Apparently the rules of these forums mean nothing. People act like a-holes. Disengagment isn't respected. Privacy is maintained. Harassment is considered fair play. Congrats, cyberbullies. You win..
Hmm... terrible first IC post. Completely didn't catch any of this OOC exchange before posting and I also apparently missed in TheHangedMan's post that Kitala's donuts were knocked down too.
With a half-hearted smile on his face, Jansen steadily makes his way into the festival area of the village looking for basically anyone he knew from the guild. It been a pretty quiet and thus also fairly boring day for him, and in his experience, finding one of the more experienced guild wizards to tag along with was the best possible cure for boredom.
Jansen had heard some chatter that one of the festival game booth's this year actually involved folks throwing stuff at goofy cut-outs of his guild, so he figured that was as good a place as any to start his search. However, upon reaching the booth he quickly becomes distracted by it. It wasn't that he was offended by the booth poking fun at his guild in general, mostly it was that he was kind of annoyed that he didn't seem to be represented by a cut-out. While it was true that he didn't exactly have a high level of visibility as a wizard, he'd still been around for over a year now. He'd sort of done some jobs, and he had even finally been moved up from D-Class to C-Class. Nothing all that special really, but still.
Jansen was on the verge of becoming a bit sullen until he realized that a cartoonish looking cut-out dressed in a maid's outfit was, in fact, supposed to be him. When it had first passed through the rotation of figures at the booth, he'd taken it for being some kind of Virgo mockery, but in hindsight he wasn't even sure Harpy's resident celestial mage even had that particular spirit as an ally. After briefly failing to hold back a delighted smile, Jansen quickly recomposes himself and haughtily scuffs to no one in particular, "Well that's just in rather poor taste, isn't it?", before walking away from the booth in a false huff on what was officially shaping up to be the best day ever.
Merrily weaving through the crowd, which occasionally proved a feat of dexterity in and of itself, Jansen happens to catch sight of a fellow festival-goer losing grasp of their snack due to an unfortunate collision and his good mood simply insists that he intervene. Seemingly oblivious to his guildmate's identity or that of the girl who'd just been deprived of her sweets, Jansen retrieves Kitala's fallen treat from the ground, and with a slight glow of light blue magic attempts to hand the glazed goodie back go her in pristine condition, adding with a smile, "There you go. But you should be more careful, Miss., though his eyes a momentarily drawn away by the sight of a familiar figure launching up into the air with a golden aura.
Cocking his head up only slightly at the distracting sight, Jansen then returns a polite glance toward Phoebe, "These festivals can get sort of...", and upon looking at her fully, sees the mark on her belly and that she's seemingly standing next to... well... Xerath... and so she is clearly a Golem's Hand member, "... crazy."
"This is going to end rather poorly for me, isn't it? Alright then, let's get on with it."
Basic Info
Name:: Jansen David Reynolds
Nickname/Alias:: Jan
Gender:: Male
Age/Date of Birth:: 17; February 14th
Guild:: Harpy's Wing with his Guild Mark being on Left Shoulder
Rank:: C
Personal Information
Personality:: Jansen is a bright and gregarious young man with a calm, almost passive sort of demeanor to him. While capable of being swayed by his own emotions, particularly when it comes to matters of family and loss, in general Jansen tends to be a rational actor, letting his head reign in his heart before it gets him into trouble. Jansen is rather well-educated and possesses an uncommon sense of good manners and politeness, which sometimes makes him seem overly prim and proper, which isn't really his intent. Jansen tends to have a rather self-deprecating sense of humor, somewhat reflective of legitimate self-esteem issues awkwardly being paired with a strong sense of diligence and resolve.
Rather humorously, given the geography of his new home village, Jansen is mildly aqua phobic and cannot swim very well at all, despite being otherwise quite athletic. This is partially because of his mild aqua phobia and also partially because swimming just isn't that common an activity in Ember Vale.
History:: Jansen David Reynolds was born the only son and eldest child of Tavian and Ezabeth Reynold, a happily married pair of house servants working on the Harklorne Estate in Ember Vale, for the aristocratic family of the same name. Despite not being a member of the wealthy elite himself, Jansen's childhood was nonetheless relatively sheltered and comfortable, as many members of his extended family were likewise servants in the household and thus the estate felt as more like home than one might otherwise think.
Growing up, Jansen received a fairly good education while being groomed to one day take up the duties of his parents. While it was presumed that Jansen would likely take up his father's position as the main household's butler and valet, Jansen often spent more time assisting his mother and the kitchen staff. Thanks to his mother, Jansen even learned to use a bit of magic, which he had apparently inherited some natural talent for from her as well. It was happy if somewhat simple life. However, all that changed very quickly barely over a year ago.
During the winter before last, Jansen's mother fell ill from an insufferable malady and soon became bedridden with fever. Before long it became obvious that rest alone would not help her, and Jansen's father thus requested help from Torrence Harklorne, the patriarch of the family that own the estate, but he was rebuffed and told that the staff were free to take medical leave if they needed it and that there were able doctors in the nearby town. Tavian's father pleaded with his employer that the situation required more serious attention, but the old man replied it was not his concern. When Jansen's father returned home that night, he was clearly upset and after continued prodding from his son, admitted the truth to him.
Jansen's mother, Ezabeth, had actually born a Harklorne, the youngest daughter of the family patriarch. However, when Ezabeth met and fell in love with Jansen's father, a servant whose family had worked for the household for many years, her father forbade the relationship. Then, when Ezabeth continued the relationship anyway, resulting her becoming pregnant with Jansen, her father made her choose between Tavian and his entire family being fired and driven from the estate or both her and her child being disowned and disinherited, never so much as spoken of or acknowledged his family again, as punishment for the embarrassment she had caused him. Ezabeth, of course, chose the later and married Tavian. The rest was so much history. Yet even almost a full two decades later, the old man's shame and anger was strong enough that he would not lift a finger to help his own dying daughter. And die she did, flanked by her weeping husband and children.
After his mother's and the somber funeral that followed, Jansen steadily grew ever more angry about what he had learned from his father. He blamed his newly discovered family and especially his heartless grandfather not only for refusing to help save his mother's life, but also for having made her toil as their servant his entire life, which in his mind must have played some part in chain of fate that lead to her getting sick in the first place. Spending weeks simmer over this, Jansen eventually decided to confront his grandfather and set things right. He didn't intend on really hurting the old monster, but he had magic, so at least he could shake the bastard up a little. Or so he thought.
Having never been given the time of day by his grandfather and having heard absolutely nothing about either the man or his mother's former life, Jansen was sadly unaware that the little bit of magic she had managed to teach him, was only a fraction of what she really knew and more importantly only a fraction of a fraction of the magic her own teacher, a former S-Class mage who had retired to the life of a wealth, was capable of wielding. It was all over so very fast. After releasing a single, rather puny magical blast in the old man's general direction, all Jansen could recall from happened next was a sudden harsh look crossing his grandfather's face, an absolutely blinding flash of light, and what felt like an ocean of soul twisting pain following it... and then darkness.
When Jansen eventually awoke, he found himself again staring are his grandfather's same harsh expression. Jansen was then given a choice by the old man similar to that his mother had been given. If Jansen would agree to disavow his relations to his father and sister, leave the Harklorne Estate quietly and without further incident, and swear never to return; his grandfather promised not to fire his father and the rest of his paternal family members from the staff and thus turn them all out onto the streets. For the briefest of moments, Jansen considered having another go at the wrinkled old monster, but he knew better and did what he thought was best for his loved ones.
Jansen wasn't even allowed to see or say goodbye to his father or sister. Upon accepting the old man's terms, he was swiftly ushered off the estate grounds. There he found a single piece of travel luggage stuffed with his meager worldly possessions already awaiting him just beyond the back gates. Having made trips into town on many occasions, Jansen was well aware of the local marker and travel post, and after walking the mile to reach it, he spent what had to be a solid hour staring at the wall indicating the directions of various towns, villages, and cities. Jansen honestly wasn't sure where he should go when he heard some newly arrived travelers debating some sort of competition with wizards they had witnessed and which guild they thought was better.
Jansen had never really given the guilds much thought before, but besides some training in being a glorified janitor, the little bit of magical skill his mother had imparted to him was all he really had going for him. The way people talked made it seem like wizards could become very powerful and make a good amount of money too, maybe enough for him to come back and put the old man in his place even. The board in front of him seemed to indicate a place called Luna Crescente that was quite as far off as some of the other options apparently had two different guilds operating in it. Surely he could get into one of them, he thought.
Three weeks, five days, thirteen hours, and give or take about fifteen minutes; by Jansen's reckoning, that is how long it took him to travel by foot from Ember Vale to Luna Crescente. By the time he arrived he had already heard stories about the goings on in the village and tales about the Harpies and the Golems. For most of his trip toward the village, based on what he'd heard, Jansen was sure he wanted to try and join up with Golem's Hand. He had received some decent training in boxing and defensive martial arts as part of his education and fancied himself a bit of a scrapper, and the stuff about individual strength seemed like exactly the kind of thing he'd need to face his grandfather again. However, soon after arriving in the village Jansen encountered and quickly befriended a handful of members of Harpy's Wing. Finding the dynamic of the guild reminded of life with his family and how he always enjoyed working with the rest of the staff back home, Jansen had a change of both mind and heart and ended up joining Harpy's Wing.
Since joining the guild, Jansen has tried his able best to focus on magical fundamentals as a way of sort of playing catch-up with most of the other mages in town, many of whom have had far more practical training in magic from a much younger age than he ever did. If the last year or so has taught him anything, its that his little fantasy of returning home, putting his grandfather in his place and being some kind of a big damn hero for his father and little sister is just that, a total fantasy. Now that he actually knows what S-Class mages are like, what they can potentially do, and how utterly hopeless and pathetic he currently is by comparison... he's gradually learned to measure his expectations and dreams accordingly. Besides, he's actually come to like both his guild and the lake-bound city. It has sort of become home. Though he does still wonder how things are for his father and sister.
With this Alteration spell Jansen can effectively negate an incoming spell or attack by defensively waving his arm(s) and converting the spell or attack into some less threatening form (i.e. altering a gout of fire into a flurry of butterflies, altering a hurled spear into a spray of water). It is a good defensive spell, but if Jansen is unable to react to an attack (due to him being unaware of it or the attack being too fast) or if the incoming spell or attack is simply well beyond him in terms of mass/size or raw magical power, then this spell will not help him at all.
With this Alteration spell Jansen can fire a basic blast of magical energy from his extended palm(s) by simply altering his own magical power to form a raw discharge of energy.
With this Alteration spell Jansen can clean a target or target area to an immaculately clean condition, removing every stain, smudge, and speck of dust blemishing it, even polishing it to a brilliant shine. While not intended as a combat spell, making a surface too clean and polished can also render them very slippery and difficult to move across. Additionally, this spell is surprisingly an excellent counter for certain Letter Magic spells and similar effects, literally washing such magic away.
With this Alteration spell Jansen can alter the flavor of a target, increasing or decreasing its sweetness, savoriness, bitterness, spiciness, etc. as much or as little as he wishes and he can even give a target the specific flavor of something else. While not intended as a combat spell, it can be used as a distraction attack by making a target's own saliva taste of something nauseatingly gross, totally five-alarm spicy hot, or something else similarly extreme.
With this Alteration spell Jansen can restore a broken and/or destroyed target or target area into its original whole condition, repairing even extensive damage. While not intended as a combat spell, it can be used as an imprisoning effect by trapping a target positioned around the rubble or remains of a broken structure within the structure itself as it is made whole (i.e. a wall that is reassembled may brick someone standing in its area within it while it is reassembling).
With this Alteration spell Jansen can alter his or another's clothing and attire in any number of ways, from refitting an existing jacket to fit more perfectly to entirely converting a hefty parka into a stylish formal wear suit. While not intended as a combat spell, it can be used creatively in such situations. Normal clothing might be altered into straitjackets to bind targets, a person's outfit can be made several sizes too small causing them pain and trouble breathing or much too large causing them to trip over themselves while moving about, a person's clothing might be made embarrassingly revealing to cause distraction, etc.
"This is going to end rather poorly for me, isn't it? Alright then, let's get on with it."
Basic Info
Name:: Jansen David Reynolds Nickname/Alias:: Jan Gender:: Male Age/Date of Birth:: 17; February 14th Guild:: Harpy's Wing with his Guild Mark being on Left Shoulder Rank:: C
Personal Information
Personality:: Jansen is a bright and gregarious young man with a calm, almost passive sort of demeanor to him. While capable of being swayed by his own emotions, particularly when it comes to matters of family and loss, in general Jansen tends to be a rational actor, letting his head reign in his heart before it gets him into trouble. Jansen is rather well-educated and possesses an uncommon sense of good manners and politeness, which sometimes makes him seem overly prim and proper, which isn't really his intent. Jansen tends to have a rather self-deprecating sense of humor, somewhat reflective of legitimate self-esteem issues awkwardly being paired with a strong sense of diligence and resolve.
Rather humorously, given the geography of his new home village, Jansen is mildly aqua phobic and cannot swim very well at all, despite being otherwise quite athletic. This is partially because of his mild aqua phobia and also partially because swimming just isn't that common an activity in Ember Vale.
History:: Jansen David Reynolds was born the only son and eldest child of Tavian and Ezabeth Reynold, a happily married pair of house servants working on the Harklorne Estate in Ember Vale, for the aristocratic family of the same name. Despite not being a member of the wealthy elite himself, Jansen's childhood was nonetheless relatively sheltered and comfortable, as many members of his extended family were likewise servants in the household and thus the estate felt as more like home than one might otherwise think.
Growing up, Jansen received a fairly good education while being groomed to one day take up the duties of his parents. While it was presumed that Jansen would likely take up his father's position as the main household's butler and valet, Jansen often spent more time assisting his mother and the kitchen staff. Thanks to his mother, Jansen even learned to use a bit of magic, which he had apparently inherited some natural talent for from her as well. It was happy if somewhat simple life. However, all that changed very quickly barely over a year ago.
During the winter before last, Jansen's mother fell ill from an insufferable malady and soon became bedridden with fever. Before long it became obvious that rest alone would not help her, and Jansen's father thus requested help from Torrence Harklorne, the patriarch of the family that own the estate, but he was rebuffed and told that the staff were free to take medical leave if they needed it and that there were able doctors in the nearby town. Tavian's father pleaded with his employer that the situation required more serious attention, but the old man replied it was not his concern. When Jansen's father returned home that night, he was clearly upset and after continued prodding from his son, admitted the truth to him.
Jansen's mother, Ezabeth, had actually born a Harklorne, the youngest daughter of the family patriarch. However, when Ezabeth met and fell in love with Jansen's father, a servant whose family had worked for the household for many years, her father forbade the relationship. Then, when Ezabeth continued the relationship anyway, resulting her becoming pregnant with Jansen, her father made her choose between Tavian and his entire family being fired and driven from the estate or both her and her child being disowned and disinherited, never so much as spoken of or acknowledged his family again, as punishment for the embarrassment she had caused him. Ezabeth, of course, chose the later and married Tavian. The rest was so much history. Yet even almost a full two decades later, the old man's shame and anger was strong enough that he would not lift a finger to help his own dying daughter. And die she did, flanked by her weeping husband and children.
After his mother's and the somber funeral that followed, Jansen steadily grew ever more angry about what he had learned from his father. He blamed his newly discovered family and especially his heartless grandfather not only for refusing to help save his mother's life, but also for having made her toil as their servant his entire life, which in his mind must have played some part in chain of fate that lead to her getting sick in the first place. Spending weeks simmer over this, Jansen eventually decided to confront his grandfather and set things right. He didn't intend on really hurting the old monster, but he had magic, so at least he could shake the bastard up a little. Or so he thought.
Having never been given the time of day by his grandfather and having heard absolutely nothing about either the man or his mother's former life, Jansen was sadly unaware that the little bit of magic she had managed to teach him, was only a fraction of what she really knew and more importantly only a fraction of a fraction of the magic her own teacher, a former S-Class mage who had retired to the life of a wealth, was capable of wielding. It was all over so very fast. After releasing a single, rather puny magical blast in the old man's general direction, all Jansen could recall from happened next was a sudden harsh look crossing his grandfather's face, an absolutely blinding flash of light, and what felt like an ocean of soul twisting pain following it... and then darkness.
When Jansen eventually awoke, he found himself again staring are his grandfather's same harsh expression. Jansen was then given a choice by the old man similar to that his mother had been given. If Jansen would agree to disavow his relations to his father and sister, leave the Harklorne Estate quietly and without further incident, and swear never to return; his grandfather promised not to fire his father and the rest of his paternal family members from the staff and thus turn them all out onto the streets. For the briefest of moments, Jansen considered having another go at the wrinkled old monster, but he knew better and did what he thought was best for his loved ones.
Jansen wasn't even allowed to see or say goodbye to his father or sister. Upon accepting the old man's terms, he was swiftly ushered off the estate grounds. There he found a single piece of travel luggage stuffed with his meager worldly possessions already awaiting him just beyond the back gates. Having made trips into town on many occasions, Jansen was well aware of the local marker and travel post, and after walking the mile to reach it, he spent what had to be a solid hour staring at the wall indicating the directions of various towns, villages, and cities. Jansen honestly wasn't sure where he should go when he heard some newly arrived travelers debating some sort of competition with wizards they had witnessed and which guild they thought was better.
Jansen had never really given the guilds much thought before, but besides some training in being a glorified janitor, the little bit of magical skill his mother had imparted to him was all he really had going for him. The way people talked made it seem like wizards could become very powerful and make a good amount of money too, maybe enough for him to come back and put the old man in his place even. The board in front of him seemed to indicate a place called Luna Crescente that was quite as far off as some of the other options apparently had two different guilds operating in it. Surely he could get into one of them, he thought.
Three weeks, five days, thirteen hours, and give or take about fifteen minutes; by Jansen's reckoning, that is how long it took him to travel by foot from Ember Vale to Luna Crescente. By the time he arrived he had already heard stories about the goings on in the village and tales about the Harpies and the Golems. For most of his trip toward the village, based on what he'd heard, Jansen was sure he wanted to try and join up with Golem's Hand. He had received some decent training in boxing and defensive martial arts as part of his education and fancied himself a bit of a scrapper, and the stuff about individual strength seemed like exactly the kind of thing he'd need to face his grandfather again. However, soon after arriving in the village Jansen encountered and quickly befriended a handful of members of Harpy's Wing. Finding the dynamic of the guild reminded of life with his family and how he always enjoyed working with the rest of the staff back home, Jansen had a change of both mind and heart and ended up joining Harpy's Wing.
Since joining the guild, Jansen has tried his able best to focus on magical fundamentals as a way of sort of playing catch-up with most of the other mages in town, many of whom have had far more practical training in magic from a much younger age than he ever did. If the last year or so has taught him anything, its that his little fantasy of returning home, putting his grandfather in his place and being some kind of a big damn hero for his father and little sister is just that, a total fantasy. Now that he actually knows what S-Class mages are like, what they can potentially do, and how utterly hopeless and pathetic he currently is by comparison... he's gradually learned to measure his expectations and dreams accordingly. Besides, he's actually come to like both his guild and the lake-bound city. It has sort of become home. Though he does still wonder how things are for his father and sister.
With this Alteration spell Jansen can effectively negate an incoming spell or attack by defensively waving his arm(s) and converting the spell or attack into some less threatening form (i.e. altering a gout of fire into a flurry of butterflies, altering a hurled spear into a spray of water). It is a good defensive spell, but if Jansen is unable to react to an attack (due to him being unaware of it or the attack being too fast) or if the incoming spell or attack is simply well beyond him in terms of mass/size or raw magical power, then this spell will not help him at all.
With this Alteration spell Jansen can fire a basic blast of magical energy from his extended palm(s) by simply altering his own magical power to form a raw discharge of energy.
With this Alteration spell Jansen can clean a target or target area to an immaculately clean condition, removing every stain, smudge, and speck of dust blemishing it, even polishing it to a brilliant shine. While not intended as a combat spell, making a surface too clean and polished can also render them very slippery and difficult to move across. Additionally, this spell is surprisingly an excellent counter for certain Letter Magic spells and similar effects, literally washing such magic away.
With this Alteration spell Jansen can alter the flavor of a target, increasing or decreasing its sweetness, savoriness, bitterness, spiciness, etc. as much or as little as he wishes and he can even give a target the specific flavor of something else. While not intended as a combat spell, it can be used as a distraction attack by making a target's own saliva taste of something nauseatingly gross, totally five-alarm spicy hot, or something else similarly extreme.
With this Alteration spell Jansen can restore a broken and/or destroyed target or target area into its original whole condition, repairing even extensive damage. While not intended as a combat spell, it can be used as an imprisoning effect by trapping a target positioned around the rubble or remains of a broken structure within the structure itself as it is made whole (i.e. a wall that is reassembled may brick someone standing in its area within it while it is reassembling).
With this Alteration spell Jansen can alter his or another's clothing and attire in any number of ways, from refitting an existing jacket to fit more perfectly to entirely converting a hefty parka into a stylish formal wear suit. While not intended as a combat spell, it can be used creatively in such situations. Normal clothing might be altered into straitjackets to bind targets, a person's outfit can be made several sizes too small causing them pain and trouble breathing or much too large causing them to trip over themselves while moving about, a person's clothing might be made embarrassingly revealing to cause distraction, etc.
I sort of found this community whilst looking for other things and it looks interesting. I've been roleplaying for years, with a preference for traditional D&D style fantasy adventures, space soap operas, and superhero settings. Not terribly into most grim-dark or horror themed games, though I've had lots of fun with Buffy and Supernatural campaigns in the past.
As for hobbies, well, I like trivia, perhaps more film/television/comics then is healthy, gaming, and Twitch/Youtube viewing/chatting/reddit posting in those arenas, such as Geek and Sundry, Rooster Teeth, ManyATrueNerd, YogsCast, missclicks and itmejp.
