Paz

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**Spoilers ahead!**

This article about **Paz** contains spoilers for the LavenderSMP lore. Proceed with caution and do not read if you are trying to avoid spoilers.

## Paz Gladiolus Aurelius

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## Familial and Professional Relationships

### Siblings

Topaz

**Paz,** officially known as **Paz Gladiolus Aurelius** (born: June 4th), is the CEO of Inkot Inc, a store geared toward supplying the Kingdom with rare materials. Currently, his only staff is Esmaria. Paz appeared after the first season of the original launch of LavenderSMP, in Season 2.

## Physiology

Paz's hair is tied in a low ponytail and messy bangs, usually parted in the middle. He occasionally wears it down, where it reaches just past his shoulders. His hair is thin and dirty blonde. A scar runs down his left eye to just through his eyebrow, and he has a black rose tattoo on his neck. The tattoo has its stem and a single leaf. He sometimes wears round silver glasses (or otherwise, colorless contacts) and can usually be found in some sort of black professional attire due to his status as CEO, or alternatively, warrior attire, never casual. His eyes are round and blue, and his skin is fair. He also often wears combat gloves. He is almost always seen wearing a silver necklace with dog tags, but instead, the only word engraved is "Aurelius." Its scratched up, and one can tell it is aged many years and worn. He stands at a mediocre 5'7 and is of average build.

## Personality

Paz is a business-oriented person, who would do nearly anything if it is better for his business. He's rather charismatic and charming, able to persuade people into doing his will or going along with things, making any opportunity that is good for him sound good for the opposing party as well. It is unclear what his intentions are generally, as they are difficult to decipher. To outsiders, he is often perceived as money-hungry, or simply a businessman doing his job. Paz does have another side to himself, a more (genuinely nice, rather than masked or business-y and fake) caring and kinder one rather than calculated, but you'd have to be rather special to see that. It isn't something he would show the average citizen, a stranger. His sister and Esmaria are the only people who seem to attest to this, vouching that he is not truly just out to make money and ruin everything.

So, what is Paz's goal, then? Paz believes there is no one way things must or should be carried out, especially when applied to his own actions. He does what he fancies, and being a chaotic neutral, good and evil are not a concept he pays attention to. He is considered difficult to deal with due to this, because his morals never really align with a box that society accepts as typical. Nonetheless, Paz's ideals of freedom are when his own comes first, before others. He is self-centered, but if you are friend or kin, then he is concerned with your freedom as well. He is often perceived as entirely selfish when pursuing his goals, but he often allies with other people. Not only that, but he does not enjoy unnecessary suffering of other people, contrary to popular belief. His methods of achieving success just do not line up with the typical morals of society, and thus can be off-putting, making it difficult for him to form any permanent friendships or allies. Nonetheless, Esmaria has stuck with him since they met. Perhaps this is only due to its unique ability to discern between good and bad intentions, and so mu knows Paz does not want to actively harm anyone. No human person can guarantee their safety around someone with a moral compass like Paz, so despite his charms, he can be a bit of a loner.

## Symbolic Flower

Paz's symbolic flower is the Gladiolus, occasionally known as the "sword lily." It is, however, actually a member of the iris family.

The flower's meaning is deeply linked to gladiators, with its related traits being endurance, integrity, strength, and infatuation. These traits are symbolic of a strong character, and suggest a degree of loyalty, passion, and perhaps even a potential for friendship under the right circumstances could be stirred within Paz. On the other hand, with sharp strength and endurance, Paz is a warrior in mind and heart, goal-oriented, and unafraid to owe nothing to those who have not shown him they are deserving of his loyalty.

## History

In Season 2, the Kingdom is once again flourishing, with Inkot Inc rising above it all thanks to Paz and his assistant, Esmaria. Inkot Inc becomes the center of trade, with only a few people deviating from this norm and forming separate communities, such as Paraplan [played by Gael], Amia, and Zoe.
Several small raids were carried out with the disappearances of Jinnx and an unnamed individual, in which some of the wealth was distributed more evenly, causing disruptions in the economy of Inkot Inc.
In Season 3, Paz's affiliation is that of Cherrytown, a Capitalist community in the North. Two main factions rise up in this Season, with Cherrytown in the North and Oreotown in the South. In Cherrytown, one of two siblings, Paz, and many others run a friendly capitalist society, with Inkot Inc planning to take over. In Oreotown, Topaz agrees to set up a shop with her brother at spawn, but she might have other plans in store for Oreotown's success, it being the opposite of Cherrytown. It is a communist society and is rivaling the population of Cherrytown due to the riots against unfair economy in Cherrytown.

After the renewed SMP, in LS Season 1, Paz moved into Lakeside, establishing a small home in the town alongside some of the other members. However, it is unclear if he plans to remain here, or move elsewhere when he establishes his franchise.

## Backstory

Paz's early life was relatively normal, with him finding solace in his interests and creative thinking. He used to write poetry when he was little, though he was not very good at it, being as young as he was. He returned to the hobby at a much older age, though doesn't engage in it often.

However, Paz was orphaned two months after his tenth birthday, and he was left to take care of his younger sister, Topaz, by himself. His parents had passed away in a house fire after rescuing him and his sister, the building crashed and crumbled on top of them, burning them inside. His only remaining artifact from his childhood is his necklace.

Paz's deadflower, or wilted flower, is the blue rose. The blue rose is the symbol of things desired, yet unattainable. It symbolizes the unknown, mysteries, and the unattainable. This is because true blue roses do not exist in nature, the closest through genetic engineering only being lilac. The color blue in roses is only achievable through dying, and it is believed that true blue roses do not, and cannot, ever exist. Among some cultures, there is a tradition that the owner of a blue rose will have all their wishes granted. Paz's wishes, in a way, were granted when he became successful with Inkot Inc, and so his flower fell apart, as the desired became attainable, and the mystery of his future was surrounded by less air of an air of fog. His tragic story was changing, and so he had to change too.

Paz used to have big dreams of being successful enough to please his parents, and this was further driven by his innate core as a blue rose. To desire the unattainable, he wished to make it attainable. A few years after their death, he was able to start his corporation during his teenage years, and so he fulfilled his "wish." In doing so, he wilted the flower and gained a new one, as his personality had outgrown the old one. Where there once was a curious, driven, people-pleasing, ever-chasing the impossible boy, the dust cleared, and in came the gladiolus. It took another seven months for his sprouting phase to fully grow his new flower, but when he came out of it, he was, for the most part, the Paz he is today. The innocence and curiosity in his eyes was completely burned away, replaced by a passion to get more, to do more. For if he did more, then perhaps, he thinks, when he meets his parents in the afterlife, he will have made them proud enough to serve as their only son.

## Quotes

"Shop with Paz, it'll be a blast =)" is the primary slogan for Inkot Inc.

Additionally, Paz has stated the following while advertising Inkot Inc as well:
- Shop with Paz, you'll never be sad =)
- Shop with Paz, you'll always be glad =)

"Say, hasn't anyone told you it's rude to stare?" via his X account.

"I offer the selling of shulkers, enchants, potions, and more and i am also working toward making a miscellaneous jobs service where customers may request any work they need done-- for a price. :)" when asked about Inkot Inc, via his X account

"Do you ever find yourself... feeling a bit like an outsider?" via his X account.

"im not a monster esmaria, im happy to help you get back on your feet again. business is business but friends are friends <3 take it easy" via his X account

"I understand that, you're always welcome by my side though. You're great company and i know you will do equally great things" via his X account, to Esmaria

"you know im always willing to help you, ive got enough wealth to put you on your feet when you need it" via his X account, to Esmaria

"awe, es, you know that means a lot to me. i guess i just worry a little sometimes, but i do appreciate the reassurance. ill be fine though, rest your head" via his X account, to Esmaria

"sometimes i feel as if my business practices drive people away from me. ah, who am i kidding" via his X account

## Trivia

* Paz has a dedicated, in character Twitter account.
* Paz is often called by others as a Corrupt Capitalist, but fervently denies these claims.
* Paz occasionally wears circular black glasses, but typically opts to wear contacts instead.
* People have often made fun of Paz's name in the past, due to the irregular, strangeness of his full name, when grouped with his middle name "Gladiolus." This is likely due to the fact that "Aurelius" and "Gladiolus" are linguistically similar, and names following each other typically have a degree of dissimilarity.
* Paz has a PhD in computing.
* Paz is Chaotic Neutral.
* The dog tag Paz wears was given to him on his tenth birthday by his father, and reads their family name "Aurelius."
* Paz has a huge sweet tooth, and he considers it a weakness.
* His favorite holiday is Valentine's Day.
* His mom used to do his hair, telling him how pretty it was when it was long, so he refuses to cut it above his shoulders.
* Paz has stated interest in investing in and building an Inpatient Psychological Care Facility in the past.
* He has referred to Esmaria as "Es" and "recruit"

## Gallery

https://picrew.me/image\_maker/678875https://picrew.me/image\_maker/1399436https://picrew.me/image\_maker/700620
1. ↑ *Shorter Oxford English dictionary: 6th edition*. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. 2007. ISBN 978-0199206872.
2. ↑ Manning, John; Goldblatt, Peter (2008). *The Iris Family: Natural History & Classification*. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. pp. 138–42. ISBN 978-0-88192-897-6.
3. ↑ Urban Stems (2023)*, A Guide to the Gladiolus — August’s Birth Flower*
4. ↑ "Meaning of Flowers".
5. ↑ "About Blue Roses". *GardenGuides*. Archived from the original on 13 July 2010.