(scorched) application, revisions.
Out of Character Information
player name: Lisa
player livejournal: fruitsgrow
playing here: n/a shutupezio
where did you find us? /revolving door, sob.
are you sixteen years of age or older? y.
In Character Information
character name: Shirley
fandom: Legend of Dragoon
timeline: somewhere between the end of chapter three (disc three) and chapter four (disc four)
character's age: well over 10,000 - she is nearly twelve millennia old, actually, but when asked, Shirley's answer varies, mostly because Legend of Dragoon varies in its own reference to the amount of time passed since the creation of Dragoons. ...basically, what I mean is I attempt to reflect canon in this answer!
powers, skills, pets, and equipment:See here, please! Shirley's ability post contains a list of her combative skills, magical power (as seen in canon as well as inferred, which I expanded upon in game, so her powers are, hopefully!, not considered new - plus, notes of what the Mist has disabled), and her, ah, "pet" that doubles as equipment. The White-Silver Dragon Stone did not arrive with her in her previous stays; the stone was gifted by the Door, during the Shadows of History event, and remained in her possession following the event. This time, the Dragon will arrive as she does and in her possession.
Regarding clarifications and revisions:
1. I got away with myself! The same abilities information exists on thenobledie, though it wasn't, originally, posted as early as April. Sorry, I don't recall when I edited the post... I didn't mean to seem "AND SUDDENLY, ALL THE MAGIC." I started poking at her magic because it's one of the few venues available for exploring her character, and the more I poked, the more it seemed natural, imo. But excluding her shapeshifting and healing, she rarely used magic, and she's a bit on the lazy bitch side to use much more. I did my best to avoid abuse, nevermind usage of most, of her abilities; she used her Dragoon magic a total of two times, and the first time, the battle wasn't much of a curbstomp at all. I always work with other players about her power and where it is wanted, if at all.
2. The abilities she displays in canon are bizarro clairvoyance (that may be due to her state of...ghosthood), abilities known to be of ghosthood, shapeshifting, and a handful of spells: Heal, Transfer, Dancing Ray, and binding spirits to a physical environment. I apologize for not being clear before! The Dragoon spells listed are the same as both her successors; the original Dragoons display the exact spells used by the playable Dragoons, if with differently detailed graphics, and the end effect is the same. I should note Dancing Ray is a spell that is useable by any magic user, and the other nonDragoon spells listed (such as Translight and Spectral Flash) are as well.
So I got to these conclusions because of how she casts magic - it isn't uniform like the playable characters' magic, much like (other) magically-inclined NPCs. Which I realize (uh, now) may not make sense if you haven't played the game.
How magic is used, from a narrative standpoint, is based on innate ability. Winglies are the only known race of peoples to have an innate ability to use magic; they are born magic users and powerful ones at that with no need for things like potions. Humans are, on the other hand, loser muggles; they can only use magic by potion, creature, or device. Basically, they need an aid of some sort in order to even hope to use magic, and even then, their magic use may be particularly miserable. Therefore, to use magic in gameplay, you gotta buy dem potions. Even for the Wingly in your party! Because she is a terrible magic user by Wingly standards, and her attempts to fly leave her breathless like she just ran a mile. (Otherwise, Meru would have been a serious godmodder and, you know, gameplay integration!!)
The really interesting thing is that, when characters without innate ability use a potion, they throw it, and you can see the sparkle sail through the air and land. These characters include Human party members, Meru (who may have been a genetic crapshoot but is, otherwise, the sole Wingly shown to use common magic as a potion), Human guards, and even some monsters. When characters with innate power use the same magic, it's like a spell cast or summon. One Wingly draws symbols in the air, and some monsters cast spells via swirled circles before their body. Shirley herself makes no indication that she has even used magic until the spell begins.
Whether these are really spells, potions, or a summon of a potion that becomes a spell thereby making magic use a matter of traveling by elbow to get to your ass - idk! Obviously, I refer to them as spells, but they are interchangeable, mostly.
But this is the basis for including additional spells like Translight and Spectral Flash as well as her healing including drug-neutralization (such are potions available for use in gameplay). It seems like a natural extension of how her magic operates, whether it be caused by her race or her state of being or something the creators failed to tell us.
3. Oh, also! Describing her clairvoyance as a matter of "listening" or "speaking" is creative license on my part.
4. Again, apologies for being unclear about canon and interpertation. These interpretations not being acceptable, TO THE MIST. /breathes heavily
canon history:So Legend of Dragoon is a fantasy-driven video game; centered on a useless male protagonist, the story is, primarily, about women. Women run this joint; women protect this joint; and women will decide if we blow this joint. Which is well and good but the women of this world - the story takes place on a continent called Endiness, and the nations of Endiness are a smörgåsbord of the real world, but no, of course. We never hear the planet's name! - have to deal with asshole men, fucking shit up as they go. Seriously, you spend three discs of this game, thinking you are out to curbstomp some assholes in it for...well, something, and then! Then, you reach the end of disc three, and no. LoD is a cosmic horror story, and not only do you have to punch out Cthulhu, you have to give God the middle finger. Why anyone in this story believes they will go to Heaven is beyond me, but I suspect some people were perfectly fine to be ignorant of God's plans before they were pinballed across Endiness.
Of the faces of Eve, Shirley is a crone: she has much to give but little to say and even less to feel. By the present timeline, she is a ghost of a collapsed shrine, and for the plot to progress, she is the only hope. Her future successor, Shana, is poisoned by a Dragon; to cure her, the party must find a Dragoni Plant - supposedly, located in Shirley's Shrine. Naturally, the only hope is not sunshine and daises, though.
First, it's a pain in the ass to walk about the ruins. Monsters are e v e r y w h e r e, and shit, man, you just want to find the clues to the lock on the second and third level. But no! Not only do monsters make this trip difficult, the shrine is boobytrapped every step of the way - one even includes a primitive rail ride that dumps your ass into the lake surrounding the shrine. Eventually, you figure it out, and you beat the hell out of the bandit jackass responsible for the shitty ride. (No ticket refunds, though.) Then, Shirley appears. Want the plant? Oh, sorry. She has none, but she does have this handy, shiny rock that can neutralize Dragon poison. Want that? Prove yourself. If the party can overcome her, they may have the cure; if not, Shana is to die. It's that simple. And you know what? It's not even a battle. It's some sheath your sword, impossible to win fight, and they have to give the philosophical answers Shirley deems correct.
SURPRISE, they give the right answers. They receive the White-Silver Dragon Stone, curing Shana and advancing the plot into further convolution. Trusting Rose's word, the rest of the party assumes Shirley has, finally, passed onto Heaven. Oh, dear. We will never see the hottest dead woman again...
- haha, no. She appears before the cosmic horror reveals itself, asking a "favor" of Rose: free the tormented spirits in the Dragoon Towers. They are both hers and Rose's old comrades and require assassinate in passing on. It is a sidequest, at least, but Shirley appears every time you pass the towers and, story-wise, is very insistent you free those souls. This, however, is truly the last time Shirley is seen in the present timeline; and there is absolutely no indication of where she has gone, but I, legitimately, have no idea how anyone thinks she, or her comrades, are chilling in Heaven.
(Like, really. Guys, you openly defy God. What makes you think he wants you in his parts!)
Now, we are going to backpedal a bit, and by a bit, I mean 10,000 years.
A long, long time ago - no, wait. The world of Legend of Dragoon begins with the Tree of Life, otherwise known as the Divine Tree; the Divine Tree births all life, and from its fruit, Humans and Winglies spring forth. Apparently, LoD's creators are seriously optimistic about humanity because humans are simple and peaceful people - they aren't dickbags, no way. That's on Winglies! Winglies are a humanoid species of people, albino and born to use magic. Maybe the magic corrupts them, maybe they were meant to be assholes per God's plan, but assholes, they are. Their leadership dominates Endiness, and the lands beyond it, enslaving race after race of people.
This unchallenged power does not last, though, because born from the Divine Tree are Dragons as well. Humans learn to harness their magic, becoming Knights of the Dragon - or, did you guess!?, Dragoons; and with this power, they wage war of unimaginable magnitude. Only seven Humans are chosen to wage said war, but they unite under Holy Emperor Diaz of Gloriano (the only known free land during the Wingly Reign of Terror) and kick some major booty. So goes the Dragon Campaign.
It's not so simple, but the fact the campaign is, in actuality, a civil war that happens to benefit the rest of the world is a little unnecessary for Shirley's history. Whether she knew or not is moot. Whether she verbs anything is moot. Her existence before "shit, we need a magic plant" is characterized by two things: by being the original White-Silver Dragoon and by other people. Again and again, we hear how noble she is. So noble, in fact, the original Golden Dragoon loved her; and he loved her so deeply, he died for her. She died, then, too - avenging his death and obliterating his body, her own, and a monster's in the process. (Good job, Shirley. You verbed something!) The Dark Dragoon knew her as a savior. The Violet Dragoon knew her as a woman that recruited him for a just cause. The world knew her as a hero.
But we really don't know about Shirley.
personality:BLAH BLAH BLAH. SHIRLEY, YOU BITCH.
Oh, okay.
Once upon a time, Shirley was a person: a real person, imagine that! We hear a lot about how "noble" she was from her adoring harem, and her official profile only says, of her personality, that she was disagreeable with violence. She was the picture of a saint: compassionate but righteous. Perhaps even a maternal figure to her younger comrades. We do hear that she is what kept this ragtag, sociopathic group together, after all!
Her reputation seems clouded with more dirt than that, though. Mainly because she is responsible for recruiting Kanzas, and Kanzas... He, straight up, creeps out a woman that commits murder every 108 years, which is saying a lot! He is, like, a borderline serial killer! Nevermind that for a person so sensitive to war, Shirley has a repertoire of skills at her disposal to, well, dispose of others. So maybe she was, stupidly, trusting of people, or maybe she took any length to accomplish her goals.
She does die with a comrade, and it speaks volumes of her loyalty to person or cause because we don't even know if she loved him! Did she die to be with him? Or did she die to avenge someone who would have avenged her?
Well, hard to say if it matters now because that was a long time ago. A long, long time ago. Ten thousand fucking years long time ago.
Which is a long time to exist, conscious or even half-conscious, and Shirley is much like any other character in LoD this aged: numb. She is a woman with a purpose, but her purpose is all she acts of - nothing ruffles her, and nothing happies, saddens, excites, frightens, verbs her now. She exists at a state of being, and nothing else. (Maybe, like Rose, she has simply forgotten how to be anything but her purpose.) Objectively, she understands accepted emotional responses: seeing an old friend? Pleasing, happy. Someone dying? Sorrowful. And so on. But her capacity to be moved has been greatly reduced. She is utterly callous in the face of need. She is unapologetic in her cruelty. She is forceful in her teaching.
It's a neutral state of good, where good is not nice but good understands the world, because Shirley is still the same woman made of virtue as before. Callous but she helps. Shana lives, if even by condition, because she is asked; Drake, for all he has done to protect her peace. Cruel but she means well. Her comrades must be saved, and one cannot fight without remembering one's values. Forceful but she knows best. Remember loved ones. Waste not time with revenge. (Personal experience, Shirley?) Question the world. Sacrifice but sacrifice for the good.
She cares, in some strange way, so she doesn't let the world suffer when it doesn't have to. ...not that she goes out of her way for many matters, either, though. Does she know what will happen? (She is a clairvoyant, after all.) Is her moral focus so narrow? Is her morality too Blue and Orange to be Black and White? Shirley, are you a raging bitch that laughs at people when they're down? Who the fuck knows. I bet Shirley doesn't even know. CREATORS, WHY YOU DO THIS?
No matter why (I ascribe to "all of the above," though.), her casual cruelty is remarkable. In addition her previously mentioned actions, Shirley asks, specifically, Rose to free their comrades. Rose may be old as dirt, but these are, still, people she cares for; Shirley punches her in the emotional gut, makes no apologies, and disappears as quick as she appears. She had a reason, sure, and possibly wanted to help Rose find her emotions, but damn, not even an apology? Girl, that's cold. You cold.
why do you feel this character would be appropriate to the setting? Staying in one place for a hella long time? Par for the course.
Previously Played Information
previous game: Scorched
length of time: 31 August - 10 October, 20 February - 11 October
important development and events:So Anatole happened.
Like Rose, Shirley is an exercise in numbness that can be broken down, and where Rose's psychology has been flattened by centuries upon centuries of massacre, Shirley's psychology is flattened by centuries upon centuries of loneliness. Maybe she sought the solitude for a reason, but thrown into a city, small in comparison to a world you can't see, she proved she only needed reminders.
People in Anatole, slowly, broke Shirley of this stone bitchiness. She ignores the morally questionable in people, still, and she has twisted ways of guiding people, too, but she was given a good, hard shake that she is a person. People have feelings, Shirley. You have feelings. Embrace the feelings!
...this didn't work, though. You open your heart after a long time, and it's like statistics you will get your heart stomped on; there is good, of course, but the good seems like a giant cocktease in comparison. Shirley knows better, but you can't really know when you feel different. First, Belzac, the old flame that died for her, appeared during the Shadows of History event, and shadow or not, he reminded Shirley of who she use to be: compassionate without the strings attached and involved in the world. Then, Remus Lupin appealed to her nature as a healer, and she decided, why not? Why not discover if I'm who I was or if I'm a monster? And that's when people got under her skin - the worst part about it, though, is she doesn't relate to the world as it is but as it was for her. So people aren't people; they're a version of her comrades, her family, her loved ones, and when they leave again, it fucking hurts.
She managed for a while, you know, but then, Shirley was affected by the Turn Back the Clock event in all her player's infinite wisdom. When it was all done and over, she remembered a lot: her family, her childhood, her comrades, her war, her everything. It's a shock to the system! It shakes things up. So when Ezio Auditore, someone that was under her skin as he was, disappeared, she...pretty much lost it. Like, "hey, you know what is a good idea? Walking into the Mist and wishing this all away!" lost it.
Humanity? Rejected!
Anatole is good for her, though, because here is this woman. Shirley has waited millennia for her comrades to be released, and even if that is her sole reason for her wait, what do you do when such a long cause is finished? You get lost, and you get confused, and you sit in a place like Anatole, learning to gather yourself to do... Something. Anything. Going home, even for a second, was good, too, though. Because it's where she knows she belongs, if only as home, and she can look back and realize, her time is over.
Once, when Lupin recruited her to play clinic staff, she thought that maybe Anatole is her new "war:" to challenge herself and to shake off the false peace she had in her shrine. And it's cool because she is here again, and she isn't going to do it without falling on her face a few times, but this time, she will learn to embrace humanity. Shirley was a hot mess before, but we're going to take it slow now.
It takes baby steps, and it takes sacrifice, and it takes time, and it's scary as hell. But hey, she gave God the middle finger. What can't she do?
notes: She will not remember Anatole!! If or when (because on second thought, it will be good plot sdlkfjsd) she restores her memories, the character growth I intend will still apply, so I guess it's, like, long-term characterization plans. YOU WILL BE A PERSON AGAIN, SHIRLEY. One...day... idk why I continue to talk about this; that isn't what the Important Development and Event section is for, lmfao.
Writing Samples
Network Post Sample: Here, totaling 166 comments.
Third Person Sample: Here, totaling 611 words.
Anything else? I totally forgot to mention I am still using Bryce Dallas Howard as a PB! But I guess that much is obvious... As you can see, I will be using a new journal for her, so I suppose this means she will receive a new Forge! L-lastly, as I mentioned, the White-Silver Dragon Stone will arrive in her possession this time. I mean, if the application is acceptable. ...this time.