Vastra (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
eversohungry) wrote2012-11-26 02:46 pm
eversohungry) wrote2012-11-26 02:46 pm
Entry tags:
[OOC] Application
Mun
Name: Serey
Livejournal/Dreamwidth Username:kouject
E-mail: the2ndhunter@gmail.com
AIM/MSN: phantomeyed
Current Characters at Luceti: N/A (Old Meat)
Character
Name: Vastra
Fandom: Doctor Who
Gender: Female
Age: Unknown (and given Silurians tend to look young no matter their age, we'll probably never know)
Time Period: A few days after “A Good Man Goes To War”
Wing Color: Green (durhurr) and appear leathery
History: http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Vastra (It's a brief history, however Vastra has only appeared in one episode and only so much has been revealed concerning her history)
Personality: Much of Vastra's personality revolves around her species and her history as a Silurian living amongst humans. Vastra is a Silurian, otherwise known as 'homo reptilia'--Lizard Lady, essentially. In general, Silurians are seen as villains in the Doctor Who series, despite being a race that tends to avoid war except in cases of self-defense. However in both the more recent series and in the older seasons, Silurians have generally taken the antagonistic role in whatever situation the Doctor is involved in. This is perhaps because before homo sapiens, Silurians were the dominant species on Earth, and extremely technologically advanced. When it was predicted by several Silurian scientists that a large meteor was going to strike the Earth, some Silurians retreated underground in hibernation units to wait out the pseudo-apocalypse. Some fled the planet on an Ark (“Dinosaurs on a Space Ship”), and some passed off the prediction as the ravings of fanatics. But of course, the meteor did strike Earth, and most of the Silurians were wiped out, leaving humankind to take the reins and dominate Earth while the Silurians remained in hibernation underground.
Flash forward to about the year 1880, in London. The beginnings of the London underground were in full swing, which meant digging--lots of digging, and consequentially the discovery of a hapless pod of hibernating Silurians, Vastra among them. Terrified, the tunnel diggers killed almost the entirety of what Vastra called her “sisters”. Vastra awoke and seeing her sisters being murdered, immediately turned on the tunnel diggers and began killing them (and eating them--Silurians are carnivores) one by one. It was simple enough for a skilled Silurian warrior, and an obvious action to take against a visible threat. This incident not only shows how Vastra is willing to take immediate and deadly action against an attacker, but how honor-bound she is to her people, and how she feels responsible for protecting the innocent. After killing the initial band of diggers, Vastra lurked in the tunnels and took revenge on any innocent tunnel digger that crossed her path. Such a violent plan is somewhat uncharacteristic for a Silurian, however Vastra awoke to find her sisters being murdered by what used to be a primitive people. As a warrior, the last of her clutch, and a “monster” in the eyes of humans, it's clear why she reacted the way she did and immediately took to protecting herself and seeking revenge.
Fortunately, once the Doctor heard of her existence and the problem she was posing in the fledgling London Underground, he came to reason with her. Logic says that in the beginning, Vastra didn't listen to him and probably tried to kill him as well. But the Doctor is very persuasive, and Vastra isn't violent or evil at heart. She only reacted in such a knee-jerk fashion because it was most likely her duty to protect her defenseless sisters, and because she feared for her own life. She was in a strange time, in a strange place, feeling hunted and despised. Anyone would react violently. However the Doctor persuaded her to stop attacking and come out of the tunnel and into the world. Which was no doubt also terrifying, but Vastra is brave enough to not only take the Doctor at his word in a stressful moment, but to enter into a new situation and meet the obstacles that come with it.
And there are obviously many obstacles to living in the human world as a very-clearly-lizard-woman. But Vastra managed to convince most of London society that she was simply a normal woman with a strange skin condition, and non-TV canon works suggest that she's very successful at being a Victorian lady. In “A Good Man Goes To War”, Vastra displays some of that joking charm and grace around the Doctor (“I'm trying to be delicate, I know how you can blush.”) and her lover/companion Jenny (yes, she's a Victorian Silurian Lesbian. “Ians” everywhere) when she asks jovially if she's being insensitive again for suggesting she can't tell most humans apart. Another instance of her joking nature is when Jenny asks how Vastra managed to locate Jack the Ripper. Jenny asks, “How did you find him?”, and Vastra responds, “Stringy, but delicious all the same.” It's a morbid joke, but a joke nonetheless. Even her manner of speech and word-choice suggests a well-brought-up Victorian lady, and she certainly dresses very conservatively (yes, it's probably to save the makeup artists their sanity, but Victorians were known for their conservative dress--something that Vastra picks up without any apparent complaint).
But underneath the Lady is the same Silurian Warrior. Vastra's fighting style consists of two katana, sometimes wielded together, and her manner of battle dress is very Japanese-inspired. This suggests that after her awakening, Vastra spent some time in Japan studying swordplay (the Silurian preferred method of combat is usually firearms), probably around 1881 (she also went to Egypt in 1881 and was mistaken for a god--and even after that she didn't come back with a swollen head!). Her style of combat and views towards fighting as seen in “A Good Man Goes To War” are very much rooted in bushido and fighting honorably. She and Jenny take a pair of human guards by surprise, and instead of killing them outright they just hold them hostage (though Vastra isn't above threatening them a little: “Oh please, try it. I'm ever so hungry.”). She also says, when asked by the Doctor who one of the fallen Clerics is, “I don't know, but she was very brave.” Vastra doesn't need to know who someone is or what they've done previously, she finds honor and worth in moments of bravery and doing what's right. This valuing of bravery is seen again in “A Good Man Goes To War” when the Headless Monks are closing in on the Doctor's alliance, Amy, Rory, and Melody. Vastra is the one to steady the troops by saying, “The child, at all costs, protect the child!” The group then takes on a horde of Headless Monks, Vastra even taking on a few by herself and emerging without any major injuries. She is all about the moments of bravery and staring down bad odds and fighting on anyway even if death is waiting for her.
Another incident that demonstrates this honorable tone to her battle-outlook and her life, confirmed by Steven Moffat, is Vastra's first meeting with Jenny. Jenny was being sexually assaulted by a Chinese gang in London and Vastra, seeing this, attacked and killed the gang single-handed (and then most likely ate them). She didn't have to save Jenny, and Vastra probably didn't even know who she was at the time, but Vastra isn't the sort of person to just leave someone to be attacked and hurt when she can do something. Yet another example of her willingness to fight for the defenseless is Vastra's choice to join Scotland Yard as a freelance criminal-hunter. At the beginning of “A Good Man Goes To War”, she returns to her home having killed and eaten Jack the Ripper. Jack the Ripper isn't a direct threat to her or to Jenny, but Vastra took up some sort of law-enforcement because she felt it would fulfill her in some way. Clearly she isn't the sort to leave the innocent and defenseless without her help, either, which is a complete 180 from her days in the London Underground. She is very much a skilled warrior, and has the heart of a brave warrior as well.
Even though she says she can't tell one human from another in “A Good Man Goes To War”, Vastra doesn't hate humans. Obviously--she's in a relationship with Jenny and works with humans in Scotland Yard and the various members of the Doctor's alliance. She doesn't hate anyone on principal anymore, and she accredits her reluctance to act out of anger or fear to the Doctor. Vastra is calm and refined in her everyday life, willing to play around a little with her friends, and very much down-to-business and fierce in a fight. Despite all of the loss she experienced in her more recent years, she has decided to make a life for herself out of the ashes, and is determined to make it an interesting life.
Strengths: On top of being a very skilled warrior and swordswoman, Silurians also have a peculiar talent for stinging victims with a venom delivered through their extremely long and stretchy tongue, much like a frog-tongue. One touch can kill a full-grown human, however it's reasonable to assume that Vastra is able to control the venom delivery (during an exchange with Jenny, Vastra says “I don't know why you keep me around”, then stings a hapless Cleric with her tongue, paralyzing him. Then Vastra gives Jenny a suggestive look. Yes, this is Moffat making a lesbian reference, and obviously Vastra isn't going to, ahem, kill Jenny with her tongue). In addition to this Silurian ability, Vastra herself is very determined, very brave, and probably a great strategist given her talent for taking on criminals like Jack the Ripper by herself. But she's also able to adapt into a new situation without a great amount of difficulty or angst. She's a very fluid person, but not willing to bend and let someone threaten her, her friends, or the innocent.
Weaknesses: Not many weaknesses are apparent in Vastra's character or in the Silurian race, so I'm going off of some headcanon and canon-based conjecture. First, given Silurians are based on reptiles, I imagine that Vastra is very susceptible to cold temperatures (whenever we see Vastra, she's usually pretty covered too, be it in a cloak or long sleeves and pants). And while Vastra is depicted as fairly calm and not very confrontational, she is a very fiery personality. She's a warrior, and probably quick to a fight, quick to defend. Not immediately violent with swords drawn, but perhaps a little quick to take offense or make a hot retort. She does tend to say things without thinking (even asking Jenny if she's being insensitive “again” in “A Good Man Goes To War”), which could get her into trouble with people who don't know her terribly well.
Samples (ALL samples must be set in Luceti-verse.)
First Person: http://trainingwings.dreamwidth.org/20257.html?thread=1700897#cmt1700897 (Training Wings thread)
Third Person: Winter. Disgusting.
Vastra had never liked the wintertime. It always made her feel tired and weak, and as a consequence she always tried to avoid being in London during December and January. A few years ago she went to Egypt, and the year Vastra had realized Jenny was tired of running about and lighting fires in every room Vastra suggested a trip to Spain. They couldn't always leave the gray, icy town, but Vastra did very much look forward to their little Christmas trips when they happened.
But this year she was alone. She made her own fires and read by them alone. She fetched her own cloak and fur-lined coats and muffs and hats instead of Jenny insisting she wear a scarf too. No one called to visit, and Vastra almost expected the Doctor to make an appearance even if he couldn't do anything regarding her imprisonment.
It wouldn't do any good to dwell, though. Yes, she couldn't expect any familiar visitors in this place, but that wouldn't deter her from attempting to enjoy the holiday. As she walked back to her apartment, Vastra considered that she had all the ingredients for a meat pie and perhaps a pudding from the drippings, more wood for her fireplace, and a warm pair of gloves. So at the very least when she went home, she could tell Jenny she tried to have a warm and traditional Christmas. She wouldn't be yelled at quite so much then.
Not that she didn't miss Jenny, she did. She missed the nagging and her cheerful Cockney accent and that little mischievous look she got sometimes. It was intriguing on a 'I never thought I would be partnered with a human' level, and pulled at the one heartstring that Vastra had dedicated to what she considered to be 'adorable'. But Jenny was just a brilliant spirit, and unbreakable, and sweet, and... not there to make Vastra feel less strange.
She shook the feeling off and kept walking. No one could really point to her and call her strange. Everyone had tiny wings on their backs and bizarre things happened on a regular basis. They could stare at her, but Vastra couldn't stay ruffled. What would Jenny say if she came home and confessed to eating the whole village?
Smiling, Vastra imagined Jenny elbowing her gently and intoning that so familiar, 'Oh stop it!'
Name: Serey
Livejournal/Dreamwidth Username:
koujectE-mail: the2ndhunter@gmail.com
AIM/MSN: phantomeyed
Current Characters at Luceti: N/A (Old Meat)
Character
Name: Vastra
Fandom: Doctor Who
Gender: Female
Age: Unknown (and given Silurians tend to look young no matter their age, we'll probably never know)
Time Period: A few days after “A Good Man Goes To War”
Wing Color: Green (durhurr) and appear leathery
History: http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Vastra (It's a brief history, however Vastra has only appeared in one episode and only so much has been revealed concerning her history)
Personality: Much of Vastra's personality revolves around her species and her history as a Silurian living amongst humans. Vastra is a Silurian, otherwise known as 'homo reptilia'--Lizard Lady, essentially. In general, Silurians are seen as villains in the Doctor Who series, despite being a race that tends to avoid war except in cases of self-defense. However in both the more recent series and in the older seasons, Silurians have generally taken the antagonistic role in whatever situation the Doctor is involved in. This is perhaps because before homo sapiens, Silurians were the dominant species on Earth, and extremely technologically advanced. When it was predicted by several Silurian scientists that a large meteor was going to strike the Earth, some Silurians retreated underground in hibernation units to wait out the pseudo-apocalypse. Some fled the planet on an Ark (“Dinosaurs on a Space Ship”), and some passed off the prediction as the ravings of fanatics. But of course, the meteor did strike Earth, and most of the Silurians were wiped out, leaving humankind to take the reins and dominate Earth while the Silurians remained in hibernation underground.
Flash forward to about the year 1880, in London. The beginnings of the London underground were in full swing, which meant digging--lots of digging, and consequentially the discovery of a hapless pod of hibernating Silurians, Vastra among them. Terrified, the tunnel diggers killed almost the entirety of what Vastra called her “sisters”. Vastra awoke and seeing her sisters being murdered, immediately turned on the tunnel diggers and began killing them (and eating them--Silurians are carnivores) one by one. It was simple enough for a skilled Silurian warrior, and an obvious action to take against a visible threat. This incident not only shows how Vastra is willing to take immediate and deadly action against an attacker, but how honor-bound she is to her people, and how she feels responsible for protecting the innocent. After killing the initial band of diggers, Vastra lurked in the tunnels and took revenge on any innocent tunnel digger that crossed her path. Such a violent plan is somewhat uncharacteristic for a Silurian, however Vastra awoke to find her sisters being murdered by what used to be a primitive people. As a warrior, the last of her clutch, and a “monster” in the eyes of humans, it's clear why she reacted the way she did and immediately took to protecting herself and seeking revenge.
Fortunately, once the Doctor heard of her existence and the problem she was posing in the fledgling London Underground, he came to reason with her. Logic says that in the beginning, Vastra didn't listen to him and probably tried to kill him as well. But the Doctor is very persuasive, and Vastra isn't violent or evil at heart. She only reacted in such a knee-jerk fashion because it was most likely her duty to protect her defenseless sisters, and because she feared for her own life. She was in a strange time, in a strange place, feeling hunted and despised. Anyone would react violently. However the Doctor persuaded her to stop attacking and come out of the tunnel and into the world. Which was no doubt also terrifying, but Vastra is brave enough to not only take the Doctor at his word in a stressful moment, but to enter into a new situation and meet the obstacles that come with it.
And there are obviously many obstacles to living in the human world as a very-clearly-lizard-woman. But Vastra managed to convince most of London society that she was simply a normal woman with a strange skin condition, and non-TV canon works suggest that she's very successful at being a Victorian lady. In “A Good Man Goes To War”, Vastra displays some of that joking charm and grace around the Doctor (“I'm trying to be delicate, I know how you can blush.”) and her lover/companion Jenny (yes, she's a Victorian Silurian Lesbian. “Ians” everywhere) when she asks jovially if she's being insensitive again for suggesting she can't tell most humans apart. Another instance of her joking nature is when Jenny asks how Vastra managed to locate Jack the Ripper. Jenny asks, “How did you find him?”, and Vastra responds, “Stringy, but delicious all the same.” It's a morbid joke, but a joke nonetheless. Even her manner of speech and word-choice suggests a well-brought-up Victorian lady, and she certainly dresses very conservatively (yes, it's probably to save the makeup artists their sanity, but Victorians were known for their conservative dress--something that Vastra picks up without any apparent complaint).
But underneath the Lady is the same Silurian Warrior. Vastra's fighting style consists of two katana, sometimes wielded together, and her manner of battle dress is very Japanese-inspired. This suggests that after her awakening, Vastra spent some time in Japan studying swordplay (the Silurian preferred method of combat is usually firearms), probably around 1881 (she also went to Egypt in 1881 and was mistaken for a god--and even after that she didn't come back with a swollen head!). Her style of combat and views towards fighting as seen in “A Good Man Goes To War” are very much rooted in bushido and fighting honorably. She and Jenny take a pair of human guards by surprise, and instead of killing them outright they just hold them hostage (though Vastra isn't above threatening them a little: “Oh please, try it. I'm ever so hungry.”). She also says, when asked by the Doctor who one of the fallen Clerics is, “I don't know, but she was very brave.” Vastra doesn't need to know who someone is or what they've done previously, she finds honor and worth in moments of bravery and doing what's right. This valuing of bravery is seen again in “A Good Man Goes To War” when the Headless Monks are closing in on the Doctor's alliance, Amy, Rory, and Melody. Vastra is the one to steady the troops by saying, “The child, at all costs, protect the child!” The group then takes on a horde of Headless Monks, Vastra even taking on a few by herself and emerging without any major injuries. She is all about the moments of bravery and staring down bad odds and fighting on anyway even if death is waiting for her.
Another incident that demonstrates this honorable tone to her battle-outlook and her life, confirmed by Steven Moffat, is Vastra's first meeting with Jenny. Jenny was being sexually assaulted by a Chinese gang in London and Vastra, seeing this, attacked and killed the gang single-handed (and then most likely ate them). She didn't have to save Jenny, and Vastra probably didn't even know who she was at the time, but Vastra isn't the sort of person to just leave someone to be attacked and hurt when she can do something. Yet another example of her willingness to fight for the defenseless is Vastra's choice to join Scotland Yard as a freelance criminal-hunter. At the beginning of “A Good Man Goes To War”, she returns to her home having killed and eaten Jack the Ripper. Jack the Ripper isn't a direct threat to her or to Jenny, but Vastra took up some sort of law-enforcement because she felt it would fulfill her in some way. Clearly she isn't the sort to leave the innocent and defenseless without her help, either, which is a complete 180 from her days in the London Underground. She is very much a skilled warrior, and has the heart of a brave warrior as well.
Even though she says she can't tell one human from another in “A Good Man Goes To War”, Vastra doesn't hate humans. Obviously--she's in a relationship with Jenny and works with humans in Scotland Yard and the various members of the Doctor's alliance. She doesn't hate anyone on principal anymore, and she accredits her reluctance to act out of anger or fear to the Doctor. Vastra is calm and refined in her everyday life, willing to play around a little with her friends, and very much down-to-business and fierce in a fight. Despite all of the loss she experienced in her more recent years, she has decided to make a life for herself out of the ashes, and is determined to make it an interesting life.
Strengths: On top of being a very skilled warrior and swordswoman, Silurians also have a peculiar talent for stinging victims with a venom delivered through their extremely long and stretchy tongue, much like a frog-tongue. One touch can kill a full-grown human, however it's reasonable to assume that Vastra is able to control the venom delivery (during an exchange with Jenny, Vastra says “I don't know why you keep me around”, then stings a hapless Cleric with her tongue, paralyzing him. Then Vastra gives Jenny a suggestive look. Yes, this is Moffat making a lesbian reference, and obviously Vastra isn't going to, ahem, kill Jenny with her tongue). In addition to this Silurian ability, Vastra herself is very determined, very brave, and probably a great strategist given her talent for taking on criminals like Jack the Ripper by herself. But she's also able to adapt into a new situation without a great amount of difficulty or angst. She's a very fluid person, but not willing to bend and let someone threaten her, her friends, or the innocent.
Weaknesses: Not many weaknesses are apparent in Vastra's character or in the Silurian race, so I'm going off of some headcanon and canon-based conjecture. First, given Silurians are based on reptiles, I imagine that Vastra is very susceptible to cold temperatures (whenever we see Vastra, she's usually pretty covered too, be it in a cloak or long sleeves and pants). And while Vastra is depicted as fairly calm and not very confrontational, she is a very fiery personality. She's a warrior, and probably quick to a fight, quick to defend. Not immediately violent with swords drawn, but perhaps a little quick to take offense or make a hot retort. She does tend to say things without thinking (even asking Jenny if she's being insensitive “again” in “A Good Man Goes To War”), which could get her into trouble with people who don't know her terribly well.
Samples (ALL samples must be set in Luceti-verse.)
First Person: http://trainingwings.dreamwidth.org/20257.html?thread=1700897#cmt1700897 (Training Wings thread)
Third Person: Winter. Disgusting.
Vastra had never liked the wintertime. It always made her feel tired and weak, and as a consequence she always tried to avoid being in London during December and January. A few years ago she went to Egypt, and the year Vastra had realized Jenny was tired of running about and lighting fires in every room Vastra suggested a trip to Spain. They couldn't always leave the gray, icy town, but Vastra did very much look forward to their little Christmas trips when they happened.
But this year she was alone. She made her own fires and read by them alone. She fetched her own cloak and fur-lined coats and muffs and hats instead of Jenny insisting she wear a scarf too. No one called to visit, and Vastra almost expected the Doctor to make an appearance even if he couldn't do anything regarding her imprisonment.
It wouldn't do any good to dwell, though. Yes, she couldn't expect any familiar visitors in this place, but that wouldn't deter her from attempting to enjoy the holiday. As she walked back to her apartment, Vastra considered that she had all the ingredients for a meat pie and perhaps a pudding from the drippings, more wood for her fireplace, and a warm pair of gloves. So at the very least when she went home, she could tell Jenny she tried to have a warm and traditional Christmas. She wouldn't be yelled at quite so much then.
Not that she didn't miss Jenny, she did. She missed the nagging and her cheerful Cockney accent and that little mischievous look she got sometimes. It was intriguing on a 'I never thought I would be partnered with a human' level, and pulled at the one heartstring that Vastra had dedicated to what she considered to be 'adorable'. But Jenny was just a brilliant spirit, and unbreakable, and sweet, and... not there to make Vastra feel less strange.
She shook the feeling off and kept walking. No one could really point to her and call her strange. Everyone had tiny wings on their backs and bizarre things happened on a regular basis. They could stare at her, but Vastra couldn't stay ruffled. What would Jenny say if she came home and confessed to eating the whole village?
Smiling, Vastra imagined Jenny elbowing her gently and intoning that so familiar, 'Oh stop it!'