Ginka Shimizu
| Ginka Shimizu | |
|---|---|
| IC Information | |
| Full Name: | Ginka Shimizu |
| Aliases: | La Siren d'Argent |
| Gender: | Female (she/her) |
| Age/Birthdate: | 15 (August 15th) |
| Height: | 5'7" |
| Hair Colour: | Honey Blonde |
| Eye Colour: | Brown, flecked with green |
| Astrological Sign: | Leo |
| Blood Type: | AB |
| Favorite Food: | Mussels |
| Least Favorite Food: | Eggplant |
| Favorite Subject: | Social Studies |
| Least Favorite Subject: | Mathematics |
| Dossier | |
| Organization: | N/A |
| Position: | N/A |
| School: | Ohtori Acaedmy (Grade 10) |
| OOC Information | |
| Source: | Sirens of Sorrow's Sea (OC) |
| Player: | Talnora |
"Sing out, O Threnody! Resist the tarnish of fate, La Sirene d'Argent!"
A recent transfer to Ohtori, Ginka Shimizu, to all outward appearances, is a model student who works to be flawless in everything she does and constantly strives for personal excellence. Yet she is also friendly and personable, somehow finding time to lend an ear or a shoulder to cry on to any and all who need it, providing solace and comfort in their times of sorrow. She has quite the knack for this, in fact, often swooping in just as someone hits the tipping point into distress. What nobody yet realizes, however, is just how often she is the cause of this distress and sorrow. For she is La Sirene d'Argent, distant descendant of the Mother of Sorrows, charged with the task of gathering the sorrows of the world. Working together with her (equally distant) cousin Coralie, a sea mink from the Sea of Sorrows, together they work to sow the very sorrow they seek to harvest. A misplaced trinket here, a deleted text there, a secret told in confidence exploited... Her goal is nothing less than to become the next Queen of the Sea of Sorrows, and she'll do whatever it takes to achieve her aim.
Contents
Personality
"Quelle horreur! Let me make you some tea and you can tell me all about it. Please, I insist."
Ginka comports herself as a warm, caring person, invested in taking a personal interest in others. She takes a personal interest in others, often offering to help with their problems, or at the very least to offer an ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on.
She is also extremely driven, constantly pushing herself towards personal excellence in everything she does/ She studies hard (and has the help of the best tutors money can buy, of course), maintains flawless social graces, and is always immaculately put together.
She is dedicated in her pursuits of fencing and swimming, having placed in tournaments before, though she hasn't participated in any recently. It's said that she was once a very talented violinist, but something happened in her third year of school that caused her to give that up and take up fencing instead.
However, Ginka leads a double life: she is, in fact, La Sirene d'Argent, a long-removed descendant of the Mother of Sorrows, tasked with gathering the sorrows of the world. The same drive that pushes her towards personal excellence also compells her to succeed here: her goal is nothing less than to become the next Queen of the Sea of Tears.
And to do this, she will stop at nothing to get what she wants: not content simply to stand on the sidelines and passive collect the sorrows of others, she has instead chosen to sow that which she needs to succeeds. She does this through designs both grand and small, from ensuring a precious family heirloom is 'misplaced', to creating a storm that rains out a school festival.
And then, when the tears are ready to step in, Ginka will quickly step in with a comporting word or a gentle gesture, and either offer to help or provide a sympathetic ear, all the while harvesting their sorrow for her own ends. And if the kindness can ingratiate her a little bit more, or if she can 'solve' the pro and win more trust to open up more avenues to create sorrow later... well, that's a helpful outcome too.
She does have limits, though. She doesn't set out to cause physical harm or injury.
Current Events
Ginka is a new transfer to Ohtori Academy, and is new to Tokyo in general. She is still learning the lay of the land and is intruiged at the presnce of other magical girls... but is confident they won't be a hinderance to her plans.
Background
Early Childhood
Ginka was born in Kyoto to two parents who were very well off. They raised her in relative wealth and status, with the expectation that she reflect this status and upbringing in everything she does. She lived a comfortable life, until in her third year of school something unprecedented happened to her.
Ginka was shaping up to be an extraordinarily talented violinist. In her third year, she and her best friend, Chizuru Kishioka, competed for the chance to play a challenging solo in a performance, with Ginka winning out in the end. Chizuru congratulated her, of course, but when the night of the concert came... Ginka discovered to her horror that her violin had been smashed beyond repair, meaning that she could not play in the concert that night.
One by one, as the students gathered for the performance they learned about the vilin and began to talk, with some speculating that Chizuru might have done it... a fear confirmed when Chizuru arrived with their instructor.
Ginka, brought to tears by the betrayal of her friend, ran out of the school and down to the shore, despite the storm brewing outside that night. A sudden wave caught her, sweeping out to sea. She tried as hard as she could to swim to the surface, but the currents were too strong, and she blacked out.
Inheritance
... only to come to in a small cabin that she did not recognize. When she ventured from the bedroom she discovered a figure making a fish stew: the Mother of Sorrows. She explained about the Sea of Tears, how Ginka was her descendant, and how all of her descendants, no matter the remove, had the ability to travel there.
They talked for a long time about many subjects, and eventually the Mother of Sorrows offered to let her stay. Ginka was tempted, but... there was too much to do back home. The Mother of Sorrows accepted her decision but did bid her to return some time hence for another visit, which Ginka agreed to.
She returned for a second visit, and then a third, and then many more, growing more and more fascinated with the Sea of Tears with each trip. Eventually, when she was a 5th year, the Mother of Sorrows gave her a mirror made of black obsidian and imparted an important truth: she had the capability to become a Siren, to wield great power to an important goal. Her task, if she accepted, was to gathere the sorrows of the world, and the potential reward was becoming the Queen of the Sea of Tears.
Queen. How could Ginka pass up a goal like that?
She immediately accepted.
During those trips, she had met many of the Sea of Tear's inhabitatns, and one of those stepped forward to aid her in her task: a sea mink named Coralie, who pledged herself to aiding Ginka in whatever way she could.
They returned to Kyoto together, where Ginka and Coralie set about their task. Coralie proved an excellent instructor in the use of her new magic. Ginka's demands of herself for excellence pushed her to progress, and she took to her new powers quickly, though quickly grew frustrated with the seemingly slow progress she was making. However, when she hit upon an idea to cause the very sorrow she sought to harvest, Coralie hardly batted an eye as she began advising her in ways to do so.
Skills and Abilities
"I will cut down anyone who stands in my way."
Ginka is a skilled swimmer, having grown up by the sea and having a perhaps innate love of the sea. She is also a talented fencer, having taken up the hobby after abruptly ending her participation with music in her third year. Otherwise, she works hard to maintain excellent grades.
La Sirene d'Argent
As La Sirene d'Argent, her most obvious (and flashy) weapon is a silver rapier that she wields to combat the threat of Cardiax, and to fend off whoever might stop her in her attempts to sow sorrow. She also wields the power of mirrors, illusions, and moonlight, making for a dazzling presence on the battlefield but one that can be tricky to pin down. Finally, she concentrates on speed and precision, focusing on quick footwork to dart out of the way of danger, and then to dart back in to drive her rapier home at an opponent's weak spot.
Transformation
It is night; the sun has long since set, and the moon rides high in the sky. Ginka is standing on the corner of a tall building, dressed in nothing but the gold Ohtori uniform. Cold winds buffet her but she pays them no mind as they ruffle her skirt and make her wavey blonde hair sway. Cold brown eyes flecked with green stare down at the busy crosswalk below.
Happy people going about their lives. Lives that will soon have sorrow visited upon them by her hand.
There is no warmth in Tokyo that night, either from without or within.
Ginka stands with impeccable poise despite the winds, feet together, left hand on her hip, right hand hanging by her side. In it is a gleaming silver rapier, that easily catches the moonlight. It is perfectly sharp, and has an ornate guard.
She strikes the edge of the roof with her rapier. It vibrates and begins to ring out with strange, echoing melody: it is not quite sound but a strange sort of unsound, an aching absense of sound formed by all the joys she has cut short to gather her sorrows. She intones, "Sing out, O Threnody!"
Few people below, if any, stop to ponder the strange melody slowly drifting through the streets below.
It continues to play as Ginka holds the rapier aloft over her head. She shouts, "Suffer not the tarnish of fate!" Reflected moonlight catches the blade with a dazzling flare, obscuring Ginka's form.
The screen fades to white, and as it fades back in the camera plunges into a roiling, turbulent sea. The rapier appears from above, drifting, spinning, flailing in the turbulent tides and eddies of an angry sea churning in a storm. It lingers upright for a moment as an image of Ginka appears within it, free of her civilian garb. She is upright, to match the blade, hands held above her. Moonlight coalesces about her body and then releases, leaving her clad in a black, strapless dress that has several layers of lace filling out the skirt.
The rapier continues to tumble then, pausing at an angle next to catch an image of Ginka's legs at a matching angle. More moonlight, and a pair of thigh high boots are formed. The rapier tumbles next into a horizontal position where an image of Ginka from behind appears. It frames the image of her outstretched arms, the image of Ginka's face looking back at the viewer just barely visible. A black leather bolero jacket forms over the dress, perfectly hugging her body. The blade continues to tumble for a moment more but this time, when it stops, blade down, it is from Ginka's hand plunging down into the turbulent waters to grab the hilt. Her hand is bare, but with a flash of moonlight a black leather glove forms.
With a flourish of the blade and another flare of moonlight that fills the screen, the blade is pulled from the waters. When we fade back in it is being held aloft once more in the moonlight. Slowly it lowers, camera panning down with it as it is held so that the image of her face is bisected by the gleaming silver rapier. Her honey blonde hair is silver now, her eyes closed. They open again, on either side of the blade, irises gleaming with a light that quickly fades to reveal that her eyes are now silver as well, staring intently into the camera.
The camera pulls back as she makes a flourish with the blade. She is standing on a rocky outcroping with the sea churning beneath her, in a similar pose to before: Feet together, left hand on her hip, right hand down but holding a rapier out with the flat of the blade visible. A large bright moon frames her dramatically from behind as she shouts, "La Sirene d'Argent!"
Relationships
| Name | |
| Coralie | "I couldn't have made this far without your help... We're so close to our goal, I can almost taste it!" |
| Tokita-san | "Tokita-san, you... Ahem. Your work has been exemplary. I... value your continued assistance." |
Notable NPCs
Coralie
Female (she/her)
A sea mink from the Sea of Tears. She is Ginka's closest confidant, tasked with aiding her efforts as La Sirene d'Argent to gather the sorrows of the world, and to instructor her in the ways of the magic she can now wield. But more importantly than that, she is Ginka's sole closest friend. Ginka and Coralie have been working together since Ginka was 10 years old, and Coralie has seen her Siren learn and grow over the years.
And she has offered more than just advice and guidance: when Ginka decided to actively create sorrow to harvest, Coralie agreed to help her with this path, and has even taken active action to assist. Coralie can get into many spots that Ginka simply can't, and can hide, eavesdrop, and even misappropriate small items in order to help Ginka create sorrow. She has even proven useful in offering advice on using the Sirens' magic towards larger scale goals meant to cause large amounts of sorrow at once.
All of this has endeared Coralie to Ginka, and she makes sure to treat her friend extremely well in return.
Misaki Tokita
Female (she/her)
What are a pair of highly busy and highly successful parents to do when they're too busy to see to every aspect of their daughter's upbringing themselves? They hire some help.
Misaki is that help.
Misako Tokita has seen to the day-to-day affairs of Ginka's upbringing for many years now, and although the exact tasks required of her have changed over the years, what hasn't changed at all is her faithful dedication to Ginka's well-being. Currently she serves as something of a personal assistant, taking more direction directly from Ginka now that she is older, and making arrangements for her, managing her sheduling, and making other arrangements as required.
There is a genuine sense of affection in both directions, however it is tempered by a certain amount of distance as well: Misaki is only hired help, after all.
