CC - Sapphira Elpis

Name: Sapphira Elpis (pronounced "saff-eye-rah")
Nickname(s): Sapph (pronounced "Saff"; close family/friends only)
Gender: Female
Age: 23
Birthday: December 31
Height: 6'01"
Weight: 160.4 lbs 

Pokémon: Gardevoir - 282
Trait: Shiny
Ability: Trace

Spirit's Name: *Currently Unknown*
Spirit's Personality: *Currently Unknown* 

Moveset:

  Moonblast
  Shadow Ball
  Hidden Power Dark 
  Heal Pulse

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Personal

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Personality:

| Empathetic • Well mannered • Kind-hearted
 | Maternal • Quiet • Independent
|Secretive • Insecure • Gloomy  

[+] Empathetic
One of Sapphira's strongest traits, aside from her maternal one, is her ability to empathise. Though Sapphira isn't one to openly show negative emotions, Sapphira - both as her human self and Pokemon self - has always been, at the very least, vaguely aware/perceptive to how people act and feel, as well as any changes in emotional states. She does what she can to try and find some form of common ground to relate them and hopefully reach their heart. While reasonable that she may not always relate to the way a person feels, and may not always be able to put herself in a person's situation and/or fully grasp their personal feelings, at the very least she's able to express similar emotions, be it joy or sorrow, and is quick to offer her sympathies and comfort when the latter, or her support and happiness for the person when the former.

[+] Well-mannered
Simply put, Sapphira has good manners both in the literal sense, and in a general temperament. She tends to handle things in a calm manner, never raising her voice unless absolutely necessary and handling any situation that may arise, good or bad, in a fairly mild manner. She's also very polite to others, often making it a point to ask how their day has been and what she can do to help.

[+] Kind Hearted
Sapphira often makes it a point to try and exude a warm, gentle aura wherever she may go. She often speaks in a warm and gentle manner and almost immediately greets others in a rather kind, almost loving manner, whether it be her first meeting or someone she's very familiar with. 

[/] Maternal
Arguably her strongest trait is Sapphira's maternal traits and tendencies. Sapphira has a strong, subconscious tendency to protect and care for the people around her, this urge being so strong that the tendency has bled into how she treats even acquaintances and those she has just met. Above all she makes it a priority to ensure the safety and care of those around her as best she can, assuring their needs are met and looking after all facets of their health and well-being as best she can. She also makes it a point to hear a person out when they need to talk, and tries to offer the best advice she can when someone asks for it. While this quality can make it easier to talk to and/or get advice from her, she has a tendency to go a little overboard at times, becoming a little too protective.

[/]Quiet
Though she does her best to be present and as supportive as she can, when it comes to opening up about herself, Sapphira is the complete opposite. She has a tendency to lean back on her old self pre-entrance into the hotel, clamming up and keeping to herself. While she recognises this quality may help greatly in getting others to open up (just as in the old proverb "be quick to listen, slow to speak"), she worries that she may come off to other people as aloof at times, and is quick to apologise when it's pointed out that she's being rather quiet and distant. Her tendency to grow quiet tends to come from a past defensive mechanism, one in which she believed she was cursed and felt it best to stay away from others lest she unwittingly spread her ill fortune onto them.

[/] Independent
This nature/quality also stems from Sapphira's past. Deciding to not rely upon others and get them involved, Sapphira quickly learned to rely on no one but herself, both physically and mentally. While this makes her very reliable when in need of assistance, it also makes her stubborn to accept help from others, her first tendency being to handle things herself, even if she isn't up to it physically or mentally, which can prove detrimental to her health.

[-] Secretive
Yet another quality that comes from the former two is Sapphira's tendency to hide things. More often than not, Sapphira tends to hide her state of wellbeing, not wanting anyone to see between the cracks and glance at a slowly crumbling facade. She does her best to avoid letting any inkling of an unwell state seep through, hiding behind smiles and fake assurances that she's alright until she can get time to herself to release.

[-] Insecure
Sapphira is insecure of herself, both because of the tragedies that have happened in her past, and because of her current state/situation. She often questions herself, her thoughts, her feelings, and what she really deserves, those thoughts ranging anywhere from whether she deserves to feel happy or not to whether she deserves a chance at love and family again, to even questioning why she's alive and whether it is worth it or not. She often questions as well whether she's a decent person or not, especially when hiding behind a fake smile or assurance, and feels as though her seeking any sort of affection is because she is looking for some kind of self assurance that she is deserving of things like love. 

[-] Gloomy
Though always warm towards others, Sapphira often wears a sad smile, and when she believes no one is watching, there are times when entire countenance appears rather mournful. While this can occasionally be brought about because of her insecurities, it is mostly caused by her memories being vividly and painfully dug back up and relived in the forms of dreams, despite her best efforts to squash and bury them while awake and conscious. Sometimes specific or especially painful memories, such as those of her son, can be triggered with certain words or actions as well, and can leave Sapphira feeling morose throughout the day. Despite her best efforts to hide them, there are times when her sadness can suddenly seep through the cracks of her facade and showin her tone and/or actions, and she'll often try to excuse herself to be alone when this is noticed.

 

Time Era: 21st century; born 1996 - Arrived in the Château in 2020

History:

 Trigger warnings: Car accidents, suggested child abuse, death 

The earliest of Sapphira’s memories - that were also the clearest - begins in Sinnoh, although Sapphira’s story starts much earlier. It starts in a large, but run-down shack of a house in Floaroma Town, with a strict and occasionally abusive male figure, and a very passive, mentally absent female figure. Her recall of her parents was very little - bits and pieces of a warm, loving father and a kind and attentive mother. She has vague memories of walking through the flower fields with a tall, brown-haired man, of sitting at the bank of a nearby river with a woman that had long and flowing black hair. She remembers being in the car, the couple laughing and singing something as they went…somewhere. And then, she remembers nothing. She remembers the doctors in the hospital telling her that her family’s car crashed. She remembers the nurses outside giving her pitying looks, using the term DOA every time one of her parent’s names were mentioned. She remembers the fear that gripped her when she first saw the empty space where her right arm should be. She remembers fear’s grip tightening its hold, refusing to let go, when the doctor’s removed the bandages over her right eye, met with darkness instead of light. She remembers the social worker, who was clearly inadequately prepared, as well as the unsatisfactory answers she was given. She remembers that they had to satiate her, however, because even though she was curious about what had happened, she learned very quickly to not question her foster parents about her real ones, knowing her questions would be met with silence at best, and explosive anger that turned physical at worst. It wasn’t until she was older when she finally learned otherwise. But until then, she had no answers for why she lacked an arm, why she could only see out of one eye, so when the children at school who questioned her walked away without answers, she was met with hushed whispers, pointing fingers, and exclusion from them.

By the time Sapphira was seven, she recognised that her parents “going away” had been the social worker’s way of saying that her parents had passed away in what had been a car crash the family had gotten into. She also recognised that she had to learn how to fend for herself, keep to herself, and to internalise. Nobody would want to adopt her, because nobody would want a child who was half blind and missing an arm.

Arnold “Arno” Elpis would later prove her wrong.

Arno had been the son of the late Dimities Elpis, original founder and owner of Elpis’ Prosthetics. When Dimitris had passed, Arno took over the company, and continued to work on the advancement of the company, focusing on pediatric/children’s prosthetics in the last couple of years. With an adoption fair being held in Hearthome’s Amity Square, the company’s PR department (deciding it’d be good press and a chance to promote some of their newer prototypes) had decided to accept the invitation held out for them to attend.

Arno, however, had wanted nothing to do with it.

It wasn’t that he disliked kids, per say. If he had disliked children, he certainly wouldn’t have taken over his father’s company, especially when Arno had a younger brother who would’ve been content to take on the title of CEO themselves. It was simply that Arno had never seen himself as the fatherly type, let alone potentially being a father. Sure, he had a way of handling his nieces and nephews, but they weren’t his kids. He could handle being an uncle, but he just always figured that the parent life wasn’t for him, that between the company and the stern discipline and rigid grooming he’d received from his father to take over the company, he just wouldn’t be fit to be a father - which is exactly why, aside from small mingling and conversing, Arno kept himself emotionally at an arm’s distance from the children around him.

It was clear he hadn't been expected anyone, let alone a small girl with a missing arm and half of her jet black hair combed over her face, to come by and situate themselves next to him on the secluded park bench he’d sat at, let alone someone without an acknowledgement of any kind whatsoever.

Most of the other children had been incredibly friendly and bubbly. In fact, just about all of them had been quite gregarious, most of the ones he met giving him some kind of greeting at the very least as they passed him by. Sapphira, however, had been the opposite of that. And while he had been appreciative that she hadn't been quite as demanding as the others had been, he was also quite curious, noting that the reason seemed to be her intent focus in the pamphlet that broke down the fundamentals of his company.

He began to ask questions, only for Sapphira to cut him off with an eye to eye glare, an irritated and cold expression on her face. She snapped at him, claiming that he didn't have to pretend to be interested and talk with her, and that she was only sitting with him because had learned that if she sat with or stayed near an adult, then the other adults - some of whom were potential adopters - would think she was already claimed for and would leave her alone, and he was sitting off by himself anyway. Confused, but not one to be deterred, Arno continued rather stubbornly to question her, discovering that Sapphira refused to join the others because she had been convinced she had family that would come back for her. He'd also discovered, albeit with a little more probing and pushing, that despite her delusion regarding her parents, Sapphira was otherwise far ahead intellectually than her peers were, and was able to keep up in a conversation about his company to some degree. It didn't hurt that she had a bit of wit and snark to bite back his own snark and sarcasm.

Despite having no intention at all to get to know any children, let alone get attached to any, Arno found himself in both situations each time Sapphira glanced at him with her bluebell coloured doe eyes. And despite the day's events ending with the both of them going their separate ways, Arno found himself bringing up Sapphira to one Catalina Vega on more than one occasion over dinner that night, completely oblivious to the small, knowing smiles on his fiancée's face.

With another fair coming up so soon for the same agency that involved Sapphira, a now intrigued Cat this time arranged to have it held near the company's main building so that they both could attend and meet the child that had her soon-to-be husband just as intrigued. And when she met Sapphira, she understood for herself why her fiancé had become so taken with her. Sapphira, though quiet, polite, and a little solemn, clearly was every bit as smart as Arno had painted her to be, the two of them making conversation over the book she had brought with her to read (one that had been a few levels above the reading level for the general seven year old) and asking questions in regards to the design and testing process for the prosthetics.

It wasn’t long after that second meeting when Arno and Cat both looked into Sapphira’s adoption status within the adoption centre, determined to find out what her current situation was like. Though they had discussed it in length, and though Cat knew Arno had developed some kind of attachment to the girl, she had no choice but to exasperatedly acquiesce to Arno’s denial and thick headed tenacity to adopt her, and had agreed that at the very least that if they would not adopt her, that they would make sure she was at least in a good foster home. It was during the time they were looking into her housing situation when Arno had run into her again purely by chance. He had been looking to escape the downpour of the thunderstorm that had suddenly started, and had slipped into the nearest building, which so happened to be the local bookstore. Walking towards what looked like a more quiet section up on the second floor of the store, Arno had taken his phone out and begun to text Cat and ask for a ride back when he spotted a familiar jet black, long haired child. He knew he shouldn’t approach, knew he should just text Cat, mind his own business, leave as soon as possible.

He went up to Sapphira anyway.

And for the next twenty minutes or so while he waited for Cat to pick him up - Sapphira rather mercilessly, if you asked him, sassed him about his inability to function without Cat (which he had to admit had been partially true) - the two continued to point out and talk about the different books they’d read. Once Cat had arrived, the two offered to bring her home, as the storm hadn’t shown any signs of lightening up, and it had been getting fairly late. Sapphira was hesitant at first, insisting that she had an umbrella and that she’d be fine, but the bolt of lightning lighting up the small section of the bookstore through the window, along with the loud rumble of thunder that subsequently followed had been enough to convince her otherwise. And though Sapphira had given directions for her house, she had inexplicably made them stop a block behind. With enough coaxing, Sapphira began to explain that even though they’d both insisted it wasn’t a problem and that her house was on the way back to the company, they’d still get mad at her for “putting them out of their way” and “causing trouble”. She knew that they’d have no patience to hear her story out, and no matter how nice Arno and Cat had been, they’d “probably scream a lot.”

Though Sapphira’s sentence dropped off with an “and”, Arno knew exactly what Sapph had implied with that “and”. He hadn’t grown up a foster child, but because of his father, in his tendency to go overboard in his stern discipline and rigid grooming, knew exactly what she meant by them screaming a lot. Arno became angry, beginning to tell Cat to report the home and to let the social workers take Sapphira somewhere safer.  And so, with reluctance and a vow to come back and right things for Sapphira, let Sapphira leave from the block behind. With a new perspective on the situation, it was then that Arno voiced to Cat as they watched her walk off that if it meant she’d be able to leave the poor excuse for a home, he would be willing to consider adopting Sapphira.

With that in mind, Arno and Cat pushed their investigation further, and with a few reports and some extra pushing, was able to get Sapphira’s foster parents and home inspected. With the couple deemed unqualified, and all the official adoption business taken care of, Arno and Cat were able to move forward with Sapphira’s adoption.

Things seemed as though they were looking up after that. At first, Sapphira had been overeager to please Arno and Cat, afraid to displease them like she was with her previous foster parents. With time and reassurance from the couple, however, Sapphira was able to feel more comfortable as herself. Arno had especially grown close to Sapphira, taking to his newfound fatherhood nervously, but fully and excitedly. He took off some time to allow himself to be with Sapphira for the first few months, and whenever she felt unsure or made a mistake and was afraid, he was always quick to assure her. He was also extremely supportive of whatever hobbies and interests she began to grow, but also protective to the point of being teased regularly by Sapphira and his fiancée. Even still, the change in home environment allowed her to fully come out of her shell, introducing an intelligent, kind, witty, and overall positive attitude. Despite all of this, however, she still remained subject to bullying at her current school, and even when Arno had attempted to relocate her to another school and Sapphira had been able to better explain her appearance, she still received the same reaction from the students there. Sapphira was again withdrawn, and this time began homeschooling until her teen years, where she pleaded to be put in either a public or private school as opposed to being homeschooled. Despite the hesitancy from Arno and Cat, they ultimately acquiesced, and Sapphira was enrolled into a private STEM school within Hearthome.

Though Sapphira did receive some of the same treatment as she had when she was younger, she stood up for herself and quickly made a statement and a name for herself, earning the respect of a few students and making a few friends along with it. Most notably of those students, however, was a young man named Dion. Dion Galatas, as it turned out, had been the son of a couple that had a robotics company that closely worked with Elpis Prosthetics. Though Sapphira had seen Dion at a few gala-like events, she hadn't really talked to him prior to her enrolment, her past experiences at previous schools and her previous household along with Arno's protective nature causing her to stick close to Arno or Cat during said events. Nonetheless, the two became close friends, often spending time with one another in and out of school. With Dion, and with the friends that she made, Sapphira was able to get through high school and graduate as valedictorian.

After graduation, Arno and Cat, both now married, revealed to Sapphira that they wanted to name her as the heir to take over the company once she became of age to. Sapphira was shocked - she knew that they had taken her in from when she was a child, and loved her like she was their own and then some, but to see her name listed as next of heir to the company with an assurance that she didn't have to feel pressured to run it, as well as to see alone that they wanted to entrust her with a legacy that wasn't hers...she ecstatically accepted. Sapphira began college then with the goal of choosing to take a double major in engineering and in biology so that she could one day properly run the company the way the man she called her father had, putting her all into her studies. Dion too supported her in her goals while also studying at the same college, the same goal in mind for his own parents' legacy. Despite the thoughts of both their parents, both of whom fully approved of their friendship, the two only saw each other in a platonic way, continuing to support each other throughout the next few years of studies.

Things eventually changed in their fourth year, however, one evening during a charity ball. Both Sapphira and Dion's family were invited to attend, and that included the two as well. Stressed over midterms coming up, as well as bored out of their minds, the two had went off on their own, instead deciding to engage in a casual study session. The study session soon turned into a hangout session that went from light drinking to heavy, and what was once platonic had now crossed the line into something far more intimate. The next morning, the both of them were equally shocked and flabbergasted at what happened, but had decided to stay silent about it, up until Sapphira realised she had completely missed her period.

She had tried to chalk it up to stress due to midterms, but one test later had confirmed what she already knew deep down. After telling Dion, who had since realised that his platonic feelings weren't so platonic anymore, the both of them decided to confront their parents. They had mixed reactions - at first reacting calmly, even passively to their admission of being intimate, jokingly declaring that Sapphira and Dion were probably the last to know that there was something going on between them, and that they had figured as much when the both of them realised the two had left early that evening. However, when the latter part of the news that Sapphira was now expecting came out, the facial expressions dropped. Sapphira began to panic internally, wondering if she'd somehow doomed her relationship with the people she'd come to know and love as her family because of her actions.

Sensing Sapphira's anxiety, her parents were quick to reassure her that while they were disappointed in the two not practicing safe sex, they were still going to support Sapphira. For awhile all had seemed well - Sapphira, despite expecting and having to go through all the ups and downs that came with expecting, was able to finish her schooling for the year, giving birth to a boy she and Dion named Alexander. Both Sapphira and Dion worked out their scheduling so that they could be able to care for Alex, and Sapphira's parents were also involved as well, doting on their grandson as much as they possibly could.

For two years, things had been good.

But things didn't last for long.

It had been around the winter holidays, with the Elpis' all having gone on vacation to one of Sinnoh's Great Lakes, that of Lake Valor, not too far off of Sunyshore City. It had been overcast for the day, with the forecast insisting that there weren't to be any large storms. Weather however can always be unpredictable, and that day hadn't been an exception. Before any of the Elpis' knew it, sheets of rain had poured down from the sky. Trying to avoid getting into an accident, Arno slowed the car down. The car behind hadn't used the same caution, hitting the group from behind and sending them careening off the highway. Sapphira blacked out, only to wake up what she could only assume was hours later, attempting to assess the damage despite the pain that screamed throughout her body and disoriented her thoughts.

It had already been too late.

Arno and Cat had hit a tree front first, the impact and subsequent wreckage in the front having killed them quickly. Sapphira and Alex were crushed between parts of the car. All Sapphira could do was hold onto Alex, watching through blotchy vision as Alex took his final breaths. Just before she completely blacked out, she saw a beautiful Victorian-esque building within a densely wooded area, letting what she could've sworn was a completely healthy and alive Alex drag her by the hand while an equally healthy and alive Arno and Cat, each with a hand behind her back, guided her inside...

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Currently in the Château...

Sapphira is currently a little disoriented, and very much in denial that it is anything but a very odd and very bad dream. It doesn't help her current state of matters that she seems to have woken up in the sematery, as the few legible markings she can see inscribed on the headstones, as well as the general location of where she woke up, had been enough to jog her last memory before she entered the Château grounds. Between trying to keep calm under the shock of waking up with Pokemon features and seeing others in similar states, and trying to figure out what is going on, Sapphira is struggling to come to term with reality. But after what happened, assuming her current situation is very much real, she's not sure she wants to, or even sure she wants to go back after having everything taken from her....

[Last updated 16 Mar 2020]

Current relationship to spirit:

Sapphira's current relationship with her pokemon spirit is rather odd to her. Being a pokemon of empathy, the spirit seems to reach out to Sapphira only in times of extreme upset, but otherwise the spirit currently is almost completely absent. Sapphira has her doubts, however, as to whether the spirit is actually sincere when they do reach out, or if there's a more sinister motive behind the spirit's small comforts. She does find comfort at the time being in knowing she's not really alone and that there is someone who does to some degree understand what she's going through, though she's sure that alone is only because they can feel her emotions...

 

[Last updated 16 Mar 2020]

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Extra

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Job: N/A

Exploration stats: 

Exploration level: N/A
Courage: N/A

Gacha Item Preference: 

✧ Most Loved Item: Dried Pressed Flower ("Oh, my dear....how could I say no to such a wonderful thing?")

✧ Liked Items: Porcelain teapot set, Grow-your-own spices kit, First aid kit, Bonsai tree, Premium alolan coffee beans ("Goodness, aren't you sweet? Thank you very much for thinking of me, hun.")

✧ Disliked Items: Fake blood, Snake nut can prank, The original bedazzler™ gun, Neon green crocs, Broken wristwatch ("I suppose it's...the thought that counts. Thank you, dear.")

✧ Most Hated Item: Coca-cola bottle, Original recipe ("I'm sorry hun, I just can't accept this! Do you even know what's in this?")

Trivia:

✧ Hobbies include reading, piano playing, and billiards
✧ As hinted to, Sapphira lost her right arm in the first car accident she was in as a child. It was crushed on impact. She also received an ocular burn in the same accident, which resulted in loss of eyesight in her right eye
✧ Sapphira highly dislikes thunder/thunderstorms due to it being the cause for both accidents
✧ Sapphira's original parents were named Philip and Alexandria Carras. Much like Arno, they were also Greek.  
✧ Her son Alex is named after her birth mother, whom she found out from Arno and from her adoption files was named as such
✧ Cat met Arno when he went with his company to demo one of his products at a physical therapist's. Cat was one of the PTs. Cat did not think too much of Arno, but for Arno it was love at first sight
✧ If Sapphira were to not take up the company, she would've gone into PT work like Cat had
✧ 100% mom friend - more often that not is ready with tissues, snacks, first-aid supplies, etc. on hand
✧ Sapphira does have a mirror, and although she uses it, she doesn't feel comfortable looking at her reflection for too long. She's already grown up with dysmorphia regarding her own body and how her peers and others reacted, but with the pokemon features/additions, she's even more self conscious
✧ Both Sapphira and her pokemon spirit display a maternal personality, though once again it is unclear whether the spirit is being influenced by Sapphira, or whether there's something more to it
✧ Despite firmly and adamantly insisting otherwise, Arno was a very sentimental and very affectionate husband and father - these traits have rubbed off on Sapphira herself
✧ Sapphira has inherited a higher sensitivity to the emotions of those surrounding her, becoming more affected by the general mood of those around her - no doubt a trait she picked up from her spirit 

TBA
 

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