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𝗞𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗥𝗔 ( ᴛʜᴇ ᴇᴀɢʟᴇ ʙᴇᴀʀᴇʀ ) ([personal profile] epidioko) wrote2019-08-29 02:45 am

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BASIC INFO

NAME: Kassandra
CANON: Assassin's Creed Odyssey
HOMEWORLD: Sparta, Greece
DOB: 453 BCE
DOD: 2018 CE
AGE: Default 31
GENDER: Female
SPECIES: Enhanced human/hybrid
OCCUPATION: Mercenary

FIRST GLANCE

HEIGHT: Tall. Around 5'10"/"11 /177-180cm
BUILD: Athletic, muscular
HAIR: Brown, worn in a braid
EYES: Light brown/honey
FEATURES: Scars: three slashing across her right bicep. One small cut running over the bridge of her nose in between her eyes. Another small one on and over her top lip on the right side of her mouth, cutting slightly into the lip itself.
DRESS: Mostly dresses in the armor she arrives in. But she sometimes switches it to lighter clothing with no armor on her downtime. Very spartan (heh), style-wise. | One, Two
VOICE: Cutest accent.
DEMEANOR: Stoic, laconic, blunt, impatient

KASSANDRA
OF SPARTA, "THE EAGLE BEARER"

"You can't know what I'll do, or who I'll become. I decide my fate."


PERSONALITY
Kassandra's early life takes an inauspicious turn when she's thrown off a mountain in Sparta to her intended death at age 7 by her own step-father (thought by Kassandra to be her biological father at the time). She attempts to stop the city priest from throwing her infant brother off the same mountain to appease a prophecy saying the baby would bring about Sparta's fall. Kassandra accidentally shoves both the priest and the baby off the cliff, and is branded a traitor and a murderer. She miraculously survives the fall and flees Sparta to the island of Kephallonia, where she grows up into adulthood under the wing of a dubious scoundrel, Markos, serving as his right hand. All she has left from her old life is the broken Spear of Leonidas, a heirloom given to her by her mother Myrrine earlier.

This trauma obviously leaves Kassandra extremely bitter and resentful, but not paralyzed. She's a survivor to the bone, dogged and too stubborn to give in, and she adapts to her new home and new life as a mercenary for hire. But Kephallonia is a small place and she grows restless and world-weary, tangling with various thugs every week and running dubious errands for Markos. She knows something is missing from her life; a higher purpose and a proper family she longs for, a place to belong. She just doesn't entirely know how to rectify this and take control of her own fate.

When the opportunity to finally leave Kephallonia presents itself in her early twenties, she cannot grab it fast enough. She soon gets tangled up into a conspiracy involving the Cult of Kosmos who wish to corrupt and rule the whole Greek world from the shadows-- it's not an accident either, for the Cult has a marked interest in Kassandra due to her special bloodline. Specifically, they want all members of the bloodline dead so they cannot oppose the Cult. Soon Kassandra discovers the Cult is responsible for manipulating the Oracle of Delphi to give the prophecy that caused the tragedy that broke her family in the first place. She finds out also that her little brother Alexios survived the fall and was raised by the Cult, brainwashed into a ruthless killing machine going by the name Deimos; that Nikolaous is actually her step-father, and that her mother Myrrine is also still alive, somewhere.

That’s a lot to take in, but for Kassandra it’s also the first sign of hope she’s had in a long time. Her aimless existence as a mercenary now shrinks into sharp focus involving two distinct goals: to rediscover and reunite her family, and to destroy the Cult of Kosmos like they destroyed her life. Achieving both of these objectives ends up taking her almost a decade, echoing Odysseus' ten-year homecoming.

On her odyssey, she travels from one end of Hellas to the other, offering her blade for hire and steadily earning a reputation as the Eagle Bearing misthios (mercenary), often styled by folks as a god or a demigod for her unusual powers and abilities, and the fact that she has a pet eagle (seen as a favor from Zeus). Being a product of ancient Greek culture, she does believe in the gods, but is not particularly religious personally. Kassandra always downplays and denies the claims of godhood leveled at her. Why would she want to be counted among deities that have never done her any favors? Attention from the gods only brings trouble, in her opinion, and she gets enough of that already. Nine times out of ten, she also chooses to credit teamwork/luck/other factors when succeeding in a venture or quest rather than extolling her own greatness. Still, credit where it’s due; she’s not above an occasional, good-natured brag here and there.

Kassandra comes across as smart-mouthed and somewhat short-tempered, on the surface. She favors wryly snarky comments and sarcastic retorts, preferring plain speak and getting to the point quickly, especially if the person she's talking to exasperates her. She enjoys the simple things; good wine and food, some laughs, a good tumble in the hay, and occasionally, a good fight. She takes any of those where and when she can get them, as she's learned to take advantage of every opportunity presented; they may not come knocking again anytime soon. However, grown up with scant amount of friends and having the tendency to isolate herself from other people on Kephallonia (not to mention her nomadic lifestyle as a mercenary later on), Kassandra's social skills are a little rusty. She's slightly awkward and even blunt sometimes, often bungling attempts to offer comfort or flirt at the last moment with some clumsy remark despite her good intentions.

She's incredibly earnest in both good and bad, and has no poker face to speak of; all of her emotions are easily read across her expression and body language-- especially annoyance and boredom, which she usually doesn't even try to conceal. For this reason she is pretty bad at subterfuge and misdirection of the social sort. She can also be manipulated by people more skilled than her in that area, often accepting quests where only half of the crucial information is given to her. She doesn't necessarily always think to press harder for the whole truth, usually more concerned with just getting the job done. That of course leads to bouts of temper when she realizes the truth of things, because she very much does not appreciate being duped or thought of as a stupid brute.

Which she isn't. She's hardly a great philosopher or a scientist, but she can keep up with somewhat complex debates and even interject insightful remarks of her own. She has to have inherited some smarts from her father Pythagoras, after all. But she grows frustrated if the arguments go around in circles for too long, like often happens when conversing with Sokrates, for example. Politics and most politicians, however, rather annoy her.

Her impatience is actually of practical nature; though she’s quick to grow exasperated if things don’t move along quickly or plainly enough for her tastes, she doesn’t rush headlong into things. She does hear you out all the way through, even if she might roll her eyes and huff and fidget while she does. Only then does she make a decision on how to proceed, considering all facts and information given to her to formulate the most efficient plan of action; whether that means an all-out attack, ambush, stealthy infiltration, charm or diplomacy -- or telling the person she's not interested in the offered job.

But she does also have a "berserk button" that absolutely clouds her better judgment and ability to think straight, and that gets pushed when somebody she considers family or a dear friend is threatened. Usually these bouts of explosive action end unfavorably and can get her in trouble; Kassandra shoves her baby brother and the priest holding him off a cliff herself while trying in fact to save Alexios, for example. She goes completely mad with rage when Deimos (Alexios) kills her friend and ally Brasidas. And finally, she’s instantly on the unforgiving offensive when Deimos/Alexios menaces their mother during their final confrontation, deeming him beyond redemption and killing him in a duel.

She has now failed both her siblings; Alexios and Phoibe -- the little orphan girl Kassandra befriends on Kephallonia and serves as a big sister to -- who ends up being murdered by the Cult. Kassandra is devastated by the loss, guilty and angry at not having arrived in time to save the girl. With Alexios, she could not break through years worth of brainwashing and conditioning the Cult had subjected him to, turning him into an emotionless killer for their cause. Kassandra carries with her intense guilt and feelings of extreme failure over this, because in truth she'd let Alexios down twice by failing to protect him both times. All she ever wanted was to have a family, whole and happy, and now she sees herself responsible for the deaths of two family members. Despite making peace with her mother and step-father, this is a wound that never heals properly, leaving her a little heartsick for the rest of her days for all that she forges on through the pain like always.

For all that she has been jaded by her experiences and she kills thugs and bandits without qualms if they attack her, she's dismayed the first time she's offered a contract to assassinate someone. But the deeper into the conspiracy of the Cult she sinks, the more familiar dealing death becomes to her, to the point where years later she tells a fellow mercenary asking for her help with dispatching some bandits, "It's only death." Killing becomes just another tool to her, as ordinary as any other-- if she doesn't use it first, then someone else will, on her. She has no fixed loyalties to any one side (Athenians vs. Spartans in the Peloponnesian war ravaging the Greek world, for example), accepting jobs and contracts from anybody. So long as the reward is right, she'll get the job done. Fighting is more or less all she knows, and she is good at it. In her chosen canonpoint, she really doesn't see any other path available for herself, but she is secure in the knowledge that she forges her own fate, now.

Though she may be a mercenary and an assassin when needed who sees the ugly side of life daily, it doesn't mean that she's heartless. In fact her moral compass is still sound, and she always helps those in legitimate need. She only takes assassination contracts on legitimately terrible people, those with blood on their hands either directly or tangentially, scoffing at demands to kill someone because they have a bad singing voice or such nonsense. (Ancient Greeks were hardcore about their grudges!) She's especially sensitive to the plight of the underdogs and those with no means of defending themselves, often aiding such folk without payment. Children are a very big soft spot for her, and due to her history she's most unforgiving toward people treating children badly-- and downright murderous if it's parents (especially fathers) abusing their kids.

Still, she also acknowledges she has so much blood on her own hands now that it can never be washed away, which is something she at times struggles with.

Though her country of birth and her teachings have been soured for Kassandra, the disciplined Spartan lifestyle has left its mark on her and she still respects their considerable prowess as warriors even in exile. She often quotes some facet of Spartan life in conversations though she never directly identifies herself as a Spartan, still bitter about her banishment and the belief all Spartans are reared up with that the good of the country goes absolutely above anything else. But she realizes she wouldn't have survived so long if not for the harsh Spartan training she received as a child that always kept her pushing forward, no matter how painful or uncomfortable. It is where her absolute doggedness stems from, the source of her unyielding drive that keeps her going even through the bad times. It isn't until she's returned to Sparta during her odyssey and helped her mother purge its leadership of Cult corruption, regained her citizenship as well as her childhood house there that Kassandra begins to ease up on her old grudges some, finally acknowledging her heritage as part of her that she could never truly outrun. Still, she cannot imagine settling there for good, not after all the years she'd spent away and with her occupation as a misthios.

Her physical prowess is what gives Kassandra her self-confidence, together with the exceptional abilities of her bloodline. Though she never buys into claims of godhood, she can sometimes be a little too sure of herself, a little too brash. The only time she may actively claim to be a god is when she's trying to intimidate some thug or if it works to her absolute advantage somehow, but it's never done casually nor often. She has no problem using her physical stature to her advantage, not shying away from intimidating people with it if she must-- especially if she's been first insulted by them.

Also, she is Spartan. Sometimes she just really enjoys a proper throw-down.

HISTORY
Full history on AC Wikia.

ABILITIES
THE BLOODLINE: "We were born from greatness, and we were destined for greatness. The world was divided in two. Those who wanted us dead, and those who would follow us to the gates of Hades." -- Leonidas, regarding the bloodline

To concise the overarching plot device in the AC games by a lot; there exist certain individuals throughout history who are descended from the aliens (the Isu) that created the whole universe, people of special bloodline. This bloodline enhances these descendants with certain extraordinary skills and abilities. Kassandra is one of these descendants through both her mother's and father's side (her biological father is the famed philosopher Pythagoras, her mother Myrrine is the warrior-king Leonidas' daughter), joining two descendant lines.

This potent combination of bloodlines grants Kassandra her elevated physical condition, enhancing her strength, stamina and speed above the norm. She also doesn't get sick very easily and heals from injuries slightly faster than normal humans. It's these abilities that make ordinary people deem Kassandra as a "demigod" or style her as Athena in human form, etc. There are also Isu artifacts sprinkled through the world that are similarly enhanced, such as Kassandra's Spear of Leonidas.

EAGLE VISION: Kassandra's symbiotic relationship with Ikaros extends to an ability of being able to see through the eagle's eyes by focusing inward. An ideal ability for scouting and scoping out areas stealthily.

MERCENARY/ASSASSIN: She was born in Sparta where kids are trained to fight almost as soon as they can hold a weapon, and becomes a mercenary later on in life. She's an incredibly skilled combatant with high physical prowess, able to wield several types of weapons from swords to bows to staves and so on. She favors daggers or swords, however. She's also adept in pankration, the ancient Grecian sport that's a cross between wrestling and boxing.

FREERUNNING: Basically, she scales and climbs stuff (buildings, mountains, big statues...) really freaking well and quickly, balancing easily on precarious edges and surfaces. She's also a strong swimmer, able to hold her breath significantly longer than normal humans.

STEALTH: Kassandra's trained in stealth and sneaking about undetected, utilizing her surroundings to her advantage in tasks requiring silent infiltration and assassinations. She also has some skill at picking ordinary padlocks.


INVENTORY/COMPANIONS
Ikaros: Pic | Kassandra's golden eagle who serves as her scout, guide and even back-up in battle.

Armor: Pic | Mercenary armor; bronze cuirass, greaves and vambraces, red cloth exomis around the shoulders, leather pteruges/belt

Spear of Leonidas: Pic | Following his death, Leonidas's broken spear was passed on to his daughter Myrrine, and then to his granddaughter Kassandra, who now wields it like a second dagger in battle. The Spear is made of adamant, and nearly indestructible. Responding to the blood of the Descendants, the Spear is able to bestow upon its wielder enhanced strength, as well as a myriad of other supernatural abilities. It is able to harness its wielder's adrenaline to produce supernatural effects, such as cloaking its user, regenerating health or harnessing some of the natural elements such as poison and fire. It can even briefly increase the wielder's speed and reflexes, charge arrows with explosive energy, produce shockwaves and augment arrows so they could phase through walls. While quite literally granting its wielder god-like powers and abilities, the spear does have a finite amount of power; though this appears to be quite extensive.

Dagger of Kronus: Pic |

Hades Bow: Pic |



QUOTES
● "Maláka!"

● (holding a bloody nose) "Last week? This shit happens every week."

● Kassandra: "You look cute right now. As if nothing can get in your way."
Odessa: "I don't usually like being called cute."
Kassandra: "Alright. You're ugly, then."
Odessa: "That's... not what I meant at all. I can't tell if you're serious or not."

● Kassandra: "We have a lot in common. I was hoping when the smoke clears, we could find somewhere quiet."
Kyra: "And what exactly do we have in common?"
Kassandra: "I just... We... I just thought that's what people said to each other. I wasn't expecting a follow-up."

● "I have your malákes tokens. No more games, no more schemes to rob me of my drachmae! It's time to slay a Minotaur!"

● "The Cult of Kosmos is hunting me... but I'm going to hunt them first."

● Adonis: "What can I say? I'm a lover, not a fighter.
Kassandra: "Luckily for you, I'm both."

● Woman: "When my husband and I are together, it's indescribable!"
Kassandra: "Then don't describe it!"

● (to Kerberos) "Ros? Good dog... good dog!"
(Kerberos charges)
"Bad dog!!"



OOC PERMISSIONS

Player: Ebs

Preferred Contact: [plurk.com profile] ebsolutely, ebs#1192, PM

Usual tagging times/pace: I'm on GMT+2, so I'm often late to things and/or unable to boomerang much. I do try to do my tags once a day at least, but some days are better than others and I can be slow if I hit a rut.

Backtagging: I live for it! I backtag forever, though if it's just a chitchat type of interaction, I may drop it if it's very old. But I usually give people heads up about it.

Fourthwalling policy: Cool in historical context, as in recognizing the people she talks about, but no "you're a fictional character", please.

Action vs. Prose: I'm good with both! I'm personally slightly more comfortable with writing prose, but since everyone mostly seems to prefer action, I've started to use it more myself. But no hardcore preference, I'll match format.

Offensive Subjects & Triggers: I'm not very sensitive OOCly and don't really have any hard nos that immediately spring to mind.


IC PERMISSIONS

Physical Violence: Cuts, bruises, bloody noses, all good! Severely? She's not easy to injure that badly, but certainly not impossible to! Let's talk. She heals slightly faster than normal humans do, also. She enjoys fighting and she's very good at it, so she'll give your character a run for their money. Pre-plotting outcomes etc. preferred! Death/killing is negotiable! Would prefer it to have some meaning or purpose though, so as always; let's talk.

Mental Information: No shields against mind-reading etc. She's somewhat easy to manipulate by those more learned in the intricacies of social interaction. She doesn't always ask as many questions as she should, so there's definitely room here for her to be led astray. Just be prepared that she'll get pretty peeved if duped.

Physical Affection: Fine with established CR/friends. She's not likely to be very touchy with those she doesn't know too well, preferring her personal space.

IC Triggers: Nothing serious, she's pretty jaded to a lot of things. The only thing that really gets to her is child abuse/mistreatment.

Relationships/romance: Kassandra likes sex, but actual romantic relationships are trickier. If something develops organically, I'm not opposed! She's bisexual, and more likely to respond well to burly warrior types in men and scrappy, spunky women who know what they want. Actual Romantic Feelings are something that would take their time, but if it happens organically, I would be more than happy to talk about shipping it. Beyond that, one can never have too many friends (without benefits, also). She can be a bit awkward and too blunt sometimes, but her heart's in the right place and she's absolutely loyal to and protective of her friends.


CONTENT WARNINGS/OPT-OUT

Kassandra's whole canon is violent and brutal. She's from ancient Greece, enough said. Kassandra herself has been a mercenary her all life who later also becomes an assassin, so she is no stranger to blood, killing, war and other brutalities. She's kind of hardened to it by now. She'll also not have much qualms about killing, herself-- depending on the situation, she might even suggest that as her first course of action. There's also some potentially triggering material in her past like child abuse (getting thrown off a mountain as a child) that might get referenced in her tags, but I'll mark for those. I'm not gonna shove any of this in your face, but it is a large part of who Kassandra is, and therefor hard to avoid talking about entirely.

If at any point you wanna opt out of tagging with Kassandra entirely OR want me to avoid certain topics, absolutely no problem! Just leave me a comment in this post with your character name and journal / the topics you wish to avoid.




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