[OOC] The Spirits Within / Silversky

[Renny]

@Prisk Thanks for the words of advice. I've made the necessary changes. Funny enough, Sinnu seems more completely with the poison attribute added to him.

[Mirandae]

@Prisk Thanks for the words of advice. I've made the necessary changes. Funny enough, Sinnu seems more completely with the poison attribute added to him.

@Renny

Awesome. I'm happy that it made sense to you.

So, last thing is to change 'Hydrokinetic' for another Water Attack. The reason for this is that I want to have a bit of progression of power for the characters. I will ask everyone to add more attacks at certain points in the story (one is very early). So, eventually, Simba will become Hydrokinetic in combat as opposed to being that from the get go.

When you're done, post the sheet in the character tab.

[AlteredTundra]

@Prisk

I apologize for [yet] another question, but this one is likely to be the final one.

When it comes to the chronicle/origins, is there a preference of the length of the backstory as compared to the lack of length? Or is it up to us to decide that?

[Mirandae]

@Altered Tundra
No worries! Ask as much as you want. I answer questions for a living.

It's up to you entirely. However, if it is short or non-existent, I assume that we will learn more about the character's past in-game instead.

[AlteredTundra]

@Prisk

That certainly warms my heart!

And okay! With that in mind, my sheet should be up within the hour. I have to double check everything just so it's presentable.

[AlteredTundra]

@Prisk
As promised, my knucklehead-of-a-character, Mr. Jackson Drake, the world's leading expert in Bullshitology, with a minor in Cynic "the fuck is up with this relgion shit"-ism.

---

Jackson "Yes I Can" Drake

Ｊａｃｋｓｏｎ Ｄｒａｋｅ
３４ — Ｍａｌｅ — １８２ＣＭ

ｐ ｒ ｅ ｓ ｅ ｎ ｃ ｅ

---

Often discribed as a hard man to be in the company of, Jackson Drake has one of those off-putting personalities that makes him an annoyance to many and friend to few. Only those who can look beyond the hard, rough exterior he displays, they’ll find something genuine and heartfelt, though the it’s exceptionally difficult to find because it’s deep down, covered by a lot of appalling gravel (so to speak), He has quite the mouth on him and, though not always a man of wit, his opinions are quite vocal. They differ on the topic, but if it’s even slightly topical, one could expect him to have an opinion about it.

His aspirations and motivations are rather simple and well-known to those who know him. For those who don’t, after just a brief time of being in his company, it’ll become abundantly clear that Jackson has no reservations about faith. He doesn’t display it, but one could tell that he has had a long, standing history with the faith and perhaps had been wronged by it in someway, though the exact nature of that isn’t as clear as other aspects of his visage.

A man, whose physical appearance itself presents itself as ‘rough’, is, by every right, pleasing to the eyes, is built with a solid foundation in daily exercise and taking care in what enters/exits the body. This is a man who, despite showing no care for what verbal comments he makes, deeply cares about his appearance. Maybe he cares too much. His flaunting and boasting could, at times, take a turn towards vanity, which is another thing that might add to the overwhelming sense that he’s a difficult man. But hey! At least he’s pretty, right?

ｉ ｄ ｅ ｏ ｌ ｏ ｇ ｙ

---

The only person you can count on is yourself. I’d say ‘lord knows’, but fuck those so-called “Gods and Spirits”. All you need is your wits about you and you’ll be just fine.

Jackson Drake

If life has taught Jackson anything, it’s that nobody, not even spirits, will save you. If you’ve gone through the trials he had went through, you’d see it his way. As such, whatever chances he might’ve had with faith, with religion, or even with being sound of mind - they were all taken away from him before they could develop in his mind. As a result, this man who goes out of his way to display his views vocally has become a cynic, an anti-religion and anti-government man with an axe to grind with the very things that were supposed to give the world hope.

And yet, despite his own personal views and the tribulations he was put through, Jackson Drake, the self-professed enemy of religion and all things holy, is a Guardian and host to the fire spirit. Imagine that? The cynical, anti-religious loudmouth would be cursed with the fire Archon, Ifrit.

ｃ ｈ ｒ ｏ ｎ ｉ ｃ ｌ ｅ

---

A lot of Jackson’s life was spent on the road. Anywhere from when he was just a young boy with his parents to traveling on his own, there was never a moment he went without seeing the world. Anywhere from the war-torn grounds of Odesa to the mountains of Idall, his journeys carried him anywhere and everywhere. But why the need for sightseeing? Perhaps making up for lost time. Maybe something a little more complicated was at play. Truth be told, Jackson’s life has been something of a complicated one. As a child of just seven years of age, he lost his parents in a terrible accident. This kind of accident was of unknown origin, but something that seemed to remain the same was the pure and simple fact that, during the fires that caused the small village that he grew up in to burn to the ground, he heard...something. Maybe it was his conscious guiding him out of danger, or maybe something more...something that wasn’t human. The truth of that moment faded, but Jackson had the same dream of that memory ever since he was younger (with different interpretations, of course); and every time, there was one constant: the voice.

But what was it? Well, Jackson’s teens were devoted to try and find that answer. This led him to many destinations. Some of them were for the better, but some landed him in hot water with several unsavory company. He even spent a few years in the dungeons of the royal families (that’s a story for another time). But every location he ventured to brought him closer and closer to the truth. It wasn’t until he returned to the sight of his burnt down village did he find the answers he had been seeking for so long. It was right where his former home once stood proud. At first, he thought it was a wild animal, but a closer look had Jackson floored with disbelief.

He didn’t know what it was, but something inside him - his soul was responding to it. Whatever this thing was, it felt as though Jackson had been with it since his birth on a summer day just fifteen years ago, for Jackson, though unbeknownst to it at that moment, had come face to face with the voice from his youth and the thing that saved him from dying in that terrible fire. This was the Flame Archon, Ifrit. A beast whose form resembled a horned demon, skin brown like burnt gravel, horns that were three meters long and twice as thick, and a body thicker than a tree, was in front of Jackson. Not with its back turned towards the young man nor poised to attack. It, just as Jackson was to it, was facing him, if not hunched over as the legends had stated it did often. They stood there for hours, saying nothing. JAckson didn’t know if it even could speak, though that didn’t stop Jackson from trying to get it to speak.

This process lasted another hour or so, at which point Jackson just gave up. It was like talking to a brick wall, or even worse! A literal copy of himself.

Even as a young boy, Jackson never was religious. The spirits and praying to them? His parents never bestowed it upon him as a thing to do. He never had the chance to adore it. He had no indication that he would like it. The death of his parents proved to cement that he nothing good happened to the likes of him. So why, after so many years past, did this almighty Archon finally appear before him? It didn’t make any sense. It was such a mystery that, after two full days of nothing happening, Jackson walked away from this - this beast - this demon that had spelled more trouble than anything else. And then, just as if things couldn’t be any more confusing, his body froze where it stood. Not even a full turn, he was paralyzed by...something.

Hours upon hours, Jackson stayed as he was, but then, after the fifteenth hour, which just happened to fall upon his day of birth, the paralysis ended, but not his experiences with this Ifrit. Like a vision from hell, Jackson suddenly had found himself overwhelmed with rage and fire had surrounded his entire body. It raised his internal - and external - body temperature to an inhuman degree. Any normal man would’ve succumbed to it, but this specific man didn’t. In fact, despite him feeling how hot everything was and the ground beneath his feet and the air around him rippling, Jackson himself felt...calm? No, that wasn’t the right word. It was more like his mind was at ease. The initial heat was surprising, but when his mind came to understand it, which took mere hours, it was almost familiar. It was like that time he was seven and the voice led him through crumbling wood and fiery hay. It was soothing to feel this fire around him.

As soon as Jackson came to accept it entirely, the fire stopped, ceasing its destruction of the air and soil. When it ended, Jackson couldn’t recall what happened next because, well he doesn’t remember - even now, at his current age, Jackson can't’ seem to recall the moment the fire ended and where he was after then. He woke up on some bed in some stranger’s home. But after some time, he realized he wasn’t the same. It was an unexplainable...something inside him made him come to this realization.

And so, Jackson whose religious views were torn asunder for the longest time, tried to find a place in the world. However, it soon began to unravel in his mind - nay, in his soul and the spirit that became more present in time - that everything Jackson knew to be true about the night he lost his home. A frightening revelation was made abundantly clear to him. He had not been saved that night by a voice of the heavens nor was he trying to escape. There wasn’t a fire - or at least not what he thought was a fire. There was a fire started, but Jackson was the one who caused the fire after he unconsciously prayed to Ifrit and begged him to wipe all from existence. The voice he thought was leading him to safety was, apparently, leading him to murder all within the village.

Since that day, Jackson had found himself drawn to fire spirits more than any others (or them being drawn to him, more like). It was like a moth to the flame; but Jackson was the flame and the spirits were the moths being vaporized by him, absorbed into his being.

This was, as history records it, what had led Jackson down the cynical path of hating all spirits. In doing so, he travels the world, going from point a to point b, never settling down and never staying long enough to form bonds. It is the price one such as Jackson must pay to, one day, attone for the sins he has committed.

ｓ ｔ ｒ ｉ ｆ ｅ

---

Jackson’s life had taught him a lot about himself and how one has to go through tough times to find out what they’re truly capable of. Since an early age, this has always been the one thing that followed him in every fight he got into, every wild beast he has slain for either its bounty or self-survival, and any encounter that he had to handle by himself that threatened his life. Even before becoming a Guardian, Jackson’s natural ability to protect himself showed no end.

In cases that had him demonstrate his own fighting abilities and the style in which he does business, more often than not, he’s been one of two kind of fighters. The first being a natural street brawler. This kind of fighter uses only their hands/feet and knowing when to take risks and when to conserve oneself. Sometimes it would have them taking a hit to secure a larger hit for themselves and sometimes it has them throwing caution into the wind for the greater good of the fight. Despite which course of action the Brawler takes, it can’t be denied that they get results, which happens to be Jackson’s preferred method of fighting.

But, of course, if that doesn’t prove to be enough, then, as they say, let there be magic!

And in that, you have the second style the Flame Brawler is quite known for: Free-Flowing Flame. In its simplest form, this is the glorified style that Jackson himself has given the name of to describe his magic-centric style. Overall, this is a style that attributes his magic capabilities with his own unique spin on some with such abilities. He has a wild, almost unpredictable approach. In this alone, one could imagine what might be possible from Jackson Drake. The truth of the matter is that Jackson’s philosophy when it comes to this is he likes to keep his enemies guessing, though he does spend too much time trying to have fun rather than actually going for the kill like most skilled warriors would do. Then again, Jackson never claimed to be a skilled warrior. He’s still that punk kid who got into more scrapes for his own good.

✣ Fire Stream Projection

^{Easily Jackson’s preferred spell above all his other ones. By using this one, Jackson can emit streams of fire magic from either of his hands - or both for double the fire power. In the beginning, it took immense control for him to be able to direct the streams where he wanted them to go, but after enough time practicing and literally feeling his inner-fire directing him, it became easier for him to control and dictate where he wanted the streams to go and how much from each hand was emitted. Though he doesn’t have a complete mastery over it, this technique is by far the one he has the most experience using. And, as an extension, the one he’s most comfortable using.}

✣ Inflammation or “The Burning Touch

^{Admittedly, this is one of the more weaker, nearly-passive abilities that Jackson has within his arsonal. Though, perhaps that’s not the case. At first glance, it appears weak, but in Jackson’s hands, it is a literal deadly touch. His experience with it, much like his first one, has allowed him the luxury of being an artist. With this technique, just by the touch, The degree of pain and the burn is solely dependent on the amount of time Jackson’s fingers or hands remain on a target.The longer he maintained physical contact, the worse the pain/burn will become.}

✣ Pyrokinetic Surfing

^{Jackson is a very mobile fighter. It is noted in his non-magic fighting style and it is also noted when using magic. His own approach to fighting is making sure to keep people guessing. As a result, he found better uses for his skills that weren’t strictly offensive, thus his third technique was born. With it, he can, for a limited time, use fire to project himself with a sea of flame trailing under his feet as he uses speed to maneuver around enemies while still keeping low to the ground. Luckily for Jackson, he has garnered himself descent control over his element, allowing for an admirable amount of time in which he can maintain the mobility of surfing with the use of flame. It should go without saying that, because of its nature, this is more supplementary than anything else.}

✣ Healing Fire

^{Through the use of his flame capabilities, Jackson is capable of healing minor wounds with ease, though the more severe injuries he or his companions might take more out of him. Jackson wasn’t born a healer or never had the calm nature for a healer, but he’s not a complete moron, either. Not everything can be fire blasts and flare. Some common sense needs to be added to the equation. That being said, it should go without saying that, given its place on his list of achieved skills, Jackson’s prowess with Healing Fire is nowhere near refined. The upside, however, is he has been known to heal some fractures here and there.}

✣ Limited Fire Immunity

^{This is one limited for a number of reasons. One of them is how it’s one of Jackson’s newly discovered techniques and because of that, the development of this particular ability isn’t as far along as some of his others. Another reason, of course, is the strain it puts on him to have it remain active. Immunity is a great feat. It doesn’t matter which element one has it towards. Even if one has a general lean towards a specific element, it’s not always guaranteed to be unlimited. One might even speculate the more accurate term to use would be “Fire Resistant”, rather than full-on immunity. That being said, when it comes to low to mid-tier flames, Jackson can literally go into battle without having to worry all that much about getting severe burns. It’s only the upper-tiers that pose a danger for him.}

✣ Fire Aura

^{Through the developments of everything that Jackson has come to know about himself and what he's been capable of, a manifested, high-temperatured aura was the result of that. It is such a technique that amplifies his other spells while increasing the potency of his defensive capabilities. Though it is fairly new, there's still a benefit of using, though it cannot be denied that, due to its young inception, the duration in which it remains active is not long at all. The activity of it is measured by a few things, but the most notable things is how frequent Jackson takes hits, how frequent he'll use spells, which will drain the time limit down further and further until the point it deactivates itself. At that point, there's a brief window of time that Jackson has to do a sort of recharge. It's not long, though.}

ａ ｕ ｘ ｉ ｌ ｉ ａ ｒ ｙ

---

Being a big talker, Jackson’s one of those guys who happens to be one of the biggest bullshitters that the world of Libra has ever known. The lengths he goes to explain his way out of a dangerous or uncomfortable situation often makes him ideal for the distraction part of any plan. Need to get the attention of some pirates so you can steal their loot? Send JAckson. Need to get some guards away from a post so you can sabotage their equipment? Dr. Bullshitter is on the case. Need someone to distract an angry ex who is trying to kill you? Jackson “The Scapegoat” Drake is your guy.

Look, bottom line, whenever you need an ace in the hole to get you out of a tricky situation and you just need those extra moments to execute your plan, look no further than Jackson. He’s just stupid enough that, with enough fancy words, you’ll confuse him enough that he’ll do it.

Yeah, he’s not really a bright fellow, but he’s got moxie. That’s good enough, yeah?

[Mirandae]

@Altered Tundra
Alright, awesome. I'll write some comments, and then you reconnect on them.

✣ The picture is very cool. Nice effects!

✣ There is one detail about the chronicle that I would like to change, and that is this line: "Jackson and Ifrit existed in the same body...". It sounds cool and all, but Archons would not 'possess' someone in this way (even if outright possession was or wasn't what you meant). So, instead, I'd like to change this to something like "Jackson's experiences with Ifrit made him very attractive to fire spirits". How you want to word it is up to you.

✣ The comments on the magical abilities are nice. However, it seems like 'Pyrokinetic Flight' is an application of 'Pyrokinetic Surfing', so you can remove the 'flight'-part from the links. While the speed, sliding, and leaping of Pyrokinetic Surfing is alright, I'd like to keep the flight as progression for Jackson—that is, he learns it a bit later in the story.

✣ I'm on the fence about 'Incineration'. It's good that you balanced it in the comments as being in the early, unstable stages. What we can do is to develop it over time rather than remove it altogether. Or, if you don't want to wait for that, you can go with an alternative that is a bit more low-key.

Other than that, this looks great! Post this in the character tab when you feel happy about the adjustments.

[AlteredTundra]

@Prisk
I've fixed all of the points you suggested.

The line in the chronicle you pointed out was a great idea and allowed me to have a much better replacement.

I've also removed all mentioned about the Pyrokinetic Flight and kept the focus on the surfing.

About the Incineration, I feel as though it's the natural progression of Jackson's abilities (specifically his Fire Stream and overall fire manipulation capabilities), so if I can, I'd love for Jackson to have it over the course of the story. Would you find it acceptable if I put a disclaimer for that one as "not yet learned (or something similar)"? As for the comments, I can replace it with a simple "TBD".

[Mirandae]

@Altered Tundra
The comments about 'Incineration' are indication enough, so you don't need to add anything unless you want to.

[AlteredTundra]

@Prisk

Okay, so I've given it a lot of thought. I think I'm going to opt for an alternate route for the 6th technique. Of the ideas, the one that, to me, seems more likely for the progression of Jackson's abilities and how it would show itself as the evolution of his techniques, Fire Aura seems to be the most obvious. I say this because, as I looked over all his techniques, Jackson is a manipulator of fire. I mean, if you look at his abilities, you can see where I'm coming from. Fire Stream Projection manipulates his fire capabilities to push forward flames from his hands. The burning touch takes the heat aspect from fire to induce burns into a target. As for his pyrokinetic surfing, it does the same the stream projection technique does just with his feet. Healing Fire is more of an inner-manipulation, though one could argue it takes the same properties burning touch has but inverse it somewhat.

So, I don't know, I'm thinking out loud here, but it does make sense to me that Jackson would've developed his abilities to the point where he can generate a flame-like aura. Plus, it does go along with Jackson's somewhat-mobile fighting style.

Lemme know what you think about this route, mainly if it would be a route you'd be willing to accept in incineration's place.

[Mirandae]

@Altered Tundra
Sure. That's perfectly fine. Good choice.

To give some more clarity on 'magic': think of it as spirits projecting their element in the physical world in order to protect their host sanctuary, the Guardian. When magic is used, it's more like "hey, look, here is danger to your sanctuary--attack it" rather than the Guardian him or herself creating or manipulating an element. Your 'Fire Aura' choice is much more in line with this thought.

[AlteredTundra]

@Prisk

Then I shall work on getting a write-up for that as soon as I can!

[Mirandae]

I still got to write the entry for Ausos. @Rockette is kind enough to do another entry for us concerning Juno. After that, all the regions are covered on the map.

I've got an idea for a second character that I'll put together. I'll also start writing the first post as we wait for other characters to drop into the character tab.

[AlteredTundra]

@Prisk
I am proud to announce that the Fire Aura entry in Jackson's sheet has been added.

[Mirandae]

@Altered Tundra
Awesome. Post the sheet in the character tab at your convenience.

[Mirandae]

@Spiritzer@MidnightFox@sly13
Giving you guys a little bump before I leave you be. Would be awesome to have you, but it's totally fine if you've found other things. You're welcome to join at any time.

[Spiritzer]

Summary

@Prisk Ah! Hi Prisk. I've joined another roleplay before I bumped this thread. I did not expect to get in. First I'd like to thnk you for allowing us to be a part of it. Secondly, might I ask for your understanding that I would have to join at a later date / give the empty slot to someone else.

I cannot manage two roleplays at a time, it is one of my flaws due to lacking an insufficient personality ram (I can only memorize two personalities at a time at best, one is my own and is built into my very hard drive and programme, the other is for roleplaying and is allocated to a secondary drive. Incidently, this drive is set aside for actions requiring convincing stories. I have very little memory for more unless I set a lot of my other tasks on low priority, which are part of the Life Quality folder tasks.), thus inhibiting my ability to roleplay two characters within acceptable quality parameters.

Therefore, I like not to suppress the standard of your roleplay by my involvement till I can write a convincing character confidently, which means till I am no longer running another roleplay. But I prefer not to hog a spot here too. Is that to be alright with you?

Still, it is a chance I rue having to give up as your roleplay was relishable as far as my memory tells me. I do not doubt that this new, improved version would be just as elegant in story design and delectable in functionality as the last that had to stop before we even got to chapter 1 due to some unideal IRL circumstances.

[Mirandae]

So, it seems like we'll be 4 people that I know of, and we're just about ready. I'm aiming for this weekend as starting point for the story. And then we'll see how it goes from there.

The game will begin with the characters being retrieved or snagged (depending on willingness to come along), and then being brought to U.D.F. high command in Oakridge, where they will be debriefed. After that, they'll be shipped to a training facility at an unknown location, where they will receive a condensed package of all the training they need. This part of the story will be close to 'slice-of-life', as we'll simulate at least 3 months at the training facility.

[Sep]

So in terms of powers, do you go with one element and then list their powers based on that element?

Or do you mix and match? I.E. If I wanted a Guardian who was an Earth manipulator would that be okay?

[Mirandae]

So in terms of powers, do you go with one element and then list their powers based on that element?

Or do you mix and match? I.E. If I wanted a Guardian who was an Earth manipulator would that be okay?

@Sep

Hi. If there is a focus on one element, the magic of that element can/will be more powerful. But, you can mix the elements for more versatility. And sure, if you want to focus on Earth, then that's totally fine.