Filia

Filia (JP: フィリア) was once a normal school girl, until one night, her hair was possessed by the Parasite named Samson, resulting in amnesia.

She is the daughter of Amelia and Marcus Medici, making her Lorenzo's granddaughter and Vitale's niece.

General Information

Filia is one of the playable characters in Skullgirls. She was the first character made playable in a demo of Skullgirls when the game was being made. Her home stage is Maplecrest.

She was named the "protagonist/main character" of Skullgirls, although other characters such as Marie, Parasoul, Valentine, Double, and Painwheel all have more major roles than Filia herself. This is possibly because she has been used in most of the game's advertisements and cover artworks.

The original design for Filia was as a puppet upon Samson's back. This design corresponded with a different plotline from the now canon version of Filia, in which Samson had eaten her parents, presumably using her body to achieve an unrevealed goal. It is unknown if this is still canon, though an alternate version of Samson having a design resembling features of another, related concept was optioned as a possible DLC character during the Skullgirls Indiegogo fundraising campaign.

Other early concepts have shown Filia wearing glasses and wielding two swords that resemble hairpins. While the glasses were removed, the hairpin swords are apparently still a part of Filia's arsenal, although they have yet to appear in-game. It should be noted however that Alex Ahad posted an image during Eliza's development of Samson's old host, Delilah, who is seen wielding identical hairpin blades to that of Filia in the concept art.

Personality

Prior to meeting Samson, Filia had a good relationship with her parents, sharing their dislike for the criminal acts conducted by the rest of the Medici family. She was best friends with Carol, prior to them being possessed by Samson and becoming Painwheel respectively. She is seen as a kind girl who cared for her parents and Carol very much, and later befriends Samson after the Parasite helped protect her family from Marie and Vitale. Filia wasn't without her faults, prior to Samson she is depicted as an arrogant rich girl. Her first meeting with Samson had Filia compare Samson to a haircut her father once had which she disliked immensely. When Amelia tried to tell her the responsibility of owning a dog named Dog, Samson's host at the time, Filia immediately disregards her advice and goes to her room, telling her that she may or may not have dinner with the family.

The "post-Samson" Filia maintains a similar personality, often giving people a benefit of the doubt and being friendly towards them. But Filia can be rather naïve, as she struggles to identify hostile persons without being explicitly told so and even then hesitates to fight back. In the end, Filia's wish upon the Skull Heart to return Painwheel/Carol to normalcy was out of pity for the horrid state Carol came to be in and out of guilt for wrong-doings Filia may have committed in the past.

Character Basis

Origin

Samson's location on Filia's head gives her the appearance of a futakuchi-onna, a monster from Japanese folklore with a second mouth on the back of its head.

Name

Filia is based on fiber and the Latin word for "daughter". Coincidentally, it can also be a reference to protein filaments, which are long chains of proteins found in hair.

Design

Filia's most apparent physical feature is Samson, who takes the form of Filia's dark hair, with several short bangs slightly covering her forehead and multiple tentacle-like locks of hair propagating outward from the back. Samson's eyes and teeth are situated opposite of Filia's face but are still visible when viewing Filia from the front. Curiously, Samson's shape bears a striking resemblance to Amelia's haircut.

The look and colour of her hair is a result of Samson's possession, as are her red eyes. She has a curvy figure, although it's implied that she is slightly overweight due to Samson's eating habits. Her school uniform consists of a white button-down collared shirt, black tie, a short pleated mini-skirt with thigh-high leggings, and dark brown loafers. Her bra and panties are white. She occasionally wears a white mushroom hat that has a black ribbon and bow.

As a Skullgirl, her hair becomes a brighter purple and her eyes gain the characteristic half-skull pupils.

Prior to being possessed by Samson, she is shown in flashbacks to have a slighter figure, with blonde and slightly wavy hair that she kept back with a headband.

Story

Hostile Makeover

File:Keyart Poster Filia LRG.png

Filia was once just an average schoolgirl, with her best friend being Carol before she was kidnapped. Filia was the daughter of Amelia and Marcus Medici. Filia met Samson along with his previous host, a dog he had named Dog one year before the Skullgirl returned thanks to Carol. When Carol brought Samson to see if Filia could take care of him, Filia reluctantly agreed to keep him after he pledged to protect her and assured her that although a parasite, he wouldn't leave her for his own well being. 

Six months later, Carol had been abducted and Filia is guilt-ridden over not being able to do anything to save her. Despite Samson's best attempts to cheer her up, they only served to remind Filia of Carol. Immediately after, the Skullgirl Marie burst into their home, seeking revenge on the Medici Mafia. Despite Filia stating that they aren't like the rest of her family and they have had no contact with them in a long time, Marie did not believe her. Samson and Dog then appeared and were able to hold back the Skullgirl, and she recognizes Samson (or more specifically "that dog") and Filia. She says that she will not kill them but only if they leave the city.

Later that night, Filia and her parents are packing up and getting ready to leave. Vitale and Ottomo arrive after the rest of the Medici Mafia were attacked. Seeing them packing, Vitale, enraged, questions why only Marcus' family, who had left the rest of the Medici family for a "trivial" matter, was the only one spared. He then sends Ottomo to find Filia and Vitale then kills both Marcus and Amelia. Filia, hearing the gunshots, goes downstairs and finds her parents dead. Immediately after, she calls Samson for help, but he arrives too late as she is shot. After Ottomo defeats Samson, he and Vitale leave to report back to Lorenzo. Samson, realizing that Dog was actually killed in the fight, mourns and blames himself for not protecting him. After realizing that Filia was still alive but dying, Samson changes hosts to her, saving her life. After Filia wakes up, Samson says that he had no choice if he was to save her and because of what Vitale did to "not just her, but their family". Filia however, awoke with amnesia and did not remember anything, which shocked Samson.

The events of Skullgirls

Filia and Samson spend some time living on the streets, possibly in hiding from the Medicis, and often taking shelter with Samson's associates such as Yu-Wan.

At some point, at a restaurant somewhere in the city, Filia is hit on by Riccardo, who is subsequently attacked and frightened away by Samson. Filia lightly scolds Samson, saying that he shouldn't be attacking people every time, even though Samson said that he deserved it. Filia and Samson then head out to find the Skull Heart so Filia can wish for her memories back.

Ending

After defeating the Skullgirl, Filia takes possession of the Skull Heart. After much thought, she decides not to wish for her lost memories back; instead, she wishes for Carol (Painwheel) to return to her old self. Despite her good intentions, however, the Skull Heart declares that the wish is slightly impure, as Filia feels personal guilt over Carol's fate. Thus she is attempting to improve herself through the wish. As such, Filia is doomed to become the new Skullgirl, albeit slowly due to the nearly selfless nature of her wish. The Skull Heart tells Filia to make the most of her time before her transformation.

Filia is next seen at school, where her class is introduced to the new student Carol - formerly Painwheel - who appears to be a normal (if slightly disfigured) girl. Filia smiles to herself, even as she feels the Skull Heart beginning to transform her. She and Carol then watch the sunset, best friends reunited at last.

Abilities & Fighting Style

Filia and Samson share a symbiotic relationship, and it is this relationship that forms the basis for their fighting style. Samson is able to attack from a distance by turning his tendrils into long tentacles with sharp razor-like ends. He can also attack from afar with hairball spit attacks.

Filia herself does not really do any fighting on her own; instead, Samson fights and she just walks him from place to place. They do have some team attacks, such as when she sticks her arm out so Samson can turn her hair into gator teeth. He can also attack by turning into a donkey and have Filia deliver a hard kick to the opponent. Filia seems to have above average possibly superhuman endurance; whether or not this comes from Samson is unclear, but before Samson bonded with Filia, she was still alive even after being shot, though she was still near death.

With Samson in tow, Filia uses chains of swift attacks and moves around the battlefield with versatile mobility. She is capable of performing mix-ups that can leave opponents befuddled as Samson shifts into different shapes and sizes. She is also capable of pulling off cancels with her air-dash and Ringlet Psych. Filia is a good rushdown character for beginners.

Trailer

Color Palettes

File:Filia's Color Palettes.png

Filia's color palettes.

File:Rock Star.png

1. "Bad Hair Day" - Default colors
2. Original colors
3. "Frayed Ends" - Original colors
4. Palette taken from alternate costume design
5. Original colors
6. "Windswept" - Original colors
7. "Hair Apparent" - Past Filia
8. Original colors
9. "Idol Threat" - Miku Hatsune (Vocaloid)
10. Rei Miyamoto (Highschool of the Dead)
11. Original colors
12. Magneto (X-Men)
13. Original colors
14. Millia Rage (Guilty Gear series, original outfit)
15. "Bad Ms. Frosty" - Original colors
16. Zeruel (Rebuild design) (Neon Genesis Evangelion)
17. Scanty (Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt)
18. Madoka Kaname (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)
19. Original colors - Indiegogo backer color
20. Fionna the Human (Adventure Time with Finn and Jake) - Indiegogo backer color
21. "Djinn Frizz" - Shantae (Shantae) - Indiegogo backer color
22. "Parasite Weave" - Original colors (Previously removed prior to Skullgirls console release.)
23. "Dread Locks" - Millia Rage (Guilty Gear series, Xrd outfit)
24. Original colors
25. "Class Cutter" - Ryūko Matoi (Kill la Kill)
26. "Rock Star" - Steven Universe (Mobile Only)

Additional Information

Images of Filia	Scripts featuring Filia (not available… yet!)	Filia Move List

Filia Quotes	Relationships with Other Characters

Trivia

• Filia's character design is inspired by Millia Rage from the Guilty Gear series, who similarly fights with her magical hair.
• Filia's winning stance resembles that of Ryu's from the Street Fighter franchise, where he crosses his arms and the wind blows his headband (in this case, Samson is crossing his arms and Filia is fluttering in the air. However, there is also a winning pose where Samson is waving in the air).
• Filia has an unused second time-out animation where Samson tears apart the top of her shirt in a rage, with Filia desperately covering up her breasts with her arms in embarrassment. This animation was left unused due to objections from some Lab Zero staff but is present in the Digital Art Compendium given to backers of the Keep Skullgirls Growing fundraiser.
  • There is another unused animation where Samson slaps Filia very hard on the butt, enough to make her fly a short distance and land on her knees.
• In an unused alternate ending, Filia wishes for her memories to return. Samson protests, as the process presumably involves his removal from her head, and it is suggested that he had possessed Filia at her request. For her selfish wish, the Skull Heart declares that she will be the next Skullgirl.
• The bar in the opening of her story mode is a parody of the famous Nighthawks painting and is named after Madman's Cafe.
• If selecting Filia's Madoka Kaname palette, the voice actress of Filia, Christie Marie Cabanos, also shares the voice of Madoka. This also counts for Cerebella, Peacock, and Squigly with their voice actresses playing the roles of Homura Akemi, Sayaka Miki, and Kyoko Sakura; the only exception is Ms. Fortune's Mami Tomoe palette.
  • Likewise, her Japanese and English voice actress combination is the exact same as as Asuza Nakano of K-On.
• Filia appeared in Episode 6 of the 5th Season of the YouTube series One Minute Melee, where she faced Shantae from the series of the same name and lost.

References

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