OOC INFORMATIONName: Dante
Contact:
teenysanguiniAre You Over 18?: Yes
Other Characters: None
CHARACTER INFORMATIONCharacter Name: Raphtalia
Age: 10
Canon: The Rising of the Shield Hero
Canon Point: Shortly after she's bought by Naofumi.
Character Information: HerePersonality:Raphtalia is a fearful, shy, and withdrawn girl. Her personality is shaped by the horrors she faced after the first Wave destroyed her village and forever changed her life.
Before the Wave, Raphtalia was a cheerful girl living happily with her parents and her two demi-human friends, Keel and Rifana. Despite the discrimination that demi-humans faced from the rest of the human population, Raphtalia's village remained peaceful. Other than the occasional monster, the children of the village were never in any kind of serious danger.
And then the Wave happened. Monsters overran her village, slaughtering the demi-humans who couldn't get away fast enough. Raphtalia's parents tried to carry her to safety, but they were chased down by a giant three-headed dog. In order to save Raphtalia, they pushed her off a cliff's edge into the ocean. Raphtalia's final memory of her parents was them sacrificing themselves as a distraction for the giant dog monster.
This moment is forever burned into Raphtalia's mind, causing her fear and anxiety. She has constant nightmares about watching her parents die, causing her to cry and scream at night. She's terrified of fighting monsters and has to be forced to attack, even when that threat could potentially kill her. She especially doesn't want to kill monsters that bleed, because it reminds her too much of the bloodshed and violence that the Wave caused her village. Despite this, her fear of Naofumi leaving her behind prompts her to fight, even though the idea of fighting is terrifying to her.
A lot of Raphtalia's actions are guided by what she thinks her parents would want her to do if they were still alive. While devastated by the loss of her family, Raphtalia remembers that her dad told her to smile through hard times. So Raphtalia hides her sadness, putting a smile on instead - even if the smile isn't genuine. While never the type to be a leader, she motivates the other villagers to rebuild what they've lost, and helps raise the flag of their village. She perhaps takes her father's words a little too literally, because instead of letting herself grieve, she buries those negative emotions and puts a smile on her face instead.
What really breaks Raphtalia though, is slavery. Before the remaining demi-humans could rebuild their village, they're rounded up and sold as slaves. Raphtalia, along with her friend, Rifana, are sold to Idol Rabier, who likes to torture his slaves for entertainment. Rabier tortures Raphtalia and Rifana daily, chaining them up and whipping them. Eventually, Rabier gets frustrated that Raphtalia keeps on smiling, just like her parents told her to do. When Raphtalia does get to rest, she tries to comfort her friend, who was getting sicker and weaker each day. Raphtalia tries to encourage Rifana to not lose hope, making a makeshift flag of their village to give to Rifana. The next day, Rifana succumbs to her illness and Raphtalia is sold again before she realizes her friend is dead.
Sick, weak from torture, and thoroughly broken, Raphtalia becomes a shell of the cheerful and kind girl she once was. She can no longer put on a smile for others or herself. Her friends are gone, her family is dead, and she's forced to endure a life of slavery alone. With no chance of escaping and rebuilding their village, Raphtalia loses all hope. She's endured more horrors than most adults have seen in their lifetime, and it breaks Raphtalia's spirit.
When Naofumi decides to buy her, she's understandably fearful of him. She's experienced just how cruel her owners can be, and she fears that she's destined for a life of more pain and torture. That's why when he buys her clothes and feeds her, the gesture completely surprises her. It's been a long time since anyone's treated her with any kindness, especially a human. While he does force her to fight, he never pushes her past her limits, and generally tries to tend to her needs. At this point in Raphtalia's life, even simple pleasures - like eating a kid's meal or getting a ball to play with - mean a great deal to her, because before she had absolutely nothing.
She still has trouble adjusting to Naofumi's kindness though. She's incredibly shy, flinches easily because she expects pain and not say, a pat on the head. Loud voices scare her. She's always looking down and not really watching where she's going, because she doesn't like to make eye contact. Despite her trauma making her grow up more quickly, she's still very much a child. Her excitement over eating a children's meal, wanting to play with a ball, even resisting trying to take medicine because it's too bitter, all show that Raphtalia hasn't grown all the way up just yet.
Raphtalia still remains a curious girl, and strong-willed as well. She doesn't like to show "weakness" in front of Naofumi, such as saying she's not hungry when her stomach's growling, or saying that she doesn't want a ball to play with when she clearly does. Still, Naofumi ends up being the one who comforts her when her fear and trauma get the best of her. And he's also the one who starts to slowly bring her out of her shell, training her to get strong enough to help him fend off the next Wave of Calamity.
5-10 Key Character Traits:(-) Fearful
(-) Shy
(-) Traumatized
(+) Curious
(+) Strong-willed
(+) Kind
Would you prefer a monster that FITS your character’s personality, CONFLICTS with it, EITHER, or opt for 100% RANDOMIZATION? Fits!
Opt-Outs: Troll, Goblin, Lich, Simulacrum.
Roleplay Sample: Test drive sample