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[creatively]

PERSONA APPLICATION

PLAYER INFO

Name: Kisa

Age: 21

Timezone:

Contact: (earnestwind@gmail.com

Activity/Involvement: I would love it as needed, but it's absolutely not necessary for me to want/play this character!

PERSONA INFO

Name: Scathach: The Shadowy One, She Who Strikes Fear

Story: Celtic Mythology/ Táin bó Chuailgné/The Shadowy One

Domain: Suppression, Shadows, Wisdom, Wandering, Guidance

Affinities: Wholeness, Fear, Identity, Avoidance,

If you're not sure what to put for domains or affinities you can check out the spreadsheet here!  If you are still unsure you can just provide a general outlook/general list of things your personae would reward/appreciate.

Story Info: (
http://covenscathach.org/scath.html (This is a pretty good reference and links to the original story as well! Except, as far as I can tell it gets names wrong from all the others I've read. Uathach is Scathach's daughter and Aoife is her twin sister.)
http://celtic-deities.tumblr.com/post/24947728403/scathach (Unfortunately, there's not a lot of information on the Gaelic/Celtic Goddess to really supplement here)

The story of Scathach is one that changes through time. It's said in one account that she and her sister, Aoife, trained warrior women in Rome until they were forced to flee north. Scathach settles on what's now known as the modern day Isle of Skye (formerly Isle of Scathach) and becomes a well-known Irish martial-artist. Men from throughout the land came to be taught by her, but getting to her isle wasn't the easiest thing to do. Scathach thought that truly be a warrior you had to overcome your fears and so to get to her first you had to face all of those things. Most people didn't succeed.

She's said to have trained many Irish warriors through her life, but the most notable was Cuchulain. Cuchulain did not travel to her island alone, but the two that were supposed to accompany him gave up halfway through due to the rigorous trials her island set forth. So when the man arrived it meant that he was worthy of Scathach's training. Of course, her daughter immediately falls in love with him and... Cuchulain barges in, points a spear at Scathach's chest, and demands he train her.

...And so she agreed, too. (It's not in one of the versions I've read, but it's also around this time that Scathach granted him three wishes: to be trained by her, to marry her daughter, and to read his fortune. She also at some point gives him his famed spear. She's also known for having had sex with him and her other trainees).

Overtime, during Cuchulain's training, Aoife an Scathach break out into war. And when they set to battle, Scathach fed him a sleeping potion to keep him from going into it along with all the others. Except it lasted a total of an hour so he joined up with Scathach's two sons and together defeated Aoife's three greatest warriors. The next morning, Scathach sees her two sons approaching the battle and worries for them... But apparently Cuchulain has this because he appears and defeats three more soldiers at once.

At this point, Aoife herself challenges Scathach. Cuchulain however offers to go in her stead and asks Scathach what Aoife feared most. The women concedes and tells him what it is, showing some certain wisdom. So he tricks her and defeats her. After this Aoife swears to not turn against Scathach again and.... He started courting Aoife. Later, Scathach, known for the power of druids/fortunetelling, tells him of the suffering that will come in his future.

The next part of her story is her transition into the Gaelic Goddess of the Underworld and Battle (http://www.blueroebuck.com/scathach.html).

The most popular way to connect Scathach's story to her mortal life is that she was a warrior women wisen to divinity. The stories from here are easy to combine with that in mind. The Scathach that trained CuChulain is sometimes described as never aging which is on par with what people think of Goddesses. She was also known for her magical abilities and fortunetelling, something that tended to make her come off as a creature of darkness to the early people. The final likeness is in that Scathach was the guide for the dead-- usually warriors, but not always-- and helped them face their trials to the afterlife. This easily can relate to her isle, which not many people made it through and was known to be a path of suffering.

As such, in a lot of ways the Scathach that trained CuChulain changed very little. Instead of training people, she guided them on their very harshest of personal journeys: the one into death. Usually, she was a decent guide. She favored soldiers, but that's to be expected. Still, their journey was through their sins and fears and sometimes those who were known to be worst she'd drop off such people into torturous lands...

At the end of the day, no matter her version, Scathach is a warrior woman who's all about overcoming personal trials.

Notable physical traits:
http://katewoodauthor.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/scathach-sodahead-com.jpeg
http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/236x/9b/0b/ba/9b0bba4ce76bbaf6dc502f4dfcfae40a.jpg

Notable other traits:
While she's mostly a warrior, she's also presented very thoroughly as a female warrior and sexually accepting. For this, she still sounds feminine in speech. She speaks wisely in the myths and doesn't handle things recklesslessly, which is often traditionally considered masculine. She considers things as they are and answers however she deems fit. She worries about her sons and students getting hurt to the point she's known for putting them to sleep sometimes... But in the end if they're there she doesn't try to stop them. So she's very resourceful, while understanding that sometimes kids need to get into trouble to accomplish something.

Personality:
As a Persona-- as well as a figure in mythology/tales-- Scathach is a figure of guidance against those who face personal trials. She's not about overcoming her own, but about helping others succeed in theirs. This means that a lot of her focus in life is in training people and when she is risen to Goddesshood it's about helping people accept their lives and moving on. Her themes, as such, would rotate more around that than battle (but they're presented in obstacles, obstacle courses in varying ways because it's who she is).

I've vaguely mentioned it before, but there are four main aspects we see Scathach as in any story: a warrior, a mother, a leader, and a lover. Each one of these aspects bleed into the other and so her personality can be read in all of them as a whole.

She's a woman who's unabashed by sexual desires and war. She doesn't flinch at things that would be considered unfeminine or difficult, but instead accepts them. Scathach doesn't answer things wistfully, there's always a purpose in how she carries herself and what she wants to do. This means that there are plenty of times she is overbearing or forceful in situations, but she can listen in the face of someone else's dilemmas.

As a whole, she's more of a caregiver than a villain. This doesn't mean she's free of villainous roles--- she isn't. Being the goddess gaelic of death and a leader of warrior woman means she's harsh. She will put you through trials that seem like torture-- and can be, really-- but ultimately if you prove yourself in various ways she's willing to accept it. This may mean passing under all the conditions of the task or breaking it and passing it in different ways: her essence is about crafting and destroying your own personal barriers, so there is no right and wrong answer.

So, despite any trials bared, she will always watch and keep a careful eye on the people before her. She will speak up if she feels it necessary. Other times, she may intervene in sly, sneakish ways to assure that the person isn't brought to any specific harm. This is the essence of her maternal desire, godly nature, and role as a warrior. If you make it to her side, then you are protected for the rest of time.

Even though she's known as the warrior maid, Scatchach is never seen attacking defenseless men. This isn't her trials to get to her island or what she puts soldiers through in the afterlife, but in actual battle she is perceptive and a strategist. The whole reason she doesn't want Cu to go alone is because she foresaw his death against a handful of enemies. She has strategies to the best methods of approach. In whole, this shows she isn't a careless woman and doesn't act without reason.

Of course, as a lover this role is kind of reversed. She doesn't blink from having sex with her students. Even Cu, who is in love with her daughter at the start of the tale, becomes her lover at some point. This shows that she has little reservations there and is a little more careless. So the idea of physical intimacy is a draw to her and something she approves of and is likely to be a part of and involve herself with (read: physical intimacy/kissing games).

The constant thing in all of these roles is that Scathach is a woman of confidence. She never falters in her role and expects that of the people who surround her. Or, more to the point, she knows that people can overcome trials and those who fail to do so aren't worthy. Which means that she can be fairly critical and unwavering in this sense. But her whole identity is overcoming these issues and standing your own ground, so it makes sense.

In the end, Scathach is a very free woman outside of her conditions of a leader and a mother. She's not afraid to break your hand nor is she afraid to tease you openly. She doesn't own the world, but she does own herself and it shows in her behavior. She just kind of reaches out and tries to guide people to their own 'owning', so to speak, in many of the stories.

Games: Scathach's games would usually run under the theme of "personal trials". Some games would go with presenting teams with choices of morality, but others would have characters being presented with general fears and seeing how they respond to them.

A lot of her games would also be fairly physical given what she's best known for. This may be in exploradas! She would have teams challenge each other and combat in whatever way they may way (obstacle courses, debates, etc). Competition with teams that others are known to have difficulties with would also be a thing...

In general, her games wouldn't usually be fluffy. Actually, they'd be more likely to make characters uncomfortable-- although not to the extent of trauma games unless it IS one-- just because she's all about overcoming what stands in your way.

That's not to say she won't have 'fluffy' games in a sense, but they'd all be about physical intimacy and kissing (hand holding, cuddling, etc).The extent would vary, but passion and accepting sexual desires would be a running theme. No one would be able to win by just going 'no thanks'.

Her games may test the bonds of teams and deception between them. For example, a game I have in mind recently would be a good fit for her in that teams create a 'trick' or a 'treat' and choose three teams. They must choose at least one team to receive the trick. The team receiving it must then guess which is it is based on who the team is. Of course, with Aather this would probably fall differently, but that's the general idea.

Mostly her games would largely be crafted to have teams overcome some sort of personal trial. There'll be a mixture of conversation games, but largely her games would be more competitive which is why I feel it would be a good persona for this time!

An example game would be as follows:
In round one teams would be asked to come up with three questions. These questions would not be accepted if they didn't follow the guidelines of it... well, not being "cutesy" questions. Only things like, "Each person in the room must admit one of their fears?", "What's one thing you lied about recently?" etc.
--They'd also be given the option of saying which team they think would be better to answer their number one question (although said team getting the question would depend on numbers/if everyone decided to send one/two teams the question. in this situation only what could be would be allowed).
-For the next three rounds each team would answer the questions. If they refused they'd lose points, but if they answered despite the troubles... They'd gain points.
-A potential bonus round would be one asking the characters what they think they've gained from the questions asked.

A game for her personal arc would be centered around her own fears: (Watching her daughter die, her island over-run, Cu being taken down, etc). And giving the heroes an option of what they would do in her shoes and how to handle the situation. This would end with each scenario being shown what would happen in her eyes. This would be three main rounds with a fourth bonus round of her directly asking them a question alike if they truly believe these scenarios could be changed and if impossibilities could be beat.

Most-- if not all-- of her games would be directed to a single focus. They're about being guided to find an answer or giving guidance to a fear. For example, the above game example is one I've done before-- but the idea behind it would be the the teammates would discuss and help each other persevere. Even obstacle courses would be designed in a way that even if one person has to complete the task, the others participating would be essential. While there would be a lot of physical/battle aspects to some games, that's by far the focus and it's more about learning and accepting who you are. She can just do it rather harshly at times!

Mingles/Events: There's actually quite a bit that would be fun to approach with her! If characters wanted to, she could help set up arenas/tournaments of battle to entertain the heroes and knights. Occasionally, she could even offer silly things for physical affections (but that wouldn't be something that would happen often). She could also help characters seeking it face personal demons/death and in that way be there as... Persona support? At least in regards to hiatuses, etc.

In contributing to Aather, she'd be best for any battles against the darkness/etc. While she wouldn't be a Persona about friendship! She is one of personal shortcomings meaning that in times of need she could help empower those who embrace that aspect and want to fight. Plot related, I don't really have anything in mind right this moment, but don't mind feeling an gaps necessary.

Other: Mostly, what I really want from this is to play a Persona! Scathach is right down my alley because she can run the sort of games I'd like to play.

As a character arc for her, I'd love to see Scathach questioned by her nature to put people through trials to prove themselves. This is something I think Aather would be really good at. Because while she only puts soliders on trials and takes care of them, at the same time she can be harsh about it. Heroes in Aather would get the same vibe from her, and I feel they'd confront this and try to guide her in a new path. I just think there'd be a lot of interesting conflict to play with against the heroes of Aather. Because while she's a 'good' Persona type she'd also perform in a lot of questionable was to the heroes, so it would be a lot of push and pull.

I should note more plainly that a lot of my ideas with her come from interaction with the heroes themselves. Scathach's story is about her interaction with her warriors and with the dead, so she'd become invested in the heroes and knights of Aather. I already plan that a lot of my games will actually be pulled from her interactions with them and crafted around it. Also, however, a few ooc surveys because her games will be built around the characters themselves. In general, she would help those in need regardless of a game being run by her or not.