Player Name: Bee E-mail: n/a please use plurk or this journal! Preferred Contact:sleepcoast Timezone: EST Current Characters in Victory Road: N/A
Character Name: Xefros Tritoh Series: Hiveswap Timeline: Discovering that Joey is an "Alien" over rebelgram. Canon Resource Links: I'm providing three links. First a brief introduction to Homestuck from which the game is inspired. A link about Hiveswap as a game and finally a summary of the timeline in the game which contains spoilers; Act One: Kansas City Shuffle. It should go without saying that the personality section will contain some mild spoilers but nothing too specific.
Personality: Before jumping right into Xefros' personality, it's important to understand that a large portion of his personality and social behavior is shaped by the culture of his planet. The most significant part of the culture to understand is the Hemospectrum of Alternia. As the name suggests, the Hemospectrum is the spectrum of blood colors posses by trolls. This spectrum dictates several different things in troll society such as their caste system, occupation options/social interactions, and even biology. The caste system is based on the color of the blood and follows the order of the rainbow which gives us the terms "lowblood" and "highblood" with lowbloods occupying the peasantry population and highbloods occupying the nobility portion of the population. Due to the violent nature of Alternia, lowbloods are generally mistreated, culled, or forced into laborous slave work for higherbloods and for the most part, many accept that as their way of life. (Xefros states that rustbloods like him don't matter and no one cares if a lowblooded neigherborhood gets raided or set on fire simply because the Heiress wanted a cool selfie backdrop. The 'disposable' nature of lowbloods is also reflected in things like sports in Alternia whereas the most important position is also the one that has the highest risk for getting killed.) Many highblooded trolls see culling the weak as their duty or do so because it's a hobby or fun.
Blood impacts biology too with lowbloods being gifted with powerful mental abilities whereas highblood trolls are gifted with incredible physical powers. Even anatomy is impacted by the hemospectrum! (Highbloods closer to purple and fuschia in the hemospectrum have fins which are basically markers of royalty.) It's also said that life expectancy is different for members of the caste but that could also partly be due to the violent social norms.
This is the most basic surface level of understanding the Hemospectrum but it will go a long way in understanding Xefros (a low rustblood) and his motives and basic interactions with others. So who is Xefros?
Xefros is a timid troll with anxiety and self-esteem issues but that doesn't stop him from being a selfless troll with a huge heart. All of which we can see in Joey's first encounter with him. Although he wrongly assumes that Joey is his best friend Dammek (because she was using Dammek's laptop), it's clear from their first interactions that Xefros cares for the wellbeing of others. He asks if she is ok because he'd just witnessed a huge explosion that took out the roof of his friend's house and because their suburbs were being raided with trolls being snatched up from the streets. Heck, when he does find out that Joey isn't Dammek and that she's an alien- he's quick to offer her his help in getting her out of Dammek's house because she's a lowblood like him AND an alien, someone who the Heriess doubly hates! Even with this quickness to act, Xefros kindness also shows a great deal of selflessness because he's risking his own life to save Joey. (The neighborhood they're in is being raided at the time after all; he could easily be culled or arrested by the drones flying around.) While he doesn't manage to make it to Joey due to being crushed by falling debri, he still helps her out by calmly explaining how to do things in Dammek's house to unlock it and find items to help them both escape the neighborhood.
Though while Xefros may be quick to lend a helping hand and put himself in harms way for others, Xefros doesn't think very highly of himself. While talking to Joey he repeatedly apologizes much like someone with Apology Syndrome would. He uses the word "sorry" often and frequent, to the point where he even apologized after bringing attention to something that was bothering him, claiming that it was probably a silly thing to mention and that it wasn't a big deal. He even told Joey not save him when he needed saving because he didn't want her to risk hurting herself but also because he felt like he wasn't worth the effort. A large part of his low self-worth might have stemmed from Alternian culture. Since he's on the lowest rung of the caste, he's used to seeing and hearing about fellow low bloods being culled for no rhyme or reason, stating that "we don't matter" and that "all [of] this is taking out the garbage."
A lot of this self-esteem issues seem to be tied to anxiety as he is constantly looking worried or anxious in cut-scenes. Then again, he is watching his neighbors get snatched up and his suburbs being burned down to the ground. The sorry-tick and typing quirk do indicate some manner of anxiety or uncertainty. His uncertainty becomes clear when he asks Joey what he should say or do when it becomes clear that his current words or actions aren't helping, as he seems to rely on others to tell him what to do in order to feel like he is succeeding. (He is very used to following Dammeks whims as Dammek is constantly testing him. But Xefros feels lucky to have someone to be able to push him to his limits, stating that "being concerned is what friends do for each other" when Joey tries to tell him Dammek isn't a nice person.) A lot of his anxiety is also tied to his fading childhood as he thinks about his future and what that means for him. (He reflects on the fact that he doesn't have time anymore to do the things he used to, partly because Dammek demands his attention in other areas.) Even his stage persona in the band Dammek made him be a part of exhibits an anxious "skittish"-ness to it. But that also may be because he's terrified of the lyrics he sings in their band. They are revolutionary and could put a target on his back for making rhymes about taking down the Heiress.
Xefros is also a bit naive and too trusting of others as seen with his relationship to Dammek. For an example, he trusts Dammek without question and lets Dammek take advantage of him and his belongings to the point where Dammek has kept Xefros' personal items for sweeps. He trusts Dammek unconditionally to the point where, when Joey tries to tell him that Dammek isn't nice, he vehemously denies this claim and tries to excuse Dammek's behavior by then claiming he needed Dammek's pushing to get better and stronger. Xefros is also quick to believe that Joey is an alien (doesn't matter which of the three options you pick in that scene as Joey, he will always respond with "woah! that sounds like something an alien would say!")
But despite these weaker tendencies and anxieties of the unknown, Xefros is proud of himself to a degree. He knows that he's trying his best and that he messes up from time to time but that doesn't stop him from feeling pride in the work he does. That work could be something as simple as cleaning his hive to doing something revolutionary even though he might not understand the concepts. He's also excited at trying new things and the prospect of adventurer; exclaiming that Joey is a "real-life adventurer" for the shenanigans she's gotten into. Based on the hobbies and tests that Dammek seems to put Xefros through, it's clear that even though Xefros doesn't think very highly of himself, he's willing to rise up to difficult challenges and attempt to overcome them.
Aside from his quirks and weird alien planet, Xefros is a normal teenager with normal teenage hobbies. His hobbies include playing Arena Stickball for which he is the pusher, a highly dangerous sport position as many are killed quite frequently in the sport, slam poetry/singing (his FLARP class is Espiacrooner which is a fairly difficult class that includes signing and stealth AND Xefros dreamed on being "Slam or Get Culled", a popular Alternian television show that mirrors American Idol except the losers get culled instead of going home.), and video games. He finds comfort in his sports heroes, who were famous rustbloods, and is a little terrified of the unknown in the world. He is also training to be a butler but doesn't enjoy it very much. You know? Just typical teenage things.
As a last-minute addition to Xefros' personality. It should be noted that ontop of the Hemospectrum comes the tradition of hemotyping which essentially means that trolls use font colors to reflect their blood status. Ontop of this odd text flavor, trolls exhibit quirks that are unique to them. Xefros quirk is typing with lower-case letters, little punctuation and using an X to replace words like "X/Ex" "cross" "trans" and words sounding like "ten." He also uses little emotes like :D and :( but uses an X above the eyes to represent his horns. (An example of his typing quirk would be; im so Xcited to see troll panic at the disco X:D ive been paying Xtra atXtion to their new Xsition into the pop genre!!!!! This would translate to; I'm so excited to see (troll) Panic! At the Disco. :D I've been paying extra attention to their new transition into the pop genre!!!!!) Pokémon Information Affiliation: Team Rocket Starter: Slakoth (lvl 15) + Rocket starter; Magikarp (lvl 5) Password: Atomic Fireball
Samples RP Sample:Victory Road's TDM! Victory Road Sample:He breathed shakily as he ran a hand through his black curly hair before neatly pulling a cap over his skull. It'd been weird getting used to not having horns. To look so alien in an equally alien world. To say that it was discomforting was an understatement of the year. At best, Xefros was a walking ball of anxiety and at his worst he felt a sinking pit in his stomach at the thought of having left Joey behind in the middle of the imperial raid. But the fact that she'd proven to be very adventurous was at least comforting to him. Maybe her arrival had set off some weird alien transport system? Except... there had been no signs of him taking the place of someone else like Joey did with Dammek. Alien technology and planet swapping aside, Xefros knew he had to be brave and bold like Joey.
With another anxious breath, he pulled the cap down harder as he tried to focus on the battle issued to him. A small smile formed as Xefros exhaled, looking up from his worried gaze with a new passion burning in his eyes. Wherever Dammek and Joey were... he'd make them proud. The challenger had already sent out their pokemon and with a practiced swing, Xefros also threw out his battle buddy.
"Go Xully!" Xefros could feel his confidence building at the sight of his beloved pokemon. Though they'd only known each other for a few wipes now and while their first couple of battles had been clumsy and awkward; they seemed to understand each other better now. He pointed at the enemy Rattata.
"Use scratch now!!" And so it began, with each trainer calling out different commands with varying degrees of success and valor until one winner emerged. Immediately Xefros ran to Slakoth's aid, picking up the lethargic (and heavy) pokemon with relative ease as he smiled from each to ear. Their first victory as a team.
"We did it!" He could barely contain his excitement as he hoisted Xully into the sky. He always knew Xully could do it but now he was starting to believe that he had the power to help win their battles too. Maybe he could be a pokemon master after all.
xefros tritoh X hiveswap X reserved
Name: Bee
E-mail: n/a please use plurk or this journal!
Preferred Contact:
Timezone: EST
Current Characters in Victory Road: N/A
Character
Name: Xefros Tritoh
Series: Hiveswap
Timeline: Discovering that Joey is an "Alien" over rebelgram.
Canon Resource Links: I'm providing three links. First a brief introduction to Homestuck from which the game is inspired. A link about Hiveswap as a game and finally a summary of the timeline in the game which contains spoilers; Act One: Kansas City Shuffle. It should go without saying that the personality section will contain some mild spoilers but nothing too specific.
Personality: Before jumping right into Xefros' personality, it's important to understand that a large portion of his personality and social behavior is shaped by the culture of his planet. The most significant part of the culture to understand is the Hemospectrum of Alternia. As the name suggests, the Hemospectrum is the spectrum of blood colors posses by trolls. This spectrum dictates several different things in troll society such as their caste system, occupation options/social interactions, and even biology. The caste system is based on the color of the blood and follows the order of the rainbow which gives us the terms "lowblood" and "highblood" with lowbloods occupying the peasantry population and highbloods occupying the nobility portion of the population. Due to the violent nature of Alternia, lowbloods are generally mistreated, culled, or forced into laborous slave work for higherbloods and for the most part, many accept that as their way of life. (Xefros states that rustbloods like him don't matter and no one cares if a lowblooded neigherborhood gets raided or set on fire simply because the Heiress wanted a cool selfie backdrop. The 'disposable' nature of lowbloods is also reflected in things like sports in Alternia whereas the most important position is also the one that has the highest risk for getting killed.) Many highblooded trolls see culling the weak as their duty or do so because it's a hobby or fun.
Blood impacts biology too with lowbloods being gifted with powerful mental abilities whereas highblood trolls are gifted with incredible physical powers. Even anatomy is impacted by the hemospectrum! (Highbloods closer to purple and fuschia in the hemospectrum have fins which are basically markers of royalty.) It's also said that life expectancy is different for members of the caste but that could also partly be due to the violent social norms.
This is the most basic surface level of understanding the Hemospectrum but it will go a long way in understanding Xefros (a low rustblood) and his motives and basic interactions with others. So who is Xefros?
Xefros is a timid troll with anxiety and self-esteem issues but that doesn't stop him from being a selfless troll with a huge heart. All of which we can see in Joey's first encounter with him. Although he wrongly assumes that Joey is his best friend Dammek (because she was using Dammek's laptop), it's clear from their first interactions that Xefros cares for the wellbeing of others. He asks if she is ok because he'd just witnessed a huge explosion that took out the roof of his friend's house and because their suburbs were being raided with trolls being snatched up from the streets. Heck, when he does find out that Joey isn't Dammek and that she's an alien- he's quick to offer her his help in getting her out of Dammek's house because she's a lowblood like him AND an alien, someone who the Heriess doubly hates! Even with this quickness to act, Xefros kindness also shows a great deal of selflessness because he's risking his own life to save Joey. (The neighborhood they're in is being raided at the time after all; he could easily be culled or arrested by the drones flying around.) While he doesn't manage to make it to Joey due to being crushed by falling debri, he still helps her out by calmly explaining how to do things in Dammek's house to unlock it and find items to help them both escape the neighborhood.
Though while Xefros may be quick to lend a helping hand and put himself in harms way for others, Xefros doesn't think very highly of himself. While talking to Joey he repeatedly apologizes much like someone with Apology Syndrome would. He uses the word "sorry" often and frequent, to the point where he even apologized after bringing attention to something that was bothering him, claiming that it was probably a silly thing to mention and that it wasn't a big deal. He even told Joey not save him when he needed saving because he didn't want her to risk hurting herself but also because he felt like he wasn't worth the effort. A large part of his low self-worth might have stemmed from Alternian culture. Since he's on the lowest rung of the caste, he's used to seeing and hearing about fellow low bloods being culled for no rhyme or reason, stating that "we don't matter" and that "all [of] this is taking out the garbage."
A lot of this self-esteem issues seem to be tied to anxiety as he is constantly looking worried or anxious in cut-scenes. Then again, he is watching his neighbors get snatched up and his suburbs being burned down to the ground. The sorry-tick and typing quirk do indicate some manner of anxiety or uncertainty. His uncertainty becomes clear when he asks Joey what he should say or do when it becomes clear that his current words or actions aren't helping, as he seems to rely on others to tell him what to do in order to feel like he is succeeding. (He is very used to following Dammeks whims as Dammek is constantly testing him. But Xefros feels lucky to have someone to be able to push him to his limits, stating that "being concerned is what friends do for each other" when Joey tries to tell him Dammek isn't a nice person.) A lot of his anxiety is also tied to his fading childhood as he thinks about his future and what that means for him. (He reflects on the fact that he doesn't have time anymore to do the things he used to, partly because Dammek demands his attention in other areas.) Even his stage persona in the band Dammek made him be a part of exhibits an anxious "skittish"-ness to it. But that also may be because he's terrified of the lyrics he sings in their band. They are revolutionary and could put a target on his back for making rhymes about taking down the Heiress.
Xefros is also a bit naive and too trusting of others as seen with his relationship to Dammek. For an example, he trusts Dammek without question and lets Dammek take advantage of him and his belongings to the point where Dammek has kept Xefros' personal items for sweeps. He trusts Dammek unconditionally to the point where, when Joey tries to tell him that Dammek isn't nice, he vehemously denies this claim and tries to excuse Dammek's behavior by then claiming he needed Dammek's pushing to get better and stronger. Xefros is also quick to believe that Joey is an alien (doesn't matter which of the three options you pick in that scene as Joey, he will always respond with "woah! that sounds like something an alien would say!")
But despite these weaker tendencies and anxieties of the unknown, Xefros is proud of himself to a degree. He knows that he's trying his best and that he messes up from time to time but that doesn't stop him from feeling pride in the work he does. That work could be something as simple as cleaning his hive to doing something revolutionary even though he might not understand the concepts. He's also excited at trying new things and the prospect of adventurer; exclaiming that Joey is a "real-life adventurer" for the shenanigans she's gotten into. Based on the hobbies and tests that Dammek seems to put Xefros through, it's clear that even though Xefros doesn't think very highly of himself, he's willing to rise up to difficult challenges and attempt to overcome them.
Aside from his quirks and weird alien planet, Xefros is a normal teenager with normal teenage hobbies. His hobbies include playing Arena Stickball for which he is the pusher, a highly dangerous sport position as many are killed quite frequently in the sport, slam poetry/singing (his FLARP class is Espiacrooner which is a fairly difficult class that includes signing and stealth AND Xefros dreamed on being "Slam or Get Culled", a popular Alternian television show that mirrors American Idol except the losers get culled instead of going home.), and video games. He finds comfort in his sports heroes, who were famous rustbloods, and is a little terrified of the unknown in the world. He is also training to be a butler but doesn't enjoy it very much. You know? Just typical teenage things.
As a last-minute addition to Xefros' personality. It should be noted that ontop of the Hemospectrum comes the tradition of hemotyping which essentially means that trolls use font colors to reflect their blood status. Ontop of this odd text flavor, trolls exhibit quirks that are unique to them. Xefros quirk is typing with lower-case letters, little punctuation and using an X to replace words like "X/Ex" "cross" "trans" and words sounding like "ten." He also uses little emotes like :D and :( but uses an X above the eyes to represent his horns. (An example of his typing quirk would be; im so Xcited to see troll panic at the disco X:D ive been paying Xtra atXtion to their new Xsition into the pop genre!!!!! This would translate to; I'm so excited to see (troll) Panic! At the Disco. :D I've been paying extra attention to their new transition into the pop genre!!!!!)
Pokémon Information
Affiliation: Team Rocket
Starter: Slakoth (lvl 15) + Rocket starter; Magikarp (lvl 5)
Password: Atomic Fireball
Samples
RP Sample: Victory Road's TDM!
Victory Road Sample:He breathed shakily as he ran a hand through his black curly hair before neatly pulling a cap over his skull. It'd been weird getting used to not having horns. To look so alien in an equally alien world. To say that it was discomforting was an understatement of the year. At best, Xefros was a walking ball of anxiety and at his worst he felt a sinking pit in his stomach at the thought of having left Joey behind in the middle of the imperial raid. But the fact that she'd proven to be very adventurous was at least comforting to him. Maybe her arrival had set off some weird alien transport system? Except... there had been no signs of him taking the place of someone else like Joey did with Dammek. Alien technology and planet swapping aside, Xefros knew he had to be brave and bold like Joey.
With another anxious breath, he pulled the cap down harder as he tried to focus on the battle issued to him. A small smile formed as Xefros exhaled, looking up from his worried gaze with a new passion burning in his eyes. Wherever Dammek and Joey were... he'd make them proud. The challenger had already sent out their pokemon and with a practiced swing, Xefros also threw out his battle buddy.
"Go Xully!" Xefros could feel his confidence building at the sight of his beloved pokemon. Though they'd only known each other for a few wipes now and while their first couple of battles had been clumsy and awkward; they seemed to understand each other better now. He pointed at the enemy Rattata.
"Use scratch now!!" And so it began, with each trainer calling out different commands with varying degrees of success and valor until one winner emerged. Immediately Xefros ran to Slakoth's aid, picking up the lethargic (and heavy) pokemon with relative ease as he smiled from each to ear. Their first victory as a team.
"We did it!" He could barely contain his excitement as he hoisted Xully into the sky. He always knew Xully could do it but now he was starting to believe that he had the power to help win their battles too. Maybe he could be a pokemon master after all.