Deva Murphy (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
resealable) wrote2021-02-18 07:58 pm
resealable) wrote2021-02-18 07:58 pm
Entry tags:
Character Profile
Name: Deva Murphy (formerly Deva Byrne)
Age: 23
Species: Selkie
Appearance:
Deva, at first glance, looks entirely human. In fact, in her human form the only tell is the slight webbing between her fingers and toes, which gets more noticeable when she's in salt water. Deva is petite, just barely 5'2" though she refuses to let herself be lost in the crowd. Her dark hair is usually loose, falling just past her shoulders in waves that always look windblown. Deva's eyes are an oddly dark color green, sometimes only giving up a hint of color when the light hits them right and other times simply appearing dark and colorless.
Even in her human form, her sealskin is never far, the furred pelt worn at her hips or draped over her shoulders. When she isn't wearing it, it's likely within reach or else cached somewhere safe and secure.
In her other form, Deva is a speckled gray harbor seal.
History:
Deva Murphy grew up a hopeless romantic, full of dreams of falling in love, being swept off her feet and into a life of romance and excitement. She was the youngest of two sisters in a close family that included uncles and cousins and grandparents. When she was seventeen, she left her pod to try her luck in the human world. Being a selkie, she chose a coastal fishing town, finding work in a small inn tending tables and providing entertainment in the evenings singing and dancing. She hid her identity as a selkie, living as a human among humans. It was new and exciting, and Deva was young and so naive.
That naivete would have a cost.
It wasn't long after her arrival that Deva met William Byrne. William was charming and magnetic and handsome -- and oh Deva has always been a sucker for a pretty face, male or female -- and Deva fell hard. He told her he was a fisherman, from the North, that his grandfather and great grandfather and great great grandfather had fished those cold waters, but the fish had left and he'd journeyed to this village to carry on his family's tradition. William told stories of the sea and of danger and adventure, and Deva hung on every word.
He proposed only weeks after meeting her. Not wanting to accept his proposal with lies lingering under the surface between them, Deva confessed her true nature as a selkie, but William told her he'd already guessed. Relieved that the warnings she'd been given about humans fearing or hating her kind were at least not true in this case, Deva accepted his proposal, and they were married not long after.
The first year of marriage was a dream come true. They moved into a small cottage on a rocky rise overlooking the ocean. Deva learned to cook and keep a house and William left mornings before the sun had risen, sometimes gone for days or weeks, but always returning with tales of successful hauls. Deva gave birth to their first child less than a year after their wedding (a daughter, Cora) and their second (a son, John) less than one year after that. Both her children were born selkies, with their pelts wrapped around them.
For a few years, the little family lived a happy, seemingly idyllic life. Their children grew, and Deva was happy. But there were small cracks in this perfect picture already. William seemed to want her isolated. He discouraged her from going into the town proper or visiting the friends she'd made around the tavern. He was also insistent that she not take their children to the waves, for fear of anyone else discovering what she and her children were. She wanted to bring her children to her pod, to introduce them to her family, to their family. William convinced her to wait until they were older, which she rationalized was fair. They were young enough that their second forms were not yet second nature, and the waves could be dangerous.
When Cora was three, everything changed. Deva went to sleep one otherwise normal night and awoke to hands at her throat. She couldn't make a sound, and her eyes barely had time to adjust to see that her assailant was her husband. The last thing she remembers is a searing stabbing pain of a blade plunging into her chest before a deep darkness took her.
The next time Deva woke, she was tangled in a mass of kelp, bruised and broken from being torn from her bed, strangled, stabbed and thrown from the cliff by her home into the waiting sea. But the ocean, cruel as it is, merciless as it is, knows its own. William made the mistake of throwing her sealskin after her. Something deep and dark and magical found her then, half alive and half dead. The current carried her for days, cradled and rocked in the waves. Eventually she washed ashore. The woman who came out of the water wasn't the woman who went in. There forces in the deeps that sang to her fey blood, the betrayal and pain and anger there. It changed her, left the marks of its power in her.
By the time she emerged and made it back to her home, the cottage was deserted. William and the children had disappeared. She made her way down to the town, showing up bedraggled and half-dazed. Rose and Darby Leary, the owners of the tavern she'd previously worked at, who had given her a room and a job when she'd first come and become in many ways her surrogate family, took her in and helped her recover enough to be more than a walking ghost of herself.
It took days more to discover the truth, of what her husband really was. That she had been part of his plan. The family Byrne were not fishermen, but hunters, sealers. William had recognized Deva for what she was from the start and planned from there. Now he had two young selkies who barely knew what they were, but would be able to lead him to not only seals, but to the hidden selkie pods as well.
That was when Deva knew the ocean hadn't saved her on a whim, for no reason. It had saved her to find her children. It had saved her for revenge.
Deva plans to make the most of it.
Currently she is traveling along the coast searching for any sign of rumor of William and her children's whereabouts. And when she finds him, she fully intends to drag him to a watery grave. Selkies don't actually drown people, as a rule -- that's bad press. But she's ready to make an exception.
Personality:
Deva puts up a good front. She is not the naive girl she was when she first left her pod and came ashore to the human world. She has been hurt and wronged and no longer trusts most anyone.
Deva comes across as cheerful and friendly. She's outgoing and eager for conversation, quick to joke and quick to laugh. Anyone meeting her superficially would see someone easy to approach and warm to get to know. It's all very much on the surface, clinging to the person she remembers being as a defense mechanism to try to get by and move on despite the pain and anger in her.
With everything that has happened, Deva's only goal is to track down her children and her husband, to rescue the former and murder the latter. After all, that seems only right. It makes her a woman absolutely driven, and intensely frustrated that every lead she tracks down up and down the coast seems to bring her just short of finding her missing family.
Though she's been betrayed and nearly murdered, with the exception of William, she doesn't harbor any particular grudges to anyone. However, she won't be taken in and tricked again. Actually earning Deva's trust is not an easy task. That said, she's surprisingly softhearted for those who are suffering, and in particular is easily swayed by children and their plight.
Once crossed, however, Deva can be vicious. She no longer hesitates to strike down obstacles in her way or anyone who means her or those she cares about harm. The young woman has sharp edges these days.
Deeper down is the pain though, and that is in many ways what drives her. Deva misses her children and wants nothing more than to rescue them back and return to her pod, safe and sound. She still has just enough hope that she can pull it off. The children are still young, and they'll have to learn to be what they were meant to be before William can use them the way he wants. Until then, they'll at least be safe.
And until then Deva must get stronger.
Abilities:
As selkie Deva can turn into a seal so long as her sealskin is with her.
Deva sings and dances very well, particularly graceful for a selkie on land, given that they tend to be more comfortable in water. During her time in the fishing village and with William, she also took to learning the fiddle. It's a point of pride that she's managed it, since the webbing between her fingers does present an extra challenge.
Once she's emerged from the ocean after William tried to murder her, Deva comes back changed. Something dark and old in the sea has woken something even darker and older in her blood. She's still learning to control it, but an almost siren-like quality has risen in her, where through music she can charm those around her. Well, charm or torment, depending on her intention. It's a new skill and one she's still coming to understand.
Notes: Character generally played from a vaguely D&D-esque meets real world places setting, bard class. (For memes or PSLs, she also has a modern-day urban fantasy style version)
Age: 23
Species: Selkie
Appearance:
Deva, at first glance, looks entirely human. In fact, in her human form the only tell is the slight webbing between her fingers and toes, which gets more noticeable when she's in salt water. Deva is petite, just barely 5'2" though she refuses to let herself be lost in the crowd. Her dark hair is usually loose, falling just past her shoulders in waves that always look windblown. Deva's eyes are an oddly dark color green, sometimes only giving up a hint of color when the light hits them right and other times simply appearing dark and colorless.
Even in her human form, her sealskin is never far, the furred pelt worn at her hips or draped over her shoulders. When she isn't wearing it, it's likely within reach or else cached somewhere safe and secure.
In her other form, Deva is a speckled gray harbor seal.
History:
Deva Murphy grew up a hopeless romantic, full of dreams of falling in love, being swept off her feet and into a life of romance and excitement. She was the youngest of two sisters in a close family that included uncles and cousins and grandparents. When she was seventeen, she left her pod to try her luck in the human world. Being a selkie, she chose a coastal fishing town, finding work in a small inn tending tables and providing entertainment in the evenings singing and dancing. She hid her identity as a selkie, living as a human among humans. It was new and exciting, and Deva was young and so naive.
That naivete would have a cost.
It wasn't long after her arrival that Deva met William Byrne. William was charming and magnetic and handsome -- and oh Deva has always been a sucker for a pretty face, male or female -- and Deva fell hard. He told her he was a fisherman, from the North, that his grandfather and great grandfather and great great grandfather had fished those cold waters, but the fish had left and he'd journeyed to this village to carry on his family's tradition. William told stories of the sea and of danger and adventure, and Deva hung on every word.
He proposed only weeks after meeting her. Not wanting to accept his proposal with lies lingering under the surface between them, Deva confessed her true nature as a selkie, but William told her he'd already guessed. Relieved that the warnings she'd been given about humans fearing or hating her kind were at least not true in this case, Deva accepted his proposal, and they were married not long after.
The first year of marriage was a dream come true. They moved into a small cottage on a rocky rise overlooking the ocean. Deva learned to cook and keep a house and William left mornings before the sun had risen, sometimes gone for days or weeks, but always returning with tales of successful hauls. Deva gave birth to their first child less than a year after their wedding (a daughter, Cora) and their second (a son, John) less than one year after that. Both her children were born selkies, with their pelts wrapped around them.
For a few years, the little family lived a happy, seemingly idyllic life. Their children grew, and Deva was happy. But there were small cracks in this perfect picture already. William seemed to want her isolated. He discouraged her from going into the town proper or visiting the friends she'd made around the tavern. He was also insistent that she not take their children to the waves, for fear of anyone else discovering what she and her children were. She wanted to bring her children to her pod, to introduce them to her family, to their family. William convinced her to wait until they were older, which she rationalized was fair. They were young enough that their second forms were not yet second nature, and the waves could be dangerous.
When Cora was three, everything changed. Deva went to sleep one otherwise normal night and awoke to hands at her throat. She couldn't make a sound, and her eyes barely had time to adjust to see that her assailant was her husband. The last thing she remembers is a searing stabbing pain of a blade plunging into her chest before a deep darkness took her.
The next time Deva woke, she was tangled in a mass of kelp, bruised and broken from being torn from her bed, strangled, stabbed and thrown from the cliff by her home into the waiting sea. But the ocean, cruel as it is, merciless as it is, knows its own. William made the mistake of throwing her sealskin after her. Something deep and dark and magical found her then, half alive and half dead. The current carried her for days, cradled and rocked in the waves. Eventually she washed ashore. The woman who came out of the water wasn't the woman who went in. There forces in the deeps that sang to her fey blood, the betrayal and pain and anger there. It changed her, left the marks of its power in her.
By the time she emerged and made it back to her home, the cottage was deserted. William and the children had disappeared. She made her way down to the town, showing up bedraggled and half-dazed. Rose and Darby Leary, the owners of the tavern she'd previously worked at, who had given her a room and a job when she'd first come and become in many ways her surrogate family, took her in and helped her recover enough to be more than a walking ghost of herself.
It took days more to discover the truth, of what her husband really was. That she had been part of his plan. The family Byrne were not fishermen, but hunters, sealers. William had recognized Deva for what she was from the start and planned from there. Now he had two young selkies who barely knew what they were, but would be able to lead him to not only seals, but to the hidden selkie pods as well.
That was when Deva knew the ocean hadn't saved her on a whim, for no reason. It had saved her to find her children. It had saved her for revenge.
Deva plans to make the most of it.
Currently she is traveling along the coast searching for any sign of rumor of William and her children's whereabouts. And when she finds him, she fully intends to drag him to a watery grave. Selkies don't actually drown people, as a rule -- that's bad press. But she's ready to make an exception.
Personality:
Deva puts up a good front. She is not the naive girl she was when she first left her pod and came ashore to the human world. She has been hurt and wronged and no longer trusts most anyone.
Deva comes across as cheerful and friendly. She's outgoing and eager for conversation, quick to joke and quick to laugh. Anyone meeting her superficially would see someone easy to approach and warm to get to know. It's all very much on the surface, clinging to the person she remembers being as a defense mechanism to try to get by and move on despite the pain and anger in her.
With everything that has happened, Deva's only goal is to track down her children and her husband, to rescue the former and murder the latter. After all, that seems only right. It makes her a woman absolutely driven, and intensely frustrated that every lead she tracks down up and down the coast seems to bring her just short of finding her missing family.
Though she's been betrayed and nearly murdered, with the exception of William, she doesn't harbor any particular grudges to anyone. However, she won't be taken in and tricked again. Actually earning Deva's trust is not an easy task. That said, she's surprisingly softhearted for those who are suffering, and in particular is easily swayed by children and their plight.
Once crossed, however, Deva can be vicious. She no longer hesitates to strike down obstacles in her way or anyone who means her or those she cares about harm. The young woman has sharp edges these days.
Deeper down is the pain though, and that is in many ways what drives her. Deva misses her children and wants nothing more than to rescue them back and return to her pod, safe and sound. She still has just enough hope that she can pull it off. The children are still young, and they'll have to learn to be what they were meant to be before William can use them the way he wants. Until then, they'll at least be safe.
And until then Deva must get stronger.
Abilities:
As selkie Deva can turn into a seal so long as her sealskin is with her.
Deva sings and dances very well, particularly graceful for a selkie on land, given that they tend to be more comfortable in water. During her time in the fishing village and with William, she also took to learning the fiddle. It's a point of pride that she's managed it, since the webbing between her fingers does present an extra challenge.
Once she's emerged from the ocean after William tried to murder her, Deva comes back changed. Something dark and old in the sea has woken something even darker and older in her blood. She's still learning to control it, but an almost siren-like quality has risen in her, where through music she can charm those around her. Well, charm or torment, depending on her intention. It's a new skill and one she's still coming to understand.
Notes: Character generally played from a vaguely D&D-esque meets real world places setting, bard class. (For memes or PSLs, she also has a modern-day urban fantasy style version)