Application: Niteo Nix
PLAYER
Name/Handle: Jabberwocky Ai
Contact: AIM: JabbersSekrit
Plurk: Alex_Mercer
Email: Jabberwockyai@gmail.com
Personal LJ: “jabberart”
CHARACTER
Name: Yorda
Series: ICO
Canon: OU
Age: Unknown. She appears somewhere around 14-15.
Timeline: Right at the end as the castle is falling around her.
History: Yorda's history is vague to put things nicely. The game is obstinate about giving any sort of outright exposition on her origins, though from what is seen they're rather straightforward. Her mother is an evil sorceress (you can tell she's evil because she's covered in shadow) who has children with horns brought to her crumbling fortress to be sacrificed for some vague reason that likely ties in to the events in Shadow of the Colossus. A lot of things have to be assumed or guessed at so I'm going by headcanon from what I've observed in the game. Yorda is likely not a daughter in the 'traditional' sense. After all, her mother doesn't seem to be human (or could have very little humanity remaining if you belong to those who believe the Sorceress is Mono possessed by Dormin which I do). Yorda is more like a construct with a very singular purpose: The Sorceress's power is fading and she is dying. She needs a new body. Now, my speculation is that the sacrificed children are brought to the castle for the very rite that would create Yorda. When Ico was brought to the castle, she had already been made, so the Sorceress, while not keen to let him run about, wasn't too fussed at the prospect of him getting away. On several occasions she even offers him his freedom, though he refused, determined to escape with Yorda or die trying.
Yorda herself has a limited history. She was born/made with the express purpose of being a vessel for her mother's rebirth and has never set foot outside the castle. It's very likely, in fact, that she has never set foot outside the cage Ico found her in, considering the castle was just shy of being a ruin and Yorda is... accident prone. It's unlikely the sorceress would want her future body jeopardizing itself by accidentally falling off a ledge.
Yorda's life of imprisonment came to an end when Ico set her free. In spite of their language barrier, they found common ground in wanting to see the outside world and worked together, braving the decrepit and dangerous passageways of the castle.
But the sorceress, ever watchful was well aware of her daughter's attempts to free herself. She would send her shadowy minions to thwart their escape and even put in her own appearance twice. Once to warn her daughter that escaping was useless, and a second to personally stop Ico and Yorda from getting away. She split the bridge towards the outside world, Yorda on the castle side and Ico on the side to freedom. Ico, refusing to leave without his companion made a leap of faith and Yorda caught him. Showing grit hitherto unseen, Yorda in a severely weakened state, pulls him up with one hand. Only as her mother turns her to stone is she forced to let go.
Ico, having survived the fall miraculously, wormed his way back into the castle, and confronted the Sorceress with a sword that gave off a similar light to Yorda's. That sword utterly dominated her, even in the hands of a twelve year old boy, though he was knocked out after the fight.
The Sorceress's magic faded, Yorda is released from her stone prison, but looking the worse for wear. She's literally a shadow of herself, more like the wraiths that served her mother than her ghostly pale self. But she seems to still be in her right mind, finding Ico in the Queen's chamber and taking him to the docks where she sets him adrift, away from the castle that is crumbling in on itself. She remained behind as the only life she knew crumbled around her.
Ico awoke on the nearby shoreline, sore and battered but alive. Alone and fearing the worst, he scoured the shoreline for any sign of his companion.
Fortune favoured Ico for once in his sad, cursed existence. Yorda miraculously survived and was washed ashore, unconscious but whole. And still incomprehensible.
Personality: Yorda is a strange little creature. Ethereal, dreamlike, and evocative of more modern interpretations of elves and such, she fits the image of a fairy tale princess perfectly. Having been caged her whole life, she exhibits perpetual curiosity and a fascination with birds. She's occasionally distracted, but she's smart enough to understand how much danger they're in (perhaps even more-so than Ico) and does her best not to be too much of a burden. She's a bit clumsy, and kind, though she has all the determination Ico possesses to escape.
Because she is so naïve, she's easily trusting of others even if she shouldn't trust them so much. She's also on the claustrophobic side- having gotten a taste of freedom she's reluctant to be in small enclosed spaces for very long. Her curiosity leads her to get into just about everything, rather like a ferret so she is prone to trouble. She's the sort of person who's comfortable being alone but would prefer to be around people and will do her best to make others happy.
Abilities/Additional Notes: Yorda's powers are almost entirely non-offense base. Nor defense. Nor healing. Her light reacts to pillars, opening them, and hidden walkways, revealing them. My thoughts is that her light pertains to truth; she opens what's locked and shows what is hidden. A fitting gift for a girl practically defined by her curiosity. This magic doesn't work on non-magic doors however. The only offensive capabilities is that bursts of her light dispel the shadowy wraith minions of her Mother.
Third-Person Sample: Thin yellow rays of sunlight stabbed through the canopy of ivy growing over where the ceiling used to be. Dustmotes floated between the light and shadow, serene and unnoticed by anything but the strange, ethereal creature laying on the cold, concrete floor amidst the rubble. Yorda held up her hand, flexing long fingers, and briefly amused herself by waving her hand around to disrupt the dance of the dustmotes.
She picked herself up slowly from the pile of debris, gangly and uncertain on her feet. Appearance-wise she was a girl in the awkward throes of adolescence that no unearthly light and supernatural beauty could smooth out. She was clumsy and strange, and most of all, she was confused.
This was not the castle. She would know if it was. Nor was this the shore. And the boy with horns was not anywhere to be seen.
This made her anxious, but not quite panicky. Yorda didn't know how to panic because it had never been an option. Her situation had always been one of acceptance. Panic didn't factor into her nature. Mother couldn't have a vessel that would startle easily.
She turned around on the spot, taking in her surroundings. It was a decrepit building, and while she didn't recognize it specifically, she had an immediate sense of familiarity. She was sure there were buildings in the world that weren't falling to pieces, as they had to have been whole and new at some point before falling into disrepair, but she had never seen them in that early state.
It was then she noticed the strange device on the floor and a cacophony of language in her ear she didn't understand. Startled, she threw it down, rubbing her ears gingerly. The tinny static sound of the voices hurt her ears. Worse still, she felt very strange. There was an overwhelming sensation of pressure, a feeling of something wrong, closing in around her. She recalled the pits of shadow her Mother's servants rose from, how sometimes the boy with horns would be so preoccupied that she would get snatched and dragged under. It was that same cloying sensation. Wrong. Twisted.
"Iindal..." she said to no one in particular, and started towards what looked to be a likely way out of here.
First-Person Sample Journal Post:
Entry 1 - Yorda is not Windows Compatable.
[She hasn't the foggiest idea what the thing is she's holding. There are things that get pressed that make other things happen. Voices come up occasionally, incomprehensible to the strange girl. Or perhaps she is simply the incomprehensable one. She fiddles around with random buttons, selecting unfamiliar writings that look interesting to her. She likes the circles which she can make big and small:]
oooOOOOoooooooOOooOOooOOOoooOOOOOOOOO
[Aaaaand there's one with a tail!]
Qq QQQ
[Interesting. She can make it's body bigger or it's tail longer!]
QQQQQQQQQQQQq1
[Inadvertantly she manages to flip through various language functions and she pushes buttons, until something familiar suddenly comes up. Hieroglyphs that she knows intrinsically. It is part of the language that defines her- magic seeps from them striking the very core of her being. Forbidden writing only she and her Mother could use. Her Mother, however, had the fortune of knowing the words spoken outside the castle. Yorda was never supposed to leave the walls nor have contact with any of the inhabitants. So the only language she knows is one forbidden to all but those with the power to control it. She ponders a long time, and then chooses her words carefully. If he is around and sees this, she'll doubt he'll know what it says, but she's sure he'll recognize it and know what it means]
Boy With Horns [One may find that there are other translations such as 'Cursed Boy', 'Cursed Child', or 'Cursed Descendent']
Alive.
Seeking.
[Yorda stops for a moment, and then selects a rune in the shape of a bird. It would be absolutely meaningless in context of the message, but the Boy With Horns would recall her fascination for the flocks of crows and pigeons and sparrows that made their home in the crumbling towers of the castle. He would know who left the message.]
Open [Other translation options appear such as 'Height' or 'Above']
[Satisfied, she goes back to fiddling with the thing. Enjoy a long string of nonsense as Yorda inadvertantly spams the hell out of the text options because buttons are cool!]
Name/Handle: Jabberwocky Ai
Contact: AIM: JabbersSekrit
Plurk: Alex_Mercer
Email: Jabberwockyai@gmail.com
Personal LJ: “jabberart”
CHARACTER
Name: Yorda
Series: ICO
Canon: OU
Age: Unknown. She appears somewhere around 14-15.
Timeline: Right at the end as the castle is falling around her.
History: Yorda's history is vague to put things nicely. The game is obstinate about giving any sort of outright exposition on her origins, though from what is seen they're rather straightforward. Her mother is an evil sorceress (you can tell she's evil because she's covered in shadow) who has children with horns brought to her crumbling fortress to be sacrificed for some vague reason that likely ties in to the events in Shadow of the Colossus. A lot of things have to be assumed or guessed at so I'm going by headcanon from what I've observed in the game. Yorda is likely not a daughter in the 'traditional' sense. After all, her mother doesn't seem to be human (or could have very little humanity remaining if you belong to those who believe the Sorceress is Mono possessed by Dormin which I do). Yorda is more like a construct with a very singular purpose: The Sorceress's power is fading and she is dying. She needs a new body. Now, my speculation is that the sacrificed children are brought to the castle for the very rite that would create Yorda. When Ico was brought to the castle, she had already been made, so the Sorceress, while not keen to let him run about, wasn't too fussed at the prospect of him getting away. On several occasions she even offers him his freedom, though he refused, determined to escape with Yorda or die trying.
Yorda herself has a limited history. She was born/made with the express purpose of being a vessel for her mother's rebirth and has never set foot outside the castle. It's very likely, in fact, that she has never set foot outside the cage Ico found her in, considering the castle was just shy of being a ruin and Yorda is... accident prone. It's unlikely the sorceress would want her future body jeopardizing itself by accidentally falling off a ledge.
Yorda's life of imprisonment came to an end when Ico set her free. In spite of their language barrier, they found common ground in wanting to see the outside world and worked together, braving the decrepit and dangerous passageways of the castle.
But the sorceress, ever watchful was well aware of her daughter's attempts to free herself. She would send her shadowy minions to thwart their escape and even put in her own appearance twice. Once to warn her daughter that escaping was useless, and a second to personally stop Ico and Yorda from getting away. She split the bridge towards the outside world, Yorda on the castle side and Ico on the side to freedom. Ico, refusing to leave without his companion made a leap of faith and Yorda caught him. Showing grit hitherto unseen, Yorda in a severely weakened state, pulls him up with one hand. Only as her mother turns her to stone is she forced to let go.
Ico, having survived the fall miraculously, wormed his way back into the castle, and confronted the Sorceress with a sword that gave off a similar light to Yorda's. That sword utterly dominated her, even in the hands of a twelve year old boy, though he was knocked out after the fight.
The Sorceress's magic faded, Yorda is released from her stone prison, but looking the worse for wear. She's literally a shadow of herself, more like the wraiths that served her mother than her ghostly pale self. But she seems to still be in her right mind, finding Ico in the Queen's chamber and taking him to the docks where she sets him adrift, away from the castle that is crumbling in on itself. She remained behind as the only life she knew crumbled around her.
Ico awoke on the nearby shoreline, sore and battered but alive. Alone and fearing the worst, he scoured the shoreline for any sign of his companion.
Fortune favoured Ico for once in his sad, cursed existence. Yorda miraculously survived and was washed ashore, unconscious but whole. And still incomprehensible.
Personality: Yorda is a strange little creature. Ethereal, dreamlike, and evocative of more modern interpretations of elves and such, she fits the image of a fairy tale princess perfectly. Having been caged her whole life, she exhibits perpetual curiosity and a fascination with birds. She's occasionally distracted, but she's smart enough to understand how much danger they're in (perhaps even more-so than Ico) and does her best not to be too much of a burden. She's a bit clumsy, and kind, though she has all the determination Ico possesses to escape.
Because she is so naïve, she's easily trusting of others even if she shouldn't trust them so much. She's also on the claustrophobic side- having gotten a taste of freedom she's reluctant to be in small enclosed spaces for very long. Her curiosity leads her to get into just about everything, rather like a ferret so she is prone to trouble. She's the sort of person who's comfortable being alone but would prefer to be around people and will do her best to make others happy.
Abilities/Additional Notes: Yorda's powers are almost entirely non-offense base. Nor defense. Nor healing. Her light reacts to pillars, opening them, and hidden walkways, revealing them. My thoughts is that her light pertains to truth; she opens what's locked and shows what is hidden. A fitting gift for a girl practically defined by her curiosity. This magic doesn't work on non-magic doors however. The only offensive capabilities is that bursts of her light dispel the shadowy wraith minions of her Mother.
Third-Person Sample: Thin yellow rays of sunlight stabbed through the canopy of ivy growing over where the ceiling used to be. Dustmotes floated between the light and shadow, serene and unnoticed by anything but the strange, ethereal creature laying on the cold, concrete floor amidst the rubble. Yorda held up her hand, flexing long fingers, and briefly amused herself by waving her hand around to disrupt the dance of the dustmotes.
She picked herself up slowly from the pile of debris, gangly and uncertain on her feet. Appearance-wise she was a girl in the awkward throes of adolescence that no unearthly light and supernatural beauty could smooth out. She was clumsy and strange, and most of all, she was confused.
This was not the castle. She would know if it was. Nor was this the shore. And the boy with horns was not anywhere to be seen.
This made her anxious, but not quite panicky. Yorda didn't know how to panic because it had never been an option. Her situation had always been one of acceptance. Panic didn't factor into her nature. Mother couldn't have a vessel that would startle easily.
She turned around on the spot, taking in her surroundings. It was a decrepit building, and while she didn't recognize it specifically, she had an immediate sense of familiarity. She was sure there were buildings in the world that weren't falling to pieces, as they had to have been whole and new at some point before falling into disrepair, but she had never seen them in that early state.
It was then she noticed the strange device on the floor and a cacophony of language in her ear she didn't understand. Startled, she threw it down, rubbing her ears gingerly. The tinny static sound of the voices hurt her ears. Worse still, she felt very strange. There was an overwhelming sensation of pressure, a feeling of something wrong, closing in around her. She recalled the pits of shadow her Mother's servants rose from, how sometimes the boy with horns would be so preoccupied that she would get snatched and dragged under. It was that same cloying sensation. Wrong. Twisted.
"Iindal..." she said to no one in particular, and started towards what looked to be a likely way out of here.
First-Person Sample Journal Post:
Entry 1 - Yorda is not Windows Compatable.
[She hasn't the foggiest idea what the thing is she's holding. There are things that get pressed that make other things happen. Voices come up occasionally, incomprehensible to the strange girl. Or perhaps she is simply the incomprehensable one. She fiddles around with random buttons, selecting unfamiliar writings that look interesting to her. She likes the circles which she can make big and small:]
oooOOOOoooooooOOooOOooOOOoooOOOOOOOOO
[Aaaaand there's one with a tail!]
Qq QQQ
[Interesting. She can make it's body bigger or it's tail longer!]
QQQQQQQQQQQQq1
[Inadvertantly she manages to flip through various language functions and she pushes buttons, until something familiar suddenly comes up. Hieroglyphs that she knows intrinsically. It is part of the language that defines her- magic seeps from them striking the very core of her being. Forbidden writing only she and her Mother could use. Her Mother, however, had the fortune of knowing the words spoken outside the castle. Yorda was never supposed to leave the walls nor have contact with any of the inhabitants. So the only language she knows is one forbidden to all but those with the power to control it. She ponders a long time, and then chooses her words carefully. If he is around and sees this, she'll doubt he'll know what it says, but she's sure he'll recognize it and know what it means]
Boy With Horns [One may find that there are other translations such as 'Cursed Boy', 'Cursed Child', or 'Cursed Descendent']
Alive.
Seeking.
[Yorda stops for a moment, and then selects a rune in the shape of a bird. It would be absolutely meaningless in context of the message, but the Boy With Horns would recall her fascination for the flocks of crows and pigeons and sparrows that made their home in the crumbling towers of the castle. He would know who left the message.]
Open [Other translation options appear such as 'Height' or 'Above']
[Satisfied, she goes back to fiddling with the thing. Enjoy a long string of nonsense as Yorda inadvertantly spams the hell out of the text options because buttons are cool!]