vietmyke

Skyfall: A Coming of Age Story

Sooooo... What now? @Ellipses?

Straits of Steel (A South East Asian Cyberpunk Thriller)

I'm somewhat satisfied with this, here's my post. Halfway through I ended up pivoting away from lawman and found myself making something similar to a cyberpunk Trauma Team member- but like, the knock off version.

Raymond 'Ray' Cheng

Raymond 'Ray' Cheng

//YOUR SELF

Name: Raymond Cheng, Ray for short

Age: 28

Gender: Male

Affiliation: Formerly Tzu Peace Solutions, currently none.

Appearance:
Raymond is a big man. Standing over most at 6'4", Ray is a bear of a man, built like a truck and hitting just about as hard. He has a serious and imposing demeanor, with a rigid posture and broad shoulders. Raymond has rough facial features, age lines strongly imprinted on his face and lack of youthful enthusiasm implies this man has either seen some shit or isn't wanting to put up with yours. His face is curtained off by a short but thick brown beard, his hair is cut close and kept out of the way. The majority of the left half of his body has been replaced by cybernetics- arm, eye and leg most notably.

//YOUR SOUL

PERSONAL GOAL: A debt to pay. Raymond owes a great deal- including his life to a certain individual. New Malacca is the current hotbed of opportunity for those who don't mind some less-than-legal work, but its not exactly the kinda place you want to retire. Ray wants to get in, make his money while the making is good, then get the fuck out.

LIKES:

• Quiet nights
• Cigars
• Fishing
• Quality Rum and Whiskey

DISLIKES:

• Tzu Peace Solutions
• Liars
• People that don't keep up their end of a deal
• Being indebted to people

REPUTE:
Ray isn't well known in New Malacca, and that's just how he likes it.

To most passer-byes he's a big guy with a big gun and a bad attitude- most mundane folk avoid him because they don't want to fuck with him, the occasional gangster gets in his face because he does want to fuck with him. To fixers, he's muscle with anonymity. Someone who at least looks like they can handle themselves, and no one will ask questions about should he die.

Ray has some reputation for reliability with the local branch of the Black Yangtze. Having done only a few jobs in New Malacca for them- mostly low level work with a need for disposable assets, or people not traceable directly to the Black Yangtze.

HEEL:
Raymond is an addict. A functioning addict, but an addict nonetheless. Alcohol, tobacco, and more recently: painkillers. The severity of his addictions vary, but needless to say without regular access to his vices, he gets... crabby, to say the least. The vices haven't gotten him into trouble on a job- yet, but they're not getting any better, and New Malacca doesn't make things any easier.

CODE:
Honor, respect, honesty. Traits not easily found in New Malacca, and not entirely without warrant. Like trust, Raymond is smart enough to know that blind honesty, respect and honor can get you killed, or worse, depending on your situation. But when given the chance, Raymond prefers to act on these principles, and holds others who do the same in high regard, regardless of their current station or employment.

QUIRKS:
Raymond is commonly seen with a cigar sticking out of his mouth. He carries a variety of cigars on his person, and will use different ones depending on the situation. As a standard, he prefers a nicely wrapped cigar to puff on casually, but he'll reluctantly use an electronic cigar when in situations where light and heat are suboptimal. Occasionally he'll just stick a cigar in his mouth and chew on the end. Raymond is also a lefty.

//YOUR PAST

Raymond Cheng was born to a pair of Tzu Peace Solutions employees in a corporate arcology just a few miles off the coast of Hong Kong. His father was a corporate salaryman, and his mother was a nurse at a local trauma center. Still despite their modest means, most of his childhood was spent in relative security in the megalopolis of Hong Kong. As a child of a pair of corporation employees, Raymond was provided with relatively affordable education for the majority of his childhood- with the caveat that he would join the TPS workforce shortly after he turned 18. Raymond didn't think too much on it- that's how his parents spent their childhood, and its likely how his children would spend theirs.

Scoring well on his mental aptitude tests, but better on his physical ones, Raymond was slotted into one of Tzu Peace Solutions' physical security branches, starting off his career as site security. Performing well enough in his role and grinding his way through the ranks, Raymond was eventually moved to a Physical Asset Recovery team. Even before the corporate wars in SESE, if wasn't uncommon for major corporations to commit strikes or acts of sabotage against one another and their employees- just part of the business after all. Physical Asset Recovery teams were formed as a way for corporations to protect their own employees, with different levels of protection afforded to different levels of executive.

Physical Asset Recovery teams were less on site security teams and bodyguards and more similar to the rapid response SWAT teams of governments past. They were armed for a fight, well trained, and generally disregarded collateral damage, though wanton destruction of property was both discouraged and usually unnecessary. Their main role was to get to wherever their distressed executive was, bust in, grab the exec and get them out alive.

In this role, Raymond performed well. Not a rising star or ace to be sure, but a reliable and well grounded trooper. Raymond worked as one of the lower level PAR teams, not trusted to handle senior executives and individuals well up the chain of command, but local offices, employees and minor execs were the bread and butter of his team's rescues.

For a while, all was going well, until they didn't. One botched rescue operation, a car bomb, and three dead execs later, Raymond found himself lying on the rain and blood slicked boards of the Hong Kong docks, arm missing, leg crushed, consciousness fading and bleeding out.

By some miracle- or a fuckton of drugs and tech, Raymond survived. He came to consciousness in the backroom of what looked like the combination of a brothel and medical office. He had been found by a family friend of his mother's, who took pity on him and brought him back to safety. Most of the left side of his body had been destroyed and had to be replaced, and he found himself staring out a brand new eye at a brand new metal arm and leg. Promising to repay the doctor for saving his life- and repairing his body, Raymond returned home to put his nose back to the pavement and start getting more work done.

He arrived home to find out that he had been written off as dead by the company after his body had been noted as missing for a week. To add more salt to the wound, his family had been fined in his stead for the loss of the company's executives. With his family now left destitute and in debt, Raymond returned to them and staged a kidnapping, with the hope that they'd be worthless enough that TPS wouldn't waste the resources to find them. Raymond returned to the doctor who took his family in. To repay his debts, she directed him towards a contact she had in the Black Yangtze in New Malacca- a land of strife and opportunity ripe for the picking.

With all of his prior assets claimed by Tzu Peace Solutions, Raymond found under the table work as a shipping crew member and made his way to New Malacca, where he began applying his skills. Work has been slow and not nearly as profitable as he would like- until he got an offer he couldn't refuse: 500,000 asyuan and a one time job.

//YOUR PERSON

ATTRIBUTES:

• CQB Proficiency - while trained with firearms in general, Raymond is at his best within 50 meters and is most proficient with and prefers compact and easily manipulated weaponry. Breaching and clearing rooms, point shooting, and quick melee takedowns form the majority of Ray's experience.
• Tactical Field Care - While not a surgeon by any stretch of the imagination, Raymond is capable with a needle and a bottle of alcohol- at least capable enough to make sure you don't bleed out during a job. Part of his training as a PAR team trooper included basic trauma care, in case the asset was injured upon recovery.
• Resilience - Close fighting is never pretty, and no matter how good you are, you're bound to get a beating. Luckily, thanks to several years of getting his skull bashed and chest kicked, Raymond has gotten pretty decent at taking a beating and managing to get up and keep going.

BODY MODS:

• Verge Battletech Atlas-model cyberlimb: Left arm, Left leg - high durability frame with replaceable composite armor plates and adaptable strength limiters. Responsive, strong, and not much bulkier than a regular human limb. The arm has built in electroshock knuckle pads.
• Saewung Imugi-series cyber-eye: left eye - high resolution cybereye with built in low-light vision setting. Built in HUD and database provides basic target acquisition, adjustable FFID tags, and ammunition readouts for all weapons within current database.
• Verge Skin2.0 Dermaplating: left torso beneath the armpit to the pelvis - lightweight dermal plating beneath the left arm and stretching down the length of the side. Durability reaches about the strength of kevlar, but serves more as a quicker, cheaper skin graft than actual armor.

EQUIPMENT:

• K91 Maverick Combat shotgun - Raymond might have a distaste for Tzu Peace Solutions, but its hard to hate their guns. A compact, 12 gauge, pump action shotgun with a pair of 6 round tubular magazines- for a total of 12+1 shells. The two tube magazines allow this shotgun to load different types of ammunition simultaneously. This rugged and reliable weapon features a bullpup design, pistol grip, and plenty of space for flashlights, lasers and sights.
• Zeiger A-45 Pistol - A common sight in New Malacca, reliable, ubiquitous, and cheap enough to be easily replaceable.
• Field Trauma Pack - A small, waterproof combat pack that Raymond typically carries on his person, styled roughly after the PAR medical kits. Quikseal bandages, morphine, tourniquets, a compact defibrillator and scissors among other necessary field medical supplies. Raymond also keeps a supply of painkillers for personal consumption with this kit.
• Combat Knife - For when combat has devolved into punching, kicking and stabbing. For optimum performance, the leading edge should be applied to the enemy and thrust into vital regions. This should be repeated as necessary.
• Cigar Case - waterproof, stainless steel cigar carrier. Holds 2 cigars and 1 electronic cigar.

Straits of Steel (A South East Asian Cyberpunk Thriller)

About halfway done with my former lawman- a former Tzu Peace Solutions corpo-cop

Straits of Steel (A South East Asian Cyberpunk Thriller)

Gonna go with a classic noir-esque investigator type, former lawman, with a big gun on his hip and a bigger chip on his shoulder- or maybe a former military man down and out, and looking for work.

Skyfall: A Coming of Age Story

---

Late winter- or was it early spring? There didn't appear to be much of a difference, not at least to the young youth who rode towards the castle, a heavy, reddish-brown traveler's cloak wrapped tightly against his frame. Hood pulled over the face, the twin breaths of the youth and the pack-horse-turned-travelling-animal forming small clouds against the dreary and grey sky. The stone walls of the castle rose high, and Joe'shwa's neck craned as he looked at the tallest spires of the citadel, and couldn't help but feel small against it.

Still, it was good to finally see some sort of civilization. The castle was some ways away from his hometown, a few days of long and cold riding. Though luckily for Joe'shwa, the owners of the orphanage had been gracious enough to have gifted Joe'shwa with one of their few animals- an old, slightly swaybacked and somewhat simple minded creature, but steady with its nerves and with a generally calm disposition. After camping out in the cold for a few nights, the idea of a warm hearth and solid walls was more than enough to shake any hesitation Joe had about entering the Castle. The glowing blue head of his Eidolon Raijū popped out from within Joe's hood, seemingly echoing his sentiments as the tiny creature crackled happily at the sight of their destination.

The little lightning cat jumped out of the hood and onto the head of their shared horse, the long hairs of the horse's mane starting to rise on end as the little Eidolon began stretching. At the very least it seemed Spork was happy to get off the road. Though an Eidolon, capable of generating enough electricity to bring down a tree, Raijū was almost more of a housecat than he was a primordial spirit. Joe'shwa chuckled and pet his little Eidolon companion, lightly shocking himself several times doing so.

"Well, we're finally here, huh Spork?" Joe'shwa mused, more to himself than his Eidolon as he pulled back the hood on his traveling cloak and stretched his back. There was a series of popping noises down his spine as he finished stretching and shifted his gear. Most of his pack sat on the back of his horse, with only his bow and quiver still on his person.

As he looked further down the road, it seemed that a small group had already gathered- the presence of accompanied Eidolons led Joe'shwa to assume that they were among the youths called upon by the King for his mission. It seemed they had all arrived at roughly the same time, if from different directions. Two had stopped in front of a gate, as another on horseback had waved at the wall guards and road past- seemingly familiar with the castle already. Gently prodding his forward, Joe'shwa stopped his horse a few paces from the guard and two other youths- so as not to get into their personal space, catching the tail end of their conversation as he did.

Joe'shwa also afforded the guard a nod and wave, "As am I," he added, echoing the redheaded spearwoman's greeting. Spork crackled in affirmation from his perch atop their horse's head.

Skyfall: A Coming of Age Story

I'll get something up in the morning!

Straits of Steel (A South East Asian Cyberpunk RP)

Very, very interested

Skyfall: A Coming of Age Story

Joe'shwa, the Deadeye Hunter

Character Details:

Name: Joe'shwa
Age: 18
Appearance:
Standing in at 5'11, a tall and lanky frame belie a surprisingly developed set of arm and back muscles. Lean and lithe, his is a body that appears used to regular travel and exertion, if not heavy physical labor. His pale skin is pockmarked with scars, cuts, bruises, scrapes and tattoos, with new ones appearing seemingly every time someone lays their eyes on him. Setting off his pale skin is a set of reddish brown eyes, which despite his punk-like exterior, seems to exude a sense of calmness and calculated confidence. he keeps his hair shaved off the sides of his head, and will typically keep his face clean shaven.

Extra Images

Personality:
Quiet and reserved, but not unfriendly, Joe'shwa is a bit of a wallflower- preferring to let others take the initiative. Calmer and more mature than most around his age, Joe is a fairly down to earth and well grounded individual, and kinder than his scruffy appearance would imply. Despite this, Joe'shwa isn't afraid of confrontation, and will readily stick up for what he thinks is right, and jumps to the defense of those he values. Somewhat lazy and sleepy-headed, it isn't uncommon for Joe'shwa to attempt to skip out on camp duties or doze off after or even during conversations- and he claims to have perfected the ability to sleep while on horseback.

Background:
Born to a pair of parents he's never met, Joe'shwa spent his infant and childhood years at the Fordes Orphanage. While not poorly treated at the orphanage, Joe'shwa would spend most of his formative childhood and adolescent years acting up and doing what rowdy kids his age did- namely running away from the orphanage and into the city where they'd stir up some trouble, inevitably get caught, get a beating, and then get sent back to the orphanage. Joe would form bonds with the orphans and other urchin kids- forming what many adults would call gangs. Schooling for the lower class and orphan children was never a particularly strong priority, and most of what the lower class children learned in their youth was the lessons they learned in the streets- with the orphanage teaching mathematics, letters and reading as admirably as they could given their resources.

Despite his troublesome childhood, Joe'shwa actually got along quite well with the orphanage staff and caretakers- whom while severely overworked and understaffed, were not unkind to the children. As they got older, Joe'shwa and a few of the other older orphans would slowly transition from general rabble rousing to helping out the exhausted staff of the orphanage- in their own chaotic ways. One of the old caretakers was once a soldier for the kingdom, and had taken to teaching the orphans archery, swordplay and other martial skills as a way of instilling chivalry and moral values as well as working off teenage angst. Joe'shwa and a few of the other orphans would adapt these skills and go into the woods to go poaching- not exactly what the orphanage had intended when they taught the young orphans, but at the same time not complaining about the influx of meat and food that started appearing on their tables.

It was also around this time Joe'shwa would find his Eidolon. The two had a rocky start to their relationship, Joe'shwa initially attempting to catch the creature for a meal, and the Eidolon subsequently electrocuting him in self defense. As a stunned(ha) Joe'shwa and an agitated Eidolon prepared to fight, a much larger and very angry bear appeared- upset that an annoying teen and weird other creature had disturbed its den. Sudden comrades born of fear and the threat of a much larger creature, the Eidolon and boy fled together back to town. After a rather shocking(ha) introduction, the two would eventually form a bond and became companions.

By the time Joe'shwa had turned 18, he was a fairly well received individual at the orphanage. Younger children looked up to him and would often attempt to imitate him- occasionally to the chagrin of the staff- and the caretakers appreciated the assistance he provided them. In turn, Joe'shwa had already begun seeing the orphanage, and the children and staff inside it as his new extended family. The old caretaker that had trained him suggested that he seek out and join the king's military forces for a stable life. Joe'shwa agreed, promising to bring fortune and aid to the orphanage when he returned.

While he was preparing to leave, a massive shooting star was seen in the sky, and a few days later a call came searching for gifted young youths to investigate the occurrence, offering a sizable reward- almost as though it was a sign of fate. Though loathe to leave his life behind, Joe'shwa and his Eidolon would heed the call, fully intending on taking the reward and returning to his home to share the spoils.

Skills:

• Archery - More than just marksmanship, but the ability to continually draw heavy bows and consistently hit targets. Though primarily versed with a bow and arrow, Joe'shwa is presumably capable of accurate usage of most ranged weapons- if given enough time to understand its operation. Capable of shooting still and moving targets from distances up to 35-50 yards, Joe'shwa has shot at plenty of targets and animals, but never other humans. Joe'shwa is also well versed in the basics of bow care, and will often carve his own arrows.
• Survivalist - The catch-all term for scouting, hunting, and tracking, Joe'shwa is well suited to skulking through the trees and underbrush, following and stalking his quarry while remaining unseen and unheard. He can throw together simple snares and work wonders with some fishing line and a hook.
• First Aid - Armed with a variety of poultices, herbs, wraps, and other small supplies, Joe'shwa isn't a surgeon by any stretch of the imagination, but he can keep himself or others from dying from a basic wound or cut.

Gear:

• Recurve Bow - A well maintained bow made of carbonfiber and aluminum- a relic from the old world and a gift from Joe'shwa's trainer. It pairs off with a dark leather quiver with space for 6-12 arrows.
• Tomahawk - A simple, sturdy steel axe. Useful as a general purpose tool, as well as an emergency close combat weapon.
• Clothes - A plain brown hunting jacket over a crewneck sweater, durable work pants and boots, gloves and a leather archery vambrace.
• Rucksack - A tinderbox, a spool of fishing line and hook, hunting knife, fletching for 20 arrows, a case with metal arrowheads, a small whittling knife, a spool of fine thread and needle, a roll of clean cloth and bottle of spirits for cleaning and treating wounds, a pouch of herbal ointment, a few days worth of dried food and a small tarp. A water canteen hangs off the back.

Eidolon Details:

Name: Raijū - though more affectionately referred to by Joe'shwa as 'Spork'

Appearance:
Raijū typically takes on the shape of a glowing kitten, seemingly made entirely out of electricity. He is perpetually warm to the touch and will often give or cause people to give each other static shocks. When threatened, Raijū takes on his true form- a much larger (but still rather diminutive) electrical ocelot.

Abilities:

• Shockingly Fast - In combat, Raijū is nimble and bounds around quickly to deliver light but painful shocks to his target- not unlike a taser.
• Lightning Arrows - Raijū is capable of manipulating large amounts of electricity, most easily delivered through an accurately placed arrow from Joe'shwa's bow. The two have been working on delivering lightning bolts via the bow without an arrow, with successful results, but unreliable delivery- dropping the effective range to just within 10 yards. When using his powers in this manner, Raijū cannot engage in combat himself and must stay attached to Joe'shwa.
• Thundering Blows - Similar to delivering electricity via arrow, Raijū, when attached to Joe'shwa can charge electricity into his axe or punches, allowing him to deliver more powerful, electrically charged blows.

Skyfall: A Coming of Age Story

Excitement intensifies.

Skyfall: A Coming of Age Story

@Ellipses I couldn't really find a place in the backstory to fit it without it feeling kinda out of place, overly specific or self aggrandizing- and it didn't seem like detail that deserved an entire paragraph on its own. The tattoo would be something I would've expanded on during a post or something, but Joe'shwa got his main tattoo on his arm sometime shortly after he bonded with his Eidolon. The tattoo itself is of a dangerous mythical creature, but is supposed to both protect him and guide his aim- kind of symbolizing how Eidolons, while similar to the dangerous monsters that roam the world are essentially like protective spirits for those they bond to.

I also like to think that Raijū sits on Joe'shwa's shoulder around where the tail of the serpent is, and the electricity he channels runs through the length of the tattoo before culminating at the arrow.