ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀɴᴅʀᴀᴋᴇ (ꜱᴀʙʀɪɴᴀ ꜱᴘᴇʟʟᴍᴀɴ)

〈 PLAYER INFO 〉
NAME: Nita
AGE: 29
JOURNAL: erewhile
IM / EMAIL: ziodynes@gmail.com
PLURK: kitties
RETURNING: Haru Okumura ( girlybruiser ) Sabrina Spellman ( melodramagic )

〈 CHARACTER INFO 〉
CHARACTER NAME: The Mandrake (Sabrina Spellman)
CHARACTER AGE: Newborn, but physically 16.
SERIES: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
CHRONOLOGY: Season 2, Episode 8: right after it is killed by Sabrina.
CLASS: Villain
HOUSING: Individual housing, please.

BACKGROUND:

WARNING for transphobia mentioned regarding Theo's interaction with the Mandrake.

The Wikipedia page for Chilling Adventures of Sabrina actually has a decent episode run-down here.

Essentially, CAOS centers around Sabrina Spellman, a half-witch who, when she turns 16 years old, is to go through her Dark Baptism and give up her dual life in exchange for her witch life. Naturally, this doesn't happen. Supernatural and teenage drama hijinx ensue. Part One focuses on Sabrina fighting against her supposed destiny, while also attending mortal and witch school, attempting to balance her mortal and witch life and keeping it a secret from her mortal boyfriend and her friends. Unbeknownst to Sabrina, there are forces conspiring against her in the dark hope that she will sign her name in the Book of the Beast, one that takes the form of Lilith, who poses as Sabrina's teacher Ms. Wardwell. Lilith's machinations are what lead Sabrina to eventually sign her name, thus embracing her witch side completely at the end when she has no options left to save her friends from a vengeful group of witches who plan to destroy her hometown of Greendale.

Part Two involves Sabrina's descent down a darker path, but she continues to struggle with her dual nature. She has broken up with her boyfriend and has been avoiding her friends, instead developing a close bond turned romantic relationship with fellow warlock from her witch school, Nick Scratch. At various points do demons attempt to kill Sabrina, stating that she "must not ascend", an ominous warning that sees fruition when Sabrina is killed by witch hunters who appear later in the season. She resurrects, her power unparalleled, capable of unimaginable feats no witch or warlock can do. As she begins to embrace this surge of power, she is quick to find out that she is at the center of a dark prophecy. Worried that these powers and her newfound fondness for the darkness are telltale signs of evil, she enlists the help of her cousin Ambrose to siphon all the evil and magics out of her into a mandrake plant.

This is where the Mandrake officially comes in. Sabrina and Ambrose fall asleep during the transferring of her powers to the plant, the plan being to destroy it afterwards so that Sabrina will no longer have her magic, but that it'll remove all the "evil" from the world so that Sabrina won't harm others. The Mandrake gains the form of Sabrina and all her powers, but while Sabrina and Ambrose are sleep, it quickly replaces itself with a fake mandrake plant and disposes of all evidence that the transfer actually worked.

The Mandrake quickly integrates itself into the household unbeknownst to Sabrina or Ambrose, fooling Sabrina's Aunt Hilda into believing it's the real Sabrina, just more chipper than usual, and seeks affection out from her. Given the Mandrake has also received all of Sabrina's memories, it heads over to Sabrina's ex-boyfriend Harvey's house, attempting to win his affections back for it. Harvey rejects the Mandrake under the assumption it's Sabrina behaving absurdly, and that he is now dating their friend, which causes the Mandrake to retaliate by knocking Harvey unconscious.

It then wanders over to one of Sabrina's friend's houses, Roz, who is currently dating Harvey. The Mandrake insists that Roz should know better and that Harvey will always pick Sabrina over Roz, as he truly loves her instead, but it also underscores the value of their friendship and how it would "never ever" let a boy come in between them, even if the facts are just that. Roz, suspicious of this behavior, touches the Mandrake's hand which allows her to use her own power to see that the girl sitting across from her is a doppelganger. When Roz accuses the Mandrake of being a fake, the Mandrake grows upset and knocks her out as well.

Warning for transphobic commentary next.

It eventually makes its rounds to the last of the friends' houses, Theo, attempting to win Theo over by offering to help him transition by using magic as he "isn't a real boy". Theo is confused by what he assumes is Sabrina's offer, stating he doesn't require changing his body to feel like who he is. The Mandrake presses, playing the "concerned and honest" friend who says that Theo "confuses people" and then misgenders him purposely, which visibly rattles him. When he demands to know why his friend is saying such cruel things, the Mandrake continues to plead that it wants to "fix" him. Theo's rejection angers the Mandrake and it knocks him out, too.

The Mandrake has taken each of Sabrina's friends deep into the woods and while it's making its way over, it is attacked by warlocks from the witch academy sent by the headmaster and High Priest of Sabrina's coven to kill Sabrina as there are rumors on the rise that her newly awakened power is a danger to the hierarchy established. The warlocks, unaware of what they are dealing with, are murdered by the Mandrake within seconds, who then happily continues on to find Roz, Theo, and Harvey.

The trio have awakened at this point in the woods, freeing themselves from their binds after Theo discovers that "Sabrina" is making mandrake doppelgangers. They destroy their mandrake doubles just in time, with the Mandrake stumbling into the carnage and having an emotional breakdown over the murder of its friends. The mortals escape and the Mandrake heads back to Spellman manor to cry to Ambrose, who is unaware at first that it's the Mandrake he's consoling until the real Sabrina steps in. The Mandrake threatens Sabrina, but Ambrose's quick thinking tricks the naive Mandrake into accepting a proper, honorable duel between the Sabrinas instead using guns rather than magic. Before the duel can properly begin, Sabrina fires early as she has no other option. The Mandrake begins to cry, shocked that Sabrina cheated and dies in the girl's arms.

PERSONALITY:

While the Mandrake retains all of Sabrina's memories and emotional ties to her friends, it acts on them in an erratic and highly emotional manner that it seems to overlook any nuances in the real Sabrina's relationship with people. This is seemingly because it is essentially a newborn, having been cognizant for a hot second and not having developed these relationships on its own. It doesn't fully understand how relationships work and only assumes the best of them, acting on its own twisted desire, strongly motivated by the need to love, but mostly be loved by others in its "life". Almost immediately after running into Hilda does it ask to be pampered by being treated to Sabrina's favourite food, then eagerly asks for a hug that it doesn't wait for, instead shoving itself into Hilda's arms without actual consent, showcasing a limited patience and need to receive whatever it wants immediately once it's asked for something.

It is childlike in its behavior, disarmingly sweet and charming, albeit uncannily so. It talks in a higher, girly tone when addressing others and its body language reads of that of an excited ten year-old in a sense, because again, it is literally a newborn. It's excited to be alive and happy to be out in the world, demonstrated in full smiles, giggling and happy sighs, wanting to spend time with others and feel as if it belongs somewhere. With its excitable personality it's able to deceive others in assuming it is the real Sabrina, just with a newfound mindset.

The desire to be shown affection is so strong that it doesn't hesitate to pounce on each and every one of Sabrina's best friends, though even among strangers it curiously approaches with the idea of friendship as it's somewhat naive, but in reality it can also be dangerously calculating. It attempts to play upon people's insecurities and weaknesses to lower their defenses, then swoop in with an offer to fix their problems or worries with its magic, demonstrated multiple times between Harvey, Roz, and Theo. It tries to make Theo feel insecure about his body, but its language is abrasive and transphobic, unaware it's actually highly triggering commentary that instead upsets Theo rather than has him begging it to help him. It tries to instill onto Roz that Harvey doesn't love her, but it's "alright", it would never allow a silly boy to ruin their friendship. Both of these interactions backfire on the Mandrake, who doesn't particularly see it coming, yet immediately had a solution for itself that would make Sabrina's friends love it properly. As it tells Harvey when he rejects it with a scheming look, "I know how to make you love me." And while it is rejected over and over by the people who are supposed to love it, it devises its own plan to make them love it as its desperation for affection and to feel it belongs needs to be satiated, if it can be.

But as sweet and wily as the Mandrake behaves, it is short-tempered and reacts poorly to rejection and/or insult. It doesn't hesitate to use its power to knock out Harvey, Roz or Theo. Had it not been necessary to keep their bodies intact or alive for the mandrake spell, it likely would have killed all three of them without much thought. When the warlocks attempt to assassinate it, it disposes of them all quickly, then continues on its merry way without thinking twice about the consequences or having thought it through rationally at all in comparison to the real Sabrina. When upset or threatened, the Mandrake seems more than eager to threaten the use of force to get what it wants, quickly taking on a sinister demeanor and sizing up on its perceived enemy in spite of its small stature. It could be inferred that the Mandrake also doesn't completely understand violence isn't a necessity. This reactionary behavior also means the Mandrake grows emotionally distraught when it feels disrespected or abandoned. It has a tendency to cry, sometimes in order to manipulate someone's heartstrings if it can, but also because it feels rather strongly and doesn't know other coping mechanisms for its sadness or anger. It doesn't empathize well with others either, so its feelings always come before others in spite of attempts to pressure people into "fixing" them with its magic.

But this also means in its distress the Mandrake is easily manipulated if it isn't paying close attention. If there is something to be gained, such as love and attention, it will gladly listen to whatever another person is saying. Having all of Sabrina's memories, it has a warped sense of honor and tradition according to witch values and is willing to abide by it to a degree if it can be reasoned with in a patient manner. The Mandrake touts itself to be the "real" and "superior" Sabrina Spellman, but also sees the real one as a threat to its existence. It genuinely wants to live its life and feel it belongs in the world, but it isn't afraid either to destroy the things in its path that threaten that. Ultimately, this is what can lead to its downfall if it is not careful enough.

POWER: The Mandrake is a plant that gained not only the form of Sabrina Spellman, but siphoned all her magics and other energies into its body, thereby giving it access to Sabrina's complete power set after her awakening as the Herald of Hell. This means the Mandrake has an enormous amount of power that it isn't afraid to use to its full extent.

SPELL CASTING — The power to control, manipulate and change events, actions, objects or people through incantation, ritual, potions or her own willpower. In the particular case of the Mandrake, it appears to be able to use magic through sheer willpower and/or focus and does not require any incantations to do so.

BINDING/CONTAINMENT: The ability to bind others to a location or physically immobilize them. They cannot move until it releases them.
CONJURATION/SUMMONING: The ability to conjure up objects or people/demons/spirits from imagination or another plane to real life. Given there are no demons or other planes of existence accessible in MOM, this naturally limits its ability down to only being able to call forth spirits/demons inhabiting a person's physical body. It can conjure items out of thin air, such as small things like flowers, but it is also capable of summoning objects its been describes to its location. Anything big or dangerous it wants to summon will require mod permission. Additionally, like Sabrina, the Mandrake can summon people to its location if it wishes. Certain parties, magical or demonic, may be able to determine beforehand they are being summoned by the Mandrake.
DEMONIC EXORCISM: The Mandrake can forcibly expel demons from mortal bodies.
ENCHANTMENT/CURSE: Can imbue objects or food and/or drink with magic, ranging from a string that when tied into a knot can force someone to trip, to charms that provide comfort to whomever holds onto it. This also includes creating and cursing poppets in order to manipulate and/or physically harm individuals. Can also enchant individuals, using said magic to do things such as giving them the ability to run a bit faster (but not at inhuman speeds), be a bit more confident, etc. This magic cannot grant people new powers nor change their physiology, just enhance certain aspects.
GLAMOUR/ILLUSION CASTING: Glamours allow the Mandrake to disguise itself as other beings or creatures and are able to fool people quite well. It can also project life-like illusions or cloak itself or others to hide its/their physical presence from others.
HEALING: The Mandrake has also been gifted the ability to heal the wounds of other people and heal conditions or disabilities that affect them, such as healing Roz's blindness through enchanting the water she washes her face with.
HELLFIRE: The Mandrake can summon fire which burns at a higher temperature than any ordinary flame.
MEDIUMSHIP: Communication with spirits/the dead and ability to see them.
MEMORY MANIPULATION: Ability to add and/or remove specific or false memories. In certain cases, those affected may have an inkling or remember through being reminded that their memories were tampered with. Will come with a permissions post.
NECROMANCY: The Mandrake can resurrect the dead without a sacrifice, but in this case the revived will return in a zombie-like state, potentially violent and cannibalistic. Will only be done with mod permission.
TECHNOPATHY: The Mandrake is capable of turning on/off electronics by simply pointing at them. It can cause shortages in things like lights or TVs if it focuses hard enough.
TELEKINESIS: The ability to move or stop objects with its mind.
TELEPORTATION: The ability to spirit itself physically to different locations.
WARDING: The Mandrake can place protection wards and spells on people or places, shielding them from harm.

POWER OF MIRACLES (NOT) — After her full awakening, Sabrina exhibits complete control over her powers, some stronger than ever and some new, without the use of incantation or any ingredients, etc. This takes no toll on her physically either. The Mandrake exhibits identical prowess, going around using its magic over and over on people without slowing down. It subdues a gang of warlocks sent to assassinate the real Sabrina with the utmost ease, then kills them in an instant.

These "miraculous" powers are also able to do things such as revive the dead without consequence, heal fatal wounds, internal bleeding, disabilities such as blindness, etc. Again, all without tiring the Mandrake and at no cost.

However, in MOM, these "miracles" will have consequences to whomever the Mandrake performs them on. For the sake of player plotting, players will be given an opportunity to brainstorm the negative effects on their characters. (Ex: The Mandrake restores an imPort's missing limb, but the limb begins to rot painfully after a day or so of restoration. Ex #2: Someone wants to be more courageous, so the Mandrake enchants them to gain confidence, but then they begin to do dangerous, life-threatening acts to themselves and/or others.) But each and every powerful act of Healing, Conjuration, Memory Manipulation, Necromancy, Enchantment and Curse will have a consequence and technically fail to do what was intended after a certain point.

The effects last until either the Mandrake undoes the magic itself or it dies.

WITCH BOND — The Mandrake has access to Sabrina's memories from childbirth to the present. This connection will continue in MOM, giving it secondhand knowledge of Sabrina's time in MOM and the friends (or enemies) she's made here.

Its life will also be tethered to Sabrina's. If it or Sabrina are killed the other will also die.

〈 CHARACTER SAMPLES 〉

COMMUNITY POST (VOICE) SAMPLE:

[ When the video comes on, the screen is angled incorrectly, the living room on a slant while someone skips around trying to get everything in place. There's a glimpse of a frilly dress and loud humming before the device is situated properly.

The face of one Sabrina Spellman appears then, but her appearance is, for lack of better word, different. Her hair is platinum coloured and her eyes are wide, a wild glint in them... and eerily unblinking. She grins into the camera, giving an energetic wave. ]

Hello, everyone! Oh, my gosh... isn't today such a beautiful day? You know, I was just thinking about how perfect this day was, but I realized... you know what would make it even better?

[ She pulls a giant box of kernels, giving it a shake. ]

We should have a movie night! Lots of popcorn and candy... and milkshakes! I just feel so, so terrible that I have not spent as much time with all my friends as I should have. I've been so selfish, focused on all this Lachesis and Porter drama when really I shouldn't be wasting my time when time itself is so limited and precious in this world! Who knows if when we see each other it will be the last time ever?

So, I'll have everything prepared at my house tonight for eight o'clock sharp. And bring your pajamas! We can make it a fun sleepover, too!

LOGS POST (PROSE) SAMPLE:

It's so... bright in Florida.

The Mandrake isn't certain if it really enjoys that, but it'll do with what it's been given for now. There's a lot of confusion weighing on its mind, unable to form cohesive thoughts in the midst of finding itself not dead and in an entirely different world. It hasn't seen Cousin Ambrose so far nor the impostor claiming to be Sabrina Spellman, which might be a positive thing, but...

It can't think straight. Having to think about it at all is overwhelming.

"No... no, I don't like that," it mutters to itself, shaking its head quickly.

The soldiers on the base were very nice and accommodating, however. There was a lot of talking, some of which went in one ear and out the other, but the most important fact was them mentioning it could be a hero if it was willing to help.

That's when it stops in the middle of the sidewalk, clarity breaking through and troublesome thoughts gone, as if they never existed. It could help people and in turn, it would likely be loved. These mortals wanted the help apparently! Now that, that it could do and so easily. The mere idea is tantalizing: all the friends it could make here and maybe, just maybe, it can bring Roz, Theo and Harvey here and start over with them by showing them how many other mortals begged for its help here.

With a newfound pep in its step, the Mandrake begins to skip merrily down the sidewalk. Who knew second chances could be so wondrous?

FINAL NOTES: I hope it's still good to submit!!