Application for lastvoyages
User Name/Nick: Becca
User LJ: panteraonca
AIM/IM: doctressamnesia
E-mail: freakyberkeley@gmail.com
Other Characters: Vladislaus Dracula
Character Name: Lavinia Whateley
Series: "The Dunwich Horror" by H. P. Lovecraft
Age: 40s
From When?: Immediately after being murdered by her son.
Inmate/Warden: Inmate. Though Lavinia is not inherently evil, she was raised in the cult of Yog Sothoth, was trained in the most hideous magics, assisted in human sacrifices and raised and trained the progeny of an Elder God. So, she is rather cracked, does not value human life enough and needs to learn a magical style that doesn't involve calling on eldritch horrors.
Abilities/Powers: Unusually strong, but hobbled by her twisted back and overlong arms, and also her poor constitution. Fairly extensive knowledge of the Cthulhu and Yog-Sothoth mythos. Has the Innsmouth Look, including albinism, gills and slightly webbed fingers. Knows how to use a knife really well. No longer has any actual command of Mythos magic in spite of what she studied and taught to her sons (because there's no way the Admiral would allow something that blasphemous to operate on board, right?) Is somehow tough enough to survive birthing an eldritch horror hybrid, in spite of her sickliness.
Personality: Lavinia Whateley grew up as the socially isolated daughter of an evil, degenerate country sorcerer who was determined to bring his lord Yog Sothoth into the world. As a result she has a spotty education, largely in things horrific, and an overdeveloped imagination from spending her days and nights in isolation, daydreaming. Terrified of her father, and later her son, and painfully aware of her deformities, she is very shy around men. The fact that she still has nightmares about her single "lover" further complicates things.
Lavinia is body-shy and hides herself with shawls much of the time, these doubling as protection from the sun when necessary. Her eyes are even more light sensitive than her skin, meaning that large, floppy hats are common as well. She tends to wander around an awful lot, usually mumbling to herself about this or that, sometimes observing everything around her, sometimes off in imagination-land. She uses a cane to ease the strain on her twisted back.
Secretly, she is intellectually voracious, even spending time trying to sneak reads of her father's sorcery books back when he was still alive. Magic--real magic, real power--is her knowledge of choice, and she desires it desperately, wanting to become the true Witch Whateley. This woman will haunt the library so very much, also the herbs part of the greenhouse. If people seem inclined to pontificate, especially on occult matters, she'll be right there with questions. Because she's so shy she can be expected to haunt the comms a lot.
Lavinia, as a person, really isn't that bad, she's just...well, she's a Whateley, which is basically like being an Addams except even creepier. She's friendly in a shy way, she has a great big dollop of country common sense, she's frank to the point of bluntness at times, and creepy/bloody/squicky things bother her not at all. She's the sort to have a pet tarantula, talk about how cute octopi are and perform divinations using animal guts without flinching. But she doesn't actually like grossing people out, and she gets really lonely, so she'll try and dial down the weirdness, especially once she settles in.
Lavinia believes that Cthulhu will rise and free his brethren to stalk the Earth and destroy everything eventually. This makes her fatalistic and given to depression, and cheapens her view of human life considerably. It doesn't help that she believes herself doomed to eventually join her mother's brethren as one of the Deep Ones, a transformation that will grant immortality but which terrifies her. She comforts herself with the fact that "when the stars are right", like her transformation, could actually happen a long time from now.
Path to Redemption:
Lavinia needs to learn several things before she could be considered "redeemed". One is proper socialization and learning to value human life properly. Another is breaking her dependence on the Elder Gods as both objects of worship and sources of power. Finally, she needs to learn that there are magical paths which do not involve eldritch horrors, blood magic or sanity-bending chanting and runes, and be coaxed onto one of them as a focus for her obsession.
Lavinia's common sense can be appealed to, but she has been pretty heavily brainwashed. It helps that she deeply hates her brainwasher and feels betrayed by her entire family, especially since she is traumatized by being strangled by her son. She does have the beginnings of a conscience, and her intellectual hunger and curiosity can be very, very easily tempted. Magical knowledge is her Scooby Snack--she can be easily tempted with it. Regular knowledge and the chance at a real education is very tempting to her as well. Social pressure from friends and a friendly Warden will also work on her as well, as will social pressure from the magicians she wishes to number herself among.
History:
Whateley, Lavinia. Daughter of Old Whateley and mother of Wilbur Whateley and his unnamed twin brother. Lavinia was sickly and an albino, and was given to wandering the countryside surround Dunwich, Massachusetts amidst thunderstorms and muttering strange and horrible things to herself. She had never attended any formal school, but she did learn disjointed scraps of ancient lore from her father. Lavinia was especially fond of grand dreams and fantasies. Lavinia's mother died an especially mysterious and violent death when she was but 12 years old.
Lavinia was impregnated by Yog-Sothoth the summer of 1912 and, on February 2, 1913, she gave birth to Wilbur and his twin. By the next spring she was again seen wandering the hills, bearing with her Wilbur in her loving arms. Over the years she watched in growing terror as her sons grew. In 1926, three years after her father's death, she confided in Mamie Bishop her growing fear of her son, Wilbur. On Hallowe'en Lavinia disappeared and was never seen again.
Sample Journal Entry:
I was so scared. I didn't really believe he'd go through with it. I told Mamie that he might hurt me, but...when he put his hands around my neck and squeezed, and I felt something break, I knew I was going down. What kind of boy does that to his own mother? He didn't even have a reason. We weren't even arguing. He just went after me. Oh, how I wish I had heeded what I said to Mamie and had run for it when I had the chance!
Sample RP: Lavinia woke up in the biggest bedroom she had ever seen, with clean white walls and a bed she could actually stretch out in. A pair of windows looked out on stars in unfamiliar constellations; just below it was an empty worktable with two heavy chairs. The floor was smooth wood with a fuzzy rug made from some sort of animal wool. There were two doors. One was open, and led through into what looked like a bath-room except that it was absolutely huge and had the water closet right there in the corner. She poked her head in, looking at the soaking bathtub, and let out a sigh.
Her throat hurt still, gills burning from the remembered pressure of Wilbur's thick fingers. She remembered his pinning her against the wall as he slowly choked the life out of her. Now she was...elsewhere. Had she died? I think I did. I think...he got me. A life of service, a life of doing exactly as I was told by Daddy and then by Wilbur, and then he just...up and strangles me.
She limped to the bathroom mirror, loosening her scarf to splash water over her face and gills. Her bulging pink eyes blinked back at her in the glass, and she sighed as she stared into them. "If I'm dead, why am I still stuck in this messed up old frog's body?" she groused softly, then cupped up some water to drink. None of this made any sense at all.
Special Notes: I actually decided to go with Completely Canon Lavinia and just see where the Barge took her as far as magical experience and moral education.
User LJ: panteraonca
AIM/IM: doctressamnesia
E-mail: freakyberkeley@gmail.com
Other Characters: Vladislaus Dracula
Character Name: Lavinia Whateley
Series: "The Dunwich Horror" by H. P. Lovecraft
Age: 40s
From When?: Immediately after being murdered by her son.
Inmate/Warden: Inmate. Though Lavinia is not inherently evil, she was raised in the cult of Yog Sothoth, was trained in the most hideous magics, assisted in human sacrifices and raised and trained the progeny of an Elder God. So, she is rather cracked, does not value human life enough and needs to learn a magical style that doesn't involve calling on eldritch horrors.
Abilities/Powers: Unusually strong, but hobbled by her twisted back and overlong arms, and also her poor constitution. Fairly extensive knowledge of the Cthulhu and Yog-Sothoth mythos. Has the Innsmouth Look, including albinism, gills and slightly webbed fingers. Knows how to use a knife really well. No longer has any actual command of Mythos magic in spite of what she studied and taught to her sons (because there's no way the Admiral would allow something that blasphemous to operate on board, right?) Is somehow tough enough to survive birthing an eldritch horror hybrid, in spite of her sickliness.
Personality: Lavinia Whateley grew up as the socially isolated daughter of an evil, degenerate country sorcerer who was determined to bring his lord Yog Sothoth into the world. As a result she has a spotty education, largely in things horrific, and an overdeveloped imagination from spending her days and nights in isolation, daydreaming. Terrified of her father, and later her son, and painfully aware of her deformities, she is very shy around men. The fact that she still has nightmares about her single "lover" further complicates things.
Lavinia is body-shy and hides herself with shawls much of the time, these doubling as protection from the sun when necessary. Her eyes are even more light sensitive than her skin, meaning that large, floppy hats are common as well. She tends to wander around an awful lot, usually mumbling to herself about this or that, sometimes observing everything around her, sometimes off in imagination-land. She uses a cane to ease the strain on her twisted back.
Secretly, she is intellectually voracious, even spending time trying to sneak reads of her father's sorcery books back when he was still alive. Magic--real magic, real power--is her knowledge of choice, and she desires it desperately, wanting to become the true Witch Whateley. This woman will haunt the library so very much, also the herbs part of the greenhouse. If people seem inclined to pontificate, especially on occult matters, she'll be right there with questions. Because she's so shy she can be expected to haunt the comms a lot.
Lavinia, as a person, really isn't that bad, she's just...well, she's a Whateley, which is basically like being an Addams except even creepier. She's friendly in a shy way, she has a great big dollop of country common sense, she's frank to the point of bluntness at times, and creepy/bloody/squicky things bother her not at all. She's the sort to have a pet tarantula, talk about how cute octopi are and perform divinations using animal guts without flinching. But she doesn't actually like grossing people out, and she gets really lonely, so she'll try and dial down the weirdness, especially once she settles in.
Lavinia believes that Cthulhu will rise and free his brethren to stalk the Earth and destroy everything eventually. This makes her fatalistic and given to depression, and cheapens her view of human life considerably. It doesn't help that she believes herself doomed to eventually join her mother's brethren as one of the Deep Ones, a transformation that will grant immortality but which terrifies her. She comforts herself with the fact that "when the stars are right", like her transformation, could actually happen a long time from now.
Path to Redemption:
Lavinia needs to learn several things before she could be considered "redeemed". One is proper socialization and learning to value human life properly. Another is breaking her dependence on the Elder Gods as both objects of worship and sources of power. Finally, she needs to learn that there are magical paths which do not involve eldritch horrors, blood magic or sanity-bending chanting and runes, and be coaxed onto one of them as a focus for her obsession.
Lavinia's common sense can be appealed to, but she has been pretty heavily brainwashed. It helps that she deeply hates her brainwasher and feels betrayed by her entire family, especially since she is traumatized by being strangled by her son. She does have the beginnings of a conscience, and her intellectual hunger and curiosity can be very, very easily tempted. Magical knowledge is her Scooby Snack--she can be easily tempted with it. Regular knowledge and the chance at a real education is very tempting to her as well. Social pressure from friends and a friendly Warden will also work on her as well, as will social pressure from the magicians she wishes to number herself among.
History:
Whateley, Lavinia. Daughter of Old Whateley and mother of Wilbur Whateley and his unnamed twin brother. Lavinia was sickly and an albino, and was given to wandering the countryside surround Dunwich, Massachusetts amidst thunderstorms and muttering strange and horrible things to herself. She had never attended any formal school, but she did learn disjointed scraps of ancient lore from her father. Lavinia was especially fond of grand dreams and fantasies. Lavinia's mother died an especially mysterious and violent death when she was but 12 years old.
Lavinia was impregnated by Yog-Sothoth the summer of 1912 and, on February 2, 1913, she gave birth to Wilbur and his twin. By the next spring she was again seen wandering the hills, bearing with her Wilbur in her loving arms. Over the years she watched in growing terror as her sons grew. In 1926, three years after her father's death, she confided in Mamie Bishop her growing fear of her son, Wilbur. On Hallowe'en Lavinia disappeared and was never seen again.
Sample Journal Entry:
I was so scared. I didn't really believe he'd go through with it. I told Mamie that he might hurt me, but...when he put his hands around my neck and squeezed, and I felt something break, I knew I was going down. What kind of boy does that to his own mother? He didn't even have a reason. We weren't even arguing. He just went after me. Oh, how I wish I had heeded what I said to Mamie and had run for it when I had the chance!
Sample RP: Lavinia woke up in the biggest bedroom she had ever seen, with clean white walls and a bed she could actually stretch out in. A pair of windows looked out on stars in unfamiliar constellations; just below it was an empty worktable with two heavy chairs. The floor was smooth wood with a fuzzy rug made from some sort of animal wool. There were two doors. One was open, and led through into what looked like a bath-room except that it was absolutely huge and had the water closet right there in the corner. She poked her head in, looking at the soaking bathtub, and let out a sigh.
Her throat hurt still, gills burning from the remembered pressure of Wilbur's thick fingers. She remembered his pinning her against the wall as he slowly choked the life out of her. Now she was...elsewhere. Had she died? I think I did. I think...he got me. A life of service, a life of doing exactly as I was told by Daddy and then by Wilbur, and then he just...up and strangles me.
She limped to the bathroom mirror, loosening her scarf to splash water over her face and gills. Her bulging pink eyes blinked back at her in the glass, and she sighed as she stared into them. "If I'm dead, why am I still stuck in this messed up old frog's body?" she groused softly, then cupped up some water to drink. None of this made any sense at all.
Special Notes: I actually decided to go with Completely Canon Lavinia and just see where the Barge took her as far as magical experience and moral education.