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 Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 11:22 am
So here I am, writing and filling out the Afya 'lumberjack' character in my head... When this guy pops into it.
Well, at least his personality, history, and those sorts of things do... But not his physical appearance. 'm thinking dark greens, but other than that I got nothing. :<
Maybe that'll come to me later.
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Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 11:26 am
PART I. PHYSICAL
Full name:: Goddrick
Reasons for the name(s):: His bond liked the sound of it.
Sex:: Male
Apparent Age/Approximate Age:: Around 30/Older than the massacres.
If he/she was alive during the massacres, was he/she bonded? To whom? A Count who released Goddrick when the he realized that he was about to fight for his life and might not survive. Goddrick was unable to flee before a group of renegade revolutionaries mobbed into the Count's house, and was forced to watch from his hiding spot as they massacred the Count's entire family, including his bond. During the killings, Goddrick became so angry, filled with hate, and utterly terrified, that he did the one thing he had promised never to do, use his power for anything other than good. Goddrick's hiding spot was discovered and he, spooked and terrified they were going to kill him, unleashed his power so violently, that he killed everyone in the sitting room, painfully and slowly. His hate for the revolutionaries and urge to hone the other, once forbidden, side of his element drove him to traveling from village to village in order to ‘practice’. He helped any surviving Jivvins and spared their bonds, but to all that opposed him, he threw into horrible sicknesses, which he studied during the rest of their lives and after the fact, in crude autopsies (he had no thumbs, after all). Eventually, his rage depleted and his skill was honed to his satisfaction, and it was then that he cleaned up his act and went in search of the rumored Village.
Rank:: Daewl
If a Daewl, what is his/her one power?:: Disease (viral) control/mutation
Skin Tone/Apparent Race:: [I can't pinpoint him down terribly in my mind, so I'm going to give wegs or Kep a bit of free range with color design. The only thing that I'd like to be used as a reference is the patterns of a grey tree frog. For some reason, I saw a photo of one on DA and it made me think of him immediately. [x] [x]) I like the idea of markings around his eyes, and maybe a pale/green undertone to him. Or maybe the frog markings are all along the backs of his arms and legs, as well as his back and tail/ears.
Height:: 5'10 to 6'2'', wide range, but he's still not solid in my mind yet.
Weight/Body Build:: lanky to lean.
Hair:: Color is up to the artist, but something reserved and elegant possibly? Not too short, but not too long to need a pony tail. For formal events, I can see him slicking it back.
Eyes:: Intense and intoxicating.
Ear colours/markings:: Again, up to the artist.
Tail colours/markings:: See above.
Peculiar Physical Traits:: Pick one or two. Have fun.
Distinguishing Marks:: His skin coloration/patterns.
Health:: Beyond excellent. He element gives him an fantastic immune system and he is rarely sick.
Senses:: Heightened from years of training, but otherwise average.
Voice:: Smooth and clear. He has an amazing knack for accents and concealing the emotion, or lack there of, in his voice. This often helps when he attends to scared children with the flu.
Mannerisms:: He enjoys manipulation, as long as he's not the victim of such plots. Otherwise, he seems to be a perfectly polite/normal gentleman with a little bit of oddness to him.
Clothes/shoes/accessories:: He dresses nicely, but not overly frivolous. Casual upper class? I can also see him with a nice collection of canes, not because he needs them, but because they make him look more dashing.
Eating habits/mannerisms/tastes:: Nothing too strange. Loves fruits, vegetables, and rare meat. Pecan pies and teas are his weakness.
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Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 11:27 am
PART II. GENERAL
Occupation/Social Status in Rank:: He keeps an occupation as almost a healer. He cannot heal wounds, but instead can control and entirely kill or remove the illness himself if caused by viruses. Thus, he is a specialist that deals with infections and viral sicknesses. He is an old Jivvin, and is widely respected throughout the village.
Views on Rank responsibilites:: He is to serve the Daewl in whatever way he can, even if that means with his life. Since she is stronger than him, then his loyalty shall go to her. However, should a stronger Daewl come around prove themselves stronger than Soyala, then his loyalty could shift, depending on if the challenger is named the Daewl after it all.
Education/ Intelligence:: Bonded originally to a Count, he was well educated and often spent his time with the family's physician, learning about the human body while nurturing his element.
After the massacres, he took it upon himself to receive some 'hands on' schooling in the destructive nature of a virus and it's nuances, so to speak.
Marital Status:: Single
Where does he/she live?:: In a beautiful house in the center of the city.
Political Thoughts/ Views of Ranks and Vhaid:: That they each have their place and status in society. He supports the Vhaid as long as he supports the Daewl.
Beliefs/ Values/ Strength of Beliefs:: He believes that the strongest Daewl should be THE Daewl, and since no one has ever challenged Soyala, he has grown used to seeing her in power. He judges Jivvins based on their elements (if they are Daewl) or their actions/abilities, but is very distrustful of the lower ranked Jivvins, as he feels they are prone to jealousy.
What is his/her usual disposition?:: Chilly and confident, but polite. He has wonderful manners, even when he is in a foul mood. That being said, there always seems to be something Not Right with Goddrick. However, most just take it as the nature of being a Daewl. All things considered, he’s a more often a good guy than bad, but it should be stressed that he -does- have the capability to do less than honorable things involving his element. Also, he will do whatever it takes to protect the Daewl or himself, even if that means attacking another Jivvin as a last resort. He prefers the healing aspect of it all, but is well aware of the flipside of his coin.
Optimist/ Pessimist? :: He’s always optimistic for himself.
Confident/Self-conscious? :: Extremely confident.
How does he/she feel about his/her appearance? :: He takes care of himself and believes in looking his best.
Most important possession:: His veritable library of books on anatomy, diseases, and historical plagues.
Talents :: Dexterity and hand eye coordination, photographic memory/attention to detail, making little children feel at ease around him, knowing his way around a body, knowing his way around a female body, secrecy.
What is a normal day like for this Jivvin?:: He usually wakes up, prepares and eats breakfast, cleans up, showers and grooms, and then sees to any healing appointments that he has lined up. Depending on his schedule depends on where and when he eats lunch and dinner. At night, he retires to his study with a glass of wine to read through any new books he has accumulated as well as old books he feels he needs refreshers on.
What is a normal rainy day like for this Jivvin?:: The same.
Greatest Fear:: Losing his power and being taken by a disease.
What does he/she want most?:: Comfort and a peaceful Village.
Major Goals::
1. To serve his Daewl and Council, in that order.
2. To learn everything there is to know about his element.
3. To help and heal those in the village.
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Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 11:28 am
PART III. RELATIONSHIPS
Significant Other/Relationship:: None. Relationships are a distraction and he’s never really looked for a mate.
Who does he/she live with?:: He lives alone.
Who does he/she spend the most time with?:: Other than his patients, no one really. Unless visits to the Daewl for orders counts.
Father/Relationship with him/Rank/Current Status:: N/A
Mother/Relationship with her/Rank/Current Status:: N/A
Siblings/Ranks/Current Status:: N/A
Best Friend/Rank/Current Status:: N/A
Feelings toward animals:: They can make great sources for diseases, or stew.
How does he/she view his/her family?:: N/A
How does he/she view his/her friends?:: N/A
How does his/her family view him/her?:: N/A
How does his/her friends view them?:: N/A
Who is his/her hero?:: The Count. Soyala as a powerful Jivvin.
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Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 6:09 pm
((looks ok to me. I like him, I think, so far. The big thing that catches my eye as being questionable is the fact that' he's bonded to a king. This just seems unlikely to me, however small his country was. A Duke, a Count, maybe, but not a King. You have to consider a few things:
Firstly, the distance he'd have to travel to find himself in the Village if coming from another country; it seems more likely that he'd come across a different Jivvin settlement first (we'd deny it, but, realistically, I'm sure there must be more Wild strongholds in distant lands)
But then, countries need not be large or distant. Then that would go out the window. However, I don't know how the political map of the past is drawn.
Secondly, the cause of the massacres. A lot of it had to do with political unrest, and peasants' indignation with how they were treated by the nobles. Unhappiness with the system. So, is it likely that the massacres (Revolution?) would extend to another country? Probably not, at least not in the same time frame. (Although, Revolutions do tend to spawn revolutions in other countries, but still, I'd expect a good delay between the two. So that's believable, I guess; I'd just take care to point out the difference.)
But then, you'd want to consider what the death of Goddrick's bond would mean to the massacres. The death of the king would be the ultimate triumph of the peasants if they were looking for a new regime, wouldn't it? It would, most likely, mark the end of the massacres, at least in his country. This doesn't really matter at all, but it does place on your character a rather significant moment for the Jivvins. Just something to keep in mind.
A few other thoughts....
...if his bond was indeed the King during this revolution, it seems likely that he was not a very nice person or else not a very good ruler. This wouldn't effect your story so much, except you have to consider who, in the court massacre scene, are really the ones who are cruel and evil.
...then, it seems highly unlikely that the jivvin, once captured, would be left alive and forced to watch the court massacred. Seeing how they killed everyone else mercilessly, I can't imagine why they'd hesitate to kill a mere 'animal' the moment they had the opportunity.
....also, I find it hard to believe that Goddrick's cruel, violent history would simply be shoved aside by the council. If they did let him in to the Village knowing what he did, I guess--- they'd have Soyala keeping check on him very closely? Or has he never told anyone about his past?
While I'm on that thought-- Soyala. You say he's really dedicated to serving her. I'd really like more details on that. What does he do for her that so occupies his time? Soyala seems like a pretty independent chick, is all I'm saying.
Sorry this is so horridly long; hopefully it makes sense. I'm not trying to be overly critical, I just...started thinking, and different things kept coming to mind....))
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Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 8:37 pm
I generally love constructive criticism.
I was pretty unsure about the king thing, but I figured I'd put it down and then get critiqued if I was mistaken since no one was on to prattle my too many questions to (ILU Moo). So downsizing it to a Duke or Count, etc. would probably solve a lot of the 'well that doesn't sound right' kind of issues that you had.
The thing that I was going for when he saw all that happened was he needed something to shock him from being a Daewl who only used his power for good and never even looking at the possibility of going in the opposite direction. Do you think it would work if he had hid himself, saw everything, but then was found out before all of the revolutionaries left? Actually, that would work better because he'd be angry and terrified and simply act on instinct if spooked/found.
After he escaped, the power of destruction, which I think is always more tempting/fun than just mending and patching up little kids with sniffles and the flu, kind of consumed him and he used his bond's murder as an excuse/reason to start. Afterwards, the science and need to understand just what he was doing (after all, he can't just -blindly- give people the black plague, but he had to understand how best to manipulate it) was what drove him to keep on being like that. I guess this would make him a bit of a perfectionist, as a side note.
I think after a while, he would finally look around at how people feared him instead of celebrated his skills and kind of become horrified at himself and immediately swore off using his power for the wrong reasons. Ashamed as he was, he accepted that everything must have happened for a reason, as he now knew how to use and control his power to defend himself. Meaning he won't kill grandma sitting in her rocker should someone try to kill him in her house (far fetched example, but more for my amusement in picturing it than realism).
I figured that maybe there had been rumors of The Plague moving from village to village, as Goddrick would heal the Jivvins and bonded humans should they get sick as a side effect of his 'practicing'. Maybe some suspected him as the cause, but all he left alive were healed and 'saved' by him in the end. As a 'doctor' sort, Jivvin or not, I feel like there'd be enough room for doubt to argue his innocence... Truth or not.
If that doesn't work, let me know. I'm just kind of rambling as things pop in my head.
As for the Council not knowing, I thought that without direct ties to the murders, he might be let in as an incredible asset as a 'healer' of sorts. He definitely would not tell anyone about his past, but he might have a suspicion that the Daewl could possibly know, with her power. And if she did, I could definitely see her keeping quiet about her knowledge of his past in order to use it in the future to keep him loyal and manipulate him with added ease.
He's loyal to Soyala in the manner of him being the head of his rank with unbelievable powers, should she ask him to do anything, he would do as he were told. I wouldn't go as far as saying he has a personal relationship with her like Jed does, but if she decides to go against the Council, then he's on her side. If someone else came along that was more powerful than Soyala, then he might be convinced to side behind them.
I hope I answered questions well enough. Thanks for the critique and let me know if I'm on the right path, etc.
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Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 8:54 pm
Yeah, that does clear up a lot heart thanks for explaining. And I do prefer the alternate situation you gave in respect to his backstory.
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Posted: Sat Sep 05, 2009 6:32 am
~ What was the defining factor exactly that made his rage deplete? It looks like he went crazy and then started killing mercilessly, tearing into his victims after they were dead and then, one day, he just ... decided not to kill anymore?
~ If what he wants most is comfort and peace, then why is he prone to killing people and rooting through their dead bodies? O.o
~ The family post is empty O.o ... I see that he doesn't know his father or mother and that he has no friends and such. Doesn't he have a father figure? a mother figure? what about the count and his wife? surely if he felt the need to go murder the world after he watched them be killed meant that they held a special place in his heart? Didn't he ever have a friend? Did he consider himself a pet in the count's family? or could the count's children be considered his 'siblings'?
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