Carina Aster, the Delcatty

=== Overview ===
Carina (or as they usually prefer to be called: Aster) is a Normal/Ghost type Delcatty who lives in Lightpoint and plies their trade as a navigator. They're a very strange soul without much in the way of grand ambitions beyond a single one: to create an accurate star chart of the world. All driven by a deep-seated belief that the universe is a strictly ordered machine and believes that there's still evidence of the blueprints of the universe hidden somewhere. 
More specifically: they believe that this blueprint is hidden among the stars. As such, they've devoted much of their time in pursuit of creating an accurate star chart to try and find some sort of pattern in them that might provide even a small glimpse into the mysteries of the universe... whatever said mystery is. 
=== Personality ===
As for how they are, they're generally quite cat-like. Generally somewhat aloof and a bit hard to read at times if one doesn't know what they're looking for. Though said mannerisms are consistent, so one can catch onto Aster's specific idiosyncrasies after a while.
Resulting from their beliefs of the lack of true free will, they don't tend to believe in the idea of free will very much. Perhaps that one can wiggle around a little bit within their confines, but they'll ultimately end up at the same destination no matter what they do. And even then, they find the idea of wiggle room hard to believe. Additionally, they have a somewhat complacent look on life. They're content with what they have and want for very little else in their life. Not to mention that they tend to be quite forgiving, not really believing that anyone is fully evil.
They're often more comfortable outdoors than indoors if they can help it. Almost always up for small treks into the woods or even going so far as camping for a night or two. They aren't exactly strangers to longer expeditions or hikes either, even having a small kit at home that they made themselves for camping in the wilderness for a semi-long period of time.
Being an obligate carnivore means that they need to hunt other pokemon at times for their meat. Something that might be slightly horrifying to most who don't need to eat real meat, and to them it very much is a point of personal struggle that has caused them a lot of pain in the past. However, they've since become more content with their need to hunt and feed on other pokemon to live. Though it has become a point of contention for their religious views, having stopped actively worshiping and praying to the legendary pokemon. But they still make certain to treat the leftover parts of the body with respect and give them a proper burial and use as much of the pokemon's body as they can.
=== Aster's life ===
==== Aster's early life as a Skitty ====
Born in the town of Redpetal to a house a bit more on the fringe. Aster had a somewhat traditional upbringing, knowing Italian as their first language and English as their second. As a result of this, even though they almost always speak English, they're perfectly fluent in Italian and all of their personal writings and thoughts are in said language.
Their family life wasn't particularly unusual, having been born to a Delcatty and a Togekiss, though their parents were a bit more on the elderly side of things. While it wasn't a monogamous relationship, there was still plenty of time given to the Skitty's life during their childhood. Though what they had wasn't always the best, it was more than enough for Aster. Together with his mother, they spent much time outside during the night. A clear field not far from their house from which they could gaze unimpeded towards the stars.
As time went on, Aster was met face to face with more revelations about their life as they knew it. Some more scarring than others to the kit. The revelations of the existence of legendaries brought new meaning to their life. But the revelation of where they needed to get a bulk of their food from was less so. Being an obligate carnivore meant having to hunt down living ferals for food, something that brought the Skitty more than a little pain to digest. Aster hasn't and hadn't a bad bone in their body, but they eventually managed to reconcile some of it in their head after a few years. Having a bit more of a soured outlook on the legendaries who created them as a result though.
It was this idea that lead to more personal questions without any answers. Eventually, they gave up prayer and worship altogether and only kept it up around their parents and siblings. As a result, they turned towards more personal pursuits and inquiries into the nature of their own existence. Whether or not life was inherently meaningful. Whether the legendaries who created them had a great cosmic plan. Whether there was any point to their personal life if it could only be sustained at the expense of others.
Ideas lead to inquiry, inquiry lead to ideas. A strange cycle of questions with seemingly little answer to the point they felt as if it were all devised against them in some cosmic joke. They began to suppose that if the legendaries were all knowing that everything must be predestined. That even their own realization of the fact was part of that predestiny. It was at that point that they nearly gave up on any action from there. They spent nearly a year just trying to reconcile any of what they believed with something, anything, that might prove them wrong. But they had already dug themselves a tad too deep on that front.
It took time, but they soon realized that if their life was inherently predestined and meaningless. Why not at least try to enjoy it? To make sense of it? In the lack of meaning, they wanted to assign at least some of their own to it. To see if they could find a few answers, maybe not everything, but a few.
In a way, their first response was to look skywards. There wasn't any answers to their question where they stood. But maybe the legendaries had hidden them in the stars above? After all... why would they exist if not for a reason? Something shaped the universe around them surely, they couldn't be randomly placed without purpose... right?
To say that Aster became obsessive would be an understatement of what had followed. Spending almost all of the night outside and trying to get a rough chart of the stars. But without any tools or training, their efforts were fruitless and nearly impossible. It was only after a long while that he finally figured to pick up a book and read. Spending both time and money that they had gained through odd jobs on trying to scrape together a notebook and some sort of equipment to create rudimentary equipment to work with.
After a few months of novice success, Aster had been surprised by a small gift from their mother. A sextant, the same one that they carry even now everywhere they go. They were beyond ecstatic about it, though nowadays they wonder exactly where they got the money for something like it.
For a long time, their sextant was their only bit of equipment. Though they used it to great efficacy, using it for their own personal research into trying to find any glimpses into a cosmic truth of sorts.
When they finally moved out to explore life on their own, it felt bittersweet to the Skitty. They didn't find anyone willing to fund their research, but they did find that they could use their tools as a navigational aide which was something that other pokemon were willing to pay for. Especially those who spent most of their time at sea. Though there were many on land who found good use of someone who could tell almost exactly where they were at any given point.
Aster put almost every bit of money they earned back into their own research and skills to try and make longer expeditions and make their own measurements more accurate. Eventually investing in much of the equipment they still use to this day. It wasn't long until they had saved up enough money to track down a Moon Stone on a personal expedition. Though they made sure to get a large amount of it since they felt it could be useful to them.
==== Aster's life as a Delcatty ====
Having finally evolved was something of a strange change to Aster, but they continued with their research unabated for the most part. Rather, they came across a breakthrough for how to get a clearer view of the universe. The only issue was that it required a few specific things. A place where the barrier between life and death was weak, a carved and enchanted Moon Stone, a pokemon that evolved through a Moon Stone and a flesh sacrifice of sorts. They sat there for a long time at their desk, looking over to the large Moon Stone they had gotten in case of a breakthrough like this.
It wasn't long until they began work on carving the Moon Stone into the right shape for the sacrifice, making sure it matched to the curvature of their own skull. Paying good money to get it infused with the right enchantments and sourcing the materials on their own due to the scarcity of some of them as well as being the one to find the proper location for them. As a result, they kept most of their research under wraps even in spite of needing help to do a lot of it.
It wasn't long until he finally had all the pieces needed, a sharp knife, a mirror and the enchanted moonstone. The conditions took a few months to be right, but eventually it was a cloudless night on the full moon. As the moon reached its zenith, they stood in the Soul Circle and set the mirror down. With shaky hands, they traced the shape of the stone onto their face. With a deep breath in, they began what needed to be done. Cutting through the flesh on their face down to the bone, blood streaming down their face and tears from their eyes as they rent the flesh off of their bone. Screaming in bloody agony as they did so, bits of flesh dropping to the ground as they did so, yet they managed to go through with it. And with blood covering their hands, arms and clothing, they pressed the moonstone into the hole their flesh left and turned their face to the sky. It began to feel cold... incredibly cold to the point it began to hurt even more than when they were carving their flesh from their body.
They doubled over in pain on the ground, writhing in pain as it fused to their skull. Eventually, the pain began to subside, if only because it was so cold that it shut down the nerves surrounding it. Aster shakily picked up the mirror after nearly an hour, their new tattoo glowing in the dark as it spilled the light of stars from it. Looking into it as they realized that they had succeeded in it. An unimpeded view of the stars through their newfound wound. All at the cost of not being able to see it themselves unimpeded. But what they hadn't realized at the time, is that it would have more consequences than just that.
They slowly picked up the pieces of their flesh they had shed, disposing of them properly before leaving. When they returned home, they went straight to bed, feeling exhausted from the ritual.
They soon discovered that their body needed to adjust to the new influx of a magical stone being embedded in it. Their body became weaker as time went on, feeling heavier as their body made attempts to adapt. They became sickly for weeks, vomiting from nausea, shaking from chills. Their body becoming frail, their bones losing density and their mind feeling cloudy.
But most of the symptoms went away with time, but their skin began to feel a bit thinner, their bones a bit frailer and their muscles more prone to soreness. Rather, their body gained an almost ethereal aspect to it. Becoming greater spiritually and lessening physically. In a sense, their physical body became more prone, but their mind strengthened somewhat. Even to the point of gaining a modicum of control over the general shape of their body. Their general powers as a Delcatty have somewhat strengthened as well, though only modestly.
As time went on, they moved to the port town of Lightpoint, finding that its more rural feel was better for their research. The lack of light pollution and relatively clear fields being easily available made their research much easier. While the location near a port made plying their trade much easier.
Nowadays, they work in a modest house that doubles as their workshop. Their research neatly ordered and many of their projects contained within.
=== Personal Effects and Items ===
Aster tends to carry a few things on his person at any given time. Most of these items serve more practical purposes rather than aesthetic ones.
* Blanket + a blanket pin: Typically they can be found wearing their blanket around their shoulders for both extra warmth and as a way to easily transport it for any camping and exploration. The cloth is felted wool that's a natural grey color with some bluish tones to it. Their blanket is held on by a blanket pin made of iron and is folded in such a way that there's room for two to lay on when fully unfolded. And plenty to wrap up in at night to keep warm.
*Sextant: One of Aster's prized possessions is their sextant. Used to measure the angle between the horizon and a specific location, it can also be used to approximate time and precisely measure one's latitude. As for longitude, it can sometimes be used for that under certain conditions. As one of his prime navigation devices, they're almost never caught without it. It's even engraved around the edges with the sentence: "Even as bright as all the lights above, they hardly compare to the beloved star which I hold."
*Lodestone Compass: One of their other primary navigation tools comprised of a carved lodestone and a decorative plate. The smaller end of the lodestone always points to the south when at rest on the plate. Though he tends to only rely on it when necessary as it is subject to any magnetic disturbances at times.
*Portable Telescope: Another one of Aster's most prized possessions is their telescope. Most telescopes are very expensive to produce due to the precise grinding needed. And they've spent a long time saving up to afford one. They guard it very closely as a result, but are more than willing to let a trusted friend use it for a bit if he's stargazing.
*Star Chart: Aster's life work has been creating an accurate star chart in hopes of creating an effective tool for even more accurately charting the stars. Though such a thing has remained out of his grasp as of yet.
*Sundial: A small piece of equipment that they almost always has is a sundial that can be used to keep track of the time. A simple device, but very effective.
=== Moveset ===
Being a more peaceful soul, Aster is extremely untrained in actual fighting moves. The ones they do know they almost solely use to hunt when necessary. Many of their moves are related to the stars, being the easiest source that they can draw power from due to the Moon Stone in their face. As a result, they know a few moves that would otherwise be impossible for them to know as a result.
* Helping Hand
* Heal Bell
* Swift
* Moonblast
* Moonlight
* Cosmic Power
=== Powers and Proficiencies ===
Aster has one or two tricks up their sleeve as a result of both their training over time and the moon stone embedded in their face.
* Expert Navigator: Aster is both an astronomer and navigator, and as a result of having done this for most of his life, they've become extremely good at it. They can easily tell almost exact coordinates so long as they have a clear view of the sky and the right tools. They can even fashion some makeshift ones if they needed to, although they're far more inaccurate.
* Frail Physique: Illnesses and wounds take more time to heal and their body is much more fragile. This is an unintended side effect of Aster's experiment.
* Star Power: Another unintended side effect is that Aster can use a few moves they otherwise wouldn't have had access to that draw power directly from the stars or other celestial bodies.
* Malleable Form: The most strange side effect is that Aster gained a modicum of control to alter their body on the fly. Likely due to a loosened connection between their body and soul in a way.
* Semi-spiritual Form: A disconnect between body and soul has caused Aster to gain a partial Ghost-typing.
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Category:Characters
Category:PC