Foundations Age: Character Development | Forums

[Tora_Neko]

Hi all! With this forum upheaval we seem to have lost the Private Topics. Private Messaging still works, but no private threads. I propose to open a discussion and development thread here, though of course this is a public venue. Still, as we always tried to have every person who posted to the A&C and Institution threads in those Private Topics, there won't be much difference out here (save that random people asking for game hints might drop in).

I'd like to have this thread not for In Character, but for the Writers. Hopefully this will help us work on our characters whenever we might want some input from the whole group. If you have backstory you just want to share, or haven't worked out all the kinks from said backstory, or tend to make edits to your (new?) characters before you've fully settled them, this thread is for you.

Marae has an OOC plot discussion thread going, so I thought I'd tweak this one to focus on characters. Yes, we have the NAGL - but that is for introductions. We all have a main character, most being the Avatar Of The Writer (aka the character sharing the name of the Writer). Mine is Tora, of course. However, many of us have two or three characters (or like TOOO, many many characters). And sometimes it is nice to get some input, or just give a little backstory on your extra characters. So this thread is for character development.

[MystNovice]

Plus, our charcter introduction thread has disappeared into the aether somewhere and I can't find it (which is why I didn't know that Neko was either female or an orange fluffy tabby), so a refresher wouldn't hurt:

MystNovice actually doesn't have an Avatar Of The Writer, unless you count Gilliam, the floating, self-aware, and usually depressing non-functional KI device with a lame sense of humor. He was all that was left of Id when he went *poof*. Gilliam is more of an agent than an avatar, being that he possesses neither free will nor a distinct personality, and he hasn't shown his face... er, screen in the hotel for some time. Instead of an avatar, MystNovice was originally represented by four selves that represented different aspects of his nature, but don't worry about that as it is no longer the case since the whole Id-Ascre incident.


Character: Isaac was originally the self known as I who represented MystNovice's intellect.

Age: 5 real world years old, but he is physically and mentally closer to thirty.

Appearance: He was originally a mog, that is, a half-human/half-dog-demon that resembled the Anime character InuYasha, but since Id-Ascre, he has become a human being resembling InuYasha's human form except that he is older, his disheveled black hair is cut short, and his dark eyes are hidden behind angular glasses thanks to his near-sightedness. He usually wears a white, short sleeve dress shirt, not tucked in, and black slacks. Isaac is a lean 5'10", and he is usually seen deep in thought. All taken together, he gives off a very nerdy vibe. The closest Anime picture I can find is Mr. Kurosu from the Anime Kekkaishi, though he may be a bit old for the role (see below).

Abilities: When he became human, Isaac lost all of his hanyo powers but has since discovered that he has three distinct mental abilities:
1. Telekinesis - He can move objects by thinking about where he wants them to be, but the energy of motion comes directly from his metabolism since he has no strictly supernatural powers, so using this ability quickly tires him out if he has to move large or numerous objects. To his shame, he often passes out from overusing this ability, so he rarely uses it.
2. Shield - He can create a telekinetic barrier in the shape of a dome that repels physical objects. It also generates EM interference on all wavelengths which is capable of blocking any form of energy or teleportation, inside or out, for a short time. If need be, he can adjust the size of the barrier to create an outward pulse and push away any object or residual energy, but this takes great focus and lowers the barrier for a moment. This ability is even more exhausting than regular telekinesis.
3. Precognition - He has a very limited ability to see the future, but he has no control over it. In fact, it has only happened twice when those he cared about were in great danger. Apparently, it only works when he is asleep or unconscious. If the vision he is meant to receive is particularly pressing, this ability will force him to faint in order to receive it. I must insist that I be the only one to trigger his visions without prior consultation.

Personality: Isaac was formely an incarnation of intellect, and as such, he has a true passion for most intelluctual pursuits. In short, he's a total nerd who loves to geek out. His knowledge is far reaching, but he is particularly fluent in the fields of science, technology, history, and Anime. Since he was seperated from the collective being, he has struggled to redefine himself as a human being instead of a mere incarnation. He has found the need to balance the other aspects of his being against his intellect and spends most of his time these days refining his emotional capacity. This process is being driven primarily by his relationship with Jennifer (see below). They originally met when the self I was cast into an alternate timestream. She started following him around, even through the barriers of time and space, until he grew used to her presence and even developed deep feelings for her. Even so, he is still uncertain about their relationship. It's important to note that, for all his impressive intellect, Isaac isn't half as smart as he thinks he is. Of all the fomer selves, Isaac's personality is the one that most closely resembles his writer. At the time of this post, Isaac has for some time been stuck in Amateria waiting for a certain someone to post. *hint, hint*
Pre-Ascre:

Post-Ascre, sort of:



Character: Boppy was originally the self known as Me who represented MystNovice's heart or soul.

Age: 5 real world years old, but he is physically and mentally closer to nine.

Appearance: He was originally a grown up mog, but after Id/Ascre, he has been reduced to a mog child/puppy, looking like the child form of InuYasha. He mostly resembles a human boy with long silver hair and yellow eyes, except for the dog ears on top of his head and sharp claws coming from his fingers and toes. He didn't originally have a hairy, white, wagging tail until X the penguin brewed up some potions mischief. Boppy usually wears his red kimono, the Robe of the Fire Rat, while running around barefoot regardless of terrain.

Abilities: Most of the mog abilities he inherited are inmaterial since he has never used his claws to hurt anything but some innocent pillows, and probably never will, but it is worth mentioning that he has beyond exceptional agility and endurance, keen senses that would put any earthly canine to shame, and the nigh-indestructibility of a hanyo combined with the nigh-indestructibility of a nine-year-old boy. He also wears the Robe of the Fire Rat, a demon armor kimono that repels most weapons, nearly completely protects him from fire and heat, and has the ability to repair itself (which is handy since it was once cut into strips). Simply put, Boppy won't hurt anybody and is never getting hurt. The most fearsome of all his abilities, however, is his bouncy energy which is a superpower all its own.

Personality: Even before he was reduced to a child, Me was always the most kindly and emotionally sensitive self, loathing both violence and conflict and wanting everyone to be friends the same way he wanted to be friends with everyone. Since his transformation, Boppy has become a lovable and always friendly, if rambunctious and hyper-active, addition to the hotel. He always wants to "help," but purely by accident, he usually just causes more trouble. Despite that, Boppy typically always has the best of intentions and never acts out of malice. His bubbly demeanor belies the fact that his constant desire for play usually leds to one disaster after another, but he's always sorry and ready to make recompense. Boppy has completely forgotten everything about his past before becoming a puppy-boy and has recently re-mastered the skill of reading, but his grammer still leaves much to be desired. Boppy is presently joined in the misadventures of Now Here.
Pre-Ascre:

Post-Ascre:



Character: Jennifer Smith

Age: 25+ (don't ask)

Appearance: Jennifer is a mousy little girl, despite her age, with mousy brown hair and green eyes. She wears thick, wide glasses and a blue uniform with long skirt. At a slender 5'4" and with her nose usually buried in a book, she distinctly gives the impression of a hopelessly meek bookworm. She can usually be seen hiding in a corner, reading, or sorting the library at breakneck speeds.

Personality: As her appearence would suggest, Jennifer is almost terminally meek, and she doesn't deal well with new people or situations, but her many passions can overcome that timidity with an almost manic energy. It is perhaps because of this energy combined with her natural nervousness that she can occasionally be a clutz. She is a completely hopeless bookworm who has nothing but disdain for any technological substitute for reading. In fact, she has a general disdain for both technology and magic, thinking that taking all the hard work out of life takes away some of the meaning as well. Hard work is one of many things she excells at, working away at her chosen task with a pace that dizzies all on-lookers. This is fortunate given that her compulsive need for order and organization often forces her to do much work that doesn't need to be done. She may not be a self-important incarnated intellect, like Isaac, but she has superb powers of recollection and is exceptionally bright, possessing at least some knowledge on nearly anything that can be read in a book, and she loves all manner of word games. Her many passions include books, history, dead languages, literature, Isaac, Writing, and all thing D'ni, not necessarily in that order, and she is ready to display those passions in full force at the slightest provocation. Her timidity and fear of abandonment make her a bit clingy, but Isaac seems to have no trouble putting up with her idiosyncrasies. She originally worked as a tour guide and greeter at the link-in hub for the Uppsulanni Imperial City in an alternate timestream. That's where she met Isaac when he linked in, but her being in the process of a nervous breakdown over a case of mass abandonment did not make the best first impression. After chasing him back into this timestream, she has done her best to setlle in, but there have been many self-inflicted bumbs in the road. Her credentials in the alternate timestream include a Master's Degree in D'ni history, but any record of her academic achievements is currently beyond reach. Having appointed herself the resident librarian of the Age & Country Hotel, she can usually be found in the library, sorting books that never needed to be sorted in the first place. At the time of this post, however, she is stuck with Isaac until a certain somebody gets that ball rolling again. *hint again, hint again*



My inactive characters include:
Myself, the lost self, who excells in all physical pursuits,
Kitt, the wily thief with a penchant for mischief, and
Id, the demonic incarnation of the subconscious, possibly worse than the one from Forbidden Planet, who destroyed himself in pursuit of power,
but I won't bother with their bios unless and until they become necessary.

[Tora_Neko]

Tora:
Her real name is Tamora Scarlet, though she never, ever, goes by anything but Tora and will not respond to Tamora. ‘Scarlet’ has gone through several spelling changes, but this spelling is first and final.

Tora is a natural redhead, though her hair began as an orange she didn’t like; thus, Tora dyes her hair bright red. Her natural color has actually deepened to copper-red, almost an auburn (seen during the Travelling Trio episodes), but she likes the dye so you are likely never to see it. It's cut about chin-length. She has an average height, about 5’6”, a slim build, and bright green eyes. She is in her mid-20’s, and thanks to the goddess Bast’s blessing, she’ll stay youthful for most of her life. She tends to wear cargo pants, a green Myst t-shirt, and hiking boots.

Tora is adventurous, yet has a terrible sense of direction. She likes spelunking, rock climbing, and hiking. She can be absentminded at times. Tora is open and friendly, but also a bit naïve especially when it comes to romance. Dorian’s crush may seem apparent to many, but Tora remains oblivious, and (so far)thinks of him only as a friend. Her cat Neko is her best friend, and rather like a sister to her.

Tora’s Psi Abilities:

Astral Projection: Tora can project her spirit across distances, even to other Ages or Faerie. When she is asleep or unconscious, or in a deep trance, her astral form looks solid (though it isn’t), sounds loud and clear, and has the best telekinesis. If she is awake, especially if she is doing other things, her attention is split; therefore her astral form is faded and ghostly, her voice is whispery, and her telekinesis is minor. She also tends to be somewhat distracted when sending her awareness in two places at once, especially when both corporeal and astral Toras are fully active at the same time.
In addition, Tora can mentally (or perhaps spiritually) locate someone she knows well, probably by their aura, and transport her astral self to them instantly. It makes a whooooosh and is akin to Linking. She has recently learned she can locate her body in the same manner.

Telekinesis: When she is in full astral form, Tora can lift up to ten pounds, or less if she is lifting more than one object, and move or throw objects almost as easily as if she is corporeal. In her partial, ghostly (or ethereal) form, she can only lift a couple of pounds and only one or two objects at once, moving or throwing things is difficult, and they will not go far. Tora has no telekinetic ability in corporeal form (aka not astral projecting), only in astral form.

Telepathy: Tora’s astral 'voice' is actually telepathy. She uses it like a physical voice though, and has not learned to project it over any distance. However there is one exception: she and Neko share a bond that transcends this limit, and as long as they are within the same Age (this is assuming Faerie is separate from our dimension in the same way Ages are separate worlds), they can “speak” to one another. Tora’s voice is represented by red and Neko’s by orange (or brown if orange is unavailable).
Dorian has indicated an ability to speak telepathically with Tora, though it is unclear at this point if that is his own ability, if Tora has a specific connection with him, or if her ability is on the verge of expanding to use in her physical body. Or perhaps he meant for her to astral project and then find out what Kangaroo-Dorian wanted; Tora never did figure out his charades.

Neko:
A long-haired orange tabby, with a white chin, chest, and three feet (the hind left is orange), and white tip to her tail, with darker, reddish tabby markings. Neko is all female, a fact which we can conveniently blame on Bast. Tora rescued Neko from being drowned in a sack as a kitten. Her body gave out, while the male tabby lived, though his spirit had departed, so Bast merely moved Neko’s spirit over and changed the plumbing. The two were blessed by Bast to have their connection, as well as giving Neko the ability to speak and reason as any human (though she remains utterly feline). Neko is often arrogant and aloof, can be playful, and acts as any cat does – assured of her own royalty. Neko is loyal to Tora, and as any sister is, can be both best friend and complete pain in the neck.

Dorian Azhar Naranbaatar:
Dorian came from a world in which Fairy Tales and Dungeons and Dragons were reality. His roots are in the D&D side. He is half human and half drow, stands at 5’9” and is slim but muscular, with eyes that are usually teal but can change to grey, violet, or ice blue with his emotions. He has an odd skin tone thanks to his heritage, a nut brown that is nearly terracotta thanks to undertones of red, which looks just a little too red to seem natural for Earth skin tones (this bay color is actually a fair approximation). Most people would think he’s a tad sunburned. Her has pure white hair and slightly pointed ears.

Dorian was trained in assasination and general rogue abilities, but always disliked the idea of killing. He ran away from his family to persue a career of cartography, and became a guide to Questing parties. He met Tora while she was passing through, and followed her through the Linking Circle to Earth, whereupon she panicked and Reltoed out, stranding him in a strange new world. Luckily Yeesha was on hand to offer him the Journey, which eventually led him to the Hotel. He has been following an oblivious Tora around like a lovesick wolf-puppy every since. He is quiet, steady, stubborn, and determined. He doesn’t know our world well, though this Writer dumped some information in his head at one point. This doesn’t mean he knows all the colloquialisms or customs.

Dorian’s Abilities:
He used to have elemental spells, now he doesn’t. Faerie has really thrown his magic out of wack. They won’t be coming back.

Shapeshifting: Dorian was originally able to shift into any animal form – mammal, fish, bird, insect, etc. Now that Faerie has messed with his magic, his ability has been limited. He now has a limit of 13 forms, only mammal and bird. Faerie magic may give him forms (like the salamander we’ve just seen) but they won’t be ones he can deliberately use. He has some ability to change the appearance of his forms, such as becoming a red fox and changing its color to arctic white.
Dorian's forms will be limited to mammels and birds. Once the interference disappears and his magic settles, he'll "lock in" to his permenant 13 forms.

Please do not give Dorian forms, I’ve already worked out which 13 he’ll eventually have.
The list below will be added to as his permanent forms appear.

1. Ring-Tailed Lemur
2. Roadrunner
3. Kangaroo
4. Bat
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.

[marae]

However, many of us have two or three characters (or like TOOO, many many characters).

One might also say TOOO has TOOO many characters...

On a more serious note, you're right, they have done away with our Character descriptions thread. Fortunately, I have all 7 pages archived. If folks want, I can repost those in here, although it will take me a while. For starters, I'll just copy in my own posts, which will save much wear and tear on the keyboard (not to mention the gray cells - they are too busy making gray hair at the moment to be bothered. )

On the subject of archiving, I will do likewise for this thread. It seems to be a worthwhile practice.

In the old thread, we had a list of all the characters, active, inactive, or otherwise, with the appropriate colors for use in quoting their thoughts. I thought such a list might be helpful here. We actually have a few different color options (notably the addition of orange to the palette - yay for Neko!) and I have made appropriate adjustments in what I'm posting now (the original was posted on Tuesday, July 26, 2005).
.
And now, without further ado:

A List. *ahem*

*straightens collar*

*smoothes
skirt*

*ahem*

A List. By Henry Gibson.

Here in this list
You'll get the gist
Of colors bright
Matched just right
With those of us
Who cannot fuss
With words or vocalizations.
Please apply
Your observing eye
And try to use
Appropriate hues.
Do not stray,
Or we will say
You've botched your colorizations.

*curtseys*

Some of these beings frequently use colored text to indicate transmitted thought, as opposed to just plain thought, which most of us indicate with italics. I am putting the character's name followed by the appropriate color in color, and if there is a more appropriate color that we can't use (like orange used to be for Neko), that is noted last, in parentheses:

Niknak - grey
Jahura - blue (except here we will be using cyan because it shows up better against black and is closer to the original blue we used to have)
Zander - purple*
Tora Plum - purple
Tora Scarlet - red
Neko - ORANGE! (once had to use brown**)
Grey Tasho - grey
Blue Tasho - blue
Bast - yellow

Marae and Duke are duking it out over green (which here will be lime since real green is too dark). Neither of them has (to my knowledge) ever needed colored thought, but they want to be prepared, just in case. Duke refuses to use brown because he is not a brown horse, he is a bay horse, and we don't have bay*** (but Duke, not everyone gets their color of choice -- see Neko, above). He should use silver, because his aura is silver, but we don't have silver, we have grey (Duke, like I said, see Neko, above) and he does not want to use grey. Or even gray. Duke thinks Marae should use purple, but she thinks she should use green because her aura is green.
Tully may never need a color either, and if he does we don't know what it is. He's being reticent about it. But if he chooses green then Marae will happily choose purple to avoid confusion.

Duke: Hey!

Marae: Oh, all right, Duke, if Tully uses green then you can use it, too. You two just can't think at each other. (Marae secretly would be pleased to always see her beloveds' thoughts in green.)

Others who might like colors for thoughts are:

Speedy (who would undoubtedly be blue)
Ra'Phil (who has demonstrated that she is blue)
Kelsa (who I'm guessing might be purple)
OracleSong (about whom I have no idea)
I think Kestryll or at least some of his aspects might be given to colorful thoughts -- what color I'm not sure, although Rygell is a good candidate for red
The Green Fairy would naturally be green
I believe Tianna would be blue, although were it available I think she would be turquoise. (OMG, we have TURQUOISE!!!!)
XYZ (probably black or white)
Desiree (probably black)
Achenar (probably orange thanks to his Phoenix fire, but that of course means brown. Er... meant brown )
Unknown One (probably red)
Epona (haven't the foggiest -- brown maybe?)
Bres hasn't officially appeared here yet, but I expect as an agricultural deity his color would be green. He'll get here eventually.
Same for Brid, she'll get here eventually. She would be gold by choice, so will settle for yellow. (OMG, we have GOLD!!!! At least, that's what it says it is. Still no silver, though.)

Other regulars for whom I don't have a clue right offhand:

Jade
Grizz
Jeff
TOOO
The Spread Eagle
TLG
Boatingirl
Forstus
Terrai
Rik
Natika
The Stranger
Bad/Rorschach
Manny
the Vikings
the Ara

I'm sure I omitted someone, for which I apologize. You'll just have to tell us yourself.


EDIT: The answer is finally in. Duke and Marae have resolved their differences, and Tully has weighed in as well, so we can now make it official:

Tully: brown
Marae: green
Duke: white

EDIT: I have just been informed that Ra'Phil would not be red. No idea what color she would be, though.

EDIT: She is blue.

EDIT: I have just been informed that Achenar would like to be red, rather than brown.

EDIT: Tully's aura has been establishd as silver. His thoughts have been expressed at least once, in grey. Therefore it seems best that that be his official thought color. Duke's aura is silver also, but he is staunchly refusing to use grey and still wants to use white, even though that color is more appropriately (and has in fact been) used for celestial beings.

Stubborn old horse...


EDIT: Unfortunately, any edits made after October 11, 2006 (and I know there was at least one) were lost in the Great Crash. What I can add now is the following:

Bres has been established as brown. There were already too many characters using green (including Marae), so I felt something different was in order. He is very much an earth deity, so brown seemed right.

Kelsa and OracleSong are both using purple
Artemis uses yellow
Adric, Kelsa's new character, will use brown

If anyone remembers anything that got lost, or thinks of anyone who's been left out, please let me know. Thanks!

Oh, lordy. What a pain it was to edit all those colors!!! *wilt*

*purple is really too dark for this black background, but violet and plum are both too pink and just don't look right. I think the other purple option, indigo, is right out. Apologies if purple text is hard to read.

**"brown" is actually "saddle brown"

***"bay" is actually "brown." Both shades of brown are really too dark for this background, but the saddle brown seems a bit easier on the eyes to me. Again, apologies if brown posts are hard to read.

[Tora_Neko]

Bast: the Egyptian goddess of cats, protection, and women. She has three forms: the cat-headed woman, the small black cat (or possibly sand-colored Egyptian Mau), and the large, golden-eyed black panther. So far we've only seen the panther form. She is Tora and Neko's patron goddess. I am not the only Writer who Writes her, as she's a shared diety/character.

Bast should actually be using gold, and was only using yellow because we didn't used to have gold. However, if Bast and Brid share a conversation, in which both use gold, Bast will happily tweak Brid's color to yellow for her. As a Writer however, I have no problem using yellow for Bast. Hey!

***********************************************
I have a couple of inactive characters.

Tora Plum (seen in Marae's list above)- this character was actually Astral Tora who was completely cut off from an oblivious Tora back when her astral powers first activated. This has since been resolved and Tora Plum no longer exists.

Sahara Scarlet: Real name Sarah, she's Tora's cousin. Long sandy-brown hair in a messy braid, wears glasses. Usually haunts the Anime Club thread. Mostly a filler character.

Sequoia: Sahara's boyfriend, a were-coyote (who can shift into his form at will). He is the trickster god Coyote's son. Also a filler character, shows up even less often than Sahara.

************************************

Note for Moderators: If you happen to see this note, please change the title of this thread to match the new title in my first post: "Foundations Age: Character Development". Thank you!

Edit: Thank you Tully_ for the title change! Tully_ being the moderator, not the Tully Nyrond character. At least, I don't think he's a Nyrond.

[MystNovice]

Someone is having way too much fun with the colors.

I only used colors for one scene that was internal to Myself's subconscious. None of my characters have any form of telepathy, unless you count the time Id was plugged into Ascre, so I doubt I'll need any, but I noticed, Marae, that you mentioned aura colors a bit. Is that something your alter-ego can see, and should we define aura colors for our characters as well?

[Tora_Neko]

I believe Marae has the ability to see auras. If you tell us a color, Marae is likely to use it.

However, Tora's astral abilities to identify and locate are aura-based, though she does not generally realize this. And Tora has noted that she perceives different colors than Marae in people's auras a good portion of the time. Finding the post I'm thinking of would be like finding a needle in a haystack, but I think Tora's perception has something to do with emotions in the aura, and her own perception of which colors are associated with certain emotions or certain people.

[marae]

I think Marae can only see auras if she really works at it, and definitely cannot see her own. Brid or Epona would be able to see them, and although I might be misremembering, I think it was one of those two who told us what color auras we had.

But since the color of your thoughts isn't really something anyone is likely to see, merely a literary convention, I will definitely do my best to use the color you choose to represent your thoughts. Most of us have operated on the assumption that the thought color is probably also the aura color, but initially we hadn't made that definitive. It was just a convenient way to pick out a color for some of the characters.

If you have a color in mind for your aura, by all means make it known, so that if it ever comes out in the story we'll get it right.

[Tora_Neko]

I based Tora's astral voice and Neko's telepethy/cat voice on their hair/fur colors, not their auras. Neko's aura is likely orange/yellow-brown-red. I haven't really thought about what Tora's aura is, and have yet to see a need. Probably mainly purple, with some streaks of other colors. Likely orange or red in a small amount, representing the link Tora and Neko have. Actually the link may be yellow, since it was made by Bast....

This is also representative of different perceptions. Marae's take appears to be a single color for aura's (possibly influenced by using a single color for thought/astral/telepathy voice). My view insists on usually three colors in varying amounts. A base color with highlights. Prismatic rather than monochromatic.

[jahura]

It was Jahura that first brought up auras and told Marae she was green and Duke he was silver. Ahuri are plasmoid, so she and RaPhil tend to see more energy than mass in a person or an object. Ahuri come in all colors of the spectrum. Deltawave color-coding also started with Jahura to note transmissions over Omniverse Online in the color of the energy that being contains. Jahura's siblings, Anael and Mitchel, are red and white respectively because Anael is red plasma and Mitchel is white plasma.

Tora has a natural ability to transmit (ie: telepathy) while Jahura does not. Since Tora's energy is mostly red, her telepathic thoughts are written in red. Since Jahura is blue, her transmissions are in blue. But Jahura still needs a halo to transmit, and she hasn't worn one in a long while. Zander procured a commercial version for her for Christmas one year - I suppose it may be somewhere in that mess.

I could see at this point Marae seeing auras through meditative skills she taught herself from communing with Brid. Supposedly anyone can if they know how to relax and unblock their vision.