bibliophilism: everything will be okay. even if rocks fall and everyone dies. (Default)
Michelle Cheung ⌈ミシェール ・チャン⌋ ([personal profile] bibliophilism) wrote2013-04-30 01:50 pm
Entry tags:

application | accession

Player Information
Name: Auste
Contact: ditz (DW), truthstealer (AIM), auste (Plurk)
Current Characters: N/A

Character Information
Name: Michelle Cheung
Canon: R.O.D the TV/Read or Die
Age: 25
Canon Point: Middle of Episode 12 (Twilight of the Papers 1), after entering Dokusensha to rescue Nenene Sumiregawa.
History: (important parts up to her canon point are in italic; this is essentially everything)

Michelle is a Paper Master genetically modified by Dokusensha using stolen material from the British Library. Her memories had also been modified, and she, Maggie Mui (another Paper Master of Dokusensha), and Anita King (a failed attempt by the British Library to create a Paper Master without a love for books, and who was likewise taken by Dokusensha) were set up to meet each other in line with the organization's plans. Because the genetic splicing left Paper Masters psychologically defective in certain areas, they were made to live and operate in units.

Not knowing that they were being strung along the entire time, Michelle and Maggie first met on Christmas Eve on a mission that took them to a church with a hidden underground room supposedly full of old books. After realizing that the books sealed within were actually newer than expected and that it was a setup, the two women encountered Anita, who asked them whether they are Santas or thieves. When Michelle answered that they're technically thieves, Anita asked if she could tag along to stay alive as she had no parents and nowhere else to go. Michelle discouraged her from leading a thief's life before she and Maggie leave. Eventually both of them decided to buy Anita presents for Christmas Day - and Michelle and Maggie bought the same book. Michelle then proposed that the three of them become sisters and live together, because if two heads were better than one, doing things as a trio would be a breeze.

Two years later, Michelle and Maggie were employed as tour guides for Nenene Sumiregawa, a famous Japanese author in Hong Kong for a book signing and for the movie production of her novel. But when the hotel Nenene was supposed to be staying in exploded, the sisters instead bring Nenene to their home (where they run their detective agency) after volunteering to protect her (or rather, Maggie will, as Michelle put it). At the book signing, a frustrated author confronted Nenene and planted a bomb close to her, but the sisters managed to detonate it away from everyone with their paper powers. Unfortunately for Nenene, none of them knew her friend, Yomiko Readman, who was another Paper Master and who had been missing for four years.

Their job didn't end there. Michelle discovered that the author's manuscript was actually comprised of two styles of handwriting, which meant there were two writers. The sisters then pursued Nenene's plane back to Japan. While Anita dispatched the second writer and made sure Nenene was safe, Michelle and Maggie guided the plane to safety. Lee Linho, Nenene's editor, then designated the Paper Sisters, as they were known in Hong Kong, as Nenene's bodyguards. Though they were given their own place, they wound up living with Nenene instead. At one point, Michelle took an opportunity to check out Jinbocho, where instead of looking for Nenene, she bought so many books, leaving many stores with empty shelves and making some shop owners believe that Yomiko, an equally avid bibliophile (if not more avid), had returned. She even left her sisters behind - Maggie to succumb to fatigue after wandering around on her own, and Anita to actually actively search for Nenene.

In order not to arouse suspicion from the neighbors, Nenene proposed that Anita begin attending school. On Anita's first day, Michelle decided to check on her, even though Maggie pointed out that Michelle probably just wanted to get out for a while. She climbed over the wall and spoke to Anita, masquerading as an older student. While both sisters were at the school, a man named Mr. Richards went to the library to hide one of the Gentleman books, where he was attacked by a masked Junior. Anita first engaged Junior in battle and hid the book, and eventually Michelle arrived to shoot the gun out of Junior's hands. He escaped. Michelle and Anita would later meet and befriend Junior, not knowing that he was the one in the library and that he worked for the British Library.

To pay for Anita's tuition and other related expenses, the Paper Sisters took on jobs from Dokusensha retrieving rare books, which are actually the Gentleman Books. While Nenene was out chasing a possible lead on the missing Yomiko, the sisters traveled to Romania, where they faced Professor Weber and his arsenal of sound frequencies, and retrieved one of the books from him. In a succeeding mission, Michelle was separated from Maggie and Anita in a city that turned out to be a giant set for actors who only wanted to act (which Michelle discovered before finding her sisters again), and their failure to retrieve the book was chalked up to bad intel. Another mission also ended badly when they wound up running into Nenene (who knew nothing of the sisters' jobs) and pursued their target into some old ruins, where said target was mercilessly killed by another Paper Master of Dokusensha, Sonny Wong.

A year passed, and Nenene and the sisters returned to Hong Kong for the premiere of the movie based on Nenene's novel. Lee Linho declared that the sisters' job as bodyguards was done, considering that things had eventually quieted down. However, their arrival was spoiled by the arrival of Dokusensha agents, as Lee Linho revealed himself to be a contractor working for the organization. Nenene was kidnapped "to write the greatest story ever told" and to have an Ultimate Language system installed in her brain. Despite being paid so handsomely for their stint as bodyguards (and apparently also for inspiring Nenene to start writing again), which would mean living the rest of their lives well, Michelle, Maggie and Anita headed for Dokusensha's headquarters to save Nenene, now considering her as a friend.
They quickly penetrated the building, fighting off robotic sentinels and soldiers, but they separated - Maggie to duel Sonny Wong, and Michelle to hold off any other enemies while Anita searched for Nenene.

Though they all escaped, they end up wanted as terrorists for the destruction of Dokusensha and the sinking of Hong Kong. Nenene and the sisters then fled back to Japan, on the run from authorities. While contemplating their next move, they discovered orders from Dokusensha hidden in the lighter Nenene had given Lee Linho as a gift, which pointed to "The Book of the All-Seeing Eye", a hidden bookstore in Jinbocho called Toto Books, and the Paper a.k.a. Yomiko. Nenene and the Paper Sisters quickly went to that bookstore, where Anita had found Nenene before, only to have the owner tell them that he can't reveal where Yomiko lives. After much pleading and abuse from Anita, he at last broke his promise to keep the secret, and pointed to the National Diet Library. There, Yomiko and Nenene were reunited, and they met Nancy Makuhari as well, who lived with Yomiko. Their reunion was spoiled with the arrival of Joseph Carpenter, or Joker, who headed the British Library Special Operations Unit and who wanted Yomiko back on the team, an explanation as to why she had disappeared, and the final Gentleman Book. The girls all escaped with the book, only to witness a terrible spectacle in Jinbocho - the British Library confiscating books and then eventually burning them in the street. With help from Drake Anderson, and some bookstore owners, everyone fled to Saitama, to a house owned by Yomiko's parents.

There, Michelle, Maggie, Anita, Nenene, Yomiko, Nancy and Drake settled in, only to be interrupted by Junior, who had followed them and who had discovered that he could not escape from Nancy's grip with his usual phasing abilities. When Junior pointed a gun at Nancy, Yomiko revealed that Nancy was Junior's mother, and Michelle shot the gun out of Junior's hands (again) with a paper arrow. After that, Yomiko locked herself in a room with Nancy, not coming out for a long time and leaving the others to entertain themselves while waiting. She came out again to tell her story of the events that led to her flight from the public eye regarding Mr. Gentleman, the great power behind England, about Nancy and Junior's past, and about how Junior was groomed to be the next Gentleman, but when Junior phased into the Book of the All-Seeing Eye, everyone had a first-hand look at the confrontation between Yomiko and Joker that would lead to the fire at the British Library, where a younger Anita was also present. After they had returned to their house, Anita ran into the woods, pursued by Michelle and Maggie, who reassured her that no matter what happened, what mattered was who Anita was today.

After an encounter with the Mirror Man, one of the British Library's agents, Junior took a helicopter with Michelle, Maggie, Nenene, Nancy and Drake all loaded on board and all asleep, leaving Anita and Yomiko to deal with the Mirror Man. After pointing a gun at his copilot, everyone was off-loaded before Junior extracted the tracker within his body and likewise escaped. Michelle, Junior, Drake and Nancy hid in an old house in an abandoned village, but when soldiers arrived on the scene, Junior took Michelle with him and ran. While with him, he told Michelle what he had learned about her and her sisters from the Book of the All-Seeing Eye - everything about Dokusensha modifying their memories and setting everything up to go according to plan. Needless to say, she was shocked, so when she, Maggie and Anita were reunited in Nenene's residence after learning the truth, Anita promptly denied them despite their relief at seeing her alive. While Anita and Michelle argued over what was real and what wasn't, and while both younger sisters started crying, Michelle joined them at last to cry, declaring that it was unfair that they both got to cry and scream, and that though their memories had been faked, their life together wasn't, and she believed in it. The sisters then decided to be sisters again, and to pursue the British Library, which had captured Nenene and Junior. Together with Yomiko, Drake and Nancy, they put a stop to their plans to create a new world order in the Gentleman's image, and kept Junior from becoming the next Gentleman.

A few months later, Michelle was seen watching over Junior in Saitama while his mother was in India, keeping in touch with Maggie, who was at Nenene's place and in charge of Anita. But toward the very end of the final episode, the friends are shown together at Nenene's again, judging from all the pairs of shoes outside.

Personality: Michelle, at first glance, would not seem like anyone's big sister, let alone a reliable one. She is often seen as a slave to her own whims (which are often book-related) who has to be disciplined in order to remember her priorities and that some things just don't work the way she thinks they should, like tokens of appreciation from her being paid by the person they are for. Possessing a flair for the dramatic, she is excitable especially when it comes to books, little children (who are suddenly "adopted" as additional siblings and smothered in hugs), and meeting famous authors. She tends to react in exaggerated, over-the-top and sometimes age-inappropriate ways, such as by pinning Anita to the floor when the latter makes a rude gesture at Nenene, or by twirling around and making a flowery speech during their first visit to Jinbocho before being spotted racing on a cart full of books she had just bought. She is also fond of having a "three sisters' vote" or a vote in general in just about every situation, from allowing Nenene to spend the night at their detective agency, to voting on beating up every man from the British Library in the vicinity, almost always with a smile on her face.

Her childlike optimism and cheer shine through in just about any situation. Whether she is facing a bookstore, or showing off paper tricks in front of children, or even while on the run from authorities or in battle, Michelle is often seen smiling. And not just smiling; she always has a reassuring word for anyone, sister or no. Even on a dangerous rescue mission, Michelle found the time to comfort Anita and encourage her to move on while she held off the rest of the bad guys and after leaving Maggie behind to take on a dangerous Paper Master by herself. Michelle tells anyone that everything will be okay and will turn out fine in the end, and they're not just empty words. She means them, and when she can, she will make sure they reach fruition.

But when someone is clearly in the wrong or is taking a potshot at someone else, such as Junior denying his mother or Anita calling Maggie a burden, Michelle doesn't hesitate to take charge, step up and discipline the offender. She has been seen slapping and scolding Anita, and slapping Junior in both instances, all traces of optimism gone. However, she only slaps or scolds when she must, reserving her anger for situations that truly merit it, especially when it comes to hurting her sisters or her friends, and when her relationship with them is at stake. It takes a lot to arouse Michelle's temper (becuase she usually lacks one), and when it is aroused, it can be a force to be reckoned with.

In battle, though she maintains her cheerful disposition for the most part instead of becoming a cold war machine, Michelle becomes a different person. She is the levelheaded leader among her sisters, who always has a plan and is never known to panic even when all seems lost or when all her paper seems lost. All theatrics are set aside for strategy and for focus, to finish a mission or to rescue a friend. It almost seems as if she only has common sense in combat, but not for real life or anything outside the battlefield. Experienced in combat with paper weapons, especially a bow and arrows, Michelle is fearless and will go all out, supporting her sisters and whoever else fights with her along the way. Anyone she cares for will always be protected, no matter what dangers lie ahead.

Michelle has a self-centered streak; she can and will spend money on books without a care for what they will eat later on or that they are short on money. She can be a little tactless too with how she observes and describes people, but calls her sisters out on being rude. In the very first episode, she described Maggie as "quiet, unsociable, and very tall"; a normal person would most likely not use the term "unsociable" outright. And yet, despite being easily distracted by what she wants and what she likes, she does deeply love her sisters and makes it a point to let them know that she's there for them. Yomiko herself has even told Anita that despite having read tens of thousands of books, she has yet to read anything that would come close to the love the Paper Sisters share, lack of blood ties notwithstanding. Though she may not have much in the way of common sense, she more than makes up for it with her enormous heart.

Camp Information
Parent: Athena. Michelle is the strategist among her sisters, and is often at the forefront of their plans of infiltration and combat. Never one to panic in the middle of battle or act rashly, she is far more rational on the battlefield than she is when dealing with everyday life, almost like a born fighter. It is almost as if her common sense and calmness were only tailored for combat, and she is equally at home fighting the bad guys as she is when curled up with a good book.

Michelle may not look it or act it, but she is an intelligent individual. She may not have a flawless memory and no mention is made in the anime regarding her capacity to retain information she gathers from all the books she reads, but it cannot be argued that her habit of reading, even if over the top, is one that Athena would value, as it aids in the quest for wisdom. Michelle was also mentioned to be a translator who, along with Maggie, managed to teach Anita how to understand and speak Japanese. Judging from her strategic strengths, it can also be assumed that during their stint as detectives of the Three Sisters Detective Agency, she was a competent investigator - or rather, a competent finder of lost books, people, and cats.

It should also be mentioned that her skills as a Paper Master (even though she won't have them in the game) involve manipulation and folding of paper - a superpowered version of crafting, but in one episode, Michelle was seen folding a paper crane normally (only to let it glide afterward), which shows that her crafting skills may not just be due to her powers.

Skills: Crafting, strategy, fighting skill
Appearance: N/A (she has wavy blond hair and large, expressive brown eyes; and she is 5'6" tall.)

Samples
First Person/Journal Sample:

[Michelle looks very thoughtful as the transmission begins, idly twirling a lock of her long blond hair. But she quickly switches gears and flashes a cheerful smile. Behind her, some distance away, is the archery range, with a couple of arrows embedded in the bull's eye. In her free hand is a bow.]

The stories I've read about Athena say she's a virgin goddess. As far as I know, she never had a husband. And yet I'm supposed to be her daughter. Are these myths the same for the rest of you, wherever you came from? I'm curious. I wonder if the Olympians' stories took a different turn here...

[She gazes out at nothing in particular, contemplating this new development. While it was nice to realize that she had a real mother, not knowing much about her life before the time she first met her sisters back home, having a virgin goddess for a mother struck her as odd. When she speaks up again, it is almost as if she's just musing to herself.]

Well, Athena was born out of her father's forehead, right? Maybe...I was born from Athena's forehead. Maybe that's it! [Michelle looks satisfied with her theory.] Maybe I was already this old when it happened, too!

Third Person/Log Sample:

Michelle, unfortunately, was beaten to the bunks in the Hermes Cabin. She settled for the floor, but not without a lot of pouting and muttering about how at least back in Hong Kong, she had a bed. More importantly, she always had books to read before going to bed, but tonight, she had none. All she could do was curl up against the wall and huddle under her blanket, wondering how her sisters were doing without her.

They had a mission. And Michelle had been taken away from it, just like that. The thought made her feel uncomfortable, and she felt a bit guilty even though it wasn't her fault. She had promised Maggie and Anita that they would save Nenene Sumiregawa together, but now it seemed like she wouldn't be able to keep that promise. What would Maggie and Anita do now? The necklace given to her didn't help her find them, obviously. If the message had reached them, they would have replied as soon as possible.

She turned over so she faced the wall instead of having her back against it. Closing her eyes, she tried to fall asleep, but all she could think of were her sisters, and Nenene. She was told that this was her home, but to her, home was not home without them. This may as well be another kidnapping. Could Dokusensha have been behind it, planning to separate her from Maggie and Anita? But none of the Paper Sisters had made a move against the organization yet...

Sending her to a camp like this certainly did not sound like something Dokusensha would do, in any case. And no matter what, Michelle had to find a way to leave and get back to her mission to rescue Nenene. While it might be nice to stay and talk to others, she just had something more important to do. Why couldn't the gods have waited until that mission was over, at least? There were so many questions she wanted answers to. She was worried, she wanted to know what was truly going on, and more importantly, she wanted to go back to her real home.

The world - or rather, their world - was made to help people find each other. Perhaps other worlds were the same way. She didn't know when, where or how, but Michelle clung to the belief that she would see the people she cared the most again.

With that affirmation, she finally drifted off to sleep, her mouth in a little smile despite having to sleep on the floor.