Claire Novak

Name: Inky
Age: 33
Contact: inkcharm | Discord: inkcharm#4573

Character Name: Claire Novak
Canon: Supernatural
Canon Point: 13x10: Wayward Sisters, after Kaia's death when Claire runs through the rift to leave the Bad Place and re-enter her world
Appearance: here
Age: 20

Character snapshot: Claire Novak is an ex-angelic vessel, ex-thief, ex-werewolf and current hunter. She's got a deep-seated fear of abandonment, as her loved ones seem to leave and/or die on her constantly. As a result of a troubled childhood, she can barely keep it together on a good day, covering her fears, ptsd and insecurities with sass, one-liners and pop-culture references. Claire has long given up the idea of being 'normal', dedicating herself instead to hunting and killing monsters at a very young age. She pursues her goals with stubborn and often reckless determination, and rarely hesitates to leap in the path of danger. As strong as her fear of abandonment is, as strong is her sense of found family, and she will go to great lengths for the people she considers "hers".

World description: The world of Supernatural takes places in our regular world, except that unbeknownst to the general public, monsters, myths, deities and many urban legends are true, especially the "classics" such as vampires, werewolves and ghosts, as well as demons, angels and creatures from other pantheons. In this world, people exist who seek out and destroy those monsters, and save people from them. These people call themselves hunters, and aren't organized among each other, nor known to the general public. Of particular not is also that magic, witches, curses, portals to other dimension and similar phenomena exist as well, and are known to many hunters. Claire specifically hails from August 2017.

History: In 2004, Claire Novak's father left the house in the middle of the night. When she stepped out after him and called out to him, he turned around, looked at her with alien eyes, and declared: "I am not your faither", as he had indeed agreed to be possessed by the angel Castiel. This was the beginning of Claire's life going off the rails. Almost a year after he'd vanished without a trace, Jimmy Novak showed back up at his family's home, but unfortunately he brought with him a host of trouble. Demons abducted Claire and possessed her mother, Amelia. With Jimmy mortally wounded, the angel Castiel asked Claire to lend him her body as a vessel. She agreed, was possessed, and her family saved. Unable to bear the thought of his daughter suffering ("it's like being chained to a comet"), Jimmy Novak traded places with her, taking Castiel back into himself. This would be the last time Claire would see her father alive - and indeed the last time she would see Castiel for many years.

Shortly after this, her mother Amelia left to "find herself" in the wake of being left by her husband. Claire was taken in by her grandmother, and received postcards for a while. Eventually, there were no more postcards, and Claire believed herself abandoned by both parents. She prayed to Castiel every night to keep her father safe, and received no answer.

When her grandmother died, Claire became a troubled young woman, known to run away from group homes. She fell in with a bad crowd under the leadership of a man called Randy, who posed himself as a surrogate father and was being idolized by Claire and the others, yet pushed the troubled youths under his 'care' and 'guidance' into becoming thieves and pickpockets for his benefit.

It was during this time that Claire encountered Castiel again, and refused his attempts to do right by her, filled with hatred for the angel who'd torn her family apart. Yet when she returned to Randy, he was willing to sell her to a loan shark to cover for his loans, and Claire had to be saved from assault by Castiel. In the wake of these events, Dean Winchester kills the loan shark, his goons, and randy. A traumatized Claire tries to have him killed, but reels back when she realizes the people she talked to were going through with it.

In the months following these events, Claire attempts to find her mother, and reluctantly accepts aid from Castiel and the Winchesters. In the course of this, she's being taught some of their tricks of the trade - like hacking into her mother's credit card records, as well as some sources for information on supernatural beings. With Claire heavily involved, the group eventually finds out that Claire's mother never left, but was abducted by a special breed of angel, a grigori, who has been draining the life force from his victims on a farm for years. Claire is briefly reunited with her mother before she dies, and Claire takes her revenge by killing the grigori with his own sword. The Winchesters bring Claire to their friend and ally Jody Mills, a small town sherrif who does some minor hunting. Claire decides to forgive Castiel.

When next we see her, Claire has become borderline obsessed with hunting, seeing monsters and cases in every corner, and in some cases outright threatening regular people with her sword. She pours every waking hour into her investigations, and while she enrolled in college, she's not been to any classes in months, admitting that she doesn't find it important, when there are monsters to be hunted. Her relationship to Jody's other ward, Alex, is strained, as Alex wants nothing more than a normal life, and Claire has clearly given up on such pursuits. In the wake of a near fatal vampire attack on all of them, Claire learns to empathize more with both Jody as her guardian and Alex as her semi-step-sister, and seems to realize that while hunting is where her heart is at, she cannot pursue it blindly and with unhealthy obsession.

Still, we later learn that Claire has continued hunting behind Jody's and Alex' backs, and pretending to pursue a normal college life. She teams up with the Winchesters for a werewolf hunt, in the course of which she gets infected with lycanthropy. She breaks down, because only people with very strong willpower can retain any semblance of control over the curse, and Claire does not believe herself strong. She accepts that the only sensible path forwards is for her to die, but the Winchesters instead find an experimental cure that subjects Claire to horrendous pain and torment, but proves ultimately effective on her despite all known subjects so far to die, making her the only known human who has been cured of lycanthropy. Realizing that she doesn't want to die on a hunt without Jody and Alex knowing, and realizing that she's got people in her corner who love her, Claire decides to come clean to them. She will not stop hunting, she will not pursue a normal life and college education - but she finally breaks her bad habit of lying and going behind their backs while risking her life. She also acknowledges for the first time that Jody is like a mother to her, and that she considers Alex her sister.

In 2017, Claire has honed her skills as a hunter, successfully tracking, fighting and killing monsters, and saving their intended victims in the process. She's on good if sarcasm-laced terms with Alex. When the Winchester brothers disappear into a different dimension, Claire gets involved in the case and meets Kaia, a dreamwalker who knows the dimension the Winchesters are trapped in, calling it the "Bad Place". Claire and Kaia compare scares and form a fast bond. The group is also joined by the psychic Patience. Claire initially refuses to believe the girl's powers to be real, as Patience claims to have seen Claire die, but has to concede her powers are real when Patience offers valuable assistance in tracking down the rift and avoiding monster attacks on the way. While Jody implores for Claire to stay behind and stay safe, when Jody is in danger Claire, backed by Kaia, decides to risk everything for her family to save Jody. Ultimately, she begs Jody to trust her, and goes through the rift and into the Bad Place with Kaia, to find and save the Winchesters. Claire swears to keep Kaia safe, and the two begin forming a gentle, romantic connection. While the mission to the Bad Place goes well initially, when attempting to leave, one of the strange creatures living there attacks Claire, but Kaia intervenes, mortally wounded in Claire's place. Claire refuses to go through the rift until Kaia dies, feeling the least she can do after failing to protect her is to stay with her. Devastated, she then exits the Bad Place through the rift, just shy of either being killed, or the rift closing.

It is later canonically confirmed through Jody that Kaia was the first person Claire loved, and her death is a sore spot for Claire even years later in canon.

What are your character’s mental/emotional strengths?
Independence/Self-Confidence - Having lost so many people at a young age, Claire has grown up to become an incredibly self-reliant young woman. While this can be to her detriment when she fails to ask for help, she will likely not despair over having to tackle any problem on her own, secure in the knowledge of the skills and capabilities she has acquired, and in her ability to persevere through hardship. "I've had worse" and "I know I can do this" are strong motivators for her.

Bravery - Claire rarely backs down from any challenge, and while there are things she fears and/or knows to be dangerous, she does not let this cow her. She looks at danger as something to overcome, not as something to bend to, and isn't easily pushed into being too scared to act. And if all else fails, this allows her to fall back onto some level of bravado, too.

Protectiveness - Claire has chosen to become a hunter, which means she does two things: kill monsters and save people.She's protective of other people, especially those she's grown close to, and draws a lot of strength from feeling like she has to step up and shield others, or act on their behalf. She is more likely to overcome her own reservations about engaging with a situation, if she feels that other people are in danger if she refrains.

Found Family - While often reluctant to accept outside help, the closer Claire gets to someone, the more willing she is to rely on the people she knows she can trust, and be able to trust them to have her back and make use of their skill sets to compliment her own.

Leadership - While still in the early stages in her current canon point, Claire has grown to a point emotionally where she knows she can lead other people, train them, and help them move forwards in the dangerous world they live in together. She's not exactly a nurturing person, but she can help others learn how to defend themselves, and is willing to lead by example. She will never ask anyone to do what she wouldn't be willing to do herself.

Determination - Claire is stubborn, and when she sets her mind to something, she's not easily dissuaded off her path.

What are your character’s mental/emotional weaknesses?
Distrust - Claire has a hard time trusting that others have her best interest at heart, having been let down, left or betrayed too often in her life. The connections she's made have been hard to earn for the people who've gained them, and Claire will likely need time to warm up to anyone else to such a degree. In a dire situation, depending on developments, she might even foolishly refuse someone's help if she doesn't yet feel she can trust them. This can also lead to her not reaching out and involving people in her plans, and choosing to lie and do something in secret even if part of her knows it'd be better not to.

Loss of Agency/Freedom - Claire values her freedom. She's lost control of herself and her circumstances through angelic possession, betrayal by people in power over her, attempted assault, lycanthropy and even, as she presumes in her current canon point, prophecy/visions. She doesn't handle feeling powerless and not in control of herself well.

Authority - Claire's never had good relationships with people who were in positions of authority over her, either through their age, a position of seniority, or because they belong to institutions of authority. She's likely to bristle against those figures, even if it would be in her best interest to listen to them, and she's prone to being cocky and dismissing the advice and assistance from such figures.

Recklessness - Claire throws herself at danger, and while she's grown better about thinking her plans through over the years of honing her skills as a hunter, she ertainly still has a tendency to charge at danger head first, touch the thing, fail to watch her back, or go too far in trying to discover the truth without an exit strategy, backup or other help.

Loss/Failure - Claire has suffered tremendous personal losses in her life, and is in many ways still grieving over her blood family, over Kaia, and over every single person she couldn't safe. She's unstable, and and when her layers of bravado, sarcasm and confidence in her skills are stripped away, she is a vulnerable, lonely person with abandonment issues underneath. The show heavily implies that even years after Kaia's loss, Claire would be pushed past her breaking point losing another loved one.

Guilt - Claire also carries with her the guilt of feeling responsible for several of these aforementioned losses - from her father and mother sacrificing themselves for her, to Randy selling her after she failed to come up with the money he needed to pay the loan shark back, to Kaia dying in her arms after Claire swore to protect her in the one place Kaia was scared to go, and only went for Claire's sake.

Vengeance - If wronged, if made to suffer a loss, Claire will stop at very little to get her due, and can easily go down a dark, obsessive path with this.

What events or circumstances in your character’s past have impacted them the most?
Angel interference (and lack thereof) - Losing her father to angelic possession, praying for his protection for years without answer, and finding out that her mother left only to be abducted and used for years by another angel has made Claire somewhat cynical regarding angels and beings of similar status. Castiel possessing her father has ruined her life - and set her on her current path.

Found Family - Finding a home with and a mother in Jody Mills has helped Claire come to terms with much of the trauma she has suffered. It's helped ease her barriers and open her heart to other people again, allowed her to forgive Castiel, and given her a much safer way to pursuing her personal goals. While there was a lot of back and forth between her and Jody regarding the topic of hunting, they've come to an agreement through the years together, allowing Claire to find a balance in her life she'd not known in the past 13 years.

Randy's Betrayal - finding a surrogate father in Randy, Claire was actually perfectly alright doing shady things at his bidding because he took care of her and other kids like her. To see Randy blame failure on her, and as a result sell her to a man he owned money to has left a deep cut in Claire regarding her ability to trust other people who put themselves into a position of supposed care for her.

Loss - her father died when Castiel did, her mother died in her arms after saving Claire, Randy died after betraying her, Jody and Alex almost died trying to protect her, Kaia died in her arms afte saving Claire - Claire has lost a lot of people, the impact of each still sits heavy on her, with a sense of devastating loss and guilt she will never quite get over (canonically, Kaia is later discovered to be alive because SPN be like that, and other characters choose not to tell Claire about staging a rescue mission as well as leaving Jody out of the mission, knowing Claire would not survive losing Kaia a second time, or losing Jody. It's implied that while she's overall doing okay years after Kaia's loss, the loss of another person close to her could easily push her over the edge.

What impressions do others tend to have of your character and how do those impressions differ from who your character truly is?
Claire has been described as a "Biker Barbie" - with long blonde hair, soft features, big blue eyes and a petite frame, Claire doesn't tend to look like someone who can pack a bunch - she does come with the attitude though. She gives off a stand-off-ish, snarky vibe, of someone who's not too worried/concerned, someone who's tough, resilient and either in control, or not afraid of what lies ahead. The truth of the matter is that underneath the cocky facade, Claire is even through all her progress, a traumatized, emotionally vulnerable and insecure young woman, who spends her days getting her hands bloody because it's the only way for her to find a semblance of purpose and control in her life.

What motivates your character? Originally motivated by vengeance for her mother, Claire has since become driven to eradicate monsters. Her goal isn't as lofty as 'killing all existing monsters', but she's become determined to hunt as many and kill as many as she can, and in the process save as many people as possible. In the process, she's also allowed herself to grow close to people again, and her desire to hunt monsters and prove herself capable in this chosen profession has been expanded to include a need and drive to protect those close to her. This does not extend to herself, naturally.

How does your character handle crisis or adversity? Claire tends to counter adversity and crisis with a cocky facade and bravery in the face of insurmountable odds, only showing true vulnerability when broken down. She'll be certain of making it out - or pretend to be, at least - until there is no other feasible option than to admit defeat, and even then she'll attempt to maintain her cocky attitude until the end. She's much more likely to break down after the fact in the arms of a trusted ally or loved one, than in the face of adversity in the moment.

Skills, abilities, and physical weaknesses:

• Human: Claire is a regular human, so physically and mentally has no particularly unusual skills/abilities, and all the weaknesses one would expect. It should be noted that through her father, she is a potential angelic vessel, and while the show never expands upon this in details, it is related to her bloodline. She also used to be infected with lycanthropy. While the show does not expand upon the long-term effects of either, mods should feel free to use and abuse this to their heart's content.
• Hunter: Claire is a hunter, and therefore has gained a growing arsenal of lore on many common monsters and methods to kill them, as well as an array of fake badges/identities, IDs, some minor hacking abilities (enough to keep her afloat for travelling the country and hunting, at the very least).
• Weapons: Claire is capable with a variety of handguns, and can wield a sword/bladed weapon efficiently, as well as other knives. In addition, we see her be competent in hand-to-hand combat, as well as resourceful enough to use improvised weapons
• Thief/Pickpocket: Claire can pick locks and has some skill in the sleight of hand department.
• Liar: Claire has an impressive pokerface, if she really wants to, and knows how to lie to get into places she wants to be
• Physical fitness: Claire has developed the stamina and strength to handle her lifestyle. Hunters need to be in good physical condition to outrun and outmaneuver monsters, fight them, cut through them, and make it through the usual wounds you get on the job with a certain level of pain tolerance without keeling over
• Basic first aid: Claire knows how to patch herself up and suture wounds. While not nearly as skilled as her "step-sister" Alex (a trained nurse), she knows how to stitch her own wounds.

Inventory:

• Clothes (black leather jacket, black hoodie, grey jeans, black boots)
• Cell Phone
• Lock picks
• Car keys
• Weapons lost: A handgun and ammo, the grigori angel sword, a knife in her boot
   

What aspects of your character are you most interested in exploring in a horror setting?
Claire's guilt and issues with loss of control specifically, as well as her status as an angel vessel through bloodline and ex-werewolf, her trauma through losing loved ones and the related guilt. The implication that the loss of another loved one, even years after losing Kaia, would push her to her breaking point and possibly beyond.

What is your character’s mental state upon entering the game?
Claire is devastated over the loss of Kaia, and feels guilty about it - not only was this the first person she'd ever developed romantic feelings for, but Claire feels deeply responsible that Kaia was in harm's way in the Bad Place to help Claire save other people, and took a fatal blow in Claire's stead. It's brought back memories of her mother sacrificing herself for Claire, of Alex offering herself to be killed by a vampire in Claire's stead, of Jody getting badly hurt trying to help Claire, and of course, of her father being bound as an angel vessel to protect her. The people she loves keep dying in her arms, and worse: They seem to keep dying because of Claire. She's managed to save two people she cares about, and the prices was the life of someone she'd developed romantic feelings for. She feels like a failure because once again she couldn't protect someone she loved, despite vowing to do so, and all she wants is to return to her family for comfort - something the arrival in the game will deny her. On top of that, Patience predicted Claire's death in the near future - something that has not yet come to pass but looms over her.

What unsettles and frightens your character? What sort of encounters would chip away at your character’s psychological stability? Anything related to angels and other similar beings, anything related to her feelings of guilt and loss, of loved ones dying on her watch or because of her, blood on her hands. Feelings of paranoia, of being unable to trust others - or of being unable to let others trust her. Loss of control and agency, feelings of being powerless.

What horrifying events or genre elements would you like to see utilized in the game? I'm always a sucker for guilt manifesting in public ways, for characters to be literally haunted by their mistakes and losses, or characters being unable to put on a brave face through forced truth, and characters having to make tough choices involving other characters, like whom to save, whom to risk, whom to hurt. And of course, the worst thing of all: Being made to confront yourself.

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