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 Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 9:42 pm
Please do not post on here. If you have anything to say to me, use the pm system.
I have been working on novels for the past 13 years and rping for the past 4.5 or so. I pride myself in the amount of thought and effort I put into my work, so please don't bother me if you're only willing to do one liners or half assed rps. I'm not saying I'm completely unwilling to work with someone who's willing to try and wants to be a better writer/rper, I'm just saying, don't bother if you're not willing to put in the effort. It's no fun to invest your time into something when the other person won't pull their weight. This isn't to say I expect novels from you. I think three paragraphs tends to be the norm with me, sometimes more, sometimes less. It's okay to have a short post when it's necessary, just don't get ridiculous about it.
If you want to rp with me but find that I do not have a character that works with yours, the world, or situation you have intended, I am more than willing to create a new one or adapt an existing one if it doesn't mess with the character too much.
I do not like rps in a vacuum. It gets boring and restrictive. Help me create a rich, diverse world for our characters to live in, shake things up and make some characters for our mains to interact with so it's not just them all the time. Give your character friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, etc. Because whether you do or not, I probably will.
As far as the where of rps -- I don't much care for using the pm system for rping. I like to reserve that for my commission work or private discussion about rps and that's messy enough as it is. So we would either stick to the main boards OR use Google Docs. If you don't know what that is, feel free to pm me and ask even if you don't want to rp. It's pretty great, I'll gladly advocate it.
Also, if I agree to an rp, feel free to friend me. It makes discussing our rps and plotting so much easier doing it through the IM system rather than PMs. Providing an IM would also be nice. I have almost all of them.
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Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 9:46 pm
Unpaired
Full Name: Cyrek Wit
Nickname: Whatever you come up with, within reason.
Age: Unknown
Gender: Male
Orientation: Gay, seke
Race: Strzygu
Everything you need to know about the Strzygu: The Strzygu is a very different kind of vampire, usually found in remote parts of Poland, Russia, and Turkey. He (Strzygu being male, Strzyga would be the female counterpart) has two hearts. If one is damaged but the other untouched, the damaged one will heal over time but the two hearts will no longer beat in unison, a little known sign that the Strzygu has 'died' before. The damaged heart does not work quite as well and tends to waste energy. This can have negative consequences but it is not unusual for a truly old Strzygu to be living with two 'broken' hearts.He also has many teeth, two rows of thousands of short, very fine needle like fangs but only the fingernails -- or rather, a second, claw like set beneath normal human fingernails that can be drawn or retracted at will -- are venomous. Strzygu are born, not created, so while it is impossible to turn a person into a Strzygu with this venom, it is deadly, causing a devastating sickness that only a Strzygu can cure, usually at a rather inconvenient and high cost to themselves. While it is best to be cured by the same Strzygu that caused the illness, another Strzygu can get the job done at a higher cost. Although definitely vampiric, a Strzygu is better known for stealing skin and eating organs like the liver, brain, and heart than actually drinking blood and even then, Strzygu feed on the energy and salt in blood, not the blood itself, so after their bodies have consumed what it needs, they go off into the woods and regurgitate it. For a short window of time, this blood has powerful Strzygu energy that is often used in witchcraft, good or bad. Strzygu prefer to draw blood from the arms or legs when they feed. Although a Strzygu's mouth is unusually warm, their saliva has a chilling effect that worsens before wearing off. They rarely feed from the neck and almost never drain a victim. There are exceptions to this rule. Strzygu are territorial. They will drain and eat the organs of another Strzygu and any other form of vampire they precieve as a threat to them or their space/property. However, this is merely to be rid of them and discourage further trespassing. Consumption of vampiric blood and flesh without immediate purging will make a Strzygu sick, so they will often find a safe place to regurgitate it all back up and then immediately go feed and search for salt. It is rare that a Strzygu will attempt to take down another Strzygu or vampire that is older or more powerful than him in this fashion, as the attempt would likely be suicidal. Another exception to the preference against draining a victim is when they are stealing a skin, in which case, the draining of the blood is extremely important to the process. Without it, the skin will either immediately reject or later fail the Strzygu. The Strzygu will steal the skin of humans, animals, and other monsters alike. Having the ability to shed his own skin, the Strzygu takes on a bodiless form that can appear as any number of things, usually a fire ball, an orb of light, or a gathering of fireflies. In this bodiless state, he can slip into the skins he has stolen and live as whatever this skin is for a period of time.Under the right conditions, a Strzygu that has died before will develop a second, unstolen skin, this one shaped by however their first skin and body was killed and left. They will regrow their original skin exactly as it was before their death but they will carry this second around with them for the rest of their lives, often preferring it in order to protect the original. Strzygu are almost always born to witches. Being witch-born as well as vampiric, the Strzygu is capable of magics and curses, often times very knowledge hungry and will study all forms of magic, spiritualism, and herbalism. However, when it comes to actual practice, the Strzygu will often stick to their own skills and culture of magic or are simply limited to it. Witches will often try to bind a Strzygu to them for protection and knowledge, sometimes against the Strzygu's will, sometimes with their mutual consent and benefit.
Protection against a Strzygu: The Strzygu worship or revere an ancient, monsterous bird deity and have a great respect for all birds. Because of this the bones of birds are particularly effective. Predatory birds are especially effective and wild is always better than domesticated but any bird will work with varying results. Placing such bones -- carved with certain phrases in the oldest language of the given Strzygu's country of birth, stained in the occupant's blood, and washed in salt water -- over the doorway of a house will make it impossible for a Strzygu to leave. Coins soaked overnight during a new moon in blood regurgitated by a Strzygu and wrapped in a scrap of stolen skin or Strzygu skin makes an amulet that permanently protects the wearer from any and all Strzygu. Glass, especially mirrored glass, is a moderately effective deterant for a Strzygu. It is difficult and energy consuming for them to pass through in their less physical forms and no matter how strong they are, their physical forms cannot break it. With this in mind, Strzygu skin hunters will sometimes trap a Strzygu in glass and wait them out until the Strzygu has no choice but to abandon their skin or parish. However, protection from an actual Strzygu usually trumps all of these.
Getting favors out of a Strzygu:
* One particular surefire method is to stab him with a special dagger. Lore is unclear about what sort of dagger. Some texts say silver, others insist it should be glass or bone, and a rare few claim that any old blade will do, it just needs the right mojo. When stabbed, a Strzygu will reach into the gaping bloody wound and tear himself apart, stepping away from his whatever skin you just ruined, bearing his true face. In forcing him to show it, a person gains something over him and he will usually hate them for it. Be careful what you ask for. He will likely cross you. This should ONLY be attempted if you know he is wearing a stolen skin or his second skin. Damaging his true face is a suicide mission.
* Offering gifts of salt. It won't grantee the favor, most likely you'll need to offer up something else but it's just about the only thing that will start the deal off on a good foot.
* Trap one and barter his freedom for this favor
Appearance
Eye Color: Washed out aqua blue
Hair Color: Deep red
Skin Tone: Pale white
Overall Appearance: More often than not, he appears as an aging man all stooped and bony with sharp features, a beaky nose and pointed chin and crooked teeth made of glass. He wears an over large hooded coat with many pockets that hold just about anything. His eyes are beady and dull but they catch the light like steel and sometimes they give off an eerie coal light glow. These eyes are hidden beneath many folds of skin which is often crusted with an odd, gritty dust that his is constantly wiping away. It looks disgusting on him but when he discards the handkerchief it’s dusted with diamond. His hands are large and long, extra jointed with overgrown, chipped, and stained fingernails that are usually dirty. His hands look very frail but they are surprisingly quick and nimble. This form is false, his second skin. Cyrek's first skin, also known as his 'true' face, is much more appealing to look at but also strange and very strongly/obviously Strzygu. He appears as an incredibly handsome man with short feathery, mane like red and black hair that trails in a thinning fine, stripe down his neck. His skin is pale white and somewhat translucent and bears bold black markings that cover half of his face, hands and other various places of his body. Like most Strzygu he was born a long, dexterous tail that is mostly white and black skin, ending in iridescent scales, spiny little black feathers, and a thick tuft of red and black hair. In either true form, his fingers are usually covered in heavy golden rings. Each of these rings bears a length of thread to which a little bauble of softly glowing light appears to be tied. These lights are actually bodiless Strzygu. Whether they are enslaved to him or merely hunted victims under his protection is unclear, but their numbers grow and fall daily.
Personal
Likes:
* Has a huge, almost crazed and addictive affinity for salt. The best way to distract a Strzygu (or gain his favor) is to offer him a lump of salt, especially if it is properly blessed, but plain salt will do just fine.
(Still working on this.)
Dislikes:
* (Still working on this.)
Fears:
* Being trapped or slain. Not so much for the dying part but because there are so few of his kind left.
General Personality: Depends on the skin. He'll usually mimic whatever stolen skin he's wearing. As himself, he usually prefers to keep a certain amount of distance. The sort of person that keeps a lot to himself, like you could know him for years, think you know him pretty well, and then every once in awhile you realize you've only been scratching the surface. In other words, he's secretive, rarely giving away much personal information, at least, not straightforward. And however close you get to him, he's never totally safe to be around in any regard. He's mischievous by nature, the old world, pull a prank that could get you killed or sneakily get you to trade your soul for a stick of gum just because he can sort of mischievous. It's never a good idea to trust him blindly because the minute you do, he will screw with you and he has a rather twisted sense of humor. He's also fiercely protective and somewhat possessive. He likes to act totally indifferent but he tends to think of the people he allows to get close to him the same as he does his property. Mostly it means that messing with anyone he cares about is likely to trigger his territorial response with a vengeance.
Final Details
Family: Has couple brothers, none of which he spends much time with.
Pets: None
Brief History: The first time Cyrek was 'killed' was during his first lifetime. He and his mother were persecuted for witchcraft. in the process he was discovered as a Strzygu. Not enough was known to successfully kill him. They both staked and removed his heart but didn't know he had a second one. Since most Strzygu will abandon their body when the first heart is damaged to create the illusion of actually having died, playing possum as it were, the villagers assumed they'd done it right. However, having seen a Strzygu jump forms before, they took things a wise step further, pulling his first row of teeth and replacing them with fangs made of double sided mirror glass and sewing his mouth shut. This kept him from returning to his body until the body and stitches had decomposed enough for the jaw to drop open. His body healed when he returned to it, becoming the emaciated mess of a second skin that it is now but to this day the first set of fangs in the mouth of that skin are made of mirrored glass.
Best paired with: a male witch, another kind of vampire (not another Strzygu), a normal vampire hunter (preferably one that's never dealt with a Strzygu before) or a psychic human (mostly because it could be interesting seeing how one would perceive a Strzygu). Open to suggestions. Character must be at least 20 years old.
Interesting ideas of meeting: (Just my ideas, please come to the table with some of your own).
* What if Cyrek wound up stealing the skin of someone your character had been close to? A friend, coworker, or family member maybe, someone they saw every day and would notice the difference? This could apply to any of the possibilities of beings for him to be paired with because whether your character is a witch or vampire or human, like Cyrek, they're bound to have a personal life, something that has nothing to do with what they are, even if it's just a front.
* While playing with the idea of keeping this guy to myself, I was thinking of pairing him with a male stripper/whore who had a thing for monsters and myths who is ultimately somewhat afraid of what his is but ballsy enough to still seek him out for help/pursue him. The idea was that as a small child, got himself lost and wound up crossing paths with Cyrek lurking around an old abandoned park in his second skin. Cyrek took pity on him and offered him shelter for the night, ultimately a mistake he was never able to go back on, because even after returning him to where he belonged, the kid never left him alone after that. I imagine the kid came from a rather dysfunctional, broken home, so however insignificant the gesture was to Cyrek, it was probably more unconditional kindness/care than the kid had seen in awhile and it struck a cord with him, because even though he's aware that Cyrek can take on other forms and he's only ever seen his second face as the real him, he's always flirting with him/trying to catch his eye. Again, this one could probably done with any of the beings mentioned above. Maybe the kid always was somewhat psychic or being exposed to something like Cyrek opened him up to possibilities of the ether world. Maybe he got into the occult and witchcraft because Cyrek was obviously interested in it. Maybe he was stupid and got himself attacked and turned by another kind of vampire or was just attacked and took up vampire hunting.
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