No offense intended. But there's a sweet spot on the sliding scale of realism, and most of the interest checks I usually see skew too far to the realism end for me.
2
likes
9 yrs ago
Can't describe how quickly I go from excited to sad when a mecha premise turns out to be realism wankery.
Red Harbor was cold at night, even in summer. And summer it certainly was not. The chill came in from the water in a way not entirely physical, that carried with it a fear of what might be found come morning. The harbor had earned its name for a reason. Acheri always found it a little odd that they had set up shop here, where they were too late to stop something before it happened, but usually decided she was reading too much into it. It was just the easiest place to find a space that wouldn't be noticed. Still the locale required a certain preparation.
That was why Acheri walked the street with a warm wool overcoat, hands in her pockets. That and the fact that such a coat could hide her tools of the trade. Vigilante trade, though if she rooted through her pockets probably remained a notepad or pen from the daytime. It was also one reason she wondered whether this girl at the bus stop was alright; walking Red Harbor with so light a coat was hazardous. As was walking it at this time of night.
Which was the other reason.
A few blocks back, after some sounds of struggle, she had found two men unconscious. Their aim wasn't hard to guess, but a better question was who stopped them. Not one of her compatriots, if she trusted her gut. Not to mention that off the top of her head, they didn't use heat and the men exhibited signs of scorching. As did this young woman's jacket. The bus stop she lingered at was too close to their base for her to want to approach until she left, anyway, so she had time. And if she could lend a hand before she really went to work, even better if it could be a hand and not a fist for once, she would.
”Red Harbor’s not the safest this time of night. What’s got you out here this late?” A pause, and Acheri gave a friendly smile. ”Doesn’t really matter, I suppose. Would you mind if stayed until you got on the bus? Don't like leaving people alone in this part of town.”
Written Description: At 5’6”, Acheri Solomon does not look particularly menacing. She would have to really, really work at it to look anything approaching intimidating, and it still probably wouldn’t work. She’s a little too short, a little too slim, and a little too friendly-looking for that. The smile perpetually adorning her attractively strong face (which only gets wider when she’s around her friends) is as infectious as anything the medical doctors (not that sort of doctorate, Mom) handle, and there is no vaccine. The eyes above that grin are a deep, deep green, with black hair that falls down to her shoulders framing them. Her skin is a little lighter than her mother’s, but her heritage is unmistakable. Another trait she inherited from her mother is a very faint cleft in the chin; though it's barely noticeable, it's another mark of her ancestry.
She generally dresses casually, albeit not messily. Her hair is well kept, and her standard combination of jeans and a shirt always pair at least reasonably well together. Work requires more formal attire, but it is not her preference in off hours.
Personality: Acheri can be simple or very, very complex depending on how deeply you contemplate her motives. She is passionate about her job, a passion that leads her to work long hours performing a role that will only make her enemies. Anything to do with her work holds her attention, and she will engage at length with anyone that can provide a fresh insight or information she hasn’t considered. She is tireless and driven, bordering on implacable once her path is decided. Most people would call this admirable in an Assistant State’s Attorney, but in Independence City… Many see a thorn in their side.
Those are the people who see the flip side of these attributes, the fire that drives her and the steel that sustains her. Her position in Independence City could be a very, very lucrative one for someone with looser morals. A prosecutor, even an assistant one, is a very useful card up one’s sleeve. Corrupt businessmen, cartels, the Mafia and even the police would very much like to have the prosecution in their pocket. In many cases they succeed. Prosecutors in Independence City are notoriously corrupt, or at the very least apathetic. Acheri, on the other hand, performs her duties with the utmost integrity. Bribery won’t sway her, and threats have yet to stop her. Not that the city’s criminal elements haven’t started considering more… Permanent solution. The police find no quarter, either, not even when letting their actions slide might mean putting someone away for life.
There is a right, there is a wrong, and Acheri firmly believes that it is her job (and everyone else’s) to see the difference. And to act on it. That doesn’t simply mean “stare disapprovingly” in Acheri’s world. Bystander syndrome is an abhorrent concept in her eyes, and one she strives to defy every day. If something is wrong she’s damn well going to do something about it. Conviction is critical, even if she can be more than a little outspoken. What’s right is right, even if it’s unpopular. The right thing to do is the right thing to do. This conflicts with her belief in the law on an almost daily basis, especially in Independence City. Vigilantism is illegal, even if she believes it’s the right thing to do. Her desire for due process wars with her perception that due process isn’t getting anywhere.
Still, she has her principles. Vigilantism, despite her reluctance, is a mean to a proper end. It is not an excuse to become the judge, the jury, and the executioner. Murder is murder, and that is a low to which she will not stoop. By no stretch will she shy away from a fight if it is necessary, and her principles by no means blind her to the reality of the city’s inhabitants, but she will avoid lethal force as long as humanly possible.
Outside of her professional and “extracurricular” life, Acheri is a calm person. She’ll save her boundless energy for people she knows will appreciate it, treating most strangers a little distantly albeit politely. She has an abiding love for heroic fiction from all sorts of sources, an affection frequently indulged in on her days off.
Backstory: Acheri Solomon was born to an admittedly eclectic melting pool of a family out in Arizona. Her mother was a Hopi Indian, and made sure she was versed in their culture even if they didn’t live on their land. Her father was an aspiring author with a love for myth and legend, telling her bedtime stories of gods and heroes. This homebrew of Hopi culture, heroic tales from across the globe, and Saturday morning cartoons was bound to instill a belief in heroism.
Most of her childhood, all things considered, was pretty uneventful. The Solomon household didn’t make very much money, but they made enough to get by. Little Acheri grew up reading books and catching her cartoons when they were on public TV on Saturdays, exercising her imagination through these simpler stories than the peers that grew up with nonstop access to Cartoon Network. She was a bright kid, and that love of reading gave her an early edge over classmates that hadn’t really been exposed to literature much before school. That edge only ever really grew, swelling alongside her fascination with the subject material in all of her classes. For the most part, though, her elementary school years were pretty normal. Though her parents had to admit that the occasional phone call because she elected to square off with a would-be-bully herself, rather than get a teacher, were a mild problem. Not really one that they could ever bring themselves to punish her for; technically she never really did anything wrong, and punishing her for standing up for herself was the exact opposite lesson they wanted to teach. So they tried to push her towards asking the teacher for help when she could, explaining sometimes you had to work with the system and that explanation generally cut down on the issues. Not eliminate, but they figured it was the best they were going to get.
The only unexpected thing she ever did was ask to take martial arts lessons. Her parents never really quite figured out why but it was the one thing Acheri was ever really insistent on asking for. It wasn’t really in the family budget… But as tight as it was, and with a little help from her grandparents, they found a way to make it work. She took to them with as much enthusiasm as she ever did her schoolwork, and sought to learn everything she could. By the time she was halfway through her freshman year of high school she was working a part time job to help pay for her own lessons.
Though that wasn’t the only reason for working a job. Her parents redoubled their efforts, both in work and in saving, with college on the horizon but there was a fear that the Solomons wouldn’t be able to pay for it. Acheri wasn’t looking at expensive schools, but her parents were determined that she would be able to go. Every spare penny went into saving, from their jobs and hers, and Acheri threw herself into her schoolwork. If she pursued the career she wanted she would need as many scholarships as she could get. Balancing school, work, and extracurriculars was far, far from easy but Acheri kept herself on top of it.
She was rewarded for her efforts, too. She graduated in the top ten students of her class, bound for school on the east coast with almost a full ride. Her college savings were enough to handle her Bachelor’s degree, as long as she kept up with a job during college, but she was slated for at least three more years even when she finished that. Despite the challenges she loved it. She loved living on campus, the classes she took, and all the new activities campus life offered. Not only could she keep up with what she learned from her old martial arts lessons, there was an even greater variety of styles to learn and explore. And clubs with appreciation for the fiction she enjoyed! Even the more niche things!
Acheri eventually graduated with her J.D. from University of Maryland School of Law, and landed a job as an Assistant State’s Attorney. She actually requested her placement in Independence City, seeing it as the place she could do the most good.
The reality… Has been harsh. Though she hasn’t lost her conviction, the city was in significantly worse shape than she could have expected. Attempts to buy her off began in her first week, threats in her first month, and attempts at blackmail by her third. By the time she’d been there a year she was watching for attempts on her life. It wouldn’t have been the first time the criminal element had done such a thing, and she had gotten on the bad side of all of them.
Gaining powers had not been something she expected, least of all from tap water. Her decision to take up vigilantism was… Complicated, and not without hesitation. It still isn’t. But her commitment to cleaning up the city was real, and if she had been handed powers, wasn’t it her responsibility to use them?
Carried Weapons/Items: The only weapon, per se, that Acheri carries is an expandable steel baton for self defense. The Maglite flashlight she keeps in her car serves a similar, albeit improvised purpose. She also carries a Swiss army knife.
For use with her power, however, she carries a handful of seemingly eclectic items; a paracord bracelet, a few feet of rolled up string, a couple of large Sharpies, and strangely… A collapsible hula hoop.
Superpowers: Acheri has come to call her ability Ward, as it is the best descriptor she can give it. She can create unseen, but solid projections of energy that function primarily as barriers. Simple enough, but she has discovered a few quirks through her experimentation. She has to be able to visualize the boundaries of the construct she is planning to create, and keep that picture fixed in her head. Preparation is a factor as well. A construct she creates on the fly will require constant energy to maintain, lapsing either when she stops supplying energy or stops envisioning it. With time to prepare, however, she can infuse a construct with a given supply of energy that she can add to at any time. Planning ahead becomes a necessity. With an appropriate visual aid she can keep a relatively specific construct easily maintained, or with time to prepare she won’t need to actively maintain it.
As such she tends to group her constructs into Active Wards, and Passive Wards. Active Wards are constructs she creates in the field as needed, using quick reference points or portable aid to create them quickly and efficiently. The more specific the reference point, the easier to maintain though she can work with just about anything. As long as she can keep it pictured in her mind, she can maintain it. Passive Wards are things she prepares ahead of time, and with a fixed amount of energy; for example, her apartment is reinforced with Passive Wards. These constructs have been carefully prepared and are backed by energy pools that she has added to over time, and thus are self sustaining. Passive Constructs aren’t more difficult to make, but they require appropriate preparation for any real permanence. The more often she can spare energy to reinforce them, the longer they’ll last and the more punishment they can take.
Her constructs are invisible to other people unless touched or struck, at which point they will seem to shimmer faintly until contact ceases. Acheri always sees them in this state. They are solid, and while they mostly serve defensive purposes they can be used for utilitarian ones. A thin enough construct could even be used as an impromptu blade, or a thicker one as a bludgeon.
Skills: Skilled martial artist, first and foremost. Quick thinker. Exceptionally well read on matters of law and criminal procedure, as well as generally well-read due to a voracious reading habit. Disturbing caffeine tolerance.
@Krayzikk Okay, lay it on me, what's the deal breaker? I think we can work something out. (I.e. Eat Dust, bleed fire? Or shoot up Dust.)
Honestly, it was right around in here;
<Snipped quote by Krayzikk> Not going to lie, I like it as a trait, but then some things are going to need to be tweaked, and it just can't be a Semblance. Maybe a bit of the history as well?
I didn't mind changing the picture, the Semblance definitely needed a mechanics rework, but honestly starting to need tweaks to history and such starts to be more than I really want to do. Usually the sort of thing that I spend the most time crafting, and what I least want to change.
Aaaaaaalright, that should do it for a first draft. Borrowed some bits from an older CS so I'll make sure there's nothing missing in the morning, but for now...
Name: Acheri Solomon
Nicknames/Aliases:
Age: 24
Gender: Female
Allegiance: Patron Saints
Written Description: At 5’6”, Acheri Solomon does not look particularly menacing. She would have to really, really work at it to look anything approaching intimidating, and it still probably wouldn’t work. She’s a little too short, a little too slim, and a little too friendly-looking for that. The smile perpetually adorning her attractively strong face (which only gets wider when she’s around her friends) is as infectious as anything the medical doctors (not that sort of doctorate, Mom) handle, and there is no vaccine. The eyes above that grin are a deep, deep green, with black hair that falls down to her shoulders framing them. Her skin is a little lighter than her mother’s, but her heritage is unmistakable. Another trait she inherited from her mother is a very faint cleft in the chin; though it's barely noticeable, it's another mark of her ancestry.
She generally dresses casually, albeit not messily. Her hair is well kept, and her standard combination of jeans and a shirt always pair at least reasonably well together. Work requires more formal attire, but it is not her preference in off hours.
Personality: Acheri can be simple or very, very complex depending on how deeply you contemplate her motives. She is passionate about her job, a passion that leads her to work long hours performing a role that will only make her enemies. Anything to do with her work holds her attention, and she will engage at length with anyone that can provide a fresh insight or information she hasn’t considered. She is tireless and driven, bordering on implacable once her path is decided. Most people would call this admirable in an Assistant State’s Attorney, but in Independence City… Many see a thorn in their side.
Those are the people who see the flip side of these attributes, the fire that drives her and the steel that sustains her. Her position in Independence City could be a very, very lucrative one for someone with looser morals. A prosecutor, even an assistant one, is a very useful card up one’s sleeve. Corrupt businessmen, cartels, the Mafia and even the police would very much like to have the prosecution in their pocket. In many cases they succeed. Prosecutors in Independence City are notoriously corrupt, or at the very least apathetic. Acheri, on the other hand, performs her duties with the utmost integrity. Bribery won’t sway her, and threats have yet to stop her. Not that the city’s criminal elements haven’t started considering more… Permanent solution. The police find no quarter, either, not even when letting their actions slide might mean putting someone away for life.
There is a right, there is a wrong, and Acheri firmly believes that it is her job (and everyone else’s) to see the difference. And to act on it. That doesn’t simply mean “stare disapprovingly” in Acheri’s world. Bystander syndrome is an abhorrent concept in her eyes, and one she strives to defy every day. If something is wrong she’s damn well going to do something about it. Conviction is critical, even if she can be more than a little outspoken. What’s right is right, even if it’s unpopular. The right thing to do is the right thing to do. This conflicts with her belief in the law on an almost daily basis, especially in Independence City. Vigilantism is illegal, even if she believes it’s the right thing to do. Her desire for due process wars with her perception that due process isn’t getting anywhere.
Still, she has her principles. Vigilantism, despite her reluctance, is a mean to a proper end. It is not an excuse to become the judge, the jury, and the executioner. Murder is murder, and that is a low to which she will not stoop. By no stretch will she shy away from a fight if it is necessary, and her principles by no means blind her to the reality of the city’s inhabitants, but she will avoid lethal force as long as humanly possible.
Outside of her professional and “extracurricular” life, Acheri is a calm person. She’ll save her boundless energy for people she knows will appreciate it, treating most strangers a little distantly albeit politely. She has an abiding love for heroic fiction from all sorts of sources, an affection frequently indulged in on her days off.
Backstory: Acheri Solomon was born to an admittedly eclectic melting pool of a family out in Arizona. Her mother was a Hopi Indian, and made sure she was versed in their culture even if they didn’t live on their land. Her father was an aspiring author with a love for myth and legend, telling her bedtime stories of gods and heroes. This homebrew of Hopi culture, heroic tales from across the globe, and Saturday morning cartoons was bound to instill a belief in heroism.
Most of her childhood, all things considered, was pretty uneventful. The Solomon household didn’t make very much money, but they made enough to get by. Little Acheri grew up reading books and catching her cartoons when they were on public TV on Saturdays, exercising her imagination through these simpler stories than the peers that grew up with nonstop access to Cartoon Network. She was a bright kid, and that love of reading gave her an early edge over classmates that hadn’t really been exposed to literature much before school. That edge only ever really grew, swelling alongside her fascination with the subject material in all of her classes. For the most part, though, her elementary school years were pretty normal. Though her parents had to admit that the occasional phone call because she elected to square off with a would-be-bully herself, rather than get a teacher, were a mild problem. Not really one that they could ever bring themselves to punish her for; technically she never really did anything wrong, and punishing her for standing up for herself was the exact opposite lesson they wanted to teach. So they tried to push her towards asking the teacher for help when she could, explaining sometimes you had to work with the system and that explanation generally cut down on the issues. Not eliminate, but they figured it was the best they were going to get.
The only unexpected thing she ever did was ask to take martial arts lessons. Her parents never really quite figured out why but it was the one thing Acheri was ever really insistent on asking for. It wasn’t really in the family budget… But as tight as it was, and with a little help from her grandparents, they found a way to make it work. She took to them with as much enthusiasm as she ever did her schoolwork, and sought to learn everything she could. By the time she was halfway through her freshman year of high school she was working a part time job to help pay for her own lessons.
Though that wasn’t the only reason for working a job. Her parents redoubled their efforts, both in work and in saving, with college on the horizon but there was a fear that the Solomons wouldn’t be able to pay for it. Acheri wasn’t looking at expensive schools, but her parents were determined that she would be able to go. Every spare penny went into saving, from their jobs and hers, and Acheri threw herself into her schoolwork. If she pursued the career she wanted she would need as many scholarships as she could get. Balancing school, work, and extracurriculars was far, far from easy but Acheri kept herself on top of it.
She was rewarded for her efforts, too. She graduated in the top ten students of her class, bound for school on the east coast with almost a full ride. Her college savings were enough to handle her Bachelor’s degree, as long as she kept up with a job during college, but she was slated for at least three more years even when she finished that. Despite the challenges she loved it. She loved living on campus, the classes she took, and all the new activities campus life offered. Not only could she keep up with what she learned from her old martial arts lessons, there was an even greater variety of styles to learn and explore. And clubs with appreciation for the fiction she enjoyed! Even the more niche things!
Acheri eventually graduated with her J.D. from University of Maryland School of Law, and landed a job as an Assistant State’s Attorney. She actually requested her placement in Independence City, seeing it as the place she could do the most good.
The reality… Has been harsh. Though she hasn’t lost her conviction, the city was in significantly worse shape than she could have expected. Attempts to buy her off began in her first week, threats in her first month, and attempts at blackmail by her third. By the time she’d been there a year she was watching for attempts on her life. It wouldn’t have been the first time the criminal element had done such a thing, and she had gotten on the bad side of all of them.
Gaining powers had not been something she expected, least of all from tap water. Her decision to take up vigilantism was… Complicated, and not without hesitation. It still isn’t. But her commitment to cleaning up the city was real, and if she had been handed powers, wasn’t it her responsibility to use them?
Carried Weapons/Items: The only weapon, per se, that Acheri carries is an expandable steel baton for self defense. The Maglite flashlight she keeps in her car serves a similar, albeit improvised purpose. She also carries a Swiss army knife.
For use with her power, however, she carries a handful of seemingly eclectic items; a paracord bracelet, a few feet of rolled up string, a couple of large Sharpies, and strangely… A collapsible hula hoop.
Superpowers: Acheri has come to call her ability Ward, as it is the best descriptor she can give it. She can create unseen, but solid projections of energy that function primarily as barriers. Simple enough, but she has discovered a few quirks through her experimentation. She has to be able to visualize the boundaries of the construct she is planning to create, and keep that picture fixed in her head. Preparation is a factor as well. A construct she creates on the fly will require constant energy to maintain, lapsing either when she stops supplying energy or stops envisioning it. With time to prepare, however, she can infuse a construct with a given supply of energy that she can add to at any time. Planning ahead becomes a necessity. With an appropriate visual aid she can keep a relatively specific construct easily maintained, or with time to prepare she won’t need to actively maintain it.
As such she tends to group her constructs into Active Wards, and Passive Wards. Active Wards are constructs she creates in the field as needed, using quick reference points or portable aid to create them quickly and efficiently. The more specific the reference point, the easier to maintain though she can work with just about anything. As long as she can keep it pictured in her mind, she can maintain it. Passive Wards are things she prepares ahead of time, and with a fixed amount of energy; for example, her apartment is reinforced with Passive Wards. These constructs have been carefully prepared and are backed by energy pools that she has added to over time, and thus are self sustaining. Passive Constructs aren’t more difficult to make, but they require appropriate preparation for any real permanence. The more often she can spare energy to reinforce them, the longer they’ll last and the more punishment they can take.
Her constructs are invisible to other people unless touched or struck, at which point they will seem to shimmer faintly until contact ceases. Acheri always sees them in this state. They are solid, and while they mostly serve defensive purposes they can be used for utilitarian ones. A thin enough construct could even be used as an impromptu blade, or a thicker one as a bludgeon.
Skills: Skilled martial artist, first and foremost. Quick thinker. Exceptionally well read on matters of law and criminal procedure, as well as generally well-read due to a voracious reading habit. Disturbing caffeine tolerance.
Apologies for my lack of notice, but I ended up being rather busy for a few days. After some reflection, I am choosing to withdraw my interest. While many of the tweaks requested for the character I was going to use were both sensible and reasonable, I concluded that others would require too much of a change to my intent.
So while I wish you and this game the best, ultimately I withdraw for creative reasons.
As eccentric as she was being about it, the Commander had a point. The meeting had reached its end, both in the official sense and in its usefulness, and there had not been time for breakfast before attending it. Breakfast seemed very appealing at this point in time. Her ears did perk up a little at Michel's mention of remote-controlled UAVs, resolving to investigate further at a later date, but that was for another time.
Victor did get more of a response, namely when Hazel flicked her pen at him several times in a manner reminiscent of a wagging finger. Nevertheless she pocketed both the pen and the notebook without further commentary, instead gesturing in Shourichi's direction and nodding her agreement.
After a moment, she added in a few signs to help aid the point.
<Mess hall now. Further discussion of security measures later. I require coffee and pancakes.
Ghosthands
Plank Sinatra
UltimoScorp
The World