Personality:
Some people would be hard-pressed to describe Julie in terms of personality, especially after the bout of self-induced dissociative identity disorder she underwent in her childhood. But putting aside considerations of alternative personalities, Julie is an easy, if complicated person.
Like many with Asperger’s Syndrome, Julie is a person struggling with a condition which she never wanted yet has to live with. The relative mildness of her condition along with her intellect allows her to acknowledge her condition very well, even understand it. And this is a constant source of frustration for her, knowing her affliction but knowing she can’t do anything about it. It is not through apathy, indifference, or laziness with which her inaction lies. She just… can’t, as is her nature. And it is this struggle which most often defines her as a person, though she is more than just her syndrome.
By herself, Julie is a chronically nervous and shy person, who’s more comfortable alone than mingling with other people, spending most of her time in her studies or readings, maybe in practice honing her magic skills. She takes comfort in thought experiments and lazy daydreaming, her own mind as one of her best friends letting her vivid imagination run wild, and can often be found in places where she can be isolated in wide open spaces, like parks or rooftops. As many would describe it, she “
has her own world”. With her above average intellect she understands many advanced high-level concepts quite well, especially in the field of computer programming, and she often astounds many with her knowledge of subjects far above her age. Her intellect makes her highly self-aware of her own thoughts, and many times she second guesses herself to the point of hesitation.
Her readings also make her the supposed smartest of the three, and when Asagi and Mayura needs knowledge or advice beyond what they know, Julie delivers. Although her smarts tend to come more from “
textbook wisdom”, and when things don’t go by the book Julie tends to have “
paralysis by analysis”. And as Julie herself painfully knows, knowledge hardly ever equals wisdom, and many times she has difficulty even following her own advice, either due to lack of guts, initiative, means – or all. And no advice is more difficult for her to follow than her tips regarding… personal interaction.
It’s not like she dislikes human contact – in fact, she longs for friends, and yet she often can’t summon the courage necessary to mingle without the help of others. Most people would mistake her timidly silent, uncaring exterior as indignance and arrogance, a cold queen that prefers to keep them away at arm’s length – or farther. It’s not like she minds though, as most of the time she prefers musing in her own thoughts and mental exercises, but it still breaks her heart when she does. Many times honest to a fault, Julie can at times be tactless and direct, saying only what needs to be said and no more.
Only two things breaks her out of this mold though.
One is through her closest friends, especially Asagi and Mayura. In their presence, Julie revels in herself and lets loose. Both girls acknowledge and accept Julie’s true colors, and even encourage her to be herself, a hope not lost on Julie, and one which gives her self-confidence and pride to do things she might otherwise not. Constant exposure to Asagi-level radiation though can turn the normally silent girl into a loud, rash and out of control person, with the infectious energy making Julie run on hyperdrive. Having a dislike for erroneous facts and ignorant opinions she is quick to point out and correct mistakes in action or reasoning, often with accompanying... “
conditioning”, which unfortunately for the two other Belkarangers, usually hurts…
(As Asagi would tell you, Julie is the “
Tsukkomi” to the group’s “
Boke”... )
It is often with Asagi or Mayura, or both, where Julie finds the strength to throw away logic and kick reason to the curb to become a fabulously smashing Belkaranger, a reason she likes their company very much.
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“You just had to add THAT in didn’t you?”
“Add what in… “dear”?”
“…
Nevermind…”
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The second method is through Julie’s traditional method:
Disguises. Julie is long past the part of relying solely on her disguises to solve her interpersonal problems ever since joining the Belkarangers, nonetheless old habits die hard, and the personas she’s created since her childhood are still around whenever she needs them, often appearing whenever Julie’s nervousness or uncertainty hits an extreme high – which is more than likely to happen whenever she’s alone without any of her friends in sight in the company of strangers. Each persona was created to conform into any social situation Julie might confront, often, but not necessarily accompanied by the appropriate facial and body transformation using her transformation magic. These personas stem from different branches of Julie’s own imagination and personality – some of them are aspects of Julie’s own base personality amplified to dominate and take charge of the situation at hand, while others are stereotypes from various media she has seen, and some are images of the people that Julie wishes to be.
It should be noted that these are not separate entities in their own right oblivious to each other as per “true” multiple personalities, but simply advanced mental defense mechanisms for Julie’s lack of self-confidence, brought about through her astonishing acting skills and mental detachment, and Julie knows about the existence of these personas, and remembers everything they do. At times, Julie can willingly conjure a persona of hers to take care of a situation. Also, these alternate personas rarely appear when Julie is in the presence of Asagi or Mayura, though the two know their existence.
While Julie can create an infinite number of personalities limited only by her imagination, there are seven personality templates which are the most persistent and common ones, and collectively they’re known as
Julie’s Eleven. These eleven are classed as such due to their frequent appearances, and the consistency in their physical appearance, which Julie seems to update as she grows up.
The true Julie is often listed as part of the Eleven, being the first, and is referred to as “
Ocean”.
Here is a list of all 10 of her other personas, along with an image of their representative physical appearances:
“Rin Miles” -
Rin is the most prominent and most frequently used of Julie’s personas, so much in fact she can be truly described as Julie’s alternate personality. Rin is almost the exact opposite of Julie: proudly confident, self-assured and unflinchingly bold and direct. Quite the upbeat and energetic girl, she is the persona that comes up when Julie is overwhelmed by a crowd atmosphere, but she also appears at the smallest opportunity whenever Julie becomes extremely nervous in talking to people. Rin sometimes appears when Julie needs to fight, often the personality behind Julie’s Shuriken form. To those who know her, Rin is the Julie that could’ve been had fate been kinder to the girl – or given enough time, the woman that Julie could eventually become.
“Rusty” -
Rusty is the second of the alternate personalities, and also second in prominence to Rin. She is an eloquent and professional genius dedicated to the job at hand, and is good at long-winded explanations. Her entire being concentrates around work, work and work, and often takes charge to effect change. Disliking ignorance and seeking intellectual perfection, she also takes direct action to correct others of their errors and mistakes. She appears to counter Julie’s stage fright whenever she needs to explain a theory or concept to a crowd, and when working with colleagues to prevent herself from getting distracted. At times though, Rusty steps up when Julie witnesses plain stupidity or ignorance, which earns the offender a most thorough "
correction". Appearance-wise, she is frequently seen as a short-haired school-girl with hairclips and glasses.
“Virgil (Vee)” -
Third of Julie’s personalities, she is a sweet and demure girl who makes friends easily and gets along with anybody. Typically agrees with anything everyone says, quite polite and respectful, and compliments everyone frequently. Also has the best singing talent of the personas. Typically appears in situations in occasions where formality is required. She is also affectionately called "
Vee" or "
Vee-Vee".
“Tury” -
Julie’s fourth persona, Tury is a playful child-like personality, unburdened from problems and lives only for fun and excitement, and gets bored easily. She also the humorous girl who likes jokes and pranks. Tury appears when Julie is in the company of children (or child-like people), though at times she has appeared when Julie gets lost in toy stores or nurseries. Often represented as a young girl with long ponytail and lighter hair color.
“Yen” -
The fifth persona, whose love is for possessions and valuables. A thrifty spender, this crafty fox likes bargaining, haggling, and negotiating to for the lowest price and will not quite till she gets the best discounts. One of the best personas to have around when shopping or negotiating.
“Catty” -
An extremely focused and calculating person, this clean-cut and trim sixth personality plans every move with exacting and demanding precision, leaving no stone unturned, and meticulous in her actions. No action is without reason, and Catty works her brain on overdrive till a nearly fool-proof course of action has been devised, and every variable has been accounted for to ensure the perfection of "
THE PLAN". Appears during tactical planning sessions and briefings, and also when Julie needs to take command of a situation. Like Rusty, she is always seen wearing glasses, and unlike the others has yellow eyes.
“Tara” -
Tara is the seventh of the personalities, and she appears to give Julie a hand in anything related to physical activities, like athletics or sports, at times even plain running. She works hard at practice, and stubbornly determined to give 120% of their bodies in the pursuit of health and fitness. She’s also a fighter who appears during intense matches or short combat bouts that Rin can’t handle. Her personality is slightly based off Mayura, and her physical appearance is reminiscent of the girl in her younger years.
“Saul” -
This eighth persona is unique amongst the 11 as the only
MALE persona of the group complete with gender-swapping. An amalgamation of stereotypes from action movies, Saul is a cocky, knuckle-cracking, gutsy, arrogant and overconfident fighter whose main love is violence. Hardass and tough as nails, Saul bows down to no one, and can often be performing “
manly” things like chewing on and spitting (imaginary) tobacco, and spouting out action hero catchphrases and lines like “
asta la vista” or “
yippee-kay-yay” along with loads of profanity. He typically appears when Julie swallows more than she can chew in a direct fight, and many times has taken over from Tara in fights.
“Dell” -
Ninth of the personalities, Dell is an incredibly disciplined and patient persona, modeled after the motherly character. Calm and wise she offers counsel and advice with a stern yet gentle voice, and is a very good listener when one needs someone to spill their heart to. Rarely appears, but has shown up during times of disaster or calamities.
“Trisha” -
The last persona of the 11 and yet one of the earliest, Trisha is a vengeful persona, one who takes in all of Julie’s hate and sorrow, and stops at nothing to mete out and exact harsh retaliation on her enemies. This personality was once a constant part of Julie’s childhood when she was bullied and picked on. Now a rarity, Trisha nonetheless makes appearances whenever a friend has been severely wronged, harmed... or worse. Unlike the other personas, Trisha does not have her own appearance, though her presence is betrayed by a change of eye color to red.
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"Wonder if they've already robbed a vault..."
"What was that?"
"Nothing in particular..."
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This once timid and shy girl though has had lots of help with her friends in overcoming the syndrome that restrains her, and through the years Julie’s ever growing poise in herself has allowed her to approach avenues and horizons she never thought possible. And as her confidence in herself grows, Julie finds herself using her disguises less in social encounters. It can be hard to let go of old friends though, and even with developments in her self-confidence and assurance Julie finds it hard to erase these personas completely, of whom to some level she’s grown quite fond off.
Nonetheless Julie has a long road to go in overcoming her condition, but with continued support and encouragement from her friends, it’s a goal she very much looks forward to achieving.