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Feb. 27th, 2014
Ruby City Application
Feb. 27th, 2014 01:41 pmPLAYER
Name: Onion.
Age: 22.
Personal Journal: N/A.
E-mail: killjoypokerface@aim.com
AIM/MSN/etc:![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
ohniohn
CHARACTER
Name: Irisviel von Einzbern.
Canon: Fate/Zero.
Age: Appears in her 20s, actually about 10.
Timeline: Post-episode 15, after the defeat of Caster.
If playing another character from the same canon, how will you deal with this?: N/A.
Personality:
Excepting her distinctive hair and eye colors, at first glance, Irisviel appears to be a normal human, like any other. Kind and cheerful with a mild, gentle disposition, she is the very ideal of an elegant, traditional woman brought up in noble circumstances. However, to understand who she is, we must start with what she is.
Irisviel is a homunculus created through magic by the Einzberns, a famed family of mages living in a secluded German forest. Never meant to have independent thought or desire beyond self-preservation, Irisviel was “born” the vessel for the Holy Grail, an omnipotent wish-granting device fought for in the Holy Grail War. As such, she believed herself simply a tool to be used by her family. The force that catapulted her past that state is Kiritsugu Emiya, the mage hired by the Einzberns to fight for them in the fourth Holy Grail War. While how he affected her will be discussed at a later point, it is first imperative to understand how Irisviel came to develop a sense of self. As chronicled one of the drama CDs, Kiritsugu found Irisviel to be lacking as a vessel for the Grail because she refused to defend herself against a strike. So, to test her durability, her creator cast her into the winter forest, where she would have to contend with many dangers to survive. Appalled, Kiritsugu rescued Irisviel and began educating her about the world and what it means to be human. This was the most defining moment in Irisviel’s life: given the chance to learn and grow, the homunculus flourished, and she quickly developed into the woman depicted in Fate/Zero.
Now that the stage has been set, talking about who Iri is becomes possible.
As she had no purpose beyond her role in the upcoming Grail War, Irisviel was kept away from the world in the Einzbern castle for almost the entirety of her life. This sheltered existence created a very childlike side to her personality, insatiably curious and rather disconnected from society. The former is most apparent when she and Saber first arrive in Fuyuki: Irisviel watches the city go by out the window of their vehicle with pure excitement, hoping that she will finally be able to experience things she’s read about or seen in pictures and movies. Like all of her other joys in life, including arranging outfits (which she does for Saber as well) and driving, Iri approaches both learning and experience with a nearly juvenile sense of happiness. Of course, even in these joys we see the aforementioned disconnect: the clothes she chooses for both herself and Saber are out of the ordinary enough for people to stare as the pair walks through the airport, and the way she drives is… let’s just say she’s breaking the vast majority of Japan’s traffic laws. However, in a less literal sense, Iri is also quite disconnected in that she is honest with her affections in a way that most adults have learned not to be. During a serious conversation with Kiritsugu, who eventually became her husband, she interjects specifically to call him “the man that [she] loves”; and even to Saber, who she’d known for only a very short amount of time, Iri declares that she “never gets tired of watching [her]”. In these ways, many would see Irisviel as immature, and perhaps naive.
On the other hand, the fact that Irisviel was so sheltered leads us to another conclusion: that the environment she “grew up” in was very controlled; there were very few forces to influence her development. This, in addition to Kiritsugu being the person who offered her a life beyond a simple puppet, is why her husband is such an integral part of who she is. While she is completely capable of free thought, as evidenced in the drama CD, she still claims to get her beliefs “directly from him” in the anime, including the wish that he hopes to fulfill by winning the Grail: to save the world. Even though her inexperience renders her unable to truly understand that wish, she places an unwavering faith in Kiritsugu that is witnessed multiple times through the series. For instance, when Saber and Kiritsugu are at odds over whether to launch an attack against Caster as he murders children to draw Saber out, Irisviel defers to her husband’s judgement, waiting until he appears unable to take any more before telling Saber to go. In another example, after a particularly gruesome end to a Master/Servant pair, Saber is angered by the strategy Kiritsugu employed to defeat them, and when Kiritsugu notes that this is the first time Iri has witnessed how he kills, she insists not on an explanation for herself, but for Saber.
It is interesting to note, however, neither Kiritsugu’s ideal nor her duty as the Grail’s vessel are Irisviel’s top priority: love is. In the series, this is most apparent when she, instead of protecting herself, engages Kirei Kotomine, the man that Kiritsugu identified as the single foe in the War he is afraid of, in direct combat to stop him from reaching her husband. However, perhaps a more interesting example can be found on the drama CD, after Iri identifies love as the most basic of human motivations: in the conversation where she and Kiritsugu discuss how their love is destined to end tragically, Iri guesses that Kiritsugu plans to “burn himself out” in the War; however, to keep him from destroying himself, she suggests they conceive a child together to give him a reason to live after his wish is granted and she is gone. Of course, her love eventually goes well beyond just Kiritsugu, and many times through the series, she hopes that others will never have to live like she did: she laments the fact that others treated Saber like a tool and that the former King could never enjoy simple things, like the ocean; she makes Maiya, a former child soldier who pledged herself to Kiritsugu, promise to live for herself once the War is over; and most importantly, she wishes for the end of the Holy Grail Wars so that her daughter, Illyasviel, will not have to face the same fate she does.
Still, as much as she wishes better lives for others, Irisviel is very much at peace with herself. Both on the drama CD and during the series, Kiritsugu presents her with the option of running away and living a peaceful life, and both times she refuses, choosing instead to live her purpose for his sake. She is very much aware of her short-comings, whether they are something as simple as flaws in her creation as a homunculus or, as mentioned earlier, the fact that she can never really understand the world that Kiritsugu wishes to save; and while the latter causes her some sadness, she never expresses bitterness over her circumstances. When she finally confides the entirety of her situation to Maiya, it is because the latter will not pity her. Despite the end she faces, Irisviel stands strong and steadfast, placing her husband and daughter, those she loves most, above all.
Background: Here.
Abilities:
The most notable things about Irisviel’s abilities derive from the nature of her existence as a homunculus. First of all, she does not require the basic human needs of food, water or shelter, as she lives on magical energy. Theoretically, she should be able to live as long as the planet has mana (magical energy of nature) to draw from; however, homunculi lack the strength of od (magical energy of living beings) that humans have, making their lives quite fragile.
On the other hand, as a homunculus, Irisviel has very powerful Magic Circuits, making her Magecraft likewise powerful. She uses the alchemical Magecraft passed down through the Einzbern family, which is used to create and manipulate matter. Through transmutation, Iri is able to wield long, thin wires as weapons, shaping them to her will by passing prana (magical energy processed through Magic Circuits) through them. She is also proficient at other types of Magecraft, such as barrier spells, the use of familiars, and healing Magecraft.
Finally, as Iri was created to be the vessel for the Holy Grail, she has a number of connections to the War itself. She is able to sense the presences of Masters and Servants, and, as Servants are killed, her body loses more and more of its human capacities so that it may become the Grail. At one point, in order to remain functional, she must shut down her sense of touch so what energy she has isn't wasted on something nonessential.
First Person: TDM.
Third Person:
Irisviel's first few days in Ruby City had, without a doubt, been the most tumultuous of her life.
Sure, waking up on a train to a strange dimension would alarm anyone, but the transition to living there... it could be interesting and fun at times, but the homunculus mostly found it painfully overwhelming. While she was happy to let others chalk her difficulties up to the fact that this was her first extended experience with the "outside" world, the truth ran much, much deeper: never before had she needed to live without purpose. At her "birth", it was seeing the Grail to its completion; when she fell in love with Kiritsugu, it was ensuring he had a future once his wish was granted; when she had Illya, it was protecting her family. But now, separated from both the Holy Grail War and the two people who defined her, Irisviel had... nothing. Living for herself was as foreign a concept to her as Kiritsugu had suspected happiness was to Kotomine, and without direction, she was lost.
Thankfully, there was one comfort Iri could depend on: Saber's presence. At first, it was simply nice to have someone familiar to live with and teach her about the city, but as she watched Saber go about her daily life, something seemed to move in the homunculus' heart. During their few days together in Germany and Fuyuki, Irisviel knew Saber as a kindred spirit; another whose world revolved around her purpose. To witness Saber so far removed from that now, with friends and hobbies and a life of her own, was both refreshing and relieving. Even King Arturia Pendragon, who stubbornly held onto her wish to serve and protect Britannia, was able to move forward.
And seeing that, Iri knew, with time, she could do it too.
Name: Onion.
Age: 22.
Personal Journal: N/A.
E-mail: killjoypokerface@aim.com
AIM/MSN/etc:
CHARACTER
Name: Irisviel von Einzbern.
Canon: Fate/Zero.
Age: Appears in her 20s, actually about 10.
Timeline: Post-episode 15, after the defeat of Caster.
If playing another character from the same canon, how will you deal with this?: N/A.
Personality:
Excepting her distinctive hair and eye colors, at first glance, Irisviel appears to be a normal human, like any other. Kind and cheerful with a mild, gentle disposition, she is the very ideal of an elegant, traditional woman brought up in noble circumstances. However, to understand who she is, we must start with what she is.
Irisviel is a homunculus created through magic by the Einzberns, a famed family of mages living in a secluded German forest. Never meant to have independent thought or desire beyond self-preservation, Irisviel was “born” the vessel for the Holy Grail, an omnipotent wish-granting device fought for in the Holy Grail War. As such, she believed herself simply a tool to be used by her family. The force that catapulted her past that state is Kiritsugu Emiya, the mage hired by the Einzberns to fight for them in the fourth Holy Grail War. While how he affected her will be discussed at a later point, it is first imperative to understand how Irisviel came to develop a sense of self. As chronicled one of the drama CDs, Kiritsugu found Irisviel to be lacking as a vessel for the Grail because she refused to defend herself against a strike. So, to test her durability, her creator cast her into the winter forest, where she would have to contend with many dangers to survive. Appalled, Kiritsugu rescued Irisviel and began educating her about the world and what it means to be human. This was the most defining moment in Irisviel’s life: given the chance to learn and grow, the homunculus flourished, and she quickly developed into the woman depicted in Fate/Zero.
Now that the stage has been set, talking about who Iri is becomes possible.
As she had no purpose beyond her role in the upcoming Grail War, Irisviel was kept away from the world in the Einzbern castle for almost the entirety of her life. This sheltered existence created a very childlike side to her personality, insatiably curious and rather disconnected from society. The former is most apparent when she and Saber first arrive in Fuyuki: Irisviel watches the city go by out the window of their vehicle with pure excitement, hoping that she will finally be able to experience things she’s read about or seen in pictures and movies. Like all of her other joys in life, including arranging outfits (which she does for Saber as well) and driving, Iri approaches both learning and experience with a nearly juvenile sense of happiness. Of course, even in these joys we see the aforementioned disconnect: the clothes she chooses for both herself and Saber are out of the ordinary enough for people to stare as the pair walks through the airport, and the way she drives is… let’s just say she’s breaking the vast majority of Japan’s traffic laws. However, in a less literal sense, Iri is also quite disconnected in that she is honest with her affections in a way that most adults have learned not to be. During a serious conversation with Kiritsugu, who eventually became her husband, she interjects specifically to call him “the man that [she] loves”; and even to Saber, who she’d known for only a very short amount of time, Iri declares that she “never gets tired of watching [her]”. In these ways, many would see Irisviel as immature, and perhaps naive.
On the other hand, the fact that Irisviel was so sheltered leads us to another conclusion: that the environment she “grew up” in was very controlled; there were very few forces to influence her development. This, in addition to Kiritsugu being the person who offered her a life beyond a simple puppet, is why her husband is such an integral part of who she is. While she is completely capable of free thought, as evidenced in the drama CD, she still claims to get her beliefs “directly from him” in the anime, including the wish that he hopes to fulfill by winning the Grail: to save the world. Even though her inexperience renders her unable to truly understand that wish, she places an unwavering faith in Kiritsugu that is witnessed multiple times through the series. For instance, when Saber and Kiritsugu are at odds over whether to launch an attack against Caster as he murders children to draw Saber out, Irisviel defers to her husband’s judgement, waiting until he appears unable to take any more before telling Saber to go. In another example, after a particularly gruesome end to a Master/Servant pair, Saber is angered by the strategy Kiritsugu employed to defeat them, and when Kiritsugu notes that this is the first time Iri has witnessed how he kills, she insists not on an explanation for herself, but for Saber.
It is interesting to note, however, neither Kiritsugu’s ideal nor her duty as the Grail’s vessel are Irisviel’s top priority: love is. In the series, this is most apparent when she, instead of protecting herself, engages Kirei Kotomine, the man that Kiritsugu identified as the single foe in the War he is afraid of, in direct combat to stop him from reaching her husband. However, perhaps a more interesting example can be found on the drama CD, after Iri identifies love as the most basic of human motivations: in the conversation where she and Kiritsugu discuss how their love is destined to end tragically, Iri guesses that Kiritsugu plans to “burn himself out” in the War; however, to keep him from destroying himself, she suggests they conceive a child together to give him a reason to live after his wish is granted and she is gone. Of course, her love eventually goes well beyond just Kiritsugu, and many times through the series, she hopes that others will never have to live like she did: she laments the fact that others treated Saber like a tool and that the former King could never enjoy simple things, like the ocean; she makes Maiya, a former child soldier who pledged herself to Kiritsugu, promise to live for herself once the War is over; and most importantly, she wishes for the end of the Holy Grail Wars so that her daughter, Illyasviel, will not have to face the same fate she does.
Still, as much as she wishes better lives for others, Irisviel is very much at peace with herself. Both on the drama CD and during the series, Kiritsugu presents her with the option of running away and living a peaceful life, and both times she refuses, choosing instead to live her purpose for his sake. She is very much aware of her short-comings, whether they are something as simple as flaws in her creation as a homunculus or, as mentioned earlier, the fact that she can never really understand the world that Kiritsugu wishes to save; and while the latter causes her some sadness, she never expresses bitterness over her circumstances. When she finally confides the entirety of her situation to Maiya, it is because the latter will not pity her. Despite the end she faces, Irisviel stands strong and steadfast, placing her husband and daughter, those she loves most, above all.
Background: Here.
Abilities:
The most notable things about Irisviel’s abilities derive from the nature of her existence as a homunculus. First of all, she does not require the basic human needs of food, water or shelter, as she lives on magical energy. Theoretically, she should be able to live as long as the planet has mana (magical energy of nature) to draw from; however, homunculi lack the strength of od (magical energy of living beings) that humans have, making their lives quite fragile.
On the other hand, as a homunculus, Irisviel has very powerful Magic Circuits, making her Magecraft likewise powerful. She uses the alchemical Magecraft passed down through the Einzbern family, which is used to create and manipulate matter. Through transmutation, Iri is able to wield long, thin wires as weapons, shaping them to her will by passing prana (magical energy processed through Magic Circuits) through them. She is also proficient at other types of Magecraft, such as barrier spells, the use of familiars, and healing Magecraft.
Finally, as Iri was created to be the vessel for the Holy Grail, she has a number of connections to the War itself. She is able to sense the presences of Masters and Servants, and, as Servants are killed, her body loses more and more of its human capacities so that it may become the Grail. At one point, in order to remain functional, she must shut down her sense of touch so what energy she has isn't wasted on something nonessential.
First Person: TDM.
Third Person:
Irisviel's first few days in Ruby City had, without a doubt, been the most tumultuous of her life.
Sure, waking up on a train to a strange dimension would alarm anyone, but the transition to living there... it could be interesting and fun at times, but the homunculus mostly found it painfully overwhelming. While she was happy to let others chalk her difficulties up to the fact that this was her first extended experience with the "outside" world, the truth ran much, much deeper: never before had she needed to live without purpose. At her "birth", it was seeing the Grail to its completion; when she fell in love with Kiritsugu, it was ensuring he had a future once his wish was granted; when she had Illya, it was protecting her family. But now, separated from both the Holy Grail War and the two people who defined her, Irisviel had... nothing. Living for herself was as foreign a concept to her as Kiritsugu had suspected happiness was to Kotomine, and without direction, she was lost.
Thankfully, there was one comfort Iri could depend on: Saber's presence. At first, it was simply nice to have someone familiar to live with and teach her about the city, but as she watched Saber go about her daily life, something seemed to move in the homunculus' heart. During their few days together in Germany and Fuyuki, Irisviel knew Saber as a kindred spirit; another whose world revolved around her purpose. To witness Saber so far removed from that now, with friends and hobbies and a life of her own, was both refreshing and relieving. Even King Arturia Pendragon, who stubbornly held onto her wish to serve and protect Britannia, was able to move forward.
And seeing that, Iri knew, with time, she could do it too.