Ophelia Walker
 Ophelia Walker
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| Race | Hyur |
| Clan | Midlander |
| Citizenship | Limsa Lominsa |
Contents
Basic Info
Pronunciation: (oh-feel-ee-ah wah-kur)
Nickname(s): Ophie, Lia
Title(s): none
Age: 22
Race: Hyur / Midlander
Gender: Female
Appearance at a glance: Ophelia is a small slight girl with young innocent looking features, pale skin, dark chestnut hair, and ocean blue eyes.
Distinguishing features: There is a beauty mark under and to the side of her left eye.
Voice / Speaking style Though she doesn’t have much of an accent, no one would mistake Ophelia’s manner of speak for anything but common. She doesn’t have a tendency for eloquent language but rather prefers to be efficient while communicating. When excited she often speaks rapidly, sometimes so fast that her words blend together, and when frustrated or disappointed she’ll hardly speak at all, unless prompted or provoked. Overall she tends to be polite, on her best days, though she’s not above shouting or cursing.
Fashion of choice: She favors simple clothes, often in muted, pastel colors with white or cream, and tends to dress for the weather rather than the occasion. Ophelia leans more towards efficiency rather than modesty, though she’s not hesitant to show some cleavage, thigh, or even her midriff when she’s relaxing.
Weapons of choice: Her father Perce made sure that Ophelia inherited his knowledge of how to use a sword and shield, and she’s adequate with the weapons, but rarely carries a shield to her father’s dismay. She chooses to use a sword when she ventures off by herself, though she usually prefers to stick with groups and her staff when possible. Besides her skills with a sword she has a small arsenal of spells, mostly earth magic for damaging and slowing enemies down enough so she can defeat them if they’re weak or run away if they’re too strong for her.
Appearance
Standing at around five foot three, Ophelia is on the shorter side for most midlanders. Though she doesn’t often wear clothing that shows off copious amounts of her pale skin, she tends to keep her body toned and fit, though mostly because it helps when adventuring rather than for appearance reasons. Ophelia possesses some curves though her hips aren’t quite full enough for her to truly have an hourglass figure. Her hair, a mix between ruby and dark brown, falls straight down her back, stopping just above her shoulder blades. She’ll keep her bangs trimmed and will tie it back if it’s getting in the way of her work, though she usually prefers a small decorative ponytail or braid in the back for appearance’s sake. Her features are slight, though her vibrant hair and bright blue eyes tend to draw attention to her face. She has a small beauty mark beneath her left eye just above her cheekbones.
Personality
On the surface, Ophelia presents herself as a kind and caring person, though she can be forgetful and oblivious to obvious things at times. To some, especially those that may be labeled ‘sketchy,’ Ophelia might often come off as innocent or naive. She has a fairly simple outlook on life that doesn’t factor in many things outside of what she’s experienced, and being a young sheltered girl she hasn’t experienced all that much. Her overprotective father tried to shelter her from most of the ‘evil’ in the world, and due to his jaded perspective that turned out to simply be most of the world. Though she’s seen the physical effects of crime, war, and other things one might label ‘evil’ through her training as a healer and time volunteering at hospitals, she doesn’t fully or even partially grasp the psychological effects such things can have on a person. Ophelia simply has yet to experience any form of true hardship, so labels of ‘naive’ are fairly accurate when it comes to her outlook and some of her opinions.
Though she’s talented at staying calm and collected when under pressure, she can snap when she’s blindsided by hardships and adversity. If this comes in a verbal form she often tries to give as good as she gets, occasionally lowering herself to the other person’s stance in order to retort accurately. She often feels foolish afterwards, especially in the case of arguments with her father or other loved ones, and usually the fight will go out of her when she removes herself from the situation. She’s quick to get herself caught in a fight but also quick to forgive and quick to apologize as well. If the hardship comes in a physical form she will sometimes trade blows, though not unless she deems it necessary. Usually this means the moment she’s struck, as Ophelia isn’t the type of person to make the first move or land the first hit.
Around her family, friends, and other loved ones Ophelia tends to relax more with her demeanor and speaking style. Though she avoids it in public, around those she trusts she’ll swear on occasion, if it fits the situation, and even drink, though she’s never been truly drunk before. Occasionally she’ll even act flirty, though most of the time she’s being overly nice and doesn’t realize how her words may be taken. This works both ways, however, as she’s particularly bad at realizing when she’s being come on to, and even when she does she’s horrible at responding with anything but nervous laughter and some excuse to exit the situation in a hurry. Romance has never been something she’s been talented in, the boys where she grew up that weren’t scared off by the thought of her father were usually deterred by her father interfering or threatening them when they got what he deemed ‘too close’ which tended to be anywhere near her. Ophelia remains oblivious to this fact and has convinced herself that she’ll find love once it comes looking for her, and that waiting around for such a thing simply isn’t productive. While she would eventually like to settle down and raise a family with someone, those goals are much longer-term than the ones of owning her own bakery or becoming a fully-fledged healer at a hospital. She’s still torn between the two.
When it comes to things considered ‘evil’ Ophelia has a fairly stereotypical view on the matter. She could think of few situations that would ever truly justify a crime, and even in those situations she would most often think the consequences for such actions, namely the punishment for such crimes, would also be justified: cause and effect. However Ophelia would do anything for her family and loved ones, even if that meant doing something ‘evil’ herself. She’s uncomfortable with falsehoods, but she’s fairly talented at telling them if she thinks of them like stories rather than lying. Though she tries to avoid physical violence she’s not above cuffing someone on the back of the head if they’re being idiotic, but if they seemed truly hurt she’d offer to heal them immediately and would be very remorseful.
Background Details
Allegiances: Ophelia is loyal to her fellow members in Knights of the Twelve, to her co-workers at the Bismarck, and to those she works with at the hospital as well. She possesses some national pride and loyalty to Limsa Lominsa, though she was raised a short ways outside of the city. To her friends and loved ones, Ophelia is unwaveringly loyal, sometimes to a negative point.
Faith: A devout believer, Ophelia detests the false Primals and respects the Twelve, namely her patron Nophica.
Duties: Ophelia balances her duties at the Bismarck with obligations in the Knights of the Twelve and volunteering at a local hospital.
Family: Hannelore, her mother, was only seventeen when she had Ophelia and wasn’t able to care for her properly. Her father, Perce, chose to raise her since he didn’t want to see his daughter end up in an orphanage. Since she never knew her mother Ophelia can’t truly miss her, though she does miss the concept of having a mother at times. Perce is one of the most important people in her life, and she has a strong love and adoration for her father. She feels similar feelings for her uncle Troy who helped raise her when her father was busy, and for her aunt Abigail who did the same.
Occupation: Apprentice pastry chef at the Bismark. Volunteers at hospitals on occasion. Member of the Disciples branch in the Knights of the Twelve
History Summary
- Born in Aleport to Hannelore Appleby and Perce Walker on the 7th day of the 6th Astral Moon in the year 1554. Hannelore was only 17 when Ophelia was born and wanted to return to her old life, so Perce left the Maelstrom to raise her in Moraby Drydocks. Perce joined the Knights of the Twelve to make ends meet.
- Raised mainly by Perce, though he had help from his brother Troy and sister Abigail. Perce made sure Ophelia had a decent amount of skill with a sword to fend off any danger that came her way, but remained so overprotective that nothing got remotely close.
- Had a nice but simple childhood; Ophelia discovered a love for cooking and a talent for healing which she developed under Troy. Perce switched from his more dangerous job with the Knights to training new recruits so he could be with his daughter more.
- Sheltered most of her young life, but eventually got a taste for something outside of Moraby Drydocks when she went exploring to Red Mantis Falls. She was attacked by a jackal but this only made her more excited for her next outing.
- After ten successful journeys in secret, she tried fighting something far beyond her skill level: a giant crab. Troy and Perce, who had been following her on her trips since the first one, jumped in to save her. Her punishment for sneaking out (besides the broken arm) was lecturers from her overprotective father on the dangers of the outside world. Perce retired from the Knights to spend more time with his daughter.
- Moved to Limsa Lominsa at age 21 to work as an apprentice at the Bismarck and volunteer at a hospital there.
- Joined Knights of the Twelve over a year after moving to Limsa.
History Detailed
Hannelore and Perce
Perce was born and raised in Limsa Lominsa and inherited a strong sense of duty and national pride from the generations before him. Like his father, his father’s father, and his grandfather’s father, he joined the Maelstrom as young as he could and served proudly. When he was in his early twenties he had a fling with a seventeen-year-old girl named Hannelore that lived in a small port he was stationed at briefly. When he returned to the port he found that she was pregnant with his child. Hannelore was nearly removed from her family for becoming pregnant and couldn’t take care of the child herself. Perce was torn between his family legacy and his sense of duty, but in the end the latter won and he left the Maelstrom to raise his child.
Ophelia was born on the seventh day of the Sixth Astral Moon, year 1554 in Aleport and welcomed into the world by her father and his cousin Troy, a healer that had assisted with the birth. Concerned about her status in her family, Hannelore wished to try and forget about the child, and declined Perce’s offers of both seeing Ophelia periodically and marriage.
Childhood
Though Perce’s family was hesitant at first, most of them supported him in his decision and even helped the young man purchase a small home in Moraby Drydocks outside of Limsa Lominsa. Perce eventually began working for a group called Knights of the Twelve within Ul’Dah in order to make ends meet and paid off his debt to his family for the house. Going into parenthood, Perce had known it would be difficult but wasn’t fully aware of just how much it would be. Thankfully, Troy seemed to have taken a shine to Ophelia and cared for the baby while Perce worked long days in Ul’Dah. Perce’s and Troy’s sister Abigail also helped out from time to time, though she had her own children to care for as well.
As Ophelia grew it became clear that she had inherited much of her father’s features, from his dark hair and blue eyes to his slender nose, but also his spirit and determination. The young girl became dedicated to whatever she set her mind to, be it obtaining top marks in her class to convincing her father to give her another cookie. Ophelia never did get top marks in her class, she was around average, but she did excel in two areas. The first area she discovered out of a need for survival, or at least she would call it that. Perce happened to be a horrible cook, and for a while Ophelia only knew of dried out meat, stale bread, and bland flavors. She got a taste of the potential for food when she went to family celebrations but thought such things out of her reach; boring food was just another symptom of not having extra gil. One day Abigail asked Ophelia to help surprise Perce with some blueberry tarts for his birthday and she agreed. After helping bake the tarts and then tasting them Ophelia fell in love with cooking, immediately deciding to try it for herself. She began spending her allowance on ingredients and saving up for nicer cookware and got her hands on every recipe book possible. Soon she was the one cooking all the meals for the house and both she and her father put the days of overcooked meals behind them.
Adolescence
When Ophelia began making the awkward but wonderful transition from girl to woman something changed about Perce. He had always been protective of his daughter, making sure she didn’t stray too far from the Drydocks or ever went to Limsa Lominsa without either himself, Abigail, or Troy there, but when he saw the woman she was turning out to be he became even more protective, perhaps overprotective. He sheltered her from boys that tried to make advances on her, made sure she knew how to use a sword (though he never let her test it out on anything but a training dummy or a sparring partner) and set a fairly strict curfew for her. Perce took a lighter job at the Knights of the Twelve, switching to training new recruits, so he could return home earlier and keep her safe. Throughout all of this Ophelia was nothing but thankful to her father and was unaware of all the wonderful things in the world he was hiding from her while trying to keep the darker sides at bay.
Besides cooking, Ophelia took a shine to another discipline. It wasn’t the sword like her father had hoped, though she was above average when it came to fencing. To Troy’s delight Ophelia had a talent for healing, and uncle and niece spent many afternoons together training while Perce was at work. Even after Ophelia was old enough to stay at home by herself she still went to Perce’s house to learn from him, enraptured by the change she could work with her hands if she concentrated. She excelled in her healing to the point where Perce would occasionally take her on his house calls and hours at hospitals so she could observe and eventually work first-hand with sick and injured individuals. Perhaps it was years of gutting fish, plucking fowl, and skinning game but Ophelia wasn’t the squeamish sort when it came to injuries or illnesses (spiders are a different story entirely). She worked with a steady hand and an unshaken countenance when she assisted Troy.
Young Adulthood
The day after her seventeenth birthday Ophelia decided that she was ready for something else, something more than cooking for her father, healing with Troy, and studying her two favorite disciplines. She strapped on the leather armor Perce had bought her for sparring and took the shortsword out of his room and set off in no particular direction to truly test her abilities. While she didn’t have a destination in mind she found herself drawn towards Red Mantis Falls, a place she had visited once as a young girl. Bodies of water, from rushing rivers to the vast ocean, had always been beautiful to Ophelia but nothing in her mind could rival the wonder that is a waterfall.
Her journey wasn’t without incident though. On the way there she was attacked by a jackal and was badly clawed on the arm. In an instant her confidence shattered; while Ophelia was talented with a sword and even more with healing the young woman had yet to experience pain beyond minor scrapes, cuts, burns and bruises, and she had never faced an opponent that wasn’t a fellow hyur with a sword. The jackal foreign methods of fighting were confusing and Ophelia couldn't tell when the creature would attack, or where from. Knowing she was in danger if she didn’t tend to her arm adrenaline took over and Ophelia rushed the jackal, landing several blows on its face before finally putting an end to it with a stab to the throat.
Exhausted, shaking, bloody, and disheveled, Ophelia walked away from the fight with a giddy grin. She healed her arm hastily and washed the creature’s blood off in the waterfall, still buzzed from her first hit of adrenaline. Though Perce had tried to shelter her she was her father’s daughter, and along with his features and determination she had his sense of adventure. Not fully a wanderlust, Ophelia still had a desire to see new places and meet new people, perhaps even fight new creatures. Her initial rebellion against the walls Perce had built around her to keep her safe became what filled her thoughts when she had time to herself. She kept it hidden from her father, not wanting to be fenced in even more, or worse: disappoint the man that had sacrificed so much to raise her.
For her tenth secret outing Ophelia did something more rash than usual. A large crab was threatening the people that walked the shorelines near Costa del Sol and she intended to put a stop to it. Though she didn’t quite fit in with the other ‘adventurers’ as they were called and she didn’t have much experience, the young woman chose not to dwell on such rational thoughts or the potential for injury and went to crush the crustacean. Predictably, she failed miserably. She had thought that the reports of the crab being the size of a small house were just exaggerations, but when they turned out to be factual Ophelia’s confidence wavered. The shield she had obtained did nothing but splinter in the crab’s claws, and as the bones in her arm were crushed and her body tossed aside Ophelia passed out before she could even call for help or scream in pain.
Hours later she woke in her bed, her armor removed and a cast on her arm. Perce was pacing hastily and Troy was looking over her, giving her a final inspection. It turned out that her secret ventures had never truly been a secret, both Perce and Troy had followed her each time she had gone out and had kept her from harm while watching the young woman gain confidence in her abilities. They had rushed in to care for her when the crab had attacked, Perce had fended off the creature while Troy had moved Ophelia out of danger and cared for her arm. Thanks to Perce her life was saved, and thanks to Troy she would make a full recovery in her arm, though not for several months. Perce was more concerned than furious, though once it was clear Ophelia would be just fine given time Ophelia spent her evenings being lectured by her father on the perils of traveling outside cities and towns rather than actually traveling herself. Concerned for his daughter’s safety, Perce decided to retire from the Knights of the Twelve to pursue a much safer job guarding Moraby Drydocks.
Leaving the Nest
Though Perce would fight time and even Althyk himself to halt his daughter aging eventually he couldn’t deny that it was time for Ophelia to leave home. On her twenty-first birthday Ophelia received a sword and shield of her very own from Perce, numerous medical supplies and books from Troy, and a full set of cookware from Abigail. The rest of her family had saved up for a chocobo to make traveling safer and easier, which she named ((undecided!)). Overjoyed by the support of her family, Ophelia packed up her room and gifts and set out for Limsa Lominsa. Though she was only an hour at most away from home, it was a big step for both Ophelia and Perce, now an empty nester.
Ophelia had visited Limsa Lominsa numerous times but still managed to get lost her first day. All of her belongings had been delivered to her new home, a very small room where she would be staying as she worked as an apprentice at the Bismark. ((Chocobo)) was staying at the stables near the edge of the city so she wandered around with nothing but a small bag on her back while she looked for her residence. Eventually the sky turned dark and she sat on a bench to admire the stars rather than think about what she was going to do for the night. Her father had warned her about venturing around Limsa alone at night, but she thought his tales exaggerated like most of his were. This turned out to not be the case, and she was approached by two highlander men as she sat on the bench.
The two men made it clear that she was to remove her pack and walk away slowly or else unspeakable things may happen to her. Compared to the two large highlander men, arms bulging from working at the docks numerous years, Ophelia was tiny. She hardly came up past their waists and her waist was as large as one of their biceps. This turned out to work to her advantage. As the first man approached she jabbed him between the legs with an elbow thrust and darted between the two men, rapidly running through the streets while the uninjured man rushed after her. She was much faster than him and soon she had lost him completely, though she had lost herself even more. Ophelia wandered through the streets until she saw one that looked a bit familiar. A bit more wandering lead her to the Bismark, where she was able to ask for directions from the pastry chef she would be working under and learning from, a Plainsfolk man named Corceno Malaceno. He saw her safely to her home, only a few minutes from the Bismarck, and Ophelia fell exhausted on her bed without bothering to unpack.
Present Day
Though it was a bit to adjust to at first, Ophelia ended up thriving in Limsa Lominsa. Her time was split between learning the delicate art of pastry creation with Corceno Malaceno, volunteering with Troy at the hospital, and exploring the city and the lands around it. For over a year she spent her life like this, the same schedule but different experiences every day. Recently she can’t shake the feeling that this can’t continue, she’s making enough money to pay for her room, food, and ((chocobo’s)) care but not much else. Others her age are either settling down and starting families or pursuing careers, and Ophelia is torn between her dream of owning her own bakery someday or becoming a fully-fledged healer at one of the hospitals, and though she knows she wouldn’t want to do it for a living she still has an adventurous spirit that likes exploration and seeing new places. In the meantime she visits her father nearly every day to test out her newest creations in the kitchen on him and hear his stories, from guards and others he trains to his adventures as a member of the Knights. Ophelia recently joined the Knights herself, and is still adjusting to the new life in the hall but looks forward to future excitement as a member.
OOC Information
Timezone: -6 GMT (US Central)
OOC Limits: No perma-death or mutilation without prior discussion and consent. Things potentially mentally scarring are also considered mutilation, so if in doubt just ask!
Square Enix Username: PeriasGift
