Post by Valentin Richter on Jul 19, 2012 2:58:24 GMT -5
Valentin Richter
"Don’t pretend you know me."
[/color]
Custom Title: Mama’s Boy
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Family:
- Gerald Richter – Father; Hume
- Diynah – Mother; Torama Esper
Race: Human / Esper Halfbreed
Sexual Orientation: Straight
Home World: Unnamed World (Final Fantasy 8)
Alignment: Villain
Job: Career Criminal
Items: n/a
Accessories:
- Twin Stars: A necklace given to Valentin at a young age by his mother. It isn’t much to look at, being a set of glassy-crystal stars about a thumb’s-width suspended on a thin silver chain. In reality they come from the realm of Espers and are made of materials found there exclusively. They serve to focus his magical powers and Esper-related abilities, making them easier to control and reducing the effort necessary to use them. He isn’t at all reliant on the artifact as he was when he was a child, but it still certainly helps. (If he is separated from it, the cooldown of all of his abilities increase by 1.)
- Jade Armlet: An armlet made of (what else?) pure jade. It has been blessed with spiritual powers that protect the bearer from the stop and petrify statuses. Valentin “acquired” his from a mark, having been simply aesthetically attracted to it, and only later found out that it was enchanted.
- Magic Ring:: A silvery ring inset with a single amethyst-hued gemstone. It is a somewhat mass produced item created by mages, for mages. Its enchantments protect spellcasters that wear it from two of their biggest banes; the silence and berserk statuses. It was no accident that he “acquired” it after he got his butt handed to him by someone who simply cast “Silence” on him.
Appearance:
Valentin weighs in at 140 lbs. and stands 5’9” tall. His overall form is thin and lithe. His basic shape is definitely human, though other than that he certainly stands out like a sore thumb amongst Hume societies. The first immediately noticeable trait he possesses is his mane of electric-aquamarine hair: It’s so bright and unnatural that it’s impossible to miss, even in low light. It’s typically cut medium-short, falling in lazy, rougish spikes that drape across his head. When he’s angry or scared, the hair on the back of his neck tends to stand up. The second most noticeable trait is the fact that he has a tail, which is too uncomfortable for him to keep bunched up under clothing. It’s thin, furry, and whiplike, of medium length, possessing the same hue as the rest of his hair, and coming to a fuzzy tip not unlike a calligraphy brush. It often undulates in random motion behind him, especially when he’s happy or deep in thought.
Other rather feline traits are his yellow eyes, which are ironically not particularly bright as compared to his hair, and a set of enlarged canines that can be clearly seen when he smiles or yawns. His nails are thicker and stronger than the average human, and grow at a breakneck pace, always managing to grow out to form a point. Unless he keeps on top of them daily, which he generally does, he begins to grow a makeshift pair of claws. While somewhat cool-looking, he considers it impractical since they start to get in the way, and he prefers to use a superior weapon in battle. Even trimmed he can never quite hide their nature, as that trademark point always seems to reform no matter their length.
In terms of clothing, he tends to dress with as much subtlety as his hair. (That is, if he isn’t using a hooded cloak to hide his form.) He possesses identical piercings on each ear; a silver ring about three-quarters up the length of his ear, and an identical ring a quarter of the way up the ear bearing a small, thin dangling bangle shaped roughly like a folded fan. He wears a shirt almost resembling something you would expect to see on a Monk or Priest, with a two-tiered white collar. The catch being that both the shirt and his denim jeans (which sit at a provocative angle on his hips) are dyed a deep shade of violet. The shirt is open at its base, revealing his lower stomach to a degree that’s a hair more than some would like to see. When in motion you can see that he is actually wearing a thin white belly-shirt underneath the getup. He wears his sheathed sword openly on his person, attached to the side of his pants at the hip. As far as shoes, he wears a nondescript pair of black tennis shoes. (Also courtesy of him trimming his nails, as they would become awkward claws down there too if he let them.)
Other rather feline traits are his yellow eyes, which are ironically not particularly bright as compared to his hair, and a set of enlarged canines that can be clearly seen when he smiles or yawns. His nails are thicker and stronger than the average human, and grow at a breakneck pace, always managing to grow out to form a point. Unless he keeps on top of them daily, which he generally does, he begins to grow a makeshift pair of claws. While somewhat cool-looking, he considers it impractical since they start to get in the way, and he prefers to use a superior weapon in battle. Even trimmed he can never quite hide their nature, as that trademark point always seems to reform no matter their length.
In terms of clothing, he tends to dress with as much subtlety as his hair. (That is, if he isn’t using a hooded cloak to hide his form.) He possesses identical piercings on each ear; a silver ring about three-quarters up the length of his ear, and an identical ring a quarter of the way up the ear bearing a small, thin dangling bangle shaped roughly like a folded fan. He wears a shirt almost resembling something you would expect to see on a Monk or Priest, with a two-tiered white collar. The catch being that both the shirt and his denim jeans (which sit at a provocative angle on his hips) are dyed a deep shade of violet. The shirt is open at its base, revealing his lower stomach to a degree that’s a hair more than some would like to see. When in motion you can see that he is actually wearing a thin white belly-shirt underneath the getup. He wears his sheathed sword openly on his person, attached to the side of his pants at the hip. As far as shoes, he wears a nondescript pair of black tennis shoes. (Also courtesy of him trimming his nails, as they would become awkward claws down there too if he let them.)
Personality:
When meeting Valentin for the first time, it would be able to label him as many things. Cold, cruel, arrogant, spoilt, vindictive, among others. While many of those terms would be accurate to a point, they only tell half of the story. The vast majority of his outward personality stems from emotional walls he’s built as a result of past experiences. His spurning at the hands of humankind eventually lead him to both despise and envy them. These conflicting emotions, both wanting to be human and hating himself for it, lead him to act in ways that most would consider morally bankrupt. If anybody were to ever truly make the investment to get past those outward walls, they would see the good person that he buried within years ago.
Outwardly, Valentin will often go out of his way to claim his superiority over “poor, weak humans”. This ego can lead him into starting fights that he really shouldn’t have. He tends to get into his battles, using them as opportunities to vent his negative emotions. This often becomes a scenario where he gets his jollies from inflicting pain and suffering on others. Ultimately, this is just the totally misguided attempt of a young man to deal with the pain that he himself feels.
His sarcastic wit is an ever-flowing font, and he rarely misses the chance to make a witty comment, even if it’s totally inappropriate. He knows that he’s intelligent, and will often underestimate the intelligence of others, believing himself to be a ‘superior mind’. One of the fastest ways to irritate him is to call his wit into question. On the other side of the coin, Valentin is extremely good with words when he wants to be and can be quite charming. He will use this to his advantage to get his way whenever he can get away with it. When someone brushes off his attempts to sway them with words, he often becomes rather dangerous.
In the end, all he has ever craved is acceptance. This can be seen by his reaction to compliments, whether from an enemy or an ally; The way he pauses abruptly, his expression skeptical and guarded, but his eyes glimmering with a hope for sincerity. It doesn’t take a particularly empathetic person to see the pain in his eyes otherwise. He’s naturally doubtful of people and pretty much starts with the assumption that any particular person is just trying to take advantage of him. He just figures he might as well be the one doing the manipulating instead if possible.
At the very core of his being, he knows that what he’s doing and what he’s done is wrong. Not only does he have the memories of his father, but he has seen worlds where humans coexist with other races peacefully, plaguing him with confusion and doubts. By this point he feels that he’s in too deep and there’s no turning back from the course that he’s set. If, by some stroke of compassion and empathy to his inner struggle, someone were to stick with showing him that humans aren’t evil creatures even when he spit in their face and rejected them, even if it meant showing kindness and expecting nothing in return, even if it seemed like a pointless endeavor, there’s a pretty good chance that he could be redeemed. Some compassionate soul might bring out the personality he had when he was a child; loyal, loving, kind, generous, outgoing, with a mischievous streak devoid of any ill intent.
Outwardly, Valentin will often go out of his way to claim his superiority over “poor, weak humans”. This ego can lead him into starting fights that he really shouldn’t have. He tends to get into his battles, using them as opportunities to vent his negative emotions. This often becomes a scenario where he gets his jollies from inflicting pain and suffering on others. Ultimately, this is just the totally misguided attempt of a young man to deal with the pain that he himself feels.
His sarcastic wit is an ever-flowing font, and he rarely misses the chance to make a witty comment, even if it’s totally inappropriate. He knows that he’s intelligent, and will often underestimate the intelligence of others, believing himself to be a ‘superior mind’. One of the fastest ways to irritate him is to call his wit into question. On the other side of the coin, Valentin is extremely good with words when he wants to be and can be quite charming. He will use this to his advantage to get his way whenever he can get away with it. When someone brushes off his attempts to sway them with words, he often becomes rather dangerous.
In the end, all he has ever craved is acceptance. This can be seen by his reaction to compliments, whether from an enemy or an ally; The way he pauses abruptly, his expression skeptical and guarded, but his eyes glimmering with a hope for sincerity. It doesn’t take a particularly empathetic person to see the pain in his eyes otherwise. He’s naturally doubtful of people and pretty much starts with the assumption that any particular person is just trying to take advantage of him. He just figures he might as well be the one doing the manipulating instead if possible.
At the very core of his being, he knows that what he’s doing and what he’s done is wrong. Not only does he have the memories of his father, but he has seen worlds where humans coexist with other races peacefully, plaguing him with confusion and doubts. By this point he feels that he’s in too deep and there’s no turning back from the course that he’s set. If, by some stroke of compassion and empathy to his inner struggle, someone were to stick with showing him that humans aren’t evil creatures even when he spit in their face and rejected them, even if it meant showing kindness and expecting nothing in return, even if it seemed like a pointless endeavor, there’s a pretty good chance that he could be redeemed. Some compassionate soul might bring out the personality he had when he was a child; loyal, loving, kind, generous, outgoing, with a mischievous streak devoid of any ill intent.
History:
Valentin’s history is best begun with an explanation of his heritage. Long ago, the Scion Exodus was tasked with judging the worth of all things in the world. The task was simply too large to do by himself, and by splitting from himself a piece of his own power, the Scion created the race of lower-Espers known as the Torama which he granted with psionic powers to judge the hearts and minds of other creatures. Displeased with the humans’ treatment of the wonderful and majestic worlds that had been granted them, Exodus tasked the Torama with evaluating the humans’ treatment of nature with the order to intervene if they felt it necessary. The Torama, having lion-like traits in the form of the humans they were ordered to monitor, were therefore the first guardians of nature in the worlds. Only later would Espers such as Sylph and Fairy come to be. The Torama, in the fashion of their creator, split a part of their essence from themselves to create the first Coeurls, majestic and deadly feline creatures with magical power even greater than their impressive physical ability. The Coeurls were ordered to multiply and protect the natural environments in which they lived, and that they did with lethal efficiency. Eventually, Exodus fell in the rebellion against the gods and was sealed away. The Torama, now completely independent of their creator, eventually fell away from their purpose and slumbered in the Realm of Espers. The Coeurls, however, would remain.
Thousands of years later, a scientist working for the Estharian Government would make a breakthrough discovery: A paramagical device that was able to call and keep Espers, now colloquially known as Guardian Forces, in the world of humans for extended periods of time. Severely worried about the consequences of such technology being allowed to fall into the hands of others, Gerald Richter destroyed the bulk of his research but continued to experiment with the device in secret. Eventually he managed to call an Esper never before recorded by modern science. It was a creature that appeared somewhat human, but possessing overt lion-like features, silver eyes, and shockingly blue hair. That Esper, a female Torama named Diynah (die-nuh; fittingly meaning “judgement”), was quite surprised to see a human herself after falling into slumber. Judging the man with the talents given to her, she saw his heart was good and as such didn’t kill him on the spot for the insolent act of calling her unbidden. The pair came to an agreement; He would continue to call on her and prevent her from falling into slumber once more. In return, she would share the ancient knowledge she possessed. Their relationship gradually changed from businesslike to casual. From casual to friendly. From friendly to intimate. Eventually a baby boy was born, possessing feline fangs, yellow eyes, and both a tail and a crop of blue hair. They named him Valentin (vah-len-teen; “strong, healthy”) after his instantly noted vitality.
Things were difficult at first; He couldn’t let anybody within the government catch wind of what he had been hiding all those years. Gerald had no immediate family, and so was forced to call Diynah to care for the child while he worked. This allowed Diynah to do her motherly duty, but was only able to stay in the Human World long enough by sheer force of will. She was forced to depart shortly after Gerald returned each day, and so the two were reduced to seeing each other when Gerald had days off. Eventually, he was able to confide his secret in a long standing civilian friend named Eila who acted as Valentin’s nanny for several years. She was eventually forced to resign once the blue-haired child taught himself to teleport: It was just too stressful.
At that point, Valentin was now five and Gerald was fourty-two. Now a senior member of the research staff, Gerald was able to use his better pay and higher status to negotiate a much more lenient schedule, allowing him to become much more involved in Valentin’s life. The curious child was well aware that there was a world outside their home, and was beginning to beg to be a part of it. Looking to prevent the child from getting into trouble, and knowing that it couldn’t be avoided for much longer anyway, he began to entreat Diynah to spirit them away from the city where the boy could experience the world outside. But after a time, that was not enough . Valentin wanted to meet other people, and his father could hardly deny him that when he looked into his eyes. Doing his best to explain to the young boy why secrecy was necessary, he clipped his nails, dyed his hair, tucked his tail into his clothes, and provided him with a pair of contacts to make his eyes a natural shade of brown. Finally the boy was able to go out in public and explore the amazing city of Esthar. (Even if it was maddening to have his tail bound.)
Gerald was able to stay under the radar until Valentin started exhibiting cases of unintentional magic. It was in his blood, after all. His mother gave him a necklace, the Twin Stars, when he was nine and began training him in the use of his abilities so he could control them. When word got around that Gerald had a son, many people were shocked. Since when had the friendly, open man been keeping such a major secret? Apparently the fact that the boy could perform real magic, without drawing it from monsters (!), had something to do with it. A male Sorcerer? Whispers and rumors started to circulate. It was when his superiors asked to “meet” his son that Gerald knew that the charade could be kept no longer. Gathering up the hidden remnants of his research and calling Diynah, he asked her to take them far, far from Esthar. There was only one place in the entire world that the learned man could see them having a peaceful existence if they didn’t want to live alone in the middle of nowhere. Begging the Shumi Village for asylum, the oddball family was allowed to live in peace.
Living among the Shumi, Gerald offered his services maintaining the advanced technology that allowed the village to exist underground in return for his keep. There, Valentin was able to live a peaceful life without having to hide his nature. He learned the art of swordsmanship from one of the Shumi, who despite being pacifistic had acquired the knowledge for knowledge’s sake. At the same time, his mother continued to teach him how to control his innate powers. When he was twelve, his father finally relented and with the supervision of his mother allowed him to hunt monsters above ground for their valuable components. These could in turn be sold to the odd outsider as well as used to make medicines. In this way, Valentin finally felt like he was doing his part to help the community. Time passed and Valentin grew into a young man. At the age of sixteen he was able to freely leave the village to hunt by himself.
One day after a rather heated argument with his father, Valentin gave in to the itch to see his old home again. Teleporting to Esthar, he failed to predict just how negatively people would react to him. Not only was his teleportation into the city immediately noticed by Esthar’s advanced technology, but the panicked crowds would have given him away anyway. Cries of “Monster!” filled the air and soon a military response was organized. Distraught at how people reacted to him, a depressed Valentin was about to teleport home when he was ambushed by a platoon of soldiers. Too stunned to think properly and simply warp away, Valentin stared on as the soldiers followed standard procedure for dealing with a magical beast; silence and subdue it. Suddenly unable to use any of his powers, let alone teleport (or speak in his defense for that matter), Valentin, who had not brought his sword, was helplessly beat into unconsciousness.
Before he could be put down for good, a curious Scan by an officer revealed that he was not a creature currently known to exist. Thus, he was instead turned over to the scientists of Esthar instead. When he awoke, he found himself in a prision-like environment and bound by a collar that nullified his powers. The Twin Stars were gone. Over time, he found out that he was in some sort of underwater research facility. Each day he was subjected to invasive, if not completely inhumane tests. No matter how many times he told them that he was human, the researchers either ignored or spurned him, laughing openly in his face. Over time, the tests got gradually worse until he was being routinely tortured without so much as the blink of any eye from his captors. Eventually, the functionality of his powers was restored under close supervision so they too could be tested. To Valentin’s horror, he found that some sort of ward prevented him from teleporting away from the center: He was stranded.
Eventually, one of the researchers got lazy and forgot to reactivate the device that bound him, now a ring around his ankle. Before anybody could realize what was happening, he had killed the few men present and began a desperate attempt to make it to the surface, reasoning that maybe, just maybe, if he made it to the surface he could warp away and escape the nightmare he was trapped in. His mad dash went mostly unhindered due to the fact that the researchers on the higher floors didn’t have the protocols to reactivate the sealing device. In fact, many of them probably didn’t have the clearance to even know that he even existed. Word of his escape had spread, however, and when he got to the top floor a very unhappy and out of breath Director of Research was waiting for him with Bahamut himself. The ensuing scuffle was more of a pathetic struggle as Valentin was quickly robbed of his powers once more and subdued. After that particular incident, his captors started placing him in pod that rendered him in a stasis-like state when they had no need for him.
Time now passed in bursts, for the time spent in stasis seemed to not exist at all. One day, the now seventeen year old Valentin awoke strangely sore and to a very different sight. When he had last been put to sleep, the center was sterile, brightly lit, and always bustling. In the blink of an eye, it had become dusty, dark, and completely silent. What he didn’t know was that while his body was being preserved in the pod, the facility had undergone an emergency evacuation and was completely abandoned. Unnerved, and with half a mind that it was some sort of test, he sought out the smell of anything living and found absolutely nothing. Suddenly aware that he could feel his powers, he looked down to find the device inactive.
At first, totally lost and unable to process what was occurring, he wandered the facility to find the same sight at each turn. Papers scattered and mugs shattered against the floor. Doors thrown open haphazardly, and chairs upended. People had obviously left in a hurry. The reality of the concept finally hitting him, the hair on the back of his head rankled. Was he in danger? Setting an immediate list of priorities, he searched for the presence of his Twin Stars, and was rewarded with feeling its aura several floors above him. With an experimental thought, he attempted to teleport to this destination and was rewarded with success. Whatever had powered the wards had fallen in the absence of the researchers, most likely failing at the same time his pod had finally run out of juice to maintain the stasis. There, off to the side under a desk was his precious necklace, apparently dropped and then kicked there by unseeing feet. Artifact around his neck once more, he cried in desperate joy as he teleported back home. The feeling didn’t last long.
Upon his return, the shocked Shumi Elder informed him that over thirty years had passed since Valentin had left and that his father had long ago left seeking his missing son and never returned. The trinket that bound his mother to the Human World had always been on his person, and so she too was lost to him. In desperation, he left to travel the world looking for his missing parents. Everywhere he went, he got the same reaction. “Monster!” “Someone kill it!” Embittered and deeply scarred from his experiences, he never would find out what happened to his father.
Living a hermetic life of crime to sustain himself, Valentin was eighteen when the portals appeared. It was then that the voice rung out as clear as day in his head. “I can feel you… feel that your soul thirsts for revenge... Do you want to make them pay? Do you want them to know pain? The ones who took everything from you? The horrible, selfish humans that consume whatever they desire like a plague of locusts? We can reunite you with your mother... All we ask is that you help us obtain our own goals...”
And so he began his descent into darkness, living a life of crime for his new master, a Vierran l’cie puppet of the Fal’Cie.
Thousands of years later, a scientist working for the Estharian Government would make a breakthrough discovery: A paramagical device that was able to call and keep Espers, now colloquially known as Guardian Forces, in the world of humans for extended periods of time. Severely worried about the consequences of such technology being allowed to fall into the hands of others, Gerald Richter destroyed the bulk of his research but continued to experiment with the device in secret. Eventually he managed to call an Esper never before recorded by modern science. It was a creature that appeared somewhat human, but possessing overt lion-like features, silver eyes, and shockingly blue hair. That Esper, a female Torama named Diynah (die-nuh; fittingly meaning “judgement”), was quite surprised to see a human herself after falling into slumber. Judging the man with the talents given to her, she saw his heart was good and as such didn’t kill him on the spot for the insolent act of calling her unbidden. The pair came to an agreement; He would continue to call on her and prevent her from falling into slumber once more. In return, she would share the ancient knowledge she possessed. Their relationship gradually changed from businesslike to casual. From casual to friendly. From friendly to intimate. Eventually a baby boy was born, possessing feline fangs, yellow eyes, and both a tail and a crop of blue hair. They named him Valentin (vah-len-teen; “strong, healthy”) after his instantly noted vitality.
Things were difficult at first; He couldn’t let anybody within the government catch wind of what he had been hiding all those years. Gerald had no immediate family, and so was forced to call Diynah to care for the child while he worked. This allowed Diynah to do her motherly duty, but was only able to stay in the Human World long enough by sheer force of will. She was forced to depart shortly after Gerald returned each day, and so the two were reduced to seeing each other when Gerald had days off. Eventually, he was able to confide his secret in a long standing civilian friend named Eila who acted as Valentin’s nanny for several years. She was eventually forced to resign once the blue-haired child taught himself to teleport: It was just too stressful.
At that point, Valentin was now five and Gerald was fourty-two. Now a senior member of the research staff, Gerald was able to use his better pay and higher status to negotiate a much more lenient schedule, allowing him to become much more involved in Valentin’s life. The curious child was well aware that there was a world outside their home, and was beginning to beg to be a part of it. Looking to prevent the child from getting into trouble, and knowing that it couldn’t be avoided for much longer anyway, he began to entreat Diynah to spirit them away from the city where the boy could experience the world outside. But after a time, that was not enough . Valentin wanted to meet other people, and his father could hardly deny him that when he looked into his eyes. Doing his best to explain to the young boy why secrecy was necessary, he clipped his nails, dyed his hair, tucked his tail into his clothes, and provided him with a pair of contacts to make his eyes a natural shade of brown. Finally the boy was able to go out in public and explore the amazing city of Esthar. (Even if it was maddening to have his tail bound.)
Gerald was able to stay under the radar until Valentin started exhibiting cases of unintentional magic. It was in his blood, after all. His mother gave him a necklace, the Twin Stars, when he was nine and began training him in the use of his abilities so he could control them. When word got around that Gerald had a son, many people were shocked. Since when had the friendly, open man been keeping such a major secret? Apparently the fact that the boy could perform real magic, without drawing it from monsters (!), had something to do with it. A male Sorcerer? Whispers and rumors started to circulate. It was when his superiors asked to “meet” his son that Gerald knew that the charade could be kept no longer. Gathering up the hidden remnants of his research and calling Diynah, he asked her to take them far, far from Esthar. There was only one place in the entire world that the learned man could see them having a peaceful existence if they didn’t want to live alone in the middle of nowhere. Begging the Shumi Village for asylum, the oddball family was allowed to live in peace.
Living among the Shumi, Gerald offered his services maintaining the advanced technology that allowed the village to exist underground in return for his keep. There, Valentin was able to live a peaceful life without having to hide his nature. He learned the art of swordsmanship from one of the Shumi, who despite being pacifistic had acquired the knowledge for knowledge’s sake. At the same time, his mother continued to teach him how to control his innate powers. When he was twelve, his father finally relented and with the supervision of his mother allowed him to hunt monsters above ground for their valuable components. These could in turn be sold to the odd outsider as well as used to make medicines. In this way, Valentin finally felt like he was doing his part to help the community. Time passed and Valentin grew into a young man. At the age of sixteen he was able to freely leave the village to hunt by himself.
One day after a rather heated argument with his father, Valentin gave in to the itch to see his old home again. Teleporting to Esthar, he failed to predict just how negatively people would react to him. Not only was his teleportation into the city immediately noticed by Esthar’s advanced technology, but the panicked crowds would have given him away anyway. Cries of “Monster!” filled the air and soon a military response was organized. Distraught at how people reacted to him, a depressed Valentin was about to teleport home when he was ambushed by a platoon of soldiers. Too stunned to think properly and simply warp away, Valentin stared on as the soldiers followed standard procedure for dealing with a magical beast; silence and subdue it. Suddenly unable to use any of his powers, let alone teleport (or speak in his defense for that matter), Valentin, who had not brought his sword, was helplessly beat into unconsciousness.
Before he could be put down for good, a curious Scan by an officer revealed that he was not a creature currently known to exist. Thus, he was instead turned over to the scientists of Esthar instead. When he awoke, he found himself in a prision-like environment and bound by a collar that nullified his powers. The Twin Stars were gone. Over time, he found out that he was in some sort of underwater research facility. Each day he was subjected to invasive, if not completely inhumane tests. No matter how many times he told them that he was human, the researchers either ignored or spurned him, laughing openly in his face. Over time, the tests got gradually worse until he was being routinely tortured without so much as the blink of any eye from his captors. Eventually, the functionality of his powers was restored under close supervision so they too could be tested. To Valentin’s horror, he found that some sort of ward prevented him from teleporting away from the center: He was stranded.
Eventually, one of the researchers got lazy and forgot to reactivate the device that bound him, now a ring around his ankle. Before anybody could realize what was happening, he had killed the few men present and began a desperate attempt to make it to the surface, reasoning that maybe, just maybe, if he made it to the surface he could warp away and escape the nightmare he was trapped in. His mad dash went mostly unhindered due to the fact that the researchers on the higher floors didn’t have the protocols to reactivate the sealing device. In fact, many of them probably didn’t have the clearance to even know that he even existed. Word of his escape had spread, however, and when he got to the top floor a very unhappy and out of breath Director of Research was waiting for him with Bahamut himself. The ensuing scuffle was more of a pathetic struggle as Valentin was quickly robbed of his powers once more and subdued. After that particular incident, his captors started placing him in pod that rendered him in a stasis-like state when they had no need for him.
Time now passed in bursts, for the time spent in stasis seemed to not exist at all. One day, the now seventeen year old Valentin awoke strangely sore and to a very different sight. When he had last been put to sleep, the center was sterile, brightly lit, and always bustling. In the blink of an eye, it had become dusty, dark, and completely silent. What he didn’t know was that while his body was being preserved in the pod, the facility had undergone an emergency evacuation and was completely abandoned. Unnerved, and with half a mind that it was some sort of test, he sought out the smell of anything living and found absolutely nothing. Suddenly aware that he could feel his powers, he looked down to find the device inactive.
At first, totally lost and unable to process what was occurring, he wandered the facility to find the same sight at each turn. Papers scattered and mugs shattered against the floor. Doors thrown open haphazardly, and chairs upended. People had obviously left in a hurry. The reality of the concept finally hitting him, the hair on the back of his head rankled. Was he in danger? Setting an immediate list of priorities, he searched for the presence of his Twin Stars, and was rewarded with feeling its aura several floors above him. With an experimental thought, he attempted to teleport to this destination and was rewarded with success. Whatever had powered the wards had fallen in the absence of the researchers, most likely failing at the same time his pod had finally run out of juice to maintain the stasis. There, off to the side under a desk was his precious necklace, apparently dropped and then kicked there by unseeing feet. Artifact around his neck once more, he cried in desperate joy as he teleported back home. The feeling didn’t last long.
Upon his return, the shocked Shumi Elder informed him that over thirty years had passed since Valentin had left and that his father had long ago left seeking his missing son and never returned. The trinket that bound his mother to the Human World had always been on his person, and so she too was lost to him. In desperation, he left to travel the world looking for his missing parents. Everywhere he went, he got the same reaction. “Monster!” “Someone kill it!” Embittered and deeply scarred from his experiences, he never would find out what happened to his father.
Living a hermetic life of crime to sustain himself, Valentin was eighteen when the portals appeared. It was then that the voice rung out as clear as day in his head. “I can feel you… feel that your soul thirsts for revenge... Do you want to make them pay? Do you want them to know pain? The ones who took everything from you? The horrible, selfish humans that consume whatever they desire like a plague of locusts? We can reunite you with your mother... All we ask is that you help us obtain our own goals...”
And so he began his descent into darkness, living a life of crime for his new master, a Vierran l’cie puppet of the Fal’Cie.
Abilities:
- Psionic Heritage: For any purpose that may call it into question, Valentin’s half-Esper bloodline effectively makes him un-human enough to be considered a monster. Run his bloodwork? Gadzooks, a monster! Have a skill that crits against monsters? He’s a sad panda. Blue Mages can actually copy his “Abilities” unlike attempts to do so on other humans. Some kind of ward that points out or repels creatures? They’ll work. Etc. Etc.
It comes with a few perks though. He has a natural cat-like grace and is able to perform acrobatic feats with or without the help of his powers. (The latter being decidedly superhuman) It’s also possible for him to slow a fall to a safe speed by use of his powers. His senses of hearing and smell are superior to the average hume, and his running speed is close to inhuman. - Metaphysical Regeneration: Subconscious psychic impulses automatically regulate and optimize Valentin’s bodily processes. This leads not only to a vastly increased pool of stamina and rate of healing, but also the ability to completely regenerate blood, lost/damaged limbs, and even organs. (In the mean-time, the speed of the passive regenerative process gives him the ability to survive pretty much any blow that isn’t immediately lethal, although it doesn’t mean that he’s in any condition to fight.) It isn’t instant, but an opponent will likely see some of the wounds they inflict begin to close and heal over within the course of the same battle. Superficial cuts heal completely within about two minutes, while deeper wounds may take five or more. Organs and limbs are intact once again after a good night’s rest.
On a side note, this allows Valentin to handle toxins, disease, and biological agents of all kinds with aplomb. If the agent in question isn’t notably powerful, his body will probably metabolize/destroy it before it can manifest any symptoms whatsoever. If it happens to be particularly virulent, he will still come down with symptoms but nowhere near as severe as the “next guy”. His aging has also slowed to a grind, but it will be a while before it becomes apparent.
tl;dr: Two passive abilities = A quick acrobatic dude with particularly slow passive regen and (near) immunity to poison. - Heaven’s Cataract: Focusing his psionic powers, Valentin releases a wave of near-invisible, fluctuating psychic energy in a wide area in front of him. The vibrations attack anything caught within it on the molecular level, damaging it and weakening its structure. Reduces defense and magic defense. Three post cool down.
- Mind Blast: A psychic blast straight to the mind of a single creature. It has no visible manifestation beyond a brief, furious glow of Valentin’s eyes. The effects of inflicting mental trauma are unpredictable, but always unpleasant. For whatever reason, it doesn’t always work. Attempts to randomly inflict one of the following: Stun/paralyze, confuse, sleep, or addle/amnesia. Four post cooldown.
- Blaster: When Valentin finds himself in dire straits, his connection to the Coeurls can be seen in what many would call his “Limit Break”. A spark of psionic energy not unlike a bolt of chain-lightning is made to lash out at the source of his woe. Attacking the very essence of the target(s)’ life (whatever that may be), a victim of the technique will either die outright (most non-PCs) or find themselves instantly stricken near death if they possess a more vibrant life force. (special non-PCs, most PCs) More extreme examples of powerful creatures may be able to weather the blow, but will still end up taking an impressive amount of damage. (strongest non-PCs, some PCs) Seven post cooldown.
Summons: n/a
Magic:
- Teleport: One of the first spells that Valentin mastered as a child, proving his innate talent with Time Magic and providing hours of entertainment. Later in life it still retains a great deal of practical use. His particular version works only on himself (or anybody touching him, though he has to travel wherever he takes the passengers), and serves to transport him anywhere he can see or has physically been before. Two post cooldown.
- Demi: Three post cooldown.
- Slow-Slowga: Four post cooldown.
- Erase-Erasega: White Magic used to negate positive status effects on affected targets. Out of battle it can be used to destroy magical obstacles and remove enchantments. He’s fairly proficient in its use. Four post cooldown.
- Comet: Near-forgotten Time Magic passed down to Valentin from his mother. Baby brother of the more famous, but forbidden-for-a-reason Meteor. Summons a much smaller shower of much smaller space rocks to explosively bombard a target. The final result is about five meteors the size of beach balls. Its nature makes the Reflect spell useless against it. Five post cooldown.
Strengths:
- Intelligent
- Powerful magician and user of monster skills
- Quick and precise
Weaknesses:
- Emotionally stunted and distrustful
- Often considered a monster; makes enemies
- Easily manipulated into doing evil
Weapon:
- Flyssa: A long, thin blade with no hand guard to speak of. Its size and shape lend itself to both slashing and piercing attacks. Valentin's particular version happens to be a Rune Blade in keeping with his more magical style.
Crushes:
- None worth mentioning as of yet.
How did you find us?:
- Affiliation ref from KHRPF.
Role Play Sample:
The harshness of the florescent lighting once again crashed into Valentin’s eyes as he was thrust into a very familiar room. White. An impressive expanse of white broken only by a mesh of grey lines to form a grid of identical squares. Twenty feet or so above him, the blaring lights met with a row of standing window panes so his captors could look down on him. Always with this eye-seering artificial room; apparently they wanted a clear view of what was occurring at all times. Undoubtedly the grid pattern was used to measure distance when they went back and ran whatever data they managed to glean from these little sessions. Though to call them little was downplaying the danger a fair bit. A loud electronic beep echoed across the empty expanse, and looking down he was greeted with the sight of his collar having been turned off for the moment. Throwing an absent glance backwards, he wasn’t the least bit surprised to see that the entrance he’d come through moments before had seemingly ceased to exist.
With a familiar electric hum, he found himself no longer in the room. The spider-like robots that had previously been camouflaged in the room had dropped their stealth fields, and he found himself staring down four of the beasts for the time bring. Each was wider across than he was tall, though they stood at about half his height. Another familiar sound, this one a sizzling hiss, alerted him that a very real explosive device was headed his way. Not about to stick around for the impact, Valentin was more than happy to show off his blistering speed as he dashed to his right. Feeling the wind from the detonation behind him, he didn’t waste time lashing out with a well-placed Heaven’s Cataract. Eyes blazing yellow, the halfbreed sent the near invisible wave of force baring into the nearest cluster of three bots. Rewarded with the spiders recoiling under the blow, he immediately threw a Demi at them with all his might. As the weakened creatures groaned and eventually fell to pieces under the deep purple gravity field, the blue haired teen couldn’t help but allow himself a sense of smug satisfaction; he was getting a lot faster at this.
The last two would still have to be dealt with, however, and he allowed himself a groan when they quickly shot in opposite directions and started to climb the walls. They were almost acting startled, which only highlighted Valentin’s question as to whether or not they were AI controlled, or being directly manipulated by humans. The legs of the one on his left, farther away than the one to his right, opened to reveal a mechanism containing several red-tipped missiles, causing Valentin to balk.
’Oh shit, that’s a new one!’
[/color] was about the only semi-intelligent thought he was able to muster before the cache sent three whistling missiles directly towards him. Breaking towards his right in an attempt to dodge the projectiles, he couldn’t help but wonder if they were actually trying to kill him. He’d been caught by the other variety of explosive before, but it was more of a searing disabling pain than a lethal shockwave. To his horror, he found that they were tracing his path and were still on a direct collision course. Thinking as fast as he could manage, he broke towards the nearby wall at maximum speed before making an impressive flying leap. Using his momentum to push back off of the wall, he thrust himself into a backflip just in time for the missiles to detonate under him. The resulting force was far from lethal, but he felt something in his leg break as he was blown farther into the air. The report from the explosion had literally been deafening, and he was aware of a vague ringing as he tried to collect his swimming vision. Unable to collect himself enough to stop his fall, he felt some arm bones and several ribs go as well as he made harsh contact with the floor below.With a familiar electric hum, he found himself no longer in the room. The spider-like robots that had previously been camouflaged in the room had dropped their stealth fields, and he found himself staring down four of the beasts for the time bring. Each was wider across than he was tall, though they stood at about half his height. Another familiar sound, this one a sizzling hiss, alerted him that a very real explosive device was headed his way. Not about to stick around for the impact, Valentin was more than happy to show off his blistering speed as he dashed to his right. Feeling the wind from the detonation behind him, he didn’t waste time lashing out with a well-placed Heaven’s Cataract. Eyes blazing yellow, the halfbreed sent the near invisible wave of force baring into the nearest cluster of three bots. Rewarded with the spiders recoiling under the blow, he immediately threw a Demi at them with all his might. As the weakened creatures groaned and eventually fell to pieces under the deep purple gravity field, the blue haired teen couldn’t help but allow himself a sense of smug satisfaction; he was getting a lot faster at this.
The last two would still have to be dealt with, however, and he allowed himself a groan when they quickly shot in opposite directions and started to climb the walls. They were almost acting startled, which only highlighted Valentin’s question as to whether or not they were AI controlled, or being directly manipulated by humans. The legs of the one on his left, farther away than the one to his right, opened to reveal a mechanism containing several red-tipped missiles, causing Valentin to balk.
’Oh shit, that’s a new one!’
Pain seemingly searing through every nerve, Valentin looked up to see the two remaining assailants gliding confidently toward him to knock him unconscious for extraction. It was done; he had been defeated. Some part of him, however, was not done. Seeing red in his agony, his eyes flared yellow once more as he bared his teeth with a snarl. As soon as the bots came close enough to each other, a high pitched whine followed by a vacuum-like whoosh cut the air as bolt of what seemed to be silver lightning ripped through the two of them in the blink of an eye. An instant later, both fried bots crashed spread eagle like a pair of puppets with their strings cut. As Valentin finally surrendered himself to oblivion, a startled researcher watching from on high could only utter one word:
”Blaster!?”[/center]
Password: Glorious Walruses. …All hail the great walrus?[/size]
User note: I’m sorry if there are plot holes in his History. It kinda turned into a runaway train, and the longer it gets, the more opportunities there are for that kind of thing to pop up. >//< Also, I don’t think I was very subtle about the fact that I intend him to be a good guy after a while. I also kinda just generally hope that this is any good at all. >_>
