sing_nonomori (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sing_nonomori) wrote2013-02-03 06:17 am
sing_nonomori) wrote2013-02-03 06:17 am
Entry tags:
Application
ABOUT YOU
Name: JabberwockyAi
Are you 18 or over?: Yes
Other characters played: N/A
CHARACTER
Name: Yorda
Canon: ICO
Age:
According to the non-canon novel, Yorda's been in the cage for a very, very long time which makes about as much sense as any theory about her age, though she physically seems around thirteen/fourteen and acts about ten. There doesn't seem to be an actual canon age for Yorda, so I'll go with the novel on this in that she's been around for a few centuries, but due to being imprisoned she's pretty green mentally.
History:
Wiki 1
Wiki 2
Point in canon:
Several hours after the game's ending. Ico and Yorda just finished their victory snack of watermelon on the beach.
Window Location:
In a cave in the cliffside where Ico and Yorda take shelter.
Universe:
The Mists 01 -
The Mists are a vast, sprawling land, largely unsettled. There are paths and stone-paved roads that may eventually lead to tribal like villages and small towns (though good luck understanding what anyone is saying). Much of the scenery is dotted with ruins from times long past.
The technology level (if the castle is anything to go by) seems to be clockwork and steam power. Horses are a common means of transport. Gunpowder exists, though canons, explosives and guns are very rare. Swords, bows and crossbows are more commonly used.
The society still practices human sacrifices, and should you run across the people in this land- they are wary of strangers and more-so of those who don't fit their constraints of normal. Magic is practiced in these lands, but it seems to be based deeply in ritual and shamanistic in nature.
Far away there is a vast land where great stone giants once roamed. Beneath the steep cliffside there is a desert that gives way to grassy planes, forests, lakes, ravines and shores. There were structures here, but whatever civilization that existed is long gone. All that remains is a dilapidated tower rising up in the center but this place is forbidden and the bridge leading in has long since collapsed.
Abilities:
Yorda's abilities are limited and not entirely within her control. Her magic tends to react automatically to magic seals or magically hidden places and objects. Bursts of her power can also instantly dissipate the shadow wraiths that hunt her and Ico (all her powers seem to be very similar to the rune sword Ico later finds and the blade that Wander weilds in Shadow of the Colossus). She may also possess some weak form of telepathy- it's likely the dream Ico had of the dark figure emerging from the pool of shadow in the cage was a desperate effort to reach out for help from Yorda- though like all her abilities it was out of her control and I doubt she has any idea how to repeat the effect or that she managed it at all. Her magic will likely only manifest in times of great emotional distress or if she's in the presence of something that will react automatically to her power.
Yorda lacks much in ways of physical strength- her motor-skills are underdeveloped and she seems malnourished and atrophied from her time in the cage. She's much too feeble for what a healthy teenage girl should be. She is naive and incredibly sheltered- her mother kept her deliberately ignorant of the world outside.
What she lacks in control, physical strength and knowledge, she more than makes up for in willpower, determination, compassion, curiosity and sheer potential.
Possessions:
Nothing but the raggedy white dress she's wearing
Personality:
Yorda is a quiet girl who may initially come across as timid or passive, though like everything in ICO there is more there than meets the eye.
Yorda may have began her journey as a timid damsel in distress, but that's not where she ended. Her bond with Ico was vital to her emotional growth- years of neglect, imprisonment and isolation weren't erased in the short time she spent escaping the castle, but finding a friend who understood her fear even through the language barrier gave her the strength to move forward. Throughout the game she showed traits of intelligence, loyalty and bravery.
Her change is gradual but with each successive scene, it's noticeable. In the beginning when Ico freed her from her cage, she was uncertain. She seemed to go along with him more out of curiosity than holding onto any hope they had a chance to escape. She was obedient, doing what she was told because that was how she was conditioned. In the first scene with her mother, Yorda is paralyzed with fear. She doesn't even try to run away because she has angered her mother, but once the woman vanished to god knows where, she resumed her escape effort with Ico. She worked hard to pull her weight since she wasn't strong enough to pull many of the physical feats Ico was capable of. She would open the idol gates, and point Ico in the right direction in making a path she could traverse.
The second time Yorda's mother appeared, the two had another brush with freedom and once again Yorda had collapsed but not from fear. Rather she had just spent every last ounce of her power trying to make the gates open. Her mother was already trying to interfere with their escape, splitting the bridge with Yorda on the castle's side and Ico on the path to freedom.
Inseparable as they both were, Ico had no intention of leaving Yorda behind. He jumped the gap, but could barely make it. Like so often he had done for her, Yorda caught his hand and, showing a grit hitherto unseen she gradually began to pull him up. In spite of the fact their last chance to escape was gone, in spite of the fact her mother was looming only a few feet away, Yorda's last act before she was turned to stone was an act of pure, bald-faced defiance.
In the last moments as the Queen died and Yorda is un-petrified, she is free but she appeared as one of the shadowy wraiths that had been hounding her and Ico. She still seemed to be in her right mind however, and she carried her unconscious friend through the crumbling castle and set him off in a boat away from the destruction and remained behind.
When she awoke on the shore with a worried Ico hovering over her, she had become a stronger person. Yorda is a survivor and an optimist- she is willing to take risks and believe in others, even when all hope seems lost.
Thread Sample:
Journal Sample
Prose Sample:
The gate to their freedom was primed, and the brilliant light coursed through the runes carved into the stone like blood through a vein. Yorda hesitated, sucking in a breath of air. Her Mother loomed at the forefront of her mind; an imposing figure wreathed in shadow, her threats echoing through her brain.
"You cannot survive beyond these walls," her Mother had said. Yorda debated the truth of these words, weighing her options. To stay in the castle? She would be caged again- or worse. None of her attempts to escape in the past had gotten her so far as this and her Mother would rage. And then she would die- or worse. She would surrender her body, let her consciousness be swallowed up and she may as well have never opened her eyes or thought a single thought of her own.
There were birds in the courtyard, and the boy with horns was beside her. She didn't smile, but his presence reassured her- if she was to die then it would be a death of her own choosing. If she were to cross the threshold into the world beyond only to spit blood from her lungs, then she would face that rather than return.
She approached the gate, feeling the familiar rise of the light within her crackle and pulse- it was reacting as it did to those idols that barred off entry to the castle, but now Yorda felt a vague sense of control- she extended a hand and poured the light from her body into the gate. Every bone in her body screamed in protest, she could hear her pulse drumming rapidly in her ears and the pain of it was immeasurable. But she could feel the seal breaking as well, and something like satisfaction welled in her chest.
The boy with horns said something to her. She didn't understand his words, but the concern was etched all over his open, honest face.
"Il skara," she reassured. Just a little more...
She gave a final push, draining herself and finally she felt something shatter! Yorda looked up hopefully and for a moment, the world was still, silent.
Had she failed...?
A rumble and a creak heralded the gate slowly opening and a feeling of relief washed over Yorda. The boy with horns grabbed her hand and tugged her along to the bridge spanning the gap between the central island and the mainland- Yorda willed herself to move but every step was a struggle, every inch of her was protesting. Too much, it had been too much...
She collapsed, and the boy with horns had run a few steps ahead before he rounded and realized his companion had fallen.
And that was when the bridge split in two, dividing them. His half pulling him closer to freedom while hers drew her nearer to the castle- he was having none of it though. The boy with horns flung himself across the gap, and Yorda watched in horrified fascination as he hung in the air for a moment and then fell, downwards and forwards but not far enough, he wasn't going to make it. Instinctively, her hand lashed out with the speed that a snake would strike and she caught him. He scrambled to gain purchase on the granite, clawing at the stone and shredded bits of lichen. It was strange, their roles now reversed, his life in her hands like this. She gripped him tighter, and struggled to find whatever reserves of inner strength hitherto untapped. Slowly, miraculously, she began to haul him up. She ignored the sudden knotting in her stomach, or the cold sensation that washed over her- Yorda knew her Mother was here, knew that she would not tolerate this insolence.
If she could just pull him up, everything would be alright...
But she was too late. She could feel the curse washing over her like ice water, her body turning to stone and the strength left her.
She smiled in spite of the fact her heart had dropped into the bottom of her stomach. He had given her such hope, and for someone who had never known such a shining feeling, she was eternally grateful. She met his desperate gaze as her grip began to slip.
"San hil," she said, and she meant it. The boy with horns fell away from her and her heart turned to stone.
Plans: I wouldn't mind having Yorda get stuck for a while. When she can, she'll likely return to her world to search for Ico (if one hasn't joined the game already) or go world hopping in hopes to gain a better understanding of what exactly she is.
DÆMON
Name: Nico
Sex: Male
Form: Hooded crow
Additional notes: Nico doesn't have much in ways of distinguishing features. He's your average hooded crow, if a bit plump.
Why this form:
Yorda has a deep connection to and fondness for birds. The cage she's first seen suspended in even resembles a grim looking birdcage and the sleeves and back of her dress resembles wings to an extent. Corvids in general exhibit both curiosity, intelligence, and resourcefulness. Yorda's in-game AI is often the one to point out the starting point of the environmental puzzles- she's usually the first to know what needs to be done.
Corvids are also associated with death, and the game ICO possesses heavy themes of human sacrifice as well as the ghostly wraiths that haunt the castle. Ico and Yorda both faced losing their lives one way or another, so for someone so young, Yorda likely has a profound understanding of death. The hooded crow's plumage also neatly encompasses Yorda's light/shadow dichotomy.
In Celtic mythology, the hooded crow specifically is considered a manifestation of Morrigan, a queen who Yorda's own mother parallels and something Yorda nearly became. The birds are also associated with fairfolk and other supernatural beings. Taking into account Yorda's ethereal appearance it's not a far stretch to think she might be something similar.
Name: JabberwockyAi
Are you 18 or over?: Yes
Other characters played: N/A
CHARACTER
Name: Yorda
Canon: ICO
Age:
According to the non-canon novel, Yorda's been in the cage for a very, very long time which makes about as much sense as any theory about her age, though she physically seems around thirteen/fourteen and acts about ten. There doesn't seem to be an actual canon age for Yorda, so I'll go with the novel on this in that she's been around for a few centuries, but due to being imprisoned she's pretty green mentally.
History:
Wiki 1
Wiki 2
Point in canon:
Several hours after the game's ending. Ico and Yorda just finished their victory snack of watermelon on the beach.
Window Location:
In a cave in the cliffside where Ico and Yorda take shelter.
Universe:
The Mists 01 -
The Mists are a vast, sprawling land, largely unsettled. There are paths and stone-paved roads that may eventually lead to tribal like villages and small towns (though good luck understanding what anyone is saying). Much of the scenery is dotted with ruins from times long past.
The technology level (if the castle is anything to go by) seems to be clockwork and steam power. Horses are a common means of transport. Gunpowder exists, though canons, explosives and guns are very rare. Swords, bows and crossbows are more commonly used.
The society still practices human sacrifices, and should you run across the people in this land- they are wary of strangers and more-so of those who don't fit their constraints of normal. Magic is practiced in these lands, but it seems to be based deeply in ritual and shamanistic in nature.
Far away there is a vast land where great stone giants once roamed. Beneath the steep cliffside there is a desert that gives way to grassy planes, forests, lakes, ravines and shores. There were structures here, but whatever civilization that existed is long gone. All that remains is a dilapidated tower rising up in the center but this place is forbidden and the bridge leading in has long since collapsed.
Abilities:
Yorda's abilities are limited and not entirely within her control. Her magic tends to react automatically to magic seals or magically hidden places and objects. Bursts of her power can also instantly dissipate the shadow wraiths that hunt her and Ico (all her powers seem to be very similar to the rune sword Ico later finds and the blade that Wander weilds in Shadow of the Colossus). She may also possess some weak form of telepathy- it's likely the dream Ico had of the dark figure emerging from the pool of shadow in the cage was a desperate effort to reach out for help from Yorda- though like all her abilities it was out of her control and I doubt she has any idea how to repeat the effect or that she managed it at all. Her magic will likely only manifest in times of great emotional distress or if she's in the presence of something that will react automatically to her power.
Yorda lacks much in ways of physical strength- her motor-skills are underdeveloped and she seems malnourished and atrophied from her time in the cage. She's much too feeble for what a healthy teenage girl should be. She is naive and incredibly sheltered- her mother kept her deliberately ignorant of the world outside.
What she lacks in control, physical strength and knowledge, she more than makes up for in willpower, determination, compassion, curiosity and sheer potential.
Possessions:
Nothing but the raggedy white dress she's wearing
Personality:
Yorda is a quiet girl who may initially come across as timid or passive, though like everything in ICO there is more there than meets the eye.
Yorda may have began her journey as a timid damsel in distress, but that's not where she ended. Her bond with Ico was vital to her emotional growth- years of neglect, imprisonment and isolation weren't erased in the short time she spent escaping the castle, but finding a friend who understood her fear even through the language barrier gave her the strength to move forward. Throughout the game she showed traits of intelligence, loyalty and bravery.
Her change is gradual but with each successive scene, it's noticeable. In the beginning when Ico freed her from her cage, she was uncertain. She seemed to go along with him more out of curiosity than holding onto any hope they had a chance to escape. She was obedient, doing what she was told because that was how she was conditioned. In the first scene with her mother, Yorda is paralyzed with fear. She doesn't even try to run away because she has angered her mother, but once the woman vanished to god knows where, she resumed her escape effort with Ico. She worked hard to pull her weight since she wasn't strong enough to pull many of the physical feats Ico was capable of. She would open the idol gates, and point Ico in the right direction in making a path she could traverse.
The second time Yorda's mother appeared, the two had another brush with freedom and once again Yorda had collapsed but not from fear. Rather she had just spent every last ounce of her power trying to make the gates open. Her mother was already trying to interfere with their escape, splitting the bridge with Yorda on the castle's side and Ico on the path to freedom.
Inseparable as they both were, Ico had no intention of leaving Yorda behind. He jumped the gap, but could barely make it. Like so often he had done for her, Yorda caught his hand and, showing a grit hitherto unseen she gradually began to pull him up. In spite of the fact their last chance to escape was gone, in spite of the fact her mother was looming only a few feet away, Yorda's last act before she was turned to stone was an act of pure, bald-faced defiance.
In the last moments as the Queen died and Yorda is un-petrified, she is free but she appeared as one of the shadowy wraiths that had been hounding her and Ico. She still seemed to be in her right mind however, and she carried her unconscious friend through the crumbling castle and set him off in a boat away from the destruction and remained behind.
When she awoke on the shore with a worried Ico hovering over her, she had become a stronger person. Yorda is a survivor and an optimist- she is willing to take risks and believe in others, even when all hope seems lost.
Thread Sample:
Journal Sample
Prose Sample:
The gate to their freedom was primed, and the brilliant light coursed through the runes carved into the stone like blood through a vein. Yorda hesitated, sucking in a breath of air. Her Mother loomed at the forefront of her mind; an imposing figure wreathed in shadow, her threats echoing through her brain.
"You cannot survive beyond these walls," her Mother had said. Yorda debated the truth of these words, weighing her options. To stay in the castle? She would be caged again- or worse. None of her attempts to escape in the past had gotten her so far as this and her Mother would rage. And then she would die- or worse. She would surrender her body, let her consciousness be swallowed up and she may as well have never opened her eyes or thought a single thought of her own.
There were birds in the courtyard, and the boy with horns was beside her. She didn't smile, but his presence reassured her- if she was to die then it would be a death of her own choosing. If she were to cross the threshold into the world beyond only to spit blood from her lungs, then she would face that rather than return.
She approached the gate, feeling the familiar rise of the light within her crackle and pulse- it was reacting as it did to those idols that barred off entry to the castle, but now Yorda felt a vague sense of control- she extended a hand and poured the light from her body into the gate. Every bone in her body screamed in protest, she could hear her pulse drumming rapidly in her ears and the pain of it was immeasurable. But she could feel the seal breaking as well, and something like satisfaction welled in her chest.
The boy with horns said something to her. She didn't understand his words, but the concern was etched all over his open, honest face.
"Il skara," she reassured. Just a little more...
She gave a final push, draining herself and finally she felt something shatter! Yorda looked up hopefully and for a moment, the world was still, silent.
Had she failed...?
A rumble and a creak heralded the gate slowly opening and a feeling of relief washed over Yorda. The boy with horns grabbed her hand and tugged her along to the bridge spanning the gap between the central island and the mainland- Yorda willed herself to move but every step was a struggle, every inch of her was protesting. Too much, it had been too much...
She collapsed, and the boy with horns had run a few steps ahead before he rounded and realized his companion had fallen.
And that was when the bridge split in two, dividing them. His half pulling him closer to freedom while hers drew her nearer to the castle- he was having none of it though. The boy with horns flung himself across the gap, and Yorda watched in horrified fascination as he hung in the air for a moment and then fell, downwards and forwards but not far enough, he wasn't going to make it. Instinctively, her hand lashed out with the speed that a snake would strike and she caught him. He scrambled to gain purchase on the granite, clawing at the stone and shredded bits of lichen. It was strange, their roles now reversed, his life in her hands like this. She gripped him tighter, and struggled to find whatever reserves of inner strength hitherto untapped. Slowly, miraculously, she began to haul him up. She ignored the sudden knotting in her stomach, or the cold sensation that washed over her- Yorda knew her Mother was here, knew that she would not tolerate this insolence.
If she could just pull him up, everything would be alright...
But she was too late. She could feel the curse washing over her like ice water, her body turning to stone and the strength left her.
She smiled in spite of the fact her heart had dropped into the bottom of her stomach. He had given her such hope, and for someone who had never known such a shining feeling, she was eternally grateful. She met his desperate gaze as her grip began to slip.
"San hil," she said, and she meant it. The boy with horns fell away from her and her heart turned to stone.
Plans: I wouldn't mind having Yorda get stuck for a while. When she can, she'll likely return to her world to search for Ico (if one hasn't joined the game already) or go world hopping in hopes to gain a better understanding of what exactly she is.
DÆMON
Name: Nico
Sex: Male
Form: Hooded crow
Additional notes: Nico doesn't have much in ways of distinguishing features. He's your average hooded crow, if a bit plump.
Why this form:
Yorda has a deep connection to and fondness for birds. The cage she's first seen suspended in even resembles a grim looking birdcage and the sleeves and back of her dress resembles wings to an extent. Corvids in general exhibit both curiosity, intelligence, and resourcefulness. Yorda's in-game AI is often the one to point out the starting point of the environmental puzzles- she's usually the first to know what needs to be done.
Corvids are also associated with death, and the game ICO possesses heavy themes of human sacrifice as well as the ghostly wraiths that haunt the castle. Ico and Yorda both faced losing their lives one way or another, so for someone so young, Yorda likely has a profound understanding of death. The hooded crow's plumage also neatly encompasses Yorda's light/shadow dichotomy.
In Celtic mythology, the hooded crow specifically is considered a manifestation of Morrigan, a queen who Yorda's own mother parallels and something Yorda nearly became. The birds are also associated with fairfolk and other supernatural beings. Taking into account Yorda's ethereal appearance it's not a far stretch to think she might be something similar.