APP FOR route_29

[divinitea]

Player
Name: Typhie
Personal Journal: typhie
E-mail: typhlogirl@gmail.com
AIM/MSN: AIM | typhlogirl
Timezone: GMT+10 (North-East Australia)
Current Characters in Route: Dr Kato | artfuldestruction

Character
Name: Celestia Ludenberg (real name Taeko Yasuhiro)
Series: Dangan Ronpa
Timeline: During the investigation in Chapter 3.
Canon Resource Links: Celes at the Dangan Ronpa wikia, along with the series' Wikipedia entry and the original Let's Play of the game.

Personality: There was once a girl who had always dreamed of being exceptional, of being unique - of being anything but the person she was, an unremarkable girl with an unremarkable name from an unremarkable place. She dreamed of living in a castle, with handsome servants waiting on her hand and foot for the rest of her life. Unlike most people, however, she wasn't satisfied with merely dreaming.

So she became Celestia Ludenberg.

Celestia Ludenberg is many things; a Queen of liars, a Super High School Level Gambler, and a murderer. Gifted with an innate talent for games of chance, she made a name for herself by stripping people who dared to challenge her out of their money, through a combination of her skills with lies and an unbreakable poker face. Managing to amass a veritable fortune before being asked to attend the illustrious Hope's Peak Academy, she was so confident in her talent that she was willing to participate in games that she didn't even know how to play, purely for the challenge. Because Celestia Ludenberg doesn't lose.

Her lies are her past, present and future - she claims to be so skilled at it that she's even capable of fooling herself. Could that, however, merely be another lie? Those who interact with her for extended periods of time find themselves unable to distinguish reality from fiction, as the protagonist of Dangan Ronpa quickly learns. There's a cunning undercurrent to her game, too - she says that her lies can never be too big, displaying a distinct awareness of what she's doing, the tricks that's she's playing. To Celes, everything is capable of becoming just another game that she intends to win, even if it's a case of life and death. For Celes plots a grand scheme to help her escape the prison of Hope's Peak Academy, and in the process pocket the 10 million yen incentive on offer. The only problem? The success of her plan would mean the deaths of every other student still trapped within the school.

Not that that matters to her, of course.

Celes has little, if any respect for other people - she mentions to Naegi that she tends to classify them according to a series of ranks. The vast majority of people, including the other students, fit into rank 'D' - that of no interest to her. Anyone unlucky enough to be filed under rank 'F' 'cannot be allowed to exist'. She has no concept of empathy and doesn't tend to take said interest in people unless they can be useful to her - alive or dead. She's familiar with using others to achieve her aims, seeing absolutely nothing wrong with it - it's 'just the way she is', after all, and she doesn't hesitate to inform her classmates of that. Other people are merely potential pieces to add to her chessboard, and if they have to be sacrificed for victory, well...she doesn't lose, after all.

But could that in itself be another lie? In the first Dangan Ronpa tie-in manga, Celes does feel horrified at the fact that she had to brutally beat someone to death for her plan to succeed. However, she was required to keep a straight face and ignore said feeling of horror, as that was what Celestia Ludenberg would do. Whichever part of herself that was experiencing that overwhelming guilt was not who she was; not now, anyway. She even admonishes one of her classmates who rounds on her after she is revealed as the murderer, telling the girl that trying to make her feel guilt is a waste of time. Once upon a time, perhaps the thought of murder would have sickened her, but now? It's merely another step on the path to her ideal existance.

Despite her efforts to purge her initial life from her body, there are occasional moments in which she grudingly acknowledges parts of it, such as stating that her favourite food is the gyoza her home city is famous for. The admittance of such is reluctant, and she ensures that she highlights the oddity of someone as classy and refined as her liking such a 'common, smelly' food, instead of something more befitting the image she strives constantly to maintain.

Said image also comes with a personality to match. Celes is the quiet sort, preferring not to speak out of turn, and when she does her speech is formal and soft. Any softness ends with her enunciation, though; she has a habit of delivering cruel insults as casually as one would comment on the weather, sometimes even with a sweet smile. She may be polite, but that doesn't mean she'll hold back if she thinks she's conversing with an idiot, or someone beneath her. Nasty as she may be when she's calm, however, it's absolutely nothing when compared to when she's angry.

For when Celes' temper is aroused, she does not hesitate to punctuate her speech with all manner of profanity, all facades of nobility erased. Her temper is on the short side and it doesn't take much to set her off - when Yamada, another student at the school, doesn't prepare her tea how she likes it, she smashes the cup on the floor and abuses him in front of everyone present, calmly returning to normal once he has scampered off to do her bidding. During the investigation into the murders she caused, as the game starts to turn against her she flies into a rage, shrieking at her classmates like a woman possessed. One such memorable quote is 'DON'T FUCK WITH ME, BASTARDS!!'. Not the sort of language you'd expect from....well, Celestia Ludenberg.

Could those moments of uncontrolled rage be the sole remaining remnants of the girl she was before? Of Taeko Yasuhiro, the average girl who loved gyoza? It's unknown. But in those instances, all control over herself is gone, and there's no sign of the calm, refined facade she constantly strives to present. Is everything about 'Celestia Ludenberg' an act, merely an extravagant lie? Or does she not have to fight to maintain appearances, suffering the occasional burst of anger? Is it true that she can't feel guilt, and cares about nothing more than herself, and her ambitions? Or did the blood on her hands cause her to feel something more than just sterile satisfaction?

No one knows for sure. Certainly not Taeko Yasuhiro. But Taeko Yasuhiro no longer exists.

Celestia Ludenberg will forever be Celestia Ludenberg, even if the biggest lie she ever has to tell is the one she tells herself.

Strengths/Weaknesses:

✔ Intelligent - Celes plays an active role in all three trials in which she is present, including the two that do not involve her crimes. She tends to be logical and doesn't hesitate to speak up when she thinks something is incorrect, usually offering alternate scenarios or trains of thought for what is being discussed. Throughout the game, she also makes references to philosophical problems like the Prison's Dilemma and the Zero-Sum Game, likening them to situations in which the students find themselves. Her plot to frame Hagakure for the murders of Ishimaru and Yamada is complex and flawlessly performed - she likely would have gotten away with it if it hadn't been for an unfortunate slip of the tongue.
✔ Talented - The title of Super High School Level Gambler she bears is well deserved; Celes made a name for herself winning the riches of anyone who challenged her to a game, purely through with her skills (and maybe a bit of luck). This includes (alleged) games in which her life was at stake, and one where she didn't even know how to play the game in question. She entered it purely to see how she would cope with such a situation, so confident was she in her abilities.
✔ Highly persistent - In her own words, Celes never gives up; even when her King is put in check. This is a metaphor for a particularly dangerous or hopeless situation, as having your King put in check can be a prelude for a checkmate the next round. Celes, however, isn't the sort to fly the white flag until she's completely sure the game is over - something which is shown very clearly in her refusal to divulge the truth in Chapter 3's trial until her classmates have pieced it together in its unarguable entirety.
✔ Graceful loser - Surprisingly enough, when it is completely clear that she's lost the game, Celes is calm and apologetic, even telling Monobear to go ahead with her execution. She explains all of her motives to her fellow students and returns items that will be of great use to them, even though they've sentenced her to die, and hopes she will get a chance to see them in the next life. Despite her tendency to fight for her victory until the last moment, when it's obvious she's lost it would hardly do to carry on like a fool, would it? She's smart enough to tell when it's impossible for her to lie her way out of a situation, and logical enough to know that there's no use wasting her energy on yelling and screaming if it's clear it won't get her anywhere.

✔/✖ Manipulative - Through her lies and charms, Celestia has a great talent for manipulating people and getting them to do what she wants; even something as serious as murder. While being skillful with manipulation isn't the most positive of talents, it can still be seen as quite a useful strength. However, the sorts of lies required for detailed manipulation tend to be the type that can blow up quite aggressively in your face if found out, which is exactly what happens to Celestia in the game. It's not the best way to endear yourself to others, either.

✖ Compulsive liar - To the point where she earned a reputation as the 'Queen of Liars'. Celes uses her lies as both tools and a disguise, whether she's spinning a tale to make someone do her bidding or detailing a history that never happened. Everything about her persona is a lie; her real name is Taeko Yasuhiro, despite her instance that her parents (who, according to her, are apparently European nobility) gave it to her. Her constant barrage of untruths is so relentless that even Naegi, of whom she becomes fond (should the player choose to direct the game in that direction), can't escape them. There's careful calculation in place, however, as she mentions that her lies 'can never be too big'. That would challenge their authenticity, after all; what's the point of lying if people won't believe it?
✖ No sense of empathy - To Celes, people are merely tools that she can manipulate for her own gain; she was willing to have two people murdered (one by her own hand), in order to give herself the chance to escape the school and win 10 million yen - should she have managed to fool her classmates and trick them into convicting Hagakure, she would have sent them all to their deaths. None of that mattered, however, if it meant she won the game and got her prize.
✖ Selfish - Celes murdered Yamada after tricking him into killing Ishimaru, purely because their deaths gave her a chance at obtaining the vast sum of money Monobear was offering. The reason she wanted it? To buy herself a castle with handsome servants; nothing more. She was willing to have two people, plus the rest of her classmates, murdered in order to achieve luxury for herself and herself alone, because there is only one person who matters to Celestia Ludenberg (and it sure as hell ain't Yamada).
✖ Short-tempered - While giving off a cool and collected facade, Celes snaps surprisingly easily over the smallest things, such as how her royal milk tea is prepared. When Yamada doesn't make it exactly how she likes, she breaks the teacup and yells at him to do it again - properly this time. She also manages to completely lose the plot when things stop going her way in Ch. 3's trial, and starts screaming and swearing at everyone in a rather vulgar (and hardly classy) manner.

Pokémon Information
Affiliation: Team Rocket
Starter: Gothita (+ Vulpix)
Password: Ginger Snaps

Samples
First Person Sample: [The feed opens to show a table in the Goldenrod Game Corner, with a single occupant. The oddly-dressed girl is smiling into the camera, one hand holding a steaming cup of tea and the other placed neatly on the table top. Drumming her manicured fingernails once upon the plastic, the girl smiles airly and begins to speak.]

Do you mind if I tell you a story? You see, I'm something of a chess fanatic. My father taught me to play when I was very young, as his father taught him. It's a tradition in our family.

[The girl shifts her free hand to her lap, picking up a Gothita and placing it on the table. It stares vividly into the camera - almost as vividly as its trainer, who continues to smile in that slightly unsettling, unblinking manner.]

There's a fair bit of strategy involved in chess, you see - it's not just something anyone can be good at. I excelled.

[Taking a sip of her tea, the girl begins to softly stroke her bangs - once, twice, while looking off to the side. Her attention, however, is soon returned to the camera.]

I once played a game in the basement of a grand castle, belonging to a strange old man. You see, the old man owned a huge red gem that would fetch an exorbitant price if sold, and he was arrogant - rich old men tend to be. So of course he agreed to play a game with me.

[Smiling in cold amusement, Celes lifts her tea cup and continues to speak.]

His game of choice was chess. It was like no match I'd ever played before, however - the pieces were gigantic, and moved at my command. The rules of his game, however, meant that I had to take the place of one of the pieces - of course, I chose the Queen.

[Another knowing smile, another dainty sip of her tea.]

It was quite perilious, really; when a piece was taken, the piece doing the taking would crush and stab it, rendering it into little pieces, so one can just imagine what that sort of treatment would have done to my outfit. The old man who owned the castle had selected three of his cleverest servants to play against me, as a knight, bishop and rook.

[Celes sighs softly, a dreamy smile spreading across her face at the apparent recollection of some particularly pleasant memory.]

The stone managed to fetch even more than I had imagined, and the interior of the castle was wondrous to behold. I do hope the old fool found a way to remove those horrid bloodstains from the basement, however...

[Placing her now empty teacup neatly back into the saucer, Celes rises daintly to her feet and smiles once more.]

Do let me know if you're a fan of chess, won't you? I'd simply love to have a game against you one day...particularly if you're rich, heh heh heh....

[And with that, the feed is cut.]


Third Person Sample:

Celestia Ludenberg was not having a good morning.

"I simply do not understand what is wrong with you, Victoria." she said bluntly, crossing her arms and peering blankly at her sobbing Pokemon.

Really, it was simply dreadful; what made it so was the fact that this was supposed to be a joyful affair, or at least a satisfying one. Her Gothorita had finally evolved into her final form, Gothitelle, after what had seemed like an eternity - this was supposed to be a celebration. Instead, she'd stared at her trainer for a few seconds and promptly burst into tears. Not just any old sniffles, though - the damn thing sounded like she was in agony, and she had slumped over, clutching at her spindly arms and trembling violently.

Sniffing in revulsion, Celes idly flicked open her Pokedex, pointing it at her distraught Pokemon and listening as the robotic voice began to speak.

"Gothitelle - the Astral Body Pokemon. It can see the future from the movement of the stars. When it learns its Trainer's life span, it cries in sadness."

Celestia's hands began to tremble. Victoria cried louder.

"Be quiet, Victoria." she hissed, snapping the Pokedex shut. "You're making a scene." This wasn't happening. She was Celestia Ludenberg, the greatest gambler in the world. She was Celestia Ludenberg!

"It's all lies...they're lying to me, I don't....I never lose..."

It couldn't possibly be true. Those tales of her execution (and such a common, vulgar one!) she'd heard from her fellow classmates...it was all lies, lies...her plan had been perfect...

Victora continued to wail. Something in Celes snapped.

"I told you to SHUT THE FUCK UP!" she screamed, hurling her Pokedex at her Gothilette as her face twisted into an ugly mask of rage. It struck the Pokemon on her forehead, earning a small cry of pain and another round of anguished tears.

But the sobbing stopped.

Celes was breathing heavily, staring at the ground, eyes wide. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to raise her head, delicately straightening her dishevelled bangs.

"Pick that up," she snapped. "We're leaving. I don't want to hear another sob out of you, do you hear me? This game isn't over. I don't fucking lose, and certainly not to that pack of morons."

Nodding miserably, Victoria gathered up her trainer's Pokedex and began to trail after her retreating figure, trying to erase the image of her crushed, mangled body from her mind. Ignoring her Pokemon, Celes brushed invisible wrinkles out of her skirt and breathed deeply, her familiar pleasant smile returning to her face. Yes, that was it. The stupid little bastard had obviously made a mistake; she had only just evolved, after all. Later on, she would simply have to ask Victoria to check her lifespan again; properly this time.

Yes, that was the solution. She would win this silly little game.

After all, she was Celestia Ludenberg.