Ryujin Seong

A somewhat easy-going mechanical engineer who is sure to give people a supportive pat on the shoulder (or a punch in the back) if they need the strength she easily displays. Her aptitude with machinery makes her a god among all metalworkers and a respected mentor figure.

You could learn from her, you know.

• Proven to be skilled in metalwork as well as architecture, invention, and carpentry, Ryujin doesn’t go a day without working. She has a long queue of clients who are drawn to her stellar performance and amiable reputation. Even on her off days she’s gathering materials, scheduling, etcetera.
  • It doesn’t help that her definition of relaxation is focusing on simpler labor. She can supposedly turn her brain off when doing something like car maintenance, trusting her hands and instincts to work on auto-pilot.
• Alcohol is Ryujin’s favorite vice. She stays professional on the job, but she’ll use any communal opportunity to drink with others to get to know them better. Her fridge is packed with blood-orange soju.
• She employs two apprentices at her workshop. This was initially a way to reduce workload for herself rather than providing a mentorship opportunity. However, she grew attached to her company and began teaching them her technique.
  • Her current full-time apprentice, Maple Chaudhary, specializes in blacksmithing. He has witnessed her evolution from an emotionally distant boss to an overly casual one. He seems to prefer her current disposition, though he grumbles about her cheerfully probing questions about my personal life.
  • Her current part-time apprentice, Berenike Gucciardo, specializes in weaponsmithing and physically-intensive labor. She has no interest in mechanics outside of sharp implements, though that doesn’t stop Ryujin from throwing me in a labyrinth of blueprints and asking for my input.
• She has a decades-long habit of wiping her dirty hand on her cheek, resulting in there being an ever-present smear of oil. It will take hours for her to notice it and several more to clean it off.
• Infatuated with sports cars ever since she was little, Ryujin would get her first car - a cheap, run-down sedan - and work endlessly to turn it into the model of her dreams. She has continued to repair and upgrade it rather than buying a new one, and it remains perfectly functional today.
  • Its license plate reads, ‘TH353U5’, which was the random one given to her when she got ownership. She’s kept it that way out of tradition.
• Organization isn’t her strong suit, and her workshop is often so disorderly that she’s gotten injured from tripping over or cutting herself on stray parts. Maple has given himself the task of de-cluttering the area, making his complaints about his mentor’s bachelor lifestyle known.
• No wild Tigruss are found in America, which is why Ryujin found the one she would eventually bond with in her home country, Korea. Once they bonded, she returned to America to officially begin her journey as a professional mechanic.
  • The trip occurred after her high school graduation; her first time traveling internationally, alone.
• Currently, she is single and has not been in a relationship in a long time. But she is prone to teasing and flirting wherever she goes - as if chasing the ever-escaping thrills of love without ever settling down.
• One of her more obscure interests is outer space. Before she settled on her current job, she considered being an astrophysics or aerospace engineer. Even now, she hopes to visit another planet in her lifetime.
• Near-ambidextrous, Ryujin often works with both hands simultaneously. But she is stronger with her left.
• Soldier and military leader Emil Zsoldos has collaborated with Ryujin personally, as she is one of the country’s best smiths for metal weapons, as well as armor and shields. She doesn’t seem to mind using her skills for wartime efforts; in fact, she’s expressed interest in serving as a battlefield maintenance officer. What keeps her from doing so, however, is her less-than-stellar work ethic and disdain for subservience.
• Upon consuming alcohol, Ryujin’s face will burn a brighter and brighter red. Rather than taking such physiological warning signs to heart, she toughs it out, trying to balance it through hydration. She jokes that her liver is already corroded by this point - what’s the harm in a little more?
  • She blames her genetics, as her parents were also the same way. Though she doesn’t talk about them much, it’s implied that the manner of their passing had to do with health problems exacerbated by drinking.
• Mountains are a comforting environment for her, as she grew up around them. Maple uses this to his advantage by scheduling vacation days in mountainous locations. That way, Ryujin will be distracted enough to actually refrain from any labor (besides hiking, of course).
  • He tags along whenever the trip involves a volcanic location, as that is his own comfort.
• Ever since she was young, she’s been a bit of a rough-houser. She would rebuff anything overly sensitive and delicate, claiming that girls could easily surpass boys in strength if they weren’t held back.
• During high school, Ryujin took specialized courses in pursuit of a medical degree. This was enforced by her parents, who tried to direct her ambitious nature towards the field of their choosing. However, this would fall apart due to several variables - one being her inability to stay composed under life-or-death pressure.