Out of Character Information

Name: Naoko

Contact: Just shoot amiti a PM!

Current Characters: Paprika.

Do you need a Dreamwidth Invite? Nope! uwu

In-Character Information

Name: Marie (also referred to as Bloody Marie)

Series: Skullgirls

Canon-Point: Prior to any events that would set off one of the eight character-specific/non-canon timelines.

History: Orphaned seven years prior to the start of canon by the chaos of the Great War, Marie lived with at least one other child in a similar situation until brutal slavers captured her and her friend Patricia. Unable to watch the horrific torture Patricia underwent, Marie fled without trying to help the other girl. However, this only led to her being captured by the infamous Medici mafia, masters of the slave traders at Rommelgrad who had mutilated Patricia. Marie was forced to work under the Medici for an indeterminate amount of time until she again fled. Her second flight eventually led her to a ravaged church of the Trinity (the primary religion of the game's world), where a mysterious nun presented her with the Skull Heart--an object of immense power and mystery. If a girl or woman were to ever find the Skull Heart, it could grant any wish. But if her heart was even the slightest bit impure, her wish would be corrupted and she would become the Skullgirl, instrument of terror and destruction.

Deeply burdened by her guilt over only ever running away from her problems, the desperate Marie made a wish on the Skull Heart to destroy all those who had harmed her and her friends. Like so many women before her, Marie's heart was not deemed pure enough, and she underwent the terrible transformation from girl to Skullgirl. Unlike her predecessors, though, Marie's will to change her lot and have her revenge was so strong that the Skull Heart was unable to take over her spirit and transform her into a mindless killing machine.

Now working with the nun who provided her the Skull Heart, Double, and the enigmatic scientist Valentine, Marie has taken her crusade against the Medici out of the shadows at last. Though she is meant to cleave entirely to the will of the Skull Heart and Double's otherworldly masters, Marie still struggles to balance her destiny as the Skullgirl against her sense of justice and the last vestiges of her humanity.

Personality: Once a cowardly girl who always sought flight over confrontation, Marie is now possessed of an iron will that will bend to no master, no matter what is inflicted on her. Though her duty is to destroy humanity, she is not without mercy or reason, and will only harm those she sees as "evil"--typically the Medici mafia or those who remind her of it. Highly observant even without the insights granted to her by the Skull Heart, Marie has an uncanny capacity for reading people, though it is often tainted by her deep-seated cynicism. She does her best to remain stoic and detached at all times, and is usually successful in presenting a completely unruffled demeanour that almost seems downright nihilistic. However, she is still a deeply caring girl at heart--her wish was made mostly out of selflessness, and she is certainly not above affection or sympathy. Contrary to her intended nature as the Skullgirl, Marie is very sensitive to the suffering of others, and sees herself as something of a champion of all those who were abused and forgotten as she and Patricia once were. However, Marie is also deeply self-aware, and has no delusions about the fact that she is an undead monster. If something invokes her ire, she will destroy it without hesitation, and is perfectly capable of suppressing her more merciful nature when needed.

For a child her age, Marie is also incredibly cunning, willing and able to plot her own machinations against those that would use or destroy her, be they adults far older than her or supernatural forces far more powerful than she will ever be. She is often very derisive to those she dislikes, which can tip her hand and leads to tense undercurrents between her, Valentine, and Double. Marie also has a tendency to be very cryptic to allies and foes alike, though she will answer queries truthfully if she deems the asker worthy of the information they seek. A private, if not lonely girl, Marie spends most of her time outside her duties as the Skullgirl and war against the Medici in the catacombs of the Cathedral of the Trinity, which doubles as her base of operations. Beneath all the walls she puts up, Marie is at heart still rather emotionally vulnerable, and carries deep scars from the trauma she experienced as an orphan and a slave to the Medici. She holds these scraps of her humanity close to herself, and will not let anyone see them, for fear of having them used against her or being completely dominated by the Skull Heart, whose controlling influence she constantly struggles against.

Powers: As the Skullgirl, Marie wields an immense destructive power, usually presented in the form of skeletal creatures she can bend to her will. Presumably, she can generate these creatures without any bones around, and her attacks take the form of everything from small explosives to gigantic trains of skulls that mow down any who stand in her way. She can also cover herself in massive, bestial skulls to defend against assaults. The Skull Heart's power also grants her some form of flight, though it would perhaps be better likened to levitation. When weakened, the Skull Heart manifests itself as a giant human silhouette behind Marie, which can be used to devastating effect. On top of all this, Marie carries what appears to be a handheld vacuum cleaner made of bones, though it actually functions more like a scythe or a sickle. All of these objects and creatures have some degree of sentience, but Marie treats them with utmost scorn, often referring to them as "slaves", much as she is slave to the Skull Heart herself.

In a more passive sense, the Skull Heart makes Marie largely immune to physical damage (though not completely), and as she is undead, it's unlikely that she requires any sustenance such as food and water. The Skull Heart also allows Marie to see into the hearts of others, reading their emotions and learning the secrets that they themselves may even be unaware of.

For the sake of the 20% limit, Marie will lose everything except her vacuum cleaner and capacity to read peoples' hearts. This won't work quite like mind reading or anything--she'll just pick up on information people are trying to withhold from her, and I'll put a permissions post up, as she'll still be pretty powerful. Since I'm not sure how sentient her vacuum cleaner is (many weapons and objects in the Skullgirls universe have varying degrees of sentience), I'm going to play it at the lowest degree, where all it's really capable of is changing facial expressions and responding exclusively to Marie's command. If she ever gets her own story mode that proves the vacuum has a higher level of sentience, I'll put in a companion/spirit app thing for it. Without any evidence of that, though, I don't think it has enough of a mind of its own to qualify.

Starter Pokemon: Shuppet

Writing Samples

First-Person Sample:

[A young girl's face appears on the screen, expression blank and red eyes boring into anyone who might happen to be watching.]

They tell me these creatures are meant for combat.

[She makes a motion, and a Shuppet tentatively glides towards her. The girl's brow puckers, but the gesture is nigh imperceptible.]

What purpose does that serve? Are the people here so willing to hide behind living shields?

[When nobody answers her, her expression shifts to one of mild disgust. She shuts the feed off with a decisive press of the button, and the screen goes dark.]

Third-Person Sample:

It’s afraid of her. Marie can see it in the creature’s eyes, feel it in every ounce of its being. She stares at it waiting for some sort of reaction beyond the cowed look she’s receiving in return. There’s power in the creature, though not enough to even put a scratch on Marie, yet it abstains from using it, instead hovering tentatively in the air, radiating discomfort.
Marie reaches out to touch the thing, just to see if she can, and the creature shies away instantaneously. It’s a kneejerk reaction, one Marie can all too easily remember having herself.

“Shhh,” she chides, voice unused to providing comfort. Slower, she moves her hands forward again and is met with the barest of substances, like softly compressed air. She can feel the creature’s relief—somehow, it must find her touch gentle. Its tongue darts out from blank space in the middle of its head to catch Marie’s fingers, and a noise escapes her. A laugh, she realizes belatedly. When was the last time she’d laughed, or even felt anything but a dull anger? Its concerns evidently put to rest for the present, the creature coos with approval when Marie pats it on the head, its uncertain cheer mirroring her own.