Duck App: The Duckening

3. But what's your secret identity?

If you're applying for a character who already has a +finger, just state their name here. Otherwise, or if you want to write your own +finger, please fill out the following information:

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Name: Duck! (Actually, I'd honestly prefer the playerbit be called that than Ahiru -- I'll field the angry people who like subs better if you want, but I feel that it's a far better fit to people who aren't familiar with Japanese, and who would think that 'Ahiru' is a proper given name when it really isn't.)

Profile: Duck is a duck. Duck is also a girl, named Duck! And the girl named Duck can turn into a Magical Girl named Princess Tutu, a tragic story-book character who is fated to turn into a speck of light and vanish when she confesses her love for her Prince. Princess Tutu is an elegant and empathic prima donna ballerina who helps others come to terms with their true feelings, and whose mission is to restore the Prince's shattered heart. Meanwhile, Duck is a clumsy weirdo, who spends her days fumbling her way through Infinity Institute's ballet program and pining over Senior Mytho -- who just happens to be the modern-day Prince. Scatterbrained, trusting and extremely impulsive, Duck truly desires to help others. Unfortunately, whenever she betrays her nature as a duck -- usually by quacking -- Duck turns back into a simple duckling!

4. Do you remember the past?

Tell us your character's history. Use as much detail as you think the character needs. If your character has super powers or magic, be sure to explain how they got them (and keep the Paths to Power in mind!). Remember, Battle Fantasia's world isn't exactly like your character's canon theme, so if the world setup has affected their past, be sure to factor this in. If your character is attending one of the schools, be sure to mention it here.

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Once upon a time, there was a duck.

Even though she thought like a human, even though she could read and think, she was a normal duck. Why was she sentient? Perhaps it was a result of the town nearby her lake, a town where stories became reality.

Occasionally, people from that town would pass by her lake. But the duck was just a duck, and she thought little of their troubles. It was only when one of the boys from town began to stop by her home and dance that she took notice...

... and there, she noticed that he was very lonely.

It isn't the sort of sadness you see just by looking. His face was expressionless, like an object; it didn't even have the odd charm of rushes or bark. But his eyes --  his eyes were so lonely. His movements, too, were marked by a certain sorrow.

The duck wished that she could dance with him. If only she could make him smile, she'd be happy...!

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Once upon a time, there was a girl named Duck.

No one was sure who originally called her that (it was as if she'd just appeared one day), but surely it was because she was so ducklike? Clumsy and a total klutz, Duck was a wannabe ballerina who was constantly being threatened with the Probationary Class.

Duck couldn't get away from her associations with duckhood. Not only did all the birds like her (well, she did feed them!), but she always had dreams about BEING a duck. It wasn't always bad, of course -- there was a prince in those dreams too, a prince which looked just like her crush Senior Mytho.

Everyone thought Duck was weird, especially Duck. So when Duck burst into the classroom at six am and found Senior Mytho practicing, only to trip and make him save her from falling, she was surpised to hear that he didn't think she was weird at all! That rescue hurt his foot, and so she tried to apologise, but the scary Senior Fakir was there to stop her.

That night, the girl named Duck mused about how much she wished to help Senior Mytho. She wanted to help him so much, she'd even give her own life. It wasn't a coincidence that the night turned weird, and she saw a weird man outside, was it? ... but she couldn't catch him.

The next morning, some of Duck's bird friends were due to leave the nest. But when one of the canaries was reluctant to leave, Senior Mytho risked his life to keep watch over it -- and leapt to save it from a crow! Strange thoughts echoed through her mind, about death and endings and salvation, and...!

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Once upon a time, there was a magical girl named Princess Tutu.

The Princess was a minor character in the story of the Prince and the Raven, described in only a few sentences. No one in the story wished to be this unfortunate character, whose only purpose was to confess her love for the Prince. For she was cursed, and when she spoke of her love, she would turn into a speck of light and vanish...!

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Once upon a time, there was a duck, who was also a girl named Duck, who could turn into a magical girl named Princess Tutu.

Realising her power as she leapt to Senior Mytho's aid, Duck became Princess Tutu in order to rescue him. And he looked into her eyes, and he asked, "Who are you?"

And Duck realised that not only was she Princess Tutu, she was also just a duck. Just an ordinary duck.

Quack!

Shocked into returning to her true form, the duck struggled back to her lake. And she fainted, and when she came to, she realised the severity of her situation.

And as soon as she realised that she was a duck, she was terrified by a voice and a vision of a terrifying man. He told her about the Prince who fought a Raven by shattering his heart, and he told her about Princess Tutu, who would heal the Prince by collecting those heart shards once more. He offered to turn her into a girl again, just so long as she had the resolve...

Of course she accepted, because the duck who was a girl called Duck just wanted to help Senior Mytho.

And so the duck became a girl, who would in turn become Princess Tutu.

Stories are such wonderful things...!

5. Open your heart!

Describe your character's personality. Don't skimp; this is arguably the most important part of the application. What are their hopes and dreams? How do they view their mission, if they have one? What do they do for fun? How do they relate to their friends and enemies? What do they think of school, magic, current events and the world around them? Include as much as you think you need. Obviously some characters are going to have more complex personalities than others, but everyone has a little bit of depth.

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Princess Tutu is a kind soul. A tragic princess, fated never to be with her prince, she has plenty of reasons to be bitter and unkind. And yet she is neither, instead focusing on enabling other people do what she cannot: realising and expressing their true feelings.

She is also the epitome of grace. With the stamina required to even outdance the wicked Myrtha, and the skill to do so with aplomb, she is truly a prima ballerina. Such skills would make her a good fighter -- but Princess Tutu spurns violence, believing that if only everyone can come to peace with their desires, they won't have to fight.

One cannot become Princess Tutu without hope, and hope is what she embodies: the shining, bright hope which leads lost souls out of darkness. She understands people's feelings, and with utmost empathy, seeks to help them understand as well.

But this isn't a story about Princess Tutu...

... this a story about Duck. Quack!

Sure, Duck becomes Princess Tutu -- but she isn't really sure whether Princess Tutu is really -her-. After all, she's so cool and elegant... nothing like Duck herself. Where Princess Tutu is hope manifest, Duck is just -hopeless- -- a weirdo klutz who acts like a duck even when she's pretending to be a girl.

Considering that, and what she has to measure up to, Duck doesn't have very high self-esteem. Still, she has a good sense of humour about it, much as she does about many other things -- she's an easy-going sort of girl who downplays her shortcomings with jokes instead of sadness.

Friendly and good-hearted, Duck tries to get along with everyone, and she's quick to befriend others. Still, she has a stubborn streak, and she easily grows to dislike those who bully others. But -- perhaps due to her low self-esteem -- she's not terribly good at recognising when -she- is being mistreated; she'll put up with a lot from those she calls her friends.

Duck isn't the smartest girl, and she's pretty scatterbrained, too -- always getting lost in her own thoughts. She's notoriously strange, and she overthinks things to a ridiculous degree! But that's not the worst part. Despite being enrolled in Infinity Institute's ballet program... she's a horrible dancer! Princess Tutu can dance however she wants, but Duck is far too clumsy to even dance competently. She's always falling over herself, flailing and stumbling. But Duck's enthusiasm shines through when she dances, giving her performances a quality of quirkiness which even Princess Tutu cannot achieve.

That's a good thing... right?

Duck truly wishes to restore all the pieces of Senior Mytho's heart. More than that, though, she wishes to dance with him -- to be by his side -- she loves him. But it's a hopeless love, and even she knows it; she couldn't possibly be better for him than Miss Rue. They seem so perfect together! Duck tells herself that she'll content herself with fixing his wounded soul, and perhaps it's even true, up to a point.

It's worth pointing out that Duck is also conflicted with her status as, yes, a duck -- though she knows that's all she is, and she's painfully acceptant of it, she resents being such an insignificant creature when compared to her human friends. In her heart, Duck wishes she was something more, something different. She's not satisfied with what she is at all! Surely this won't cause any strife whatsoever.

Duck views her mission with the utmost importance -- it's why she's a girl in the first place, after all. She's honest in pursuing it, as well; were she to ever falter in her quest, she'd likely give up her pendant, not willing to dishonestly keep it without using its powers as they were meant to be used. (At least... that's how she feels for now.) It is a pure-hearted and simplistic wish -- she wants to let Mytho feel again. She hasn't much thought about the implications of it.

As a duck, Duck enjoys swimming, questing for bread pieces, swimming, dunking her head under the water and nibbling at water-weeds, and swimming. But as a girl, Duck has many more choices for entertainment! Her original wish was to dance with the Prince, and even though she's a terrible dancer when she's just a girl, Duck truly enjoys the art; it's this enjoyment which makes her performances fun to watch for everyone else, as well. She's also a very extroverted sort of duck, who enjoys chattering with others -- whether those others are the birds which seem attracted to her even when she's a girl, or the friends she suddenly acquired when she /became/ a girl.

Even as a girl, though, Duck can't seem to avoid the habit of nibbling on bread. She loves every type of it, and usually checks in on any new bakeries she finds.

Duck, bizarrely, doesn't actually /think/ much of magic at all. Perhaps it's simply the magic of the fairy tale, but she just accepts that sometimes people have the power to transform into other people, and sometimes ducks turn into people, and sometimes cats are ballet teachers too. While she does have the capacity to recognise strange things, she typically accepts them a moment afterwards. After all, she's really a duck. She doesn't much like magic turned towards evil, though -- Duck wants everyone to get along.

5a. The heart speaks!

Describe in depth the relationships your character has with various important individuals in their life. For Feature Characters, we want to explore your understanding of canon relationships, with the understanding that once a character is approved, their subsequent roleplay can change these profoundly. On Battle Fantasia, not everyone may even have met yet, but we still want to know how they're likely to feel given canon. For all characters, we want to know who's really important in your life, and how you feel about them, because magical girl stories are very much about relationships.

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Senior Mytho: A prince Duck met when he was dancing by her lake, whose lonely eyes made her wish that she could dance with him. Mytho's needs have driven Duck's actions, from becoming a girl to becoming Princess Tutu -- she truly wishes to bring a smile to his face once more.

Senior Fakir: Duck sees him as a creepy, overbearing guy who pushes Mytho around. She doesn't like him, and doesn't even suspect that what he's doing is for Mytho's own good.

Miss Rue: She's graceful and gracious -- qualities which Duck doesn't see in herself at all. Although she thinks of Rue as above her in a lot of ways, Duck doesn't feel badly about it, and she's not intimidated by the advanced class student's popularity. She doesn't know Rue very well, but she's sure they could be friends!

Mister Cat: Is a cat?! Still, as a duck, Duck can't really point fingers. Mister Cat is a good teacher, but he's awfully preoccupied with finding a wife, isn't he? If only she'd stop spacing out and making herself seem like a good prospect...

Miss Edel: She's really smart, and wise, too! But how does she always manage to disappear whenever Duck turns away? She must be quick, too. Wow, Miss Edel is incredible!!

Pike: One of Duck's dorm-room friends! She really likes dancing and gossiping, and she always knows so much about Gold Crown Town. Probably because she isn't a duck who just turns into a girl, huh?

Lilie: Duck's other dorm-room buddy. Like Pique, she knows a lot about town. Sometimes she's a little too... um... energetic when it comes to misfortune, but that's just how she is. She doesn't mean any harm by it, right?

6. Fight for your friends! Fight for your school?

Are you apping your character into an organization or planning on having them join one? If so, explain why your character is working for that organization. Also, whether they are in one or not, how do they feel about the different organizations? It's okay to say if they don't know much about the organizations, especially if they are unaffiliated. If they attend school, how do they feel about their own school, and what are their views on the others?

Juuban Public School: She's heard nice things about them! Kind of patronising nice things, though. Considering how dumb she is, she probably belongs over there, huh...? Hahaha...!

Ohtori Academy: Duck's never been there personally, and she's only really heard about how snobby they are. She's sure they're not that bad, though! They must just be misunderstood. Right? ... right?

Infinity Institute: Duck is enrolled in Infinity Institute's ballet program -- notably NOT its magical program, since the faculty of II aren't privvy to Duck's alter ego. She worries about her grades, both those in the performance-orientated Gold Crown Town campus and the more down-to-earth classes in the Institute... but somehow, even though she's always really bad at her tests and skips classes a lot, she never quite gets kicked out. Perhaps it would be narratively inconvenient?

(Oh, and why the hell do the town gates lead into an elevator which leads to a building? Oh well, it's not that weird, considering everything else.)

Dark Fall: Creepy! Demons and stuff sound just like the Raven, and he's the bad guy, right? Ew!

Ends of the World (rarely known about directly; secret conspiracy is secret): Duck has no idea who these guys are.

Magic Association: They're the place which has kept the Earth safe all this time, right? So they must not be bad. Why do they fight with the Tuners, though?

Tuner Organization: ... after all, don't the Tuners try to keep people safe, too? Duck doesn't understand the details, but she's pretty sure they should be allies, not rivals.


7. Show us your true power!

Describe your character's combat and non-combat powers here. Are they fierce fighters, careful combat analysts or idol singers? What is their transformation like? What is the origin of their powers -- their Path(s) to Power, which must include some sort of Artifact? Please list ways that their powers might be taken away from them, and ways that they might someday be enhanced. Even if your character doesn't use any magic or supernatural power whatsoever, tell us about any capabilities they have, physical or otherwise.

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Duck transforms into both a girl and a magical girl using the Heart Shard of Hope, a piece of the Prince's heart, given to her by the author Drosselmeyer. This heart shard takes the form of a pendant, and without it, Duck is truly just a duck! Just an ordinary duck!

But, you know, ducks are good at some things. Like swimming -- Duck is an excellent swimmer. (She's also a good swimmer when she's pretending to be a girl.) She also has keen animal senses, showing an excellent sense of smell even in the water. (The fact that birds generally don't have good senses of smell doesn't seem to apply to her, bizarrely -- probably because she's a /fairy-tale/ duck). Lastly, Duck can fly, though she's not very good at it. (She is just a duckling!)

When Ducks transforms, she curls into the fetal position and is surrounded by a golden egg, which then shatters and falls away to reveal her transformed form. It's a very subtle transformation, all things considered -- which helps her to keep her identity on the down-low. Notably, Princess Tutu does not appear as a magical /girl/ to everyone -- people who have no involvement in the magical world (most NPCs, for instance) perceive her as a huge and holy swan.

Oh, and when she turns from a duck into a girl again, she doesn't automatically get her clothes back. Auto-Clothing is only enabled with Princess Tutu, and she can't figure out how to change it. This game is so confusing!! >:(

Princess Tutu is not the sort of magical girl who is easily enhanced. While she must inevitably grow stronger by helping people realise their true feelings, she is, ultimately, a minor character in the Prince and the Raven -- she has no significant canon upgrades. Thus, Duck's improvement isn't a matter of her gaining new artifacts as it is a more subtle reflection of her personal growth and understanding of her role as Princess Tutu.

In battle, Princess Tutu is more of a dancing psychologist than a soldier -- while she has extraordinary stamina and grace, she's unwilling to inflict violence upon others. Her powers (though they might truly be the /Prince's/ powers, considering it's his heart shard!) are nature-themed, with flowers and vines in abundance; she's able to conjure them from nothing in order to protect others and get around the battlefield.

When others bring weapons to bear against her, Princess Tutu defends herself with a fan.