Lydia Yew

A graceful, cerebral ballerina who enjoys studying the depths of human nature. To her, dance is an expression of the psyche, and duets are an intimate inspection of others. The convoluted thrill her, and that which is hidden beckons her.

Most impressive is how she can keep so much of herself private.

• During her academy years, Lydia was close friends with Yuna Chakrabarti and Felix Xylander. They were the top students in the dance curriculum, and though Lydia would harbor some resentment due to their scores always excelling over hers, she was relatively content being the third best dance student.
  • Lydia usually lost marks for scaring the audience, as her face could get very intense. She also intimidated many of her duet partners by trying to get to know them intimately.
• As she was forced into ballet classes when she was a child, she developed an uncanny ability to hide her emotions. Whenever she appeared calm and complacent, it would appeal to her instructors and end the lessons sooner.
• Not particularly inclined towards romance but finding herself approached anyway, Lydia will task her prospective partners with complex puzzles and riddles, claiming that solving them is the key to her heart.
  • No one has succeeded thus far, as they seem to be impossible.
• Career-wise, Lydia makes much more money as a dancer than she does as a psychologist. As a result, she still performs in ballets and operas on the side, but only when it is truly necessary.
• Even though her elements (POLIWAVE, NOXIE) align fittingly to the cerebral and abstract, she believed at a young age that she was more aligned to natural elements, such as BOTONIC and HYDROCEA. The change may be due to a drastic shift in personality and interests over time.
• One of the few memories she has of her father is him taking her hunting. Despite being much too young for such an activity, she liked accompanying him and even helping him shoot. They would come home and cook a feast, thanking the gods for a successful hunt.
  • She hopes to reunite with him someday.
• Felix has described her dance technique as smooth and silken like shadow, every movement blending seamlessly into the next. He begrudgingly admits that it breaks his focus whenever he duets with her.
  • His determination to overcome this hypnotic effect (and Lydia’s powerfully unsettling nature) has culminated in a rivalry of sorts. Lydia has long acknowledged him as the superior dancer, but she engages with it regardless, finding it somewhat entertaining.
• The main reason she chose Lavender as her Color Code was its frequent presence in her household as an essential oil and herb. She finds the smell soothing, even wearing it as a perfume regularly.
• Heartthrob and prima donna of Peach Beach, Rosalyn Anthemusa, has tried repeatedly to enlist Lydia into her opera troupe. Immune to her persuasions, Lydia would decline, though she would collaborate now and then for certain productions.
• Ever since the maturation of her Value, Lydia has used it endlessly for her own enjoyment.
  • She paces to think, and sometimes she elects to do so in the floor or between two rooms.
  • She can travel through moving, animate matter if she concentrates enough. One trick she likes to play involves her ‘reaching into’ someone’s body as if she can pull out whatever’s inside.
• She developed the habit of sneaking out of her room at night and visiting a local park whenever she couldn’t sleep. The presence of the woods and the lakeside ambience gave her peace, and she made sure to return at dawn so as to not get caught.
  • The first time this occurred, she would come across a flock of Cygnox. Entranced, she kept returning at around midnight, hoping to catch a glimpse of their mysterious dance.
• Wynona Yew, Lydia’s mother, is a psychic and staunch believer in supernatural signs. She supposedly knew that her child would be a terrible omen because her pregnancy was filled with sleepless nights.
  • Lydia has a strong disdain for pseudoscience, particularly those who capitalize off of it. In turn, Wynona argued against her career in psychology, believing that she wouldn’t find enough work.
  • Lydia jokes she will always come out on top, as she ‘cursed’ her mother’s bloodline to be barren.
• Although Lydia is generally a loner - much of her time is spent reading and writing in the company of her own thoughts - she will go out of her way to interact with people if she finds them interesting enough.
  • As a result, she was the most active member of the academy’s Psychology club. She could often be seen manning the club’s booth during school hours, lending an ear to troubled souls.
• Novels of all kinds interest her, particularly those which focus on character over story. Her favorite ones are dystopian and lack happy endings.
• Sally Lee of the 199th season was a childhood friend of Lydia’s. Lydia claims that she was inspired to write fiction after seeing Sally’s artwork online, describing it as hauntingly beautiful. They would primarily remain online friends as children, only starting to see each other in person as young adults.
  • At one point, Sally assisted Lydia with psychotherapy by providing an art therapist role. Sally’s more patient approach improved their sessions greatly.