havenmods: (Default)
Haven Mods ([personal profile] havenmods) wrote2013-09-29 03:39 pm
Entry tags:

Applications Two


APPLICATIONS ARE CLOSED!
The next application opening date is Friday 16th January, 7pm EST.
The next application processing date is Friday 23rd January, 7pm EST.

IMPORTANT: PLEASE POST YOUR APPLICATIONS HERE ON THE NEW APPLICATION PAGE


We're so glad you're thinking of joining us in Haven, where we are all safe.

In order to apply for a canon character, please fill out the information below and post it in a comment in this entry. For an OC, please apply using the OC information. Please do not link to applications, all applications must be posted here. Please do not delete your applications; if you do not want it to be seen, you can request for it to be screened after a decision is made.

You may apply for two characters every application round, to a total of six characters. Only two of these may be from the same canon, and they cannot be too familiar with one another. Please make sure to mark the header of your comment(s) with RESERVED or NOT RESERVED, as well as the character name and canon. App challenges are not allowed currently.

Try to remember spelling and grammar are important, and in app length quality and not quantity is what matters. All parts of the application must be your own work, plagiarism will not be tolerated, though you are welcome to reuse your own old applications.

If you are asked for revisions, please don't panic! It doesn't mean the mods don't like you, only that we probably need more information before making a decision. If you are asked for revisions, you will have one week to supply them.

Applications are open on a monthly cycle, where they will be opened on the second Friday of every month for a week, and then processed on the third Friday of the month, before being closed again.

We now have a test drive community at [community profile] haventest which is continuously open. Posts there may be used in lieu of a sample in the application. You may also link posts, logs, or threads from other games and memes in lieu of samples, though we ask that they be no more than one year old. As of November 22nd 2014, samples cannot be "where am I" intro posts. The reason for this is that we often find it hard to gauge characterization from those, as most people when immediately in a new surrounding are confused or frightened.

While we encourage players who have dropped to re-join us, we do not encourage the continual rapid dropping and re-apping of the same character in a short time period. You are welcome to request specific housing, and all attempts will be made to accommodate that request, but it may not always be possible.

To see what we are looking for:
Canon Characters:
Sample Application (Faith Lehane)
Sample Application (Iroh)

Original Characters:
Sample Application (Mors)
Sample Application (Vera de Barr)
Sample Application (Malkus Iverwelling)

Previous Game History:
Sample Application (Abel Nightroad/Mayfield RPG)
Sample Application (Bolin/Discedo)

The old application post can be found here if you would like to look through past accepted applications.

Applications will be open on the following dates (from 7pm EST):
12th-19th December
16th-23rd January

Applications will be processed on the following dates (at 7pm EST):
19th December
23rd January

To apply for a canon character, please fill out this form:


To apply for an original character, please fill out this form:
thunder_enforcer: (024)

[personal profile] thunder_enforcer 2013-10-25 10:42 pm (UTC)(link)
Personality: Much of Fate’s personality formed as a result of an abusive and unhealthy childhood. When she was ten, she learned that she was a clone of her mother’s first daughter, that all of her good memories of her family were the result of an imperfect attempt to transplant them to revive said daughter, and that her mother considered her a failure in every way. This series of traumatic events set the basis for her personality and she carries those memories close to her even after thirteen years.

Either in spite of or because of this childhood, Fate grew up to be a strong-willed if self-conscious woman with a strong sense of justice and empathy. Fate tends to be quiet and reserved, but as an adult she outgrew the timidity she had as a child; it is a rare event for her to raise her voice and has been shown to do so only in times of surprise or emergency.

Contrary to her demure personality, Fate is an extremely skilled fighter possessing considerable magic power and as a result is considered one of the most powerful soldiers in the military. She holds the rank of ‘captain’ and is a special agent known as an Enforcer: her responsibilities involve investigating criminal activities on other planets and apprehending criminals single-handedly in place of a group of ordinary soldiers. Despite her prowess, though, she dislikes fighting, so she will do whatever she can to avoid it (whether it is a real one or a mock/practice battle) or end it quickly if it is unavoidable.

Due to her unfortunate childhood, Fate has an affinity for children. She has a tendency to prioritize missions involving children and became the legal guardian for two abandoned children she had found on separate missions. Her tremendous patience and empathy is most evident when she deals with troubled children, whether they are too terrified to speak to her for some time or are lashing out violently due to their own experiences. She occasionally feels insecure that she may be so considerate towards children out of her wish for a better childhood rather than out of actual empathy, but this does not tend to come up often. Her love for children does tend to go a little too far and results in her often being far too lenient or being taken advantage of.

Although she is most definitely a career woman and takes tremendous pride in her job, the most important thing in Fate’s life is her family. The most important people in her life are Nanoha, their daughter Vivio, Fate’s foster children Caro and Erio, her familiar Arf, and her own adoptive family consisting of her brother Crono and their mother Lindy. This is evidenced by the fact she tends to fawn over them all and spoil them—although Nanoha’s much more relaxed and reckless behavior tends to make Fate fret and complain.

Along with Fate comes her Intelligent Device named Bardiche, who takes the form of her weapon, assists her in casting magic, and gives someone for her to speak to when alone even though he, like most devices, tend to be quiet. He speaks in a deep male voice and refers to Fate as ‘Sir’; as with most devices, he behaves similarly to Fate herself, being serious and straightforward, unlike Nanoha’s more trigger-happy and enthusiastic device.

Fate is a woman who continually struggles with her traumatic childhood and her sense of self-worth while still being a strong, courageous, and kind person. Despite her insecurities she possesses a willpower that gives her the wherewithal to accomplish whatever must be done even at her own expense. The time she does not spend caring for her family is spent working to help others and make the universe a safer place.
thunder_enforcer: (013)

[personal profile] thunder_enforcer 2013-10-25 10:42 pm (UTC)(link)
Abilities/Powers: Fate’s abilities are based around a combination of magic and advanced alien technology. A list can be founf here but here are her general abilities:

- Magic:

o Barrier Jacket: The term referring to the clothing she wears when fighting. The clothing is made of magic, so it acts as powerful armor despite taking the appearance and feeling of ordinary clothing.
o Defense: Fate can produce magic circles and domes that behave like shields.
o Telepathy: Fate can speak into other peoples’ minds but cannot read them; conversations through this method would require both people to have this ability.
o Flight: Fate can fly.
o Strength: Her magic gives her considerable physical strength.
o Speed: Her signature trait; Fate’s magic gives her extreme speed and she is capable of abandoning defensive power for the sake of amplifying her speed. She is fast enough that a character with the power of teleportation initially mistook Fate as having the same power.
o Lightning: Much of her magic is based around lightning. She can produce lightning, control natural lightning, and much of her spells have an electric quality to them.
o Telekinesis: Fate can use magic to lift and move objects.

- Bardiche:

o Poleaxe: Default form. Looks like an actual bardiche poleaxe. No magical blades involved.
o Scythe: Poleaxe creates a lightsaber-like blade of magic to form a scythe blade. The blade can be released as a long-range boomerang-like attack.
o Broadsword: Bardiche transforms into a two-handed sword with a long and wide blade that can change proportions depending on the situation.
o Double sword Bardiche produces two hilts, allowing Fate to dual-wield two normal sized swords.


Items/Weapons:
- Bardiche, described above.
- Photo Album
- Casual outfit
Edited 2013-10-25 22:43 (UTC)
thunder_enforcer: (006)

[personal profile] thunder_enforcer 2013-10-25 10:43 pm (UTC)(link)
Sample Entry:

[ Fate appears calm on the screen; likely she looks more calm than most would in a teleported-to-another-world situation. Of course, ‘appears’ and ‘looks’ are both very key words. She is highly suspicious and finds the situation highly suspicious (an understatement), but for reasons that she will explain she is able to keep herself collected. ]

Hello. My name is Fate Harlaown. I do not know much about this place, but from what I understand I am not the only or first person to arrive here.

[ Her voice is soft; any softer and it would be hard to hear her. ]

I would like to ask for help. Anything would be appreciated, whether it is information or introducing yourself. Both will be very important to me.

In exchange, I will naturally offer my own help. My job, ah…it sort of involves this type of circumstance. I am a type of officer who investigates things like this now and again. It may sound strange, I know.

I hope we can resolve this matter quickly and thank you for your help in advance.

Sample Entry Two:

Fate sighed after closing the phone. With no one else able to see her, she allowed herself to show concern. Being an officer in an organization named the Time-Space Administration Bureau, she was hardly unfamiliar with things like alternate dimensions and kidnappings of this sort, but never had she heard of something on this scale and never had she been an actual victim of said kidnapping. This was all likely far beyond her hands and the resources at her disposal, but being a professional under any circumstance, she had to be optimistic for the sake of others.

“Bardiche.”

In response, the broach clipped to her shirt spoke in a deep voice with little tone. “YES, SIR?”

“This may be me being too hopeful, but are you able to find anything suggesting other agents may be here? Or anyone else from Mid-Childa?” Anyone at all from the same organization or world as herself would have been comforting, although she felt guilty hoping for anyone at all to be here.

There was a pause before an answer. “NO, SIR.”

She smiled. To most unfamiliar with her world’s technology, the device would likely sound monotone and soulless, but having built it herself and having been with it for over a decade, she was able to detect the disappointment in Bardiche’s robotic voice. Her partner was as professional as herself and disliked giving bad news as much as she did.

“That is alright, Bardiche. I expected as much. So long as we are together we will be okay.” She placed a finger on the broach.

“YES, SIR.”
divineheart: ! force manga (fond smile)

Nanoha Takamachi . Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha . Not Reserved

[personal profile] divineheart 2013-10-25 10:44 pm (UTC)(link)
Name: Berri
Contact Info: TaiyakinoNaku @ Plurk & AIM
Other Characters Played: Winry Rockbell, Satou Kuroneko, Alice, Homura Akemi
Preferred Apartment: She's going to try to move in with Fate right away, so maybe with Fate?

Character Name: Nanoha Takamachi
Canon: Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
Canon Point: The ViVid manga (age: 23); I would like for her to retain her previous Haven memories
Background/History: Nanoha Wiki
Personality:
Nanoha is a unique animanga character in that her canon starts from the time she is nine years old and expands all of the way until she is 25. Using a combination of Anime, Manga, and Drama CD mediums, the Nanoha franchise has had a lot of time to develop Nanoha as a character, as to be expected. She has grown from a nine year old girl thrown into a world of magic to a young woman who turns magic into a carrier.

The starting point of Nanoha's personality is therefore her nine year old self. At the root of everything is the girl Nanoha once was: a cheerful and upbeat child who, while recognizing her life as happy and blessed, battled with the uncertainty of feeling like a "third wheel" and that she was not useful. In these times, Nanoha watched how her siblings, parents, and two best friends seemed to pair off and leave her as an accessory. She felt like she had no place in the world and would privately cry out her stresses, as she had no idea how else to soothe them.

That isn't to say her nine year old life set Nanoha on course for a depressing life. Quite the opposite, actually. Nanoha is still a happy girl who loves her family and friends. Her family, the Takamachi family, raised her into a strong and mature child for her age. The family has a dojo and her siblings and father are shown to practice their regularly. The discipline this brings to their family life rubs off on Nanoha, which is why she cries privately and is not often seen asking for help early in the series. She knows how to take care of herself and handle her life with more maturity than you'd expect from your average nine year old.

This all remains true for Nanoha as an adult. She is disciplined and knows from her family and new experiences that she cannot get more if she does not put forth effort. Even at age nine, Nanoha is shown waking up before the sun rises so she can practice magic before school. In the movie, Nanoha is doing mental magic exercises while taking notes at school, acing her school tests, learning to balance her social life, and then go out and catch jewel seeds. When she's an adult, Nanoha applies this to becoming a combat instructor. Her policy is that you must learn the fundamentals and should practice routines, so that when you need them in a fight you can act naturally. Her strong work ethic is seen all over the series, especially in the fact that Nanoha is called the "Ace of Aces". She climbed military ranks so quickly and at such a young age that she became a freakin celebrity. She even has a canon fangirl, who has magazine clippings of articles and photospreads dedicated to the Ace of Aces.

Nanoha also shows her roots in her own family. One of the early scenes in StrikerS shows how Nanoha does not spoil her daughter, as this was how she grew up. Vivio falls and lands on her face, but Nanoha does not rush in to help her up. She encourages Vivio to stand on her own, since she is not so severely injured that she cannot do so. This applies in other ways to Nanoha's life, creating a policy where she will not help people unless they absolutely need it. Not because she is cruel, but because she wants them to build their own strength and overcome problems on their own.
If they are truly in a pinch, however, Nanoha will act. This is way she throws herself into Fate's life in the original series and why she is so persistent with the Knights in A's. And why, at the end of StrikerS, Nanoha wants to rush to Vivio and help her up--- because she doesn't think Vivio can get up on her own.

At this canon point, Nanoha has also shown her capacity for learning from what some might consider "mistakes" that Takamachi family made. When Nanoha was nine, she went through a phase where her family was too busy to deal with her and began to feel very lonely. So when Nanoha sees that her job is going to keep her too busy to see Vivio grow up, she switches from intergalactic work to being a local civil servant solely to pay more attention to her growing daughter.

Aside from her upbringing, Nanoha has faced many other life challenges that strongly influence her character. The biggest one is probably the mere existence of magic. As mentioned, Nanoha felt powerless and purposeless as a child. Magic gave her the purpose she longed for. And she turned it into a frickin' career. Nanoha goes beyond the stereotypical magical girl. She embraces her new magical powers, practices them, experiments with them, refines them, and builds herself a new life out of them.
How much she has done with her magic shows just how dedicated Nanoha is to what she loves: being able to help people. Nanoha's desire to help those in need is reflected all over. The first season is about helping Fate, the second season is about helping Hayate, StrikerS is about helping Vivio, even Force is about helping people in a seemingly hopeless and gloomy situation. Nanoha has even joined a magical military called the TSAB and dedicates herself to helping new recruits make the most of their magic.

Nanoha has also hit a few bumps in the road and had to overcome them. Time and time again, Nanoha has wanted to help people who do not want her help. She has been in tough situations that she feels could be resolved by simply talking each other's problems over and creating a compromise. And she has had this peaceful offering rejected, time and time again. It has frustrated her and caused her to adopt her own philosophy for such situations: if you don't want to talk, Nanoha will beat you senseless so that you have no choice but to listen.

No, really.

She's called the White Devil in fandom. She chases Vita around and shoots at her while insisting that Vita "PLEASE TALK THIS OVER WITH ME!". Near the end of A's, there is a scene where Vita accuses Nanoha's methods of being demonic. In response, Nanoha replies that "it's okay if I'm a demon, as long as I can use my hellish tools to get you to lesson to me". She is a strong supporter of peaceful and talked out compromises, but that does not mean Nanoha will be pushed around either.

Nanoha has also had a chance to suffer from many of her personality flaws, which has helped her to overcome them. For example, she is shown to be a lot less tough on Vivio after a few years of being family (as opposed to 19 year old Nanoha letting Vivio take a nosedove). She may still be strict as a mama, but she isn't as cruel.
She has also had a chance to suffer from her strong work ethic. As a child, Nanoha pushed her limits constantly so that she could become stronger. And as a teen, Nanoha suffered for it. Her body finally caved when she asked too much of herself and she was severely injured. The injury was so bad that the doctors expected Nanoha to be crippled for the rest of her life. She managed to overcome it through years of physical therapy (StrikerS takes place around 4 years after, and Nanoha is still having to take it somewhat easy), but it made a strong impact on her.
Nanoha now understands that being reckless will come back to haunt you. It is this incident that makes her so serious about having her students train routines over and over and over until they can perform them perfectly and without straining themselves. It also makes her very cross and stern with people who make up new battle tactics on the fly and don't practice them first, which is kind of hypocritical since Nanoha claimed to come up with Starlight Breaker on the spot when she was nine.

The incident also taught Nanoha the value of being able to protect yourself. She does not believe you should think of protecting others unless you can protect yourself. She stresses this with Subaru and Teana especially. When she was injured while on that mission with Vita, she put Vita in a vulnerable position while being protected. With her students, Nanoha would scold anyone who rushed out to save the day while sacrificing themselves. She does not see this sort of reckless self-sacrifice as helping anyone, but as instead causing more trouble.

All of her nitty gritty belief systems aside, Nanoha is a friendly and upbeat person. Magic has given her confidence, as has growing older, so she is no longer a nine year old girl who cries when she is alone. Nanoha very rarely has reason to cry since her life is not at all suffering. She is financially stable because of her job, has the job of her dreams, has overcome a handicap, is kinda-sorta famous, has great friends, and now she has a daughter that she loves to bits and pieces. By no means is Nanoha an unhappy girl. If anything, she has all of the reason in the world to be incredibly optimistic and confident.

But Nanoha is also an adult who has grown up with a military background. Optimistic, yes. Stupid? No. Nanoha is trained to expect the worst on the battlefield and is trained to adapt. She becomes a much different woman when she is on the job. Nanoha is downright cruel in some regards, but only when she has to be. Her final attack in the StrikerS comic takes down a ton of walls and still hits a living target. That is a lot of firepower to fling at your enemies when they can still feel pain. But when she is fighting opponents who are not psycho crazies, Nanoha won't go full power.
She is also quite adaptable and quick on her feet in a fight, as shown with how she takes down anti-magic robots in the StrikerS anime and manga. She comes up with effective plans and uses them.

But while she has the capacity to be serious, Nanoha is still a happy person. She is friendly, caring, and now has a mother's tough to add to her social interactions. Nanoha has also been shown to be very playful and have a teasing streak to her (something Vivio picked up on). She even flirts and teases Fate, her best friend, in the ViVid manga. When meeting Einhard, Vivio scolds Nanoha for being "too loud of a person". She's quite easygoing, even with first impressions.
She can be strict and show tough love, but a setting like Haven will have Nanoha on her toes enough to be a tiny bit less strict with those she talks to. It's a stressful scenario and she'll be wanting to ease tension rather than create more of it. She is also likely to occasionally worry about her daughter, Vivio, who is 'waiting' for her back home. Nanoha is coming from a point where she dropped everything to take care of Vivio, so she will be quite Vivio-centric.


Abilities/Powers:
Nanoha's magic plays a huge role in her character. Her universe also has a very developed concept of magic to work with.
The first thing to note about Nanoha's magic is a special organ called a Linker Core. It is what produces her mana. Her magical device, Raising Heart, then turns that mana into spells.

Nanoha's spell list can be found over here. She uses a combination of beam spam and magic bullets that she can direct to her opponents. Nanoha is not as fast as some of her canonmates, but she has a lot of firepower and is still an opponent to be aware of. She can also perform some basic support and defensive magic and create a "barrier jacket" to protect herself.

All of this relies on Raising Heart, Nanoha's AI device. Raising Heart is a red amulet that can speak and make choices, but is usually loyal to her master. She will make choices to protect Nanoha if she must (she gives up Jewel Seeds so Nanoha's life will be spared, against Nanoha's will) and can alert Nanoha to incoming danger (Raising Heart notices Vita's surprise attack and reacts before Nanoha does). They are a team and have been together for over ten years now.

Raising Heart becomes Nanoha's staff for battle. She has multiple modes that help her use certain spell-types more effectively (shooting mode, for example). Normally, the name of a spell is written across the amulet. In Haven, this will disappear. She also can be broken by too much force or strain, but can also repair herself. It just takes a few days.

She also has two updated systems since her debut appearance. Raising Heart uses the cartridge system as of A's, which allows her to use powered up spells by inserting cartridges. These spells will be limited by how many cartridges Nanoha has in Haven. As of StrikerS, Raising Heart also uses the Blaster System, which boosts Nanoha's defense and attack at the cost of her health. There are 3 blaster modes and by the 3rd Raising Heart is beginning to crack and break. Nanoha won't spam this and will only use it in emergencies. They seem to be able to recover afterwards, but it will be physically draining at the time and leave Nanoha and Raising Heart unfit for battle for at least a few days.

Finally, Nanoha's magic is canonly limited with an output limiter. Her magic is reduced from S+ rank to AA rank at this point in time. The limiter cannot be removed except by TSAB admins, and since none of them are in Haven the limiter will stay in effect. This isn't a big deal. It's a good thing. Even with AA rank, Nanoha could potentially take on a Gundam. As a child, when her magic wasn't even that much, her beamspam could tear through multiple buildings. Playing her at S+ rank would just be silly.

Additionally, I would like it if she could return with her previous Haven memories. She took part in the computer-hauling raid, for example. However, if this is inconvenient then I understand!


Items/Weapons:
1) Raising Heart
2) A pair of casual clothing
3) Vivio's stuffed rabbit (not her AI device Cris)

divineheart: (growing up magical)

Nanoha Takamachi . Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha . Not Reserved

[personal profile] divineheart 2013-10-25 10:44 pm (UTC)(link)
Sample Entry:
[ Nanoha is fiddling with the phone. She has it displaying a video, and her face can be seen cleanly in the shot. - this sample assumes a fifth floor assignment and time of relative calm- ]

This really isn't as complicated as I'd expected... Kind of nostalgic, really~. But hello, everyone. This is Nanoha Takamachi, from the fifth floor. I haven't been here very long, but that doesn't mean that I don't understand that this place is dangerous. I also don't think it's a good idea for those of you who can't fight to just sit in the apartments all day.

I don't want to go far from where it's safe, but would anyone like to meet up with me this afternoon for a little sparring session? It isn't much, but a bit of exercise and knowing some defensive moods could make the difference in a pinch. Just give me a call back if you're interested or know someone who might be, okay? I can do this tomorrow too if you need time to make up your mind.

(( I played her in Haven before. Here is her tag and here is an old entry. ))


Sample Entry Two:
Haven had changed a lot since her last visit. The most obvious change being the state of the first floor. Nanoha was disappointed in the mess, but she could understand the need to make progress. It was the fact that progress had been made without her that relieved her tension. There was not much she could do about the fact that she had been gone, but had she known she would be leaving then she might had tried to prepare the others beforehand...

"But they figured it out in the end. Good for them." Nanoha smiled and lifted her red amulet friend to eye level. The jewel dangled off of a dark string, swaying from the movement, "Don't you think, Raising Heart?"
"YES. IT WAS A JOB WELL DONE." The amulet flashed with light as a woman's automated voice came from it. Traces of pride were still in the device's voice, despite the computer-like quality. "BUT IT IS NOT A JOB COMPLETE."
"That's true, isn't it?" She chuckled softly at the magic device's observation. Though the other residents had succeeded in gathering a lot of information and taking a strong stand, they were still stuck in Haven. Until they got out then the job was unfinished.

Nanoha now stood in front of the subway tunnel. It looked just as she remembered it; dark and unnerving. Even though she could not see them yet, Nanoha could remember the numerous monsters that existed inside of the long tunnel. She could also remember the long and hard journey one needed to take to get to Haven North... as much as she liked exercise, she didn't particularly enjoy exercise from life-or-death situations... "But we can't help unless we're informed. Let's get to the library and find that information book, okay?"
There was no hesitation in the response, "OF COURSE, MY MASTER."
Nanoha drew in a deep breath, her smile remaining. Then she lifted Raising heart over her head and shouted, "Raising Heart, set up!"

lightreading: (A man walks into a bar and says)

Light Field / "Snake" | Zero Escape: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors | Not Reserved

[personal profile] lightreading 2013-10-25 10:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Name: Vycey
Contact Info: [plurk.com profile] vycey
Other Characters Played: None
Preferred Apartment: None

Character Name: Light Field, Snake
Canon: Zero Escape: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Canon Point: Post-True End. Somewhere between 999 and Virtue's Last Reward - before he became a secret agent man but after he ran away from home with Clover.
Background/History: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors' Wikipedia page and Snake's page at the fandom wiki.
lightreading: (Clover and out)

Light Field / "Snake" | Zero Escape: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors | Not Reserved

[personal profile] lightreading 2013-10-25 10:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Personality: Word of God states that the cast of 999 were based on the Enneagram of Personality with Snake as the Investigator.

The theory behind the Enneagram is that each personality type – “Enneatype” – has a key insecurity upon which their personality is built. According to TVTropes – I take my research very seriously – the Investigator has a fear of being helpless and unable to defend themselves which spurs them on to develop a keen insight and understanding of how the world works. Snake certainly has the keen insight thing down, I’ll elaborate on that in a second, but he doesn’t show much fear of helplessness. He’s not the only disabled castmember – Seven has amnesia and Ace has prosopagnosia – and while his blindness puts him at a greater disadvantage than the others, it rarely shows. Seven and Ace’s disabilities actually inconvenience both themselves and the group a whole lot more. If Seven had his memory intact then he could’ve cleared up several mysteries much sooner, and he would’ve recognised Ace, Santa, Snake, Clover, June and the 9th Man from the First Nonary Game. If Ace could make out faces then the First Game wouldn't even have happened. Get on Snake's level, guys. Sheesh.

The only effect Snake’s blindness has on the group is that leads to Zero providing him - and in turn the group - with vital information about how the game works and how to avoid being blown up. Zero claimed this made up for Snake's lack of sight. Even though it was total bullshit and there never was an actual danger of death by explosion, it’s the thought that counts. Point is, Snake's blindness doesn't hinder the group's progress. He's even capable of searching empty cabins for vital machinery by himself. Of course this does lead to him being kidnapped by Zero and apparently being murdered but actually just being locked inside a coffin outside Door (9), but that could have happened to anyone. Snake just happened to be in the wrong place (his clothes) at the wrong time (when no one else was around). Makes sense in context, I assure you. His being kidnapped was essential to the whole complicated revenge plot going on behind the scenes, so there’s no way it could’ve been avoided. Nevermind the fact that everyone else was kidnapped in a similar fashion at the start of the time. When you really think about it? It's more a sign of Santa and June’s awfulness than a sign of Snake’s helplessness.

What I'm taking a whole lot of words to show here is that Snake is a highly capable guy who is more than comfortable with his condition and gives off such an impression to the people he works alongside. No one raises an objection when he is supposed to search for the missing machinery, and everyone but Clover is surprised to find out he is blind in the first place. He's nowhere near helpless, and this is a core part of his character.

Snake is shown to navigate the Gigantic with ease and doesn’t need anyone to guide him. You could assume he’s familiar in his surroundings because he took part in the First Nonary Game, but it’s unlikely he would remember the layout of a place he was rushed through in 9 hours 9 years ago. Especially when his life was on the line. Dialogue with Clover and flashbacks to the First Nonary Game reveals that Snake is comfortable in strange surroundings thanks to his keen sense of hearing. At one point he hears another group of players through a wall, and another moment has him explain how he can tell where he is thanks to vibrations. Yeah. This guy certainly isn't afraid of the dark. Snake really only shows concern when Clover is in danger. He walks into a corridor painted with an exploded corpse without a second thought, even though it smells as bad as it looks, and gives even less thought to the bomb which is supposed to be inside his body.

Snake's relationship with his sister is pretty darn important since sibling bonds are a recurring theme within the game. They were both subjects in the First Nonary Game and, as seen in a flashback to the First Nonary Game, Snake was just as concerned with her safety as he was with his own. Despite Clover being a huge distance away, in Nevada of all places, she was always on Snake's mind and he was certain she'd be worried about him. This flashback also reveals a side of Snake that is too significant to ignore. While the rest of the kids were overcome with fear and anger and all those other negative emotions, it was Snake who reminded them that their brothers and sisters were desperately trying to send psychic signals to the Gigantic in order to solve the potentially deadly puzzles on board. Then he cheered them all up by giving them all a four leaf clover and a rousing speech each. That sounds less bizarre if you've played the game, but not by much. What this scene shows us is that Snake is not easily overcome by fear or concern - unless his sister is in danger - and can approach even life or death situations with a calm mind and a level head. He's also capable of taking on a supportive role and help his teammates calm down in moments of crisis.

Let's go back to Snake's enneatype for a second. I've already shown that Snake isn't ruled by a sense of helplessness. Quite the opposite. But that's the only part of his enneatype which he doesn't conform to. Over the course of the game it’s made clear that he has spent most of his life developing an understanding of the world around him. The Library section in particular allows Snake to display an impressive amount of knowledge about an even more impressive range of subjects. Seriously, he’s trapped inside a huge library but still has something to say about almost every book. Junpei even says “U-Uh...yeah... Just gonna leave it at that, Snake? Doesn't seem like you...” after Snake keeps an explanation of European history to one short sentence. From that last part alone it’s obvious that Snake doesn’t even bother to keep his general intelligence a secret. He probably takes some kind of pride in being The Smart One. But just because he’s smart doesn’t mean he isn’t up for a joke. He actually has a pretty snazzy sense of humour, ranging from snark to sophisticated jokes to sexual innuendo. To quote a conversation between him and his sister:

Clover: It says "Riemann Hypothesis". What is there to hypothesize about with a reamin'? Isn't it pretty straightforward?
Snake: Heavens no. There are many factors--length, girth, lubrication or lack of... It's an exciting and rapidly growing field.
Clover: Whoa.

Like I said earlier, Snake makes no secret about his intelligence. What he does often keep secret is the extent of his knowledge. This sometimes results in him coming off as arrogant, but he's usually friendly enough that people will forgive him a patronising laugh or an offhand sarcastic comment. He casually reveals he is blind only after all 9 players of the Nonary Game have gathered in front of Door (4) and (5). He kept this hidden from the group as they searched the ship without Junpei. He doesn’t even mention his fake arm; Clover just happens to bring it up by chance. That’s because Snake only ever reveals important information if and when he has to. He didn't mention his fake arm because it was the arm which had his bracelet on it; the others may have been suspicious. He only revealed his blindness because he knew he would be expected to help solve puzzles not too long after. Most significantly, though, is his decision not to explain the rules behind the RED - Recognition Device - and DEAD – Deactivation Device - system until after the 9th Man has literally walked right into a gruesome death. Snake claims he hoped Zero would save him the trouble of explaining, but there's also the suggestion that he didn't wish to spare the 9th Man after he held Clover at knife-point. Since one bad end shows Snake take several bullets for his sister and keep on truckin’, I think it might’ve been a little bit of both.

All in all, Snake's initial appearance has him described as princely and serene which is an image he keeps up throughout the game. Very little seems to ruffle him beyond his sister being hurt; you'd have to go to the Bad Ends if you want to see that kind of thing. His constant calm and composed nature goes hand in hand with his loyalty to his friends and his ability to comfort and encourage others. Plus, he's a great conversationalist! All that knowledge about everything ever has gotta count for something, right?
lightreading: (Adder? I hardly know 'er!)

Light Field / "Snake" | Zero Escape: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors | Not Reserved

[personal profile] lightreading 2013-10-25 10:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Abilities/Powers: Three main things set Snake apart from the average guy:

1 – Snake is a blind dude in a work of fiction, so of course he is blessed with an incredible sense of hearing. Like, he is shown to hear people run past him on the other side of a thick wall. The reason he doesn't need a cane or someone to hold his hand to find his way around in unfamiliar places is because of his ability to judge his surroundings based on sound, vibrations, etc. His sense of taste and smell are probably heightened too, but not to the same extent.

2 – In a Q&A session with fans, Aksys Games confirmed that Snake has an incredible amount of tenacity. He was shot multiple times in one of the game's Bad Ends, but was able to get back up to try and protect his sister. According to the creator, his love for Clover and his natural resilience “made him a super-man”.

3 - Snake is an Esper and can tap into Morphogenetic Fields – long story short, they're unseen connections through space and time which exist between living things - in order to receive signals from other Espers. It is only ever said that he can receive signals from Clover as they're siblings. Whether ordinary Receivers can pick up signals from more than one Transmitter is never shown – only June is shown to send signals to several people and she's an odd case - but an Esper's power grows when they are near other Espers so it isn't unlikely. Distance doesn't seem to be much of a factor where Espers are concerned; signals have been said to reach Earth from the Moon in canon.

Oh, and he can read Braille and plays the harp.
Items/Weapons: Ugly clothes.
Sample Entry: Sample entry from Destiny Strings and a sample thread (also) from Destiny Strings
Sample Entry Two: Despite how worried his sister can be when the situation arises, Snake is one hundred percent capable of moving around their new apartment by himself. Doors might well be in different places, each piece of furniture is a strange shape compared to back home, but sound is a constant. Unfamiliar darkness is a pretty redundant description anyway. It's the same pitch black maze he has to navigate with his ears, not his eyes, kinda like a super-hero.

Only with gaudy clothes, picked out by his sister, instead of body hugging spandex.

It's no miracle, then, that he discovers the wayward book on the living room table. Something felt off when he set his tea down, the clink of china against wood didn't quite fit. His fingers ghost over the spine as he holds the book in his fake hand, raised bumps along the familiar card confirm his suspicion. Grimm's Fairy Tales. A simple read, this edition written purely in Braille.

"How did you get here?" The words are soft, more gentle than he might be with another person, then he falls silent. Could there be someone else in the house? It's an unpleasant thought, third time's the charm and all that, but it lasts no longer than a split second. He hasn't heard the floorboards creak, a door scrape over the thin carpet, or the hitched breath of an intruder trying to blend in. Clover must've taken the book from the shelf before work. Maybe she's trying to brush up on her Braille. Snake smiles at the thought, sliding the volume back into place in a single fluid motion.

But before he can sit back down to enjoy his tea, there's a definite knock at the front door. He can tell it's important, the gap between knocks shrinking, so he gets back up off the sofa and makes his way through the familiar darkness.

"Good afternoon," he offers up his brightest smile as he opens the door, eyes shut tight. He reaches out for a handshake, "How can I help you?"
faithfulwisdom: (a quiet sorrow)

Finrod Felagund | The Silmarillion | not reserved

[personal profile] faithfulwisdom 2013-10-25 10:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Name: Beth
Contact Info: Email: emaj88[at]gmail[dot]com
AIM: elfwannabe88
DW: [personal profile] elfwannabe 
Plurk: [plurk.com profile] elfwannabe 
Other Characters Played: NA
Preferred Apartment: None

Character Name: Elves don’t have surnames. In Valinor, he would have likely gone by the name his father gave him (father-name), followed by the name is mother gave him (mother-name): “Findaráto Ingoldo.” In Middle-Earth, “Findaráto” was translated as “Finrod” and he was given the after-name “Felagund.” These days, he generally goes by “Finrod” or “Finrod Felagund.” Finally, among Men, he is also known as “Nóm.”
Canon: The Silmarillion and related writings
Canon Point: After his death, but before his spirit is able to return to the Halls of Mandos.
Background/History: The Silmarillion on wiki and Finrod on the LOTR wikia
Personality:

There are four traits that you have to keep in mind when thinking about Finrod: wisdom, loyalty, kindness, and bravery. I don't mean to imply that those are his only traits, but they are certainly the most important and the ones that he most highly values. Because of that, you can generally use these characteristics to predict and explain his actions.

Tolkien once states that all of the descendents of Finwë are bold and without fear and that certainly seems to be true in Finrod's case. Throughout The Silmarillion, Finrod is consistently shown doing great deeds and risking life and limb to help people who need it. Among the first deeds he performs in the text is one that Tolkien says "few [other deeds] surpassed [...] in hardihood or woe"- the crossing of the Helcaraxë, an icy wasteland between the Undying Lands and Middle Earth. He is mentioned, by name, as a leader in this venture. It takes a great amount of courage to even attempt something like this, never mind to tend to the needs of others as you do so. And, of course, one can point to his role in the battles of the time to mark his bravery.

Finrod fought in many, if not most, of the battles of the First Age, but perhaps the most dramatic display of his courage is also one of the best examples of the extreme loyalty that he can display: his involvement of the quest of Beren. To begin with, one has to know that Finrod already had earned the loyalty and love of the House of Bëor, one of the great Houses of Men, and for generations they had served as his allies. It so happened that in one of the great battles, Finrod nearly died but was saved by Barahir from the House of Bëor. In return, he swore an oath to give aid and friendship to all Barahir and all his kin. Flash forward several decades and Barahir's son Beren comes to him, asking for help in his quest to retrieve a Silmaril from Sauron himself. Several points need to be made about this. 1) This is very obviously a suicide mission. He's being asked to purposefully make his way into the stronghold of one of the strongest lieutenants of an Enemy that he's been fighting for hundreds of years. And this person is a Maia the same type of being as Gandalf and Melian, essentially a divine being (albeit fallen, in this case). 2) Finrod is, at this point, Lord of an extremely large area. He could have made the argument that his responsibilities prevented him from going himself and given some token amount of aid to keep from breaking his oath.

But that's not how Finrod rolls. Instead, he gathers with him any of his people who will go with him and sets out himself with the group. Of course, they are eventually captured and they are killed one by one. Sauron intended to hold Finrod until the last because he was obviously someone important, so he assumed that he'd know things. Things did not work out as Sauron planned. When the wolf that had killed the others came for Beren, Finrod broke through his chains and killed it with his hands and teeth, though, unfortunately, he himself was killed in the process.  So, in the end, Finrod was brave enough to walk directly into danger and loyal enough to die to keep his word to a friend.

Of course, that wasn't the first time that his loyalty had shined through. Even his presence in Middle Earth could be taken as a sign of it; when the Noldor first begin to leave, he is repeatedly mentioned as looking back and regretting what he has to leave. But he goes, at least in part, because he would not be sundered from his siblings and from his cousins, particularly the children of Fingolfin, who were said to be as close as siblings to the children of Finarfin. And though, because he left, he was parted from the woman he loved, Amarië of the Vanyar, he never stopped loving her. It was partially because of her that he never married during his time in Middle Earth. Even when he is wronged, Finrod sometimes refuses to act against those he feels beholden to. At one point Thingol, the mightiest Sindarin King, charges him with the sins of the Kinslaying and blames him for keeping his silence on the matter. It's important to note that, in some versions of the story (and the ones I tend to go with), the children of Finarfin actually fought in defense of the Teleri and against their uncle Fëanor's forces. And yet, Finrod says nothing to defend himself because, in order to do so, he would have to lay charges against other lords of the Noldor, who were also his kin. It's a complicated situation, but it's clear that Finrod feels bound to both sides and has no desire to break his loyalties to either.

And it's not without reason that he's called "Finrod the Wise," either. Finrod's judgement is shown to be fairly sound pretty early on in The Silmarillion when he speaks against the Oath of Fëanor and is hesitant to leave the Undying Lands. He does, of course, though he's consistently in the back of the group, looking behind him at what they are leaving, but the fact that he had second thoughts shows that he already was thinking more clearly than quite a few of the elves in the group. He is also the first and only one of the Noldor to send messengers to King Thingol, the major power in the area, and gain his friendship. This shows not only a desire to keep the peace with the locals, but also enough foresight to realize that he's going to need as many allies as he can get. And he's explicitly spoken of as wise in his interactions with Men. He's actually the first of the Eldar that humans meet and he greets them with song and harp music. Tolkien says that "wisdom was in the words of the Elven-king, and the hearts grew wiser that hearkened to him." Even after this first meeting, Finrod remained with the group for a time, teaching them. With his actions he earned his name among Men- Nóm, or "wisdom." Though he eventually leaves, Finrod never stops sharing his thoughts with Men, as is shown in the Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth, a philosophical conversation between Finrod and a human woman, Andreth, which takes place later in the timeline.

Finrod's wisdom is the gentle sort, always shaped by a desire to do good and to help others. As has been said, he was known as a friend to men and actively sought out and kept the friendship of King Thingol. He is also mentioned as having befriended the Grey-Elves, a rather skittish people, and been their ally throughout the rest of the war. He even uses these connections to help others, when he can. For example, the people of Haleth had lost their homeland and gone through great hardships. When Finrod heard of this, he gained permission from Thingol for them to live in Brethil, on the borders of Doriath, so long as they kept the crossings free from orcs. He was under no obligation to help Haleth and her people; he did not even know them personally. It just seemed to be the right thing to do- so he did it. As simple as that. And, on a personal level, the Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth also has him offering words of comfort to his friend Andreth, who he knows loves his brother. He speaks softly and with compassion; it's clear that he very genuinely cares for her.

All of this is not to imply that he's only a big teddy bear, of course. He is a prince of the Noldor, lord over the largest realm of Noldor in Beleriand in his own right, and an experienced military commander.  He is responsible for raising a great number of defensive structures in preparation for an attack by Morgoth. The last five hundred or so years of his life have been spent in more-or-less a constant state of war and it has affected his thinking deeply. Kind as he is, he is willing to order men into battle and to face it himself. He thinks as a strategist and as leader. As much as he would like it to be, it's not always about how he can help people. Sometimes it has to be about what needs to be done to survive. And, believe it or not, even Finrod isn't without a little bit of a temper. When his cousins, Celegorn and Curufin, start to speak against him when he decides to help Beren in his quest and he realizes that they have forsaken him and intend take his throne once he left, he throws his crown at his feet. While this is an understandable reaction, it probably was not the most helpful and it reads, admittedly, a little like a royal hissy-fit- or, at the very least, a little over-dramatic. Right afterwards, he does regain control and speaks eloquently, so it does seem that his little moment doesn't last long, but it was there, nonetheless.

Finrod is a kind, caring, loyal person, but he is also a prince and a military leader- with all the sternness, the tenacity, and the pride that that implies. He's good, but he's certainly not harmless and it would be a mistake to underestimate him.

Abilities/Powers:
  • Elf racial traits
    • Better than human eyesight and hearing
    • Light and fast of foot
    • Sleep is not strictly necessary; unlike humans, elves can meditate or fall into a “waking dream” and achieve the same amount of rest during the day
  • Magically disguising his form and the forms of others- when he, Beren, and their group go off to try to retrieve the Silmaril, Finrod was able to make them appear like orcs and other servants of Morgoth. It's never really specified how that he's able to do this, however.
  • Limited foresight- There are a few times in The Silmarilion when Finrod gets a glimpse of the future. For example, when Galadriel asks why he hasn't married, he tells her that he will make a vow that he will have to travel into danger to fulfill (and he must be free to do so) and that nothing will remain of his realm for a son to inherit. Later, he fulfills a life debt by traveling with Beren on his quest. He dies and, sure enough, later on Nargothrond falls. It's not foresight to the degree that Galadriel has it- full visions at will, etc, but he does have flashes of insight.
  • Limited telepathy- It's implied that almost all of the Eldar have some limited degree of telepathy and are able to talk mind-to-mind. Again, Finrod is nowhere near Galadriel's skill level, but he does have that basic level. He's explicitly able to use it to better understand the language of the first Men he meets.
  • Epic rap battle Magic of Song- Before Sauron captures and imprisons him, Finrod goes up against him in a battle of song. Again, the specifics are vague, but it's clear that, through some sort of magic, the songs/chants actually cause damage to the fighters. Link to a poem on the subject.
Items/Weapons:
-sword
-armor
-one set of dress robes
Sample Entry: A Dear_Mun entry Haven testdrive post

Sample Entry Two:


Elves do not need sleep as Men do and they are, by their nature, drawn to the stars, so it really isn't surprising that Finrod often chooses to spend his nights outside, walking a perimeter around the apartment block. It's entirely possible he worries too much; the dangers of Haven are not of the kind that he faced in Middle Earth, after all. Yet five hundred or so years of war make it difficult to relax completely.

So he walks and he watches. And every so often, when he glances up at the stars, he sings. He sings old songs, songs he has brought with him from the Undying Lands across the Sea, odes to the stars and to she who kindled them. His voice, deep and fair, carries with it the hope that had sustained him in the darkness of Angband- hope that one day the Darkness will be beaten back and the dawn will come again, bright and clear as it ever was. It's a hope needed in Haven as much as in Arda, he thinks. And, while he sings mostly for himself, it's a hope that he's glad to share with any who care to listen.