The Irish Tree
NoriWasHere
Izurich
mattmanganon
Ojiro Mashirao
Gisk
Xaltwind
Psyker Landshark
DanyelDatabook on Otonashi Shizuka
Name
Otonashi Shizuka
Codename
Cricket
Root
Japanese
Physical Elaboration
Shizuka has short green hair and green eyes behind thick glasses. Some say she looks a bit boyish. Shizuka is on the short side. Shizuka generally wears her uniform or more modest, old-fashioned clothing when she's outside. At home she typically wears sweatshirt and sweatpants (totally an otaku)
Legend
Characterization
Despite her ambition, Shizuka is actually kind of a coward and just wants to get along with everyone. She puts too much value on what other people think of her, giving her a desire to please others, which makes her susceptible to being bullied and exploited. She tries to find someone who she thinks will be nice to her and gives her attention to whoever she latches onto, becoming something of a lackey. She can come off as serious but is easily flustered. She is afraid that her love of computers will make people think she's an otaku (she really is).
Past
Shizuka grew up as a low-level Esper in Academy City, having been sent there by her parents at a young age, along with her older brother. When her brother was in high school, and herself in elementary school, her brother started using the notorious Level Upper performance enhancing audio file. He shared it with Shizuka and both of them noticed a boost in their ability in using their Esper powers. When Kiyama Harumi, the creator of Level Upper used the Level Upper AIM network to hijack the powers of all the Espers using the network, both Shizuka and her brother went into a coma and after they were brought out of the coma by the Level Upper treatment program, they were apprehended as Level Upper users, in effect, they were branded as criminals. Due to her young age and due to having been influenced by her brother, Shizuka was acquitted, whereas her brother had to go through a long and arduous process to be released. He was also sent away from Academy City since he had lost his powers as a result of Level Upper.
Though Shizuka resents what Kiyama Harumi and Level Upper (and by extension, Academy City) did to her brother, the pressure, shame and powerlessness of being a low-level Esper combined with an insatiable curiosity for the level of power she had experienced when younger has pushed her to experiment on herself with synesthesia; as a manipulator of sound, she attempted over and over again to recreate and modify the original audio of Level Upper. It is perhaps this daring to break past her limits through unconventional (and potentially dangerous) means that has gained her acceptance to Kaigunsaka Academy.
Though Shizuka resents what Kiyama Harumi and Level Upper (and by extension, Academy City) did to her brother, the pressure, shame and powerlessness of being a low-level Esper combined with an insatiable curiosity for the level of power she had experienced when younger has pushed her to experiment on herself with synesthesia; as a manipulator of sound, she attempted over and over again to recreate and modify the original audio of Level Upper. It is perhaps this daring to break past her limits through unconventional (and potentially dangerous) means that has gained her acceptance to Kaigunsaka Academy.
Vision
Ideally, Shizuka unlocks Level Upper and not only power trips pretty hard, but becomes helpful to those around her. She has never been popular or well-liked, so this could cause her to fall in with the wrong crowd who might try to prey on her desire to be useful in order exploit her ability. Either she'll meet people who appreciate her regardless of her ability or shy nature, or she goes down a dark and abusive path.
Competencies
Ability
Lonely Orchestra (獨單樂隊 - Tandoku Gakutai) (Acoustokinesis): Level 2 (Level 4 when under the influence of Level Upper)
Mechanics
Detection and emission of audible and inaudible frequencies and amplitudes of sound. This includes being able to figure out the resonant frequencies of various objects and materials by listening to the sound it makes when struck, and imitating voices. Shizuka's ultimate goal is to recreate Level Upper for herself, which she calls, "Level Upper Private Server". This will push her to Level 4 when she is actively using Level Upper on herself. Depending on what the GM allows, this may be a buff to herself only, or an area-of-effect buff to all Espers within range of hearing her, which may or may not come with the advantages and disadvantages that having a small AIM field network brings. The details of how this particular skill manifests can be tweaked since Shizuka may not actually end up making an exact copy of the original audio.
Other Talents and Traits
Skills:
Likes:
Dislikes:
- Wave Theory
- Perfect Pitch
- Harmonics
- Electrical engineering (hobby)
- Piezoelectric circuit design
Likes:
- Computers
- Video games
- "Cool" things like tokusatsu
- Classical Music
- Pure sounds (electronic tones), or natural sounds (waterfalls and thunder)
Dislikes:
- Noise, sudden noise (gunfire, screaming), the sound of too many people talking (crowds)
- Conflict, quarreling
- Being ignored
- Being asked about music
- Feeling exposed
Databook on Hamza Hazmat
Name
Hamza Hazmat
Codename
Hasidin619
Root
Syrian
Physical Elaboration
Hamza has dark skin, dull, red eyes, and short, white hair that he puts no effort into maintaining. Hamza often wears a tired, expressionless visage; an impenetrable poker face to those who don't know him. Most of the time, he is seen wearing a loose, baggy t-shirt and similarly loose jeans, with slightly worn out tennis shoes. Hamza tends to pick comfort and familiarity, and likes how loose clothing obscures his physique. Hamza often keeps his hands in his pockets.
Legend
Characterization
Hamza is focused and cautious. Disciplined and serious, he acts older than his age. His mind is filled with memories of the oppression of his people, and to end it is his chief motivator. He is suspicious and distrustful, but is himself not a great schemer. Hamza has a tendency to fly into fits of rage when encountering an insurmountable obstacle, and will often unreasonably demand more from himself and his body in an attempt to overcome said obstacle. He trusts only in his own mind, and wishes his body and emotions could be a perfect vessel, a perfect slave for his mind, but the more he wishes this were so, the more he denies the control his needs and desires have over his psyche.
Past
Hamza was born in war-torn Syria. Orphaned at a young age, he was picked up by a group of individuals whom he believed followed a deviant Muslim sect that dabbled in witchcraft. However, over time, he realized that mysticism had always been an integral part of Islam, no matter what the sheikhs and scholars wrote in their rulings. Over time, he learned that magic was not mutually exclusive from faith, and practiced both his religion and his mystical techniques. Of course, their intention was to train him as part of the next generation of Islamic mystics, but he often heard them lamenting the dominance of Christian magic, and the overwhelming power of science. He saw these two colonizing powers as the reason that Muslim lands were in such a bad state. Some of his teachers preached that this was simply their destiny, and part of Allah's plan, while others preached that this was a test from Allah to see who could rise to the occasion and take down the oppressors once and for all.
Hamza turned his ear towards those who sought to enact change, but kept his non-violent teachings close to heart, lest he turn to violent extremism. He heard out his elders and discussed strategies with them. He heard rumors about ancient Egyptian sites being desecrated by an individual, and signs pointed to Academy City, the Capitol of Science. Hamza infiltrated the city to find out as much as he could about the inner workings of the city, but soon the allure of Kaigunsaka, and the promise of hybrids drew Hamza towards the academy. After all, science had flourished during the Golden Age of Islam, ultimately leading to the European Renaissance, and by extension, the Industrial Revolution, so Hamza saw the unification of science, magic, and faith as his true calling.
Hamza turned his ear towards those who sought to enact change, but kept his non-violent teachings close to heart, lest he turn to violent extremism. He heard out his elders and discussed strategies with them. He heard rumors about ancient Egyptian sites being desecrated by an individual, and signs pointed to Academy City, the Capitol of Science. Hamza infiltrated the city to find out as much as he could about the inner workings of the city, but soon the allure of Kaigunsaka, and the promise of hybrids drew Hamza towards the academy. After all, science had flourished during the Golden Age of Islam, ultimately leading to the European Renaissance, and by extension, the Industrial Revolution, so Hamza saw the unification of science, magic, and faith as his true calling.
Vision
Hamza is a fish out of water, not only because he is a magician in a city of espers, but also because people in Japan generally only recognize Christian (or Christianity-derived) magic and Shinto magic. He strives to become a hybrid in the hopes of showing that magic and science are not incompatible, and by extension, that Islam and modernity are also not incompatible. He believes that the world is intolerant of his beliefs so learning that there are open-minded and compassionate people in the world from all walks of life will do a lot to help him open up.
Competencies
Magic
Islamic Mysticism, primarily relying on Hasad (The Evil Eye of Envy), the Khamsah (symbol of an eye in a hand to ward against the Evil Eye), Sihr (belomancy, ie. divination by arrows), and the earned title of Hafiz (Protector)
Mechanics
- Hasad -Hamza can curse someone with the Evil Eye by looking at the target and coveting the target's abilities, talents, and/or possessions. The coveted 'thing' is weakened or diminished. Practicing the Evil Eye is considered a grave sin in Islam, so Hamza justifies its use by restricting himself to only using it in combat against assailants and not against civilians. For example, he could look at a billionaire and curse the billionaire's wealth to diminish, curse a healthy person to become sick, or curse someone's nice car to get damaged, but he doesn't. In combat, and in Academy City in particular, Hamza uses the Evil Eye on his enemy's physical or mental traits, the caveat being that he has to perceive them as being greater than his own because the curse works on the concept of envy. This can have various effects such as reducing someone's strength, making them feel fatigued, reducing their coordination and causing them to trip, blurring their vision or otherwise reducing their senses, making it hard for them to concentrate or focus on calculations, etc. The curse lasts for approximately ten minutes. For those who are unaware, it might feel and seem like a bout of bad luck, or not being 'in the zone', making it difficult to pinpoint the source of their misfortune. The curse can only be caused by establishing line-of-sight.
- Khamsah -
Hamza has Khamsah wards tattooed on his palm, embroidered on the face-mask, front, back, and shoulders of his combat robe, and wears khamsah beads all along the belt of his combat robe. This wards off harmful 'intent' directed towards him, making direct-targeted attacks miss him uncannily. The khamsah on his combat robe wards off the Evil Eye, so Hamza cannot be the target of the Evil Eye in the case that someone copies his spell. It has the added effect of making him 'untargetable' by line-of-sight attacks direct-target attacks or other 'harmful vectors'. This does not prevent him from being harmed indirectly by spells, abilities, or attacks with splash damage or area of effect which are targeted in his vicinity. By holding out his palms, Hamza can increase the untargetable radius around himself by six feet. - Sihr -Hamza can perform belomancy; by throwing an arrow up into the air and seeing the direction it points when it lands, Hamza can dowse or divine, imploring Allah to point him in the right direction. This is most effective for finding his way through a maze, finding out the direction a target went, or asking simple yes or no questions (by writing 'yes' and 'no' on the ground and seeing where the arrow points, like a simplified Ouija Board). He can also use it to choose, for example, which barrel someone is hiding in, or which cup has poison in it. He could ask questions about the future, but those almost never work, and it's hard getting at the truth with just yes or no questions.
- Hafiz -By memorizing the entire Qur'an, Hamza has acquired the scholarly title of "Hafiz". By reciting verses from the Qur'an, Hamza can cast a protective golden shield of light on others. In Islam, one common scholarly practice is to memorize the Qur'an. Anyone who completes this is granted the title of Hafiz, which means 'protector'. This is because Islam actually takes the concept of data preservation into account, and promotes data redundancy through memorization, so the Qur'an can exist in both physical texts, and in memory. So what the Hafiz is actually protecting is the data of the Qur'an, and by extension, the continued existence of the faith itself. Hamza uses the title and extends the implied meaning, granting the ability to project a weak shield on others whom he wishes to protect as long as he is reciting verses from the Qur'an. The shield is not very strong, at most able to slow or deflect a bullet.
Other Talents and Traits
Skills:
Likes:
Dislikes:
- Multilingual (Arabic, English, Japanese)
- Tactical
- Physically fit, capable of freerunning
- Intense concentration
- Improvising tools and weapons
Likes:
- Spicy food
- Animals
- Clean spaces
- Books
- Trains
Dislikes:
- Secularism/Anti-theism
- The British
- Junk food
- Unclean spaces
- Other forms of magic that involve idols
