Personality: When Connie was eleven years old, she coped with her isolated, friendless life by burying her nose in fantasy novels, imagining herself in the shoes of their young protagonists. Then she met Steven, and her whole world changed. She was no longer merely fantasizing about going on magical adventures, she was living them, allowing the passionate spirit that dwelled beneath her meek upbringing to truly shine.
One of the expressions of this passionate spirit is half of a dichotomy that is one of Connie's essential traits: she is somehow both a rule-follower to a fault and rebellious to the core. As a consequence of her disciplined, strictly-regimented early upbringing, Connie learned that following the rules is one of the important things in life. She also learned that there were many technicalities and loopholes she could use to her advantage in most of the systems she operated under, and used said loopholes and technicalities to their utmost; a classic example of this is the early-series episode "Lion 2: The Movie," where she purchases unhealthy snacks on the way to the theater instead of at the theater to avoid her parent's ban on theater food. Later, to avoid getting banned from going to dangerous sword training, she simply neglected to tell her parents what she was doing at Steven's house, almost never outright lying to their faces.
However, as Connie grew, she became more and more willing to outright break rules that she perceived as unjust and harmful instead of twisting the system into knots. This is likely due to her exposure to the totalitarian, fascist Gem Homeworld and the harm it inflicted on its citizens and the rest of the galaxy combined with the steady stoking of her fighting spirit over the course of the series. Still, Connie thrives within systems with clearly defined rules that she can use to her advantage, and she sometimes gets flustered when placed in a context where she doesn't know how the system works—although her ability to think on her feet means that she usually adapts quickly.
Connie's fiery spirit also manifests in her intense desire to protect the planet she lives on and, by extension, her friends and family. When Connie learned of the dangers Earth faced, she managed to convince Pearl to train her in order to defend it despite her tender age and inexperience, and took to her lessons with a self-destructive fervor that was only strengthened by her immutable, uncompromisable moral compass. While time wore on and her fighting skills grew apace, Connie's iron will showed itself as she refused to back down even against vastly more skilled and strong opponents like the Topaz warriors Aquamarine brought to Earth, willing to fight to the last if it meant she could defend the citizens of Beach City.
Part of this fighting spirit is due to the intense loyalty Connie feels towards those she cares about. As her parents frequently moved around the country, Connie rarely had opportunities to make friends before they settled down near Beach City, and their strict overprotectiveness made this even worse. As such, Connie loves her friends and found family greatly (too greatly, in some cases), willing to risk almost anything for them. Thankfully, her analytical thinking helps her walk back from the edge of becoming overzealous or making unnecessary sacrifices. But due to this fierce loyalty, Connie feels deeply hurt if she's betrayed in some way by somebody she loves, such as when Steven turned himself in to Aquamarine out of self-hatred despite how hard everyone fought for him. When this happens, Connie withdraws while slowly spiraling into a cycle of feeling bad about not trying to make amends and being too busy wallowing in self-doubt to try to rebuild her relationship with that person. Given enough time, she'll work through these problems by herself and give whoever hurt her a second chance, but not a third if they betray her trust or hurt her again.
While Connie's physical abilities, training, and tenacity are formidble, her razor-sharp mind is her greatest asset. A childhood of subverting rules and reading doorstopper novels has left Connie just the right combination of imaginative and practical that's perfect for finding unorthodox, but simple and elegant solutions such as communicating from inside a soundproof bubble by fogging up its surface with her breath and writing on it backwards with her finger. Connie also has a vast breadth of knowledge on various topics, from types of boats to survival tips. Her penchant for trivia likely comes from a combination of academic scrutiny from her mother and a lack of anything else to do but read books during her early years, which eventually grew into a real passion for the pursuit of knowledge and a great natural curiosity.
When you come down to it, much of Connie's accomplishments, strengths, and weaknesses boil down to one trait, a passion that runs through every fiber of her being: to be the very best, like no-one ever was. Once she discovered that she could change and make a difference, Connie began striving to improve herself and prepare for whatever challenges might come her way in the future. From mastery of the sword to a desire to accumulate as much knowledge as possible to studying for college two years before a planned early graduation, all of her own volition, Connie's drive is extraordinary. This may be partially due to neuroses brought on by her parents' push for constant excellence in her childhood, but even if it was, Connie owns her own determination now.
Yet she isn't all honor and intellect and willpower. The truth is, Connie is still a teenager, with all the silliness and antics that entails. The same passion that drives her swordplay also causes her to gush about her favorite book series and obsess over book-accurate cosplay. When she isn't too busy trying to convince herself that she needs to be serious and responsible, Connie enjoys being patently ridiculous: singing stupid soungs, doing dumb bits with Steven, and running around and having fun.
After all, if you've fought so hard to live a peaceful life, why not enjoy it every once in a while?
Pokémon Information Affiliation: Rocket Chipped Starter: Shinx (Nicknamed "Nemean") Secondary Starter: Alolan Vulpix (Nicknamed "Amaterasu") Password: Atomic Fireball
Victory Road Sample: [Connie satin the gym's lobby, drumming her fingers on her thigh and tapping her foot. Wow, two nervous tics. That's a new record; at least for her time in the world of Pokémon.]
[...what was she doing? Connie knew that she had this match in the bag. Her team was perfectly tailored for this battle. Her strategies were airtight, accounting for nearly every trick Falkner could have up his sleeve. She'd done hours of drills with her Pokémon every day.]
[So why did she feel so nervous?]
[No, not nervous. That wasn't it. The feeling was something else, something that had become a near-constant companion ever since Connie woke up tangled up in the sheets of her bunk in Goldenrod: guilt. It wasn't over anything in particular this time, like the way she felt her stomach drop when the more experienced grunts took her along on a trip to demonstrate how to properly mug someone. Or the way her insides twisted up into knots when she found herself drafting plans for her first heist. It was just a general feeling of unworthiness. Like she was disgracing the Gym Challenge by even stepping foot in Falkner's gym.]
[The journey was meant for people of all walks of life to find themselves, to become more in-tune with their Pokémon, to get a shot at fame and glory, not for criminals like Connie. She should just get up and leave. That was the right thing to do-]
[No. Connie took a deep breath, in and out. Then another. Then one more. What would feeling bad about herself do in the long run, really. Sure, she'd done some objectively terrible things for Team Rocket. But feeling guilty wasn't going to fix that. Taking on the Gym Challenge wouldn't either, but... it was something to feel proud of, if she succeeded. Connie needed something like that desperately these days.]
[Connie stood up, clenching and unclenching her fists.]
You ready, guys?
[The Pokéballs at her side—none of the ones that she stole or used for missions, that would just be cheating—vibrated with anticipation. Steeling herself, Connie walked towards the doors.]
Connie Maheswaran | Steven Universe (Future) | Not Reserved
Name: Doom
E-mail: artemisrubey@gmail.com
Preferred Contact:
Timezone: MST
Current Characters in Victory Road: N/A
Character
Name: Connie Maheswaran
Series: Steven Universe Future
Timeline: "Snow Day"
Canon Resource Links: Wiki
Personality: When Connie was eleven years old, she coped with her isolated, friendless life by burying her nose in fantasy novels, imagining herself in the shoes of their young protagonists. Then she met Steven, and her whole world changed. She was no longer merely fantasizing about going on magical adventures, she was living them, allowing the passionate spirit that dwelled beneath her meek upbringing to truly shine.
One of the expressions of this passionate spirit is half of a dichotomy that is one of Connie's essential traits: she is somehow both a rule-follower to a fault and rebellious to the core. As a consequence of her disciplined, strictly-regimented early upbringing, Connie learned that following the rules is one of the important things in life. She also learned that there were many technicalities and loopholes she could use to her advantage in most of the systems she operated under, and used said loopholes and technicalities to their utmost; a classic example of this is the early-series episode "Lion 2: The Movie," where she purchases unhealthy snacks on the way to the theater instead of at the theater to avoid her parent's ban on theater food. Later, to avoid getting banned from going to dangerous sword training, she simply neglected to tell her parents what she was doing at Steven's house, almost never outright lying to their faces.
However, as Connie grew, she became more and more willing to outright break rules that she perceived as unjust and harmful instead of twisting the system into knots. This is likely due to her exposure to the totalitarian, fascist Gem Homeworld and the harm it inflicted on its citizens and the rest of the galaxy combined with the steady stoking of her fighting spirit over the course of the series. Still, Connie thrives within systems with clearly defined rules that she can use to her advantage, and she sometimes gets flustered when placed in a context where she doesn't know how the system works—although her ability to think on her feet means that she usually adapts quickly.
Connie's fiery spirit also manifests in her intense desire to protect the planet she lives on and, by extension, her friends and family. When Connie learned of the dangers Earth faced, she managed to convince Pearl to train her in order to defend it despite her tender age and inexperience, and took to her lessons with a self-destructive fervor that was only strengthened by her immutable, uncompromisable moral compass. While time wore on and her fighting skills grew apace, Connie's iron will showed itself as she refused to back down even against vastly more skilled and strong opponents like the Topaz warriors Aquamarine brought to Earth, willing to fight to the last if it meant she could defend the citizens of Beach City.
Part of this fighting spirit is due to the intense loyalty Connie feels towards those she cares about. As her parents frequently moved around the country, Connie rarely had opportunities to make friends before they settled down near Beach City, and their strict overprotectiveness made this even worse. As such, Connie loves her friends and found family greatly (too greatly, in some cases), willing to risk almost anything for them. Thankfully, her analytical thinking helps her walk back from the edge of becoming overzealous or making unnecessary sacrifices. But due to this fierce loyalty, Connie feels deeply hurt if she's betrayed in some way by somebody she loves, such as when Steven turned himself in to Aquamarine out of self-hatred despite how hard everyone fought for him. When this happens, Connie withdraws while slowly spiraling into a cycle of feeling bad about not trying to make amends and being too busy wallowing in self-doubt to try to rebuild her relationship with that person. Given enough time, she'll work through these problems by herself and give whoever hurt her a second chance, but not a third if they betray her trust or hurt her again.
While Connie's physical abilities, training, and tenacity are formidble, her razor-sharp mind is her greatest asset. A childhood of subverting rules and reading doorstopper novels has left Connie just the right combination of imaginative and practical that's perfect for finding unorthodox, but simple and elegant solutions such as communicating from inside a soundproof bubble by fogging up its surface with her breath and writing on it backwards with her finger. Connie also has a vast breadth of knowledge on various topics, from types of boats to survival tips. Her penchant for trivia likely comes from a combination of academic scrutiny from her mother and a lack of anything else to do but read books during her early years, which eventually grew into a real passion for the pursuit of knowledge and a great natural curiosity.
When you come down to it, much of Connie's accomplishments, strengths, and weaknesses boil down to one trait, a passion that runs through every fiber of her being: to be the very best, like no-one ever was. Once she discovered that she could change and make a difference, Connie began striving to improve herself and prepare for whatever challenges might come her way in the future. From mastery of the sword to a desire to accumulate as much knowledge as possible to studying for college two years before a planned early graduation, all of her own volition, Connie's drive is extraordinary. This may be partially due to neuroses brought on by her parents' push for constant excellence in her childhood, but even if it was, Connie owns her own determination now.
Yet she isn't all honor and intellect and willpower. The truth is, Connie is still a teenager, with all the silliness and antics that entails. The same passion that drives her swordplay also causes her to gush about her favorite book series and obsess over book-accurate cosplay. When she isn't too busy trying to convince herself that she needs to be serious and responsible, Connie enjoys being patently ridiculous: singing stupid soungs, doing dumb bits with Steven, and running around and having fun.
After all, if you've fought so hard to live a peaceful life, why not enjoy it every once in a while?
Pokémon Information
Affiliation: Rocket
Chipped Starter: Shinx (Nicknamed "Nemean")
Secondary Starter: Alolan Vulpix (Nicknamed "Amaterasu")
Password: Atomic Fireball
Samples
RP Sample: Fourth Wall Toplevel
Victory Road Sample: [Connie satin the gym's lobby, drumming her fingers on her thigh and tapping her foot. Wow, two nervous tics. That's a new record; at least for her time in the world of Pokémon.]
[...what was she doing? Connie knew that she had this match in the bag. Her team was perfectly tailored for this battle. Her strategies were airtight, accounting for nearly every trick Falkner could have up his sleeve. She'd done hours of drills with her Pokémon every day.]
[So why did she feel so nervous?]
[No, not nervous. That wasn't it. The feeling was something else, something that had become a near-constant companion ever since Connie woke up tangled up in the sheets of her bunk in Goldenrod: guilt. It wasn't over anything in particular this time, like the way she felt her stomach drop when the more experienced grunts took her along on a trip to demonstrate how to properly mug someone. Or the way her insides twisted up into knots when she found herself drafting plans for her first heist. It was just a general feeling of unworthiness. Like she was disgracing the Gym Challenge by even stepping foot in Falkner's gym.]
[The journey was meant for people of all walks of life to find themselves, to become more in-tune with their Pokémon, to get a shot at fame and glory, not for criminals like Connie. She should just get up and leave. That was the right thing to do-]
[No. Connie took a deep breath, in and out. Then another. Then one more. What would feeling bad about herself do in the long run, really. Sure, she'd done some objectively terrible things for Team Rocket. But feeling guilty wasn't going to fix that. Taking on the Gym Challenge wouldn't either, but... it was something to feel proud of, if she succeeded. Connie needed something like that desperately these days.]
[Connie stood up, clenching and unclenching her fists.]
You ready, guys?
[The Pokéballs at her side—none of the ones that she stole or used for missions, that would just be cheating—vibrated with anticipation. Steeling herself, Connie walked towards the doors.]
Right. Let's do this.