We ask that potential applicants post their application in comments rather than linking. If their application contains explicit references to 'hard' spoilers (character death, unforeseen plot twists, big reveals, he was evil all along etc), players should put the application in their own journal or their character's journal and link it, making sure to mention the presence of spoilers within. For further clarification on our spoilers policy and whether or not your application needs to be linked, please check this page. Thank you for your cooperation!
The comment character limit on Dreamwidth is 16,000 characters so apps no longer need to be split into multiple comments; however this is at players' discretion.
While players are welcome to play multiple characters (five characters maximum are allowed per player!), please only apply for one character at a time, and wait for a decision before submitting another application!
A reminder for those waiting to hear back: Please don't be worried if we skip yours while going through them. It only means we needed a little more time to research!
Please use the form below to apply! If you have any questions, feel free to ask any of the mods.
Helpful links!
Taken / Reserves Please do not app a character from either of these unless you reserved them!
Starter Pokémon! A compiled list of the starter Pokémon to choose from offered in Victory Road!
Welcome to the Wonderful World of Pokemon! Congratulations, you have a fun and exciting adventure awaiting you.
Now that you've been accepted... [○] Respond to this with your character's journal. This is a must! [○] Comment in the Taken Characters post, alphabetized by series: Here. [○] Join the following communities: victory_road, the_plateau, and ohmyarceus. Only Team Rocket personnel should join silph_co, but we ask that all Victory Road members subscribe to it. Note! You will not be accepted to the main or logs community until you've commented in the aforementioned places. [○] If you're still on the reserved list, please let us know that they've been accepted. [○] Please make sure to check out the Calendar for the weather and upcoming plots and swarms! [○] You can also find our mod plurk at victoryroad; if you have a Plurk, we suggest you become a fan!
We'd also like to take this moment to inform you of the Eastern Kanto Ferry! For only P2000, you can take a three day, all-inclusive ferry ride from New Bark Town to Pallet Town and begin a new pokémon journey in the Kanto region! Otherwise, feel free to start in Johto!
Player Name: Gummical E-mail: gummical@gmail.com Preferred Contact: PM, email or Plurk: gummical Timezone: GMT +10.30 Current Characters in Victory Road: None
Character Name: Hermione Granger (16) Series: Harry Potter (book series) Timeline: Taken from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix when Hermione is in the Department of Mysteries fighting Death Eaters with Harry, Ron, Ginny, Neville and Luna. She gets hit by a curse from Dolohov and crumples to the ground. This is the point she will wake in Victory Road. Note that this is the second time she has appeared in Victory Road. The first was towards the end of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. She will return with full memories of her time here previously. Canon Resource Links: Harry Potter Wikipedia page Harry Potter Wiki Hermione Granger Wikipedia page
Personality: Hermione Granger is an extremely intelligent witch and is often referred to as the ‘brightest witch of her age’. She has a passion and thirst for learning, and has the ability to absorb information and then recite it verbatim. She loves books and studying, and can often be found in the library researching or furthering her learning.
Hermione finds it difficult to make friends as her peers (and some adults) see her as a know-it-all, and when she corrects people she comes across as bossy and elitist. However this is not the case - her perceived bossiness or ‘one-upmanship’ is a consequence of Hermione’s fear of failure (particularly in relation to her studies), and her self-consciousness about her outward appearance. It isn’t her intention to be bossy or come across as superior, but part of a front that she puts up to protect herself. While she appears confident when talking about her studies, she is deeply wounded when she is bullied about her intelligence and looks, and tends to retreat and steer clear of others, often escaping to the library.
Hermione has a deep respect for rules, structure and authority, and finds the thought of breaking rules abhorrent, often scolding others for doing so. She finds it difficult to accept that a trusted adult in a position of power would abuse it, and often defends authority figures when they are accused of wrongdoing when the evidence isn’t clear. However Hermione does come to eventually see that not all people can be trusted, and not all rules are fair, and she will break the rules if the need is extreme.
After making friends with Harry and Ron, Hermione’s bossiness isn’t quite as extreme, however she will still scold both friends if she feels they are breaking rules, doing something dangerous or neglecting their studies. Both Ron and Harry have helped Hermione open up and be less serious, however will always turn to her for advice, and make use of her impressive knowledge and intelligence. She is the voice of reason when Harry wants to charge forward into something without thinking.
As a friend, Hermione is also fiercely loyal – she is the only one to stand by Harry despite the rumours that circulate in the Daily Prophet about him, and stays by his side despite the difficulties and dangers he is faced with, even though doing so could result in her death. Even when she is shunned by Harry multiple times, she still reconciles with him and remains his closest friend. Her loyalty may be tied to the fact that she finds it difficult to make friends, and therefore clings to the ones she does have.
Hermione also has a strong sense of justice and will stand up for others. She feels that all sentient creatures are equal, and will fight for the rights of minority groups despite knowing she faces an uphill battle, particularly against purebloods.
She can also see past the exterior to the uniqueness and beauty inside – her love for her cat Crookshanks is evidence of this. Crookshanks is one of the ugliest, meanest cats Ron and Harry have seen, however Hermione loves him and Crookshanks is loyal to her, particularly since he chose Hermione as his owner rather than the other way around. She is also one of the only people who treats Harry as a person in his own right, rather than by his title as the ‘Boy who Lived’. She sees past the title and heroic deeds to the real person inside, and treats him as a proper friend.
Pokémon Information Affiliation: Breeder Starter: Galarian ponyta Password: Atomic Fireball
Victory Road Sample: Hermione leapt up, wand out as her eyes darted around frantically, heart racing. It took a few moments for her to realise that she was no longer in the Department of Mysteries, but also not in the hospital ward at Hogwarts.
She lowered her wand slightly, confused but still alert. Why did this place look familiar?
Her answer came moments later when she found herself bustled out the door after having a backpack shoved in her arms by a cheerful woman who waved goodbye before closing the door on her. That woman had been lucky Hermione hadn't hexed her by accident when she'd burst into the room.
Left alone outside, Hermione sank to the ground, realisation dawning as she took in the music playing in the background.
No.
No, it couldn't be. Not now.
She shakily raised a hand to clutch at her chest. She'd been hit by an unknown curse. She could still feel the ghost of pain deep in her chest.
Had she died? Is that why she was here again?
She shook her head. No, that was unlikely. She wouldn't still feel the pain if she had, and the spell hadn't been the green of the killing curse.
The adrenaline from the fight, from trying desperately to stay alive as Death Eaters hammered them with curses and unforgivables, was wearing off.
Tears pricked at her eyes. All her friends....nothing had prepared them for that fight. She'd told Harry it was a trap and he hadn't listened. She should have tried harder to convince him, to stop him from going.
She had no idea if any of them were still alive. The Order had come in, wands blazing, but that just increased the number of dangerous spells flying around. And now, when her friends needed her the most, she was stuck here. Again. Her only small solace was that when she'd been hit, all her friends had still been standing.
She numbly flipped over the top of the backpack, staring at the red and white ball nestled on top.
Player Name: Allen E-mail: radioactivearachnid@gmail.com Preferred Contact: Plurk: Radioactivearachnid Timezone: EST Current Characters in Victory Road: N/A
Character Name: Ron Stoppable Series: Kim Possible Timeline: After the season 4 finale Canon Resource Links:Here
Personality: There's a reason Drakken calls Ron a buffoon, and it's because he kind of is. He's forgetful, easily distracted, and a bit of a procrastinator. He can come off as not that bright, in part because his distractability and undiagnosed ADHD make academia somewhat difficult for him, but also because outside of his admittedly varied interests he's less than informed and also occasionally slow on the uptake. Not to mention the fact that his brain can go to weird places in high-stress situations. He also has some difficulty with balancing childlike wonder with growing responsibilities.
He's terrified of near everything, occasionally veering into paranoia. It's something he's been slowly getting a handle on. Aside from his fear of monkeys it hasn't been by dealing with those fears, but rather pushing them aside to various degrees of success when it's necessary. Namely, when Kim needs help, as he believes she's worth every risk he can and can't think of. There's a certain level of bravery in that. When then going gets tough, he'll still step up no matter how scared he is. He might be screaming his head off the entire way, though.
Despite this, when he's actually in his comfort zone, away from the things he fears, he can actually be pretty chill.
Ron is genuinely a nice guy, He may have the occasional misstep here and there, but on the whole is a good guy to know. He's good with animals and children, even being able to verbally communicate to various degrees of success with the former. He's more or less blind to most people's social status, being able to befriend pretty much anyone from any walk of life without judging any of them. He's a pretty supportive friend too, and in Kim's case a supportive boyfriend.
He's a terrible liar. He's expressive, wears his heart on his sleeve, and that plus his general anxiety and phobias means he has a boatload of tells.
All that said, despite his goofy exterior, and also goofy interior, one thing someone should never do is mess with people or things Ron cares about. Mess with him? Fine, he's used to it. Mess with his sister, Rufus, or especially Kim and his usual lack of focus no longer becomes an issue. He will definitely try to beat the snot out of anyone who does, even if he doesn't always succeed.
Pokémon Information Affiliation: Breeder Starter: Snubbull Password: Atomic Fireball
An unfamiliar ceiling...wait, no, that was someone else's line.
Not that it wasn't true, because that was definitely not his ceiling. Also not his bed, not his room, not his pink dog, not his mom, not his staircase, not his backpack, and so totally not his front door being shut in his face.
"Okay then, that was weird. So, in the interests of focusing on something other than my inevitable panic attack," because no Kim and no Rufus in sight was definitely a freak out waiting to happen, "you're not gonna start trying to kill me, throw things at me, or just generally try to make my life a living heck, are ya?"
The Snubbull shakes her head. No, she was here to help him. She was pretty sure of that part, anyways.
"Sorry about that, then. It's just that I deal with a lot weird stuff, y'know? And a lot of it tries to kill me. Although dogs usually aren't that bad, so I guess I might've been a little harsh on ya."
Snubbull barks happily. The apology is accepted, and she tells him so.
"Thanks. So, um, next question, are you supposed to be pink?" Ron asks, and Snubbull nods.
"Alright then, glad to hear it. I think that covers all the points I wanted to get to. I'm Ron, Ron Stoppable. You got a name, buddy?"
Snubbull shakes her head, and Ron crouches down to get a better look at her.
"Well, ya look kinda like my high school mascot," he says, rubbing at his chin. The resemblance isn't uncanny, but it's there. "But you're a bit too much of a sweetheart to be the Mad Dog-"
She stops Ron right there. She definitely wants to be Mad Dog. That's the coolest name ever.
"Alright, alright. You're Mad Dog. Still a little much for every day, though. How 'bout Maddie for...not technically short, but ya know what I mean."
There's a few seconds wait as Snubbull thinks it over, but eventually the newly nicknamed Maddie nods.
"Badical! Nice to meet ya. So, guess we're gonna need a game plan, figure out where to go from here. First order of business...is to find some food because there is no way I'm dealin' with all this on an empty stomach. Hopefully there's a Bueno Nacho 'round here somewhere."
Note: I'm planning having his somewhat inconsistent animal communication ability work on Pokemon.
Player Name: Chi E-mail: winterbolts@gmail.com Preferred Contact:winterbolt Timezone: EST Current Characters in Victory Road: Izuku Midoriya
Character Name: Legosi Series: Beastars Timeline: End of Chapter 196 Canon Resource Links:Legosi on the Wiki!
Personality: As one of the most feared types of large-breed carnivore- the Grey Wolf-, Legosi spent the great majority of his life simply accepting his lot in it. Even from a young age, Legosi was quiet, reclusive, and did everything in his power to remain unnoticed and out of the way. While most considered him being a carnivore to give him an edge in life, Legosi viewed it as the exact opposite. He saw it as a hindrance moreso than a strength, and as such would downplay those traits even up into his teen years. Despite what Legosi could do with his status as being strong, powerful, and capable of more than others, he's remained extremely humble, kind, and thoughtful to everyone around him in spite of his appearance. He tends to be socially awkward due to his hyper-awareness of himself and his nature, making it initially difficult for him to connect with people who don't go out of their way to meet him halfway first. He's basically the polar-opposite in every way as to what someone might expect an "ideal" carnivore to be: quiet, withdrawn, prone to spacing out, and devoted to smaller hobbies like his love for bugs.
He's considered to be an excessively empathetic individual and bears no prejudice towards any animal whether they're carnivore or herbivore. He discovers throughout the series he harbors a particular interest in herbivores which brings him a lot of trouble, but for the most part he feels fiercely protective of them. He wants to see that everyone is treated equally in a world where a very clear social hierarchy is in place, one that he resides in the more "favorable" end of. His view of the world lends a great deal of more maturity to him compared to his peers, though he doesn't consider himself to be better than anyone else because of this. He genuinely wants what's best for everyone and does what he can to understand the struggles of every animal from every walk of life.
Legosi's convictions result in him tending to be extremely stubborn and impulsive, tending to act without thinking only to deal with the messes he's landed himself in after the fact. He's able to use his strengths to his advantage when necessary to assert himself moreso physically early on, but later in other ways as he starts to gain more confidence in himself. While he would prefer to resolve conflicts without having to be aggressive, that won't stop him from taking that route should the situation call need to it. This becomes especially true when Legosi is faced with an issue that involves one of his aforemention convictions, or needing to put himself in the line of fire to protect someone he cares about. He knows how to use his traits to his advantage, whether it be maturity and patience, or literal in the form of teeth and claws.
Pokémon Information Affiliation: Breeder Starter: Buneary Password: Atomic Fireball
Welcome to the Wonderful World of Pokemon! Congratulations, you have a fun and exciting adventure awaiting you.
Now that you've been accepted... [○] Respond to this with your character's journal. This is a must! [○] Comment in the Taken Characters post, alphabetized by series: Here. [○] Join the following communities: victory_road, the_plateau, and ohmyarceus. Only Team Rocket personnel should join silph_co, but we ask that all Victory Road members subscribe to it. Note! You will not be accepted to the main or logs community until you've commented in the aforementioned places. [○] If you're still on the reserved list, please let us know that they've been accepted. [○] Please make sure to check out the Calendar for the weather and upcoming plots and swarms! [○] You can also find our mod plurk at victoryroad; if you have a Plurk, we suggest you become a fan!
We'd also like to take this moment to inform you of the Eastern Kanto Ferry! For only P2000, you can take a three day, all-inclusive ferry ride from New Bark Town to Pallet Town and begin a new pokémon journey in the Kanto region! Otherwise, feel free to start in Johto!
Welcome to the Wonderful World of Pokemon! Congratulations, you have a fun and exciting adventure awaiting you.
Now that you've been accepted... [○] Respond to this with your character's journal. This is a must! [○] Comment in the Taken Characters post, alphabetized by series: Here. [○] Join the following communities: victory_road, the_plateau, and ohmyarceus. Only Team Rocket personnel should join silph_co, but we ask that all Victory Road members subscribe to it. Note! You will not be accepted to the main or logs community until you've commented in the aforementioned places. [○] If you're still on the reserved list, please let us know that they've been accepted. [○] Please make sure to check out the Calendar for the weather and upcoming plots and swarms! [○] You can also find our mod plurk at victoryroad; if you have a Plurk, we suggest you become a fan!
We'd also like to take this moment to inform you of the Eastern Kanto Ferry! For only P2000, you can take a three day, all-inclusive ferry ride from New Bark Town to Pallet Town and begin a new pokémon journey in the Kanto region! Otherwise, feel free to start in Johto!
Welcome to the Wonderful World of Pokemon! Congratulations, you have a fun and exciting adventure awaiting you.
Now that you've been accepted... [○] Respond to this with your character's journal. This is a must! [○] Comment in the Taken Characters post, alphabetized by series: Here. [○] Join the following communities: victory_road, the_plateau, and ohmyarceus. Only Team Rocket personnel should join silph_co, but we ask that all Victory Road members subscribe to it. Note! You will not be accepted to the main or logs community until you've commented in the aforementioned places. [○] If you're still on the reserved list, please let us know that they've been accepted. [○] Please make sure to check out the Calendar for the weather and upcoming plots and swarms! [○] You can also find our mod plurk at victoryroad; if you have a Plurk, we suggest you become a fan!
We'd also like to take this moment to inform you of the Eastern Kanto Ferry! For only P2000, you can take a three day, all-inclusive ferry ride from New Bark Town to Pallet Town and begin a new pokémon journey in the Kanto region! Otherwise, feel free to start in Johto!
Player Name: Rowan E-mail: n/a Preferred Contact: PM please! Timezone: EST Current Characters in Victory Road: n/a
Character Name: Risotto Nero Series: Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Timeline: Post-death (~episode 28 of the anime) Canon Resource Links: This wiki here has plenty of Risotto's history and appearance details. (Note: while there are sometimes slight differences between manga and anime in Jojo's overall, in the case of Risotto in particular not much contradicts itself. The main difference is that some present/flashback scenes are added in the anime, and in the manga we get his specific backstory. Added together they just make one cohesive picture. For clarity's sake I am apping the anime version, simply with the acknowledge that his additional manga backstory is probably canon, if that's alright by the mods. The linked wiki itself does not often note which source gave which info.)
Personality: Risotto is the leader of the Hitman Team of the Italian gang Passione, and he is in many ways what you might expect when thinking of someone picked out to lead a nine-man team of killers. He's big, serious, and surprisingly reticent in social settings, not engaging in chatter with his teammates but only chiming in with warnings, corrections, or orders.
Risotto is a cautious and calculating man, both in and out of combat. He is immediately suspicious of anything out of the ordinary around himself - his employees being unusually late for a meeting (Risotto correctly comments that this is unusual and a bad sign; it turns out two of their members were recently taken out by their Boss), a mysterious man being in a remote but important location (it turned out to be the second-in-command of the man he was trying to kill), etc. Despite his intimidating size and clear proficiency with fighting - he's shown dodging someone else's physical attacks with ease and demonstrates an ability to throw knives pretty accurately - Risotto clearly prefers to attack from afar and without being detected at all.
Which is where his 'stand', his in-world magical abilities, come in: in-universe, these powers are 'a manifestation of the user's fighting spirit'. They're intentionally symbolic powers that serve narrative purpose (as well as allowing for badass fight scenes, naturally). Risotto's stand allows him to turn invisible at will, a power he uses absolutely constantly while fighting a new opponent. Based on his own discussion of how his hits usually go, it's safe to assume Risotto usually kills his targets while remaining unseen the entire time. He doesn't need to prove himself by being seen and intimidating his targets - he just needs to win, and stay safe while doing so.
To that end, Risotto is also shown to be very patient. His entire canon story arc surrounds himself and his team attempting to rise up and kill their Boss, the Don of the mafia they're part of, due to multiple issues (the perception of not being paid enough; simple greed; and after two of their members are killed by the Boss as a warning, for revenge). It's Risotto who stops his teammates from immediately going after the Boss once two of their members are killed; he instructs them to 'forget about [their fallen teammates]' and they end up waiting two full years before the possibility of a new clue about the Boss' identity (and therefore, potential weaknesses) means Risotto finally mobilizes them. Risotto's first-ever kill was also a personal revenge he waited four years to enact. If he thinks he'll get a better chance later on? He will wait.
Despite this, Risotto is not an unfeeling machine. He's very much driven by internal motivations...these are just kept well-hidden in most circumstances. (Remember those super-symbolic magical powers? Most stand users have a stand that appears roughly human-shaped and sized, and which can punch for them in fights. Risotto's stand is instead a series of tiny gumdrop-sized beings that live...hidden away in his blood, unable to fight for him or even be seen by anyone else. Unless, of course, Risotto is injured. Talk about some heavy symbolism.) His first kill being the murder of a drunk driver who killed his cousin in a crash is a pretty clear indication of this. So is the fact that Risotto comes to kill the Boss at all: by the time Risotto is personally trying to kill their Boss, he is the only surviving member of his team. Clearly, he's not going to run the entire mafia himself. Risotto's only reason for continuing to chase down the boss is revenge, at that point. It's stated in canon by both himself and another character that this is the case: Risotto is angry and wants to personally kill the man responsible for his teammates' deaths.
Unfortunately for Risotto, perhaps the only solid showcasing of his humanity ends up being his downfall, not just from normal civilian life but to his own canon death. He fails to kill his Boss despite his own cautious start to the fight, and while it's not really wrong to read this fact as Risotto being the victim of the Boss' absurd power (fighting the Boss one on one is a bit like bringing a banana to a knife fight), it's also fair to say it's actually Risotto's eventual snap of anger that does him in. He grows too confident too quickly towards the very tail end of the fight, certain he's got the Boss right where he finally needs him in order to deal the final blow, and ends up miscalculating because of his own emotions after all. Risotto dies not just because he was the weaker opponent - he probably could have won by simply wearing the other down for longer - but because he let his angry need for revenge get the best of him.
Pokémon Information Affiliation: Team Rocket! Starter: Gastly ('main' starter) and Spinarak ('supplementary' starter), assuming I read it right and TR gets two starters! Password: Atomic & Fireball!
Samples RP Sample:Here. A quick note: this thread begins six months ago, but was being written as recently/has comments from as recently as last month, so I hope that's alright with the 'within the last four months' requirement for the thread's age!
Player Name: bii E-mail: n/a Preferred Contact:obiisama + pm this journal Timezone: PST Current Characters in Victory Road: Greg Universe, Steven Durante, Akane Tendo, and Claudia Kishi
Character Name: Maria Ushiromiya Series: Umineko: When They Cry Timeline: post-canon, more or less Canon Resource Links: There’s a wiki but it’s not the best when it comes to Maria, so I’ll supplement it a little by copy-pasting some of what I used last time I apped Maria somewhere. SPOILER WARNING FOR ALL OF UMINEKO TO FOLLOW. ALSO CW: DISCUSSION OF CHILD ABUSE.
As alluded to in the wiki link above, Rosa was, quite frankly, a terrible mother. When she wasn’t neglecting Maria--leaving her home alone for hours, sometimes even days on end--she was spoiling her to make up for it. She also beat Maria, slapping her around at the slightest provocation. Maria responded to this by mentally separating the kind Mama who indulged her and spoiled her with the evil Black Witch who tormented her. Even some of Rosa’s indulgences were suspect. One year she promised Maria a homemade stuffed animal for her birthday, but she neglected to actually make it and just picked up a cheap stuffed lion for her anyway, claiming it was homemade. Maria loved the lion, however, and named it Sakutaro.
The wiki also mentions Beatrice and Maria’s friendship. Amazingly enough, Maria knew more about some occult subjects than Beatrice. In fact, she taught Beatrice all she knew about demonology. Beatrice also invented a new form for Sakutaro to assume when Maria played with him, one of a little boy in a lion costume. Together they formed a group of witches called Mariage Sorciere. At one point, Maria’s younger cousin Ange was also a member, but she was excommunicated when she denied the existence of magic.
One day Maria went out with Sakutaro to get food from the convenience store while Rosa was gone. She wasn’t supposed to take Sakutaro outside the house, but she was lonely. On her way back, Maria lost the key to the house. She got taken to the police station, where the police looked after her until Rosa could come and get her. When Rosa came, she was furious. She beat Maria extra badly and then murdered Sakutaro by ripping him to pieces. After that, Maria’s active fantasy life became more violent and less sweet.
Beatrice, similarly miserable by the way her life had turned, began to construct a plan to create a Schrodinger’s box situation that would allow her to pass through death into an afterlife of infinite possibilities known as the Golden Land, through the mass murder of everyone on the Island of Rokkenjima over that year’s family conference. However, she also wanted to give the Ushiromiya family a fighting chance to avoid their fate. Beatrice enlisted Maria to help her by delivering a message to everyone, telling them unless they solved the mystery of the puzzle known as the witch’s epitaph that night, everyone on Rokkenjima would die.
And eventually everyone did die.
Maria died that night, at the hands of culprit of the Rokkenjima Massacre, but in some form her spirit did live on metaphysically and meta-fictionally over the next dozen years in the Golden Land, playing and replaying the days of the family conference, as the world outside struggled to figure who, indeed, was the true culprit of it all.
Personality: Again, I’m stealing this from the last time I apped Maria to a game, if edited slightly.
Okay. So probably the most important thing about Maria is that she views reality in a way that really doesn’t coincide with most people--she is a true believer in magic and witches and ritual--and that can lead to communication troubles between her and everyone else, unless they’re very special people like Beatrice who take the time to learn her language. For instance, in canon a younger Maria had a hard time with basic hygiene skills like remembering to brush her teeth and wash her hands until Beatrice reframed them as cleansing and purification rituals. Most people, however, don’t even try. They just ignore her babbling about witches and magic and this leads them to ignore Maria when she’s trying to tell them something important--just something framed in her viewpoint.
Is it a coping mechanism? Almost certainly. Maria’s home life is extremely awful and she’s locked into a wretchedly co-dependent relationship with her mother, whose abuse and neglect she makes excuses for because--Beatrice aside--they are really the only people each other has. Faced with an awful reality, why wouldn’t Maria dive straight into fantasy?
Also, one has to be careful when diagnosing fictional characters, i think it’s safe to say that Maria isn’t at all neurotypical. It’s not just her unique view of reality either. For one thing, she recognizes people not by any identifying physical characteristics, but by how they act at a certain time. This has allowed her to recognize ‘Mama’ (Rosa when she’s being kind) and ‘The Black Witch’ (Rosa when she’s being abusive) as two different people, the second of which sometimes possesses the first. This also allows her to recognize Beatrice as Beatrice no matter what form she’s in. She also engages in repetitive behavior, most notably her chanting of the charm ‘uu-uu.’ On the other hand, her propensity to talk in third person on occasion is really just her being immature and cutesy, mimicking a somewhat younger child’s speech patterns and is something she’s already in the process of growing out of.
Despite communication issues, Maria’s actually very intelligent, especially when it comes to fields that interest her. How many nine year olds can you say have read the Lesser Keys of Solomon? But at the same time, if she doesn’t find something useful or interesting she doesn’t bother to learn it, resulting in Maria having much poorer grades than she ought to.
She’s creative too--wildly creative in fact. As already noted, she has a very active fantasy life. She’s given all her toys very distinct personalities and helped Beatrice create many of the details of the Golden Land. She also collaborated a good deal with Beatrice on the character and appearance of most of her furniture.
She’s loyal, very loyal, even unto death. Most notably, she was the only person in the family proper that Beatrice brought into her schemes prior to the final family conference. It can be hard to win her trust--for one thing, you have to at some point sincerely avow your belief in magic and witches--but once given it endures. (This can be to her detriment, as she’s given that loyalty to Rosa as well.)
She likes to show off and boss people around whenever she gets the chance--which is not often, given how much she’s ignored--and she will absolutely attempt to place herself in a position of authority. Part of her Occult Expert schtick is this--although she really and truly does love the occult, she also takes great pleasure in the fact that she does know more than all the older people around. She likes knowing more than other people. Although part of why she helped Beatrice in her schemes was her undying loyalty to her friend, the pleasure she got in being in on Beatrice’s schemes when everyone else was running around confused also probably helped.
Maria has a tendency to creep people out with her chilling ‘kihihi’ laugh, her occult obsession, and her witchly tendency towards trollfaces. She can be hard to engage when she drops into full occult mode. But when she puts those things aside and allows herself to be a little girl again, she’s very cheerful and enthusiastic. Underneath it all, Maria’s actually a sweet and earnest little girl who wants nothing more than for everyone to have fun.
She really, really loves television.
Pokémon Information Affiliation: Trainer Starter: Hatenna Password: Atomic Fireball
Player Name: Nao E-mail: n/a Preferred Contact:lollichop | Nao #9016 @ discord Timezone: EST Current Characters in Victory Road: n/a
Character Name: Ardyn Lucis Caelum/'Ardyn Izunia' Series: Final Fantasy XV Timeline: End of Chapter 14 Canon Resource Links:Ardyn, his DLC episode, and Final Fantasy XV in general
Personality: The initial and vital distinction to make before describing Ardyn in any detail is that he is a person whose development can be split into three sections: his past as a healer, his ingame presence as a villain, and the midpoint in between displayed in his own DLC episode.
Healer: In his past as a relatively normal human, Ardyn was intensely selfless to the point of self-destruction. Tasked by the gods with the healing of the Starscourge through divine magic, he accepted his responsibility without question and seemed to take a small amount of pride in carrying out the will of the gods. Taking his role incredibly seriously, he rarely smiled or did much else but act stoic and professional in front of the people he worked to help. Implied but only seen in the novel is a falling-out with his own younger brother over a difference of opinion in how to save the world from the plague, demonstrating that Ardyn took the matter seriously enough to leave both home and his only apparent family entirely to continue his work. More to the point on the 'self-destructive' front; his task to heal the Starscourge was actively causing him agonizing pain and deteriorating his body, but he clearly prioritized the people in need of salvation over his own life with no hesitation or question.
...What I'm saying is he's an incredibly thinly veiled messianic archetype and the only way the comparison would be less subtle would be if his birthday were on Christmas. It's Walpurgisnacht, which isn't much less subtle.
Adagium: In being rejected by the gods, executed by his brother, and sealed away for two millennia, to say Ardyn's mental state took a hit would be an understatement. In his confinement he retreated into his own head, living in his own hallucinations of the past as resentment and hate fueled by the Starscourge built within him. Despite this, when released by Verstael his prevailing emotion seems to be apathy. He's largely indifferent to Verstael, the world, and everyone in it--briefly thinking that just being left alone in Angelgard would have been preferable. While the resentment fostered in his imprisonment is still present, it is also directionless; with Somnus dead, Ardyn finds little point in revenge. He spends several months in Niflheim sleeping; ostensibly as recovery, but it's equally likely he simply felt he had nothing better to do. While he is a barely-human passing avatar of malice and hatred, enough of his original human self remains that though he resents his own mistakes in working so hard to accomplish basically nothing, he won't simply destroy everything indiscriminately in vengeance. At this stage he's very tired and very mentally unwell--he's prone to nightmares and, when under significant stress, outright dissociation and waking hallucinations (both auditory and visual) centering around both Somnus and Aera alike. Ultimately, at that point he wasn't even an open threat at all--while he did in fact kill several of the Crownsguard on the island, it was done in self-defense and also one such hallucination implied a genuine sense of guilt; a spectral version of Somnus taunting Ardyn over having killed an innocent man and Ardyn claiming 'my calling is to save lives, not take them'.
Ardyn Izunia: The tipping point of finally shattering a fractured grasp on sanity lies with Verstael convincing Ardyn to daemonify Ifrit; pushed into seeking power he swears vengeance on the line of Lucis and in sublimating a god Ardyn also sees fragments of memories implying it was he and not Somnus that was chosen. That, specifically, is the point that causes him to utterly snap and decide to take his vengeance on gods, kings, and everything else on the planet. In the years that followed he killed people indiscriminately in order to steal their memories and learn more about the world, as well as contribute to creating Niflheim's magitek and highly unethical cloned daemon army. In his DLC episode preceding the game itself, he proves to be a force even Niflheim can't hope to actually control; he goes rogue on an already violent invasion mission, seeking to kill the then-reigning king and only being stopped by the intervention of both his spectral younger brother as well as Bahamut himself, learning of the prophecy that names Ardyn as nothing but an agent of darkness whose purpose is to suffer as an immortal plague until the true Chosen King can arise and kill him. Depending on player choice, Ardyn either completely gives up and accepts this as an inevitability, or rages against the draconic deity and is summarily harshly punished for the hint of rebellion. (It isn't clearly stated ingame which option is game canon, but the second is explicitly canon to the light novel/alternate timeline.)
Which leads into his role in the game itself: a manipulative chessmaster who orchestrates the fall of both Lucis and Niflheim, kills several named characters either directly or by proxy, and spreads the Starscourge to the point of creating a ten-year-long night over the planet only ended with Noctis defeating Ardyn and sacrificing himself to bring back the light. He is constantly bitter to the point of vicious mockery to everyone around him, ally and enemy alike. His bitterness at having been cast out is projected clearly on those who had nothing to do with it--specifically Noctis more than anyone, being Somnus' identical-looking descendant. Ultimately, it may all just be a decades long lashing out in anger and vengeance, and once the prophesized end does come about Ardyn seems content with the idea. After a fierce final battle in the destroyed streets of the crown city he accepts his defeat quietly, and is eradicated from all existence with little more than a bow to the true Chosen King who saved the world as neither brother could.
Pokémon Information Affiliation: Trainer Starter: Zorua, with the justification that it's thematically fitting; apart from having a heavily black and red aligned color scheme, Ardyn often and repeatedly uses illusions himself to change his form for nefarious purposes. Password: Atomic Fireball
Player Name: AC E-mail: n/a Preferred Contact: PM this journal or Discord (AC#7235) Timezone: Central US Current Characters in Victory Road: Sion Astal
Character Name: Shrike Series: Original Character Timeline: About a month after joining Tetson's army, shortly before the offensive to capture the Kyric territory
Original Character Background:
World
Shrike comes from a fantasy-type world, with general notable features including the presence of magic of the "you have to study the intricacies of how it works to effectively use it" variety as well as plenty of inherently magical beings. Most of the sapient population is humans, but there's a fair few of said magical beings--commonly known collectively as 'fay' of various sorts--who can be quite as intelligent as a human, as well. Technology on the whole superficially resembles Earth's late Middle Ages, but simple magic being relatively commonplace means that overall quality of living is a bit beyond that. At least, in the more civilized and developed parts of the world.
The particular region Shrike hails from is what was formally the Saggrem Empire--an area consisting of temperate fertile valleys and lowlands nestled amongst craggy, forested mountains. Since the collapse of the empire nearly a generation ago, the entire region has become increasingly unstable, with many areas being ruled by assorted independent lords, and many others being largely lawless. It's also highly prone to conflict, as many of the better-established (or simply power-hungry) lords are prone to becoming warlords, attempting to conquer and hold as much territory as possible, though none have come near to reclaiming Saggrem's former full glory.
There are of course other parts of the world beyond this, but Shrike has no experience with them beyond snippets of stories heard or read, and currently there are few to no outside powers taking an interest in the region.
Character History
While Shrike knows very little about his early life with any certainty, a few points are possible to reasonably extrapolate. For one, he was indeed sired by a proper fay, as his striking appearance and other traits simply wouldn't be possible if the fay lineage were any more diluted. For another, his mother was probably a woman who was reasonably well-off, and thus could afford to indulge in the whim of caring for such a peculiar child, at least for a time. His earliest actual memory, however, is a vague recollection of a deep feeling of loss while being taken somewhere unfamiliar, followed by memories of his time at the first of what would be several orphanages.
You see, being fayblood, Shrike is weird. Aside from the obvious physical characteristics, he ages abnormally slow, and possesses an abnormal strength. Between people getting creeped out or just getting tired of caring for a child who won't grow up fast enough, and the inevitable accidents of broken toys, utensils, and bones that will come of a child's typical poor motor control and atypical strength, it would only be a matter of time before the boy was dumped on somebody--anybody--else.
All told, Shrike spent time at three different 'orphanages' of various credibility and repute, and finally found himself at an institution that made no pretensions of such altruism or charity, being straight up a sort of workhouse for children of a certain age and older. This last both offered the most realistic and straightforward expectations, but also the most indifference towards the children's behaviors outside of whatever jobs or apprenticeships they were assigned to. Shrike made the best of it, using whatever small stipend he could save for himself to acquire books and generally furthering his somewhat meager and haphazard education as well as he could. He also kept to himself, having learned the hard way previously that lashing out in pure self-defense would not absolve him of another child's broken nose or arm.
Unfortunately, his solitary habits weren't enough to shield him from the attention of his peers. Between his bizarre appearance and peculiar slow aging, it didn't take long for certain of his peers to find plenty of reason to pick on him any chance they got. Shrike responded by avoiding confrontation as much as possible, and when cornered, simply hunkering down and waiting for his assailant to lose interest. Rather than discourage such things, however, it only seemed to gradually escalate, until finally one day Shrike discovered that someone had found his favorite book in its hiding place under his mattress, and proceeded to hack at the pages crudely with a knife. This was more than he could bear and, clutching the ruined book, he sought out the overseer to plead his case... Who curtly told him to sort the matter out himself.
Realizing just how bad his predicament was, Shrike proceeded to carefully pack up his few personal belongings, leaving behind a note and his current savings for the overseer to cover any outstanding expenses, and fled that night, hoping fervently that no one would be sent after him.
As it happened, either he evaded pursuit, or nobody thought it was worth chasing after him in the first place, as Shrike made a clean getaway. He wandered for the next several months, partially foraging for food, partially doing small for people in villages or farmsteads in exchange for goods or money, all the while heading steadily towards the more sparsely-inhabited mountains region. Eventually he managed to find a cave that was reasonably habitable and hunkered down there, slowly making a crude home for himself while foraging and hunting. Soon he added visiting various scattered farmsteads in the area to that list, albeit always cloaked and hooded, taking whatever he was offered for his help and never lingering.
The first year or so was incredibly rough, but gradually Shrike adapted, to the point where he was even able to make the trek to the nearest town, bringing mountain goods to trade for occasional luxury items like another book. Even so, he had to take care no matter where he was--by now the whole region was embroiled in territorial battles by local warlords, and stumbling into an army would surely spell no good for a vagrant like him. To be sure, every now and then, he'd travel to a farmstead he'd visited previously, only to find it abandoned and ransacked or burned.
Shrike lived this lonesome wilderness life for about three years, until sometime after he turned sixteen, he happened to be paying his rare visit to town at the same time as a detachment from one of those armies. While there, a man approached him who Shrike immediately identified as some sort of warlord. Though Shrike did his best to avoid the encounter, the man was persistent, and insisted on speaking with him, to which the boy coldly asked "Are you here to kill or to kill?" Surprised but not bewildered by the frank question, the man replied that he was "here to put an end to the killing." The two spoke briefly, albeit reluctantly on Shrike's part, then in parting the warlord handed him a bag half-full of baked rolls and, with an apology for not having something more useful, three bronze and one silver coin. Not wanting to feel indebted, Shrike called out a warning to the man that the mountain snowcaps were still melting, and that he shouldn't let his people drown.
That seemed to be the end of it, except that it took little time at all before Shrike's curiosity got the better of him and, throwing caution to the wind, he tracked down the army in question, just to see what would happen. As it did happen, Shrike found a detachment of them--lead by that same warlord himself--hastily retreating from an enemy engagement. After insisting every soldier crossed the newly-reinforced by old and decaying bridge across a swollen river before him, the warlord followed, only for it to abruptly give way under him. His men shouted and began frantically rushing to the riverbanks, but Shrike knew better, and after he was sure he was out of sight rushed to a point downstream he could reach ahead of the current, thanks to a bend in the river's course. Sure enough, he spotted the unconscious warlord's body being tossed in the rapids, and leaping in himself was able to for once make truly good use of his unnatural strength, hauling the man to shore.
This left him with a dilemma, as Shrike could hardly leave him there, but he still felt wary of approaching the soldiers. So instead, he hauled the warlord to his cave home, figuring he could dry out, wake up, and perhaps have some food before returning to his army under his own power. A tidy resolution to such an impulsive act! What he didn't count on, though, was the warlord being far more curious about his rescuer upon awakening than desperate to get back to his men. The two exchanged words, the warlord not bothering to hide his intense curiosity, until a sudden movement caused Shrike's hood to fall and his fayblood features to be plainly visible. To his astonishment though the warlord did not react with disgust or fear or anything of the sort, but if anything merely seemed thoughtful.
Then he asked Shrike to come with him. Explaining that he could use the help of someone who knew the area so well, and pointing out that it was necessary to defeat the belligerents in order to make the land peaceful once more for everyone else, he eventually persuaded the boy. He then properly introduced himself--he was Tetson, lord of Uttwar, also called the Warchief by his followers. When the boy declined to give his own name, Tetson called him Shrike after noticing a scavenged harrow being used as a makeshift meat-smoking rack.
And so Shrike joined Tetson's army, acting primarily as a local guide familiar with the regional terrain. Even after a month or so he still keeps mostly to himself, but in interest of wanting to earn his keep has been assisting the quartermaster and in the process learning about logistics. This is the current state of affairs, with the army preparing for its next major assault, upon Shrike's arrival in game.
Personality: First of all, Shrike is incredibly shy. His fay parentage has left him with numerous plainly visible indicators of it, and people tend to react warily of him at best upon seeing what he is. As such, he strongly prefers not to be seen, avoiding interacting closely with people if he can help it and keeping himself as covered up as possible when he does. And not to mention, this avoidance means he's a bit lack in chances to develop normal social skills, which merely further adds to the awkwardness and shyness... To say nothing of a general sense of poor self-esteem.
Needless to say, Shrike also isn't especially trusting of people, usually falling back on the assumption that they will act in their own self-interest or gain. He doesn't think negatively of people for this, but it means that he's unwilling to open up to others, instead keeping distant. As such, he can unintentionally come across as very aloof even when he's genuinely curious about someone or something.
He is, however, very intelligent. He's a fast learner, and despite having only a spotty education at best, was able to effectively teach himself by acquiring books to learn from. This notably includes learning the basics of magecraft, allowing him to enchant his hood to cast his face into shadow, create simple mage-lights for his cave home, and trade performance of simple helpful spells to local farmers in exchange for needed goods. Additionally, while Shrike might avoid interacting with people, he's still a good observer and thus not too terrible a judge of character.
Shrike is also fairly gentle and kind. He hates fighting, and his own unusual strength has made him extremely cautious about avoiding hurting others by accident. His anger at the warlords who occasionally brought their armies through the area was largely based on seeing how the local farmerfolk suffered because of it; Shrike may not bother retaliating against someone who's wronged him personally, but is quick to be upset by others coming to harm. And while so far he's not been particularly close to anyone for it to be tested, it's likely that his reactions would be even worse if a person he did care about were hurt.
Those major points aside, whether it's because of his upbringing or due to his fay heritage, Shrike has a few other, minor quirks as well. First, he cannot stand the idea of being indebted to someone, but will insist on trying to do or give something in return, though he's less inclined to demand others repay him. Second, he's a very poor liar and generally doesn't even try to at all, giving partial answers or more often simply refusing to say anything if there's something he doesn't want to say or admit. And finally, he dislikes giving out his name. "Shrike" is not his original name, which is a name he's to date never told anyone. It's possible this might change if he came to trust someone enough, but so far that has yet to occur.
Pokémon Information Affiliation: Trainer Starter: Togepi Password: Atomic Fireball
Victory Road Sample: Shrike was not the kind of person to panic easily. Whether it was quietly enduring bullying for years, or struggling to find his way alone through a mountain forest at night, he was usually able to keep his feelings in check and get through whatever the problem was before finding someplace safe and alone to vent. But suddenly finding himself in an unfamiliar place--somehow inside a house, at that!--with a complete stranger acting very, well, strangely, and not a single idea where he was or how he'd gotten there? Well, suffice it to say he'd bolted out of there so quickly it's a wonder he didn't leave a cloud of dust in his wake.
Once safely outside, catching his breath in the shadow of another building a short distance away, he attempted to take stock of the situation. The last thing he could recall was that he'd been returning to the quartermaster after running an errand, then he was abruptly no longer in Tetson's army's camp, but, well, wherever here is. No warning, no sign he'd notice of any spells... A thought struck him at that, and he held out a hand in front of him, muttering a simple incantation.
Nothing happened. After staring dumbfounded at his palm for a second or two, Shrike clutched at his hood, pulling it down and forward in front of his face where he could see the underside. No, there was no sign of the enchantment that was supposed to be there, either. He grimaced to himself as he let the hood slide back into position, but at least he did still have that much. An ordinary, unenchanted hood was still far better than nothing.
He stood there in the building's shadow for several more long minutes, trying to decide what in the world he was supposed to do now. Finally, he let out a small sigh. He'd been on his own plenty in the past, even before he'd finally fled to make his way alone he'd hardly ever had much by way of companions, let alone friends. Just because he'd gotten used to having meals and a bed provided for him in the month with Tetson's army didn't mean he couldn't fend for himself if he had to.
So, he started with the bag. He still wasn't sure about keeping it as he hadn't known why he was handed it in the first place, but seeing what's inside wouldn't hurt, at least. There were some pretty standard-looking supplies, clothes and some food and such, a most peculiar-looking object he couldn't yet make heads or tails of, and several brightly-colored red and white balls. Shrike reached for one of the latter, wanting to take a closer look, but no sooner had he taken it out when it snapped open, releasing some kind of light.
Shrike made a small sound of surprised and jumped back, dropping bag and ball both as he did so. Luckily, the bag missed the spot where the light from the ball landed... and coalesced into a very peculiar creature that seemed to stuck half-hatched from its egg. To say that Shrike was dumbfounded would be putting it lightly, but before he could react the creature spotted him and with a cheerful pi! waddled over. Shrike looked around, but either nobody had noticed, or no one seemed to think any of this was noteworthy. Meanwhile, the creature had crossed the short distance between them and was attempting to grasp at his leg with its diminutive arms. Carefully, Shrike crouched down and held out a hand, which the small thing happily clambered on to.
"Guess I gotta make sure nothing happens to you either..." Shrike muttered, carefully lifting the small creature. Another thing to deal with, but he'd muddle through somehow or another.
Welcome to the Wonderful World of Pokemon! Congratulations, you have a fun and exciting adventure awaiting you.
Now that you've been accepted... [○] Respond to this with your character's journal. This is a must! [○] Comment in the Taken Characters post, alphabetized by series: Here. [○] Join the following communities: victory_road, the_plateau, and ohmyarceus. Only Team Rocket personnel should join silph_co, but we ask that all Victory Road members subscribe to it. Note! You will not be accepted to the main or logs community until you've commented in the aforementioned places. [○] If you're still on the reserved list, please let us know that they've been accepted. [○] Please make sure to check out the Calendar for the weather and upcoming plots and swarms! [○] You can also find our mod plurk at victoryroad; if you have a Plurk, we suggest you become a fan!
We'd also like to take this moment to inform you of the Eastern Kanto Ferry! For only P2000, you can take a three day, all-inclusive ferry ride from New Bark Town to Pallet Town and begin a new pokémon journey in the Kanto region! Otherwise, feel free to start in Johto!
Welcome to the Wonderful World of Pokemon! Congratulations, you have a fun and exciting adventure awaiting you.
Now that you've been accepted... [○] Respond to this with your character's journal. This is a must! [○] Comment in the Taken Characters post, alphabetized by series: Here. [○] Join the following communities: victory_road, the_plateau, and ohmyarceus. Only Team Rocket personnel should join silph_co, but we ask that all Victory Road members subscribe to it. Note! You will not be accepted to the main or logs community until you've commented in the aforementioned places. [○] If you're still on the reserved list, please let us know that they've been accepted. [○] Please make sure to check out the Calendar for the weather and upcoming plots and swarms! [○] You can also find our mod plurk at victoryroad; if you have a Plurk, we suggest you become a fan!
We'd also like to take this moment to inform you of the Eastern Kanto Ferry! For only P2000, you can take a three day, all-inclusive ferry ride from New Bark Town to Pallet Town and begin a new pokémon journey in the Kanto region! Otherwise, feel free to start in Johto!
Welcome to the Wonderful World of Pokemon! Congratulations, you have a fun and exciting adventure awaiting you.
Now that you've been accepted... [○] Respond to this with your character's journal. This is a must! [○] Comment in the Taken Characters post, alphabetized by series: Here. [○] Join the following communities: victory_road, the_plateau, and ohmyarceus. Only Team Rocket personnel should join silph_co, but we ask that all Victory Road members subscribe to it. Note! You will not be accepted to the main or logs community until you've commented in the aforementioned places. [○] If you're still on the reserved list, please let us know that they've been accepted. [○] Please make sure to check out the Calendar for the weather and upcoming plots and swarms! [○] You can also find our mod plurk at victoryroad; if you have a Plurk, we suggest you become a fan!
We'd also like to take this moment to inform you of the Eastern Kanto Ferry! For only P2000, you can take a three day, all-inclusive ferry ride from New Bark Town to Pallet Town and begin a new pokémon journey in the Kanto region! Otherwise, feel free to start in Johto!
Welcome to the Wonderful World of Pokemon! Congratulations, you have a fun and exciting adventure awaiting you.
Now that you've been accepted... [○] Respond to this with your character's journal. This is a must! [○] Comment in the Taken Characters post, alphabetized by series: Here. [○] Join the following communities: victory_road, the_plateau, and ohmyarceus. Only Team Rocket personnel should join silph_co, but we ask that all Victory Road members subscribe to it. Note! You will not be accepted to the main or logs community until you've commented in the aforementioned places. [○] If you're still on the reserved list, please let us know that they've been accepted. [○] Please make sure to check out the Calendar for the weather and upcoming plots and swarms! [○] You can also find our mod plurk at victoryroad; if you have a Plurk, we suggest you become a fan!
We'd also like to take this moment to inform you of the Eastern Kanto Ferry! For only P2000, you can take a three day, all-inclusive ferry ride from New Bark Town to Pallet Town and begin a new pokémon journey in the Kanto region! Otherwise, feel free to start in Johto!
Personality: Ardbert has been through a lot in both his life and afterlife. More than someone should ever have to go through at least and it shows! Both in how he carries himself and how he speaks. Like an old wistful soul at the end of it's journey.
But let's back up a bit. During his life Ardbert was an adventurer and would go on to be a hero to his world. His old comrades would describe him as a kind and trusting soul, a sweet guy with a heart overflowing with love for those he holds dear. They didn't lie! He is absolutely someone who puts others needs before his own and would never hesitate to help someone no matter if how big or small the problem was. He was also a bit of a go-getter, which netted him the position of leader in his group. He knew when he had to be tough and when to joke around to ease in group fighting. Personality wise he could be a little rough around the edges in his manner of speech, but he knew when he had to be strict and when he could lighten up and joke around.
Unfortunately his days of adventuring wouldn't end well for him. Despite his groups best intentions, they quite literally were too good at being heroes. To explain shortly, along their journey they learned of a secret mastermind responsible for a lot of nefarious deeds in their realm. Spoilers: It was one of their companions who had been manipulating them this entire time. This is where Ardbert's boundless love would be his downfall. Simply put their companion's evil plan was to make all these adventurers into "Warriors of Light" and in the end Ardbert would be needed to slay them for the job to be done. Ultimately though he refused to kill his dear friend and this one choice (and the subsequent hunt and murder of the real manipulators) doomed his entire world and very nearly killed everyone.
Everything just gets worse from there. Him and his party are tricked again in their desperation. He had to kill all of his comrades and then had to take his own life to travel to another world. They do manage to stall the destruction of their own world in the end, but to do so required his party to sacrifice what remained of their life energy and souls- yet out of his party he was the only denied his willing sacrifice.
Afterwards he was left as a ghost, doomed to wander his world on the brink of destruction for 100 years. Having to suffer watching civilizations start to curse him and and his friends names and having to endure intense isolation with his own suffocating guilt. That all of his choices and decisions lead to that outcome.
That being said, things do get better for him in his afterlife. The main character, the Warrior of Light, does eventually come to his world and through plot reasons is the only character who can see and hear him. Through watching the Warrior of Light fight for his world is he able to come to terms with the state he's left in and slowly but surely he was able to cut through his gloom to find hope again. Enough hope to hand the reins over to the Warrior of Light and merge their souls together to help in the final battle.
To wrap this up, since this is a personality section, at his core Ardbert is still the caring, kind and trusting adventurer he was starting out. He's grown a bit more rough and not just in his manner of speech as the years have gone by just through worldly experience and some pretty traumatic events. He legit still has a lot of issues. His death fucked him up, the near end of his world fucked him up, and even though things are resolved he probably will always carry guilt and regret for how things wound up happening. But he's found hope again in the Warrior of Light and has a new adventure to go on, a new cause to support- even if he's now just a brain ghost taking a back seat in the Warrior of Lights body. He cares again.
Pokémon Information Affiliation: Trainer Starter: Rufflet Password: Atomic Fireball
[It was strange being back here again, as if he had unlocked a flood of memories all at once even though so much time had passed back in his own world. It was actually sort of a relief? Like a much needed vacation almost. There was just one problem. This wasn't his body and he was pretty sure this bird wasn't his Pokemon. There was no way he could forget the terror that was his Purrserker.
One benefit to being here before though meant he was already familiar with the technology and he was quick this time to go to it. As soon as he was given the chance after being shoo'd out into the starting town, he dug out his pokegear and turned on the camera. The feed was greeted by a scraggly looking man who desperately looked like he either just needed a good shower or a haircut and a shave.]
So I've ah, I've been here before right? I can't say how long I've been gone, but I remember this place.
[He looks over to the Rufflet he had out, currently sitting on his shoulder and tilting it's head at the pokegear.]
This isn't my Pokemon though. Does anyone know what happens to Pokemon after their trainer leave?
Welcome to the Wonderful World of Pokemon! Congratulations, you have a fun and exciting adventure awaiting you.
Now that you've been accepted... [○] Respond to this with your character's journal. This is a must! [○] Comment in the Taken Characters post, alphabetized by series: Here. [○] Join the following communities: victory_road, the_plateau, and ohmyarceus. Only Team Rocket personnel should join silph_co, but we ask that all Victory Road members subscribe to it. Note! You will not be accepted to the main or logs community until you've commented in the aforementioned places. [○] If you're still on the reserved list, please let us know that they've been accepted. [○] Please make sure to check out the Calendar for the weather and upcoming plots and swarms! [○] You can also find our mod plurk at victoryroad; if you have a Plurk, we suggest you become a fan!
We'd also like to take this moment to inform you of the Eastern Kanto Ferry! For only P2000, you can take a three day, all-inclusive ferry ride from New Bark Town to Pallet Town and begin a new pokémon journey in the Kanto region! Otherwise, feel free to start in Johto!
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indigo_league) wrote2016-05-03 09:48 pm
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