Too much of this world revolves around strength...
And the only way to truly make a difference is through power.
- Seraphina's most important realization
Seraphina (nicknamed Sera) is the deuteragonist of unORDINARY and best friend of John. She is a third-year student of Wellston High and is the first ranked student, who held the prestigious titles of Queen and later Ace. However, she temporarily lost this title during her ability loss, caused by the organization Spectre, which she worked for (under the name Asset 47) in order to falsely regain her ability, under the tutelage of her sister.
Appearance
Seraphina is a third-year student at Wellston Private High School. She is moderately tall. Prior to John's arrival, Seraphina lacked the greenish-yellow streaks in her magenta hair and overall had a respectable appearance. She would wear her long, hip-length hair in a ponytail, and had her attire in order, wearing her jacket properly, doing her tie accordingly, and had her shirt buttoned all the way to the top button. Her uniform had no to few wrinkles in the past.
At some point after meeting John, Seraphina cut her hair short, added light green highlights to it, and started using hair extensions regularly. Her outfit is notably more disheveled than before, most of her clothing full of wrinkles as she does not care about how she is perceived anymore.
Her thought bubbles are the same magenta color as her hair, and her eyes glow sky-blue when using her ability.
Ideology
Initially, Seraphina believed that the stronger one was, the higher the degree of perfection required. Since she is the highest-ranked person, she must be the most perfect in every area, from dress and appearance, to her schoolwork, to her fighting techniques and discipline. The lower ranks were weaker, and therefore permitted to be sloppy and flawed, drawing her contempt as well as her envy.
Seraphina's ideology is flipped on its head by her introduction to John, and she completely abandons it. She ceases her work as a Royal, excuses herself from her High Tier duties, and, separated from the Hierarchy, becomes more relaxed about her appearance, achievements, and role, to her increased happiness and contentment.
After Seraphina becomes a cripple, her ideals underwent additional change. She appears to believe that everyone deserves to be left alone in relative peace and allowed to develop their own strengths, whatever they may be. For example, she believes that the lowest tiers of students can and should compensate for their lack of Abilities with martial arts training.
She acknowledges that strength is a necessity in the world they live in, and that each person should do what is best within their own personal abilities in order to improve their influence and situation in life. She takes a much kinder view than John on people's instinctive desire to make their situation better and further their own interests by gaining power, seeing this as natural and generally non-malicious.
Personality
Seraphina's past, perfectionist self & current, laidback self
Though the model student of Wellston Private High School and one of the few god-tiers, Seraphina's personality is not like that of her peers; she has a rather relaxed personality and doesn't really care for much; she often finds herself bored due to how good she is at everything. Due to her reputation as the "perfect student," Seraphina is often the center of attention in Wellston, but unlike most high-tiers, she does not care for her punctuality nor her reputation and has even gone as far as making friends with a supposed cripple. Though she rarely lets the opinions of others get under her skin, Seraphina is not above asserting her power with people who get into her business.
Around her best friend, John, Seraphina tends to be playfully sarcastic, and often pokes fun at his supposed powerlessness and optimism. However, Seraphina looks up to John for said optimism and has adopted many of his ideologies as her own.
In the past, Seraphina always strove to be perfect in the eyes of others and did not tolerate anyone getting in her way, but she did harbor doubts on the purpose of being perfect. After meeting John, she realized that it doesn't matter what others think of her and stopped trying to be perfect.
After losing her ability, Seraphina initially kept her usual calm, nonchalant visage. However, she was privately worried about how long she would remain powerless. After her ability-loss was exposed and the entire school turned on her, she finally broke down and admitted that she is scared of her ability being permanently gone, revealing that she ties her worth as a human being to her ability. Despite overwhelming odds though, she has taken steps to improve herself and learn how to live like a cripple. As time passes, she also becomes more aware of the inequality and injustices lower tiers face on a daily basis.
Seraphina, at first, considered William Doe's Unordinary to paint an absurd vision of the world. However, when she later answered that she didn't agree with the book's message, she was surprised to hear this claim was a lie. Indeed, Seraphina found herself trying to intervene during incidents of bullying throughout the school. Unfortunately, her newfound altruism is offset by the sobering realization that she could not do much to act on it following her ability loss. Seraphina has even felt that she deserved to be a cripple for having ignored the plights of the lower tiers for so long.
Seraphina is determined to get her ability back and make a change in the world, even if it means having to work for the organization that stole her ability. She reluctantly follows their orders but secretly doesn't trust them, though putting on a loyal facade for them. Seraphina is much more serious and detached like her past self. Also due to constant observance from Terrence, she is much more prone to stress. Despite her distrust towards the organization, however, she doesn't view them as completely bad, knowing that most of the blame falls on the greedy executives. Seraphina sets to rise through their ranks and make Spectre a more heroic organization.
History
Growing up, Seraphina had a very close relationship with her elder sister, Leilah. With their unreasonably strict parents dictating their lives, they were forced to stick together to make the best of things. They spent much of their free time together, and cried on each other's shoulders during the worst of times.
Unfortunately, the stress of living with her demanding parents eventually got to Leilah, and she ran away from home five years prior to the start of the series. Leilah left without saying good-bye to her little sister, and their already abusive parents started to treat Seraphina even worse. Seraphina was resentful for being abandoned so suddenly.[3][4] But as bitter as she was, Seraphina also missed her big sister terribly. She once looked at a picture of the two of them with a forlorn look on her face.[5]
Perfection
Seraphina as a child
As a grade-school student, Seraphina, like many high-tiers, was trained in the ways of self-defense and was assigned an instructor at the request of her parents. Once her ability started to develop, however, she began to focus on honing her nigh-unstoppable ability, Time Manipulation. Her power and intelligence allowed Seraphina to enroll in the most prestigious school in the area, Wellston Private High School.Seraphina was always viewed as the ideal student; she was not only the most powerful student, but also the most intelligent. Seraphina easily took the rank of Queen of Wellston and dominated in Turf Wars. During one match with Agwin High, she single-handedly took down their whole roster, and left quite an impression on Broven.[6] During her second year, she was present when Remi officially dethroned Cecile and became the new Jack.[7] She obliged the winner's wish to take a celebratory selfie with her, though she didn't smile.[8]
Seraphina getting criticized by her classmates
In fact, Seraphina had little to smile about. Due to her flawless reputation, those around her, including her family, placed extremely high expectations on her. She always felt pressured to be perfect and worked hard to please everyone, except herself. She always put others above her, since she cared way too much about other's opinions. If she did anything imperfect, her peers would criticize her behind her back, but she would always try to ignore what they had to say about her. Even the other Royals, who were closest to her, kept things strictly professional. Only by focusing on the path she was forced to walk could she distract herself from how lonely her life was.
First Day
First time we see Seraphina crying.
Seraphina was present when John introduced himself to the class. She and every other student in the classroom shunned John when he admitted that he was a cripple.[9]
While John found himself cornered by Crail and Lin to be "educated" on his position in the school hierarchy, Seraphina ignored John's pleas for help. The cripple sarcastically "thanked" Seraphina for just standing there.[10]
On the same day, Seraphina wanted a slice of Wellston's famous Triple Chocolate Cake. She saw that John had a slice in his hands, and demanded he give it to her. John initially refused, but Seraphina threatened to use her ability to take it by force. In defiance of her bullying, John pretended to hand the cake over, but let it fall to the floor. Everybody in the room immediately started chattering about how a mere cripple managed to get the better of the Ace. Seraphina snapped and smacked John into the wall. She then continued to strike him while berating him in a vulgar manner. All the while, she wondered why after all of her painstaking efforts to get to the top, she only got rewarded with humiliation. The thought made her break into tears.[11]
Project Partners
John and Seraphina acting as rivals on the project
In class, Seraphina was thinking about why John made her emotionally unstable at that moment, while the teacher was assigning a project. John and Seraphina were forced to be partners for a three-part literature project, much to the reluctance of both parties. Seraphina decided that she would complete the project alone, and John would merely read directly from her note cards during the presentation. However, John refused and chose to do his own work as well.[12]
During the presentation, John proceeded to improvise most of the presentation by fabricating information, resulting in him and Seraphina receiving a B-. Enraged with her below-perfect score, Seraphina stormed out of the classroom while John followed. At the library, John suggested establishing a stronger rapport, but Seraphina was still angered by her grade and threatened to make his life a hell on earth. John was completely unfazed and surprised Seraphina with his defiance as he introduced to her the concept that instead of living for her reputation, she should do as she wished, just as he did.[13]
Seraphina teaching John arithmetic.
With the second part of the project, this time on Spearshake's McBetch, looming over them, both decided to head to the library to work. Despite their arguments and John's inability to interpret Spearshake, their efforts resulted in an A-. John was more than happy with this, but Seraphina was not pleased with her below-perfect grade. This left John wondering why she was never satisfied.[14]
Overhearing two girls criticizing Seraphina, John stepped in to defend her, but the girls started beating him up. Moved by John's selflessness, Seraphina stepped in to protect him from further harm. Unfortunately, John was already injured and needed to go to the infirmary.[14]
It was not until the third part of the project, when Seraphina and John were working on Julio and Romiette, that John became more diligent with his work and asked Seraphina for help interpreting some of the lines.[15]
On the day of the presentation, John's overly serious demeanor caught the attention of Seraphina, prompting her to ask what was wrong. John responded that he disliked the judgmental attitude of other students and apologized for all the flak he gave her over the previous two projects. When John says he doesn't want to drag her down anymore, Sera sarcastically says it's too late for that. However, she dismisses his next apology (as it's all in the past) and admits that John is "by far, the most persistent partner" she's ever had. When Sera gets her results for the final part of project, she is relieved to see they got an "A". After seeing John's reaction at his first ever "A", Sera expresses her disappointment by pointing out that the overall score is still "-A" and intially rejects his offer of buying them boba drinks over studying at the library. However, Sera eventually relents and joins John, contemplating the irony that the first time she rewarded herself was of something imperfect, an "-A". This encounter between Sera and John would eventually grow into a strong, genuine friendship.
End of discussion. Don't bother me no more.
Seraphina stepped down from Queen of Wellston, opting to adopt the informal title of Ace of Wellston to reflect her continued status as the strongest student in school. Thus, Remi officially succeeded her, though her start as Queen was a rocky one. There was an argument with Arlo on whether Cecile was suitable to be Jack again. Seraphina put her foot down and crowned Blyke as the next Jack on the grounds that he was more upstanding than the untrustworthy Cecile. (The fact that the haughty king got all in a huff over it was just the icing on the cake, even if they never got along quite the same afterwards).[16]
Powers & Abilities
Seraphina's level is currently 8.0. She's the Ace of Wellston, and was formerly the Queen (though even her successor considers her to still be the true holder of the rank).[17] She owes her strength to spending most of her early life cultivating the power latent in her bloodline. Her ability began to manifest in middle school, and so most of her time went into honing it to near perfection. Training focused on three qualities above all else: "endurance, focus, and pain tolerance."[18]. By her second year in high school, she had already achieved a level of 7.0.[19] With these attributes, Seraphina seldom lost battles and has even bested superior numbers on her own; this is best shown when she instantly took down Agwin's entire roster.[6] When it comes to levels, Seraphina is second only to Jane.
After an encounter with Spectre, however, she is hit with an Ability Disabler that forces her to become a cripple. During this time, she learns martial arts. Eventually, her ability is falsely returned to her by Spectre.
Time Manipulation
Seraphina has the ability to freeze or slow down time at will, move around in a time-frozen environment, and reverse time in a localized area to some extent. People under the effect of a time freeze can be aware of it or not depending on what she does, as demonstrated by Seraphina's intimidation of Elaine and Arlo. Anything under her control becomes grey in color. In one instance of Seraphina rewinding time, pink gears appeared around her arm (as shown when attacking Arlo during Turf Wars).
Physical Abilities
Seraphina also appears to be physically strong as she is capable of sending Gavin flying back in his powered-up form, and breaking Arlo's barrier, although this is augmented by her ability as she moves faster relative to anyone else when in a time-frozen environment, which greatly increases her momentum. According to Uru-chan, she can destroy the wall of a house with one punch.
Initially, Seraphina had some self-defense skills during her grade school years, but most of her time went into honing her abilities. During her power loss,[20] John taught her enough self-defense to handle the likes of lower-tiered students such as Hower.
Intelligence
Seraphina is also extremely intelligent, scoring within the 90% to 100% ( A's to A+'s) range on all of her tests.
Miscellaneous
She also uses her ability for pranks,[21] and she is also skilled at games which may have something to do with her ability.
Quotes
- (To herself) "I must be stronger than everyone! I must be smarter than everyone! I must be perfect!"
- "When you're constantly perfect, it no longer becomes an accomplishment. Perfect becomes an expectation."
- "I do everything that's expected of me. But what do I get in return?"
- (thinking about her first encounter with John) "Then this kid showed up."
- (To John) "I work so hard every single day! You think you can just waltz in and humiliate me like this?!"
- (To John) "Do you feel safer... Now that he's dead?"
- (To Gavin) "Don't waste my time."
- (To John) "There’s no need to argue with a weakling to prove a point."
- (To Narisa [her mom]) "Oh, and I only fly first class. After all, I am your daughter."
- (To John) "I'm sick of being disappointed. I don't want to sit around and lie to myself anymore."
Family Tree
Notes & Trivia
- Seraphina was jealous of Rein's bust size.[21]
- She likes pig-themed games such as Slappy Pig and Angry Pigs as she thinks that pigs are cool; when uru-chan asked her how to find cool games, she searched "Pigs".[21]
- The name Seraphina comes from the word seraph, which is an angel of the highest order.
- In the Bible, the Seraphim were the highest caste of angel, yet had to devote their power to sing praise to God eternally. This coincidentally parallels Seraphina's narrative who spent the majority of her life held back and restrained by her mother despite her near unmatched power.
- Sera's present hair was supposed to be completely purple. When Uru-chan drew her for the first time, she was playing around with effects and accidentally blotched some green into her hair. She thought it looked cool, so she kept it. [22]
- Originally, as shown in a draft he posted on Twitter, it was she, not Remi, who challenged Arlo for the last piece of cake.
- Seraphina lost her ability in Chapter 68, and "regained" it in Chapter 222.
- Seraphina is the second-most powerful known character so far, only falling behind Jane.
Cameos
Recognized by the great Stan Lee himself!
- Seraphina made a cameo on the late Stan Lee's Webtoon, Backchannel.
- In Chapter 77 of walkingnorth's webtoon Always Human, John and Seraphina were seen kissing in Starclimber Station.[23]
- In Episode 21 of Quimchee's webtoon I Love Yoo, John and Seraphina were waiting in line to play a game of Fabio Kart.[24]
- In Episode 18 of VivianDarlin's webtoon Kind Of Confidential, Seraphina was seen on the TV at the Train Intercharge Station, talking about Skyboy's disappearance.[25]
- In My Dear Chibis - 1 of lifelight's webtoon My Dear Cold-Blooded King, Seraphina was seen talking with Lyra and Mei about ships.[26]
References
- ↑ Happy Birthday Sera
- ↑ Height Chart
- ↑ Chapter 213
- ↑ Chapter 214
- ↑ Chapter 128
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Chapter 14
- ↑ Chapter 65
- ↑ Chapter 94
- ↑ Chapter 7
- ↑ Chapter 19
- ↑ Chapter 20
- ↑ Chapter 36
- ↑ Chapter 37
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Chapter 38
- ↑ Chapter 39
- ↑ Chapter 80
- ↑ Chapter 23
- ↑ Chapter 110
- ↑ Chapter 171
- ↑ Chapter 75
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 Bonus
- ↑ uru-chan's tweet on Feb 24, 2018
- ↑ Always Human
- ↑ I Love Yoo
- ↑ Kind of Confidential
- ↑ My Dear Cold-Blooded King