Shadow Weaver (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sinistramanus) wrote2020-10-25 01:51 pm
sinistramanus) wrote2020-10-25 01:51 pm
App [Upcycle]
Name: GS
Age: 28
Contact info: PM or![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
FiendMatador
Character: Shadow Weaver
Canon: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
Canon Point: Post-S5
Character age: Unknown; I'm settling for at least 60-ish based on Micah's apparent age while she was a teacher
Canon Abilities/Powers: Being a sorceress and prior teacher of the mystic arts, Shadow Weaver's abilities all pertain to magic. She's seen doing various things such as: divination-esque locating and scrying, teleportation, minor telekinesis, illusions (primarily pertaining to shadows these days), defensive barriers, offensive spells (typically manifesting in red lightning or dark energy), and conjuring shadow-creatures to serve her. It's implied sorcerers in the series can do all manner of other things, but not much else is shown on-screen.
The Spell of Obtainment also warped her, turning her into a "magical parasite" as another sorcerer put it. She's been seen consuming other magic-casters to assimilate their power, and siphoning magic from other sources, such as Runestones.
It's never clearly explained the full extent of what the Spell of Obtainment did to Shadow Weaver, especially considering that the ritual went wrong, but she seems to operate a little differently from the other spellcasters of the series. For the first half of the series, she's seen having periodic "attacks" of pain before rushing off to siphon more energy from the Black Garnet; later, after having her connection severed with the stone, she's described as "dying" after expending a lot of her magical power. She's later healed of this, never having another such attack again, but still seems to be weakened and/or hurt after expending spellpower without being hooked up to a greater source.
It's also cartoon magic and probably has no hard fast rules, but I'll be running with the idea that Shadow Weaver requires external sources of magic to "consume" and fuel her own considerable power, whether it be from the environment, an artifact, or a person.
Oh, and she can also garden pretty well. And decently manage the beaurocractic side of an army.
What is their greatest negative emotion towards an object, situation, or person in their past?: Selishness, particularly where power is concerned. It drives nearly her every action, and woe be to those that deny her something Shadow Weaver has decided should be hers. She complains at one point about having been born without talent and having to work tooth and nail for everything she's achieved, and no matter how hard she works, she always feels she comes up short; she's never given the respect or trust or recognition she deserves in her eyes. First with Norwyn, when she was Light Spinner, and later with Hordak. Even then, Shadow Weaver only wants those things as a means to an end in her pursuit of power; she tried to convince Norwyn and the other mages to back in using the dark magic ritual, the Spell of Obtainment, and (it is implied) she threw in with Hordak to be granted access to the Black Garnet runestone.
Never mind that she originally brought up the Spell of Obtainment to protect Etheria, before doing a 180 after the ritual went wrong to back the alien attempting to conquer it. The only thing that matters to her is her own interests, regardless of the costs to be paid by those around her. Shadow Weaver is greedy for power, and while once upon a time her greed for power was (probably) partially driven by a desire to protect her homeland from invaders, her resentment of being spurned by her colleagues wound up warping that desire into being purely self-focused. No matter how ill-advised or unscrupulous or flat-out wrong her actions, Shadow Weaver only sees where she isn't recognized or respected, and doesn't forget such slights.
In the case of her wards and her students, perhaps the few people she arguably cares even a little about, Shadow Weaver always pushes what she believes to be important, irreverent of the individual's own wishes and desires, and will use every kind of mind game she can to shove them in that direction. Individual happiness clearly doesn't matter; why would it when you could be great and powerful and at the top of the world? What could make anyone happier?
How aware are they of this negative emotion, and how do they act on it in canon?: Moderately aware: "You want the truth? I have nowhere left to go. Catra betrayed me; Hordak cast me aside. I want to take them down. And helping you... is the best way to do it."
Her survival comes first, always and foremost (except the one time it doesn't). She'd just abandoned Catra in the scene quoted above without hesitation after the girl had opened up to her, aware that consequences would befall her. Without the Black Garnet, her health was deteriorating, and even that aside, resentment grew strong in her. If her health and safety could be guaranteed, retribution against those that had wronged her (Hordak and Catra in her eyes) mattered most, even if this would be the second time she's flipped alliances.
The fate of Etheria never mattered. The fate of her wards never mattered (so long as Adora does what she bids, at first, and later so long Adora frees Etheria's magic). It's left unclear if Shadow Weaver's unaware of exactly how self-oriented she is (perhaps genuinely believing everything she does is for the best), or if she simply doesn't care how much it's influenced the major goals of her life.
Back when she was Light Spinner, it was lack of recognition and power that drove her to attempt the Spell of Obtainment despite being explicitly forbidden from doing such by Norwyn. Even if the ritual proved to be a horrible idea as it went south and disfigured the sorceress and warped her into a magical parasite, she still feels in the right for doing it; after all, the spell DID make her incredibly powerful, and it never would have gone wrong if they'd just heeded her advice from the beginning and Micah never ran, and they were absolute blind fools for condemning her actions, and—
Et cetera. Shadow Weaver has a tendency to feel unjustly treated no matter the flaws or carelessness in her actions. The lives of others do not matter, nor their feelings. It isn't until the end when Adora calls her out on "ruining" others and their ability to achieve happiness in her own pursuit of power that Shadow Weaver seems to be taken aback at all by her course of action—and even then, the degree of any potential remorse is left entirely up to interpretation.
Even Shadow Weaver's death can be considered an act of selfishness, despite doing so to protect her wards: it is an easy, quick token of good that robs her of living with the consequences and regret of her actions, and her parting words are delivered not with a sorrowful goodbye or apology, but a single, "You're welcome."
Translation: Look at what I am doing for you. You should be thankful.
What is their greatest virtue?: ...Look. Shadow Weaver is an absolutely terrible individual that takes selfishness to extreme heights, and looking for virtues in her is like digging through the garbage searching for something still good and edible. You can probably find something between the bitter resentment and sociopathic tendencies, but, do you really want to?
But for all her (many, numerous) negative qualities, it's undeniable that Shadow Weaver is incredibly driven. Even if her ambition is 99.9% self-focused, she works hard to achieve her goals and become good at what does. She's always trying to proactively earn something for herself, grab for (typically magical) power when she can, or pursue the magical secrets of Etheria.
How aware are they of their virtue, and how do they act on it in canon?: Debatably both very aware, and moderately; Shadow Weaver is very keenly aware of how hard she works, but to the point of overvaluing it. She feels entitlement over her efforts, which in turn leads to developing her resentment.
Though Shadow Weaver claims she was born without the tremendous magical talent she praises in the likes of Adora and Glimmer, there's no doubt that her efforts lead her to becoming one Etheria's most skilled and knowledgeable sorcerers (she's the only spellcaster that's been able to tap into a Runestone, she points out flaws in Casta's spells even as a prisoner, teaches Adora how to heal despite knowing nothing about She-Ra), and claims to have studied more of Mystacor's secrets than anyone.
Shadow Weaver is never seen to be idle except when she's forced to be (such as imprisoned). She schemes and juggles the beaurocractic affairs of the Horde as Hordak's second-in-command. After being cast out of the Horde, she concocts a Hail Mary of a plan to escape, then bargains information for magical healing and offers aid to Glimmer in a time of need. Once allowed outside of herroom cell at Brightmoon, she's incessantly gardening and cultivating useful plants (and daises), teaching Glimmer magic, and constantly advising the young queen. Shadow Weaver largely spends Season 5 offscreen, but she claims to have been digging deeper into the mystery of Etheria's magic (and through that, the Heart).
For all the harm that Shadow Weaver causes, no one could accuse her of being lazy, and she seems to harbor a genuine love of the scholarly pursuit of magic from her Light Spinner days, even begging Catra and Adora to release Etheria's magic from the Heart in her last moments.
Items: The clothes on her back (slightly singed) sans mask, and a smidge leftover of the blue powder she uses for her spells.
Samples: TDM Toplevel
Special Notes: I'm going to be asking if various elements of the setting and/or events have magic in themand if she can metaphysically consume them a lot. Just. Heads up. This woman has one thing on her mind.
Age: 28
Contact info: PM or
Character: Shadow Weaver
Canon: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
Canon Point: Post-S5
Character age: Unknown; I'm settling for at least 60-ish based on Micah's apparent age while she was a teacher
Canon Abilities/Powers: Being a sorceress and prior teacher of the mystic arts, Shadow Weaver's abilities all pertain to magic. She's seen doing various things such as: divination-esque locating and scrying, teleportation, minor telekinesis, illusions (primarily pertaining to shadows these days), defensive barriers, offensive spells (typically manifesting in red lightning or dark energy), and conjuring shadow-creatures to serve her. It's implied sorcerers in the series can do all manner of other things, but not much else is shown on-screen.
The Spell of Obtainment also warped her, turning her into a "magical parasite" as another sorcerer put it. She's been seen consuming other magic-casters to assimilate their power, and siphoning magic from other sources, such as Runestones.
It's never clearly explained the full extent of what the Spell of Obtainment did to Shadow Weaver, especially considering that the ritual went wrong, but she seems to operate a little differently from the other spellcasters of the series. For the first half of the series, she's seen having periodic "attacks" of pain before rushing off to siphon more energy from the Black Garnet; later, after having her connection severed with the stone, she's described as "dying" after expending a lot of her magical power. She's later healed of this, never having another such attack again, but still seems to be weakened and/or hurt after expending spellpower without being hooked up to a greater source.
It's also cartoon magic and probably has no hard fast rules, but I'll be running with the idea that Shadow Weaver requires external sources of magic to "consume" and fuel her own considerable power, whether it be from the environment, an artifact, or a person.
Oh, and she can also garden pretty well. And decently manage the beaurocractic side of an army.
What is their greatest negative emotion towards an object, situation, or person in their past?: Selishness, particularly where power is concerned. It drives nearly her every action, and woe be to those that deny her something Shadow Weaver has decided should be hers. She complains at one point about having been born without talent and having to work tooth and nail for everything she's achieved, and no matter how hard she works, she always feels she comes up short; she's never given the respect or trust or recognition she deserves in her eyes. First with Norwyn, when she was Light Spinner, and later with Hordak. Even then, Shadow Weaver only wants those things as a means to an end in her pursuit of power; she tried to convince Norwyn and the other mages to back in using the dark magic ritual, the Spell of Obtainment, and (it is implied) she threw in with Hordak to be granted access to the Black Garnet runestone.
Never mind that she originally brought up the Spell of Obtainment to protect Etheria, before doing a 180 after the ritual went wrong to back the alien attempting to conquer it. The only thing that matters to her is her own interests, regardless of the costs to be paid by those around her. Shadow Weaver is greedy for power, and while once upon a time her greed for power was (probably) partially driven by a desire to protect her homeland from invaders, her resentment of being spurned by her colleagues wound up warping that desire into being purely self-focused. No matter how ill-advised or unscrupulous or flat-out wrong her actions, Shadow Weaver only sees where she isn't recognized or respected, and doesn't forget such slights.
In the case of her wards and her students, perhaps the few people she arguably cares even a little about, Shadow Weaver always pushes what she believes to be important, irreverent of the individual's own wishes and desires, and will use every kind of mind game she can to shove them in that direction. Individual happiness clearly doesn't matter; why would it when you could be great and powerful and at the top of the world? What could make anyone happier?
How aware are they of this negative emotion, and how do they act on it in canon?: Moderately aware: "You want the truth? I have nowhere left to go. Catra betrayed me; Hordak cast me aside. I want to take them down. And helping you... is the best way to do it."
Her survival comes first, always and foremost (except the one time it doesn't). She'd just abandoned Catra in the scene quoted above without hesitation after the girl had opened up to her, aware that consequences would befall her. Without the Black Garnet, her health was deteriorating, and even that aside, resentment grew strong in her. If her health and safety could be guaranteed, retribution against those that had wronged her (Hordak and Catra in her eyes) mattered most, even if this would be the second time she's flipped alliances.
The fate of Etheria never mattered. The fate of her wards never mattered (so long as Adora does what she bids, at first, and later so long Adora frees Etheria's magic). It's left unclear if Shadow Weaver's unaware of exactly how self-oriented she is (perhaps genuinely believing everything she does is for the best), or if she simply doesn't care how much it's influenced the major goals of her life.
Back when she was Light Spinner, it was lack of recognition and power that drove her to attempt the Spell of Obtainment despite being explicitly forbidden from doing such by Norwyn. Even if the ritual proved to be a horrible idea as it went south and disfigured the sorceress and warped her into a magical parasite, she still feels in the right for doing it; after all, the spell DID make her incredibly powerful, and it never would have gone wrong if they'd just heeded her advice from the beginning and Micah never ran, and they were absolute blind fools for condemning her actions, and—
Et cetera. Shadow Weaver has a tendency to feel unjustly treated no matter the flaws or carelessness in her actions. The lives of others do not matter, nor their feelings. It isn't until the end when Adora calls her out on "ruining" others and their ability to achieve happiness in her own pursuit of power that Shadow Weaver seems to be taken aback at all by her course of action—and even then, the degree of any potential remorse is left entirely up to interpretation.
Even Shadow Weaver's death can be considered an act of selfishness, despite doing so to protect her wards: it is an easy, quick token of good that robs her of living with the consequences and regret of her actions, and her parting words are delivered not with a sorrowful goodbye or apology, but a single, "You're welcome."
Translation: Look at what I am doing for you. You should be thankful.
What is their greatest virtue?: ...Look. Shadow Weaver is an absolutely terrible individual that takes selfishness to extreme heights, and looking for virtues in her is like digging through the garbage searching for something still good and edible. You can probably find something between the bitter resentment and sociopathic tendencies, but, do you really want to?
But for all her (many, numerous) negative qualities, it's undeniable that Shadow Weaver is incredibly driven. Even if her ambition is 99.9% self-focused, she works hard to achieve her goals and become good at what does. She's always trying to proactively earn something for herself, grab for (typically magical) power when she can, or pursue the magical secrets of Etheria.
How aware are they of their virtue, and how do they act on it in canon?: Debatably both very aware, and moderately; Shadow Weaver is very keenly aware of how hard she works, but to the point of overvaluing it. She feels entitlement over her efforts, which in turn leads to developing her resentment.
Though Shadow Weaver claims she was born without the tremendous magical talent she praises in the likes of Adora and Glimmer, there's no doubt that her efforts lead her to becoming one Etheria's most skilled and knowledgeable sorcerers (she's the only spellcaster that's been able to tap into a Runestone, she points out flaws in Casta's spells even as a prisoner, teaches Adora how to heal despite knowing nothing about She-Ra), and claims to have studied more of Mystacor's secrets than anyone.
Shadow Weaver is never seen to be idle except when she's forced to be (such as imprisoned). She schemes and juggles the beaurocractic affairs of the Horde as Hordak's second-in-command. After being cast out of the Horde, she concocts a Hail Mary of a plan to escape, then bargains information for magical healing and offers aid to Glimmer in a time of need. Once allowed outside of her
For all the harm that Shadow Weaver causes, no one could accuse her of being lazy, and she seems to harbor a genuine love of the scholarly pursuit of magic from her Light Spinner days, even begging Catra and Adora to release Etheria's magic from the Heart in her last moments.
Items: The clothes on her back (slightly singed) sans mask, and a smidge leftover of the blue powder she uses for her spells.
Samples: TDM Toplevel
Special Notes: I'm going to be asking if various elements of the setting and/or events have magic in them