MonsieurShade

Bludhaven Chronicles

After being gathered alongside the others and informed by the strange woman as to why it was that everyone had been gathered in the first place Jacque couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the situation. A team. He'd been selected to join a team to...actually, he was still a bit fuzzy on the details beyond the bit where he was expected to help deal with some sort of crime lord. What he was clear of however was the fact that not all who were to be a part of this team were of the normal persuasion. This was strange. It was strange and questionable and so very novel. The bokor felt an all too familiar smile break out onto his face again, one that widened as one of the others in the bunch decided to speak up about what it was she brought to the table.

He would have eagerly leapt at the opportunity to gush about his own talents were it not for a small prickling sensation in the back of his head. With this prickling came a stream of noises in his mind that at first sounded like nothing more than unintelligible babbling. His head tilted slightly as the string of noises rapidly became clearer, 'Why us? Why you? Why does the darkness hunt us? How does it know to hunt us? Why-' 'Wait.', Jacque lightly tapped to side of his head with a finger to stop the rapid fire inquiries from his "guest" and rolled his eyes. That loa was a cautious one; much more so than himself, and at times such as this that cautious streak could be a real headache. Still, Jacque had to admit that it's wary nature did wonders to balance out his own somewhat impulsive nature. He cleared his throat softly to bring a bit of attention to himself, "I'm-", 'Seek knowledge first.' he paused a for a second to process what the message before he slowly started up again "*ahem* Er, blanked out for a second there, sorry. I'm curious about one thing: Why choose us? You said this "darkness" thing is coming after heroes and metas, so i'm assuming we all fit into at least one of those categories, but I mean why us specifically?".

The Many Adventures of the Life Guards (Shade and Diz)

The big guy is helping Viola, Kassy's stuck with Manny who's arguably the worst of the bunch.

The Many Adventures of the Life Guards (Shade and Diz)

There were a few ways I thought about doing it, but the rhino calf just seemed to be the right amount of distracting and amusing. Can't have the lifeguard's adventures to a nonstop festival of gritty danger and (mostly Pulse induced) explosions, can we?

Bludhaven Chronicles

@Krot The GM did say that they'd be unresponsive until the weekend. As for the others not replying thus far, I was under the impression that we were simply waiting for the plot to move a bit forward before we actually began to post a bit more frequently. Stagnation kills an Rp, yes; but a cluster of replies without nothing to go off of can do it just as quick. The only difference is that the clustered RP has a tendency to be a bit messier in its departure.

The Many Adventures of the Life Guards (Shade and Diz)

The animals trapped within their cages stirred ever so slightly as the sound of their locks being fiddled with roused some from their drug induced slumber. Thorough though they may have been The Penguin's hired hands still had their faults; faults not knowing the proper amount of sedatives one could give a white rhinoceros calf to safely put it out. Their ignorance and desire to avoid overdosing and killing the creature had lead to their under dosing it instead, a fact that they would soon come to regret. As Kassy went along her plan the young beast woozily got to its feet and began to snort in confusion. The snorts would soon give way to grunts as a combination of poor eyesight, disorientation from the drug, and a lack of it's mother sent the calf into a panic. In true rhinoceros fashion, the young rhino's fight or flight instinct kicked in and almost immediately landed on 'fight', prompting the herbivore to back up as far as its cage would allow before it rushed forward and bumped into with all the might it could muster. It's first attempt fell a bit short however with the door budging only a bit under the blow. That bit, however, was all the incentive that the calf needed to give a small bellow and try again

The combination of grunting and clanging against the bars eventually roused the less that fully sedated animals from their slumber, as well as served to alert Viola who was fresh from a patrol. "The fuck?" The woman asked aloud as she started making her way towards the cages. She was almost on top of the cages and "Reece" when the little rhino gave one last grunt and forced the cage open with a strong headbutt. The rhino's momentum caused it to stumble a bit, but it gained it's bearings just enough to avoid bowling over Viola as it drunkenly began to run down the beach. "SHIT!" The woman screeched as she spun on her heels to take off after the calf. Back on the boat Manny and Percy were alerted to the ordeal by way of Viola's scream and were quick to make their way land side once more to figure out the commotion.

Under most normal circumstances, the sight of a diminutive angry woman chasing a small rhino might have given the average person a moment of pause and perhaps a chuckle of amusement or two, but these were not normal circumstances, and the witnesses were not average men. Manny's jaw bulged a bit as his temper flared slightly at the unwelcome interruption. He did not like it when things didn't go according to plan; not one bit. "Percy, help her get that thing back in it's cage." he ordered without even looking at the larger man. Percy obeyed without question, taking off to pursue Viola and the rhino as Manny's attention turned to the other cages lying along the beach. Either someone had screwed up, or something was off. Being the professional he was Manny didn't want to leave it to chance; drawing his pistol from his waistband, Manny marched across the beach towards the rows of cages, his jaw bulging even further as the mixing sounds of stirring animals and his companions arguing just a bit too loudly amongst one another as they tried to corral their quarry serving to fan the flames of his rising temper.

Bludhaven Chronicles

"Remember to turn on the alarm before you leave tonight Jacque! There's been a string of break ins in the area as of late." "Will do ma'am Have a good night Mrs.Carrie; stay safe! Oh, and tell your husband I said to cut down on those cigars, they'll be the death of him!". Jacque smiled softly as the elderly woman that he called his boss chuckled and closed the door behind her. He enjoyed interacting with Mrs.Carrie, almost as much as he enjoyed working for the tea shop that she owned. It was quiet and peaceful, and yet it saw more than it's fair share of interesting people from every walk of life, each with their own stories to tell. The fact that the old woman would swap recipes with Jacque and didn't mind him helping himself to the copious amounts of tea that lined the store's shelves even after hours certainly didn't hurt either. Still, Jacque couldn't wait until he'd finally have the opportunity to open up his spice shop. Maybe he'd also dabble in the sales of tea in addition to exotic spices and herbs, just to keep the memory of the time he spent under Mrs.Carrie's. Of course first he'd have to finish dealing with the rampant crime sweeping through Bludhaven, but it'd be worth it in the end.

The young hero was pulled away from his thoughts by the familiar sound of a whistling kettle in the store's back room. After pulling off his apron and setting it down on the counter Jacque made his way towards the back room, plucking up a disposable cup as he went. Another smile plastered itself upon the Bokor's face as he fixed himself a cup of white açai berry tea, a personal favorite of his. Said smile soon wavered as Jacque heard the bell chime that indicated someone's entry. "Mrs.Carrie?" He called out as he began to walk out with tea in hand, "Did you forget some-" he froze "thing..." he trailed off as he was met with the sight of masked figure. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as he felt the mystery woman lock eyes with him, however he tried his best to avoid showing his discomfort. "Er...hello. We're kinda closed at the moment." He said somewhat warily as he set his cup down stepped around the counter to point at the flipped sign on the door.

Fully expecting a fight Jacque began to clench his left hand into a fist and step forward, eyes flashing yellow for a glimmer of a second. "Do you want this city to be better?", Jacque froze once more as the question caught him off guard, "W...What?". The figure repeated her question once more, her voice somehow putting Jacque enough at ease that he legitimately contemplated the question. A better city would mean he could accomplish his dream, so the answer was easy enough, "Yeah, I guess you could say I do.". The woman stared at him quietly for a few moments before she spoke up again, "There is a bar in eastern downtown called the Archer. It isn't hard to find. It is owned by a man by the name of Mr.Gannet, go to the bar and tell him 'The arrow shoots straight'. He'll understand the meaning and send you where you need to be.". Jacque opened his mouth again to ask her what she'd meant, however the woman slipped out the door with not a single word more and vanished down the sidewalk.

Jacque wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation, he had a lot of question, certainly enough for him to ignore the woman's instructions entirely and just go home. Yet something told him to follow through. Maybe it was his impulsive desire for new experiences, maybe it was the desire to find out more about the strange woman and what she was talking about, maybe he was just being an idiot. Either way, after turning on the store's alarm and locking up shop, Jacque quickly donned his other uniform, hopped into his jeep, and made his way downtown. True to the woman's word the bar was easily found after driving around for a few blocks. After a bit of searching around for a parking space he entered the bar, periodically taking sips from his now lukewarm tea. Jacque clucked his tongue quietly as he walked up to the bar, caught somewhere between excitement and trepidation as he eyed the man, "Uh, the arrow shoot's straight?".

Bludhaven Chronicles

Name: Jacque Marrow
Alias: Simbi
Age: 22
Race: Bokor (basically the voodoo equivalent to a witch/warlock)
Gender: Male
Appearance: - He stands at approximately 6'0" in height and weighs in at 175 pounds, beneath all of the makeup his skin is a light shade of brown.

Personality: Those who know him would best describe Jacque as a bit of a goofball. An intensely curious and slightly mischievous person, he values fun and novelty above all else, being easily side tracked at times by things that catch his fancy if someone doesn't take the time to hammer into him that a task at hand may be important. By no means does this mean that Jacque is ditzy or an airhead though; rather, he seems to lack any sense of urgency, something easily displayed via his somewhat slow and deliberate observation of things that he finds interesting. He's amiable and forthcoming, if not a tad bit crass in his speech and mannerisms at times, though he hardly ever seems to act with malicious intent. It's rare for Jacque to get angry, and rarer still for him to display his ire, though if one pays close enough attention they may just find that, in those brief moments, there's something about the guy that's slightly off.

Quirks:Jacque tends to favor scratching at a single specific spot on his head when something is vexing him, adding to this he tends to favor crouching and rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet instead of actually sitting. He's prone to getting into seemingly one sided conversations with his pet (a sumatran short tailed python he calls Juju), which he tends to shrink and carry around under his hat. The guy has a mild obsession with eating mint leaves- we're talking on the order of eating a dozen a day.

Likes: Jacque is a sucker for new things be they items or experiences. A southern boy at heart; he also greatly enjoys cooking, almost as much as he enjoys roping people into trying whatever new dish he manages to cobble together in his kitchen. Jacque's affinity with the simbi he currently houses has left him with a strong fondness for gardening (or doing anything that involves digging really) and reptiles, snakes especially.
Fears: The man has few fears, but of the few that exist, his worst is being in a high up place with no stable ground beneath him. His other fears include a fear of losing his power, a fear of clowns, and a fear of bodies of water that he cant see the bottom of, but only the fear of heights can truly shut him down.

History: Jacque's story starts a bit early on in his life. Originally just a fairly normal boy living a mundane life in the suburbs, Jacque's life could be considered virtually indistinguishable from that of most other kids around his age save for one thing: His nana. His family on his father's side was perfectly normal, things on his mother's side however were decidedly more...interesting. As it turns out, his grandmother came from a line of voodoo practitioners, something she was all too happy to talk to young Jacque about her experiences to the chagrin of his parents. With interactions between the two mostly supervised it was often just nothing more than a story here or a medicinal recipe there. However, there were a few times where the two would be left by themselves. It was during those times that the real fun began.

As it turns out, there were few members of the family that were a bit more gifted in the arts of voodoo, members such as his nana, and, as he would come to find out, himself. She would teach him lessons in the absence of his parents; small things like casting small illusions or potion making. With time however Jacque grew, as did his experience and ambition. He began branching out, making stronger potions, stretching the limits of his magical prowess by experimenting with other fields of magic such as elemental magic, and even making contact with the spirits known as the loa. Jacque's nana often cautioned him about making deals with the capricious spirits, something that he almost always took to heart, however there were still a few times where his curiosity would get the better of him.

Said curiosity nearly landed him in very hot water when, after a particularly long night filled with failed rituals and botched potion brews, the then seventeen year old decided to hear one of the spirits out. It seemed harmless enough, a relatively docile simbi that offered him knowledge and power in exchange for a vessel through which it could come and go through the spirit realm as it pleased. With simbi being snake loa, Jacque's immediate assumption was that it would simply use his pet to do as it wished. Instead, the moment he agreed to the terms, Jacque found himself acting as a host instead. His only saving grace was that the simbi in question wasn't malevolent in nature, or at the very least, was uninterested in causing havoc, and was willing to stick to the deal laid out. It took a bit of time for Jacque to truly get adjusted, but within three years time he and the loa managed to come to an agreement of sorts and coexist without issue. Fast forwarding about two years further would find Jacque in Bludhaven, where, after several failed attempts to open up a spice shop due to rampant crime in his county, he would take to sorting out crime with the help of his powers and newfound knowledge.

Powers: Jacque is capable of healing and smoke magic to some degree, and can make contact with and communicate with spirits from other planes provided he has the necessary supplies for the appropriate ritual, but his real field of expertise is geomancy. If he choses to, Jacque can allow the simbi to take control for a bit to fight his battles, bestowing onto him a noticeable increase in magical prowess. His affinity with the simbi has given him to ability to talk to serpents. Whether they decide to listen or not is another thing entirely.

Strengths:
-Extensive knowledge of magic and rituals
-Moderate knowledge of potion brewing
-Basic first aid knowledge outside of healing magic
-Fairly athletic

Weaknesses:
-Easily distracted at times
-Abysmal understanding of technological maintenance and repair (his skills there start and stop at "I can replace a light bulb")
-Absolutely shuts down if forced into a high place
-Limited to human level strength, speed, and endurance

Skills:
-Cooking
-gardening
-knitting & crocheting (don't ask)
-horticulture

Rumors:
-He can place hexes on people: Technically he could, but it's a very time consuming and difficult endeavor, not to mention an inherently evil action considering the nature of hexes, he just likes to rattle criminals a bit sometimes by taking a strand of hair and claiming he'll make a voodoo doll of them.

-He can raise the dead to do his bidding: Nope, this comes from most people not understanding the difference between necromancy and voodoo. He can zombify a person which still leaves them alive (albeit brainwashed), but that is again time consuming and difficult, not to mention evil since it's technically a form of slavery

He sold his soul for his powers: Another no. If anything his soul just has a roommate now.

Bludhaven Chronicles

@lydyn Alright bare with me, things are bout to get somewhat nerdy for this first bit. The term "geomancy" is, by it's definition, a form of divination, meaning that the wielder can gain insight from the element of their choice (pyromancy, hydromancy, geomancy, aeromancy, etc.) and even read the future through said element if conditions are permissive. That's the old proper definition anyway. These days however the "-mancy" types of magic have pretty much fallen into the category of elemental manipulation, and are widely accepted as such.

In this particular case Jacque falls somewhere into second category. He can manipulate earth, moving and molding it as he wishes within a certain range (say, within ten meters of his person) provided he stays firmly planted on the ground. He can neither change the earth's chemical properties (i.e. making topsoil into obsidian or bedrock or something equally silly), nor can he extend his powers beyond that particular element's range (if he manipulates something like mud then the water present can interfere with his control and make things harder as he has no control over it). He can create and manipulate constructs such as earthen golems if he wishes to, but when you combine the fact that this would undoubtedly require more precision than simply pulling up and throwing a big ass rock at someone with the fact that he's still learning, then there's a limit to what he can make in terms of size, quantity and quality (few bird or mouse sized clay or dirt golems are easy enough, a single human sized rock golem is something he could do with time and effort, but a skyscraper sized diamond golem is an absolute impossibility). This power does not render him immune to the effects of his chosen element; he can be suffocated under a mound of dirt or concrete as easily as he can be drowned, and pelting him in the head with a fist sized rock will put him down as easily as it would anyone else. He just happens to be a bit better at doing the pelting.

tl;dr it's magical geokinesis

Bludhaven Chronicles

@lydyn S'all good.

Bludhaven Chronicles

@Aintitfun1997 Thank ye kindly.