[OOC] Underwater Fire of their Eyes

[drewccapp]

@Mokley I want in on this! Going to sleep right now, but I'll definitely put up a character when I get up tomorrow! :D I think I have an idea what I want to play anyways.

[Loki Odinson]

Ma Bounty Hunter

Venyamin

NAME: Venyamin (Surname is Strois, but guild members of the Bounty Hunter Guild are strongly discouraged to keep their surnames)
HAIR COLOR: Light sandy brown
EYE COLOR: Slate grey
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: A pair of black metal framed, lightly tinted, square glasses covering his eyes, a small silver stud earring in his right ear and a black tattoo of a small scorpion on his left collarbone. Venyamin, standing at the height of 180cm, is relatively tall and slender with lithe muscles and tanned skin. He wears his straight, dusty brown hair short, the ends reaching just past his shoulder blades. His eyes are heavy-lidded, giving him an apathetic but intense look (mostly hidden behind his glasses), both of which are very much part of his personality. Ven is usually seen in a dark blue double-breasted military-esque uniform with poison green accents left unbuttoned, allowing the white dress shirt beneath to be seen, and black boots on his feet. The sleeves of his jacket are always rolled up to his upper forearms and he wears white gloves on his hands. A high-collared cloak completes his outfit, and he is never seen without his trusty rifle.

SCARS AND BIRTHMARKS: Ven has a scar above his right kidney, the entry and exit wound courtesy of his mentor when he was fifteen. He also has gun callouses on both palms as well as little barely-visible scars from accidents or mishandlings of gun repair when he was still green.

DESCRIBE A STRANGER'S FIRST IMPRESSION UPON MEETING THEM: At first glance, one would mistake Venyamin for a palace guard due to his attire. However, on closer inspection, the colours on his coat as well as his well-used clockwork rifle with the guild's scorpion emblem is telling.
The first impression one will have of Venyamin is a lazy, carefree guy, reinforced by his relaxed gait and slight slouch. Most of the time he is indifferent to situations around him and seemingly content on going with the flow, often making random trips to nearby Towns in order to pass time and gather information if there is anything interesting happening in the area whenever he is not thinking about making some cash or fulfilling guild commitments through hunting. He is extremely loyal towards those who has earned his trust, respect and friendship. He is also quite inquisitive and if something catches his interest, he will obsess over it until he has solved the puzzle (so to speak). Ven sometimes develops a liking for those that can stand their ground against him and/or prove a challenge (mentally, physically or otherwise), which he shows by bestowing upon them a nickname he creates on the spot. Despite his typical portrayal of being a lackluster person when off the job, his fellow bounty hunters or anyone who has spent some time with him know full-well he can be serious, and what can keep him motivated and focused.
Venyamin is extremely practical and thus, that makes him rather blunt with his speech and actions. While he can censor the words coming out if the situation calls for diplomacy, most of the time he doesn’t see the need to. This tendency of being very frank has its ups and downs. Some might appreciate his non-sugar coated words while others might be offended. Due to the nature of his job, his sense of justice might be different from the average person, but that does not mean he doesn't have a set of principles to live by, and would stand by his beliefs no matter what it cost him.

WHO ARE THEIR FRIENDS AND FAMILY? WHAT SORT OF PEOPLE DO THEY SURROUND THEMSELVES WITH?
For most of his twenty-four years of life, Venyamin treats his close friends like family, as his flesh-and-blood parents perished as a result of double-crossing merchants and his only living grandfather passed when Ven was four. Growing up in the orphanage bagged him quite a few friends due to his easy-going nature, but his bluntness whittled that group down to a bare handful. Some drifted apart after they were adopted, others became more focused on their respective careers when they became old enough. Eventually, Ven was left with only one other same-age friend from the orphanage by the name of Irwin who stuck with him through all five years. Although Irwin's personality is the total opposite of Ven's and the latter often finds himself in all sorts of situation thanks to his energetic friend, the two boys were joined at the hips. Slowly, that circle of one best-friend-slash-brother expanded when the two were semi-coerced into joining the bounty hunter guild at the age of eleven. Ven found a father-figure in his gruff, reluctant mentor Tristan and good friends with a bunch of eccentrics within the guild. Between the guildmates that he deems close friends, each of them have a fondness for messing with people by communicating half in spoken words and half in sign, deriving amusement from the lost or confuse expressions of strangers. As a general rule of thumb, Venyamin doesn't give a damn what sort of being or morally-skewed person you are (unless you are a mindless murderer or the like, of course). As long as you have a sense of loyalty to those you keep close to your heart and will not betray them, he is cool with you. Needless to say, his acquaintances are a mixed bag, guildmates or not.

WHERE WERE THEY BORN? WHERE HAVE THEY LIVED SINCE THEN? WHERE IS HOME?
Venyamin was born in Fir, the capital of Maple, one of the four islands that makes up the Isle of Cancer. Shaped like an isosceles triangle, the largest island Cedar occupies the centre area and is surrounded by Birch to the north, Oak to the East and Maple to the West. Cedar is connected to birch, Oak and Maple via bridges whereas the smaller islands at the edge are not connected to each other. One can travel over by ship or take the inner roads to Cedar before heading to their desired destination.
As the Isle of Cancer functions as one unit rather than four separate little nations, Venyamin views the Isle as his birthplace rather than Maple. Perhaps this line of thought was strengthened through being able to travel freely around all four islands and familiarising himself with them due to his job as a bounty hunter. However, while trade flows smoothly within the Isle without restrictions
Although he spent the first ten years of his life in Maple, his true home is the guildhall in Cedar. There is where he can kick back and truly relax, knowing he is always welcomed.

WHERE DO THEY GO WHEN THEY'RE ANGRY?
Where he goes depends on the scale of his anger. If he is merely mildly angry enough to act, he will retreat to the guild's trainning hall to take his emotions out on the targets at the shooting range. If truly enraged, he will leave the guildhall and head towards the south of Cedar, where the cliff lies. There, he will sit and enjoy the view until he calms down enough or thinks things through.

WHAT IS THEIR BIGGEST FEAR? WHO HAVE THEY TOLD ABOUT IT? WHO WOULD THEY NEVER TELL?
Venyamin's biggest fear is torture, steaming from stories and accounts he heard from his fellow members. As a gunslinger, he acts as support when in a group and long-range marksman when alone. Hence, unlike Irwin, he has lower pain tolerance and as such fears the possibility of being captured and tortured for information rather than being killed outright. The only person he told this to is his mentor Tristan, who has thought about subjecting Ven to torture training. However, that has yet to come to pass.
His second fear is large automatons after a botched job that resulted in his team and him nearly being crushed.

DO THEY HAVE A SECRET?
Venyamin has a secret. One that pertains to the death of his parents. It's nothing big, just that he takes it upon himself to hunt down the main members of the merchant organisation that double-crossed them and find out why they had his parents killed in the first place.

WHAT MAKES THEM LAUGH OUT LOUD?
Really funny jokes/stories. Strangers making a fool of themselves.

HAVE THEY EVER BEEN IN LOVE?
No, he has never been in love. Although he did have a crush a few years back. Pity the person's dead now.

DESCRIBE THE THINGS THAT WOULD BE HARD FOR THEM TO PART WITH.
Friends, home, job. These are what he views to be his purpose in life and is loathe to part with any of them.
His rifle is his most prized material possession, given to him by Guild Master Riften, crafted by his mentor and self-modified, it has been serving him for a good eight years now.

LOOK DOWN AT THEIR FEET. DESCRIBE WHAT YOU SEE.
Well, his legs are clothed in black trousers, for one, with laced, black leather boots that reach mid-shin covering his feet. The state of his shoes is not pristine despite being well-cared for. Although polished, various scuffs and marks riddle its surface. Dark jarrah wood makes up the floor beneath his feet, the planks fitting so well together it looks as though it is one giant piece. The flickering candlelight from the lamp on his desk cast wavering shadows around the room, offset by the sliver of moonlight seeping through the closed window and half-drawn curtains. To his immediate right is the lighter cherry wood bedframe, slightly scratched and dulled with age. If one squints, two deep rents can be seen on the bottom left corner where an Enfield sharpened its talons on the poor furniture. Thank the Gods Prima took that mischievous little creature back with her. His room would have been reduced to splinters by the end of the week.

WHEN THEY THINK OF THEIR CHILDHOOD KITCHEN, WHAT SMELL DO THEY ASSOCIATE WITH IT? WHY DOES IT RESONATE?
Baked beans and burning wood. The orphanage, while reasonably well-off, has to take care of about thirty kids and a handful of staff. Maintaning the house required money, buying the children clothes and other necessities cost a fair bit. Not to mention how much food is consumed at every meal. Hence, baked beans was something that is served at every meal as it is filling and cheap. Easy to cook over the fire, too.

DESCRIBE ONE STRONG MEMORY THAT HAS STUCK WITH THEM FROM CHILDHOOD.
One of his fondest and strongest memory would be Venyamin's first meeting with Irwin. Ven had been reading in the corner of the orphanage's small library, happily lost in another world weaved by words and all the exciting adventure Mr. Snowman was experiencing when the candlelight suddenly disappeared and he couldn't make out the words on the page. A little annoyed at the unwanted disturbance - it was during the climax too! - Ven glared peevishly at the culprit who sent the lamp flying off the table. He had barely registered the other boy's features when two hands clamped tightly over his mouth and a body shoved him right into the corner, squishing the air out of his lungs. Ven's annoyed mumble was cut short by the shrieks coming from downstairs. He blinked, recognising the chorus of voices to be Matron Yule and Brenn. Amongst the intelligible cries, Ven could make out the matrons cursing someone named Irwin to hell and back. The hands over his mouth retracted and the other boy giggled softly. Apologising for ruining Ven's peace, he introduced himself as Irwin, proudly tagging on the title of "Resident Prankster" at the end. As Ven merely shrugged away the apology and didn't blow up at Irwin, the prankster took it as a sign of budding friendship, prompting him to start seeking Ven out.

WHAT DO THEY WANT MOST OF ALL?
First and foremost, that he would always be welcomed home. Second...his inquisitive little mind has always wondered what other sorts of mysteries await discovery in the cast world beyond. He would like to discover such things himself at least once in his life, maybe while on a job, on vacation, or after he retired.

RIGHT NOW, IN THE FIRST MOMENT OF OUR STORY, WHAT IS THEIR BIGGEST PROBLEM?
It was a peaceful morning, one he hoped continued uninterrupted for as long as possible. Unfortunately, he was awoken from his little nap on the roof by a messenger Enfield, one of the Guild Master Riften's personal pet. Grumbling at being called on his off-day, Ven nevertheless got to his feet and strolled leisurely towards the Master's office. Thinking he was called to run the odd errand, imagine his surprise to find three other guild members within the office. Upon entering, his attention was drawn to the injured birdman kneeling in the middle of the group, the smell of iron and charcoal wafting off him. One wing was hanging limply, clearly broken, brown feathers stained with soot and blood. The pitiful, bruised face was not a stranger to Ven. The door closed behind Venyamin with a solid clack and the bounty hunter offered a shallow bow of greeting to the Guild Master. Riften gestured for him to take position directly behind the birdman and he complied silently. Air of nonchalance still present around him, Ven shoved his questions down for the meantime. What a way to start the day...

[DeletedUser9Gh7]

iM INTERESTED

[CollectorOfMyst]

@Loki Odinson A 'clockwork rifle'?

Also... I've thought of a few changes I need to make to my character, now. (Is it just me, or is there a pattern of these guys not having much family/friends? Probably so they don't have anchors to weigh them down as they leave for the beyond.)

[Loki Odinson]

@CollectorOfMyst

My Hider

Sorta like these



But less Steampunk and more gears. If that makes sense...

[CollectorOfMyst]

Steampunk is gears, tho

How does it differ from normal rifles, though? I'm curious.

[Loki Odinson]

Steampunk is gears, tho

How does it differ from normal rifles, though? I'm curious.

@CollectorOfMyst

It is, isn't it? But then "clockwork rifle" sounds better than "Steampunk rifle". Just my opinion though.
Also, I'm not an expert on flintlock rifles, but I was thinking the steampunk version of the rifle would be more bolt-action rifle in regards to shooting, loading the next round and reloading. As compared to the 18th century's way of reloading rounds.

[CollectorOfMyst]

@Loki Odinson True. Plus, they never acknowledge the genre. Zombies rarely get called zombies in zombie films/shows/games/etc. Star Trek doesn't mention it being sci-fi (presumably), and so on.

I suppose, in essence, that's what a revolver is, isn't it? Clockwork. Put the bullet in. Shoot. Pull the lever to rotate it. Shoot.

And - this is me just going off of some old research I did, so someone correct me if I'm wrong - but semi-automatics use the rebound from one bullet firing to knock the next into place. Flintlocks, however, were one-time use, almost. Load the bullet (which were actually shaped like small balls, so the more aerodynamic bullets of this era are actually unlikely to exist), add the gunpowder, and then light the fuse/pull the hammer, and then aim and shoot.

[Loki Odinson]

@CollectorOfMyst I suppose you are right regarding the revolver's mechanisms. But I doubt that will work for a rifle. Or maybe it will? I don't actually know. Also, spot on about the flintlocks and semi-auto guns.

However, I wanted a rifle like the Lee-Enfield where there's a bolt at the right-hand side of the gun you use to load the next shot rather than pulling the lever at the back of the gun. If I'm not wrong, both can realistically be made using clockwork mechanism and will work with bullets that are shaped like a ball instead of the modern bullets' shape. Again, I might be wrong ^-^"

[Mokley]

So many posts! I won't have time until later to comment on characters, but I thought I should poke in and mention that things don't have to make sense. The world itself is rather nonsensical. Character personalities are far more important than what they have or what they can do. Story is more important than tech levels. It honestly won't matter.

When it comes to details, assume nothing works the way it does irl.

[CollectorOfMyst]

@Loki Odinson Nope, I believe you are, in fact, correct. That type of gun would work.

@Mokley But... but physics-

Also, I do need to do some stuff on my character's profile, so don't look it over quite yet.

[Mokley]

@CollectorOfMyst It saddens me to have to tell you that physics doesn't really exist here either. X3 As long as nobody is auto-winning their conflicts, you could have a mechanical horse that runs on hamster power, for example. So sorry, I know physics is near and dear to many hearts, haha!

Noted on the character sheet! :D

@Loki Odinson Ven seems like a cool guy! Totally approved, feel free to copy him to the characters tab! A couple thing in the meantime: the last problem I hoped would be something personal, an issue he's immediately having in his own life that's putting strain on him, that he could use help with. It'll be the subject of an intro adventure. Also I love all the worldbuilding! Just making sure, are you ok with me taking and interpreting the npcs, places and factions you presented? My version probably won't match what you might have intended.

[Rekaigan]

Well that's what I've got so far, lemme know what you think.

Zeku

Zeku

HAIR COLOR: Not applicable
EYE COLOR: Black
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: The fact that she's a 2ft tall Uron. She wears a small cloak and holds a staff that has a lantern hanging from the end. This lantern contains glowing fluid that emits a decent amount of light.
SCARS AND BIRTHMARKS: None

DESCRIBE A STRANGER'S FIRST IMPRESSION UPON MEETING THEM.
Given that Zeku is a 2ft tall creature, one would assume that she's some sort of savage or perhaps an oddity of sorts. However, they soon learn that she's actually not a lizardman, but an Uron or Salaman..der. A smart one that that. She can come off as a little absentminded or even rude as she often doesn't pay notice the presence of other people when she's working. She's quite friendly and seems to lack fear.

WHO ARE THEIR FRIENDS AND FAMILY? WHAT SORT OF PEOPLE DO THEY SURROUND THEMSELVES WITH?
Zeku is the 11th hatchling of her clutch and is the runt of the family, however she isn't treated any differently from her siblings. They get along swimmingly. She, unlike her siblings, is more interested in reseraching Ancient ruins than running the family restaurant. Because of that, Zeku surrounds herself with those who are of the Scholarly nature, often asking them a constant stream of questions and burying her face in their books all day long.

WHERE WERE THEY BORN? WHERE HAVE THEY LIVED SINCE THEN? WHERE IS HOME?
Zeku was born in the city of Isaimel, an underground city inhabited by the Uron. This city was built upon the ruins of an ancient lizardman civilization which had been buried after the cavern walls had collapsed some centuries ago. The Uron excavated most of the rubble and made it their home after fleeing from humans who threatened to destroy them. These ruins contained many artifacts and schematics that allowed the Uron to rapidly develop their technologies. The city of Isaimel is a mystery to almost everyone in the world. A self sufficient populace that need not engage in trade.

WHERE DO THEY GO WHEN THEY'RE ANGRY?
Zeku often isolates herself in the library and begins to read her favourite books. One of which is a picture book called "The Ruins and I." Sometimes she wanders off into the ruins and allows the silence to calm her down as there is barely a soul in the place, as it has already been looted and researched.

WHAT IS THEIR BIGGEST FEAR? WHO HAVE THEY TOLD ABOUT IT? WHO WOULD THEY NEVER TELL?
Her biggest fear is losing her research materials. As materialistic as it may sound; Zeku takes great pride in her research. Should she be separated from it, she will actually have a massive tantrum and start crying inconsolably. Only her family knows of this as they've experience her tantrum first hand after her parents confiscated it for the first time.

DO THEY HAVE A SECRET?
She is quite open about everything, so she doesn't have any secrets. Rather information that is withheld until discussed.

WHAT MAKES THEM LAUGH OUT LOUD?
Despite her 'scholarly' background, Zeku is no stranger to a good pun or innocent joke. However she will not understand 'crude' jokes most of the time.

HAVE THEY EVER BEEN IN LOVE?
She currently is.. In love with Ancient ruins.

DESCRIBE THE THINGS THAT WOULD BE HARD FOR THEM TO PART WITH.
Zeku absolutely cannot part with her Journal. This Journal holds all of her research and findings regarding ruins and other miscellaneous notes.

LOOK DOWN AT THEIR FEET. DESCRIBE WHAT YOU SEE.
A pair of small leather boots on a cracked, dusty stone floor which has been completely covered in pages of writing and diagrams. A faint glow from the tip of her staff lights the area.

WHEN THEY THINK OF THEIR CHILDHOOD KITCHEN, WHAT SMELL DO THEY ASSOCIATE WITH IT? WHY DOES IT RESONATE?
The smell of a seafood soup and fresh bread wafts through the air. Her family hastily preparing food for their customers as rush hour begins. Her family restaurant was their life and it always had been for generations. She would often enjoy a nice bowl of the soup after the rush hour is over.

DESCRIBE ONE STRONG MEMORY THAT HAS STUCK WITH THEM FROM CHILDHOOD.
After months of constantly annoying the professors with the theories that she had formulated after having spent a good few years reading all their research from the ruins, she was suddenly praised by them. Her theory had been proven correct by one of the researchers and they praised her for it. She would never forget that day, as it was the day that solidified her dream to explore ruins and help her fellow scholars learn about everything in this world.

WHAT DO THEY WANT MOST OF ALL?
Zeku hopes to bring home as much knowledge as she possible can to her fellow Uron. Hoping to create an even better life for her brethren.

RIGHT NOW, IN THE FIRST MOMENT OF OUR STORY, WHAT IS THEIR BIGGEST PROBLEM?
To put it very simply; her biggest problem is finding a way to explore the world. Not many are okay with letting a random 2ft tall lizard thing board their ship. It's already a surprise to know it can talk.

[Briza]

This looks really funsiez, but I am in too many games, already. Rippsidaisiez. ;<

_{Edit: Random Briza Bump (?)}

[Mokley]

@Rekaigan Zeku looks awesome! Totally approved: go ahead and post her to the characters tab!

One thing though: your problem is more of a motivation. ;) I'm looking for something immediate that is right now causing her stress. It could be a life and death situation, or she could simply be lost, or thirsty, etc.

[CollectorOfMyst]

@Rekaigan@Mokley Or the fact that there is a sentient cloud of rainbows trying to snuggle her, because I believe we've found our resident cinnamon roll.

[Majoraa]

@Briza

Aw man, id love to have ya with us, but i understand.

[Cryfest]

@Mokley Is there going to be a character limit? I'm interested in joining but it might take me a while to get a CS up as I'll be bogged down with finals until the end of next week :<

[Adalea]

Hello again! I"m not following you, I swear.

I'll get something up soon :D

[Mokley]

@Cryfest There's not a character limit and this'll basically always be open! Feel free to drop in whenever you have time. :)