This thread is designed as a place where we can plan upcoming events (provided you don't want me to do all that myself), discuss current happenings, and ask anything that's been irking you, as of late. Of course, it could always dissolve into a hangout, of sorts, and that's never bad. :3
...But we have the Chatterbox for that. But ssssshhhh~! sweatdrop
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Edit: As of July 14, 2008, I've realized that... well, we're out of profile room. I've used up all of the available post space in the two posts we've got. >.>
Posting up one here. I'll be putting up another poll in just a moment regarding what we should do.
Kuma_Izumi
Username: Kuma_Izumi
Character Name: Izumi Rio
Item Chosen: Piece of Twine
Character Class: Swordmaster
Height: 6'2
Weight: 150 lbs
Sex: Male
Birthday: September 6th
Zodiac Sign: Virgo
Species: Human
Single or Taken?: Single now, but he used to be married.
Birthplace: Daein.
Religion: Athiest.
Equipment Carried: Piece of Twine, Killing Edge, an incomplete map of Tellius, a few spare scraps of parchment, a pen, and a vulnerary.
Physical Description: Tall and rather lanky, though he has quite a bit of muscle beneath his clothes. His skin is starting to become slightly wrinkled due to his age. Evidence of all his battles can be seen in the scars all over his body, the most visible being a particularly nasty one coming down the left side of his face. His hair is starting to become gray and goes down to shoulder length. His eyes are blue and his gaze has often been described as piercing.
Personality: Izumi likes to keep to himself, although he has been known to open up to a few annoyingly sociable people. He's always willing to help someone in need and given a choice between wrong and right, he will always choose what he believes is right.
Strengths: He is a skilled swordsman thanks to years of practice and his battle tactics are next to flawless. He also has a gift for cartography and often makes maps of the places he visits. During his time in the Daein army he picked up some skills in smithing and can repair basic equipment.
Weaknesses: Despite constant training, his body is becoming old and weak. Though his technique is flawless, his body isn't. He is also terrible in most social situations, ironically including diplomacy.
Likes: Reading, peaceful moments, resting after a hard days work.
Dislikes: Senseless fighting. Old age. Loud annoying people.
History: Izumi was born in a small village in Daein, near the Crimean border where border skirmishes were common. His family was not wealthy but not really impoverished either. Izumi dreamed of becoming a knight of Daein and maybe someday rising to become on of the Four Riders of Daein. As soon as he was old enough he enlisted in the army and began his military career fighting Crimean forces on the border. When Daein invaded Crimea, Izumi was right there on the frontline. After Melior had fallen Izumi was recalled to the capital and given the job of guarding the capital. On his way back to Daein he was ambushed by some remaining Crimean forces and badly wounded. A cleric in his army found him and saved him. She too was headed back to the capital after surviving as a front-line medic. The two traveled back together and on their journey, began to fall in love. Upon returning to the capital, Izumi took a small amount of leave in order to get married. Everything was perfect, until the new Crimean army led by Ike marched into the capital. Izumi survived the battle, but his beloved was struck down and killed. Izumi spent the rest of the the war as a POW under the guard of Zelgius and the Begnion forces. Even if they had released him, though, he wouldn't have returned to the fight. He hated Ashnard for abandoning him. He hated the Crimeans for taking his love from him. But most of all he hated himself for not being able to give up his dream and quit the army to run away with his love. After the war Izumi lived under Begnion rule for a time. Both the Begnion army and the rebel forces of Pelleas heard of Izumi's skill and power and attempted to recruit him to their cause but Izumi had no love for either side and for the first time ever, turned away from battle. Despite this, Izumi could not bring himself to throw away his sword. He became a wanderer and traveled the land, making maps to help pass the time and is still doing it today.
RP Sample: (This is going to be my first post, mostly because I'm lazy.)
Izumi winced as he slumped down into a sitting position against a rock on the side of the road. He kept his hand pressed to his left side, but no amount of pressure could stop the blood from running inbetween his fingers. He chuckled slightly but it turned into a cough. "Careless..." He muttered to himself.
Even as he said it he knew that that wasn't the case. He wasn't careless, it was his old age that slowed him down. That and his need to always play the hero. It had been the typical scenario. Izumi was just wandering down a path to who knows where, when he heard a scream. It was becoming more and more common these days. Bandits and worse were everywhere. As usual Izumi investigated, it was as he feared. A group of 5 Begnion soldiers were standing over the body of a dead man, his wife sobbing on top of him. One of the soldiers sneered while the others laughed hysterically. "He shoulda paid the toll. You Daein scum are all the same. You walk Begnion's roads now so you'll pay the toll or die!" As he was speaking he kicked the woman violently and brandished his sword, still wet with the blood of her husband.
"Please, sir! We have no money! We were just on our way to town to sell this mirror. We don't even have any crops to sell because you soldiers seized our land! We needed the money just to survive, but now.... Take it!" The woman thrust a cloth-wrapped package towards the soldier. "Take it! It's more than enough to pay the toll. I don't need it anymore.... You've already taken everything else that I've ever loved."
The soldier angrily knocked the package away. Oddly enough the mirror inside didn't shatter but no one seemed to notice. He grabbed the woman and lifted her up by the throat. "You gotta problem with the Begnion soldiers needing to eat? YOu want em to starve, eh? That is treason! And you know what the punishment for that is don't you?"
As the soldier lifted his sword to finish her off, Izumi could watch no more. "That's enough!" He shouted, stepping out into view. "I will not mince words. Leave or die." Izumi placed his hand on the hilt of the sword, ready to fight if needed.
The soldier dropped the woman roughly and turned to face Izumi. "Shut up geezer! If you would've just stayed out of this you might've lived. Now, you're mine!" The man stalked angrily towards Izumi, sword in hand. He didn't make it two steps before Izumi was in front of him. Izumi's sword flashed through the air before the man could even react and slashed across his throat, almost decapitating him. The other four, seeing their friend and comrade go down, rushed into the fight. The first to reach Izumi swung a large axe hoping to decapitate Izumi, but Izumi ducked and spun gracefully under the attack. As he spun he slashed the back of the man's knees, causing him to drop, and then popped back up burying his sword in the man's shoulder blade. He pulled it out and spun around just in time to block a strike from another soldier. Izumi pushed the sword aside with his own and used the man's momentary opening to slash his face.
Only two left. These two saw how easily their comrades were slain and decided to try a new tactic. They both circled around on both sides of Izumi and charged. Izumi stood still until the last moment and ducked to the side as the soldiers attacked. The two weren't ready for that and wounded each other. While they were distracted and shocked by what had happened, Izumi circled around to one side and attacked the first soldier from behind. The man already had his ally's sword stuck in his right shoulder and Izumi's blade cut clear through the left, taking off the man's arm and a good portion of his body. The man dropped but the last remaining soldiers sword remained in his body and it's owner lost his grip on it. That was all the oppurtunity Izumi needed. He took a thrusting stance and a moment later impaled the man cleanly through his gut.
Izumi took this oppurtunity to look into this man's eyes and see the pain and horror in them. The same pain and horror he had reveled in as he slaughter innocence. It was justice of a sort that the man should die this way. When he had had his fill of it, Izumi kicked the man roughly off of his blade and onto the ground. He then made his way over to the poor woman, while sheathing his sword. Suddenly, something felt wrong. Out of sheer instinct, Izumi leapt to the side just as a blade pierced the spot where his chest had been. It wasn't a clean dodge though and Izumi winced as the blade rended the flesh in his side but it didn't stop him from whirling around and, in the same fluid motion, drawing his sword and decapitating the somehow alive soldier.
This time it was over for real. Izumi quickly sheathed his sword, pressed his arm against his wounded side to stop the bleeding and made his way to the woman again. She stood and bowed graciously. "Thank you, sir! If only... If only you had been earlier you could have saved my husband too.... Look I want you to have this. I don't need it anymore." She picked up the package and handed it to Izumi.
"I can't accept this. I thought you needed to sell it to survive.", Izumi said with a slight frown.
The woman shook her head and pressed it into his hand. "Everything I ever had to live for is gone. I don't want to be a part of this cruel world anymore. Besides.... it just feels right that I give it to you."
Izumi smiled sadly and took the mirror. Live! That was what he wanted to tell her. But one who had caused so many deaths and brought sadness to so many had no right to say that. He had saved her body but he was too late to save her heart. Instead he thanked her and went back to his travels until the wound forced him to stop. As he lay, slowly bleeding to death, he pulled out the package and bean to open it. The cloth was tied closed with a single piece of twine. Something told Izumi that it was important so he made sure to hold on to it.
Slowly Izumi turned the mirror in his hands and gazed into it. The face was his, but something about it was off. Madness was in his reflections eyes. That and a lust for blood. The pain from his wound began to fade as he stared into the mirror and slowly everything faded to black.
Izumi awoke in a strange place. To the eye, everything was normal. But every bone in his body screamed that this place was wrong somehow. Was he dead? Was this the hell he deserved to spend eternity in? It didn't really matter in the end. His wound was no longer present and he was well enough to travel luckily. He pulled out a spare piece of parchment and his pen and set off to explore his new surroundings and hopefully make a good map of them.
