「Cosmic Messenger」aka Asteria
villain turned storyteller | vtuber | live: #maidenasteria"I wish to create worlds, not destroy them!"Former celestial soldier (and world destroyer) who turned her back on the gods she used to serve. Today, she makes a living writing novels.
credits
+ original design reference sheet: Art of William
+ full scale model and rigging: Studio Nekoyama (Mama: Teichi, Papa: Chili)
+ chibi model and rigging: NuiShiranui
+ animated overlay screens, transition screens, panels, schedule template: Danna
+ logos: hapii
+ banners: maidenasteria
+ other commissioned artwork: skeb
+ misc assets: etsy, booth
regarding tipping
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basic lore
+ military code name: “Cosmic Messenger”
+ “Dread Asteria” or “The Despoina” (“The Maiden”) to her enemies
+ “Asteria” to her friendsA former high-ranking celestial soldier, part of a military unit that carried out the orders of the gods to observe, hunt, kill and destroy those peoples, civilizations and worlds deemed 'the enemy'. When she killed, she was cold, unfeeling and numb, as if the lives she took had no meaning. She took no joy in killing, she was like an automaton carrying out the orders of her gods.After she fell in love with humanity, she abandoned her military unit, and came to live on Earth. In the modern era, she is a pacifist and makes a living writing novels.While she can't fully atone for the evils she committed in the past (and those past actions continue to haunt her), she's vowed to protect this world she loves and its people.When new story ideas come to mind, she pulls her barrette from her hair (which doubles as a pen) and writes them down in the notebook she always carries with her in the pouch strapped to her thigh. When she was in her military unit, she used the same barrette-pen and notebook to write the names of her targets and cross out their names once she eliminated them.
supplemental lore+ form and strength
She is made of light, but takes a physical form. As a celestial being, she is ancient, can regenerate her physical form, has god-like physical strength, and knows the universe's secrets, so the gods really do not like that she's squandering all that power and knowledge to write fiction books for “lower life forms”.
+ fighting style
She does not fight with weapons. For most enemies, a hard kick is enough to take them down. She has a strong sense of justice and the power to match it, but, honestly, she'd prefer her enemies didn't come knocking, so she doesn't have to fight.
+ enemies
Other celestial soldiers from her former military unit have orders to drag her back, but she defeats them every time they try. As for the survivors of worlds she destroyed, she lets them get a few hits on her, before she shuts down the fight to prevent destruction.
+ forbidden power
Although she has the ability to create real worlds (and life), all celestial soldiers are forbidden to use this power, as creation is reserved for the gods. The moment she'd take her worlds from fiction to reality is the moment she'd start a celestial war on this planet.In the ancient past, another celestial soldier used the gods' creation powers, and a whole planet was destroyed as punishment. His tale is famous among Asteria's kind and other higher life forms in the universe. A cautionary tale of what happens when rebellion against the gods goes too far.
+ mythological inspirations
In Greek mythology, Asteria, the goddess of falling stars, was the daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe, and the mother of the goddess of witchcraft Hekate.Following Titanomachy, the great battle between the Titans and the Olympian gods which resulted in the fall of the Titans, Asteria lived on Olympus where she was pursued by Zeus. Asteria was able to avoid Zeus's advances by transforming herself into a quail, throwing herself into the Aegean Sea, and becoming an island. As the island, she defied Hera by providing sanctuary for Leto, Asteria's older sister, thereby providing a place for Leto to give birth to the twin gods Apollo and Artemis. Later, Asteria fought alongside the Olympian gods against the Giants in the Giantomachy.Asteria's cousin Astraea was the last of the Titans to live on Earth with humans before the time of the gods,As a goddess of the underworld, Persephone was feared, so she was called Dread Persephone by some.Despoina as a name, depending on the source, either refers to a specific goddess with that name who was the daughter of Poseidon and Demeter, or was a euphemistic name for Dread Persephone (the superstition was that if you say her true name she will notice you, which is the last thing you want a chthonic/underworld/death deity to do). Despoina is also an honorific for female underworld and earth deities that means "Lady" as an equivalent to the male "Master". Some goddesses who were referred to as despoina include Persephone, Hekate, Demeter, Artemis, and Selene.
+ personality
She is an elegant, cool beauty with a mature vibe. She seems intimidating at first but those who come to know her will know she has a witty sense of humor, is easily flustered, will do anything for her loved ones, and is only closed off to those she doesn't know.As a novelist, she is as analytical as she is creative. Sometimes she gets lost in the worlds she creates. Her resting and thoughtful expressions are sometimes mistaken for stressed, but she's just concentrating.As a former villain, she still struggles with her inner demons and seeks redemption/atonement. She has a strong sense of justice. She prefers not to be the center of attention, observing from the background and taking action only when necessary.She believes that a story is born twice: once when it's crafted, and again when it's read.
