( scorched app ; ophelia ; claymore )
Out of Character Information
player name: Amber
player livejournal: bentley
playing here: Arthur & Theon
where did you find us? cupboard under the stairs
are you 16 years of age or older?: hell yes
In Character Information
character name: Ophelia. (Number 4, "Rippling" Ophelia.)
Fandom: Claymore.
Timeline: After getting her ass kicked by Irene, but before fully Awakening. (After ch36.)
character's age: Ophelia hadn't joined the Organization by the time Priscilla awakened, and was young enough to need protection from her big brother. Clare, who was only young when Priscilla Awakened, is 18-20 at the point in the manga she meets Ophelia, so let's say 18.
powers, skills, pets and equipment:
Ophelia is a silver-eyed warrior, called Claymores for their ability to wield the great sword one-handed, a race of women whose bodies have taken in the blood of monsters (yoma) to give them greater power. She has the standard training and abilities of all her kind.
This includes basic immunity to toxins including alcohol; the ability to live without the need for much food, drink or sleep; increased strength, speed and stamina; the ability to use the yoki energy that is the monster in her to make herself even stronger, faster, or more resilient, or channel it into special attacks. As an Offensive type, Ophelia can release this energy to heal herself, including reattaching limbs, but it takes effort and concentration and is far more draining than to a Defensive type, who could regenerate flesh whole. Ophelia can also heal broken bones quite quickly, for example she fixes her neck after it's been twisted around 180 degrees.
Her special ability was invented by her because she wanted a nickname like other Claymores have. It involves her undulating her sword arm rapidly (presumably by channeling yoki into it) which gives her blade the appearance of rippling. The optical illusion it creates and unusual movements of the blade makes blocking, countering and yoki "forecasting" extremely difficult.
In terms of training, it's implied the Organization trains warriors in combat strategy as well as fighting with their sword, and given they tend to throw untested girls in the deep end Ophelia's climb to number four has given her plenty of on-the-job experience. The Organization also teaches Claymores subterfuge, and Ophelia is quite a good actress.
The Claymore databook gives her these ratings:Yoki: A
Agility: A
Muscular Strength: A
Spirit: C
Perception: B+
Leadership: C
She's bringing her sword and armor.
canon history: THE TERRIBLE CLAYMORE WIKI
personality:
Ophelia is bitterly sadistic due to the self-sacrifice of her brother at an early age. She has a temper and it is ignited by two things: people who risk themselves to save another person, which she thinks of as "weak" (presumably to help her cope with her grief) and Awakened Beings, specifically Priscilla who was the "one-horned demon" that killed Ophelia's brother. Like Clare, this act made her seek revenge, and though she did not actively recruit herself to the Organization she embraced her role in it and moved swiftly up the ranks to number four.
Ophelia's temper only reveals itself as anger in extreme circumstances, however. Most of the time she is all sweetness and light. This is because Ophelia enjoys games, subterfuge, acting and tricking people. Her sadism extends into her sense of humour, so seeing the expression of shock and horror on someone's face when she reveals a ruse is one of her greatest joys.
So upon first impression, Ophelia is, if a little deprecatory and a little condescending, friendly enough for a Claymore. She seems well-bred and curious to know more about people. However she will quickly discard this disguise whenever it feels appropriate to her. That's not to say that Ophelia doesn't have a sweetness in her - in truth, at her very core she is someone with a strong belief (to kill Awakened Beings) and she is selfishly loyal to that belief, but she can also appreciate and help people who share that belief.
However in between these two sweetnesses is a harsh, vulgar bitch. Ophelia is bloodthirsty (quite literally) and passionate as very few Claymores are. She is willing to get up close and personal with another to make them uncomfortable, and she's probably the most sexual of the unawakened Claymores. She has no interest in any external rules and works with the organization for her own interests - hunting Awakened Beings, refusing to hunt ordinary yoma - rather than out of any desire to protect humans. It's strongly implied that she has killed humans and simply ensured there were no survivors to report back to the Organization, and certainly she was blithely responsible for Hilda's awful fate, allowing her to Awaken so as to provide sport rather than letting her die as a human as she wished.
Ophelia's games involve bloodshed, too. She likes to put a person in between two impossible choices, and her fighting style (not including the rippling blade) is that of a cat playing with a mouse. This holds true even in her fight against the Awakened Being, who says that Ophelia is the true monster. She is blithe about her own injuries, and arrogant to the extreme in her abilities. At least, until she is defeated.
In the same way that Priscilla awakens because of her fragile mental state and the blow to her pride, Ophelia's injuries are not the sole cause of her Awakening. It is Irene's defeat of her - coming out of nowhere and ruining her fun - that turns her sullen and violent. In short, Ophelia's a bad sport.
Her great tragedy is, of course, that she Awakens: it is as an Awakened Being that we see more of Ophelia's human and vulnerable side than we ever did when she was truly human. She clings to her humanity until she realizes she has become what she hates, and then she tries to help her killer, Clare, projecting her own issues onto her. Projection is a major flaw of Ophelia's.
why do you feel this character would be appropriate to the setting?
DO I SERIOUSLY HAVE TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION. Claymores and Scorched are the perfect match.
Writing Samples
Network Post Sample:
My my, what's all this?
[ If you've lived in Anatole for a while, those women with silver eyes and blonde hair are probably a commonplace sight on the Forges by now. But this one is new. Well, for a certain definition of new. If you recognize her, she certainly doesn't seem to recognize her surroundings, glancing off to the side, touching a finger delicately to her cheek. ]
This certainly is a strange city I've found myself in. And populated by such interesting people.
[ Her tone has a slight dryness to it on the word "interesting". But her eyes are wide and friendly. ]
I see I'm not the only person waking up somewhere new, either. Let's play a little game! If I can find my way to where you are in under a minute, you have to tell me something you know about the city.
[ A little smile, and she tosses her braid, her eyelashes lowering a little. ]
Because really, human, warrior, or Awakened Being - I prefer to meet in person.
Third Person Sample:
It hurts.
Not just the wounds - she's felt her spine crack, lost limbs, felt joints pop out of their sockets. Pain doesn't bother her much anymore. No, what burns through her is the failure. Ophelia is twisted up inside like she's a little girl again, watching her brother run forward to die. That little girl was spoiled then and she's spoiled now, and she doesn't like to have her games interrupted.
That impossible bitch. Stealing her kill away from her, daring to protect an Awakened Being? Ophelia's yoki flares and she kicks over the dresser with a snarl and a crash. The flow of energy to her wounds feels good, soothing.
Where the hell is she, anyway? Some shitty hotel, by the looks of things. She doesn't remember how she got here, but hadn't she passed out for a bit, back in the forest? It's not totally unlikely that some do-gooder has dragged her to supposed safety. But she would have made it just fine on her own. She's always made it just fine on her own. Even the Organization knows that by now - that's probably why they send her extra Awakened Beings instead of real back-up.
As though she's going to do something as demeaning as sit around waiting for her rescuer to return and be thanked.
Ophelia opens the door, and if her movements are warier now, her yoki is still a haphazard pulse around her, eyes gold and nails claws, the veins stretching under her skin. She doesn't really notice - the heat of it mixes with the heat of her anger, as she stalks down the corridor of the Outislander apartments, and out into a world so totally unfamiliar that for a moment she forgets about her grudge, her wounds, her darkness and pain. There's only the shock of seeing snow - just how far is she from home!? - and the electricity, the people, the strangeness of this new world around her.
Anything else? I'd like to have her arrive past her limit and maybe have some of the rest of the cast calm her back to a "partial Awakening" state, giving her a life debt.