relative isolation until Teresa's death in 1962.