applications

[groundrules]

APPLICATIONS

Eastbound is primarily an invite-only game — each existing player can currently invite up to one person per month, or get in touch about further invites. Existing players can hold two characters in game. A third character can be applied, if players can prove they have met activity requirements for two consecutive months with their existing two characters and have stayed engaged with the game. If you don't have an invite, somehow stumbled upon this neck of the woods, and you’d like to stay, drop the mod journal a line — we'll try to figure it out.

As of Oct. 1, cast/game caps are off. Please note, as of Dec. 1, Eastbound only has 3-4 months of gameplay left.

WHAT CHARACTERS CAN BE APPLIED?

YES: canon and original characters, if they have a solid and consistent personality and background. Characters brought in after they've died are a-okay. For characters taken from a time point just as they're in the process of dying, please read below on meeting medical requirements.

NO (at this time): real people, original characters set in a canon environment, characters from canons or canon instalments that have been released for less than one month, characters with imported development from other games (CRAU), alternate universe, or gender-swapped versions of canon characters.

Children or characters with very specific medical/magical/environment needs: appable, but please make a note of how your character will ICly meet their requirements and stay alive. Likewise, if you are applying for a character taken just as they're dying, provide a suggestion for how they can be kept alive on arrival (this might be easier in some app cycles than others). You can bend the world a little to make miracles happen (ex: a substitute for the medication your character needs to survive can be found for a high price at certain apothecaries, etc.)

Characters that were dropped or swept by activity checks: yes, but they’ll come back without their previous memories, if they are applied in by a different player.

APPLICATION FORM & INSTRUCTIONS

EXISTING / RETURNING PLAYERS

<b><Small>PLAYER NAME</small>:</b> <b><small>CONTACT</small>:</b> <b><small>CHARACTER</small>:</b> <b><small>CANON</small>:</b> <b><small>CANON POINT</small>:</b> <b><small>BACKGROUND</small>:</b> link out or write no more than two-three paragraphs...! <b><small>PERSONALITY</small>:</b> bullet points a-okay, or written out. You can also link out to it, if you agree to what's on your wikia. <b><small>SAMPLE</small>:</b> a written sample or one or more threads to show your character's personality. <b><small>NOTES</small>:</b> you know the ropes, jot down if your character has any world-breaking powers or accommodations you need for them!

NEW PLAYERS

<b><Small>PLAYER NAME</small>:</b> <b><small>CONTACT</small>:</b> <b><small>REFERRED BY</small>:</b> Who invited you, please? c: <b><small>CHARACTER</small>:</b> <b><small>CANON</small>:</b> <b><small>CANON POINT</small>:</b> <b><small>BACKGROUND</small>:</b> written or linked history both fine. Bullet points also a-okay. If no information is available in English, please write this out in short. <b><small>ABILITIES | POWERS</small>:</b> Include any relevant power restrictions, so you don’t break our playground. <b><small>PERSONALITY</small>:</b> make sure this ties back to the character’s time point and background. <b><small>SAMPLE</small>:</b> one or more samples to showcase the nuances of your character’s personality. Submit at least one prose sample of five comments or more. You can link memes, PSL or other game threads, provided they took place within the last 12 months. You can also write a single prose sample in the game or character canon setting, if you think you can cover good introspective ground that way, or a top level with enough variety to show how the character engages in various scenarios. <b><small>INVENTORY</small>:</b> No world-breaking items. For living or magical beings, or anything colossal (think... Gundams...) please let's talk beforehand! <b><small>SUITABILITY</small>:</b> Eastbound is a plot-heavy game that typically features sleuthing, action and the undead. How is your character likely to deal with all that (and the game bear)? <b><small>NOTES</small>:</b> Are there any particular accommodations your character will need? How do you propose to handle that?

APPLICATIONS CLOSED


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wanda maximoff | mcu

[westviews]

PLAYER NAME: Fudgey
CONTACT: continuing@plurk
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE GAME?: Jenn has highly recommended it and extended her invite to me :)

CHARACTER: Wanda Maximoff
CANON: Marvel Cinematic Universe
CANON POINT: End of Multiverse of Madness

BACKGROUND: MCU Wiki

ABILITIES | POWERS:
She has some vague and plot-dependent abilities, so I'll break it down into a few categories to keep it simple.

The Basics: Originally, Wanda believed her powers came as a result of a dangerous experiment. These are abilities she's had the most time and training with.
- Telekinesis: She can move things with her mind. The heavier the object the more effort it will take.
- Psionics: Red blasts! Pew pew. Wanda is mostly a ranged fighter (squishy mage), but she can use them up close, too. The magical red glow also lets her fly, but I'm good with that being reduced down to levitation so she can't have easy escapes.
- Force-Field Generation: Her magic can create a protective shield, capable of blocking things like bullets. We can say keeping it up is a problem, now.
- Mental Manipulation/Telepathy: Wanda can mess with someone's perception of reality. She can read minds, inflict nightmares, and even control others. This ruins a lot of fun for CR, so I'm very happy to say this is an ability that doesn't quite work for her anymore unless she wants to give herself a giant migraine, and furthermore, she'd probably not want to use it against anyone's will, anyway.

The Scarlet Witch: Trauma pushed Wanda to a breaking point and revealed Wanda as the Scarlet Witch, a being possessing chaos magic.
- Reality Warping: Within a given space, Wanda can change reality as she sees fit. She can change cities and let her magic more or less run on autopilot. Obviously, she won't be able to do that here, and I'd probably slap on the restriction of her only being able to change items into something adjacent. She'll turn your Pepsi into a Coke or maybe even a bottle of wine, but she can't turn a horse into a car. Or, you know, fabricate a car. Or a horse. That leads into...
- Creation: Wanda can create life. Like, uh. Her kids. Don't tell her they're just magic. Anyway, this will be entirely nixed in game.
- Teleportation: She can move from one place to another. In game, I'd probably translate this to a radius of ten feet or so.

PERSONALITY:
Some people just can’t catch a break. One of them is Wanda Maximoff, whose life seems to be defined by tragedy after tragedy.

Born into a country full of war and fighting, Wanda still had what many people didn’t: a loving family. A twin brother, and two parents that spoiled them to the best of their ability. She was happy. She had a good idea of the sort of life she’d like to have, watching American sitcoms and classic movies. The beautiful home and the mild shenanigans where troubles were resolved by the end of the episode, but most importantly, the happy family of her own. But even before that dream could be fully registered in her young mind, she lost her parents when their apartment was bombed, and away went the safety and happiness she knew with them.

She became angry and vengeful. But she did have her brother, Pietro, to keep her grounded. The protests and the sketchy alliances were from a place of hurt and fear. The world needed to change. She thought she was doing the right thing, and that becomes a common trend with Wanda: when she’s on the path she thinks is right, she’s often blind to the consequences of her actions until it’s too late. At first, the inexperience of youth was the excuse. Later, it’s the inexperience and lack of guidance when possessing incredible power. She’s sorry for it every time, but it happens again and again.

Even when young and angry, Wanda wasn’t beyond reach. When she and her brother realized the truth about the side they had allied themselves with, the danger to the world at large, they quickly joined the Avengers to try and set things right. However, in that decision, she did lose the last family she had. Pietro’s death left her entirely alone, and this time she had no one to direct her anger at. Moving to a new country and trying to navigate a new world in which she had no one meant she had to bottle the hurt and anger and sadness, and that made her a little more quiet, a little more reserved. Wanda acts on emotion more than logic, and no matter how hard she felt she tried to get her footing, there was always something else. She had to rebuild her identity that was so wrapped up in being angry alongside her twin. When you lose the person that’s been with you since the womb, when someone can share the pain of losing your parents in a way no one can, of course their loss becomes something you never really recover from.

However, Wanda is resilient. Despite losing her family, she stuck with the Avengers because she still had the urge to do good. She trained with them and learned how to be a hero, and she found someone else who was just as much of an outsider as she was: Vision. A synthezoid, he was just as weird as the girl with the strange mind powers. Like most good things in her life, this was not meant to be forever, and having to kill the man she loved to save half the universe, only for it to mean nothing? Well, that sends Wanda over the edge.

At the end of the day when there’s no one left to go after for the tragedies, Wanda isolates herself in her grief. She’s historically not good at coping, because remaining silent doesn’t mean she’s doing well. In a normal person, heartache and sorrow can be dangerous, but with Wanda and her magic it takes a life of her own. Literally. Wanda never intends to hurt anyone with her grief, but when she traps a town in an alternate reality and essentially lives out that childhood fantasy of the kids and the house and the husband, using the residents as background characters, she sees that maybe people were right to think she was dangerous. But once more, instead of seeking out help, she isolates and denies, and it’s in that place that she’s most vulnerable.

Wanda, when alone and without someone like Pietro or Vision to keep her grounded, is easily influenced. She becomes a multiversal threat when under the influence of the Darkhold, the book preying on her desire to have the life she created even if it meant killing numerous people including another version of herself. Luckily, seeing the terror in the eyes of the children she loved snaps her out of it, but it’s still too late for the lives she’s taken. The number of people she’s killed and hurt when not in her right mind or simply by accident is just more guilt she carries on top of somehow being able to do more to protect the ones she loved.

Despite all the tragedy, Wanda isn’t all doom and gloom. She still likes a good sitcom, spending time with the people she cares for, and can crack a joke when the moment calls for it. She doesn’t want to hurt people or to make anyone frightened. She’s apparently some sort of terrible prophecy come to life, and that’s not her fault. She’d live a normal life if she could. As much as she doesn’t like being labeled or told that she’s this or that, or that she’s prophesied to rule or destroy, she really doesn’t know what she is. At this point, it’s not something she can figure out alone. But the good thing is that she doesn’t want to conquer anyone or cause any more harm. She knows she’s done enough.

Ultimately, Wanda wants to find her peace and her place. She wants love and a family. Unfortunately, whenever any of these things seem to be within her grasp, they’re taken from her. She’s coming to terms with understanding that maybe some things are simply not meant to be in her universe, and no matter how powerful she is, finding a way to accept that will be her only chance at finding some peace of mind. Easier said than done.

SAMPLE:
network sample with some action in top thread
prose from a test drive

INVENTORY:
clothes
- yeah that's it

NOTES: Wanda, as the Scarlet Witch, is pretty ridiculously powerful. Everything mentioned in the powers section can be further nerfed or just simply not work during plots where she might have the potential to break things. I am flexible on everything! It's no fun if she doesn't have to work hard :')

IF ACCEPTED, WOULD YOU WANT A PLOT-LIGHT OR PLOT-HEAVY CUSTOM INTRO? Heavy would be great if it works, otherwise light is fine by me.

Illumination 𓆣 OC 𓆣 Tabletop 5e Homebrew

[noonlight]

PLAYER NAME: Takhys
CONTACT: hmu on Discord as Bootknife#7474
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE GAME?: Carolyn is a treasure. Hi.

CHARACTER: Illumination
CANON: Homebrew 5e Tabletop game.
CANON POINT: The Ides of the month of Cranes, in the year 4391 from the founding of YmA, or in the Long Count, 5th Kan of the Storm-Tossed Knife. (...none of which is helpful, but she's an OC.)

BACKGROUND:
Lu was born and raised in the great, sprawling mess that is Yesh me-Ayin, the Rift City. She was raised communally, as are most of Qin's Get (a.k.a. not-tieflings), did very well in school, and settled on becoming a transmutation-focused wizard. Following her graduation, she was hired by an agency to support a group of noble, white-hat heroes and adventurers. As a set, they got up to a lot of the usual DnD adventures, and Lu was granted possession of the group's sole brain cell.

If you want more tl;dr about the tabletop campaign, you are welcome to it, but basically it was a lot of fetch quests, some bounty hunting, a handful of escort/guarding people, and an on-going feud with a local criminal gang. Notably, they did a heavily revised version of The Curse of Strahd, and that's how she settled into her particular flavour of morality - the Song of Hell.

ABILITIES | POWERS:
Illumination is from a heavily modified 5e style tabletop campaign, so if you want an actual character sheet with stats, lemme know. Nothing she does or can do gets close to setting breaking and ICly she's not interested in trying for breaking the world.

Racial Stuff:
Darkvision: she can see in the dark, but it does make her eyes get a bit glowy and creepy.
Hellish Resistance: resistance to fire damage

(Homebrew) Wizard in the School of Transmutation: while Illumination has access to the basic sort of wizardy magic you'd get as a level 10 wizard, she's chosen to focus her efforts on learning to modify energy and matter. This is a spell class that is generally crap at battle, but great for roleplay and puzzle solving.

Spell highlights include:
- a personal polymorph a day: meaning that once a day, she can shift into an animal.
- find familiar: a spirit takes the form of a creature and hangs about, being useful, and/or snippy.
- cure wounds: good with poisons, general healing, patching someone up.
- detect magic, detect passable white wine
- a bunch of options with her transmuter's stone. Neat to have access to some of these, but generally I only play with the ones where she can alter her own body, because body mods/body horror is fun. Let's get weird with it.

PERSONALITY:
(1) ἀγάπη. Yes, I'm using the Greek for it, because (a) it's a Greek term, and (b) 'agape' reads as a-gape in English and I just can't. ANYWAY, her primary flaw is that of 'unconditional love' which sounds as if it shouldn't be a flaw; however, when taken to it's logical conclusion, it's pretty fucked up. Followers of the Song of Hell love everything, but they love the cruel, ugly, wicked and corrupt most of all. It's those unfortunate ones that only have Qin's Get and hellions to care for them and show them love.

Sounds great, but how does this actually work? She's not a tempter. Illumination isn't about to try and lure people into doing nasty or cruel things, but she will promise them that it really is just fine to follow their nature. If it's their nature to hurt others? So be it. She won't forgive them, because they don't need forgiveness.

For example, in her group when one of the party was having a crisis of conscious about having chosen to take the easier route, which involved lying and setting someone else up to take a nasty political fall, she comforted them. It's fine that they ruined someone's life. They don't need to be forgiven, because it was necessary.

(2) Libertine. At her best, Lu aims toward being charmingly louche and will gladly argue that a life without vice isn't worth living. Why not enjoy this strange, fleshy version of reality? She has an interest in dissolute pursuits, is a thorough hedonist, and a pursuer of sexual partners and the arts. She adores (bitchy) wordplay, would be mad for Oscar Wilde, and is rather fond of a good smoke, drink, and/or fuck.

Once or twice, she has misjudged and been hungover, high, or otherwise engaged with a partner when her adventuring troupe needed her. (Oops?)

(3) Ruthless. When not distracted or enjoying her vices, Lu is methodical and unrelenting in her goals. If she thinks that lying, cheating, or stealing is the best way to get what she wants, she'll do it. Of course, given the communal and cooperative nature of most aspects of life, she usually chooses to go along to get along. (No one likes a murder hobo.)

For example, she met the group of adventurers during a bar room brawl, watched them all get thoroughly whomped, and only stepped in once they were able to turn the tide in the fight. She had instructions to seek them out, but if they were about to die in a simple rumpus, why draw the attention of dangerous people?

(4) Principled. Sincerity - I am what I am, why pretend otherwise?
Illumination has regularly worked with people who have a moral code very different than her own. (a.k.a. The Good Guys). She's able to rein in her more hedonistic and unpleasant interests in public, and working with others helps her to further her own goals. In the game I played her in, she was the lone black/grey hat in a group of heroic morons adventurers. While they might not necessarily like her, they did feel that she was terrible useful to have around. Her co-adventurers rightly believed that she could always be trusted to speak the truth (or a version of it). Although, it's possible that one day, she's either going to be a problem or support someone/something evil because it aligned with her interests.

SAMPLE:
(1) Bakerstreet Meme
(2) Personal TDM.
(3) Bakerstreet

INVENTORY:
(1) A wizardy book of spells! Very useful, much research.
(2) Transmuter's stone.
(3) Wizard staff.

NOTES:
Illumination is a tall, androgynous tiefling-like creature with pale purple skin and hair. Primarily, she uses female pronouns, but like most of her line, she is gender ambiguous. (Or ambivalent. Either way, she's winning at gender.) She doesn't really need any special accommodations, but personally, I would like to avoid plots related to pregnancy or Alzheimers.

IF ACCEPTED, WOULD YOU WANT A PLOT-LIGHT OR PLOT-HEAVY CUSTOM INTRO? I'm good either way, but I'd love some delicious plot. I wish to sink my tiny raccoon teeth into this game.

Eleven | Dragon Quest XI S

[bearshermark]

PLAYER NAME: Solar
CONTACT: Plurk- Youkofox13
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE GAME?: I was here at the start!

CHARACTER: Eleven
CANON: Dragon Quest XI (S)
CANON POINT: Act III: Post-game

BACKGROUND:

Act 1:

Eleven is born the Luminary, Yggdrasil's Chosen and Prince of Dundrasil, just months before the forces of darkness raze the kingdom to the ground. He's adopted and raised in a small, remote village in the mountains as an ordinary boy until his sixteenth birthday when the mark on the back of his left hand lights up and calls forth an unusual, divine power for the first time.

In search of answers, Eleven is sent out into the world, where he's falsely imprisoned then hunted as the harbinger of destruction by order of King Carnelian. He gains a handful of allies along the way, who stick with him in an effort to help him fulfill his destiny as the Luminary meant to vanquish an insidious, shapeless darkness stretching over the lands of Erdrea.

Act 2:

He fails, his spirit torn, and used to deceive Yggdrasil's sacred heart. The World Tree falls, and Eleven slips beneath the waves, lost for months as he's tended to by the mermaids beneath the sea. Meanwhile, Erdrea falls under the sway of darkness: kingdoms are rent, countless lives lost, and the sun is cloaked behind a dark, endless cloud cover.

Eleven recovers and emerges from the sea to a dark world wherein organized battalions of monsters rove the land, forcing those still left alive to live under threat and a dwindling food supply. He fights with what strength he has left, regaining his allies save one, and steadily brings Light back to Erdrea by destroying the Lord of Shadows' generals over the regions they plague.

He confronts Mordegon himself, and wins. Yggdrasil is restored, and Light and Life sweep through Erdrea once more.

Act 3:

But the losses are heavy, and plagued by guilt, Eleven is unable to justify inaction when the possibility of redemption in the form of time travel is presented. It's with a heavy heart that he risks returning to the past to set things right.

He returns to the day before Yggdrasil fell and this time, stronger and armed with foreknowledge, prevents the original catastrophe from ever occurring. Mordegon is ousted before he has a chance to ruin the world a second time.

Eleven pays for it with the descent of the Dark Star. Where the previous timeline saw Mordegon destroy the threat before it could challenge him for dominion over Erdrea, the Dark One himself descends, corrupts and strengthens the monsters the world over.

He travels extensively with his companions to quell the threats, interspersed with preventing recurrences of terrible events that happened in the time Before. He's tested in ancient trials designed to cultivate his strength until it's time to confront the Dark One in the Void.

When at last the Dark Star shatters, peace reigns over Erdrea once more. Eleven returns the (Super) Sword of Light to Yggdrasil, whereupon the Yggdragon bestows upon him the title of Erdrick, mightiest of heroes.


ABILITIES | POWERS:
Spiritual:
Immune to changes in the flow of time
Able to sense light/dark and life/death energies


Sword magic:
All elements (AoE)

Magic:
Frizz/Frizzle- Weak/moderate single-target fire spells.
Sizz/Sizzle/Kasizz- Mid-range fire spells for small groups of enemies.
Bang/Boom- Explosive aoe bursts of light magic for large groups.
Heal/Midheal/Moreheal/Fullheal- Healing spells of varying strength.
Zap/Zapple- Call lightning spells.
Snooze/Kasnooze- Single/Group sleep spells
Kaclang- Turns one target to metal temporarily
Holy Protection- Wards off the dead/undead in a moderate radius while the spell is maintained
Quadraslash- Summons a gigantic, ethereal blade from the heavens to pierce enemies below

Eastbound-specific magic: These are abilities I'd like him to regain, perhaps over weeks of being in-game, not to be able to access immediately.

Zoom- Teleportation to previous (well-known) locations
Location list:
• Sa-Hareth- House of Dew
• Sa-Hareth- Ruined Farmhouse
• Taravast- Working District
• Taravast- Palace gate
• Ellethia- Lighthouse

Breath of Life: learned from Zuko, able to channel his fire magic to warm himself.
Plant affinity: learned from long meditation in Taravast and continually practiced, able to sense the health of nearby plant life, with a burgeoning ability to expend energy to bolster it.


Power nerfs:
Zing/Kazing- unable to resurrect the fallen
Omniheal- unable to fully heal multiple allies with a single spell

PERSONALITY:

Above all, Eleven is a kind soul that derives satisfaction from helping others. He's often willing to do most anything within his power in the name of being helpful- being useful. He strives to believe the best of people.

Though friendly and often quick to smile, Eleven is usually quiet and given to reflection where time allows- and recklessness where it isn't. He's gained a great deal more steadiness and confidence in himself after successfully saving the world twice over, though still quick to doubt the wisdom of his own decisions if challenged.

There exists a quiet vulnerability in him. He's worn a good mask with enough strength behind him to convince the world that he's grown into the title he was given at birth, but an insidious anxiety spikes in uncertain moments: remnants of the time when he was weak and at the mercy of darkness.

And while time travel allowed him the chance to expunge the worst of his failures, he's found it's come with the heavy price of social isolation even amongst his companions. Unable to talk about Before and reach the same level of closeness they developed in those dark times no one else remembers.

There's an itch of discomfort and unease now, when he turns to thoughts of the future. The weight of his new title doesn't help at all.

SAMPLE: TL for Ellethia, handful of threads

INVENTORY:
Equipment:
• Supreme Sword of Light (magical)
• Musty bumpkin style coat, pouch, and boots

Accessories:
• Dragon scale
• Wristorative
• Jeweled necklace

Items:
• Calamus Flute (usually calls a giant flying whale, but here it's just for aesthetic flute-playing purposes)

NOTES: I would do/sacrifice anything for Arche's lightsaber to somehow turn up. Loren wishes to echo my plea.

IF ACCEPTED, WOULD YOU WANT A PLOT-LIGHT OR PLOT-HEAVY CUSTOM INTRO? Hm, on reflection I'm torn: whichever you feel inspired for!

eve baird ► the librarians

[natos]

PLAYER NAME: Kerry
CONTACT: pm
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE GAME?: i sent a cat out for groceries and it came back with the best plot ever

CHARACTER: Eve Baird
CANON: The Librarians
CANON POINT: post-412 The Echoes of Memory

BACKGROUND: link

ABILITIES | POWERS:

► IMMORTAL. After tethering to the Library, Eve became the Eternal Guardian making her immortal, meaning that she is unable to die and no longer needs to eat or sleep and no longer becomes sick. Whilst Eve can still be hurt and feel pain, any injury will simply hurt her until it heals, with anything that should kill an ordinary being only able to hurt them, often without leaving a physical wound. As well as physical invulnerability, immortality also grants Eve invulnerability to natural phenomena, such as being able to withstand toxic gases without any side effects.

► GUARDIAN. Whilst a Guardian is typically known as the brawn to a Librarian's brain, Guardians are more than just a bodyguard, responsible for caring for their Librarian's spiritual wellbeing as well as their physical wellbeing. Guardians need high levels of self-control to protect themselves and their Librarian against the sway of magic, and are typically known for laying down their life for their Librarian. Eve is particularly special in that she was destined to become a Guardian, seen when the Loom of Fate was unravelled and every world that she'd died in had turned out horribly. Her destiny involved a great role in altering history, something that no other Guardian has been stated to do (her life worth more than thousands of Librarian's combined).

► REALITY AWARENESS. Due to helping Santa spread the holiday spirit and having her consciousness split 'everywhere at once', Eve is able to retain her own identity and original memories when travelling to alternate universes and is able to remember changes to the timeline after it has been changed, being a little more sensitive to it now.

► COMBAT. Trained by the US military before joining the NATO Counterterrorism Agency, Eve is a skilled fighter both in hand-to-hand combat, solo or against multiple combatants, and armed combat. Whilst Eve's preferred weapon is a handgun she's familiar with multiple types of guns, handheld weapons and improvised weapons. She's also a skilled tactician, is capable of utilising the skills of those around her and using an enemy's weaknesses against them (even powerful magical beings).

► LANGUAGES. Eve speaks five languages, including English, Italian, Spanish, French and Dutch and can use Morse Code. She's likely also picked up key phrases or some knowledge of other languages from her military service and her time around the Librarians.

► OTHER. Eve is also capable at defusing bombs, picking locks, piloting a plane, and is pretty handy with codes and puzzles.

PERSONALITY:

► STIFF. Eve's a pretty stiff and rigid individual, someone that grew up military and later became military herself. That rigidness is instilled in her from her years of service, and whilst Eve does know how to relax it isn't something that she does easily. She's someone that throws herself into her work, especially given that she's protecting the world, and likes things done a certain way -- she likes plans, doesn't like working spontaneously and heavily questions decisions that are being made. She'll be bossy and assertive especially when she thinks that you've got a terrible idea.

► LEADER. Leadership is something that Eve does without really thinking about it, partly from her training, mostly from bossing people around to get things done her way, but because she knows how to keep people safe. She's got a tactical mind, is observant and quick at reading a situation and uses all of the information she has to protect people: leading them safely either in combat or through a plan, making sure they all get home safe. Eve doesn't leave people behind.

► COURAGEOUS. Eve strongly believes in her skills and capabilities, drawing from all of her past training or things that she's learned to use in any situation confidently. She isn't reckless nor overconfident, more cautious in unknown situations when she needs to be, but in the face of danger Eve doesn't back down or run: she fights. Eve fights to protect herself and protect other people, using tactical retreat when it's the better option to then make a new plan.

► STUBBORN. Eve's strong will has helped her in many situations, through the horrors of war that she's seen in the line of duty, through the unusual life that magic and the Library brought to her, and through the challenges of the people that she worked with. After joining the Library it took a long time for Eve to get her team to the skill that they're at, having to train them to work together but also to be able to use more than their individual skills (whilst teaching them new skills). Eve was almost relentless in her training, wanting to make sure that they were prepared and protected. On missions, she was insistent on them having a plan, refusing to let them run off half-cocked or into danger and always making sure that they came home even if it meant putting herself in danger to drag them back. She fights for them, fights with them to make them see sense, and does everything to keep them safe.

► CARING. Whilst it isn't the first thing that you see about her, a stubborn stiffness prevailing, Eve has a big heart for the people in her life. Whilst few people ever get close to Eve, those that she works with (her team and family) are the people that she cares dearly for, saddened when something happens to them, worrying for them if they're threatened and fighting like hell to keep them safe. Eve cares enough that she's referred to her team as her kids on more than one occasion, a sort-of mother figure to them in how she loves them but also in the guidance she gives them outside of their missions. You don't choose your family, Eve would never have chosen these people, but they are her family: the people she loves, the people who know her best, and the people she'd move worlds for.

SAMPLE: one + two

INVENTORY:

► her phone
► her nato id
► excalibur [ the excalibur. it's a semi-sentient sword that acts like an overeager puppy. being a magical sword, created by merlin for arthur, any wounds inflicted by its blade won't heal/continue to bleed until death. canonly, there are magical ways of healing such wounds so we could say that any magical healing would heal said wounds. not that eve is eager to let it out of her sight. it also floats. [link] ]

NOTES: nope! eve's used to wild and weird c:

IF ACCEPTED, WOULD YOU WANT A PLOT-LIGHT OR PLOT-HEAVY CUSTOM INTRO? i'm easy for whatever's available/able to do

Cassian Andor | Star Wars

[allforthecause]

PLAYER NAME: Britt
CONTACT: daestwen#6257 on discord
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE GAME?: a little birds told me (I’ve been here more than a few times)

CHARACTER: Cassian Andor
CANON: Star Wars
CANON POINT: at the end of the first season of Andor

BACKGROUND:

https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Cassian_Jeron_Andor

ABILITIES | POWERS: He is a normal human despite sometimes exaggerated claims to the contrary.

PERSONALITY: Cassian is a man of deep passionate conviction wrapped up in trauma and abandonment issues with a veneer of desperately not wanting to care what he desperately cares about.

He cares a lot about people, even when he doesn’t want to. All his main motivations generally boil down to wanting to take care of the people he loves, even if he does it in completely stupid and disreputable ways. His drive for money is mainly to give his adopted mother a decent life, his drive for information to help him track down to the sister he was forced to abandon. He goes out of his way to look after people even if he has convinced himself he shouldn’t - this is clearest during the escape from Aldahni - he barely thinks twice before risking them all in a bid to save Nemik from dying of his wounds. Though all of his interactions with the crew until that point paint him as a mercenary - only there for the money - when given the option to take more of it at the detriment of people he has never claimed were his friends, he chooses option three: shoot the man who would otherwise betray them.

His sense of Justice is ultimately his primary motivator, even if it often gets displayed as displaced aggression or anger. When he was young he had no way of tempering this - the unjustified death of a loved one threw him into a violent temper that utterly changed his life twice. He didn’t learn his lesson. He’s since managed to keep his instinct for violence mostly tamed, but given a situation where he has no time to think, he doesn’t hesitate to take the lethal option.

He despises oppression in all its forms, but spent much of his life convinced he could do nothing about it. Any time he raised his head to fight back it landed him in worse trouble than before. He tried to focus himself on running away - of purely fleeing the oppressors than trying to fight - but ultimately realized the Empire could not be outrun. I am taking him from right after his decision to join the Rebellion for good - at the risk of being killed if he wasn’t accepted. After losing his mother, he can no longer ignore the injustice that she raged against as well.

He has a very earned reputation for borrowing money and never returning it - though there are ample clues in the show that this is entirely dependent on how much he likes a person. Those that he respects he always makes sure to repay.

He has an extended sense of found family - especially since he was literally found and forcefully adopted into his. He makes close connections with people and cares deeply about their welfare, and considers both his friends and his mother’s as extensions of their family unit. However, he also has a tendency to make a lot of enemies: he isn’t shy to make it clear when he doesn’t respect someone, and once that respect is lost he has no qualms in cheating them or even stealing from them.

He doesn’t like to be the lead man on something - preferring instead to be the moral support for someone else to be the Face of a movement. This was first displayed in Rogue One with Jyn, but it’s echoed again as a younger man during the prison escape in the episode One Way Out. Instead of trying to take charge for himself, he instead goes out of his way to convert Kino to the cause and then support him and raise him up into a heroic figure head. It echoes nicely as a metaphor for his work with Rogue One later - he is not the face hero, he is one of the men behind the scenes that helps heroes happen.

He is described as a bit of a womanizer by his mother - she accuses him of having been with more girls that she could remember or name - but from his relationship with Bix (an ex and now friend/business partner) it’s clear that it isn’t based on a disrespect for women. While he certainly has used at least one as a port in a storm so to speak, I consider this more as a continuation of his emotional nature. In Rogue One he clearly falls for Jyn very quickly, and so I extrapolate this to mean that he is someone who falls in and out of love frequently and often - though he is careful not to have it interfere with his work. He has no displayed male attraction but also no clear indicator that is isn’t an option, so: bi until proven otherwise.


SAMPLE: https://westwhere.dreamwidth.org/45698.html?thread=6035586#cmt6035586

INVENTORY: A couple credits, a data pad with Nemik’s rebellion manifesto, the clothes on his back.

NOTES: Nope

IF ACCEPTED, WOULD YOU WANT A PLOT-LIGHT OR PLOT-HEAVY CUSTOM INTRO? is there a plot medium option please

stephen strange / mcu

[rehandle]

PLAYER NAME: Gee
CONTACT: miscreates
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE GAME?: It's your fault


CHARACTER: Dr. Stephen Strange
CANON: MCU
CANON POINT: Multiverse of Madness, after the first post-credit scene and before the second (this man has not yet met his wife, tragic 4 him).

BACKGROUND: et voila

ABILITIES | POWERS: Take a deep breath, maybe grab yourself a coke…


Non-magic:

- M.D as a neurosurgeon, Stephen used to be at the absolute top of his field. He can’t practice with that level of precision anymore but he’s still a knowledge base and a capable doctor where precise work isn’t required.
- Ph.D, the man has a passion and talent for learning. Ravenous for new skills and experiences, a perfectionist in spite of himself, he’s a seasoned academic with a boundless imagination which makes him perfectly suited for research, discovery and self-development.
- Close combatant, as a Master of the Mystic Arts, he’s well trained and practiced in both hand to hand combat and the use of close range weapons.
- Tactician, combining imagination and intellect, Stephen is capable of thinking outside the box to strategize in ways that regularly subvert the expectations of the people around him, often helping him to find a way through apparently hopeless situations.
- Big brain, the dude has enough room in the memory banks and enough talent with storage and recall that he keeps a massive mental database of functionally useless music trivia up there as a party trick. Canon cites an eidetic memory, which usually refers to short-term clear image recall, but seems to refer to a longer term recall in this case as he cited it as a reason why he was able to study for his M.D and Ph.D simultaneously.


Magic:

Eldritch magic, a form of light-based magic utilized by the Masters of the Mystic Arts that draws on energy external to the user to various effects, including:

- Energy constructs, such as weapons, eldritch whips, and tao mandalas typically used as shields. These can be varying sizes, from small shields slightly wider than a couple of palms to larger mandalas or even spherical barriers big enough to protect multiple people from heavier impacts.

- Locator spell, usually used in conjunction with a sling ring to create portals, but without his ring he can still presumably generate a spell that will locate another person using a piece of theirs or their family’s DNA, he just won’t be able to attach that spell to a portal to transport to them.

- Elemental manipulation, he can manipulate eldritch energy to interact with the wider world, for instance casting energy out to clear the street of dust and debris in Infinity War, or utilising magic to manipulate vast quantities of lake water in Endgame.

- Item enchantment, he can imbue items with magic to varying effects, ie casting a warding spell on an object that burns anybody who attempts to touch it, unbreakable unless he willingly removes it.

- Binding spells, red bands of power used to bind particularly strong enemies.

- Energy blasts, he goes pew pew with big ol’ energy beams.

- Energy transformation, he can convert energy into other forms, so if attacked with a spell or other kind of power that is energy-based he can transform it into something else before it can reach him… sometimes that thing is butterflies. Why not.

- Music magic? sort of energy constructs adjacent, but he can battle... with music. He turns musical notes into offensive spells. This one really illustrates exactly how wild dr. strange magic is what's going on

- Create portals, to seemingly anywhere. For in-game purposes, I think as rough nerfs he can only use this within the bounds of the current arc and only to visit places he’s already been (or which are within his eyeline), or somewhere he can use a locator spell to reach if he hasn’t been there yet. No super long distance travel, further nerfs applied in the course of play if him being able to use a portal would be boring/break a plot point.

- Mirror dimension, the sling ring also usually gives him access to the mirror dimension, a little pocket dimension that sits over reality and allows you to create an inception-style picasso out of your local cathedral without actually affecting the real world. It’s a good training space that can only be accessed with a sling ring, but it’s also very easy to say it’s a dimension specific to his universe and can’t be accessed here at all to nerf it, or I can look into smaller nerfs for it if you don’t mind him having a lil pocket dimension for training montages. Most of the time I forget this is a thing though so a total nerf is fine by me.


Other magical skills he has that don’t seem specific to Eldritch magic include:

- Duplication spell, creating identical dupes of things. This can include objects and people, but these things are essentially illusions: if he duplicates a cup of tea you wouldn’t be able to drink the dupes, and interacting with them would result in them vanishing. He can create as many at once as he likes. Regarding copies of himself, they copy the original and are easily defeated. They can still do harm and interact with others using magic he casts, but if engaged physically they are unlikely to hold long. If Stephen himself is significantly harmed or otherwise distracted, the spell will be broken.

- Transformation, he can change one thing into another. This is seen in effect in Thor: Ragnarok when he changes Thor’s tea into a large, self-filling mug of beer. Movie magic built into his actual magic skillset... upsetting. Maybe in-game it’s best if he can only work with things that exist in the environment, and he’s essentially doing some weird instant exchange with another similar object/substance nearby. This means if somebody susses him out he can get caught for stealing, which is hilarious.

- Transmutation, he can change the properties of something within the same state. Ie, water into wine. I think I’ll keep this one again limited to things that would exist within the environment but also keep the transformation legitimate rather than a swap out. He’ll need to be familiar with the substance he’s changing the thing into. He could change water into wine but not into coke because it doesn’t exist in this world, he could change a rock into a diamond or silver into gold but the properties of both would only be conceptual in his head so the diamond/gold wouldn’t actually be real, just his own approximation.

- Conjuration, he can summon items from the nearby vicinity to him, having them magically appear, ie. the umbrella stand for Mjolnir in Thor: Ragnarok.

- Teleportation, he can travel and transport others short distances without a sling ring, moving in an instant with no need for portals. Keeping this one to a much smaller radius. He isn’t seen using this to travel further than the bounds of his Sanctum, so maybe this is limited to living quarters or places in his immediate line of sight.

- Astral projection, can separate his spirit from his body and exist in astral form. His body loses consciousness as he does this and is left defenceless, though he can will his astral form to be perceived by others if needs be. (Fine if this needs total nerfing! He only really uses it to be a nerd.)

- Creature summonings, he can summon creatures from other dimensions, or various bits of them, to help him during battle. We can nerf this by saying he doesn't have access to those dimensions anymore.

- Memory? Magic?, he can?? Do some really wild memory magic to the extent of removing somebody’s identity from the minds of everyone in the world who knows it simultaneously. Magic is wild. He won’t be even attempting this here but making a note in case it becomes plot relevant at some point and might come in handy. Nerf by merit of I simply won't ever use it

- Everyday use, he can use magic to move stuff around, complete basic tasks, perform a quick change outfit refresh, etc. Just your casual daily magic use for making tasks easier for a man whose hands don’t want to do tasks.

- Third? Eye?, this dude now has not one, not two, but three eyes on his face! The third eye in his forehead was the result of damning his eternal soul via dreamwalking into a corpse using a spell he learned in the Darkhold, and we don’t actually know what it does yet, but in the comics he uses it to see things beyond normal human comprehension. If ok, I’m just going to assume that it works much the same way, and with it open he can see ghosties and ghoulies and auras and hidden spells and whatever else lurks around in the spaces between dimensions. Limited per situation as much as needed to keep things fun for everybody.



Overall, Doctor Strange magic seems to be an amalgam of his comics magic and whatever cool and/or weird ideas the movie makers have when they’re making movies. He’s an imaginative guy with a history of research and innovation and an eidetic memory full of books he’s read from the library at Kamar-Taj, capable of making stuff up on the fly, so I like to riff magic nonsense and come up with things as I go along to carry on in the movie tradition. If possible I’d like to just kind of vibe and let my imagination loose within the restraints of not breaking the game.

This man is super OP and I’m very conscious of that in any setting so I’ll do my very best to always nerf things as I go so everything stays fun for everyone. If there’s anything above that you think needs a defined nerf now or needs a different nerf than my suggestion, or if you’d rather I stick exclusively to the above mentioned powerset rather than playing fast and loose with random magic, please do let me know! I’m happy to work with whatever is going to work best for the game.

pietro maximoff | mcu

[margenes]

PLAYER NAME: kira
CONTACT: PM / suspiros
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE GAME?: saw the tdm floating around, and i know fudgey!

CHARACTER: Pietro Maximoff
CANON: MCU
CANON POINT: After the last time he sees his sister (he doesn’t know this!), leaving her at the church, and promising to come get her after everyone’s safely on the SHIELD ship — Avengers: Age of Ultron.

BACKGROUND: MCU wiki

ABILITIES | POWERS:

SUPERHUMAN SPEED Pietro can run at extremely high speeds, but this also includes being able to think, act, move, and perceive things at a faster rate than normal people would. When engaging his superhuman speed, the world moves as if in slow motion for him.
EXTREME FORCE GENERATION Because of how quickly Pietro moves, he ends up creating an extreme amount of force. This means that anything he strikes, impacts, or collides against will receive the full-force of enhanced momentum, managing to do more damage in this state than if he would attack while moving normally. Physics! etc. that I do not have the smarts for.
INCREASED METABOLISM Having an increased metabolism means that he is less likely to be stunned by attacks or injuries, recovering from the pain rather quickly. He’s still vulnerable like any other human, though, and he also gets very hungry a lot.
IMPROVED THERMAL HOMEOSTASIS While moving at such fast speeds, Pietro is susceptible to the effects of friction and temperature; an improved thermal homeostasis basically means that his body temperature, fluid balance, etc. work in perfect harmony to counter any issues caused by his superhuman speed. Also Biology! concepts I do not have the smarts for, but basically he won’t throw up for running super fast.
ACCELERATED PERCEPTION Given that he gets to see the world in slow motion, Pietro has an augmented reaction time which lets him react in time to danger and events much faster than a normal human. It’s no Spidey-senses though, so he has to (finger guns) see it coming.
COMBATANT Pietro does not wield any weapons nor does he have any fancy fighting power. Instead, he does the best by using his body in any way possible (punches, kicks, shoving himself—) to land a hit while moving at high speed.

A note on his speed, in case him being super fast is an issue: Pietro never really had the opportunity to improve upon his speed and powers as a whole because his life was cut pretty short (RIP), and at the point of his canon it's still something of a fledgling superpower. In canon, we can see him catching his breath, panting, taking a break before running off, and this will be something that will continue while here. I am intent on him learning to be better at it in time, but speeding around doesn't come without side effects, basically.

PERSONALITY:

Out of the Maximoff twins, Pietro is the impatient one. This is likely because of his powers of superhuman speed and enhanced perception of the world, but it does feed in to how he interacts with the world. He is not one to have lengthy conversations and sit about debating something; he rather just do something about it, even if it's more just being impulsive than anything else.

The rush of adrenaline can leave anyone feeling some kind of way, and for Pietro it does push towards a more cocky and arrogant personality. He deems himself untouchable (with good reason), so it’s not surprising that he would give off this kind of attitude. He is also very playful when found in the right mood, always up for a challenge, and happy to flirt with women (though not exactly looking forward to the commitment that comes with a relationship).

In that same vein, Pietro is quite tenacious. He has a flair for keeping on despite whatever hurdles he may face. He is not the strongest of individuals—if compared to the likes of Thor and Captain America—and yet this is not reason for him to not throw himself into the fray during a fight. Likewise, if something doesn’t work out, he tries to find other ways around it. Take his angry and rebellious streak during the riots in Sokovia; that wasn’t enough to help solve the problem his country and people were going through, so another way had to be sought out, even if it meant going along with HYDRA to get himself and his sister experimented on.

Knowing all this, is it any surprise that he is quick to anger? Pietro's impatience is one thing, but when it comes to threats or hurt being rained upon those he cares about (namely his sister), he grows upset and jumps into the more violent solutions. When Wanda was hurt by Hawkeye's arrow, Pietro very quickly commented that he was going to go back and kill the man for it—and he would have gone back, had Wanda not grounded him on their 'mission' and reassured him (several times) that she was okay. It is easy for him to lose sight of what's important, making him rather emotionally-driven at times.

Despite this rather negative picture of what he is like, Pietro is still someone who has a deep care for others (not just his sister!) and proves himself to be very compassionate. Although not the most honest of ways to go about this, Pietro uses his powers to get (read: steal) food, medicine, clothes, and other trinkets to help and cheer up the people of Sokovia. To him, there is nothing more important than his family, his people, and his country. When push comes to shove, he is willing to put himself in the line of fire (literally) to protect others, and he also knows when to put his pride aside to do the right thing. Joining the Avengers to help them defeat Ultron despite his and his sister's initial antagonistic role shows that he will always stand up for what is right.

Though Pietro is the oldest of the twins, his personality may leave some people thinking he's the youngest. He'll grumble and complain about not being listened to, even talk back when he thinks something isn't going to work, but he will always respect the wishes of others. Stubborn and brave, he's got a heart of gold.

SAMPLE: TDM, lmk if it's enough!

INVENTORY: Just the clothes on his back and his wonderful self. :)

NOTES: If you think his speed needs nerfing, that's alright by me! I'll still play a lot on how he's not a master of it and his general struggles with being an arrogant speedster who will cross the street before looking at both sides of the road.

IF ACCEPTED, WOULD YOU WANT A PLOT-LIGHT OR PLOT-HEAVY CUSTOM INTRO? I'm okay with either, but honestly just stumbling in through the TDM's setting is fine by me.

[traumatology]

PLAYER NAME: trace
CONTACT: jortles
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE GAME?: here

CHARACTER: bucky barnes
CANON: mcu
CANON POINT: post the falcon and the winter soldier

BACKGROUND: here

ABILITIES | POWERS:

— enhanced physiology: bucky was given the super soldier serum giving him enhanced strength, enhanced durability, enhanced speed, enhanced agility, enhanced stamina, enhanced reflexes, healing factor, longevity
— cybernetic arm: bucky lost an arm in his past and was fitted with a metal arm that was extremely powerful and close to invulnerable.
— master assassin: after being brainwashed, bucky was turned into an assassin, capable of living off the grid and tracking down and killing those that he was ordered to kill.
— master marksman: bucky is very skilled with a variety of firearms
— knife mastery: as with firearms, bucky knows how to use a variety of blades in a deadly manner.
— pilot: bucky was trained on how to fly planes during the war.
— multilingual: bucky can speak english, romanian, russian and xhosa.

PERSONALITY: Bucky Barnes is one tired individual. Born in 1917, Bucky's an old man who doesn't look it due to the super soldier serum that was given to him when he first died. Before that, before his death, Bucky was a fun loving, loyal, devoted, man who would do anything for his friends. He was a guy who liked a good drink, a good girl, and hanging out with people he cared about. When World War II started, he signed up to fight because of his belief in his country and his want to protect those that he loved back home.

And then he died. But he got better. Except of course, there were strings attached. When he was resurrected, Bucky was brainwashed and turned into a merciless killing machine, a weapon used by HYDRA to take out those that they wanted eliminated. While he was the Winter Soldier, he had no remorse and no regrets about what he did. He was made to kill and he would kill. Complying was the most important thing to him even if there was no way that he couldn't comply. Even the sight of Steve Rogers, his best friend, couldn't completely break him of that brainwashing and he was violent and aggressive with his old friend, uncaring if he lived or died.

But Steve was eventually able to get through to Bucky and he was free of the brainwashing for the moment. The Bucky of the past is dead and gone though and the Bucky of now is one who's serious and introverted, not wanting to be too close to people especially those he doesn't know. He experiences terrible nightmares of his past and carries massive guilt on his shoulders. He's been trying to make amends by helping people and teaming up with Sam Wilson to be on the good side of things but he still doesn't know if that will be enough to completely free him of what he'd done in the past. But, he's also okay with carrying that weight because he knows what he did, he admits, he doesn't try and make excuses for it.

Still, it's not all doom and gloom with him. Bucky still has a sense of humor though it's more dry and sarcastic now and he can still make connections with people, both for friendship and romance. He can just be awkward about it, unsure of how to proceed sometimes. He's old fashioned and sometimes walking on Bambi legs because though he's been in the modern world awhile, he spent some of that time as a weapon who had nothing else to live for. So, he's learning how to do that too, how to be a man and just live his life without constantly having to pick up arms and fight.

SAMPLE:

one | two | three

INVENTORY:

— Black tee shirt
— Black jean
— Black Jacket
— Black boots
— Black socks
— One cybernetic arm (currently attached)
— One wallet (with his license, some sticky notes with phone numbers, and about twenty bucks in it
— One knife, strapped to leg

NOTES: N/A

IF ACCEPTED, WOULD YOU WANT A PLOT-LIGHT OR PLOT-HEAVY CUSTOM INTRO? plot light

nightsister merrin ► star wars jedi: fallen order

[starscollapse]

PLAYER NAME: Kris
CONTACT: bluebox#8972 @ discord or PM
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE GAME?: Currently in the game with the Doctor (thedreamer)

CHARACTER: Merrin
CANON: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Video game set in the Star Wars universe, five years after Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith)
CANON POINT: The end of the game

BACKGROUND:
Wiki link
A few key points to highlight:
► Merrin is a Nightsister. The Nightsisters of Dathomir were both a clan and an ancient order of Dathomirian Force-wielding witches and mistresses of the dark side of the Force. They were a neutral group acting sometimes as antagonists especially during the Clone Wars. While Merrin's Nightsister magic (referred to as magick) draws from the dark side, it is not inherently evil, however the Nightsisters are said to be particularly good at "walking the knife's edge" between light and dark. Merrin has shown the capacity to use her magick in self-defense, altruistically in aid of others, and as a means to fool enemies.

► Merrin was part of Mother Talzin's clan. Mother Talzin was the spiritual guide of Dathomir's Nightsisters during the Clone Wars. Long before the Clone Wars, Darth Sidious had promised to make Mother Talzin his right hand, only to renege on his promise and steal her son, Darth Maul, to train as his apprentice. (resource)

► The Nightsisters are all killed during the Clones Wars by General Grievous. As Merrin was just a child at the time, she didn't realize who Grievous actually was and she believed the lie she was told that the Jedi had murdered her family, since Grievous was wielding a lightsaber as the Jedi did.

► The Nightbrothers of Dathomir were subservient to the Nightsisters until Mother Talzin's death and the purge of the Nightsisters. With Merrin being the last, she is not shown to dominate or subjugate her remaining Nightbrothers and they exist in separate villages. At some point while Merrin is still quite young, a Jedi named Taron Malicos crash lands on Dathomir (though Merrin does not know until much later that he is a former Jedi). The dark side and dark nature of the power on Dathomir begins to quickly corrupt Malicos and he kills the leader of the Nightbrothers, Viscus, and then takes command of them. It's at this time that he then turns his attentions on Merrin, telling her that the Jedi were responsible for the death of the Nightsisters and that he would be able to help her seek revenge against them, but only if she would agree to teach him the ways of the Dathomirian magick. Being so young and being told exactly what she wanted/needed to hear, Merrin agrees to this.

► Merrin calls upon her Nightbrothers when Cal Kestis—one of the last remaining Jedi—arrives on Dathomir. Perceiving him to be a threat, Merrin uses her magick to enhance the powers of the Nightbrothers in defense of herself and their home planet.

► When Cal leaves and then returns to Dathomir, he manages to convince Merrin that Taron Malicos has been corrupted and turned to the dark side, and that everything he led her to believe was a lie. Though she is still wary of the Jedi, she believes Cal when she witnesses Malicos attempt to betray her and join forces with Cal. She assists Cal by defeating Malicos, using her power to morph the ground and bury Malicos beneath it so that he can lie in the dark with his secrets. Cal invites Merrin to join him aboard the Mantis, where he is currently traveling with another (former) Jedi by the name of Cere Junda, and their pilot, Greez Ditrus.


ABILITIES | POWERS:
► Has the ability to raise the dead through the use of a talisman and the Chant of Resurrection—definitely happy & willing to cap this as needed if she is accepted since this I know this could be game-breaking potentially? Either it doesn't work at all or only works in certain situations and with very specific caveats—up for anything you see fit!
► Telekinesis
► Teleportation
► Merrin uses magickal ichor offensively in combat situations and this manifests as a luminescent green mist which can be wielded like a weapon or defense, like one would use a shield. She can blast rocks apart, stun enemies, etc
► Can cloak objects (even large objects, like a spaceship) with something like a bubble so that the object (or person/people) is invisible to others
► The ability to manipulate the surrounding earth; she was able to make the ground rise up and swallow Taron Malicos
*Of note, it is shown that since the ability to cloak large objects and raise the dead is so powerful, Merrin needs to anchor to a specific talisman from Dathomir, previously used by Mother Talzin


PERSONALITY:
► Confident/Self-Assured
Merrin was a child when General Grievous obliterated her coven, her family, all that she had ever known. Though the Nightbrothers of Dathomir remained, Merrin was the last of her kind (Nightsisters) and thus, completely alone and orphaned. Her childhood was spent in rigorous study and practice of the magick wielded by her fellow Nightsisters and once they were gone, she had only herself to rely on. Merrin does not believe that she will get it right every time—in fact, when she uses her magick to cloak the Mantis as they fly into Imperial territory, she explicitly says she "hopes" her magick will work, lacking complete certainty. She is not cocky or reckless in her self-assurance, but she is highly skilled, trained, and knowledgeable. Her sense of connection to her family will never waver, even in death, and the roots of their eternal bonds anchor Merrin in difficult situations. She speaks with authority, not wavering nor timid, and she has the air of someone who will do absolutely everything they can to succeed even if she may stumble.

► Brave
The circumstances of her childhood quickly toughened Merrin. When she first meets one of the few remaining Jedi, Cal Kestis, Merrin is essentially ruling Dathomir on her own. Being in the Outer Rim, they are relatively untouched by the Galactic Empire (for now) and much of her bravery stems from having few enemies to face. Yet, even when faced with clear threats, she is not shown to hesitate. While not much is known regarding Merrin's exact circumstances during the loss of her family at the hands of General Grievous, she speaks of burying her dead family and carrying on in their memory.

For much of her life, Merrin was fueled by the need for vengeance. She could not allow herself to wither or falter from her mission, to exact revenge for those she believed had been murdered by the Jedi. When confronted with her first Jedi since Malicos, Merrin cautions Cal and tells him to leave Dathomir. When he refused to do so, Merrin did not hesitate to retaliate, despite not fully knowing Cal's power and despite the fact that he wielded the same weapon (lightsaber) that General Grievous had used to murder her family. This same feeling of bravery led her to ultimately confront and destroy the fallen Jedi, Malicos, once she learned of his deception. She is shown to have little fear for herself, but grows to care for her found family and demonstrates obvious worry at the thought of them being harmed.

► Loyal
Merrin's devotion to honoring the memory of those she lost is what drives her and gives her purpose. She is loyal to everything they were and everything they stood for, steadfast in her commitment to enact vengeance for them. When she realizes and fully understands that she was manipulated by Malicos, Merrin's sense of loyalty to her sisters never wavers and she seeks retribution by destroying Malicos. Her loyalty then extends to Cal Kestis, a veritable stranger. She is not shown to trust him immediately, still guarded with him, but Merrin feels more steady in her own beliefs and perception of the world around her, thus leading her to believe that joining Cal is the right choice. They understand each other, to a certain extent, and she is quick to promise to fight by his side. When the crew of the Mantis later encounters Darth Vader, Merrin is shown to be unwavering in her loyalty and commitment to her new family, using the full force of her power to rescue both Cal and Cere when they nearly drown.

► Caring
Despite not knowing Cal for long and considering when they first met she viewed him as an enemy, it doesn't take Merrin long to show genuine care and concern for both Cal and the rest of the crew onboard the Mantis. She openly states that she thinks family is very important; though she will never forget her fallen family, she has now embraced a new family, one that she's chosen, rooted in the belief that there is so much of the universe to see and she wants to understand what they're all fighting for. Her family on Dathomir did not welcome outsiders, they were considered dangerous, so Merrin led a sheltered life. When Cal and Cere nearly drown, Merrin saves them using her powers of telekinesis, and when Cal wakes up after days of being unconscious, Merrin is quick to hug him (albeit slightly stiff/awkwardly). Cal has broadened her mind to understanding the universe at large, and as she also understands that the Empire is committed to bringing war to every corner of the universe, Merrin is equally committed to doing her part to fight against it. She cares not only about her chosen family, but the lives of others, and she seeks and aspires to goodness.

► Forthright
Lacking a general awareness of social etiquette and niceties given her seclusion/isolation, there are times when Merrin can be quite blunt and direct, though often this is framed with a degree of dry or sarcastic humor, or she will eventually realize what she's said and soften her words. When Cal thanks Merrin for saving him, she dryly remarks, "Yes. You would have died." She pauses just a moment before adding, "I am glad you didn't."

The rest of the crew on the Mantis are initially distrusting of Merrin and her magick. When they encounter an Imperial fleet and Merrin suggests that she can help protect them by using her power to cloak the ship, the pilot is skeptical. Once again, with a blunt and dry tone, Merrin tells him, "It will require a sacrifice. One of your arms will do nicely." She quickly follows that up by lightly tapping the top of his head and suggesting that he not be so serious, and that he should join her up front to watch. It also does not take Merrin long to feel comfortable enough with the crew to ask them personal questions about their life, their past; again, not fully aware that perhaps these are questions she should wait to ask until she knows them better. She is curious and even socially naive at times, so she speaks candidly and without much reservation.

She also plays a vital role in convincing Cal that he should dispose of a holocron containing the names of force-sensitive children. Merrin had joined Cal partially to assist with seeking out this holocron, yet she wastes no time in expressing her opinion that the holocron should perhaps not be used for its intended purpose. Cal and Cere initially plan to find all of these force-sensitive children so they can rebuild the Jedi Order. Despite barely knowing this group of people, Merrin does not hesitate to share her opinion, "Are you sure it’s something you should find? The children on that list, if you take them from their homes to train as Jedi, won’t they be hunted like you?" In the end, Cal and Cere do agree to destroy the holocron, to keep the identities of these children safe, to leave it up to the will of the Force.

► Stoic/Harsh
On the surface, Merrin is stoic at times, almost coming across as a bit emotionally detached, even harsh. She does care, but she is guarded as a result of her past and the way she was manipulated. Even after she helps Cal defeat Taron Malicos, on the way back to the Mantis, Cal is ambushed by nydaks (a predatory species native to Dathomir) and asks Merrin for assistance, but she declines because she wants to see what Cal is capable of and if he can defeat the creatures on his own. Though she is comfortable speaking freely with the crew of the Mantis once established, she speaks at times with a poised and careful detachment regarding her past losses; it's a measure of protection, of course, since the truth of this loss is that it is both staggering and inescapable. She has simply learned to live with it and she is seeking now a different path ahead, away from the pain and the dark memories of revenge.

► Adaptable
Aboard the Mantis, Merrin is met with skepticism and a certain level of distrust, initially, by their fellow shipmates. When Cal says it will take some convincing for them to trust her, Merrin simply and nonchalantly responds, "Then we'll convince them." Though life on Dathomir is all that she has ever known, when she releases herself from the manipulation of Malicos, Merrin is ready and willing to leave with Cal and help fight against the Empire. Though Jedi and Nightsisters traditionally did not fight alongside one another, Merrin says, "Survivors—we adapt."


SAMPLE:
TDM top-level
TDM tag-in #1
TDM tag-in #2
TDM tag-in #3
TDM tag-in #4
*Happy to write additional prose samples if needed!


INVENTORY:
► Talisman—Link to gif of talisman used by Merrin. As this is what she uses for some of her magick (the ability to resurrect the dead, the ability to cloak herself and others), I am totally fine with saying that this is nothing more than a crystal object, depending on how her powers need to be capped.
► Clothes on her back


NOTES: I can't think of any special accommodations she would need.

IF ACCEPTED, WOULD YOU WANT A PLOT-LIGHT OR PLOT-HEAVY CUSTOM INTRO? Leaning towards plot-heavy, but happy with either option!

Tess Servopoulos | The Last of Us (Game)

[dog_eat_dog]

PLAYER NAME: Jenn
CONTACT: victoryfanfare on plurk
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE GAME?: I'm already here with Kim Wexler, just bringing in a character who is far more social :')

CHARACTER: Theresa "Tess" Servopoulos
CANON: The Last of Us (game)
CANON POINT: Immediately after her encounter with an Infected in the history museum, while transporting Ellie to the Capitol building.

BACKGROUND: Tess @ the TLOU Wikia

ABILITIES | POWERS: Baseline normal human, with 20+ years experience in urban survival, including weapon proficiency, improvising tools/weapons, brawling and first aid.

PERSONALITY:

Twenty years ago, Tess was an optimist. Even in the midst of society collapsing to the Cordyceps Brain Infection pandemic, she was even willing to make a crusade out whipping the world back into shape: she joined a radical resistance group called the Fireflies, tried to overthrow the military state that governed the surviving quarantine zones, and tried her damndest to make the best of it. That didn't last; between the eventual fall of most QZs, the death of her brother, and increasingly violent tactics making the Fireflies no different from the military they sought to overthrow, Tess's spirit was broken. No more hope. No more crusade. The threat of death was all around her –– infection, execution, gang wars, or even just bacteria in a contaminated tin of food. What was the point in fighting it? So she broke bad and became a smuggler, and worked her way up to being one of the black market's top dogs. No matter how close humanity is to extinction, she has her own tiny kingdom. She mows down anyone who fucks with her, smuggles contraband, deals in drugs and guns, takes advantage of anyone she felt like, and breaks security on the daily. Why not? Everyone will die eventually. What optimism she has left is kept bound and gagged in some quiet, dark room. Survival is all that really matters.

And because survival is much of her life, and it's important to her she excels at it. She's crafty, highly organized and meticulous, but she isn't a great long-term planner –– sometimes she can throw away an entire plan on an impulse if she gets a better idea. This doesn't always impress the people around her, as her plans aren't always safe or comfortable, but she'll pretend everything is going according to plan; it very much matters to her that she looks smart and sure of herself. In extreme moments of fear or insecurity, she can beeline for blind faith, hoping to figure it out later. The black market is a very male-dominated "industry", and there's no room to show weakness, so she dresses femininely (relatively speaking for the apocalypse) and oversells on violence just to make it clear that she means business. And while she's very much a city girl, she respects that nature doesn't consider excuses for those ill-prepared to survive in the wilds. You scrape yourself together and do the work.

Tess is a social butterfly and likes to be in charge. With strangers, she's very direct and particular about how things are done, whether she's happy or unhappy, but especially when she wants something from someone. She can be petty about being doubted, but she's comfortable finding compromise if there's any indication there's good faith there. If she can slip someone some sort of incentive instead of threatening them, she will, because she too is easily flattered and easily bought. She doesn't scare easy, so she often finds herself in sticky situations with people much bigger and more powerful than her, with the mettle to see herself through to the other side. She's got the scars to prove it, but a good chunk of respect, too.

Tess is also someone who is very driven by her feelings: she can project, she can be vindictive, she can also be intensely playful and easily swept up into excitement or attention. She likes adrenaline and does not care that it makes her reckless, and she does not care that it makes her a real asshole sometimes. She is also surprisingly soft underneath that tough-girl shell –– she can be quite patient (if not still blunt) with children and she's a fair bit more lenient with women than she is with men. When someone's her person, she'll check in on them and dote on their well-being. She'll encourage weak links to toughen up instead of outright abandoning them. In relaxed moments, she's got a quick wit and an ease to her, and she'll share what she has. She has no poker face when people dear to her are upset with her, either –– she'll act wounded and (or!) start lobbing passive-aggressive bombs.

Her radar for bad interpersonal situations is also pretty broken. Tess is at home with emotionally unavailable (and often violent) men, and can dip into people-pleasing streaks around ones that show affection to her. These relationships can veer hard towards being transactional –– she puts in what she thinks they want, and she takes whatever she gets in return. What she values most out of those relationships is being the "good cop" to a scarier person's "bad cop", and she gets satisfaction out of "earning" affection that is otherwise hard to get, especially when she gets to be the boss of them. She and her partner, Joel, have a relationship contingent on a mutual ease with violence and an understanding that she gets to call the shots, but if she asks for more emotional vulnerability than he's ready to offer, he'll cut her out. She does want more. Unfortunately, he's likely never going to give it. She'll settle for that.

So Tess has edges! But she's also a person who has never had an opportunity to live comfortably. She never got to have a normal adult life, or any of the milestones that come with it, even though she grew up thinking she would. She lives under a fascist military state where public executions happen right in the streets. She's lost just about everyone in her life, and knows she'll lose the rest eventually, probably violently, and if she's really unlucky, they'll get infected and she'll have to kill them herself. Nothing she owns is less than twenty years old. She's emotionally distant from people because she has to be, even if she doesn't want to be. She's violent because it's the only way to make it in the world. But she knows she used to be a different person. A more open, more compassionate, more giving, and more emotionally honest person. It might even be possible to discover that again, if she can just remember that there's something bigger to fight for. But maybe it isn't. She's done some horrible things, and as much as she likes to pretend otherwise, almost all of it was by choice. Maybe that makes you a shitty person forever.

SAMPLE:
network on TDM
impromptu field surgery on TDM

INVENTORY: A beat-up backpack containing a Browning Hi-Power handgun, a couple boxes of 9mm ammo, some first aid supplies, a mickey of whiskey, a couple glass bottles, some scrap rags, a pair of scissors, a map of the Boston Quarantine Zone, a utility knife, a half-finished roll of duct tape, a tactical flashlight, an S-10 NBC respirator with one filter, a ring of apartment keys, a pair of jeans, an olive t-shirt, a purple Wrangler shirt with the sleeves torn off, slip-on boots and a silk scarf. Everything she owns is 20+ years old (save for the bullets) and in various states of decay.

NOTES: Tess is coming in with a pretty significant bite wound on her right shoulder, which she will (or technically has, given the TDM) debrided like a lunatic to prevent the cordyceps infection from reaching her brain. This, on top of not having slept much for 24+ hours, running through city ruins and fleeing/fighting infected and the military, often in a downpour, and having been beaten up at the beginning of her day. So she's not doing so hot! She'll tough it through, and probably sleep for a zillion years in a snail shell, but I'll see about finding her a new friend who can make sure she doesn't, you know, just drop dead.

Also, there's a show airing now! It's written by the same guy. (Mostly.) The game and the show are extremely similar in plot beats and themes, but the characters are a little different tonally, and we don't quite know to what degree yet. I may scrape a few factual details here or there where the show reveals something new about Tess, as the show is expanding on content the game already inferred, but as far as characterization goes, the game is the interpretation I'm sticking to exclusively.

IF ACCEPTED, WOULD YOU WANT A PLOT-LIGHT OR PLOT-HEAVY CUSTOM INTRO? Let's go heavy if there's space, babyyyyyy!

spike — buffy the vampire slayer/angel

[speechy]

PLAYER NAME: kat
CONTACT: talldarkandgay
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE GAME?: tdm thread here!

CHARACTER: Spike
CANON: Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Angel
CANON POINT: Post-Angel S5

BACKGROUND: comprehensive wiki on history here

ABILITIES | POWERS: Vampires in the universe of Buffy hold true to these details:

UNDEAD PHSYIOLOGY: For all intents and purposes, Spike appears human ( albeit pale as all get out ) and can more or less pass as one. However, he doesn't need to breathe. The lungs are still there and he could draw breath if he wanted, but it's not a necessity. He can eat human food. He's actually one of the few vampires in the series that mentions enjoying a thing or two, but overconsuming will make vampires ill as they have no need for regular food. The three things that undoubtedly out him as a vampire are the lack of reflection and/or the ability to show up in photographs, bursting into ( gradual ) flames in direct* sunlight, and the transformation into his "game face", which is an actual shift in appearance to have his fangs accessible.

He does have perks like enhanced strength, speed, and senses to make him more of a predator but the level of how much stronger depends on regular access to blood. I don't want fights to be too easy for him, so I'll be using discretion on whether he's going to get tossed around like a rag doll or finds that he actually feels top notch. ( And top notch here in game might still be less than in his home world. )

*The show plays fast and loose with the rules of sunlight. He can be in a bright room and be perfectly fine as long as the light isn't filtering directly upon his skin. This could very well have to do with being filmed in the 90s/00s BUT you know, we're going with it.

He's also a skilled fighter who was trained by the worst vampires of the century and has killed two vampire slayers to date. Spike may be reformed now but delighting in the thrill of battle is something that's been a part of him for a long time.

PERSONALITY:

On the surface level, Spike is someone that breezes his way into a room or a dire conversation and pokes light of the very serious faces and concerns around him. He's comedic effect before he's anything else. It's something he does both as a comfort to the people he cares for and a disarming technique. People aren't good for anything when they're that high-strung, not in a fight and not in developing a strategy.

Then again, even before he was a vampire, he was a man who approached things differently, and was ostracized by his community for it.

He took to vampirism with wanton destruction, having no respect for rules or for hiding that vampires were real monsters in the night. Despite the advisement from his elders, destroying villages or going after someone in a dark alley wasn't enough of a challenge for Spike. He wanted more. When he learned what a vampire slayer was, he made that a core mission of his: finding a Slayer and killing her — nothing like it on the planet. Something that was inherently opposite of what a vampire was supposed to do when they heard whispers of a Slayer, they were supposed to go running in the opposite direction.

But Spike is someone that gets a thrill out of a fight. He calls it dancing. He can appreciate the fluidity of trading blows like stanzas in a poem. It isn't just mindless violence, it's designed with a purpose. He, himself, has notably said that he doesn't want the world to end rather that it's something evil people say to be coined as evil. He happens to like the world and most of the things within it.

One of his most notable traits is loyalty and by extension, his capacity to love. In the Buffyverse, vampires are said to be soulless, murderous creatures and for a time, Spike is both. But this labeling is supposed to imply the inability to feel emotions or anything outside of hunger. He stayed with his sire, Drusilla, for well over a decade ( on again, off again ) chasing her all over the continents, and loving her in spite of her flaws and mental instability. He took care of her when she was unwell and needed nursing back to health. It's an element that stays true to his character long after Drusilla and he part.

Spike says it himself, applies the descriptor that he's, "love's bitch" essentially. When he stopped hanging on Drusilla's every word, it was an obsession with Buffy that bloomed. Unhealthy as it may have been at times, there were good things he did for her. Often times, Spike showed up for her when everyone else turned away. His loyalty extended to Buffy's family and by extension, her friends. He allowed himself to be tortured without giving up information before he had a soul in his chest to speak of. The whole reason he pursued the demon trails and fought for his soul in the first place was because he thought it was what Buffy deserved; he thought it would make her love him.

But Spike has reached a place where he died, and came back, and he's finally doing good things for the right reasons (i.e. without the influence of the woman he loves bossing him around) and he hasn't told her himself that he's returned from the dead after his alleged sacrifice. He is a man with many failings and one of them is that he's scared of putting himself out there on display to be picked apart again, as he had as a human ( and for her many times ), and to be rejected when on paper he's done everything right. His other misgivings include jealousy, which was an additional and cheap factor in not disrupting Buffy’s life. He thought she was dating someone else, not knowing it was a decoy put in place and not actually her. He’d still fought with her other ex, Angel, for the course of an episode over which one of them was going to shoot their shot first.

There's also the matter of finding himself and figuring where he fits in the grand scheme of things. When he retrieved his soul and returned to Sunnydale, there was so much going on at the time ( being manipulated by the First Evil, an influx of potential slayers they were housing and trying to protect, all the drama under one roof ) that Spike hadn’t been able to stop and ask himself what sort of man he wanted to be. He knew that Buffy believed in him because she said as much, despite every reason she shouldn’t have, and picked him to be her champion in the final battle of the series. But, he hadn’t believed in himself then. He hadn’t earned it.

Spike stayed in Los Angeles for the one friend he made that fought for him as much as the key components in the coming apocalypse. If nothing else, he can say he is a man that sees things through with the same human passion he’s always had.

SAMPLE: TDM threads here, but happy to write something else up if need be!

INVENTORY:
— one outfit, black everything ( crew neck shirt, jeans, combat boots, leather duster )
— a metal lighter
— one flask
— a single pack of cigarettes

NOTES: Per the mods suggestion on the TDM, I'll have him be using the pendant to siphon energy from people for resistance to the sun but that might be wonky for the hell of it, for challenges' sake. It'll be on a case-by-case basis! Other than that, he will be bundling up and relying on the kindness of others and probably groveling in some cases. As for the feeding, again, he's going to have to strike up arrangements with either NPCs or player characters. I'm amicable to both. I think both of these "setbacks" actually open doors to rather interesting and vulnerable CR. I'm open to the struggle of establishing these connections in game.

IF ACCEPTED, WOULD YOU WANT A PLOT-LIGHT OR PLOT-HEAVY CUSTOM INTRO? Plot-light? I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew right out the gate.

ignacio "nacho" varga | better call saul

[nachocheese]

PLAYER NAME: Amber
CONTACT: candycigarettes@plurk
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE GAME?: Test drive!

CHARACTER: Ignacio "Nacho" Varga
CANON: Better Call Saul
CANON POINT: Post-death, right after the events of 6x03, "Rock and Hard Place".

BACKGROUND: Wiki to the rescue!

ABILITIES | POWERS: He's a normal human being without any supernatural powers! For non-supernatural abilities...

Firearms. Nacho is shown to be proficient in the use of handguns and a decently good shot! While we don't ever see him pull off any crazy trick shots or shoot anyone from far away, he does seem to be comfortable and decently good with using handguns and close- to mid-range shots, despite his dislike of killing or hurting innocents.

Strong, quick, agile. Nacho is about as physically strong, fast and agile as it's possible for a standard-issue (i.e., non-superpowered) human being of his relative size/age to be! At least once he's able to successfully pull off a feat that nobody expects him to be able to when he dives headfirst into a trap house to rescue a stash of narcotics as the cops are raiding it.

Intelligence. Nacho is bright, clever and observant, and an astute student of human nature... mostly. While he occasionally does do dumb things out of impulsiveness (especially early on in the series, before Shit Gets Real for him), he's shown to mostly have a fairly good sense of cause and effect and to be very logical in his thinking. This is occasionally to his detriment, as he sometimes assumes everyone will be as logical as he is, which is, frankly, not always the case.

Good liar. His reserved nature helps him out a lot in this respect, as it makes him difficult to read even when he isn't lying. This quiet, observant nature combined with his intelligence and shrewd way of thinking makes him an effective liar, who is good at knowing what to say to deceive those around him. This is made evident with how he's able to pull the wool over the eyes of the Salamancas and convince them he's loyal to them when, in fact, he is not.

PERSONALITY: Nacho is intelligent and reasonable, shown to be logical in his thinking (mostly-- bar a few small moments of impulsiveness that we'll dive into later) as well as bright and observant about other people's psychology as well as the ways of the world. He's bilingual, speaking both English and Spanish fluently, and he's willing to think before speaking or acting (mostly). He's shown to have a good head for business and money, and to understand when doing something would be a bad idea; he talks Tuco out of killing Jimmy because killing a lawyer for no reason would bring unwanted scrutiny on their crew. Hilariously, his logical thinking can actually work against him, as he assumes everyone will be as logical as he is; this is shown when he didn't realize a newbie criminal would actually call the police for help after Nacho stole his baseball cards.

He's also deceptive and tends to be a good liar who is able to fool many people easily. Granted, fooling Tuco isn't exactly hard, considering the... Tuco... of it all, but he's shown being able to trick other people who are also very clever and observant themselves. He's shown to have a sense of how to modify his own behavior to be more appealing to the people he wants to believe him. He acts slightly differently around Tuco, Hector and Lalo, because they are all different people and he seems to know, whether through instint or observation, how to slightly modify the way he acts in order to better get along with different types of people.

He's helped in this regard by the fact that he is reserved and quiet and tends to prefer to observe and make judgments and plans before acting. (Again, mostly!) While some of this partially brought on by stress as he becomes even quieter and more withdrawn as the series goes on-- he's a bit more expressive and prone to joking around in earlier seasons-- it's also just clearly part of who he is even when times are good, since even when we first meet him, he's a relatively reserved person who prefers to ask questions first and shoot later. He generally plays his cards close to his vest most of the time.

Despite his intelligence and general observant nature, Nacho can be short-sighted and impulsive in times of desperation. Usually, he prefers patience, observation and playing the long game over rushing in and doing something stupid, however when something important to him is threatened (this is most often his father, who he's very close with) he can become rash, impulsive and prone to seeking out immediate "quick fixes" out of desperation. Usually, this involves planning to kill his cartel boss higher ups. This is shown to be a short-sighted approach on his part, though, as while he doesn't succeed in killing any of his bosses, each one he removes from duty is replaced by one that is even sharper and more dangerous than the one before.

Nacho has strong family values and despite his tendency towards subterfuge and deception, is shown to be very loyal and sincere where his family is concerned. This especially true when it comes to his relationship with his father. Nacho values his father's life and their relationship above all else, and is even willing to sacrifice his own life for the sake of his father's, even committing suicide to guarantee his father's safety. He's also shown to crave a fatherly figure and fatherly guidance, something he often turns to Mike for when his dad cuts him off over Nacho's inability to severe his criminal ties.

Nacho can be greedy and money-hungry, and other than his father's safety, the one thing that can make him behave rashly is the promise of huge sums of money. This is more true in the early seasons, though; by the time he dies, he doesn't seem to care as much about money and material things as just making sure his father is safe. However, when we first meet him, he's very prone to seeing dollar signs and that can also make him do stupid things, such as casing the Kettleman's home in an obvious way that gets him picked up by the police. It's implied but not outright stated that his criminal activity was originally picked up by him as a "get rich quick scheme" and his intention was likely to get in, get rich and get out; however, Nacho eventually discovers that there isn't an easy "out" when you get as deep into the criminal underworld as he is.

He can have a temper at times, although less so than many of the other cartel members we meet. When we first meet him, he attempts to fight Jimmy physically despite being restrained to a chair in police custody. However, Nacho's temper dissipates the longer the series goes on. While he can have a temper, it's made apparent that Nacho isn't a sadist and doesn't like hurting other people for no reason, and that even when his ego is challenged, there are limits to the amount of violence he's willing to inflict on somebody. He shows obvious disgust when Lalo talks to Hector about torturing a hotel owner, and although he's willing to beat up guys in his crew who don't pay up when he's forced to, it's pretty evident that he doesn't enjoy it.

Lastly, this brings us to the final element of who Nacho is as a person-- he can be surprisingly compassionate at times, especially towards those he views as innocent, vulnerable or in some way undeserving of violent retribution. He allows the customers to leave Los Pollos Hermanos when the cartel takes it over as a ploy to get to Fring. He shows obvious guilt the first time he shoots someone and is clearly preoccupied with thinking about it to the point of injuring himself while working in his father's upholstery shop. While he doesn't seem to feel bad about betraying the dangerous, sadistic cartel leaders-- either of his own violition or when forced to by Gus Fring, saying they are "psycho sacks of shit" who deserve to die-- he clearly does feel for those he considers weaker, more vulnerable or innocent and dislikes to see innocent people who aren't in the game being hurt by the hardened criminals who are. Nacho has a moral code and while he is willing to do some pretty terrible things for both noble and less-than-noble reasons, he has a line and is of the opinion that "there are some things you just don't do"-- such as threatening someone's child or treating innocent people like collateral damage.

SAMPLE: Test drive! Let me know if that's not enough variety and I'll whip something up or grab a meme link.

INVENTORY: Only the clothes on his back. Dead men have no need for Earthly possessions.

NOTES: n/a

IF ACCEPTED, WOULD YOU WANT A PLOT-LIGHT OR PLOT-HEAVY CUSTOM INTRO? Ooh, plot-heavy if available, please! That would be neat.

Jinx | Arcane

[hexgem]

PLAYER NAME: Lia
CONTACT: cosmology
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE GAME?: I'm in the game with Yelena Belova

CHARACTER: Powder Jinx
CANON: Arcane
CANON POINT: The end of Season 1, Episode 6 after being reunited with Vi only to get separated again.

BACKGROUND: Wiki background

ABILITIES | POWERS: Jinx is a self-taught engineer who uses her knowledge to develop new kinds of weapons and explosives. Without any formal training, she learned the foundations of engineering, how to use ancient runes, and how to incorporate hex gems (technology derived from magic crystals) to make more powerful weaponry.

At a later canon point, Jinx becomes the subject of an experiment to save her life; the experiment succeeds but she is permanently chemically altered. The experiment gives her enhanced speed and strength and turns her eyes from blue to pink. The chemical effects also appear to exacerbate her existing emotional problems and hallucinations.

PERSONALITY: Jinx is not a good person, nor is she trying to be. She was raised among gangsters, thieves and killers by the kingpin of the undercity, who encouraged her most destructive traits. While she sees herself as different— she isn't just another disposable goon, she is Silco's daughter— Jinx still fulfills her role as an arm of Silco's operation. Where some parents might notice a child's brilliance and put them through school, Jinx's genius and creativity are directed toward making weapons for use against Silco's enemies. Silco undoubtedly cares for her but he also manipulates his daughter's emotions to keep her close. With that said, Jinx is not blameless for her actions. She is a highly destructive individual who causes mayhem without regard for life and limb.

Deceptively cunning, Jinx demonstrates on several occasions that she is thinking a few paces ahead of others. Her reputation as a loose cannon leads others to dismiss her, so she often hatches and executes plans on her own. Because chaos is a hallmark of any Jinx plan, others view her work as sloppy, but she typically accomplishes whatever her goal was, whether it be in spite of the chaotic elements of her plan or because of them.

Jinx is not the type to accept that something can't be done. When she hits a road block, she finds a way around it. Her expertise in engineering weapons and explosives was not developed overnight; she started toying with explosives as a kid (yeah) and grew up to rival some of the most educated scientific minds with far more resources available to them. Jinx is also extremely independent, out of necessity, she would say, as most people in her life have died or abandoned her. She believes that she can do everything for herself and doesn't need anyone's help or company.

(The voices in her head are company enough.

Which brings us to...)

Jinx experiences auditory and visual hallucinations, most often of people whose deaths she feels responsible for. She openly talks back to her hallucinations even in the presence of others, unbothered over how it makes her look. She is very much caught in between her past and her present. Despite Silco's urging, she has yet to fully let go of Powder, the child she was before she made a terrible mistake. She has created childlike dummies of the two boys she accidentally killed and keeps a stuffed bunny from her childhood. When she sees a pink-haired girl who vaguely resembles Vi, Jinx momentarily loses herself in memories of her sister and botches the job.

Jinx fears abandonment above all. She doesn't develop connections to other people, save Silco, because everyone else has either died or left her. This fear is reinforced when Vi, previously thought dead, is confirmed to be alive but resurfaces with another girl, Caitlyn, of whom Jinx is deeply jealous. The mere perception of having been replaced drives Jinx to extreme measures- namely kidnapping Vi and Caitlyn so she can force Vi to choose between them.

Her strongest desire is to feel valued. She never felt valued when she was younger; she felt like a burden, a jinx to everyone around her. Silco is able to maintain her trust and loyalty by giving her the respect she has always craved.

SAMPLE: TDM from a different game

INVENTORY:

• 1 halter top
• 1 pair fingerless gloves (the left glove has studded knuckles)
• 1 studded belt
• 1 pair striped pants
• 1 pair steel-toed boots
• Zapper (shock pistol)
• Pow-Pow (machine gun)

NOTES: None

IF ACCEPTED, WOULD YOU WANT A PLOT-LIGHT OR PLOT-HEAVY CUSTOM INTRO? N/A because TDM, I think.

Stephanivien de Haillenarte | Final Fantasy XIV

[stephanivien]

PLAYER NAME: Crin
CONTACT: crincakes
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE GAME?: TDM top-level here! also kiki is how I found y'all in the first place but I wouldn't count it as a formal referral.

CHARACTER: Stephanivien de Haillenarte
CANON: Final Fantasy XIV
CANON POINT: 6.2 (Technically, he hasn't really appeared actively in any quests past 6.0 but he's around and is somewhat appraised of current events in Garlemald, as the Manufactory engineers have been contributing to the rebuilding efforts)

BACKGROUND:
This will be a mix, as—unfortunately—his wiki page hasn't been updated for beans, and only contains a small amount of the Heavensward (3.0) Expansion information.

Stephanivien de Haillenarte is the oldest son of Count Baurendouin de Haillenarte, Lord of House Haillenarte, one of the Holy See of Ishgard's four High Houses. Ishgard is a strict theocracy at the time that Stephanivien is born and for the majority of his adult life, and the power that rests outside of the church lies squarely in the nobility, and especially among the four High Houses, who are the top nobility descended from four of the historical twelve knights of King Thordan I.

House Haillenarte of the four high houses is focused on the forging of armaments for the Ishgardian military and thus heads the Skysteel Manufactory, responsible for the creation of large war machina such as ballistas and cannons. Stephanivien developed an interest in the workings of the Manufactory as a young boy, and continued in his passion for engineering and machinistry into his adulthood, eschewing typical tradition of knightly service to instead work at the Manufactory, on the invention and development of new armaments, eventually becoming the de-facto head. Stephanivien's work, beyond the development and improvement of extant technologies, involved research and collaboration with Garlond Ironworks, seeking to further improve and develop magitek armaments, as well as the development of a new discipline of war, combining magitek and traditional aetherology to develop the "Machinists".

Since the Calamity 5 years pre-ARR, House Haillenarte has lost prominence among the four high houses due to the loss of two of their major outposts, Stone Vigil and Steel Vigil. One of Stpehanivien's younger brothers, Lord Commander Chlodebaimt, died during the sacking of the latter Vigil. Later, his youngest brother, Francel, was (falsely) accused of heresy (which is a huge deal for Ishgardians, essentially equating to being a traitor), but was later cleared of charges by the Warrior of Light, though the event has still further impacted House Haillenarte's standing.

The following incidents all occur within Stephanivien's young adulthood up until the end of A Realm Reborn, in roughly guestimated chronological order:

• Encounters Hilda Ware, and gifts her with a firearm to offer her a chance to take control of her fate. Hilda later becomes a revolutionary leader for the common people of Ishgard who are oppressed under the extreme classism inherent in Ishgardian society.
  
• Develops the aetherotransformer: a magitek device that converts the wearer's aether into lightning-aspected energy, which is in turn stored within the transformer's crystal cores, the accumulated energy which can then be used to power firearms as well as a variety of other specialized abilities.
  
• Hires Lominsan and disgraced former commodore Rostnsthal and grants him a new life and position as a marksmanship and firearm instructor.
  
• Offers the opportunity for training in marksmanship and his newly developed Machinist discipline which utilizes his 'aetherotransformer' technology to his own House's servants as well as other volunteers, in an effort to supply commoners a means to arm themselves and grant them martial independence.
  
• Authors and negotiates a contract with Jessie Jaye of Garlond Ironworks for technological exchange, as well as rights to the mass production of small-scale airships.

Once the Warrior of Light arrives in Ishgard and Heavensward (3.0) begins, we have the direct start of the MCH (Machinist) Questline, and a series of events which I have outlined below:

Stephanivien recruits the Warrior of Light—or "WoL"—(the player character) into the machinist's guild. As he is introducing WoL to the discipline, servant of House Haillenarte and Stephanivien's right-hand-woman Joye rushes in with news that the master of marksmanship Rostnsthal has resigned. Stephanivien, WoL and Joye track Rostnsthal down and convince to return to the Manufactory, and subsequently learn that he was paid a large sum to by an unscrupulous individual which led him to leave.

Stephanivien's father Count Baurendouin de Haillenarte comes by the Manufactory for a surprise inspection and demands that Stephanivien stop being a machinist and engineer, announces news of an upcoming Very Important Tourney, and demands that Stephanivien take up traditional knighthood. Stephanivien instead continues to develop new technology, including a flying auto-turret that can be powered by the aetherotransformer to be utilized by machinists in combat.

Stephanivien's father shows up at the Manufactory again, this time with the news that the great dragon Svara is en-route to Skyfire Locks (a Haillenarte redoubt) and that they are in dire need of reinforcements. Lord Haillenarte wants Stephanivien to show up as a knight, Stephanivien intends to bring his machinists to serve as the reinforcements and drive off the draconic attackers.

The battle at Skyfire Locks approaches, and Rostnsthal is thought missing, only to be found having intercepted someone creeping around the manufactory looking to start trouble. WoL and Rostnsthal frighten away several other suspicious individuals. Negative rumors begin to spread about Rostnsthal, which Stephanivien believes are being spread by some rival of the Manufactory. Rostnsthal admits that much of the rumors are true, and declines to join in the conflict, given the effect that his reputation might have on the manufactory, which was likely what the original mysterious patron who paid him likely wanted.

Stephanivien, WoL, and rest of the machinists (sans Rostnsthal) are able to mount a successful defense, and earn Count Baurendouin's grudging respect. At this point, an asshole knight from the rivaling house Dzemael named Tedalgrinche shows up to be a classist prick call the machinists useless, and essentially inciting Stephanivien to a challenge at the upcoming tourney, which Stephanivien accepts. Count Baurendouin despairs at House Haillenarte's potential performance, given his lack of trust in the machinists and the declining state of their House, which Stephanivien publicly refutes. Stephanivien's privately confides to WoL that the machinists aren't quite ready, and that more training will be necessary. He discusses strategy with WoL, as well as additional training to help prepare the machinists to give a good showing at the tourney. He also encourages Joye—who is expressing doubts of her participation—of her competency and how she is much needed.

The day the tourney, several crates of firearms are discovered to have been deliberately smashed in sabotage. WoL and others chase down and scare away several other potential saboteurs, and report the findings to Stephanivien, only to be met with an explosion from outside the manufactory workshop. A full crate of the auto-turrets have been destroyed, and Joye despairs of having to forfeit House Haillenarte's place in the tourney. Stephanivien commits to repairing the damaged weaponry, and sends the rest of the machinist colleagues on ahead to give a strong show of confidence for the tourney, before privately admitting to WoL, Joye and one other machinist that they will need to compensate for the decrease in firepower from the other machinist's due to the compromised equipment. Even while acknowledging the worsening odds, Stephanivien remains confident in the machinists success.

Stephanivien has done all that he can to counterbalance the manufactory's misfortunes, and meets arranges to meet with WoL at the site of the tourney. He does an inspection of the arena and devises a strategy for the tourney. WoL, Stephanivien, and the machinists are successful in the tourney. Tedalgrinche seems mocking of their victory, but Count Baurendouin de Haillenarte's doubts have been fully put to rest, and he officially hands over full authority of the Skysteel Manufactory and workshop to Stephanivien.

This is not the last of Tedalgrinche, who proceeds to continue to try and harass and sabotage the Skysteel Manufactory and the machinists, orchestrating the following:

• The kidnapping of Joye's father and blackmailing her into an arranged marriage so she will no longer work at the Haillenarte manor and the manufactory.
  
• Invites the assistance of House Haillenarte and their machinists for an operation spearheaded by House Dzemael that is set up to be an ambush.
  
• After Stephanivien and the machinists free Joye's father AND successfully repel the draconic "definitely-not-an-ambush", accuses Stephanivien of instigating insurrection and reporting him to the Holy See, such that failure of to clear this suspicion will result in seizure of the workshop and imprisonment of its employees.
  
• After Stephanivien gathers evidence of Tedalgrinche's deliberate sabotage and wrongdoing, as well as the falsity of the claims against the Manufactory and mounts a counteraccusation, Tedalgrinche schemes and has the evidence and counterclaim against him dismissed.

Tedalgrinche then challenges Stephanivien and the Manufactory to a trial by combat ultimatum to clear the false insurrection charges: slay the dragon voivre Veri Selen, or be judged guilty by the Holy See. Rostnsthal tries to turn himself in falsely as the one causing insurrection to have the charges be dismissed without the combat trial, but Stephanivien won't hear of Rostnsthal sacrificing himself on false charges. WoL, Stephanivien and the other machinists convince Rostnsthal to change course, and Stephanivien agrees to the combat trial.

On the day of the trial, Stephanivien arranges a feast to lift the spirits of the Manufactory, and then Stephanivien, WoL, and the machinists set out to the site of the trial, where they are met by Tedalgrinche and a priest of the Holy See who has been tasked with overseeing the trial. Veri Selen has been reported on its way with a large force of other dragon minions, and bait has been provided to lure Veri Selen to the trial location, while Tedalgrinche and the priest move to watch from a higher vantage point to witness the trial while remaining out of the battle.

In the course of the battle, and with the arrival of Veri Selen itself, the priest and Tedalgrinche knocked down from their vantage point, and Tedalgrinche disarmed. Stephanivien sends most of his machinists to defend Tedalgrinche and the priest. WoL, Stephanivien and all the rest of the machinists are able to successfully to defeat Veri Selen and his minions, and out of gratefulness of saving his life Tedalgrinche renounces the accusations against Stephanivien and the manufactory and offers a boon. Stephanivien then requests that Tedalgrinche swear an oath to stop opposing the machinists and interfering with the Manufactory. Tedalgrinche at last recognizes the value of the machinist force, and agrees to stop being a dick interfering, and instead will work alongside Stephanivien to integrate the machinists into Ishgard's military.

Thus ends the Heavenward MCH quest line.

adrienne peters ★ original

[pathologise]

PLAYER NAME: Kerry
CONTACT: i only accept contact by kitten messenger (pm)
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE GAME?: kitten mail

CHARACTER: Adrienne Peters
CANON: Original Character
CANON POINT: November 2019, at the airport

BACKGROUND:
World Background:

Adrienne comes from a very normal-seeming Earth, it's what she'd always believed. There's an underside to this, a world of magic, of supernatural beings (vampires, shifters, fae creatures) that is kept very hidden from human knowledge. There are rules, and prices paid to magic lest it takes its toll out on you, and humans that find themselves knowing about the world are often in danger or can be contested over (depending on how they found out). If you do find out? Don't draw attention to it, don't leave a trail of it anyway. Humans won't believe you and anything magical will have you now on their radar.

History:

Adrienne's early life started fairly boring, being born in Minnesota to Swiss-German and American parents, an only child whose most exciting adventures were the infrequent trips to Switzerland to visit her grandparents. Life changed for her when she was fifteen when, whilst sleeping over at a friend's house, two men broke into her home, killing her parents in the invasion. The invaders were never caught, and Adrienne was taken in by her aunt, though unfortunately also had to relocate to Oregon where her aunt lived. Though her first few months there were miserable and difficult (including her), she completed school, broke the heart of the first boy who tried to love her, and worked through the summer. She'd applied for a chemistry degree at one of the community colleges, working part-time as she studied.

After graduating, Adrienne took the next steps as a new chapter of her life, trying to close the book on the pain of her teenage years. She was studying medicine in New York, spending half of that time studying in a bar, sporadically working in said bar, and meeting the person that would end up being her best friend (Julia). Their friendship took a while to settle in, Adrienne's bossiness clashing with Julia's calmer voice of wisdom, but somehow, their conversations kept coming together until they never stopped. Adrienne stayed in New York, starting her residency in pathology, on track to being known as a skilled pathologist with a good eye for detail. Her "quiet" (busy) life ended up taking a hit when she fell pregnant, in the third year of her residency (a couple of one-night stands turning consequence) and against what the other residents would have said was sense kept the baby. Her daughter (Isabella) was born in June, the hospital daycare saved her when she returned to work, and despite some struggles, Adrienne completed her residency, continuing her studies to specialise in a fellowship in pediatric pathology.

Though Adrienne tried to keep her life simple and quiet (refusing to fall in love, raising her daughter, spending more time at home), the world decidedly was not as simple. Though she thought she knew her best friend, Julia had kept a secret since they'd met: she was a vampire. She was shocked, somewhat afraid, though despite the glimpse of danger something accepted it -- not easily, she refused to speak to Julia for months, though half a bottle of wine and a curious text ended up bringing their friendship back. Adrienne had rules, though they eventually eased as she became comfortable again except for one: she loved her friend, but she didn't want to know more than necessary about that world. She wanted safety. So Adrienne knew that vampires, magic, and more creatures than she cared to ask about existed, but details didn't cross her path. At least until she jokingly asked Julia a question when she was stuck analysing a cell sample and it hit a little closer to the supernatural than she expected, but those were the exceptions.

Things calmed down, years passed, and then Isabella became sick. It was a slowly progressing illness, months of testing that felt more torturous because she couldn't help, though no answer came, not one in time. The diagnosis came too late for Isabella to recover, and Adrienne took her loss hard. Her sabbatical lasted longer than planned, though in her spiral, the days weren't noticed. Eventually returning to work, her usually friendlier bossiness was snappier and her confidence was pushed to an extreme, more reckless than anything: no one died, her work was still careful enough (and checked) that her patients were safe, though reckless driving leading to her being injured in an accident gave her a time out. Surgery, physio, and seeing a mandated therapist started getting her the help she needed. Her grief slowly started being worked through, her drinking cut back, and she started a plan of where to go now.

This plan involved a real sabbatical from work and volunteering with Médecins Sans Frontières. Adrienne needed space and physical distance from her pain, and it gave her hope, a potential purpose that she could do something to help. Though she signed up for a year, Adrienne stayed with Médecins Sans Frontières for two years before returning to New York. Despite the distance and healing that she'd begun would be enough to help settle back into her life. She stayed in New York for a few months, catching up with friends, touring the hospital, but the more time she spent there the more old memories and pain surfaced and all she wanted to do was run. So Adrienne signed back up, knowing that she could offer more help with Médecins Sans Frontières, more than she could currently in New York.

ABILITIES | POWERS:

★ MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE. a trained pathologist, Adrienne is knowledgeable in studying and diagnosing diseases found in cells, masses or tissue samples. With a medical degree, she is trained in first aid, patient care, and wound treatment. During her time with Médecins Sans Frontières, she stepped a little away from pathology and practised more general care, focused on patient care and treatment.

★ LINGUIST. Adrienne is fluent in English and German and is conversational in Arabic and French.

PERSONALITY:

★ KINDHEARTED. Though she can be bossy and brash on the surface, Adrienne has a good heart at her core: she knows what pain is and doesn't want others to feel that pain. Whilst she's generally quite private, friendships with Adrienne tend to last, those closest to her seeing her most caring side, a woman that is fiercely protective of the people she loves. At work, her heart is seen in her determination, her dedication to finding answers to the children whose cases cross her desk, or the gentle words she has when face-to-face with a patient or family. Her words are her strength to others over physical affection, listening, trying to find the best thing to say to make someone feel better, or turning her brashness onto the person who caused pain to protect a friend. As for the children she works with they see the softest side of her, a softness that is reserved just for them: a mother who wants them happy and unafraid whilst their ills are cured.

★ AVOIDANT. Adrienne has a problem with connecting to people, not because she can't but out of a refusal to do so. Whilst she's friendly and kind, particularly in her work, many of her friendships and the people that she knows are surface friendships: she avoids letting people in and really getting to know her. Some of this stems from the loss of her parents -- she'd been hurt and didn't ever want to feel this again, almost being afraid of letting people in only to be hurt by them. After her daughter dies this ends up magnified: it's no longer just an emotional connection to others that she avoids but her own emotions, not processing her grief, trying to bury it and in the end only becoming reckless. She pulled away from a lot of people, hid behind 'I'm fine' and isolated herself in her pain. Outside of emotions, Adrienne will avoid anything she really doesn't want to deal with, maybe accepting that it exists but u-turning away from the topic if it gets too close to it, incredibly obviously changing the subject from it. Trying to get her to touch a topic she's pulled away from tends to be hit with refusal or denial. Or a little rudeness.

★ OVERCONFIDENT. Confidence is usually a bonus, though too much confidence can lead to someone being more impulsive sometimes arrogant-seeming or even reckless. For Adrienne, it's mostly the first issue -- she has a strong belief in herself, in what she knows or just that she's right that she hates waiting for the proper chain of events to happen, wanting to get around it to get to the end. Her confidence ties in with her bossiness, she knows (believes) she's right so she tells people what they need to do rather than listening to another solution. Her confidence does mean that she misses things, sometimes overlooking the small detail or misreading the room. At her worst, her confidence makes her reckless, almost believing that nothing can bring her down, recklessly fearless -- "it hasn't happened yet, I'm fine, it won't happen" (except it does).

★ BOSSY. It's a confidence thing and a little bit of a power thing, even if Adrienne doesn't have the power in a situation. She's gotten good at telling people what to do, what should happen or what she thinks needs to happen, even if she's not in charge. Adrienne's learned that sometimes the person in charge doesn't have all of the answers and if she does she's not the most subtle about going about it, telling people what needs to happen rather than explaining what she thinks. She's not apologetic about it, not when she believes she's right (unfortunately, she usually is) and the only thing that tends to save her is that she manages not to be rude about it. Though she's good at giving orders she is also a team player, and good at following directions -- if she believes in it, if the task feels wrong or feels like it wastes time then she's more than happy to disagree with it and try and demand a different path. And it is a demand.

SAMPLE: link + link

INVENTORY:

★ her medical i.d.
★ her phone
★ a worn, stuffed rabbit

NOTES: none specifically!

IF ACCEPTED, WOULD YOU WANT A PLOT-LIGHT OR PLOT-HEAVY CUSTOM INTRO? plot-heavy if possible, lets throw her in

Claire Fraser | Outlander

[beautifullies]

PLAYER NAME: Cloude
CONTACT: DM or discord @ lifewasawillow#5524
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE GAME?: Already in with Clara!

CHARACTER: Claire Fraser
CANON: Outlander
CANON POINT: During 'The False Bride' while stuck in a storm, seeing ghosts.

BACKGROUND: Wiki
ABILITIES | POWERS: None that she knows of as of this canon point

PERSONALITY:


the actual last time claire ever thought she knew what was going on.

There's one big thing to get out of the way in regards to Claire: Time travel has done a NUMBER on her life. It impacted not one, but two marriages, gave her children she otherwise never would have had, and it taught her what she can and cannot live with. It shaped her morals for better or worse, and whatever personality she might have developed shifted into something wiser, more hardened yet still kind, and less optimistic while still retaining a frayed shred of hope. Of course, going through multiple wars does that, too.

Shortly after World War Two ends and her time as a battlefield nurse is over, Claire and her husband, Frank, decide to go to Scotland for a second honeymoon. Because they're both nerds interested in two different things, Claire goes off alone to look at some cool flowers in a circle of standing stones. When she gets there, one particular stone starts making a buzzing noise so she touches it, and the next thing she knows, she's in the 18th century. Merely six weeks into her journey, after a failed escape attempt, she's forced to marry a young Scot named James Fraser in order to (semi) assure her protection by his clan. She went and got herself suspected of being a spy for the Scottish, so now the British have it out for her.

There comes an opportunity for Claire to go back to her time after another month or two, back to Frank, but ultimately, she makes the decision to stay in the past with her hot Scottish husband™. That choice gave her a daughter that she lost, nearly dying herself. Before that, she had to watch her husband as he was brutally tortured, but even knowing how hard the life would be, she stayed until, pregnant again, the Battle of Culloden drove Jamie to deliver her back to the stones. To remain would have been certain death, something she would have welcomed rather than a life without him. But the choice was made for her, by the child in her womb, and back to the 20th century she went.

Claire lived with one foot in the past for two decades, never moving on, simply existing. She lived a life that looked wonderful on paper; she had her daughter, Brianna, whom she agreed to let Frank parent as his own. He financed Claire going to medical school and loved her (until he moved on with a lover), and yet because of that one moment of touching stone, her heart was 200 years away, never to return. That event, traveling through time, changed her entire life course.


If I had her as a doctor I would simply never recover.

Claire is a woman who lives by her Hippocratic oath unless you try to hurt her family, and then she might take a machete to your neck. Claire has a good heart, and wrestling with her morals was a big part of her hesitation to accept the past as her new present, even knowing she already loved her Hot Scottish Husband™. She kept her not-as-hot English husband's ring, wearing both wedding bands as a reminder of both her first real love and her true love. She tries to do the best she can to be a good person, but she is pretty damn good at collusion and spying, especially when it comes to trying to keep her family alive.

She has gone out of her way to say 'fuck the consequences' to help others. In a 'bless her heart' moment, Claire tries to stop a slave auction in Jamacia and winds up owning a man whom she later helps escape to a free encampment. During the various battles leading up to Culloden, Claire worked tirelessly keep the men she grew to care for and love alive. When the enemy soldiers came to her for help, rather than say 'fuck off' she did what she could, gave them medical assistance, and cared, truly, whether or not they lived.

However.

When it's clear she isn't going to be able to change the past and make sure the Battle of Culloden isn't a bloodbath, she manages to convince Jamie to help her poison Prince Charles Stuart, which would effectively end the reason for turmoil. They would've gone through with it too, had Jamie's uncle not overheard everything. Claire's hands were over Jamie's on the knife when they killed the man, so that he wouldn't alert the Prince. Prior to that, in France, Claire had no problem lying often in order to sabatoge the war effort. Before that, she accused a man who tried to poison her of sorcery, having him executed. In summation: Claire strives to save lives, but she's the undisputed queen of Fuck Around and Find Out.

Claire expects no one to be perfect, but she does expect them to do better when aware. Politeness, and an eagerness to understand new things are her love language. Those who humble themselves when they know they aren't the smartest one in the room is a quality she most admires in men especially. She is accepting of every and all types, and has extremely low tolerance for those who are bigots, nasty, or just plain rude, so anyone who challenges those types is a star, in her book. (Claire herself has a habit of inserting herself into things, and after this backfires more than once she begins to reel herself in.) She very much appreciates a good nerd, preferring books to electronics, and she loves a good conversationalist. Above all else, making a good cup of tea is a top-tier quality in her humble, British opinion.


well, she tried.

There are other notable things to mention, to tie a bow on the personality section: When she lost everything she loved in the past (not just her husband, but a dead daughter, an adopted son, her sister and brother-in-law, nieces and nephews) she never quite climbed out of that black hole of grief. Every time she looked at baby Brianna, she only saw Jamie in her firery red hair and the strength of her profile. At first, looking at her daughter was like the bandaid being pulled slowly away inch by agonizing inch until her heart was raw.

In order to preserve her heart, Claire kept Bree at a distance whether consciously or not. She couldn't fake being a happy house wife no matter how hard she tried, and she always hated that she couldn't pull it together enough for Brianna. It fills her with guilt now, having to think about the fact that she actively chose to leave her daughter for good.

When Claire left the 18th century, she assumed Jamie died in the Battle of Culloden because of what she knows of history—she has no way of knowing this isn't true, because Frank (a history professor) hides the truth from her. For 20 years, she believes Jamie is dead until, after Frank's death, she finds out Jamie lived and that she could, in theory, go back to him. Ultimately she chooses him over staying with Brianna in the present. Even though it was with Bree's blessing, the guilt is still there: they were only just beginning to repair their relationship after Claire told her the truth about her biological father. It hurts if she stops to think about it, how much time she lost with her baby, and she's very aware of all the moments she's giving up to be with her love again.

There are a few other things worth mentioning that she dislikes about herself: she is a terrible liar with a barely passable poker face, she's vain and she knows it, and she has a short temper when the shit is hitting the fan—she hurts feelings and asks questions later.

SAMPLE: sample 1 | sample 2

INVENTORY:

The clothes she's wearing (skirts, long-sleeved shirt, boots, socks, a shift. normal stuff)
Bag with the following inside: different plant bits, notes, a canteen half-filled with water, an opal, and a human skull.
A small knife on her hip.
A gold ring on one hand, silver on the other.

NOTES: N/A

IF ACCEPTED, WOULD YOU WANT A PLOT-LIGHT OR PLOT-HEAVY CUSTOM INTRO?

YEAH LET'S DO IT if applicable :D

natasha romanova — marvel cinematic.

[redhourglass]

PLAYER NAME: sel
CONTACT: iothe or mii#9142 on discord!
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE GAME?: mod & player referral, i promise i belong here and i bring starbucks!

CHARACTER: Natasha Romanova
CANON: Marvel Cinematic Universe
CANON POINT: Immediately post time of death in Endgame.

BACKGROUND: Wiki Link

ABILITIES | POWERS:

⧗ Expert martial artist
⧗ Expert in acrobatics
⧗ Highly skilled in espionage, stealth, disguise
⧗ Highly skilled in interrogation
⧗ Above average strength (though just below the line of "super human")
⧗ Above average intelligence
⧗ Expert hacker (this likely will not matter in the setting, so expect it to be nerfed entirely)
⧗ Multilingual (Russian, English, French, German, Chinese, Italian, Vietnamese, Latin, Norwegian, Japanese, and others) - this will either be moot entirely in game beyond specific characters or be mostly irrelevant.

PERSONALITY:

At her current point in canon, Natasha has been through A Lot. She's long since been pulled out of her comfort zone as spy and assassin, into the lime light and geopoliticking of being an Avenger. She's embraced working on a team, come to see them as the closest thing she has to a family, stuck around long enough to see them fall to pieces, reunited with the second-closest thing she ever had to a family including her sister, and then had her and billions of other beings snatched about by evil Barney with a god complex (ok, he is a literal god). By the time we see her in Endgame, she's had five long years to think about what is really important to her, what really matters — and it comes to a head in her sacrifice for the Soul Stone on Vormir.

Natasha will do anything for her friends and found family - and she does try to understand others, even if she can't fully commit to their perspective. She's shown as a kind voice for the Avengers on numerous occasions including comforting Tony Stark the night of his birthday when he was dying of poisoning from his arc reactor (with not-so-great effect) and convincing Clint Barton not to blame himself for the death of SHIELD agents at his hands after his manipulation and possession by Loki. She genuinely mourns for Nick Fury after his "death" at the hands of the Winter Soldier, and frequently covers her friends during battle or goes to their aid if they're injured (Clint, often, and protecting Banner). During Age of Ultron, she stays behind with Steve Rogers to help him evacuate Novi Grad despite also trying to convince him to consider other options. During Endgame, she lobbies for trying to undo the Snap, insisting that they owe it to everyone who died to try. Her greatest act of compassion is sacrificing herself to retrieve the Soul Stone give the Avengers a chance of undoing the carnage of the Snap, with no guarantee that they would be successful.

That said, Natasha is still a practiced liar, assassin, and spy — manipulation comes with the territory. She has not hesitated to adopt certain identities or personas in order to meet her (or her employer's) needs, whatever those happen to be at the time. The ability to manipulate and trick others was taught to her at an extremely young age in the Red Room program. As a child, she went undercover as the child of Alexei Shostakov and Melina Vostokoff during their time in America in order to allow them to infiltrate and destroy the North Institute. In other canon appearances, she’s served as an admin assistant for Pepper Potts, pretended to get caught in order to interrogate a smuggling ring, and feigned hurt and fear in order to determine Loki’s true goal to provoke the Hulk. While she's (now) got a moral compass to match her manipulations, her motives are not always apparent to those around her and she leans heavily into the spy and assassin narrative when it suits her, all too happy to add to her untrustworthiness if it means meeting her own agenda.

She's also a highly logical person with an extreme ability to compartmentalize. Upon facing a Loki-brainwashed Clint Barton, she doesn’t show any sort of leniency, not even attempting to bargain with him, launching straight into physical confrontation. It’s shown in canon that during that time she was also extremely worried about Clint as her partner on Strike Team Delta, but she considers her emotions as a weakness and something to be put away and dealt with at a later date. This is a pattern repeated often in canon after Nick Fury's "death" at the hands of the Winter Soldier, the battle between the Avengers during Civil War, and upon finding out the Red Rooms are still active. When emotions are high, she tucks them away for the good of the mission... but they do eventually come back. At her current time in canon, this compartmentalization is breaking down and more and more of her true feelings leak through — she cries in front of Steve Rogers and shows obvious and clear concern for Clint when he tests the time machine. It's not all doom and gloom, though! Prior to her death we see her cracking a few jokes, laughing, and hugging her friends close.

Natasha may be able to compartmentalize her emotions, but she can't vanish them completely. She carries a lot of guilt for her past - whether it's her life as a child assassin working for the KGB, prior missions gone wrong, or even the wrongs that the Avengers have committed while trying to do right. The guilt becomes a distraction, and while it drives her often to do the "right" thing, it also has Natasha believing she's not entirely worthy of the affection or care of others, that she has a ledger she is permanently trying to balance (if it's even possible), and to prioritize the lives & well-fare of those around her. She's horrified to learn that the Red Rooms are still active, torn up by guilt that Antonia Dreykov is still alive and disfigured/disabled by the mission that failed to kill her. Repeatedly in canon she refers to herself as "unmade," "a monster," and untrustworthy. She doesn't see a life for herself outside of the Avengers, even when the original Avengers move on and disband after the Snap, and continues to atone for her misdeeds. This likely plays into her decision to sacrifice herself for the Soul Stone — in addition to Clint Barton being her best friend, the first person to trust her in SHIELD, and her partner, he also has a family and a life ahead of him, and more potential than Natasha could see in herself.

SAMPLE: (making an assumption of what the arrival scenario might be, just for the sake of a sample! feel free to disregard if i stomped on how things really work in game, i’ll rewrite fresh for an intro if accepted!)

( the last thing she concretely remembers is the fall. wind rushing past her body, the look of anguish on clint’s face, the lingering warmth of his hand in hers. she doesn’t remember the inevitable crash, the ground coming up to meet her — and that’s probably all for the better. it’s the right choice (isn’t it?); what’s one life in exchange for billions? she’s sorry clint had to see it happen, maybe. sorry that she won’t be able to see this through but…

whatever it takes. then there’s darkness.

when natasha comes to, she’s confused. there’s cool, hard ground underneath her; that makes sense. did she survive, somehow? impossible, no one could live through a fall like that, especially not a normal human. stranger still, there are voices close to her. vormir had been empty, desolate. she twitches an arm, to test that the limb still moves — it does. moves a toe in her boot, just to be sure. nothing big, nothing that could be noticeable by whoever it is nearby.

they’ll be waking up soon, a voice drawls, in a language she recognizes. natasha dares to open her eyes, just a peek through her lashes. she’s .. somewhere. a castle? tied up, her arms behind her back, body oddly fine for the fall she knew she took. there’s a group of men around a fire, looking at each other, talking with the same loud voice that all men use when they don’t think they can be or don’t care if they are overheard. this group seems stupider than the rest.

shifting minutely, slowly, carefully, she tries to survey some other lumps on the ground near her. other bodies, other people. she can tell by the rise and fall of their bodies that they’re alive, incapacitated in much the same way she is or was. natasha grits her teeth, letting her eyes fall shut again, forcing herself to think. if this is still vormir, there’s still a chance clint is on the planet. she can get back home, see this through…

she can’t think about the possibility that she’s somewhere else entirely.

natasha can feel a rock digging into her side. sharp enough to cut the ropes on her wrists? worth a try. whoever these men are, she’s not staying long enough to find out. once she’s free, she’ll have a short window of time to try and run; she’ll have to locate the door, knock down whoever it is who gets in her way, and then … who knew what was beyond the door? but if she didn’t try…

shifting, she works the rock into her hands, begin sawing away at the ropes, thankful that she’d been laid with her hands to the opposite side of the men. she keeps an eye on them through her lashes, waiting for one of them to glance her way, to notice she’s awake or moving.

she’s got to try this, got to get back. whatever it takes, right? )

INVENTORY:

⧗ Widow's Bite - bracelets that discharge electrical pulses and can electrocute others during hand-to-hand combat. (Potential downside: these could be difficult to repair or recharge in the game setting should anything happen to them)
⧗ Assorted knives on her person - one in each ankle sheath, one strapped to the inside of her left wrist.
⧗ Two Glock-26s - one with no ammunition, one with three shots left. (Nerf: I’m imagining it to be difficult to impossible to find bullets in the setting, and/or these can be confiscated/taken upon arrival).

NOTES: no particular accommodations! thank you!

IF ACCEPTED, WOULD YOU WANT A PLOT-LIGHT OR PLOT-HEAVY CUSTOM INTRO? plot-heavy, please!

Charles Xavier | XMCU

[perceptive]

Returning player and character coming in from the same canon point with no preference re: plot-light/plot-heavy custom intro. Would it be possible for Charles to only have vague recollections of his previous time in EB? c: If not, I'll just restart him from scratch.

The link to his app from before is here. Thank you!

Evan "Buck" Buckley ‍🚒 911

[3point0]

PLAYER NAME: Xy
CONTACT: assemble
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE GAME?: Rakel says I can be her +1!

CHARACTER: Evan "Buck" Buckley
CANON: 9-1-1
CANON POINT: Season 6, episode 12 in which Buck is recovering from a coma (I couldn't find a rule on new canons, if he needs to be from a canon point over a month old then s6 e9 is fine, he won't have been in a coma which is the only major change)

BACKGROUND:

The wiki only goes up through season 3 so some bullet point additions (spoilers beyond season 3):
-Buck's parents come to visit, which he actively hates as they were not good parents growing up. Maddie confesses that there's a secret, Evan was born specifically to save his brother Daniel, who died of childhood leukemia. His parents never even told him he had a brother.
-Maddie gives birth to Jee-yun, Buck's niece. Later, due to PPD, Maddie leaves Jee with her boyfriend (Chimney) and only Buck knows her whereabouts. Chimney punches him when he finds out, and leaves to go find Maddie.
-Buck joins a treasure hunt with the team and reunites with Taylor, though they have a platonic flirtationship. They eventually get together as a couple.
-Eddie gets shot and Buck regrets not being the one shot in his stead. Eddie tells him that if he dies, he's changed his will to appoint Buck as Chris's legal guardian.
-Eddie and Buck respond to a call in a prison and get held at gunpoint and kidnapped by an escaped prisoner dressed as a guard.
-Taylor moves in with Buck and he confesses to her that he cheated on her by drunkenly kissing another girl, she feels trapped but forgives him. (I really hate this storyline, sorry)
-Eddie leaves the 118 only to join the 911 call center, as Chris is worried for him. Later, he has a PTSD episode and Buck comes over to help him. Eddie gets therapy.
-Chimney returns with Maddie and Eddie returns to the 118.
-Chimney and Hen are put in danger when a paramedic with a hero complex attempts to kill Chimney in his jealousy over Hen. They enlist Taylor's help, and she promises to keep it off the record but then later prints the story. This upsets Buck, because it could have easily put his friends' lives at stake to release the story. They break up.

Season 6 spoilers:
-The Buckley parents come to visit Maddie in her new house.
-Buck is doing his thing again when he's struck by lightning and sent into a coma.
-He is sent into a coma dream whereupon he dreams that Daniel didn't die and that his parents love him. They insist that he can stay in this dream where everyone loves him and things are perfect, but that he didn't join the 118.
-He 'leaves' the coma dream and wakes up in real life, only to find that his parents have done a complete 180 and now profess to care for him.
-He's cleared to join work again, but has some lingering doubts with regard to his coma.

ABILITIES | POWERS:

Baseline human, but he is very physically fit, and has the following skills from his odd jobs:
-Bartender (went to mixology school)
-Surf instructor
-Trained for but did not become a Navy SEAL
-Ranch hand/literal cowboy
-Construction worker
-Trained firefighter
-The show alludes that he has had other random odd jobs and may add some to flesh out his backstory in the future.

And some from his personal life:
-Intermediate cook
-Excellent babysitter

PERSONALITY:

Buck is, in essence, a man with a good heart and good intentions, but who sometimes executes those intentions poorly. By the time the series starts, he's 24, and just finished his training as a firefighter, but before that, he'd spent the last six or so years traveling and taking various jobs throughout the United States and all the way to Peru. Listless and unsatisfied with any of them, he then trains to become a firefighter and he finds his place there, finds importance and meaning in this job.

Buck is always quick to action, and usually not to think. He's often the first to volunteer for anything, especially when it's dangerous. Initially when he's a newbie, he makes a lot of brash decisions. He still does, but he was much more thoughtless before, sometimes endangering others, one time beheading a snake. Though he's still reckless, now he only ever endangers himself. He is fearless, brave, and always ready and willing to sacrifice himself.

The main reason that he left his family home in Pennsylvania initially was that his parents were always neglectful or hostile to him. They instilled in him many insecurities and a constant need to prove himself and his own worth. One of his greatest desires is just for them to love him, and he is desperate for that relationship. It's revealed to him that his elder brother Daniel was diagnosed with childhood leukemia, and that Buck was conceived initially as a donor match for his brother. This has left him feeling that he and his life are expendable, which the other characters sometimes comment on.

A little bit desperate for approval and with a chip on his shoulder to try and prove himself, Buck is an absolute nightmare when given reins to act authoritatively. He is exceedingly lawful, follows rules to the letter, and is a general nuisance that his friends regret. He becomes upset over being passed over for interim captain in his captain's absence, despite being a firefighter for only five years. He is extremely confident in his abilities, usually bordering on overconfident.

He can be prideful, and boastful even of his adventures as a firefighter. But he is also not particularly humble in other aspects, such as his looks or in his love life.

Though his childhood was one marked by sadness and in his adult life he's gotten into many life-threatening accidents, he usually finds a way to stay positive. He's eager to smile and give a friendly ear or a helping hand, and he's generally quite easygoing. He values spending quality time with the people he loves, and he finds true happiness among his friends and found family.

Dean Winchester | Supernatural

[cholesterol]

PLAYER NAME: Brandon
CONTACT: audacieux, cas 🗯#5461
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE GAME?: I've seen it on friends' timelines and peeked in every now and then. Emily has graciously offered her invite slot.

CHARACTER: Dean Winchester
CANON: Supernatural
CANON POINT: Season 15, Episode 20 "Carry On" as he lays dying. Except, upon arrival, he can receive medical treatment. I am perfectly alright with playing out a realistic healing process to such a mortal wound should there not be a cleric or some such magic or alchemy involved or available. This both helps me because I wanted to apply but I'm going on a cruise shortly after, so it could give him reason to lay very low and recover or recover enough Should the means of transportation between arcs not have a sufficient way of keeping him alive, I can also take him from his fight with Sam and the vampires, but before he bites it, or after, in Heaven with Bobby. He's dead, but the dead in Supernatural are still -- you know, living their heaven lives. It's a thing.

BACKGROUND: Here!

ABILITIES | POWERS:

Dean was trained at a very young age in combat and marksmanship. He's an expert in hand to hand, a plethora of firearms, knives, swords, and most weaponry.

He has a wealth of supernatural knowledge (pertaining to his world), including wards and sigils (like devil traps) that keep demons and angels in or out and the incantation to force a demon out of a possessed vessel. . He knows basic Enochian by heart. Even though he wasn't chosen as Rowena's protege, he does have knowledge of very basic spells and can perform them.

He carries with him a wealth of semi-useless pop culture knowledge. (He would find this to be an ability, or else I wouldn't list it.)

He is quite the distinguished chef, having singlehandedly provided for a spa retreat while on a hunt.

He is also quite the functional alcoholic. Often fighting and driving after having a few. (I'm not encouraging this, just using it as an example...).

When Chuck removes his "god armor" he's lived with for the last who knows how long, he's still a better than average fighter who uses his environment to his advantage.

PERSONALITY:

Mentally, Dean Winchester perseveres. He is doggedly determined when he has a goal in mind. He very rarely gives up. And, when he does let himself, he always pulls himself back together. When he falls apart, he falls apart completely, but it's what happens after that counts. He moves forward. Always.

He is adaptive and good at adjusting to his circumstances. Even when he doesn't belong, he's good at joining the crowd. He's always been the brother with a role to play and a mission to fulfill.

He's the brother that carries out his orders. When he doesn't have doubts about the task at hand, he will complete it. Dean also has very strong morals that have greyed over the years - for the better. One of his friends is a werewolf, and she married a werewolf, and he sees past the 'monster' label now. As long as that monster isn't chowing down on the locals. He's disciplined, too. He will stick to the routine. He'll be the one cleaning his guns and doing the maintenance. He's become much more domestic.

Dean's humor is unmatched. His sarcasm is both a weapon and a masterclass in deflection. He will drop a pop culture reference at the top of the hat. While Dean may feign not being interested in something, Dean is actually a closet nerd. He's read every book on the shelf even if he doesn't advertise it, likewise his dad's journal. He has a very wide range of likes genre-wise and it gives him usable knowledge in his real world.

He is also very, very charming to the point of being flirtatious.

Dean is great at improvisation, often inserting himself into a town while on a case. He and his brother identify themselves as FBI agents often, in order to gain access.

On the flip-side from improvisation, when actually asked to act, Dean is stilted, does not have the talent, and is too focused on how he looks.

Mentally, he also has a very high pain tolerance. He's been tortured before. He's beaten to an inch of his life. On any given day he deals with ten more things than anyone else should plus guilt from any one thing in his head and he holds all that together. Dean makes it look effortless.

...It's anything but effortless.

Dean's emotional and mental weaknesses far outweigh his positive attributes. While he can be flirtatious, that flirtation can turn sexual and over the top on a dime. Dean can dip into the extra side. He's the himbo on Tinder you swiped right on, but that you won't meet again. Over the years, that side definitely hardened over in favor of being more of a "family man," and he's hardly had a single (arguable) love interest in years.

Dean shuts down very easily. He will hold a grudge. He will give someone the silent treatment. If he feels trust has been broken or like his broken moral code has been bent, he has to take time to process.

Dean's anger issues are borderline clinical. He will rage. He will go off, violently. He will destroy the hood of a car, he will punch a wall. He needs to put that energy somewhere else. He is a furious man. When everything hits the fan anything he holds in explodes. It's one of his constants. Recently, he believes Chuck (their God from their canon) messed with his anger management, but even without Chuck's meddling, Dean flies off the handle.

While Dean isn't naturally expressive, he does not have a good poker face if he's not trying. He will grumble, he will gripe, and he might even whine if he's not trying to conceal what he's thinking.

Dean represses years of trauma, disappointment and insecurity at all times. A lot of why Dean the way he is, is how his father treated him, and never believing he was enough for the guy. He always wanted to be his dad's favorite. He feels things deeply, but, expressing them is another issue entirely. It takes nearly dying one of the many times he did for him to say what's on his mind. Castiel gives him a declaration of love and Dean can barely process what's been said before it's too late. And, still, he focuses on 'the goodbye' part of it. Dean believes everyone leaves and everyone dies. He also believes that eventually, between his brother and him, he's the one who will die young. He also lives with the guilt of his actions, from not being there enough for Sammy, for things he did in Hell after dying, for failing Jack the first time.

Dean suffers from depression and PTSD. Often, he's the brother that will not hesitate to sacrifice himself. As far back as the second season, he has a suicidal streak and this never really breaks. Dean does not take care of himself. He's often seen eating burgers, fries, meats, and take out for almost every meal. Dean also has deep, deep issues with alcoholism, often drinking a whole six pack on his own, sometimes alone in his room. Whereas Sam goes for a run, Dean sleeps in. Dean uses alcohol, violence, and getting the job done as his crutches for ignoring everything else. One of his other vices, one night stands, has since decreased over the course of the series. Sex was a vice and a coping mechanism for him, but he's moved past that now. His eye is always on the end of the road, whether that ends bloody - or not. He's just now processing that maybe he has something to contribute, that's he's not as broken as he thinks. He's not daddy's blunt instrument. He loves. Dean does love, but he will express that love in different ways, more in a physical hug or gestures. Acts of kindness and physical touch would be his love languages. But, good luck with getting them. Despite that, he does not have a healthy view of himself and hasn't in a very long time.

A montage in the last episode does prove that Dean is capable of changing his habits, bettering himself, and making good choices. He's just too deep in the darkness for years to see what he's capable of. Even with Lisa by his side back in season 6, he's unable to live that life and have the normal job, because he doesn't feel like he deserves it. And, ultimately, because it puts Lisa and her kid, Ben in danger.

Finally, flip a coin on whether it's a negative or a positive, Dean is greatly self-sacrificing. He will sell his soul for his brother, erase the memories of his chosen family, or downright kill himself if it saves one person he loves. (Hell, one person he doesn't.) But, he will also fight tooth and nail to the death against insurmountable odds.

SAMPLE:

Sample 1
Sample 2
Sample 3

And for good measure, Sample 4

( They always come to with a gasp.

Maybe it's the drama of a near-death experience, or actually dying in Dean's case, that propels his chest upward as he comes to. His body's attempt at sitting up ends as abruptly as it began as a surge of pain travels up his spine and settles right where he remembers he was struck. He remembers it secondhand in pieces. He remembers the sweeping monologue, the vampire Jenny, the shittiest excuse for a pie festival and he swears to himself there was an underscore of music as he said his goodbye to Sam. As far as endings go, he went out poetically. But, he has a bone to pick with the 'how' and 'why.'

He doesn't get the luxury that other newcomers get. Answers from people in the same boat - or in this case, train - because he's in recovery sequestered away from whoever else is on board. He hurts himself on night one, passing out from the pain of an attempt at an escape. Night five he rips his stitches.

Having been to Hell itself with a capital H, he knows that's not what this is. But, having been to Heaven, he also knows this isn't that. If he were dead he'd be dead and if he were in Hell, he'd be tortured or doing the torturing. He deserves both.

He spends a day calling his caretaker Chuck, probably to their chagrin. But, he knows they depleted Chuck's magic. He knows Jack is now God. The next day, he's quiet, almost scared to call out to Jack or Cas.

Eventually, he has to accept his explanation at face value. He becomes a better patient. He makes progress within an acceptable time frame. He has something to live for, even if he doesn't know what it is.

In hindsight, it feels like the five stages of grief. He finally reaches acceptance. He wishes for Sam to find love. Dean can see it now: Sam settles down and doesn't devote his life to finding or resurrecting his brother. They've both been there and done that and had the literal book written about them. Dean knows Sam'll keep their hunter network going. He knows he'll take care of Miracle. He knows Sam will be okay.

Dean Winchester doesn't know what he is or how he feels. He knows there's a part of him that's at peace with his end, with his existence. Quips his caretaker doesn't understand fly as he clobbers his sense of humor back together brick by brick. He makes an inappropriate comment about being followed to the bathroom. He becomes the obnoxious but not impossible patient.

And then one day, he's up. He's maneuvering around. It hurts, but that just reminds him he can feel it hurt. Well, now. Time to meet the locals, isn't it?, he thinks. It can't get worse than being impaled on rebar. )

INVENTORY:

| one bloody machete
| one bloody hand-print stained green jacket
| John Winchester's journal

NOTES: The above sample is only one scenario, I'm completely open to others.

IF ACCEPTED, WOULD YOU WANT A PLOT-LIGHT OR PLOT-HEAVY CUSTOM INTRO? So, normally, a plot heavy introduction would be my jam, but this has come around at a crazy time and I'm inching toward a vacation at the end of the week. That said, if he's accepted and he can recover, I wouldn't at all be opposed to a plot-heavy introduction once he's up and moving around. I am totally free to discuss up until Saturday. I am back on the 17th and will be around the 18th on.

ren amamiya | persona 5

[1797]

PLAYER NAME: Nix
CONTACT: PM this journal
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE GAME?: Carolyn 🐸

CHARACTER: Ren Amamiya
CANON: Persona 5
CANON POINT: Evening of 11/21, escaping police custody with Sae Niijima's assistance

BACKGROUND: wiki

ABILITIES | POWERS: I am so sorry about this Jungian JRPG nonsense.

PERSONA: Ren can summon a physical manifestation of his rebellion and rage, called a Persona. This grants him a few special properties, among them a fashion makeover (with a mask!) and a strong resistance to distorted perception. Also notable: most people can only summon a single Persona, since it's a reflection of their heart, but Ren is what his canon calls a "Wild Card", or someone who can summon and utilize multiple Personas.

To spare everyone from min-maxing hell, he'll only have an upgrade of his initial Persona, Raoul, with the following skills:

• Maeigaon (deals heavy curse or dark magical damage to all enemies)
• Megidolaon (deals severe almighty or nonelemental magical damage to all enemies)
• Riot Gun (deals severe gunlike physical damage to all enemies)
• Brave Blade (deals colossal standard physical damage to one enemy)
• Phantom Show (high chance to put all enemies to sleep)

In canon, targets can have immunities to any or all of these skills (besides Megidolaon) and he just has to deal with it.

METAVERSE: But wait, there's more! Ren has a phone app (don't ask) that can access the Metaverse, a parallel dimension formed by the collective unconscious, where people's distorted perceptions or cognition of the world create locations called Palaces. This also gives him access to warped people's Shadows, or their darker and more dubious desires made flesh. Defeating a Shadow and stealing their treasure—a physical manifestation of those desires—creates a Change of Heart, which causes the Shadow to return to their real self and take accountability for their actions. Killing them, however (which Ren refuses to do), effectively kills their real self.

Unless the Metaverse has somehow merged with reality (long story), Ren can only access this dimension with the name of the person causing the distortion, the location itself, and a keyword describing the distorted area. He can also access a "shared" Palace of the local public, but he won't know what it's called in Akhuras, so sucks to be him. Also, Personas can only manifest in the Metaverse.

Since Ren's phone is going to die real fast, I'm going to say he can learn to use his Persona's skills outside of the Metaverse without actually summoning it because [vague interdimensional mumbling]. He can also change his stock of available Personas if he has access to the Metaverse (and especially a certain room in the Metaverse), but...vague interdimensional mumbling. I'm just going to pull this off the table without some external factor.

If an event seems to have a way to access the Metaverse or I get the sick idea he should acquire another Persona, I'll run it past the mod. Alternatively, if he has an opportunity to nab a different conduit for his Persona (currently, he tears a mask off his face, but the mask only materializes in the Metaverse) or find some other workaround, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

THIRD EYE: In canon, this highlights points of interest in various ways; in Akhuras, it'll be more of an abstract sixth sense. Ren can sense traps, "see" in complete darkness, and gain insight to whether someone will be an easy or difficult fight. He also has an uncanny predilection for items or people he should interact with and areas he can get into—in accordance to or against his better judgment—and can improve his skill in activities like fishing, darts, or baseball. Basically, he can expand his ability to use Third Eye if he gains a deeper understanding of a topic.

OTHER: He's athletic and acrobatic to boot; while his baseline is an active human teenager, the Metaverse boosts his physical abilities so he can leap ridiculous distances, achieve much greater feats of strength, and do wild tricks with a grappling hook. He's skilled with handguns and knives, and knows how to make a variety of infiltration tools, chief among them smoke bombs and lockpicks. He's dexterous enough to steal from an enemy midattack and can learn new activities at a frankly alarming rate. Also, he makes a mean curry and coffee, but the road to getting there was long enough that he probably can't make anything else lol.

PERSONALITY: Quiet and unobtrusive at first glance, Ren dresses neatly and makes an effort to maintain a socially acceptable facade. While it wouldn't be right to call it a lie—it's fairly superficial, like "his glasses are fake" superficial, because he really is a tidy person with poor posture—he's very aware of how the world perceives him. It's a side effect of being framed for assault, expelled from his hometown high school, and dumped on a stranger in Tokyo because only Shujin Academy would enroll him. And Ren is powerless to do anything about it, not only as a minor, but as someone who got on the bad side of a man far above him in status.

And so he's learned: Doing what's right doesn't protect you from other people's bad faith, especially when society favors those with influence. His mental image of his situation is of a prisoner, someone in shackles, even if he isn't always conscious of what, exactly, is tying him down. He's keenly aware of the injustice of his situation and what it is to be abandoned; no one helped or believed him when he needed it most and it derailed the course of his life.

Tale old as time, Ren gets power and uses it. He becomes a vigilante and leader of a group of teenagers who call themselves the Phantom Thieves of Heart, who see a change of heart as the only way to deal with people who are untouchable by the law or simply aren't important enough to be noticed by the law. Some might call it ego, that teenagers believe they know better than the adults around them, but mostly it's rage. Because Ren is angry that society is unfair and corrupt, that it would tell him it's a mistake to help someone because it puts him at risk. If the choice is standing by and watching or taking action, Ren takes action because he knows what it means to be failed by the world around him. His Persona awakens explicitly because of his desire to help people.

Which isn't to say his actions aren't morally dubious. It's right there in the title of vigilante, of thief, even if he takes the stance of someone who goes after the powerful to protect those less fortunate. While he's egalitarian in his leadership and gives all of his friends voice in their most important decisions—everyone has to agree before they pursue any target—being able to change someone's heart is a lot of power for a bunch of kids in high school. But while Ren is willing to break rules that don't benefit him or his cause, he does make an effort to draw the line. At one point, he and the other Thieves choose to leave a classmate's Shadow alone because the Phantom Thieves aren't meant to be an end-all solution to every problem. They aren't going to touch someone who is just being kind of shitty; they're there to pursue entities of active harm.

He likes to stay active and keep his hands busy, picking up odd jobs and often fidgeting with whatever he's holding. School bores him and he spends his days slumped at his desk and staring out the window, even if he's listening. And he is, frequently, listening. While he might not have natural genius like some of his friends, he's observant and capable of school smarts. Planning and coordination is simply not his priority, so he leaves it to his fellow Thieves instead. And when he does make plans, he has an unfortunate tendency to go sparse with details or omit them altogether. Depending on which route you take in the game, he might turn himself into the police behind everyone's backs. And, while he can't exactly ask permission without revealing himself as a Phantom Thief, he often intervenes without asking if his allies' have a problem that can be solved by a change of heart.

In this way, he's catlike; Ren slouches through life on his own terms, unwilling to bend to anyone's will but his own. He holds his own counsel and refuses to compromise his morals. He's obstinate to an almost unhealthy degree, especially once he makes a decision, and pursues his goals with a feline tenacity. This, coupled with his innate nosiness (he is constantly eavesdropping), can make him kind of pushy; Ren doesn't really know when to leave well-enough alone. He's drawn to people who have been ostracized like himself and tends to leap to their assistance, whether it's wanted or not. He's overprotective in that sense, but these connections are genuinely important to him; if given a chance to say whether he wants to stay or leave Tokyo at the end of his probation, he unquestionably wants to stay.

He also takes shit in stride to a bizarre degree. He hallucinates in the middle of Shibuya and casually dismisses it, gets dragged into wild situations by his friends and confidants, and sometimes has skewed priorities when observing his surroundings. After getting captured and thrown in a shoddy Palace cell, he idly notes the bed is in terrible condition, so he'd like to use it as little as possible. Which isn't to say he isn't awkward, or doesn't find himself out of his depth; he's overwhelmed at first by the sheer number of people on the Tokyo Metro and shies away from being put in the spotlight if it isn't on his own terms. When he gets ditched by two of his classmates during Operation Maid Watch (...where they hire a maid to clean so they can watch), he sweats his way through the interaction and won't even turn around to face her.

He is, put simply, kind of a dumbass. A reckless one; he takes some mystery medication that briefly puts him in a coma and goes along on a shady deal with a former yakuza. And his guise in the Metaverse, the thief who uses the code name Joker, is what happens when Ren is unfettered by society's niceties. Conjured up from his image of rebellion, Joker is cool the way a teenager thinks of cool: cocky to the point of arrogance, grossly disinterested in his own mortality, and clad in a lot of black. He's theatrical, lowering his voice and making broad, dramatic gestures. He is a showoff.

He cuts loose in the Metaverse because it's a world where society can't judge him, where his sense of alienation becomes a strength. He craves excitement, riding the high of adrenaline and the thrill of power. Even when the odds are stacked against him, he treats it as a challenge. If you solo a battle with him and emerge victorious, he's sheepish but pleased with himself. His initial Persona, Arsène, gives voice to his anger in the Metaverse, telling him, "Kill [your enemies] however you want. Run wild to your heart's content!"

That said, Ren isn't an inherently deceptive or negative person. While he absolutely will lie, especially to protect people he cares about, he prefers to reverse questions back on people or joke around. Otherwise, he opts for honesty, audacity, and practicality. His sense of humor is very deadpan; people can't always tell when he's joking.

He seems to like it that way.

SAMPLE: network | log

INVENTORY: The clothes on his back, a pair of hip glasses, and a smartphone.

NOTES: n/a

IF ACCEPTED, WOULD YOU WANT A PLOT-LIGHT OR PLOT-HEAVY CUSTOM INTRO? I'm good with either!

America Chavez | MCU

[starlingroad]

PLAYER NAME: Jean
CONTACT: metaljean | discord: midknightcat#8900
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE GAME?: Ruxi, and Val honeyfoot has offered an invite to me

CHARACTER: America Chavez
CANON: MCU flavor
CANON POINT: After Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness

BACKGROUND: MCU Wiki

ABILITIES | POWERS:
1. Dimensional Travel / Portal Creation: While she can still kick or punch star shaped holes into walls or floors/solid surfaces (super strength), her ability to make dimensional star shaped holes is gone, completely. She cannot cut through dimensions here. (Either because too far away from home, or because I said so and this will make traveling more interesting.) She will have a sling on her person, but it won't work to open dimensional rifts, either, just make sparks.
2. Superhuman Strength: Creates star shaped holes she punches and kicks through things/walls. I don't, of course, want her to just be able to kick and punch her way through everything in game, so easily will say this doesn't always work as it should here/as expected, for one reason or another, possibly dependent on scenario.
3. Superhuman Durability: Can allow her to survive through a lot of rough and tumble, long falls etc, experiences, but doesn't prevent all injury. I.E. Can easily be used as an excuse for why she doesn't die easily, but still ensures everything isn't easy for her.


PERSONALITY:
While it can be said America isn't as flighty as she started off in the beginning of Multiverse of Madness, she's still clearly just as impatient. Even in a setting where there's no sense of urgency, just training, she is flustered she can't get the sling to operate right away. She also might not need to steal any longer, but she's fairly good at it if need be. It's the fact she will do whatever it takes to survive, include steal, that matters most here.

Even when a different Stephen Strange told her the least risk way, the best thing to do, was to give up her life so her powers could go to him, rather than Wanda (even if she didn't know it was Wanda chasing her at the time), she refused, preferring to live. Her powers manifested a star portal out of necessity, even if she didn't do it consciously. Self-preservation is a huge motivator for her throughout most of the movie.

Due to everything she's been through, lack of parents for so long, and being chased through different universes, she clearly wants to trust people and puts her trust in a Doctor Strange that betrays her, but it is also hard for her to trust people on certain levels. Like when she felt the need to run off when Doctor Strange and Wong helped save her from the Gargantos.

Over time, she does see Stephen's point of view and thinks, yes, the best way might be her death and her powers going to someone more capable, and is willing to give up her life if it means saving a universe/another person, saving everyone from what damage Wanda might incur with that ability. It's not a decision she made lightly, or came too easily, which is more than fair for her age and the experiences she's had. The fact she came to that decision at all, and let go of her stubbornness speak to a will to help, to do the right thing (in the end), even at cost of her own life.

Also things that change over time are her view on 616!Stephen Strange. Despite her blunt, direct manner, she does have enough to distinguish him from the other Doctor Strange she knew, to see him as an individual, even before he surprises her by supporting her instead of taking her powers.

Perhaps due to age, or the events she's witnessed, and how she first came into her powers, her confidence in her abilities isn't the greatest. She distrusts her power, clearly, understandably, uncomfortable with them at first, and it takes Stephen telling her they worked on a subconscious level, always took them right where they needed to be, for her to own them. She ends the movie far more comfortable with them, and Stephen, but it is clear that original mishap with her mothers has left a large, nasty scar on her that isn't as easy to heal.


SAMPLE:
Sample 1 - cw: bad food, starvation mentions
Sample 2 - cw: attempt self-harm, was not done
Sample 3

INVENTORY:
A sling (non-working, she will be sad-annoyed)
Her regular clothes/jean jacket included (she arrives in Kamar-Taj student/training robes, has the others on her, if allowable?)

NOTES: Do want her to have a sling on her, but it won't work.

IF ACCEPTED, WOULD YOU WANT A PLOT-LIGHT OR PLOT-HEAVY CUSTOM INTRO? Do as thou wilt. As long as it's flashy and sparkles, I'm probably super down.

comment 1 of 2

[yeahmagnets]

PLAYER NAME: Rizzo
CONTACT: rizzoto, itsmepinkman#5836, PM yeahmagnets
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE GAME?: Amber (Nacho Varga in game)

CHARACTER: Jesse Pinkman
CANON: Breaking Bad
CANON POINT: Season 3, Episode 10 "Fly"

BACKGROUND: Character History

ABILITIES | POWERS: Jesse is a human without any extraordinary powers. He does have some abilities - street smarts, salesmanship, the ability to synthesize methamphetamine, some basic chemistry knowledge, how to make a homemade battery with simple ingredients, how to operate a low-level drug dealing operation, and a basic level of operating firearms. He's also good with kids, which may seem contradictory to most of his aforementioned skills.

PERSONALITY:
-LOYAL
Jesse is loyal to a fault. He protects Mr. White on several occasions, even though this man is the sole reason for him ending up in the worst actual situations. Jesse himself has said he's not a murderer. He doesn't do well with blood and guts and the darker visuals that often accompany a life of crime.

As hard as he portrays himself to be, Jesse isn't a tough guy and to him, murder is the ultimate sin. Jesse's more likely to talk his way out of a situation than try to fight his way out, which attests to the fact that he would prefer to stay away from committing violent acts if he's able to.

He spends days holed up in his apartment like a hermit after witnessing a junkie getting his head smashed by an ATM. Even though he wasn't the one who committed the act that time, it deeply affects Jesse and leaves him almost catatonic, hiding away in his apartment from his responsibilities and life in general, stuck in a cycle of smoking weed and keeping himself alive eating bag after bag of Funyuns.

Jesse's loyalties lie with the people he's closest to. He would do just about anything for his friends. He's a good guy to have on your side and, once he lets you in, he'll gladly lay his life on the line for you.

-HEART OF GOLD
Jesse is a good guy who has been caught up in a bad situation. In spite of being a drug dealer and regularly breaking the law, Jesse stands by a code of ethics. He has a particular soft spot for children, for example.

Early on in the show, Mr. White sends Jesse to get revenge on a couple of junkies who stole drugs from them. When Jesse arrives at the drug den, he finds the couple's obviously neglected child there. Jesse immediately falls into the role of a caretaker. He finds some marshmallow fluff and bread, and makes the kid a sandwich. He tries to find cartoons for the kid to watch, but discovers that only one channel on the television works. After the junkies return, Jesse chastises the woman for being a bad mother. The woman ends up killing the man with an ATM they were trying to break into, and Jesse plays peekaboo with the kid, shielding his eyes from the carnage as he wraps him in a blanket and takes him outside. At the risk of being found and arrested, Jesse calls the police to report the incident and makes sure the kid is safe before he leaves, telling him to 'have a good rest of your life, kid'.

Jesse's a man of his word. If he makes a deal with someone, he keeps it. Because in his head, that's the right thing to do. An example of this is when he returns to the junkyard that he stole his RV out of and gives the owner a stack of cash to pay his owed storage fees plus interest for the damage he caused when he rammed his way out of the place. He had told the guy he was a man of his word--that he would get him the money for storage fees after he made enough cash to do so. He doesn't have to return and make good on his word, but he does because Jesse has little else to offer when it comes to instilling faith in others that he's trustworthy. He knows that people instinctively don't trust him upon meeting him, and why should they? He's a criminal. But even as a criminal, he has a code that he stands by.

-ADDICT
Jesse is a hedonist through and through. He's drawn to whatever lights up his brain's pleasure centers. Drugs, alcohol, sex, you name it and he does it without question. He started off smoking pot in high school as a way to escape from the restraints of his parents' way-too-high expectations. It quickly spiraled to harder drugs and alcohol. His main reason for using drugs is to escape. Reality often gets just too real for him. The pressure of not being able to live up to expectations drags him down and he would rather get high and forget about it than do anything to change because he isn't sure changing is something that he has the capability to tackle. In his current canon-point, Jesse is trying to stay sober, but if he's put under enough stress he'll relapse. He does his best to stay away from meth, but he'll probably smoke pot if he can find any, and drinking is generally fair game. He's probably going to want something to take the edge off of arriving in an alternate universe.

-STREET-SMART
What Jesse lacks in conventional intelligence, he makes up for with his knowledge from the streets. He knows the ins and outs of running an illegal drug distribution business. He's a natural salesman, influencing people to buy his wares all over town.

Jesse's observant and, because of that, he has the natural ability to tell when someone's feeding him bullshit. Unless you have a great poker face, he's going to know if you're lying to him. Jesse has a habit of being suspicious of people's intentions, particularly if they're being nice to him. Used to being taken advantage of, he tends to think everyone runs on a tit-fot-tat mindset. If you're giving him something, he isn't likely to think it's for free.

Jesse knows his way around a gun. While he once struggled to even figure out how to open one, he has since learned enough to at least be able to safely operate a firearm.

Jesse has several abilities thanks to his life of petty crime. He can pick locks, climb gates, sneak around, and is hyper-aware of when he's being followed. Jesse isn't that easy to get the jump on.

As far as physical fights go, he can hold his own but he's pretty easily overpowered considering he just isn't that big of a guy. What he lacks in size, he makes up for in ferocity. There are no fair fights with this guy. He will bite, scratch, flail, try to trip you, and aim for where it hurts the most. He also has incredible endurance. If you don't knock him out or otherwise incapacitate him, he'll just keep getting back up to his feet. Jesse doesn't give up easily. All he has left is his pride, and he's determined to protect that at any cost.

-APPROVAL-SEEKING
Jesse constantly seeks approval from those he looks up to, or those who he views as of higher 'status' than himself. All the while, his sense of self-worth is practically non-existent. He gets his kicks from making other people proud or impressing them. He's constantly trying to prove that he's not the worthless junkie people think he is (himself included). Because of this, Jesse tends to latch onto anyone who shows him a little compassion. Anyone who's interested in what he has to say, anyone who seems to enjoy his company. Jesse will go to the ends of the earth for anyone who makes him feel important or cared for. It all stems from a deep sense of insecurity. He isn't sure of himself or his place in the world, so anyone who can stroke his ego is someone he won't stray far from.

-BIG KID
While he can be serious at times, Jesse isn't the most mature person. Mr. White refers to Jesse's hobbies as "smoking weed, eating Cheetos, and masturbating", and he probably isn't too far off. He's into playing video games. He still likes watching cartoons and silly slapstick comedy like The Three Stooges. He's seen swinging around a stick like a lightsaber more than once during the series. One of the scenes where his child-like personality is highlighted is when he's left to his own devices in Gus' super lab, bored to tears while he's awaiting his cook-partner's arrival. Jesse messes around and otherwise touches just about everything in the lab. He flings himself across the floor in a chair-on-wheels, he drums on the machinery, and most notably, he fills his hazmat suit with compressed air and dances around in the inflated outerwear. Don't leave him alone around anything he's not supposed to touch.

(continued)

nynaeve al'meara | the wheel of time (amazon series)

[mashiara]

PLAYER NAME: rakel
CONTACT: pm this journal
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE GAME?: already here in game!

CHARACTER: Nynaeve al'Meara
CANON: The Wheel of Time (Amazon Series)
CANON POINT: Post Episode 4.

BACKGROUND: TV Series Wiki Link!

ABILITIES | POWERS: Nynaeve is a great tracker, from growing up in Two Rivers. Presumably she can also hunt, given tracking's linked to this, and fish given the Two River's location, and has been shown to effectively use short and longer bladed weapons. She likewise can ride horses.

She's a talented healer, making poultices and cures out of native plants and the like, accurately diagnosing conditions in her patients. She was unaware of how she used the One Power to help augment her healing from a young age, but she does do this, and is capable of great feats of healing through the use of the One Power. Nynaeve does not have an easy relationship with it, as without training, the One Power can easily kill those who try to use it: in great emotional duress she can make use of the One Power, the primary kind being degrees of anger or frustration or refusal to not be able to heal those still living enough to save.

Her gifts related to the One Power are part of being a channeler: she's a very powerful channeler, but she's untaught, and she doesn't know how to reliably tap into that power even if she were trained right now.

She also has an ability to "listen to the wind," which seems to be a passive ability allowing for weather prediction (literal weather, and metaphorical weather for situations about to hit a region). It's dampened somewhat since her first big touch of the True Source and her use of the One Power, but the idea is it allows her to sense a coming conflict, and get a read on how large that conflict will end up being.

PERSONALITY: Nynaeve cares, deeply. She has a hard time admitting when she's wrong or doesn't know something if it feels like she should, and she's very direct and prone to taking action based on what she thinks needs to happen. She's not shy in making her opinion known or being confrontational when it comes to people she cares about, seeking to get to them or help them; she's capable of violence when it's necessary, but takes no particular pleasure in it, only faces the necessity unblinking. (Note this is violence to save herself or those she cares for, not violence as a means of handling conflict in general.)

She's a driven, protective woman who has had to step up and be considered Wiser than she necessarily was due to the situations she's been in. She doesn't bend easily, but she will admit to changing her mind and opinions on further evaluations. She trusts her own instincts greatly. She doesn't mince her words for the most part, making her abrasive to many, and she's slow to apologise, though she will when she finds herself in the wrong. Tending toward snappishness when out of her element, Nynaeve is a woman who buckles down and gets things done and isn't afraid to vent complaints along the way when she finds things stupid, suspicious, or otherwise Noteworthy in some form.

But she will heal you. She will heal you. She absolutely will do what she can to heal whatever she comes across in the world. With her burgeoning awareness of her relationship to the One Power and her channeling, that's some fertile ground to explore... if she can figure out a means of tapping into it reliably.

Understandably, she's a very stubborn person, to both her gains and losses. Stubbornness drives her to great successes and to slow shifts of opinions or abilities to admit to those changes of opinions (or being potentially wrong), but it also makes her a reliable, steady, loyal ally, and driven as a whole.

SAMPLE: Stupid whatever it was called. The train. First there'd been that ill tempered woman, then the Light forsaken mountain with its burning ridge, and the pendant that turned nonsense languages with no familiar cadences into ones her ears understood. It had to have been some enchantment worked on the pendant, that's obvious, but she couldn't say more about it—that Karsa woman wasn't for questions, she was for rushing, and with more than a handful of people likewise as confused as to how they ended up here, what could she say?

Summoned to another world. Brought into another war, when the whole point of her heading out of the Two Rivers was to catch up with that Moiraine and Lan to ensure that Rand and Mat and Perrin and Egwene weren't led off to the slaughter for the sake of the Dragon Reborn, which in spite of herself, she did believe was... possible. Not her, even if it was disgruntling how that conversation had gone with Moiraine, but one of those four, after seeing what Logain Ablar had been capable of. Seeing what she had been, in that blazing aftermath of her sheer denial that Lan would die in such a stupid way, that anyone in that cave still living would pass for this stupid gamble that the Aes Sedai felt compelled to take in the way they had.

That Logain had felt compelled to bid for, as if they weren't all leading to a dark path and far too many heavy interests eyeing everyone involved.

She's frustrated, enough that even the steed out of nightmares Karsa connected them with isn't deterrent enough that she won't, with grit teeth and a grimace, reach out and take hold of and ride until they catch up with this Sandman, whatever kind of (wagon?) train it is, and find the next Gateway so she can get back to the important things she was doing.

So the worry eating her up inside won't fester into more than it is already, and she can find everyone, do what she can to make sure they're not swallowed whole by the world, by the White Tower, by whatever's coming. Because she can feel something coming, even here. Or perhaps it was here.

"Look lively, you heard her! I don't have to like her either, but it feels wrong when we start to drift asleep, so stay awake! Ring the bell, do whatever you have to. Pinch your thigh. Sing a song. Tell a story."

Using her knees, she directs the horse to keep pace with another one just ahead, where the rider's head nods once, jerking up and awake with bleary, wide eyes.

"Come on," she says to them too, "We're almost there. Don't you dare give up on me now."

Eyes focussed ahead, it was hard to claim she meant the person pulled into the same nonsense horrorshow that she was, but they were all in this together, them and that Karsa and this Merchant and whatever else, and she needs them all to move forward so she can find her way home.

INVENTORY: The contents of her Wisdom's pouch (healing herbs of various kinds, and a few related measuring instruments), her clothing, a short knife, shoes. Nothing all that noteworthy otherwise, maybe a satchel with a blanket inside. Make it a horse blanket so she can stare at it with her nose wrinkled. Make her have Nicer Clothing in there too so she can say it's nowhere near as sensible as what she's wearing, good stout Two Rivers cloth, meanwhile... she needs to wear the nicer, Aes Sedai related things. Ugh. (But inwardly, it's nice... let a woman be conflicted over what feels like giving in to a privilege she finds unfairly levered across people based on arbitrary Worthiness.)

NOTES: This is a later submission app based on mod permission due to extenuating circumstances.

IF ACCEPTED, WOULD YOU WANT A PLOT-LIGHT OR PLOT-HEAVY CUSTOM INTRO? She can be light as a feather, it's all fine.

Lan Xichen | The Untamed

[lanclan]

PLAYER NAME: Em
CONTACT: icicles@plurk
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE GAME?: ruxi bullied me :c

CHARACTER: Lan Xichen
CANON: The Untamed
CANON POINT: Post-canon

BACKGROUND: Background. Aside from some minor differences between MDZS and The Untamed (such as the yin iron plot), this is accurate.

ABILITIES | POWERS:

Lan Xichen is a powerful cultivator of qi (who will probably live a very long life as much as he would rather not) and owns the crazy Lan arm strength, so he's strong both spiritually and physically. Aside from all that, he has some special abilities.

° Swordsmanship: Renowned, taught by his uncle Lan Qiren.
° Cleansing: Because of the purity inherent in his strong cultivation, Xichen is exceptionally good at cleansing spirits. He does this with his xiao, Liebing, and sometimes uses the guqin of which he is also a master musician. He can essentially send so many good vibes at a spirit that it calms tf down.
° Archery: Placed in the top four archers at a discussion conference in his youth. Not a shabby shot.
° Painting: Xichen's paintings are very accomplished, so much so that Jin Guangyao hung some in his private study.

PERSONALITY:

Lan Xichen is the older brother of your friend who is always handsome, friendly, and has a patient ear for your problems with some helpful advice. He is also always vaguely unattainable and praised for being handsome, but there is a lot more going on beneath the surface which he rarely shows to anyone except his brother.

Xichen was raised to be one of two perfect sons, known as the Twin Jades of Lan for their flawless looks and cultivation ideals. After losing his mother when he was young and witnessing how stricken Wangji was by the whole (poorly managed) affair, he became even more protective of him and grew entirely into the role of the responsible elder sibling. As a result, he is kind by nature to almost everyone, unwilling to make snap judgements on people based on their heritage or station ... which is how he came to be close to Meng Yao, a bastard son of a prostitute from another clan.

This friendship would ruin Xichen's life at a much later date.

Until then, they spent a great deal of time hanging out, gifting paintings, supposedly innocently teaching the newly renamed Jin Guangyao the guqin, and being besties. When Cloud Recesses was attacked and Lan Xichen had to go into hiding with some of the more rare library books, Jin Guangyao helped hide Xichen and even assisted in the major rebuilding of his home once the Sunshot Campaign was done. Because, as we have said, they were besties. Making decisions based on what appears to be the right thing to do is what led to Xichen joining the clans to turn on Wei Wuxian when he presented as the Yiling Patriarch, though he held no personal grudge against him and had even encouraged some honesty between Wei Wuxian and Wangji during a private shovel talk with the former. He is brave and independent-minded, for example, letting lots of juniors come on a hunt when they badgered him because he saw no harm in them learning, but his trust in people is what ultimately led to his mental breakdown.

Long story short, Jin Guangyao lied and manipulated his bestie/zhiji for years. Decades. While Xichen was always cared for and never hurt directly by a-Yao's machinations, people around him were (horrifically) and when he discovered the truth he went so far as to strike a-Yao and scream at him. He was strung along and only ever told or presented what a-Yao wanted him to see or hear, so he was never given the full picture but instead a tailored version that appealed to his good nature. This broke his faith, and heart, and unable to handle the full scale of how foolish/blind he has been, he at one point agreed to die with Jin Guangyao as penance. Saved by the same man, he went into seclusion from the traumatic experience of not knowing who to trust. Massive case of the Sads.

It is debatable whether Jin Guangyao genuinely cared for Xichen, which is entirely the problem: Xichen doesn't know anymore. Whereas once he was a confident and upstanding cultivator, he now feels a deep sense of shame for being tricked for so incredibly long and used as little better than a pawn. No matter which way he looks at it, he has only ever been placed where Jin Guangyao wanted him on the map. To say he is lost in his own grief would not be inaccurate.

It goes without saying, he has a much stronger aversion to liars these days.

Being played post-canon, Xichen is thinner after three months of seclusion, rarely eating or sleeping, existing mainly on his immense qi for support, and Wangji has been named chief cultivator of Cloud Recesses instead. There is something broken in Xichen that he doesn't know how to heal, and although he remains sect leader in title there is little will in him to exert his duties or tend to anything but the deep depression that he now suffers. He is still kind and gentle, but he suffers from stress around the subject of Jin Guangyao, and blames himself for not knowing him in the slightest: perhaps, he reasons, he could have stopped him if he hadn't been so naively trusting. People suffered because of his belief in that man, of which he is now well aware. I don't want to put labels on him but to say he suffers from some form of PTSD wouldn't be far off the mark.

SAMPLE: TDM Thread #1: Wangji, TDM Thread #2: Hermione

INVENTORY:

° Shuoyue (朔月, Shuòyuè): Lan Xichen's sword.
° Liebing (裂冰, Lièbīng): Lan Xichen's xiao which he used to pacify hostile resentful spirits, including the Fierce Corpse of Nie Mingjue.
° Hanfu: Some blue/white/grey robes he was in when he arrived.

NOTES: Xichen is probably going to be helping other people with their problems before he addresses any of his own, so he will just be invested in being a supporting role for a while.

IF ACCEPTED, WOULD YOU WANT A PLOT-LIGHT OR PLOT-HEAVY CUSTOM INTRO?

Xichen will go with the flow and see where it takes him, he's a bit too fragile to take the lead in anything as of yet.