Double

info

Birthday: Unknown Blood type: All / None Height: Varies Weight: Varies Likes: Nothing Dislikes: Nothing Alias(es): Sister Agatha Gloomfoil Zane MacDougal The Stranger Queen Lamia Age: Unknown Measurements: Varies Occupation: Nun (as Sister Agatha) Keeper of the Skull Heart Affiliation(s): The Trinity Religion: Trinitism

personality

Double is an enigmatic character who lacks a distinct motive or will that most of the cast have and rarely emotes. She mostly maintains a stoic demeanor when conversing with someone. However, she has shown bouts of pure rage and hatred when it comes to characters like Squigly (Squigly refuses to obey Marie's orders) and Eliza (Eliza killed Aeon and Venus). Double's encounter with Eliza implies that she has an unspecified connection to Queen Lamia, such as being her avatar or 'shadow'. She has been shown to be a manipulative figure who will do anything to further her agenda and create Skullgirls. Even if she follows their orders, Double will not hesitate to eliminate a Skullgirl should they put The Trinity's plans to a standstill.

backstory

Double is a shape-shifting character loyal to the Trinity, working to advance their dark agenda and the creation of Skullgirls. She can take on various forms, but often appears as a smiling nun and is based in the Grand Cathedral, where she tends to confessions and manages the catacombs. Double manipulates events to support the Trinity's goals, including the tragic fate of the Contiello family. Years before the main events, Double gave Selene Contiello the Skull Heart, only to discover that Selene would not wish on it. To make sure the plan went through, Double informed the Medici Mafia, leading to the family's massacre. Later, she encounters Queen Nancy, who wishes on the Skull Heart, only for the wish to fail due to Nancy's impure motives. Double tells Nancy to accept her fate and become a Skullgirl. In the game’s timeline, Double serves Marie, the current Skullgirl, whom she helped transform by giving her the Skull Heart. However, Marie’s resistance to the Heart's influence frustrates the Trinity, prompting Double to search for someone more suitable. While on her quest, Double fights the Last Hope, defeats some of them, and deceives others with her shape-shifting abilities. After capturing the bodies of those fallen in battle, she brings them to Marie, but when she attempts to kill one of the surviving members, Marie intervenes, insisting the person may still have use. Double hesitates but ultimately follows Marie's orders.

design

As a shapeshifter Double has taken on different designs even early on. Initially she was conceptualized as a very nondescript and hunched over humanoid figure. She seems to have still been able to shapeshift in this era of her design as in one piece of concept art she is seen taking on a form where she resembled Filia, except Samson's head was where Filia's should be and Filia's was on the back of the skull and appeared very emaciated. If you look closely the Filia mimic design has some of the distinct traits of the humanoid figure's design as she has the same dots on the forehead and the same hairstyle in the middle section of the head. At another point, she was a jumble of distorted pieces from other characters wearing a crown. The crown has a cross on it and may have served as inspiration for her current design having a crown-like head and her being part of a religious affiliation but this could also be coincidental. The “jumbled” design seems to be closer to when the game was starting or going to be made as you can see a shadow of Filia that looks similar, if not exactly, like her current sprite but the part that is meant to represent Ms. Fortune shows her old design. It also shows characteristics of Squigly/Leviathan and Umbrella/Hungern which also implicates it was made at the time when they were still planned to be part of the original main cast.

abilities

Double takes full advantage of her shapeshifting abilities in battle, freely shifting her mass into various weapons and appendages. In-game, she prefers to morph into the forms of other characters in order to perform one of their attacks (including some that were dropped from their movesets during development). Some of her abilities involve using the form of one character to begin an attack before shifting into a different character to utilize their attributes as a follow-up. Double's shifting abilities enable her to manifest multiple separate bodies that she can control, as well as enormous forms that far exceed her usual mass. However, she appears to be unable to imitate certain supernatural abilities (such as the fiery "tears" of Krieg). Double can mimic anyone's voice, and is capable of talking normally to appear as, for example, a nun or a stranger at a party, in order to spread rumors about the Skull Heart

story

After capturing Filia and Cerebella, Double is sent to Anti-Skullgirl Lab 8 to destroy their research. Disobeying Marie’s orders, she defeats Peacock, believing she has become a threat to their plans, and captures her as a potential candidate. Following the destruction of Lab 8, Double hunts down other candidates, capturing Parasoul, Painwheel, and Ms. Fortune. She returns to the cathedral, defeats Valentine, whom she knew would betray her, and consults with her masters about her next move. Acting on their orders, Double descends into the catacombs, where she confronts Marie, who has realized Double’s true intentions. Despite Marie’s pleas for more time to deal with the Medici Mafia, Double engages her in a fierce battle, declaring the Trinity's impatience with Marie’s resistance. Despite Marie's incredible power, Double ultimately emerges triumphant, reclaiming the Skull Heart she had bestowed to Marie. Musing that Marie was able to prevent the Skull Heart from fully controlling her, Double confers with the Trinity one last time. After receiving her new (unknown) orders and claiming that she has already found the suitable candidate, she proceeds to dispose of her gathered candidates (who have apparently been judged unsuitable to become Skullgirls) by absorbing them into herself. After this, the screen is cut to the world where the Trinity live, where Aeon and Venus seem to watch on via a "joystick machine" where a copy of Skullgirls is being played. They claim that they can trace the "branching threads of fate of another world" via this machine, and "each branch is a history that might have been", however, "there is a timeline where all threads converge, including their own", before they head off to have dinner with "mother".