Krauxis

Shadowrun - The Sound and the Fury (Snow Crash Inspired)

Yeah, you pegged me right. Recluse isn't much of a mage to speak of. He can see and travel the astral, but that's about it as far as doing anything useful. His real skills lie in the meat.

Shadowrun - The Sound and the Fury (Snow Crash Inspired) -IntChk

Hey there, bot-man. Lucky you, my int check wanted a bump and I'm too lazy to flag down a mod. Thanks for the spam, fella. If anybody's keeping tabs, I wouldn't mind one or two more.

Shadowrun - The Sound and the Fury (Snow Crash Inspired)

Yeah, BB, go ahead and post your char in the tab. @Refezen you can consider yourself officially accepted. Just let me know whenever you go back to polish him up so I can take another look.

My character's posted as well now, so it's time for me to pass out for a bit. I'm not above criticism, so if anybody's got any concerns about him, feel free to speak up and I'll address it in the morning when I can think a bit more clearly. His whole CS was put together from a couple of thought fragments I filled in while tired, so it's possible I went way off board somewhere. I'll have to re-look it over myself, but I wanted to get something down either way.

Edit: Also before I forget, now that we have several accepted characters, I'd like everybody to start filling in their 'opinions' section. If new characters get proposed/accepted, we can just add as we go, but I'd like to get a head start on it so it doesn't just get swept under the table.

Shadowrun - The Sound and the Fury (Snow Crash Inspired)

Recluse

Real Name: Garett Brown
Alias: Recluse
Age: 25
Gender: Male
Metatype: Human
Specialization: Sniper, Demolitions, Awakened Chaos Mage (Spider Totem)

Appearance: Lanky and goofy-looking, like a teenager that never grew into his frame, Recluse is the sort of person you'd never see winning a foot race. He's the kid that needs to wear armor two sizes bigger than him just to appear well-proportioned. Like somebody wrapped a skeleton in ham and left it out in the sun for a few days... get me yet? He'd probably be a pasty white if you could ever see his skin, but it seems like he's always totally covered up one way or another. His usual attire is a rough-knit nylon-and-burlap affair, like somebody tossed a bunch of army uniforms into a bag. His head is hooded whenever he goes outside, and he's always wearing dark goggles to hide his eyes. He looks like he belongs in the middle of the desert, foraging scorpions for their meat, and he's consistently out of place in the sprawl. But because of his dark, messy appearance, he can hide in the shadows like nobody else. Even if you were to pass right by him and look at him, he'd just look like a couple of half-empty potato sacks somebody left behind.

Personality: As quiet, lazy, and immovable as a rock. Recluse will go to great lengths if it means having to avoid just a bit of work. The type that refuses to recognize when his workarounds actually resulted in more effort. Still, he recognizes his need to eat, so he knows that in a pinch, he has to work. Aside from being sleepy, stubborn, and frustrating, he is actually quite easy to get along with, especially for the type of people that always like to have things their way. Recluse is more than happy to indulge whoever, as long as it doesn't involve having to put forth much effort. He'll sit and listen to you ramble for hours on end, let you beat him over and over in Simsense games, attend your startup Post-Orksploitation Neo-Grunge concert with your three other fans, and just overall be a cool guy to hang around. Unless you wanted to rely on him, which would be a huge mistake. He's extremely trustworthy with secrets, but not with favours. Worse yet, he doesn't seem to particularly care one way or another if he breaks a promise. If it serves him in the moment to do it, he won't think twice.

Addicted to both Deepweed and Long Haul, it's no wonder Recluse seems lethargic, uncaring, and borderline narcoleptic. It seems almost like he's a dangerous chemical time bomb, ready to explode if he slips even once. But possibly his most beneficial trait is just that - He never slips. He has the steadiest hand you could ask for, and you wouldn't want anybody else handling your drugs or your bombs, nor would you want anybody else with their finger on the hair-trigger of one of the civilized world's strongest rifles in a delicate situation. If he were any kind of high-strung, he'd be a dangerous hot mess that nobody would want on their team. But instead he somehow manages to pull off the loveable dope in every situation.

Bio: Born awakened to awakened parents, it was fully expected from his birth that Garett would grow up to follow his parents' hermetic traditions. They trained him in the importance of careful rituals, proper planning, and even battle strategy from a young age. And while he was able to follow their instructions to the letter, displaying the patience and willpower needed for successful magic, it seemed like he never had any particular talent for the stuff. As though he was simply lacking in mana, or focus, or something. Nobody seemed to know what his problem was, but eventually, his parents gave up trying to lead him down their path, suddenly insisting that if he wants to, he must follow his own path, and in doing so he would find enlightenment.

As soon as he came of age, he struck out on his own. For a while, he signed up with the UCAS Navy, studying military tactics on the fast-track to become an officer, but eventually they got fed up with his attitude and shoved him onto the streets. After that, he rolled with a street gang, serving as their reluctant butt monkey for a few years. He became well-regarded as a talented shooter, but his military experience meant that when the old gang got saddled with a crate full of bombs and no expertise, it was Recluse that was put in charge. In response to this newfound responsibility, he grabbed as many explosives as he could carry and set off on his own. Finally on his own after years of following what other people wanted, he used his newfound freedom to occupy an abandoned warehouse and start tinkering with the bombs he had so recently stolen. If he could get a handle on these, he could actually be useful for something, in a way that nobody else was. But after two months of tinkering, he wasn't any further along in his independant study.

The prolonged stress on his brain turned him on to deepweed for release. Since he was technically a mage, it meant that he went astral whether he liked it or not, but it calmed his nerves (fried them, some might argue.) But it was thanks to that that he finally found his mentor spirit: the Spider. Spider taught him the value of patience, told him that his independance had more value than he realized, and that he had a hidden talent that was yet to be unlocked. She began to show him that magic was not so limited as his parents had taught him. It was so like humans to want immediate gratification for their actions. But sometimes life didn't work that way. Sometimes you had to wait for the grand payoff. And sometimes, the procedure itself was art, not the result.

From that moment, everything finally clicked. There was no reason he couldn't be his own brand of mage. His rifle was his fetish. The plastic explosives were his reagents, and he was the catalyst, drawing symbols on the ground, chanting words, and pulling the trigger. With his new philosophy, he dove headfirst into the world of Shadowrunning. He is currently notorious for his skill with demolitions, and he is known to be able to wait in a single position for days at a time for his prey to enter his web. And once they're in, there is no escape except a bullet to the head, or a building collapsed on top of them. And everything will have gone according to his plan all along.

Cyberware/Bioware: Smartlink, and accompanying cybereye on his right side, but no other augs to speak of.

Loadout:
Barret Model 121 (Silencer/Smartgun/Bipod) - Recluse's trusty right hand. Strong enough to punch through an inch of steel, and tailored to make sure he never has to fire more than one shot at a time, armored or not. This thing will punch through solid kevlar and still leave an exit wound the size of your fist. Though illegal, he never leaves home without it (if only because he rarely leaves home in the first place.) Regularly wrapped in burlap sacks, it looks like just a long extension to his pack.

C4 - A backpack full of the stuff, complete with several electric and remote detonators and a coil of conductive fiber wire to go with it. Only dangerous if he really screws up. So far, so good.

Survival Kit, Basic - Emergency rations, bandages, rope, a survival knife, and flares. Enough to get him through a few days on his own in the middle of nowhere until he can be found.

Drug satchel - One pocket for Deepweed, one for Long Haul. Do not mix.

Opinion of teammates:

Hider

Traction: "I get the feeling she's looking down on me... no. More like she doesn't see me as a person. I s'pose that's fine, if that's what she wants. Even if she wants me dead, it's not like I'm gonna die. She brings a valuable set of skills to the team, so I won't complain. It'll be a shame to see her go from all that stress."

-Recluse isn't particularly concerned about Traction's opinion of people, let alone himself, and is thankful for her abilities.

Kaz: "Pretty cool dude, if he'd just settle down a bit. Why do I gotta be the one to bail him out when he pisses off a client? somebody else can do it. I think maybe we'd get paid more if it wasn't for his big mouth and affinity for gunpowder... but then again, maybe we wouldn't be quite so alive either. Huh. Ah hell, don't ask me what it means. I'm glad to have him on the team and far away from me please."

-Recluse is conflicted about Kyuzo, but seems appreciative of the role he plays. He likes Kyuzo as a person, but seems focused on the potential extra work he brings by not talking things out properly.

Cath: "It's pretty cool to see what a real shaman can get up to when they want to. Maybe all that spiritual stuff is worth something after all. Well, it's too late for me, of course. What was I saying? Oh, Cath. Yeah, she cool. Knows how to talk to people, I dunno if it's magic or just an understanding of what makes folks tick, but it's great. Maybe if half our team weren't goddamned psychopaths we wouldn't have to rely on her as much, but hey. Hard to argue with money and results."

-Recluse seems to admire Cath for her magical abilities, and trust her when it comes to social situations. He seems to see her as an eye in the storm that is their team.

Nomad: "Old cowboy type. You see them now and again, 'specially among older humans. If you ask me, I think he needs to let the past go a bit more than he has done. Maybe it's not that easy when you're that old. Been through a lot and he'll be through a bunch more before he's through. He seems the type that'll cling to 'running until he's in a wheelchair, maybe even then. Well, respect your elders, I say. Don't ask me about his machines."

-Obviously Recluse respects the old boy for his ability to survive and keep going, though tenacity like that is hard for him to understand. Recluse finds his drones a bit creepy, but recognizes that they're a means to an end.

Kali: "Fuckin... shit man, what do you want? If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say nothing at all, right? Well... she's good at attracting bullets... and stuff. I'd put her in front of me on every run if I could, though I'm not really convinced that the bullet that gibs me won't be from her gun one of these days. Just, like... chill out, dude. Jesus."

-Worried about being shot, Recluse doesn't want to talk about Kali much.

Shadowrun - The Sound and the Fury (Snow Crash Inspired)

Saw your character, Ref, will get back to you once I'm finished putting mine together. Good to see a rigger added to the crew, we're getting filled out really nicely.

In case anybody's curious, my character is going to be a bit of a mishmash. Sniper, demolitions expert, astral projectionist. Deep Weed addict, and overall chill dude (read:lazy) to balance out all the frickin high-strung psychos we've gathered, haha. Expect him up in an hour, maybe two.

Shadowrun - The Sound and the Fury (Snow Crash Inspired)

Cool, I appreciate you indulging me.

Shadowrun - The Sound and the Fury (Snow Crash Inspired)

You've hit me with a hell of a curveball here, BB, you know that, right? :p

After a bit of thought, I've decided to accept it mostly as is, with a single caveat; Without a smartlink or something, aiming one gun is a hassle. You've chosen four. I think you should be prepared to trade accuracy for coolness if you start pulling out more than one of those guns at a time. If you're prepared to submit to a bit of GM discretion every now and again when it comes to who falls down when you're shooting, then I think we can work with each other.

This means that @Azseth @Beach Burrito @Engel and @Terminal have been formally accepted (Saw your edits to Traction, Terminal, looks fine to me.) Of the people who have spoken up, I haven't heard from @absentmare and @Refezen for a bit, but they have a few more days to check back in. (Also since it's been a bit if you could just check in quick, Engel, I'd appreciate it.)

I'm doing some family stuff today, but I'll be getting to work on my own CS once I get home from that. I still haven't decided which of my characters I'll be going with here, but it'll give me something to think about today instead of family and how crowded it is, so hey. In a few days, whether we get any more characters than that or not, I'm prepared to start the IC. Anybody who wants to follow Az's example and put up a fluff prologue piece before then is welcome to do so.

Corrected and Connected

Roleplayer Sheet:

Age: 25

Frequency Online: Tons, unless I'm working, then usually a couple hours a day.

Responsibilities Offline: Moving soon, but otherwise free~

Favorite tv show or books: Haven't watched a proper 'tv show' in several years, but my favourite anime is probably Fate/Zero, if I had to pick right now. As far as books, I recently finished Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, and it might actually top my list. I might be biased just because it was my most recent book, though. I like the Song of Ice and Fire books, though I don't watch the show.

Why do you like to write/RP: I like to experiment. I like to make characters that push my brain in various ways, and to take part in plots that do the same. I'm pretty understated IRL and I wouldn't say that I have much of a personality, but I like to play characters who are full of the stuff and have fun existing in their headspace. Sorry if that sounds a bit raw, but I've just been thinking about it lately, and that's the conclusion I came to.

--

Character Sheet:

Name: Karasugawa Karako

Alias in the DgtWld: Cypher

Age: 23

Average Appearance:

Karako

Corrector Appearance:

Cypher

Weapon of Choice: Katana (Unique style mixed with Tae Kwan Do.) She is fast and light on her feet, and enjoys moving around a lot during fights. She uses kicks to soften enemies up, then her katana to finish the job. She has upgraded her abilities a bit to be able to slash quite fast with her katana. In a style based mostly around mobility and speed, she moves around a lot, and strikes when an opponent reveals their weakness. However, while she excels in mobility, she is at constant risk due to her own lack of any sort of defense. Her fighting style demands that she always be up close to an opponent, but simultaneously that she not take any hits. It's always a risky gambit, and she relies heavily on support from her other teammates, even when it looks like she is going off alone.

Cell Phone:

Hider

If it's trendy enough, Karako is happy to upgrade phones frequently, but this is her current model.

Personality:
+Action-Oriented: If there's a task to be done, Karako wants to do it, and she wants to do it now. She has no trouble motivating herself to 'get up and go.'
+Trendy: Always having an ear to the ground, Karako feels the pulse of the city, new trends, gossip and rumors. She's always interested in any hot new tech or fashion.
+Devil's Advocate: Karako is able to think outside of the box and imagine scenarios from multiple perspectives. Although this makes her argumentative at times, it usually leads to new insight into a situation.
+Comrade: Though it takes a long time for her to warm up to you, once she considers you a friend, you're there for life. She does not handle betrayal very well.
-Cynical: Karako gets along well with individuals, but doesn't like 'society' as a whole. It's not as though she wants to pick a fight with everyone for no reason, but instead, she has the sort of mindset that makes her the first to laugh at a bad situation, or the first to get angry when things get unfair. She expects the worst, and it's hard to shock her when things turn south. But in return, she tends to complain a lot about nothing, and take a pessimistic outlook on life.
-Defeatist: While she is quick to start a task, and her self-confidence is usually sky-high, if she considers a task to be too difficult for her, Karako is even quicker to give up the ghost. She tends to lose all motivation after being defeated and needs at least some time to re-ignite her spark.

Background: "It's a trash name given to me by trash... but it's mine now. I'll clean up my own mess."

The Karasugawa family were a lower-middle-class clan of humble day labourers who owned a construction company on the outskirts of Kyoto. Their humility was their pride, and they named their first daughter in a manner befitting their worldview. 'Karako,' the 'empty girl.' For the first several years of her life, everything was going according to plan. she was a quiet child who liked to follow her parents' directions, learning about their trade and being indoctrinated into their lifestyle. Life was smooth sailing with little complication. But the rise of the new tech, new phones, MChips, the DgtWld, meant more demand for infrastructure, and an increasing demand for the Karasugawas' work. It had always been the case that after High School, Karako would be hired into the family business, but at age 15, her parents pulled her out before graduation to start work early.

Karako had other plans. Without any warning, she left home with little more than the clothes on her back and some stolen money to travel the country. She took a bus from Kyoto up to Tokyo proper, and made a small life for herself there for the next two years. She found ways of making money, whether legitimately or through criminal means, and found various places to stay. For two years she lived the life of an urban teen, both the light and dark side, and in doing so, her entire outlook on life was broadened and shifted greatly. But these things can't last forever. At age 17, she decided that enough was enough, and it was time to come back home to see her family. When she returned, her parents were initially happy to see her, though that didn't last long. The quiet girl they had known was gone, and in her place stood a wild beast. She had her own money and her own life, and 'following orders' seemed incredibly low on her list of priorities. Her parents had a phone for work reasons and because it had become absolutely necessary, but Karako was totally into the new digital culture and the DgtWld - something that her parents had declared to be morally corrupt.

For three years they lived an uneasy peace, with Karako's parents trying to guilt her into becoming the girl they wanted her to be, and Karako herself refusing sharply at every turn. She may as well have been spitting fire and brimstone. On her 20th birthday, her father decided that they had suffered enough abuse from this sharp-tongued and strong-willed girl. He publically denounced and disowned her, kicking her out of the house. He declared her morally bankrupt, and empty like her name, and that he would not stand for her criminal activities. Karako merely shrugged and left, deciding to move back to Tokyo. On her way, she received the call from the Gvn. She had been recruited into the ranks of the Correctors, which she accepted happily. Her prior criminal acts were to be pardoned (and limited in the future,) and she was going to be monitored, but she would still be able to hang around her delinquent friends (a sticking point she argued heavily.)

Her new job came with new money, and she was able to rent an apartment in downtown Shibuya through her old connections. It was a good location for her, because so many potential hackers or other criminals were young people searching for attention. Her hand was always on the beating heart of youth culture. After completing training she was assigned on-call to the current group of Tokyo-based Correctors, and has been with them for four whole years and counting. Content with her new life, she spends most of her free time wandering the city, hanging out with her friends, or training in Tae Kwan Do, which she had learned during her previous stay for self-defense. She bought herself a wooden sword (though she keeps it wrapped when she leaves the house to avoid attracting too much attention,) and most people to see her walking around might think she was the daughter of some Yakuza bigwig, but that works just fine for her. Nobody screws around with her.

Pokémon: Warriors of Sengun (Up To Four Spaces Open)

It's gonna be a longer journey for some of us than others~

Pokémon: Warriors of Sengun (Up To Four Spaces Open)

"Waaaaaaaaaaaahahaha!" The moment she touched ground in Regala, Evie had to make some noise. She wasn't scared of flying, in particular, but at the same time, she couldn't really deny the charm of having your feet planted on the earth either. She was excited to be back in a big city. Unova or Kalos, it didn't matter where, people in this world just seemed to enjoy their quiet country life. But not her. The city was where people were, where culture was. And culture was what made society move. With practiced ease, she dodged between the shoulders and awkward stares of the people around her. It's not like she blamed them for staring, she was shouting in the middle of a busy city street, dressed like she was. But she couldn't ignore the looming possibility of having to show up late to her first impression in Sengun. She had a date with the professors here, and if she botched it, there was a good chance she'd have to get back in the air and fly home.

The people here definitely seemed different from back home. If she'd done her studying properly, they had a kingdom-based system of government here, and a heavy tradition based around Pokemon 'Warriors,' which were apparently similar to trainers, but they formed links with pokemon and participated more heavily in battles themselves. It was super interesting, and she was enthusiastic about learning how to do it herself, but apparently it was a skill based around potential. Either you have it or you don't. And there was no way she had it herself, which was a damned shame. She would be interested to do a bit more field research while on the road here, but couldn't deny that her enthusiasm was dulled just a bit. Of course, that whole plan was assuming she could make her appointments in the first place.

Lucky for her, the signage here was clear enough. She just kept following the signs that said "Ilex Labs" and, of course, they led to her destination. It seems like she wasn't late after all, thankfully. Taking a deep breath before the doors, she pounded her fists together excitedly, making sure her blood was pumping, and reassuring herself with the satisfying "klink" sound of the large chain dangling eternally from her right wrist. Now that her mind was at ease, she strode confidently through the double-doors toward the desk.

"'Scuse me mister," she directed her attention to the friendly-looking man working reception, who glanced her way with a warm smile. "I'm, uh, here to register for the league. I called ahead, just need a pokedex, yeah?"

"Oh, excellent. It looks like the professors will be busy today. Your name, please?"

"It's, uh, Evie. That's E V I E, right? Black, like the color."

"Black... Yes, we have your registration. Your pack seems a bit light for such a long journey from so far away though, if you don't mind me saying. Are you gonna be alright?"

Evie blanked, unsure what he was talking about immediately. But sure enough as she looked around, the trainers she saw all seemed fairly prepared. Her pack was, in comparison, somewhat large, but pretty obviously barren. "Aha, ahaha, good on you for noticing. But I'll be fine! This is also monastic training, to strengthen my spirit! Boy, when I beat your league here, I'll be so mature and great. And I'll look back on how, like, little I brought with me, and I'll be amazed!"

The receptionist seemed to have to stifle a groan, but like a trooper, he pressed forward. "Well, you're all processed. If you don't mind taking a seat, you'll be called when they're ready to see you."

"Right!" Evie pumped her fist and disengaged from that conversation post-haste, sitting down beside the folks who had already gathered, trying not to make eye contact with anybody. She wouldn't be able to take it if the noble-looking girl sitting close by were to be staring daggers at her, so it was better not to know.