Application: Route 29
Jul. 22nd, 2013 11:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fabricatedheartPlayer
Name: Onion
Personal Journal: [Unknown site tag]theonionpatch
E-mail: killjoypokerface@aim.com
AIM/MSN:![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
ohniohn
Timezone: EST (GMT -5:00)
Current Characters in Route: N/A
Character
Name: Mary.
Series: Ib.
Timeline: "A Painting's Demise" ending.
Canon Resource Links: "Ib" RPG Maker Wiki page.
Personality: Mary is a character with many personality layers, and perhaps the easiest way to dissect them are to look at the symbolism behind both her name and of her signature yellow rose. The name Mary has multiple definitions: “wished for child”, “rebelliousness”, “bitterness”. Likewise, the yellow rose also has a number of meanings: "friendship", "jealousy", and "new beginnings".
The first definition of "Mary", "wished for child", is applicable both literally and figuratively. Mary began her existence as the final painting of Weiss Guertena, a world-famous artist in the Ib universe, shortly before his passing. Being a solitary man who never (save for a single painting) used live subjects for his work, it has been heavily speculated that Mary is, in fact, the child that Guertena wished for but never had. As such, on the surface, Mary has a very typical little girl's personality: energetic, cheerful, outgoing, fun-loving, and happy-go-lucky. These traits are thoroughly demonstrated in canon; for example, when she goes on about her favorite colors when Garry attempts to warn her about the roses, and during the optional conversations she has with Ib about things like snow and crayons and sweets and Mary randomly making up a song.
However, her happy, carefree attitude only runs so deep, as can be surmised from "rebelliousness", "bitterness", and "jealousy". It's debatable how much of these characteristics are intrinsic to Mary's being, but they are, at the very least, created environmentally from her having been trapped in the Fabricated World with the ability to see into the real gallery through a single "window". While the rebellious bit of her nature can manifest in more innocent ways (ignoring Garry's warnings about the rose, wanting to read a book that Garry deems too "adult" for the girls), the greatest example of it is her desire to defy Guertena and escape the Fabricated World. However, she is unable to leave without certain conditions being met (two people come in, and she takes the place of one of them to leave), and having her goal dangled in front of her a distance that leaves it just unattainable could certainly turn her bitter and jealous of those who live in the real world. When Mary finds Ib and Garry in the Fabricated world and freedom is within her reach, she becomes very possessive of Ib, and jealous of Garry's relationship with her. Almost immediately upon meeting the pair, Mary's emotions influence the Fabricated World into separating Garry from her and Ib, and Mary is all to eager to leave him behind. As the girls progress, Mary expresses mild concern for Garry, but that is overshadowed by her negative comments about him, her possibly outright stating that she doesn't like "him" after Garry finds out her secret, and the question she may pose Ib: "If only two of us could get out of here... then what?" If Ib answers that she'd leave with Mary, Mary is incredibly relieved and all but forgets Garry; if Ib answers that she'd leave with Garry, Mary backpedals and promises they'll all get out together. Either way, it's clear that Mary is trying to manipulate Ib away from Garry, whether that is conscious- or subconsciously. Finally, in a possible scene in the toybox, Mary gets ahold of Ib's rose before the latter can retrieve it, and in her most direct attempt to separate Ib from Garry, Mary orchestrates a trade for Garry's rose, then uses it to kill him (through a playful game of "loves me, loves me not"). If Ib chooses to return to the real world straight away ("Together Forever" ending), Mary is able to sneak out with her, though Ib does not remember her ordeal in the Fabricated World. Depending on whether Ib has Garry's candy or lighter, Mary will eat it or take it away claiming it's dangerous, respectively; assuming Mary retains her memories of being a painting, this is certainly in an attempt to keep Ib's memory from being jogged (which happens in the "Promise of Reunion" ending).
However, it would be wrong to paint (pun not intended) Mary in an entirely negative light, as ultimately, the most widely known meaning of the yellow rose is "friendship". It's made clear that she has at least some care and affection for the other gallery-dwellers: she calls the Lady in Red "onee-san"/"big sis" after finding her picture in a book, she deters Ib from being destroying too many mannequin heads, and she thinks that the creepy dolls that end up haunting Garry are cute. Also, Mary has varying degrees of obvious attachment toward Ib and even Garry, depending on how the story unfolds. Though her primary concern is Ib, it's very clear that Mary did not want to resort to hurting either Ib or Garry, until Garry learns that she is a painting and her own survival is threatened. Even then, it takes Mary until the final confrontation when Ib is able to burn her painting for her to feel the need to hurt Ib. In one of the two new endings ("Welcome to the World of Guertena"), Mary is able to choose to stay in the Fabricated World with a despairing Ib (and a hallucinating Garry) after attempting and failing to bring her back from her hopeless state, saying that that she doesn't want to leave her first friend behind. On the other hand, Mary can choose to attempt to leave the gallery without them ("A Painting's Demise). But because the correct conditions weren't met, the gallery is empty, slowly darkening until it disappears altogether. In her last moments of desperation, Mary calls upon both Ib and Garry for help.
Frankly, Mary's is a rather tragic existence. In what is probably one of her most telling pieces of dialogue, Mary questions whether she'll be tall like Garry one day and expresses a wish to grow up, and her sketchbook illustrates her lonely world: "won't somebody come soon?" In the end, all she wants is, as her rose means, a "new beginning": a new life as a real little girl in the real world, with friends to play with, sweets to eat, and fun to be had.
Strengths/Weaknesses:
+ Adorable. Come on, look at this smile! How can someone think she isn't cute?!
+ Artistic. Mary has a thoroughly artistic spirit and loves to draw and paint. She's quite good, if she says so herself!
+ Non-traditional thinking. Mary is entirely untethered by normal human thinking patterns, so if you want a creative solution to a problem, she's the person to ask. This also shows up in her totally uncanny valley vision of what is cute.
+/- Boundless curiosity and few inhibitions. While these traits can certainly lead her to great discoveries, they can also lead her to heaps of trouble. One time, she decided to eat a crayon. It was not a Good Idea™.
+/- Berserker mode. Mary has an intense need to survive. If she feels like her safety is being threatened, beware, because this little girl will do everything in her power to get out of that situation. However...
+/- Strength and stature of a child. Though her first instinct in the face of danger is to fight, Mary isn't strong by any means. She is, however, fast and small, so she would generally be able to run and dodge her way out of a pinch, if necessary. She can also brandish a palette knife with some skill.
- No familiarity with human norms. Though a few positives stem from this, it's safe to say that there are far more negatives, especially since she's getting tossed into a world of human norms.
- No moral compass. Because she didn't grow up in human society, she doesn't have society-given values, so her idea of what is acceptable and what is not is quite skewed. However, she has begun learning the importance of friendship, and that value will grow with time.
- Obnoxious. Mary is extremely energetic, in-your-face, and attention-needy. If you can't keep up with her, it's likely that you'll want to throttle her. If you can keep up with her, you may still want to throttle her.
- Fun-loving to a fault. Mary's number one priority is FUN. If it isn't fun, she doesn't want to do it, and that's that.
- Intense fear of fire. Because of her origins as a painting, even though she will be flesh and bone here, Mary is still terrified of fire. It's one of those things that will send her into berserker mode.
Pokémon Information
Affiliation: Trainer.
Starter: Drifloon. Female, Quirky nature, likes to run. Her special ability is Aftermath.
Password: Ginger Snaps.
Samples
First Person Sample:
[For a few seconds after the broadcast starts, Mary's face seems puzzled, but it quickly changes to wide-eyed surprise, then again to a bright smile.]
Oh, it's me! Hehehe!
[The camera drops for another few seconds as she pulls her Drifloon closer so the Pokemon can see the PokeGear's screen as well.]
Look, 'Loony, it's us! But how come we're on the screen all of a sudden? [She seems to contemplate this question for a moment before coming to a realization:]
Maybe it's a camera? Oooh, 'Loony, let's take a picture! [She moves to hold the device at arms length so the screen shows the both of them, 'Loony tucking herself under Mary's chin.] Cheeeeeeese!
[But Mary then remembers she doesn't know what button to press to take the picture. Her brow furrows and she pulls the PokeGear close again, fussing with the buttons until the feed cuts off.]
Third Person Sample:
Name: Onion
Personal Journal: [Unknown site tag]
theonionpatchE-mail: killjoypokerface@aim.com
AIM/MSN:
Timezone: EST (GMT -5:00)
Current Characters in Route: N/A
Character
Name: Mary.
Series: Ib.
Timeline: "A Painting's Demise" ending.
Canon Resource Links: "Ib" RPG Maker Wiki page.
Personality: Mary is a character with many personality layers, and perhaps the easiest way to dissect them are to look at the symbolism behind both her name and of her signature yellow rose. The name Mary has multiple definitions: “wished for child”, “rebelliousness”, “bitterness”. Likewise, the yellow rose also has a number of meanings: "friendship", "jealousy", and "new beginnings".
The first definition of "Mary", "wished for child", is applicable both literally and figuratively. Mary began her existence as the final painting of Weiss Guertena, a world-famous artist in the Ib universe, shortly before his passing. Being a solitary man who never (save for a single painting) used live subjects for his work, it has been heavily speculated that Mary is, in fact, the child that Guertena wished for but never had. As such, on the surface, Mary has a very typical little girl's personality: energetic, cheerful, outgoing, fun-loving, and happy-go-lucky. These traits are thoroughly demonstrated in canon; for example, when she goes on about her favorite colors when Garry attempts to warn her about the roses, and during the optional conversations she has with Ib about things like snow and crayons and sweets and Mary randomly making up a song.
However, her happy, carefree attitude only runs so deep, as can be surmised from "rebelliousness", "bitterness", and "jealousy". It's debatable how much of these characteristics are intrinsic to Mary's being, but they are, at the very least, created environmentally from her having been trapped in the Fabricated World with the ability to see into the real gallery through a single "window". While the rebellious bit of her nature can manifest in more innocent ways (ignoring Garry's warnings about the rose, wanting to read a book that Garry deems too "adult" for the girls), the greatest example of it is her desire to defy Guertena and escape the Fabricated World. However, she is unable to leave without certain conditions being met (two people come in, and she takes the place of one of them to leave), and having her goal dangled in front of her a distance that leaves it just unattainable could certainly turn her bitter and jealous of those who live in the real world. When Mary finds Ib and Garry in the Fabricated world and freedom is within her reach, she becomes very possessive of Ib, and jealous of Garry's relationship with her. Almost immediately upon meeting the pair, Mary's emotions influence the Fabricated World into separating Garry from her and Ib, and Mary is all to eager to leave him behind. As the girls progress, Mary expresses mild concern for Garry, but that is overshadowed by her negative comments about him, her possibly outright stating that she doesn't like "him" after Garry finds out her secret, and the question she may pose Ib: "If only two of us could get out of here... then what?" If Ib answers that she'd leave with Mary, Mary is incredibly relieved and all but forgets Garry; if Ib answers that she'd leave with Garry, Mary backpedals and promises they'll all get out together. Either way, it's clear that Mary is trying to manipulate Ib away from Garry, whether that is conscious- or subconsciously. Finally, in a possible scene in the toybox, Mary gets ahold of Ib's rose before the latter can retrieve it, and in her most direct attempt to separate Ib from Garry, Mary orchestrates a trade for Garry's rose, then uses it to kill him (through a playful game of "loves me, loves me not"). If Ib chooses to return to the real world straight away ("Together Forever" ending), Mary is able to sneak out with her, though Ib does not remember her ordeal in the Fabricated World. Depending on whether Ib has Garry's candy or lighter, Mary will eat it or take it away claiming it's dangerous, respectively; assuming Mary retains her memories of being a painting, this is certainly in an attempt to keep Ib's memory from being jogged (which happens in the "Promise of Reunion" ending).
However, it would be wrong to paint (pun not intended) Mary in an entirely negative light, as ultimately, the most widely known meaning of the yellow rose is "friendship". It's made clear that she has at least some care and affection for the other gallery-dwellers: she calls the Lady in Red "onee-san"/"big sis" after finding her picture in a book, she deters Ib from being destroying too many mannequin heads, and she thinks that the creepy dolls that end up haunting Garry are cute. Also, Mary has varying degrees of obvious attachment toward Ib and even Garry, depending on how the story unfolds. Though her primary concern is Ib, it's very clear that Mary did not want to resort to hurting either Ib or Garry, until Garry learns that she is a painting and her own survival is threatened. Even then, it takes Mary until the final confrontation when Ib is able to burn her painting for her to feel the need to hurt Ib. In one of the two new endings ("Welcome to the World of Guertena"), Mary is able to choose to stay in the Fabricated World with a despairing Ib (and a hallucinating Garry) after attempting and failing to bring her back from her hopeless state, saying that that she doesn't want to leave her first friend behind. On the other hand, Mary can choose to attempt to leave the gallery without them ("A Painting's Demise). But because the correct conditions weren't met, the gallery is empty, slowly darkening until it disappears altogether. In her last moments of desperation, Mary calls upon both Ib and Garry for help.
Frankly, Mary's is a rather tragic existence. In what is probably one of her most telling pieces of dialogue, Mary questions whether she'll be tall like Garry one day and expresses a wish to grow up, and her sketchbook illustrates her lonely world: "won't somebody come soon?" In the end, all she wants is, as her rose means, a "new beginning": a new life as a real little girl in the real world, with friends to play with, sweets to eat, and fun to be had.
Strengths/Weaknesses:
+ Adorable. Come on, look at this smile! How can someone think she isn't cute?!
+ Artistic. Mary has a thoroughly artistic spirit and loves to draw and paint. She's quite good, if she says so herself!
+ Non-traditional thinking. Mary is entirely untethered by normal human thinking patterns, so if you want a creative solution to a problem, she's the person to ask. This also shows up in her totally uncanny valley vision of what is cute.
+/- Boundless curiosity and few inhibitions. While these traits can certainly lead her to great discoveries, they can also lead her to heaps of trouble. One time, she decided to eat a crayon. It was not a Good Idea™.
+/- Berserker mode. Mary has an intense need to survive. If she feels like her safety is being threatened, beware, because this little girl will do everything in her power to get out of that situation. However...
+/- Strength and stature of a child. Though her first instinct in the face of danger is to fight, Mary isn't strong by any means. She is, however, fast and small, so she would generally be able to run and dodge her way out of a pinch, if necessary. She can also brandish a palette knife with some skill.
- No familiarity with human norms. Though a few positives stem from this, it's safe to say that there are far more negatives, especially since she's getting tossed into a world of human norms.
- No moral compass. Because she didn't grow up in human society, she doesn't have society-given values, so her idea of what is acceptable and what is not is quite skewed. However, she has begun learning the importance of friendship, and that value will grow with time.
- Obnoxious. Mary is extremely energetic, in-your-face, and attention-needy. If you can't keep up with her, it's likely that you'll want to throttle her. If you can keep up with her, you may still want to throttle her.
- Fun-loving to a fault. Mary's number one priority is FUN. If it isn't fun, she doesn't want to do it, and that's that.
- Intense fear of fire. Because of her origins as a painting, even though she will be flesh and bone here, Mary is still terrified of fire. It's one of those things that will send her into berserker mode.
Pokémon Information
Affiliation: Trainer.
Starter: Drifloon. Female, Quirky nature, likes to run. Her special ability is Aftermath.
Password: Ginger Snaps.
Samples
First Person Sample:
[For a few seconds after the broadcast starts, Mary's face seems puzzled, but it quickly changes to wide-eyed surprise, then again to a bright smile.]
Oh, it's me! Hehehe!
[The camera drops for another few seconds as she pulls her Drifloon closer so the Pokemon can see the PokeGear's screen as well.]
Look, 'Loony, it's us! But how come we're on the screen all of a sudden? [She seems to contemplate this question for a moment before coming to a realization:]
Maybe it's a camera? Oooh, 'Loony, let's take a picture! [She moves to hold the device at arms length so the screen shows the both of them, 'Loony tucking herself under Mary's chin.] Cheeeeeeese!
[But Mary then remembers she doesn't know what button to press to take the picture. Her brow furrows and she pulls the PokeGear close again, fussing with the buttons until the feed cuts off.]
Third Person Sample:
Mary jolted awake at the buzzing of the alarm clock, a gasp escaping her as her eyes snapped open. She immediately pushed herself up into a sitting position and tried to orient herself, but it hardly took a second for her to realize that this place was certainly not the gallery. The last thing she remembered was the darkness and the silence, only broken by the voice that scolded her for trying to leave. But here, it was bright, the blanket over her legs was warm, and she could hear birds chirping outside.
"Drifloon?" Mary repeated and looked up to the woman with wide, curious eyes, her surprise less because of the situation at large and more because there was another person here. "Who are you?"
This is what Mary had wished for all along. She was outside the gallery. She was free.
A bit of hope sparked amidst of the fear and despair still lingering in her chest, and she jumped unceremoniously out of the bed to throw open the door and dash out of the unfamiliar room, ready to investigate. But, as she clambered down the stairs, the little blonde heard a calmly excited voice call, "Happy birthday, Mary!" She turned the corner into the house's kitchen and found a kind-looking woman smiling with a plate of pancakes in hand, a purple balloon with eyes and a tuft of fluff on it's head floating idly beside her.
Before Mary even thought to say something to the woman, she was already bounding across the room to grab the balloon by its strings, spinning the poor thing around as she laughed and exclaimed, "Woooow! A balloon, a balloon!"
"Easy, honey!" The woman set her hands on Mary's shoulders, trying to still her with a smile. The balloon didn't seem to mind much -- it just happily bumped Mary's shoulder, greeting her in its own way -- but the woman still gently explained, "That's your Drifloon, not a toy."
"Easy, honey!" The woman set her hands on Mary's shoulders, trying to still her with a smile. The balloon didn't seem to mind much -- it just happily bumped Mary's shoulder, greeting her in its own way -- but the woman still gently explained, "That's your Drifloon, not a toy."
"Drifloon?" Mary repeated and looked up to the woman with wide, curious eyes, her surprise less because of the situation at large and more because there was another person here. "Who are you?"
The woman only giggled, as though she found the question endearing. "I'm your mother, silly! Now come on, you need to get ready. Today's the day you start your journey!"
The next few minutes were a whirlwind as the woman now claiming to be her mother rushed Mary through breakfast and packing, dodging and outright ignoring her endless slew of questions and ultimately pushing her and the balloon out the door. However, despite the lack of answers she'd gotten, all of Mary's confusion seemed to melt away when she stepped outside.
She recognized the small cluster of houses as a town, just like the ones she'd read about and drawn in her sketchbook. It was even brighter than in the house, and there were people -- people! -- milling around. There were no ceilings to trap her; only the warmth of the sun and the endless blue of the sky.
She recognized the small cluster of houses as a town, just like the ones she'd read about and drawn in her sketchbook. It was even brighter than in the house, and there were people -- people! -- milling around. There were no ceilings to trap her; only the warmth of the sun and the endless blue of the sky.
This is what Mary had wished for all along. She was outside the gallery. She was free.
