@Oak7ree I would not put it past her. @AdobeFlash there's a running gag in my FATE campaign because Kat rolled low and smashed a fence with our tank while drifting at speed on ice. Her drive is her highest stat, with stunts to support it -- and she is never livinthat fence down. <3
@Oak7ree I would not put it past her. @AdobeFlash there's a running gag in my FATE campaign because Kat rolled low and smashed a fence with our tank while drifting at speed on ice. Her drive is her highest stat, with stunts to support it -- and she is never livinthat fence down. <3
Oh god don't remind me of 'never living it down' rolls. One time in a GURPS campaign my character, a loremaster who's entire job was to translate documents we found. Tranlsate a document flawlessly, roll a natural 20 for one part, then we get to the next document (the entire thing is one long running piece.) Flub it, and because nobody wants to risk it, we don't use what turns out to be one of the most powerful spells in the game, and the part I flubbed was non-essential.
@Lady Selune ahaha, well. To be fair, it was not that bad a roll. It's just the nature of the party, and the whole...she smashed a fence. Could have been muchmuch worse. It's more playful teasing. <3
@Oak7ree By the way, I just noticed Jean had a relationship with a secular Jew. I'm not sure secular Judaism existed in the time of ww2, certainly not as we know it today. Jewish communities, if not something resembling modern Orthodox, were usually something close to what's now considered Conservative. Unless they had completely stopped practicing because of persecution at some point in the past and perhaps no longer really identified as Jewish, I think it's rather unlikely that she would have been a secular Jew. Secular Judaism tends to differ greatly from, say, secular Christianity, and really only gained ground in the past half century or so. *pounces on topic she likes*
I hope it's ok that I've posted again so soon. It's been a pretty busy day and tomorrow will probably be the same so I thought I'd stay on top of things.
I hope it's ok that I've posted again so soon. It's been a pretty busy day and tomorrow will probably be the same so I thought I'd stay on top of things.
No problemo. An idea I've had involves your character by the way, but that'll be revealed in my next post, which should happen sometime tomorrow.
@Oak7ree By the way, I just noticed Jean had a relationship with a secular Jew. I'm not sure secular Judaism existed in the time of ww2, certainly not as we know it today. Jewish communities, if not something resembling modern Orthodox, were usually something close to what's now considered Conservative. Unless they had completely stopped practicing because of persecution at some point in the past and perhaps no longer really identified as Jewish, I think it's rather unlikely that she would have been a secular Jew. Secular Judaism tends to differ greatly from, say, secular Christianity, and really only gained ground in the past half century or so. *pounces on topic she likes*
I thought Emma and her family just quite ordinary family, not very religious family. It just came to my mind. "Oh, what if Jean dated a Jew?" and just rolled with it. Religions are rarely monolithic. Her being a Jew might play a role in Jean's life during the war, sooner or later.
@Oak7ree Actually, due to the frequent persecution of Judaism and the fact that we have always been a minority religion, Judaism tended to be fairly cohesive, varying primarily by region. I did a bit of research to check, and I'm fairly certain your French Jew would probably be Reform, not secular. Many non-observant Jews consider themselves to be members of the Reform community, and if you simply mean nonobservant I'd go with Reform. The split into the spectrums of observance happened earlier than I thought, around the time period of the Enlightenment, so late 1700s/early 1800s. However, most of the smaller branches -- including what is called secular Judaism -- split off several decades into the 20th century. Secular Judaism, from what I'm seeing, didn't really emerge until after the founding of Israel, at least in Europe.
The main reason for this is that until the Enlightenment, even when not persecuted Jews were generally not seen as citizens, and not granted the rights given their non-Jewish neighbors. This lead to close-knit communities, and a tendency to stick together. As they were accepted into wider society, the potential for less observant sects developed, and Reform Judaism was one of the major ones and certainly among the earliest, with a founding date in 1810. But as a whole, Jews tended to identify as Reform, and not merely culturally Jewish or secular Jews, as far as I know.
Huh. And it seems that a /very/ large percentage of Jews, at least today, see themselves as at least partially secular. This is a really interesting article discussing the idea of being both secular and Jewish -- something that I've never much thought /why/ about, but certainly accept as something that exists. ANYHOW. Just Shy being Shy here, she can totally be secular if that's really what you want, and I'm sure there's a way to swing it.
As for her Judaism being an issue, I'm certain it was. eSpecially as France has been occupied, and I believe Vichy France is around, Jews were required to wear stars either by now or in the near future, and many were sent to camps.
Other Appearance: Tattoos, scars, interesting birthmarks, all should be included here.
Superpower: hydrokinesis
Skills: Skills that will be essential in the field that aren’t due to their superpowers. This is where you tell us if they’re a good shot, know 80 different kinds of edible roots, or are a master at all kinds of different languages.
Personality: What makes your character tick underneath their skull. You all know this.
Equipment: What gear do they have when they’re paradropped into France? Note that due to the method of insertion, this’ll be limited, and they’ll be wearing whatever they can scrounge, not a specific outfit, sorry.
Other Appearance: Izkry has a faint but noticeable scar on his right temple just at the hairline, a memento of a childhood injury that needed stitches.
Superpower: technomancy/technopathy
Skills: Skills that will be essential in the field that aren’t due to their superpowers. This is where you tell us if they’re a good shot, know 80 different kinds of edible roots, or are a master at all kinds of different languages.
Personality: What makes your character tick underneath their skull. You all know this.
Equipment: What gear do they have when they’re paradropped into France? Note that due to the method of insertion, this’ll be limited, and they’ll be wearing whatever they can scrounge, not a specific outfit, sorry.
Johan and Valentine Siskin were born to Armin Siskin, a decorated German military officer. He enlisted prior to the first World War and served during most of it, quickly proving himself to be an exemplary soldier in combat. He was eventually promoted to sergeant, and greatly respected by his fellow soldiers. When his lieutenant and a number of other commanding officers died in a particularly vicious battle in late 1916, Armin found himself promoted to fill the vacancy while in the field, and eventually was elevated to captaincy. He was badly injured near the end of the war and honorably discharged. By then, much of his once-bright patriotism had dulled to disappointment and a desire for a quiet life.
Valentine was conceived while her father was home on leave and born in July of ’16. Her little brother followed about a year after the end of the war. Even though the country was in a depression following the sanctions imposed by the victors, Armin always believed that better days would come. The family of four did not have much, but on the whole they were happy.
When Val was six and Yohan three, a bully decided to pick on Yohan. They were out on a frozen river, and the ice was uneven. When the older boy pushed the child down, he hit his head hard on the edge of a large fallen tree limb sticking up out of the ice. Upon seeing the blood, Val was absolutely furious. She said something unkind, something threatening -- and the power she didn’t know she had broke the ice, sending both boys into the frigid water. She managed to grab her brother by the hood and keep him above the surface until someone could pull him out, but the one who’d been causing trouble went under.
By the time they could get him out from under the ice, the boy had drowned.
Things changed dramatically from that day forward. Val herself became an entirely different person. And within a month, armed men working for an unofficial military program to train powered children came to collect both the girl and her brother. Armin and his wife did not wish for them to go. He had no desire for his children to become soldiers, or tools for the government. A quiet life, that was what he wanted, both for himself and for his family. But it was not to be. The children were taken, and it was the last he saw of them for a number of years.
The facility was nothing like the two were used to. Yohan adapted quickly, even though he didn’t really like some of what he was taught as he grew older. Valentine did not, refusing to speak to people, and refusing to use her power, even when the alternative was injury. She took far better to much of the military training, but on the whole she was seen as something of an uncertain asset, at best.
Meanwhile, their father was livid. He had done his duty, had served his country -- had been nearly killed doing so, and yet now they wanted to take his children from him? Unacceptable. And while he had never once thought of speaking against the German government outside the privacy of his home, he had heard others blame everyone and everything for the trials they now faced. Quietly, discreetly, he contacted those he thought might be willing to help him. He knew there would be only one chance, and so he had to make /sure/ they would succeed. It was eight long years of plotting, planning, and quietly gathering what he and those he persuaded to join him would need. He managed to stay in occasional contact with his children by way of an uncertain guard he’d known in the war, who admired Hauptmann (Captain) Siskin der Polarfuchs, and sympathized with the man’s desire to get his children back.
In very early spring of ‘31, Armin and his group made their move. The attack was swift, almost surgical, with the tactical brilliance that had earned Captain Siskin his nickname of Polarfuchs. A number of the team were killed, but they’d known there would be a poor chance of survival going in, and they managed to destroy a respectable chunk of the facility in the process. Val and Yohan were not the only powered children freed; Val had quietly figured out who there might be interested in leaving and she’d helped handle organizing things on the inside. The group made for the Swiss border on foot, by car, and by train. It was not an easy trip, but between the tail end of winter and the start of spring with its rain and mud, as well as Armin's understanding of tactics and misdirection, they managed to reach the border.
Crossing was harder. The guards there had been alerted of the fugitives, and told to keep an eye out. An encounter with an unexpected patrol turned to tragedy, resulting in the death of one of the children and several of the adults. Armin, knowing that the group would be done for if the reinforcements called caught up with ten, entrusted the children to his former sergeant and a couple others. The remaining men he took to lay a false trail. It was the last time Val ever saw the man, and she believes him to have died, along with most if not all the others with him.
In Switzerland, they met up with sympathetic locals who helped them link up with the powered community there. The adults went their separate ways, with the sergeant keeping the teens with him. They eventually settled near Geneva, in a small apartment, and with the consent of the teens all three enrolled in a nearby boarding school for youths like them.
The sergeant though kind, never replaced her parents for Val, and Yohan barely remembered them. Both gained their nicknames at the school from a young man whose parents were Slavic Jews, Iskry for his power, and Belasý for her eyes. It was this man that finally convinced the young lady to learn proper control of her power. She never did learn to like it, but at least she could use it when she wished -- and more importantly, maintain control even when upset. As the Nazi party took power and threatened war with various countries, including Switzerland, Belasý wished to oppose them. She continued to practice her skill with firearms, and in CQC, things she'd never entirely given up since coming to Switzerland. She enlisted, her brother with her because he felt they should stick together. Because of their powers, they were assigned to a special unit of the Swiss army. Though mostly kept in reserve, Belasý's skill with a gun did find them sent to target high ranking officers or other significant targets from time to time, as well as participating in a few skirmishes on the Swiss-German border.
When the call came for powered individuals, the pair were offered the option of joining, and Belasý immediately agreed, Izkry with her.
@Lady Selune Haha, well this /is/ advanced. I figured you know what to expect. And I actually don't write that much, compared to many, but for history -- and especially a controversial one -- I wanted to make sure I covered all the details. ^.^;;
Vichy France has Nazis, and supports Nazis. Thus, punching the government officials of Vichy France is totally punching Nazis, or at least Nazi puppets. <3
I asked a friend about equipment for paratroopers, even though we're not actually paratroopers, and he linked this. Apparently jeeps were often flown in on gliders (for the Allies), and supplies could be dropped along with the soldiers. Cool, huh?
I asked a friend about equipment for paratroopers, even though we're not actually paratroopers, and he linked this. Apparently jeeps were often flown in on gliders (for the Allies), and supplies could be dropped along with the soldiers. Cool, huh?
The Germans, for example, devised a way to deny a glider a chance to land safely. They would dig and plant poles into the ground, and as a glider tried to land, it would crash these obstacles. Commonly nicknamed as Rommel's asparagus.
@Lady Selune ...How is your char using a gun that wasn't invented yet? O.o
@Oak7ree *snickers at asparagus* And I don't think they'd've...um...planted? every possible landing zone. But you do have a point, and antiaircraft fire is also an issue. But the idea of the jeep is to be dropped /near/ and then come in on the ground.
@Lady Selune ...How is your char using a gun that wasn't invented yet? O.o
@Oak7ree *snickers at asparagus* And I don't think they'd've...um...planted? every possible landing zone. But you do have a point, and antiaircraft fire is also an issue. But the idea of the jeep is to be dropped /near/ and then come in on the ground.
No, but the obvious ones, like big fields, could be a priority. But don't worry, Rommel started planting "asparagus" in 1944 prior to the Normandy Landings. And planting came to my mind first.
