(no subject)
Out of Character Information
player name: Natalie
player livejournal: gaulsh
playing here: Hotaru Tomoe (alldevouring) and Lady (theotokos)
where did you find us? see above
are you 16 years of age or older?: yep
In Character Information
character name: Clare
Fandom: Claymore
Timeline: Post chapter 83, you know, after speaking to Rubel about the missing number six and how he's basically a spy
character's age: Really, really debatable. Technically Claymores don't age, at all. If I had to waver, Clare is probably 25-28 years old.
powers, skills, pets and equipment:
Claymores are human/yoma hybrids with some of the basic skills: Each hybrids are possessed with the ability to sense yoma or anything with yoma blood, thus, the reason for their purpose aside from hunting yoma. They can sense them, mainly, but Claymores can smell them out (Clare's comment how Raki "smelt of beasts", first chapter, anyone?). They not only possess that ability, but they also possess the ability of strength, speed, and regeneration, which makes them worthy opponents of anything of yoma blood. They're able to wield a giant broadsword damn near their height and do it while holding one hand, without dislocating their shoulder. To top it all off, each Claymore is capable of something of a "yoki release" (demon energy), which basically means they can harness their yoma side, increasing their special abilities. This move is to be used sparingly, whenever a Claymore deems it so. The scale of a yoki release follows:
* 10% release: Eyes change from silver to gold.
* 30% release: Facial distortion.
* 50% release: Whole body distorts.
* 80% release: Theoretical limit, reversion to human form difficult, if not impossible.
* 100% release: Full awakening.
Because of this, you can understand why it's used very rarely. It's said each time a Claymore uses more of their yoki energy, the more they go down the path to be come less human. If a Claymore is very injured or upset, their yoki release is unpredictable and harder to control and too easy to manifest.
Clare, on the other hand, is different. Unlike other Claymores, she isn't half-blooded, but quarter blooded. She was once considered the weakest of Claymores, the lowest ranked one -- and this is even debatable, it seems Clare is still to this day unaware of her true potential. In the past seven years, however, Clare has gotten stronger with her comrades and even got to know her skills a bit better, like Irene's Flash Sword and the Wind Cutter. Clare, like Jean, Helen, Miria, and Deneve are deemed "half-awakened" because they have brought themselves back from the brink of becoming Awakened.
She is able of awaken parts of her bodies, just as she has done so in the Northern War. However, it should be stressed that Clare doesn't do this often, and will do it rarely when her emotions get the better of her and when she feels pressed to do so. Doing this, of course, will make it harder for herself to pull back into a human form. Further in canon, it's shown she can't do it, because of a strict mental block that she placed on herself after Jean's death.
Clare has also learned other skills from other Claymores, such as yoki manipulation from Galatea -- she's also done this once, to help Jean pull back from a near Awakening. Even then, she is not nearly as gifted in yoki manipulation as Galatea, so maybe she can only use it to help a comrade pull back and it's a draining process, even for Clare. I would personally say Clare was very lucky to help Jean pull back because of Clare's determination, sympathy, and resolve. So basically, what I'm saying, it largely depends on the circumstances when Clare uses it.
Like her predecessor Teresa, Clare can read the flow of yoki and know when and how opponents will attack. She can also feel yoki from great distances, what type of strength and person holds that yoki, but nonetheless, her sense of yoki isn't as great as Galatea's. She can dodge attacks, predict hits and attacks, so she has came a long way in battle. It clearly seems she inherits Teresa's special skills but not nearly in the same power as Teresa -- yet.
Clare has acquired the technique of "Flash Sword" Irene. She wasn't able to completely learn the attack, as Irene stated, Clare had to be completely calm using the Flash Sword and Clare wasn't, by far. Irene cut off her remaining arm and told Clare to take it, so that she could use the Flash Sword. The Flash Sword is unique, because it places a high amount of yoki into Clare's sword arm to unleash a devastating flurry of attacks; it's called the Flash Sword purely because the sword moves so fast, it's literally in a flash. Utilzing this, Clare is capable of withdrawing her sword so fast, no one can see it. But because it places so much yoki in Clare's right arm, she has had to seal it away and reduce to her yoki to invisible to avoid detection. Clare has sealed away the technique after seven years. While it is the strongest of her technique, it's not very accurate, at times.
Clare has snagged Flora's title of the quickest draw of Claymores, she uses her technique of "Wind Cutter", but does it quicker than Flora has ever did. She uses this with barely any release of her yoki, relying in strength alone and it's apparently more accurate than the Flash Sword. So with that, it's Clare's favored technique along with reading yoki. To the normal human eye, it's a blur of motion and is quicker, easier, and more accurate than the Flash Sword,
Lastly, Clare is capable of suppressing her yoki, remaining undetected to anything yoma-like. While she's doing this, she's able to sense things still, and has grown in strength. She can still feel out opponents, make no mistake. Unless they see her face to face, Clare can sneak by as literally invisible.
canon history: http://claymore.wikia.com/wiki/Clare
personality:
Like many of her kind, the hybrid warriors, Clare comes off as the emotionless warrior. Cold, distant, and definitely aloof, Clare by her nature is a lone wolf, looking to distance herself from others. She is very rigid, speaks openly, bluntly, and to the point with a monotonous tone. Some would regard Clare as cold-hearted with her nature and she may act and think like that, but there is more to the former warrior that meets the eye. She finds no value in acting with others at times and prefers to work on her own accord. Clare's admittedly very self-destructive in this matter, she doesn't seem to like relying at others, at times, and is surprisingly impatient.
But this is often just a cover, as Clare seems to stifle herself a bit. The often stoic warrior has been notorious for her impulsive streak, known not to think, but act. And let's be honest, Clare can be really stupid at times for this. Clare seems to have a deep dislike of authority and lack of respect for it. This, of course, is infuriating trait to anyone who knows Clare, who's willing to throw herself in harm's way and honestly not consider the safety of others. To her, rank and power mean nothing, for they are of equal footing to her. If not, Clare will find a way. Her goal is to simply become stronger, capable of taking down the one she despises the most. This desire can be dark and reckless, as Clare has been guilty of letting go of her own humanity at times to sacrifice for it, almost Awakening because she pushes herself too much, at least on three different occasions.
Which brings her stubborn and persistence out. Her strongest and daresay most reckless trait, next to her impulsiveness. If she cannot find a way to what she wants to accomplish, she will not yield and continue to persist. Clare isn't the type to accept "no" for an answer when it comes to her own goals. Can she be selective and narrow minded? Yes, she can, and this somewhat reflects on that. Her life has been an uphill battle for her, riddled with trauma and her suppression of her own feelings. Despite, Clare doesn't seem to let that hold her down.
But it complicates her. Deep within Clare, there's a fire and a spark of life to her, that contradicts her cold nature. She's driven by the memory of the Claymore who became her adopted mother, Teresa, along with others -- Raki, Ophelia, Jean, and Flora. She may act selfishly at times, but in reality, it's for the others she's come to relate to so much and vow revenge and protection on their part. Clare's actually very sympathetic, compassionate, and warmer than she lets on. And only few have been invoked this out of her and even then, Clare has her special way of showing it through dry humor.
Since Clare has walked around with bottled feelings up inside of her, she does have a temper, notably with the subject of Priscilla, as seen with Rubel and Riful mentioning the name. Guilty of throwing out every sense of rationale, and as stated, even her own humanity at times, which has left her open to leaving herself out in the open. She will simply stop it nothing, showing to throw away herself when her emotions are peaked. Read: her last battle with Priscilla, Clare was speaking from her heightened emotions and not thinking. The others have called her "spoiled" for a reason, holding high standards to what she does.
She is a great asset to her team. Despite her desire to break off from them sometimes, she cares for them, like sisters. If they are in mortal peril, Clare will drop everything and do what she can to protect them, hands down, without questioning it. She will do this for anyone in danger, she will take blows from a yoma to protect others. She has an undying loyalty to those she cares for. The would-be rebel who has a dislike of ranks and authority can be a great team player... when she wants to be, anyway. And if you harm them, Clare will become upset, guilty of holding her own emotions until they blow up at the most inconvenient time and being overcome with them.
She is also a skilled warrior with an inherent inferiority complex, always striving to be better, always focusing on becoming stronger. I say inferiority complex because Clare does truly take pride in her skills, tossing authority out the window, and makes a point to really go above and beyond with what she does. Obsessive about it? Yeah, that seems about right. Clare's patient, she will take all the time she needs to focus and hone in on her skills; it makes her stronger than others expected, and, well, to Clare herself, who's not aware of her own strength at times. Being a quarter blood hybrid instead of the standard half-blood and as well as the lowest rank, Clare has held herself to high standards and has pushed herself mentally and physically to climb the ladder. While she may act like a complete idiot at times, she has proven in her own way she can be a force to be reckoned with.
She may have forgotten what it was like to not hyper-focus on revenge, as it was obvious in the last showdown with Priscilla. Clare states she wanted to find Raki and bid him farewell. I doubt this completely; she was apart from Raki so long, she stifled and herself back from having a simple pleasure and commitment to truly protect someone. Raki was the only one, I think, who really invoked the human side of Clare, who showed her there was more to life than killing Priscilla. It's even more likely Clare wouldn't even know what to do with herself once her task is complete. Should she find Raki, I think, those feelings she felt to protect him will come back to her. I think he's very important in showing Clare her human side, much like the same accord to a younger Clare to Teresa, ironically.
So, in the end, no matter how emotionally suppressed she can be, Clare is... more human, more passionate than she lets on. And daresay, more than she knows. She may like to see herself as cold-hearted and uncaring, but Clare actually cares quite a bit, in an instant and her humanity can beckon her whenever she finds someone like Raki or Raki himself to pull her back down to earth. Clare is simply Clare, whether she is a loner or the woman who's shown to harbor more compassion than anyone expects from her. And in the end, despite losing limbs, being stabbed, nearly Awakening, Clare just cannot be deterred in what she does.
why do you feel this character would be appropriate to the setting?
Obviously, there's a number of Claymores in game. I've played Clare solo a few time in games, and she's surprisingly difficult without a canon mate. Canon mates are good because they will get her out and with them around, she'll be more comfortable and not so secluded to talk to others outside of her inner circle. And, well, Irene, Flora, Teresa, and Priscilla are absolutely pinnacle to her characterization and past.
Not to mention, Clare's perfect, because, hey, monsters and she slays them. That'll keep her busy. No Miria sadly means Clare will likely run wild... unless faceplanted by Teresa or Irene.
Writing Samples
Network Post Sample:
Latest entry in dear mun
Hellpointe: Clare trying to find a sword for Raki
Third Person Sample:
Clare and Hope at Hellpointe (probably one of my more favorite logs with her)
Hellpointe: MOM Y U GOTTA GO OUT
Hellpointe: Adventures in babysitting
Or this:
From that day on, it wasn’t a choice to stay in the northern lands, but requirement, sort of speak.Miria’s plan had successfully worked, to a degree - take the suppressions and play dead. Clare could recall the meetings down bellow one of the surviving buildings, before the final battle. All of the warriors gathered together for the last one and Miria sitting at table. They were so compliant with her, but they didn’t stand a damn chance against the army that Isely had put out.
She had barely thanked Deneve for knocking her back into focus at the final battle, quite literally. When everything was said and done, the smell of burnt wood, blood, iron, and flesh mingled in the air, in the wind blowing with the harsh snow. The last surviving seven had picked up and moved on, it seemed. Secretly, they all had to live in hiding in the northern lands, grabbing scraps of food, clothing, and armor when they could. Clare, true to herself, had a hard time accepting she was placed back into another division, another “hunting party”, sort of speak.
But was it any of surprise she was to be dictated by a superior for the rest of her life as a warrior? Life has a funny of repeating the tiring, same old things. Clare resented it for a number of reasons, one being that maybe, possibly…it was inhibiting?
The memories of practicing out in the snow, alone, after she insisted to the others frequently she preferred it, it’d help her concentrate better. Clare had trained harder than anyone, she felt; she refused to rest when told by the others. That day before they all departed, before Clare announced to the others she had the intention of finding Raki, she stopped and paused and looked down at her sword. The faint gleam over her emblem, she wondered how strong she became - blocking Miria’s sword swings weren’t going to mean anything against Awakeneds.
The same emblem glistened in the sun, a much warmer part of the continent as Clare was hoisting it on her back again.
Blocking sword swings did apparently mean something - she was able to take down Agatha, the former number two… with help, of course. She wondered if it would further mean anything if she fought on her own, without help.
Just once without help… but ah, alas, Miria had sent out Yuma and Cynthia with her after they departed Rabona. Miria was clearly not going to give her that option, not until Clare could find a way or an excuse to break off on her own - but Cynthia could easily catch up to her. Which is why Clare is treading behind them, currently, Cynthia apparently deemed herself worthy to lead them. As sweet as Cynthia was, Clare was already quite flustered with the order to go with her. This still hadn’t died out after departing Lacroix.
“It’s what she said, Clare,” Cynthia started breaking the silence, probably so that Yuma could feel comfortable-could she be any more tense? Clare wasn’t going to do anything to her…
“’Keep an eye on Clare, she has the habit of running off’. Which you do, by the way, Clare, I can’t count how many times you went off on your own in the north.”
“And now you’re accompanying me to find Renee,” Clare had a really good way of hiding her tone of annoyance, subtly, in her tone. Her face unchanged alongside Yuma, with Cynthia. “How we will explain that to Miria, I wonder.”
By now, they had left the town of Lacroix and the residents would be too afraid to say anything about their appearances and nor will the handlers and other Organization warriors remember them breezing through; only Rubel, unfortunately, Clare’s former handler. This was a suicide mission and Yuma seemed to be the only one straggling behind. She could sense the uneasiness-no, she could see it, it didn’t take sensing yoki, only watching their expressions.
“That is what we do, correct? Rescue our comrades? Even if they are employed by the Organization?”
Hesitantly, as Cynthia would take the lead again, she gave a nod.
“From an Aybssal One,” Yuma piped in from behind Clare.
“No matter what, we do owe it to Renee, Aybssal or not.”
The only thing Cynthia can do, especially for Yuma, as she turns to check on her, is smile, “No matter what, it’s what we’re the best with.”
Always smiling and always optimistic, Clare will give her that, even if she’s weary of doing this, at least Cynthia doesn’t turn it down. A moment passes and silence falls; no words are spoken, the only sound of their armor and footsteps going forward. “In other words, nothing from the unusual.”
Yuma offers a nervous chuckle and Cynthia smiles, “Nothing from the unusual.”
It’s true, in the end, suicidal mission or not, it’s not that much different from what they’ve faced with in the past. That is what keeps them going.
Anything else? Not really except TANTRUMS!!!