Balamb Garden (Final Fantasy VIII) -Please Use Recruitment Thread in First Post-

[Florence]

This is sort of a vague interest check thread. I have kind of a crazy schedule at the moment, but if there's some interest in this, I would definitely love to make room for it.

Anyway, if you're not familiar with Final Fantasy VIII, I can try to make this as friendly as possible. The general idea is that Balamb Garden is an elite military academy. Many of its students are orphans, but not all of them. Students can enroll between the ages of 5-15, and graduate between the ages 15-19. If a student doesn't graduate by the age of 20, they are released from the Garden. Many graduates enlist in various armies around the world, as Garden trained soldiers are highly valued, and Garden is politically neutral. The best graduates, however, may join SeeD, an elite mercenary group that operates out of Balamb Garden.

SeeD utilize GFs, powerful beings which can be junctioned into a person's mind, which then allows them to junction paramagic, to not only cast spells, but to increase their own abilities. While there are three Gardens (Balamb, Trabia and Galbadia), only Balamb Garden accepts and houses SeeDs, though students from the other Gardens can transfer to Balamb for their final SeeD exam.

Here are some links for further information:
http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Balamb_Garden
http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/SeeD
http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VIII
http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Final_Fantasy_VIII_Locations

The basic idea I have would be to set the rp something like... 30 years or so after the games. A good time later. The cast would be 100% original characters. I'm thinking sort of a school drama type thing. Following some students of Balamb Garden, nearing their graduation (both because it'd be cool to see their SeeD Exams, maybe have them graduate and see them go on missions... and cause I don't want them being too young), just following their interactions, good times and bad.

Also. If this does happen. If there's any one thing I can't stress enough. Gunblades don't shoot bullets. Here. Look it up :U
http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Gunblade#Final_Fantasy_VIII

But seriously, I'd like to know how people feel about an RP like this. Any questions or suggestions are welcome. If people really seem to like this, I'll make time in my schedule.

Code Select Expand

CHARACTER APPLICATION
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Enrollment Age:[/b]
[b]Gender:[/b]

[b]Weapon:[/b]
[b]Specialization:[/b]
[b]Personality:[/b]
[b]Backstory:[/b]
[b]Appearance:[/b]


GF APPLICATION
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Element:[/b]
[b]Description:[/b]
[b]Bonus:[/b]
[b]Special Attack:[/b]

If you're interested and want to post up a character, please fill these out and post them up here, thank you.

Main Thread: https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=144653.0

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=144682.0 <- Recruitment thread.

[Latooni Subota]

Go ahead and mark me down as interested. I always did love the source material for FF8!

[Revenent]

You can put me down as well. VIII has always been one of my favorite Final Fantasies, and always one of the most underrated, for some reason, but a Garden would make for a great RP setting.

[AndyZ]

Tentatively interested.  I haven't played FF8 in over a decade and my copy is scratched so I can't retry, but I've been wanting to play a char with a gunblade for some time now.

[kckolbe]

Wow.  This was my favorite part about FF8.  Will there be some type of system?

[Florence]

I'm not thinking there will be a system, no. I usually prefer free-form, and I'm not really familiar enough with any system to run a game using one. I'm glad to see some people are interested. I really want to try this rp.

[AribethAmkiir]

Mark me as interested as well.  I'm like Andy, though, haven't played 8 in ages and likely won't have the opportunity any time soon.

[Caitlin]

I'm in 2 group roleplays currently and I wasn't planning on joining a 3rd, but this is FF VIII, so I'll make an exception. Not a week goes by that I don't think about this game, despite it having been 13 years ago that I played through it completely. Two years ago I even started up the game again and played it for a while, but unfortunately real life intervened and prevented me from completing it. Despite the graphics (compared to current day games) it's still one of the best games I ever played. I always loved FF VIII best for its storyline of all the games while I liked the rich gameplay elements of FF VII a bit better. Still, it took me a really long time to even settle on that compromise, hehe.


A couple of questions I have though;
- We will use magic from the game and not self made-up magic?
- Will each student will get one GF at most? (Or none at all?) If we use GF's, must they be game based or can we make up our own ones too? (Though in style of the game.)
- Will there be another Lunar Cry as well?
- Will there be any interaction with the old cast members/ are we allowed to make references to the past? (The majority of the characters would still be alive and be close to their 50ties.)
- Will we all be part of SeeD? (the primary reason for the organisation was to defeat corrupted sorceresses, you could use this as a plotline too.) :-)


I'm interested in this roleplay and looking forward to seeing it get started.

[Caitlin]

By the way, I would set the minimum age of students to 16, that way it'll prevent any possible problems when it comes to adult related content. :-)

[Florence]

Okay... in order...

I'm going to say FOR THE MOST PART, magic from the game. However, I'm willing to use new ones if everyone agrees they work, or fill a niche that's maybe missing in the original list. I mean, who's to say that Squall and his party found and used every single spell in existence during the game? New materia appeared in Crisis Core, that wasn't in FF7, after all.

I'm open to suggestions on the GF front, but the way I imagine it now, each student gets 1 GF. I know Squall started with two, but for me, one just flows better. Plus it makes GF seem more personal, and special. As for what to use as GFs, I think it'll be a part of the character sheet. You can apply for one from the game (but please, be realistic, they're not going to hand a student Eden), or make up one of your own. Original GFs can either be based on existing monsters in the FF franchise, or completely original, but please try to keep from copying anything else (No Jack Frost or Angel or anything from Shin Megami Tensei for instance), and keep it... ya know... Final Fantasy-ish.

I'm not sure yet, it could be worked into the plot. But if I decide to include one, I think I'll leave it a surprise :>

Old characters I'm on the fence about. I mean, there may be a cameo from some of them (maybe Squall will show up to give a speech if the character's make SeeD, or something), but I want the focus to be on the new, original characters. You can certainly make references, though. I would prefer if no one applied to be a relative of one of the characters, but their adventures would be well known, even if the details might not be. The Lunar Cry, the whole war with Galbadia, Edea and Ultimecia and all that... I'm pretty sure all of that was big news.

At the start, I want to say the main cast are students, probably working to become SeeD. Over the course of the story, maybe we'll witness them graduating and becoming SeeDs. I think it would make it all the more awesome to see them as SeeDs if we get to know them as students first. Kind of like how cool it is to see some of the characters in Naruto as badass ninja after getting to know them as little bratty kids. xD

And on your next point, I agree. I was intending to set the age limit as that. I don't intend for this rp to revolve AROUND sex, but... well... hormonal teenage students in a school, training to become mercenaries where they could die any day... well... stuff happens :P

[Caitlin]

I know Squall started with two, but for me, one just flows better. Plus it makes GF seem more personal, and special.

Agreed, I think one would be best too. Squall was an exceptional student anyway, by no way is he the rule.

Original GFs can either be based on existing monsters in the FF franchise, or completely original, but please try to keep from copying anything else (No Jack Frost or Angel or anything from Shin Megami Tensei for instance), and keep it... ya know... Final Fantasy-ish.

I think it would work best if people apply for a GF and fill in a form about the name, its element, ability, etc. and that you approve or disprove it. That way we can keep a certain quality across the board. Perhaps you can set up some guidelines that ought to be followed. We wouldn't want completely overpowered GF's to join (like your Eden example), that'd just make things boring.

I want the focus to be on the new, original characters. You can certainly make references, though. I would prefer if no one applied to be a relative of one of the characters,

I think you should make that a rule yes. The reason I asked those questions was to get this all cleared up. ;)

At the start, I want to say the main cast are students, probably working to become SeeD. Over the course of the story, maybe we'll witness them graduating and becoming SeeDs.

I think that would work well yeah.

don't intend for this rp to revolve AROUND sex, but... well... hormonal teenage students in a school, training to become mercenaries where they could die any day... well... stuff happens

Sounds like a plan yeah. I prefer it not to be the main thing either, but it's always fun to form and develop relationships with one another. ;D

[Florence]

I agree with your point on GFs. I might post up some applications and stuff shortly, honestly, since it seems this idea was received rather well.

[kckolbe]

I just worry about arbitration, since there was a lot of competition in FF8, and not just Squall and Seifer.  Students were graded on combat, knowledge, timed trials and other things, who knows what else.  While the judgment/following orders grades can be done off of RP, I would like to know how we are going to do that in this game.  Also, will we start with GFs, or just design the one we want to get in game?

[Florence]

Well, Squall gets two right at the start, it seems logical they train with GFs longer than just that (given that he had already forgotten his childhood). So I would say everyone starts with one. It won't be uber powerful though. Remember that you did have to level up your GFs in VIII.

As for all that technical stuff... we can cross that bridge when we get there. Its honestly not that big of a deal. I want this to be more about story than competition.

[Caitlin]

I just worry about arbitration, since there was a lot of competition in FF8, and not just Squall and Seifer.  Students were graded on combat, knowledge, timed trials and other things, who knows what else.  While the judgment/following orders grades can be done off of RP, I would like to know how we are going to do that in this game.  Also, will we start with GFs, or just design the one we want to get in game?

I thought it'd be really cool to roleplay the adventure of how we get our GF. Most GF's were earned through an exciting sub plot and rarily were they gotten just like that. For example, Ifrit, Oden, Cactuar, etc.

It could make for a really cool adventure to get your GF through the story and really add something to the game. ;D

[AndyZ]

In FF8, were there only the brief summons which did an attack and then the GF instantly left, or would they be able to stick around a while?  Having the latter like in later games could be awesome, but I could also see how it would get confusing if you have two characters you're controlling during battle.

[Florence]

Alright, well, we COULD make it an adventure, that is completely true. In fact, I like that. We're gonna do that.

Also, as for how they work, I'm gonna say AT FIRST they can only be summoned for brief attacks. But perhaps the students will eventually learn to summon them longer. :o

[Caitlin]

In FF8, were there only the brief summons which did an attack and then the GF instantly left, or would they be able to stick around a while?  Having the latter like in later games could be awesome, but I could also see how it would get confusing if you have two characters you're controlling during battle.

In the game they only sticked around for the duration of their attack, did their thing and then disappeared again :-)

[Caitlin]

Alright, well, we COULD make it an adventure, that is completely true. In fact, I like that. We're gonna do that.

Also, as for how they work, I'm gonna say AT FIRST they can only be summoned for brief attacks. But perhaps the students will eventually learn to summon them longer. :o

That could be cool yeah. It'd also allow us to focus on developing our own characters first and then maybe later learn more about GF's. Maybe we'll even up travelling to their dimension? They probably reside in a different reality/ plane of existance from our own (hence they're summoned) and we could end up discovering a lot more about their background?

A lot about GF's remained unexplained in the game and this could be another plot line. ^_^

[Florence]

That's not a bad idea, either. We'll see how the story goes, though, I have a few ideas on the matter.

[Caitlin]

The above were merely suggestions yes, they were things I thought could make nice plotlines, but it's up to you whether you want to use the ideas or not. I'm looking forward to what you're coming up with. ^_^

[Florence]

CHARACTER APPLICATION
Name:
Age:
Enrollment Age: (When was your character first accepted into Garden, must be between 5-15)
Gender:

Weapon: (What's your character's weapon of choice?)
Specialization: (What's your character's focus in combat? Melee Weapons, Ranged Weapons, Magic, Medicine, Martial Arts, etc.)

Personality: (Doesn't need to be exact, but just enough to show you have an idea worked out for the character.)
Backstory: (Feel free to leave things out to keep things interesting, so long as its something  that others wouldn't know, but if its something major, or if you're not sure if its major or not, PM me to be safe.)
Appearance: (Descriptions, images or a combination of both.)



GF APPLICATION
Name:
Element:
Description: (Give a general description of the GF, its appearance, its nature, the basics.)
Bonus: (What kind of benefits does it give the user? Magical Power, Physical Strength, Stamina, special abilities? If using a GF from the game, it doesn't have to match up EXACTLY with what the GF does in game, as long as its in the same general area.)
Special Attack: (Hell Fire, Diamond Dust, Thunder Storm, etc. Please describe the effects of the attack. Keep in mind that, since RPs are less strict than video games, the attack doesn't have to be identical every time. It can change to suit the situation, as long as the general idea of it remains the same.)

Let me know how those applications look. Be sure to tell me if I forgot anything. I know they're nothing pretty, they're sort of something I whipped up quickly. I can pretty them up if you'd all like.

[Caitlin]

Maybe it's an idea to have 2 different special attacks that we can choose from for the GF? That way they're more versatile, while also prevent them from being overpowered. If that makes sense at least? :-)

[Florence]

Well the idea I had was that it would be sort of a general thing. I probably could have been more specific. Like... Shiva can freeze the whole area in front of her, but she could direct it as needed, maybe use a smaller, more powerful attack, or a larger, but weaker one. Stuff like that.

I don't really think there's a need for two. I don't want summoning to be a HUGE thing, either. I think I'm gonna say that, at first, at least, summoning a GF tires out the user. That way every single scuffle doesn't end up with GF's being summoned. I'd like to see people fighting traditionally, too. With weapons and magic and whatnot.

[Caitlin]

That sounds fair yes. :-)

[Caitlin]

I figured I'd put your template in code, it's easier to copy/paste that way. ;)

Code Select Expand

CHARACTER APPLICATION
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Enrollment Age:[/b]
[b]Gender:[/b]

[b]Weapon:[/b]
[b]Specialization:[/b]
[b]Personality:[/b]
[b]Backstory:[/b]
[b]Appearance:[/b]


GF APPLICATION
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Element:[/b]
[b]Description:[/b]
[b]Bonus:[/b]
[b]Special Attack:[/b]

[Florence]

Thank you kindly, for that :>

[Occident]

Never played it. Is there anything I would want to read up on if I were to participate?

[Florence]

Never played it. Is there anything I would want to read up on if I were to participate?

I posted some links in the first post that might be helpful. Really, one of the best things you could do is just read the pages on there concerning FFVIII, Balamb Garden, SeeD and just the world and its locations. In addition to that, I can recommend you look up videos of it on youtube, or find a good Lets Play of it. I'm afraid I'm not really sure of any specific ones to recommend, but I'm sure you can find something with a quick google or youtube search.

The game has received a rather... mixed response from people. So some people may be more scathing in their descriptions than others. I personally absolutely loved the game, despite its few flaws.

[Florence]

Final Fantasy VIII (Let's Play) - Part 1 - Introduction

Here, I found this one. Sorry to double-post, but if you're looking for a Lets Play, this one doesn't seem to be terrible.

[Caitlin]

To me FF VIII represents one of the best games all-time, it brought many innovative elements to games and it was one of the most original FF's, though FF VII was even more innovative. FF VII even changed the game industry as a whole and made RPG's what they are today, it was the first RPG that became really popular in the western world.

[Revenent]

FFVII wasn't all that innovative... The Materia system was really just a more complex version of the Magicite system from VI, more or less, and it didn't really add anything else gameplay-wise. I guess you might be right as far as how it affected cinematics in RPGs, but look where that's led us: Square deciding FFXIII should be a movie instead of a game. ::)

[Caitlin]

GF APPLICATION
Bonus: (What kind of benefits does it give the user? Magical Power, Physical Strength, Stamina, special abilities? If using a GF from the game, it doesn't have to match up EXACTLY with what the GF does in game, as long as its in the same general area.)

How many bonusses do we get? Maybe it'd be a good idea to list what kind of bonusses we can pick from. Strength, Magic, Stamina, Vitality and Spirit were main stats I believe, but the Junction system allowed for many other kinds of bonusses too.

Additionally; will we be able to pick up more bonusses during the game?

[edit]
I was also wondering how important this all is really going to be? Maybe it's better to leave this out of the template? I more or less ended up researching all the different abilities that were in FF VIII and to be honest, it's getting quite a bit overwhelming already. Considering we're not going to use dices and considering we already noted our character's specialisation, it might be better to skip this part? Unless this will be really functional for the roleplay of course, but I was under the impression that you don't want GF's to play too large a role either?

[edit2]
We can also skip coming up with limit breaks?
How heavily will combat future in the game?/ What's the game's focus going to be?

[Snake]

I'm interested. it's been years since I played it but I remember quite a bit about it.

[Caitlin]

CHARACTER APPLICATION
Name: Nasha Flinder
Age: Sixteen
Enrollment Age: Six
Gender: Female

Weapon: Staff (Melee Weapon)
Specialization: Magic
Personality: Nasha is a studious teenager, who is typically a happy person, but who is also afflicted by mood swings, which cause her to be depressed and listless. She likes socializing with her girlfriends, but she is generally shy around guys, especially the more popular ones. She likes pulling pranks on people, but only when she's sure that she won't get caught by the faculty.
Back Story:
Nasha was born and raised in a small village located in the Bika Snowfields. When she was six years old a terrible blizzard raged over her village. The Blizaga tornado destroyed nearly all houses and the villagers were forced to abandon their homes. The storm had made all outside communication impossible and the elders decided that it was best to head to Shumi Village, which was located further to the north, but also the closest nearby sanctuary.

During the chaos of the impromptu evacuation that followed, Nasha and her parents were separated from the main group and got lost in the blizzard that still raged on around them. When her parents spotted an ice cavern that emitted a gentle glow, they decided to head there, hoping to find sanctuary.

The lack of food and biting cold had severely weakened her parents and they were plagued by hypothermia. They did their best to keep their little girl as warm as possible, but it came at the cost of exposing their own bodies to the elements. Unfortunately the storm didn't show any signs of slowing down and hypothermia overtook her parents, killing them both in the process.

Nasha would have shared their fate if it wasn't for the intervention of a Guardian Force, who cradled the small girl in her arms and soothed her with her warm embrace until Nasha fell asleep. The Guardian Force also emitted a powerful light that acted as a beacon, which in turn attracted a group of Moombas who were bravely defying the blizzard on their trek south. When they spotted the light, their curiosity was aroused and they sought out its origin, where they found a peacefully sleeping Nasha in the ice cavern. The Guardian Force, however, had disappeared without a trace.

The Moombas took Nasha with them to Trabia Garden, where she was enlisted as an orphan and the Garden took her under their care. Nasha could remember little of what had happened during the storm, but she realized that it was something special that had saved her. After she mourned her parents for a considerable time, her curiosity took over and she wanted to find out why she had survived, while her parents had died. This in turn urged her to study magic and Guardian Forces, hoping that she would find an answer.

Over the years that followed her original reasons for studying magic and Guardian Forces slowly faded, while her general interest in magic had widened. At the age of eleven she had learned everything about magic that Trabia Garden had to offer and she requested a transfer to Balamb Garden, which had a bigger library and more specialized teachers, which allow her to further her studies.

Due to her excellent grades and demonstrated skills in the manipulation of magic, Nasha applied for, and was granted, SeeD candidacy at the age of fifteen.

Appearance: Nasha is 1.68 meter (5'7”) tall, weighs 58 kg (127 pounds), has a light Caucasian skin, shoulder length, snow-white hair which she typically wears in a ponytail, light blonde eyebrows, crystal-clear blue eyes, dark mascara, B cup breasts, manicured fingernails with white nail polish and a toned body that is clean-shaven. Her light skin color, white hair and blue eyes are a genetic trait that all the people of her birth village shared.

Nasha is quite adapted to the cold climate of the northern regions, but she finds the moderate climate of Balamb Garden uncomfortably warm. As a result she tends to wear as little clothes as possible. She typically wears a dark blue tank top, that features the image of a cute Chicobo. Her breasts are firm enough to go without needing a bra. She also wears tight, silver-colored hotpants and a large, black belt made of leather, to which she attaches items and her weapon. She also wears white gym shoes with pink tints.

Her weapon is an extending staff made of titanium that hangs on her belt when she doesn't use it. In it's retracted form it's 30 centimeters (1 ft) large, while it's 150 centimeters (5 ft) when fully extended. On the inside it's hollow, but the tips are enforced with 2,5 centimeters (1 inch) of titanium to make them extra heavy. This adds more momentum to her swings and allows her to deal lethal hits when the tips connect with her target. The staff fully extends and retracts in half a second with the push of a button. Rather than relying on brute force, Nasha's fighting technique is based on speed and agility. She hits the pressure points of her target with a deadly accuracy until she can strike a lethal point that will kill the target.

When Nasha performs a magic related attack she will first retract the staff and hang it on her belt, so she has both hands available to perform her attack.



GF APPLICATION
Name: Vishka
Element: Holy
Description: When Vishka is summoned a small golden sphere appears in mid-air, which rapidly expands and then transforms into her true form. Once her true form is reached, tiny golden sparkles of light from the original sphere slowly fade away.

Vishka has the body of a twenty-five year old woman, with a very light Caucasian skin that emits a tranquil glow. Her eyes have silver glowing irises, while her lips are a very light pink color, only slightly darker than her skin color. Her long, flowing hair shines with a brilliant golden color, lighting up the area around her. She's slim, with C cup breasts, full hips, long legs and slender arms.

Vishka only wears a skintight, white baby doll, that sharply contrasts with her skin color. She levitates above the ground, where a warm, golden wind breezes around her body, as she gently flaps her large, white, angelic wings.
Bonus: Vishka improves Magic, Spirit and Speed.
Special Attack: Holy Nova

When Vishka summons her special attack, she will look at the targets and then slowly closes her eyes in concentration, while a small smile forms on her lips. She brings her hands up at breast level with a very elegant gesture, having her palms facing outwards. Next she sharply snaps her fingers with both hands. At the same time she flaps her wings more powerfully, which levitates her higher in the air, while she simultaneously opens her eyes, wears a  frown on her face and the small smile leaves her lips. A second after she snapped her fingers a nova of golden light explodes in the middle of the targets, dealing a moderate amount of holy damage for the duration of the three second explosion. When the light of the blast washes over the party, they get blessed with Haste.

[Caitlin]

I hope the character is okay. I decided to forego the GF bonus though. I'm really not sure what to add there or how many abilities we can add in. I'm guessing we're not strongly focussing on the abilities during the game and mostly only mention them in fights, so I think it's okay to leave that out. :-)

[AribethAmkiir]

Do we need to limit weapons to martial arts weapons and those that were in the game?

Also, I'll likely submit a character sheet this evening.

[Revenent]

Do we need to limit weapons to martial arts weapons and those that were in the game?

Also, I'll likely submit a character sheet this evening.

I'd imagine not, since he included Ranged as a specialization and doesn't seem to care about only having stuff from the game.

[Florence]

How many bonusses do we get? Maybe it'd be a good idea to list what kind of bonusses we can pick from. Strength, Magic, Stamina, Vitality and Spirit were main stats I believe, but the Junction system allowed for many other kinds of bonusses too.

Additionally; will we be able to pick up more bonusses during the game?

[edit]
I was also wondering how important this all is really going to be? Maybe it's better to leave this out of the template? I more or less ended up researching all the different abilities that were in FF VIII and to be honest, it's getting quite a bit overwhelming already. Considering we're not going to use dices and considering we already noted our character's specialisation, it might be better to skip this part? Unless this will be really functional for the roleplay of course, but I was under the impression that you don't want GF's to play too large a role either?

[edit2]
We can also skip coming up with limit breaks?
How heavily will combat future in the game?/ What's the game's focus going to be?

The combat stuff, quite honestly, isn't all that important, but since they're training to be mercenaries, i figured it'd be good to iron that out now, so when a fight does break out, it doesn't devolve into DBZ style move invention. Its also why I wasn't too specific on the bonuses. Its less like... a set of strict stat boosts and more a general "What does the GF make you better at?" kinda thing.

Do we need to limit weapons to martial arts weapons and those that were in the game?

Also, I'll likely submit a character sheet this evening.

Not at all. The only restriction is that it should be something fits the world. Like... a scythe, a spear, a gun, an axe, a whip, a sword, daggers, baseball bat, etc. fine. But I would prefer if no one apply to use a giant laser cannon or a lightsaber. But all in all, feel free to be creative.

[Eislynn]

I love FF8! Didn't finish reading the thread but I already know I want in. Will finish reading tomorrow and come up with a character to post for approval shortly thereafter.

[Florence]

I love FF8! Didn't finish reading the thread but I already know I want in. Will finish reading tomorrow and come up with a character to post for approval shortly thereafter.

Glad to hear there's interest :D

[Fenrir]

I'm totally in!  *nods and immediately starts working on a character sheet*

Oh, do you want me to post it here?  And if so... you may want to put that in your first post so people don't have to search around for it!

[Florence]

Yes, post it up here, if you're interested!

[Caitlin]

I completely forgot to describe what my character wears and how her weapon functions, I'll add that in shortly. I'll also add more details about my GF's bonus. I figure I'd go for Magic/ spirit since that makes sense for Nasha.

I don't believe there were any staff weapons in FF8 and hers functions more like a Bo (the staff that Gabrielle had in Xena warrior princess) than like a traditional wizard staff.

[Caitlin]

I updated my character sheet.

If you want to put it in the original topic then here is the code you can use.

Code Select Expand

[spoiler=Caitlin - Character: Nasha Flinder]CHARACTER APPLICATION
[b]Name:[/b] Nasha Flinder
[b]Age:[/b] Sixteen
[b]Enrollment Age:[/b] Six
[b]Gender:[/b] Female

[b]Weapon:[/b] Staff (Melee Weapon)
[b]Specialization:[/b] Magic
[b]Personality:[/b] Nasha is a studious teenager, who is typically a happy person, but who is also afflicted by mood swings, which cause her to be depressed and listless. She likes socializing with her girlfriends, but she is generally shy around guys, especially the more popular ones. She likes pulling pranks on people, but only when she's sure that she won't get caught by the faculty.
[b]Back Story:[/b]
Nasha was born and raised in a small village located in the Bika Snowfields. When she was six years old a terrible blizzard raged over her village. The Blizaga tornado destroyed nearly all houses and the villagers were forced to abandon their homes. The storm had made all outside communication impossible and the elders decided that it was best to head to Shumi Village, which was located further to the north, but also the closest nearby sanctuary.

During the chaos of the impromptu evacuation that followed, Nasha and her parents were separated from the main group and got lost in the blizzard that still raged on around them. When her parents spotted an ice cavern that emitted a gentle glow, they decided to head there, hoping to find sanctuary.

The lack of food and biting cold had severely weakened her parents and they were plagued by hypothermia. They did their best to keep their little girl as warm as possible, but it came at the cost of exposing their own bodies to the elements. Unfortunately the storm didn't show any signs of slowing down and hypothermia overtook her parents, killing them both in the process.

Nasha would have shared their fate if it wasn't for the intervention of a Guardian Force, who cradled the small girl in her arms and soothed her with her warm embrace until Nasha fell asleep. The Guardian Force also emitted a powerful light that acted as a beacon, which in turn attracted a group of Moombas who were bravely defying the blizzard on their trek south. When they spotted the light, their curiosity was aroused and they sought out its origin, where they found a peacefully sleeping Nasha in the ice cavern. The Guardian Force, however, had disappeared without a trace.

The Moombas took Nasha with them to Trabia Garden, where she was enlisted as an orphan and the Garden took her under their care. Nasha could remember little of what had happened during the storm, but she realized that it was something special that had saved her. After she mourned her parents for a considerable time, her curiosity took over and she wanted to find out why she had survived, while her parents had died. This in turn urged her to study magic and Guardian Forces, hoping that she would find an answer.

Over the years that followed her original reasons for studying magic and Guardian Forces slowly faded, while her general interest in magic had widened. At the age of eleven she had learned everything about magic that Trabia Garden had to offer and she requested a transfer to Balamb Garden, which had a bigger library and more specialized teachers, which allow her to further her studies.

Due to her excellent grades and demonstrated skills in the manipulation of magic, Nasha applied for, and was granted, SeeD candidacy at the age of fifteen.

[b]Appearance:[/b] Nasha is 1.68 meter (5'7”) tall, weighs 58 kg (127 pounds), has a light Caucasian skin, shoulder length, snow-white hair which she typically wears in a ponytail, light blonde eyebrows, crystal-clear blue eyes, dark mascara, B cup breasts, manicured fingernails with white nail polish and a toned body that is clean-shaven. Her light skin color, white hair and blue eyes are a genetic trait that all the people of her birth village shared.

Nasha is quite adapted to the cold climate of the northern regions, but she finds the moderate climate of Balamb Garden uncomfortably warm. As a result she tends to wear as little clothes as possible. She typically wears a dark blue tank top, that features the image of a cute Chicobo. Her breasts are firm enough to go without needing a bra. She also wears tight, silver-colored hotpants and a large, black belt made of leather, to which she attaches items and her weapon. She also wears white gym shoes with pink tints.

Her weapon is an extending staff made of titanium that hangs on her belt when she doesn't use it. In it's retracted form it's 30 centimeters (1 ft) large, while it's 150 centimeters (5 ft) when fully extended. On the inside it's hollow, but the tips are enforced with 2,5 centimeters (1 inch) of titanium to make them extra heavy. This adds more momentum to her swings and allows her to deal lethal hits when the tips connect with her target. The staff fully extends and retracts in half a second with the push of a button. Rather than relying on brute force, Nasha's fighting technique is based on speed and agility. She hits the pressure points of her target with a deadly accuracy until she can strike a lethal point that will kill the target.

When Nasha performs a magic related attack she will first retract the staff and hang it on her belt, so she has both hands available to perform her attack.



GF APPLICATION
[b]Name:[/b] Vishka
[b]Element:[/b] Holy
[b]Description:[/b] When Vishka is summoned a small golden sphere appears in mid-air, which rapidly expands and then transforms into her true form. Once her true form is reached, tiny golden sparkles of light from the original sphere slowly fade away.

Vishka has the body of a twenty-five year old woman, with a very light Caucasian skin that emits a tranquil glow. Her eyes have silver glowing irises, while her lips are a very light pink color, only slightly darker than her skin color. Her long, flowing hair shines with a brilliant golden color, lighting up the area around her. She's slim, with C cup breasts, full hips, long legs and slender arms.

Vishka only wears a skintight, white baby doll, that sharply contrasts with her skin color. She levitates above the ground, where a warm, golden wind breezes around her body, as she gently flaps her large, white, angelic wings.
[b]Bonus:[/b] Vishka improves Magic, Spirit and Speed.
[b]Special Attack:[/b] Holy Nova

When Vishka summons her special attack, she will look at the targets and then slowly closes her eyes in concentration, while a small smile forms on her lips. She brings her hands up at breast level with a very elegant gesture, having her palms facing outwards. Next she sharply snaps her fingers with both hands. At the same time she flaps her wings more powerfully, which levitates her higher in the air, while she simultaneously opens her eyes, wears a  frown on her face and the small smile leaves her lips. A second after she snapped her fingers a nova of golden light explodes in the middle of the targets, dealing a moderate amount of holy damage for the duration of the three second explosion. When the light of the blast washes over the party, they get blessed with Haste.
[/spoiler]

By the way, are my character and GF okay?

[AndyZ]

Name: Alyssa Deftrix
Age: 17
Enrollment Age: 5
Gender: Female

Weapon: Gunblade
Specialization: Melee Combat.  She has a notable talent for acrobatic fighting, the strength given to her by Shiva helping her to wield the heavy gunblade without difficulty as well as jump higher than most.  She's not very good with most magic, though she's decent with Cure and Ice spells, and knows a few creative tricks like freezing water to let her cross.
Personality: Devil-may-care attitude that never seems to quit.  Only a select few have peeked under the mask to see her concealed insecurities.
Backstory: Having been in the Garden for as long as she can remember, she's gone from lamenting her fate in her childhood, to being desperate for attention and to prove herself, and now just lives at the edge.  Some people think that she doesn't know when to quit, but a few of her teachers realize that she simply can't quit, because if she ever stops, she might look down, or look back.
Appearance: Although she commonly wears jeans even in warm weather, her shirts can wildly vary based on music, or movies, or anything else which becomes popular and catches her attention.  The rapid shift comes as a combination of living life at high speed combined with the damage to her clothes in combat.  She never wears a jacket, no matter how much it snows (thanks to the resistance to the cold from Shiva), and she doesn't like purses because she has pockets and prefers to travel light.

GF APPLICATION
Name: Shiva
Element: Ice
Description: A blue-skinned frozen woman
Bonus: Strength, giving the otherwise average looking girl a great degree of physical force, and a resistance to cold.
Special Attack: Diamond Dust.  Ice crystals appear with Shiva inside, and she shatters them to send shards of ice bursting out to slash enemies.

[Caitlin]

Hehe, originally I thought of going with a Shiva-like GF which would have had a Permafrost special attack (her appearance being a combination of Vishka and Shiva), but then I settled for a holy elemental instead. ^_^

I'm glad to see Shiva making an appearance though, she was my favourite GF of all the GF's out there. I wonder if anybody will take Ifrit as well?

[AndyZ]

My other plan was to make an angel with Holy, but after I saw that you'd taken that, I didn't want to make another.  Shiva was my favorite entry GF, although Ice is my favorite of the level 1 elements, so it's not hard to figure out why.

[Revenent]

...Doomtrain is where it's really at.

[Caitlin]

My other plan was to make an angel with Holy, but after I saw that you'd taken that, I didn't want to make another.  Shiva was my favorite entry GF, although Ice is my favorite of the level 1 elements, so it's not hard to figure out why.

Cool, great minds think alike! ;D

And yeah, my GF is really a lot like an angel in appearance. I thought up an interesting back story to that as well, it probably isn't very hard to guess who the GF was that saved Nasha. :-)

It just sucks that I couldn't find any pictures that did my character or GF any justice. I hope the descriptions are clear enough to allow people to envision them in their mind though.

[AndyZ]

*reads*

I could actually see it being either Shiva or Vishka.  I never saw Shiva as very comforting (ice entities rarely are), so it's possible but I would have actually more suggested the angel.  Your call on that, though.

[kckolbe]

I was always kinda partial the the Brothers cinematic.  Been so long though.  I may have to go back and look them through.

[Fenrir]

CHARACTER APPLICATION
Name: Zeniera Rukein
Age: Eighteen
Enrollment Age: Five
Gender: Female

Weapon: Shuriken Weapon Description:  Large five foot shuriken with four blades.  Each blade is two and a half feet long, with doubled edges.  Zeniera must wear special gloves to prevent herself from cutting her hands.  The weapon can be used in melee combat as well as being thrown.  It glows with magic gifted to her from her guardian force that warps the weapon back to her hands after being thrown. (shown in character photo).
Specialization: Infiltration and Evacuation
Personality: Zeniera is a friendly enough person but gets a lone wolf syndrome from her guardian force counterpart and prefers to work alone most of the time.  When she's around people she's quick to smile and make a joke at anyone's expense including her own and always says what is on her mind, regardless of the consequences.  She known garden wide as an escape artist and is always willing to submit to any of the trials her garden mates create for her.  Never being a very good student, she has a tendency to barely scrape by on her academia while excelling tremendously in SeeD field training and exams.  She is persistent and never gives up once her mind is made up and has a keen eye to recognize the best way to get out of situations.

Backstory:
There are no memories that Zeniera can recall before she came to Balamb Garden and no one remembers who she had been with before she was found wandering the hallways.  She cried for days, for her sister to come to her and when no one showed to take the young girl home she was enrolled to the school.  It soon became her home, her teachers and friends became her family and she forgot any memories of a previous life. 

The young girl was merely eight years old when she came across her guardian force, Fenrir.  She had picked a fight with an older student, a twelve year old that was harassing one of her friends and still weak in her training she was forced into a chest, that was quickly locked.  The swaying of the chest had almost made her sick as they carried to the training facility and abandoned her there.  She cried in the small box for hours, beating upon its wooden frame until a low growl sounded around her.  She yelled at the noise, demanding that it free her and so he did.  Zeniera appeared next to the great wolf in a blink of an eye and as he approached her her hands flew out in an exaggerated manner.  "Can you believe they stuffed me in there?"  Fenrir found this tiny cub amusing and pointed her in the direction of the door.

She came back, each day for years bothering the wolf with her presence and though he tried ignoring her for a while her insistence and inexperience landed her in more trouble within the training grounds than anything else.  He saved her time and time again until he gave up trying to ignore her and eventually told her the origins of his chains he was forever bound too.  The story was solemn and gave Zeniera an suddenly knew outlook on life she approached him one day carrying a strange weapon.  Two years had passed since they had first meet and she had picked her weapon of choice.  A shuriken.  He found the weapon to be fitting and as she set about training he watched, rescuing her naturally when she became too overwhelmed by certain enemies.  One day after watching her struggle with having to throw the enormous weapon and retrieve it time and time again he simply nodded his head.  The shruiken began to glow with a soft light and as she looked at him questioningly he simply shrugged.  This time when she threw the weapon it appeared in her hand once more.  It was a great gift from someone who had become a dear friend to her.  The other kids at the garden had been jealous of her weapon and wanted to know where she had bought it from but she kept Fenrir all to herself.

At fourteen she took her SeeD entrance exam and passed with flying colors.  As the other students that had passed with her celebrated, she went to the training grounds and immediately challenged Fenrir to become her guardian force.  The battle was intense and he gave no inch to the stubborn child, viewing her demand of bondage to be another form of chains he did not want.  She did not win, the first time or the second time.  Each time she was knocked out he would warp her to her room and await the next year when she would arrive, on the very same day, with knew skills and magic to try again.  It was just last week when she finally over took him and the great wolf Fenrir was finally forced to serve another.  That day she told him of her specialization, infiltration and extraction and told him he was the one to inspire her to break any chains holding her back.  She told him stories of her escape artistry and did her best to fill him in on the near four years they had missed.

Appearance:

Photo

Long ice blonde hair surrounds a near angelic face with blue eyes.  Standing at a near 5'10 the young woman has long limbs that are lithe and powerful to wield and throw her heavy weapon.

GF APPLICATION
Name: Fenrir
Element: Dark
Description:

Photo

Fenrir is a giant wolf, chained to the earth by the gods that appears in a sudden appearance of night with a deep rumbling growl.  He hates all that seek to trap others and lends his powers only to those who seem worthy.
Bonus: Speed and Evasion
Special Attack:
Fenrir's Favor - When Fenrir appears, his rumbling growl becomes more ferocious as his fangs bare and his fur bristles at the enemies.  He begins pulling at his chains, fighting his confines as he snarls at them and he fights harder, thrashing about, restless to release his wrath upon them.  Until the chain holding him snaps and he barrels at the foes with an intense howl of victory.  His claws dig into whatever is beneath him as he races towards them and the moment before teeth and claws collide with the enemies he vanishes into a thick black smoke, blocking the vision of the enemies and as the smoke gradually clears all that's left for the enemies' eyes are the deep gashes from his claws on the ground while those in Zeniera's party have been warped to another set location.

[Caitlin]

*reads*

I could actually see it being either Shiva or Vishka.  I never saw Shiva as very comforting (ice entities rarely are), so it's possible but I would have actually more suggested the angel.  Your call on that, though.

Oh no, you misunderstood me. Originally I was going for something like Shiva (an Ice elemental GF, but then with wings), but instead I turned more to an angel with the holy element.

As far as the GF that saves Nasha, that's Vishka yeah. I thought it'd be interesting that she'd be her GF later on and write a story about how she became her Guardian Force and what Vishka's motivations were for becoming so. I don't want to spoil too much of my character's plot though. :-)

[AndyZ]

Oh no, you misunderstood me. Originally I was going for something like Shiva (an Ice elemental GF, but then with wings), but instead I turned more to an angel with the holy element.

As far as the GF that saves Nasha, that's Vishka yeah. I thought it'd be interesting that she'd be her GF later on and write a story about how she became her Guardian Force and what Vishka's motivations were for becoming so. I don't want to spoil too much of my character's plot though. :-)

Fair enough.  I have a few things that I've hinted at with my character profile but will get more in depth on as the game goes on.

If you do decide that you want to swap for Shiva before the game begins, though, let me know.  I don't mind giving her up.

[Caitlin]

Fair enough.  I have a few things that I've hinted at with my character profile but will get more in depth on as the game goes on.

If you do decide that you want to swap for Shiva before the game begins, though, let me know.  I don't mind giving her up.

I'm quite happy with this set-up. I didn't want to use any of the existing GF's and preferred to come up with something of my own, that matches the style of FF VIII. I like creating new characters and if I got the chance to work on a FF title then this is the kind of GF I'd have added. ^_^

With my original idea I thought my GF could have been a sister of Shiva (Permafrost would have summoned a giant ice glacier that dealt moderate ice damage and put slow on the targets), but I still wouldn't have taken Shiva herself. I thought it'd be better to leave her to somebody else.

Somebody else could still go for a sister of Shiva if they want a similar GF and create a slightly different attack. I can imagine that Shiva is very popular. ;)

[Fenrir]

I considered so many GF's from the game myself- Ifrit, Cerberus, and of course Bahamut.  But I could not resist putting my own spin on Fenrir from FF6 *grins* 

[Caitlin]

It's a nice backstory yeah!

I thought we were supposed to capture the GF's as part of an exam though, but you could always 'time warp' things a little and have this story happen as that exam. ;)

[kckolbe]

I am still trying to decide.  I am considering going with Siren (who could also tie in with Shiva/Vishka) and having her junction improve luck, which could make for some fun posts and give the GM a nice excuse to throw us a bone when needed.  I'm still a bit bothered by the lack of a system, since combat is such a huge part of any FF game.  I'm also worried about what the posting rate will be. 

[Caitlin]

I'm aiming at roughly 3 - 4 posts a week, so about 1 post every 2 days. If the game is very active I'll naturally be posting more as well though. It really depends on the activity of others for me. This game won't have my main priority, but I do want to actively contribute as well.

[Fenrir]

It's a nice backstory yeah!

I thought we were supposed to capture the GF's as part of an exam though, but you could always 'time warp' things a little and have this story happen as that exam. ;)

Thank you, I made it myself ;) *giggles*

As for it being part of an exam- I could see that and she can still take that exam but even Squall had a GF- Insert GF's strange Q name that I am too lazy to look up, that should have been Ramuh- before he took his exam to fight Ifrit.

I am still trying to decide.  I am considering going with Siren (who could also tie in with Shiva/Vishka) and having her junction improve luck, which could make for some fun posts and give the GM a nice excuse to throw us a bone when needed.  I'm still a bit bothered by the lack of a system, since combat is such a huge part of any FF game.  I'm also worried about what the posting rate will be. 

Mmm... Siren, she would be a lovely choice.  I also worry about not having- some sort of system for combat- we are mercenaries after all... and as much as I prefer free form writing I also have run into those characters that *nothing* bad can happen to during free form.

[AndyZ]

I'm quite happy with this set-up. I didn't want to use any of the existing GF's and preferred to come up with something of my own, that matches the style of FF VIII. I like creating new characters and if I got the chance to work on a FF title then this is the kind of GF I'd have added. ^_^

With my original idea I thought my GF could have been a sister of Shiva (Permafrost would have summoned a giant ice glacier that dealt moderate ice damage and put slow on the targets), but I still wouldn't have taken Shiva herself. I thought it'd be better to leave her to somebody else.

Somebody else could still go for a sister of Shiva if they want a similar GF and create a slightly different attack. I can imagine that Shiva is very popular. ;)

Yeah, I just figured it'd be more fun to have something straight from the game.  If someone else wants Shiva, though, I have other ideas.

I am still trying to decide.  I am considering going with Siren (who could also tie in with Shiva/Vishka) and having her junction improve luck, which could make for some fun posts and give the GM a nice excuse to throw us a bone when needed.  I'm still a bit bothered by the lack of a system, since combat is such a huge part of any FF game.  I'm also worried about what the posting rate will be. 

I tend to post every day.

Thank you, I made it myself ;) *giggles*

As for it being part of an exam- I could see that and she can still take that exam but even Squall had a GF- Insert GF's strange Q name that I am too lazy to look up, that should have been Ramuh- before he took his exam to fight Ifrit.

Mmm... Siren, she would be a lovely choice.  I also worry about not having- some sort of system for combat- we are mercenaries after all... and as much as I prefer free form writing I also have run into those characters that *nothing* bad can happen to during free form.

Quetzacouatl IIRC.

[Caitlin]

Quetzalcoatl yes. :-)

I'm also familiar with people that take no damage during fights and it tends to make games boring quickly yeah. I'm not really familiar with anything outside of freeform though, so while I can understand the logic in it, I have no idea how it would pan out.

[Florence]

All the characters are wonderful! :D

I'm working on some characters of my own... was gonna make at least one female character, but now I'm not so sure, given how much of a clam bake this is turning into xD;

[kckolbe]

Still working on one, myself, but haven't made much progress with the concept.  Will all of us be playing students or are instructors fair game?

[Caitlin]

Keep in mind we'll need at least 1 instructor that can interact with the students. Only SeeD are allowed to accompany students on prerequisites or small missions.

[Florence]

I was intending to play instructors and other such characters myself. If we get enough people, I wouldn't mind it, but I want to focus on the students. And as it is we need more male students, or we'll have an entire class of girls, practically xD;

[kckolbe]

Definitely understandable.  What's the oldest you are comfortable with as a student?

EDIT:  Never mind, found the answer.

[Caitlin]

I was intending to play instructors and other such characters myself. If we get enough people, I wouldn't mind it, but I want to focus on the students. And as it is we need more male students, or we'll have an entire class of girls, practically xD;

I figured as much that you'd be playing them yeah. ;)

Unfortunately I don't have enough time to add an additional character to add some more males in the mix, or I'd have done so.

[Florence]

I figured as much that you'd be playing them yeah. ;)

Unfortunately I don't have enough time to add an additional character to add some more males in the mix, or I'd have done so.

It's perfectly okay xD worst case I'll just NPC a few of them.

[AndyZ]

I could see about switching to a male character idea if it'd be preferred.

[kckolbe]

It's all right, Andy.  There were several interested males, myself included.  This version is a bit bare bones as I wanted to leave a lot open to weave his backstory in with another character's, whether it be as childhood friend or sibling. 

CHARACTER APPLICATION
Name: James Melcher
Age: 19
Enrollment Age: 5
Gender: Male

Weapon: Undecided in character
Specialization: Slightly below average in everything, but blessed with fortune
Personality: Easy-going, though a bit insecure given that he has turned out to be a bit of a disappointment.  He hates being mediocre at best, though even after putting in a lot of effort he still falls shy of being a top performer.
Backstory: James was enrolled by his parents at the age of 5, (one or both of them having been SeeD themselves at one of the Gardens).  As a child, James showed amazing potential, almost showing himself to be untouchable, even though he was extremely timid.  As he progressed, though, his gift seemed to wear off, and more and more he found himself losing in sparring sessions and failing to cast spells.  Always a mediocre academic, his scores even started dropping off a little.  He was already attempted his final trial at least once, but the trial(s) were not deemed adequate.
Appearance:


GF APPLICATION
Name: Fortunata
Element: Luck
Description: Like a pale version of Siren without the harp
Bonus: Luck
Special Attack: Casts protective spells (protect/shell)

[Caitlin]

It's perfectly okay xD worst case I'll just NPC a few of them.

Hey now... It just means more women for you. ;)

Having one male character surrounded by hot and needy teenage girls ought to be every teenager's dream. :P

[kckolbe]

Can't say I'm not looking forward to some of it.  ~smiles~

[Florence]

Hey now... It just means more women for you. ;)

Having one male character surrounded by hot and needy teenage girls ought to be every teenager's dream. :P

xD; funny enough, last FF8 RP I was in, my character wound up with like... 3 separate love interests xD;

We'll see how he does this time :D

[Caitlin]

Can't say I'm not looking forward to some of it.  ~smiles~

Just wait till they all hit that time of the month at the same time... You'll probably wish you were facing a T-Rex instead with nothing more but a spoon to defend yourself. ;)

[Florence]

Here is my SeeD character. They're not an instructor, but may substitute if the unarmed combat teacher or P.E. teacher are out. He will also work with the students often whenever they require SeeD oversight. If he seems at all overpowered, he's sort of supposed to. I intend to have another, student character, who will be more on the same level as the rest of the cast.

CHARACTER APPLICATION
Name: Yuge Oshiro
Age: 23
Enrollment Age: 12
Gender: Male
Rank: A-Class SeeD

Weapon: Steel Knuckles
Specialization: Martial Arts

Personality: Despite his troubled youth, Yuge is disciplined and patient in his job. He operates with ruthless efficiency. He has no qualms with killing his enemies, and no hesitation in doing so. He seems at face value to be a cold and calculating man. How true that is, remains a mystery to most. Those who have fought alongside him tell mixed tales of a coldhearted monster, and a selfless hero, only making it harder to figure the man out.

Backstory: Growing up in the slums of Timber, Yuge never had an easy life. Galbadia had been weakened after the defeat of the Sorceress, but they struggled to keep hold of their assets. Despite growing sentiment for Timber's independence, the city is still under their control. A new, militant incarnation of the resistance group, The Forest Owls, has risen up to oppose them, and the conflict as only escalated since.

He stayed close with the few friends he had, and tried to make it in this harsh place. He got into a lot of trouble, and spent a lot of time on the streets. He learned to survive, to steal, to cheat and to lie, all before he was even 10. But one day, his parents managed to get an opportunity. A job offer out in Balamb, and they took it. He left his home and moved to Balamb.

He continued getting in trouble, stealing, playing pranks and starting fights. His parents decided there was only one thing to do with him, and convinced Garden to take him in. He hated it, at first, the rules, the bossy teachers. Over time, however, he grew to love it. He took pride in how quickly he was able to pick up the martial arts.

In time, he made SeeD, and only continued rising through their ranks. He really made his name known, when a rogue group of Galbadian soldiers attempted to attack Balamb Town, blaming them for all that had gone wrong with Galbadia. Yuge was instrumental in their removal, and became something of a local hero among the people of Balamb.

Appearance:

Yuge Oshiro as a Student

Yuge's most notable physical traits are likely his dark red hair, and his emerald eyes. His facial build is masculine, but just fine and pretty enough to give him a 'pretty boy' look. His hair falls comes down to his shoulders and typically holds that sort of 'I don't care how I look, but somehow roll out of bed looking amazing' sort of look to it. His general style follows suit, wearing clothes that rarely look like they were put together with any sort of fashion conscious mind, but somehow look good. All this wrapped around a frame that shows well how active his life is. He is hardly a bodybuilder, but he is certainly athletic. His muscles are well built and powerful, but toned and able to move quickly.

He rarely dresses in the SeeD uniform, unless absolutely required to. He also has a habit of smoking on the job. Many wonder, due to this, how he managed to get to his high rank, until they see him in action. He is certainly a man who cares more about actions than appearances.

GF APPLICATION
Name: Yojimbo
Element: Non-Elemental
Description: Yojimbo is a tall figure, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and flowing samurai garb. He carries a short blade, with throwing knives fitted into the sheath, but if he needs to, he can call his legendary katana, Zanmato, from a portal in the ground.
Bonus: Yojimbo provides a boost to Yuge's physical combat skills, making him a faster and stronger oponent, while doing little for magic.
Special Attack: Yojimbo demands payment when he's summoned, the amount he is payed determines which of his weapons he will use. For the smallest payment, he calls his dog Daigoro on the enemy, for a little more, he will use his the knives in his wakazashi, or the blade itself, and for the highest payment he will bring out his Zanmato, said to be able to slice any opponent in half in a single slash.

[kckolbe]

If you are going to play two males, that gives us three males and three females, and at least one of the females is only interested in other women.  I just want to stress this since right now everyone is talking about how many women there are and how few men.

[Florence]

If you are going to play two males, that gives us three males and three females, and at least one of the females is only interested in other women.  I just want to stress this since right now everyone is talking about how many women there are and how few men.

I wouldn't really count Yuge. I mean, he's not really going to be one of the MAIN characters. He's got more of a supporting role, as opposed to my student character, who will be more actively involved with the other characters.

[kckolbe]

I don't mind too much either way, though I wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page.  So as far as my character goes, I was thinking that he has attempted a final exam twice.  Once he was stuck on a patrol where nothing happened, and on one his team failed their objective, though the failure of another team was a partial factor. 

[Caitlin]

I could add a male instructor that will help some people with their mission if you want, that character would only make a few appearances at the start of the game though and isn't be open to any relationships. It might take some of the pressure of you for otherwise having to roleplay the entire faculty. ;)


Feel free to discard what's in the spoiler, it's mostly just a quick idea I threw together. :P

Possible instructor

CHARACTER APPLICATION
Name: Maru Delof
Age: 31
Enrollment Age: 10
Gender: Male
Rank: SeeD level 23

Weapon: Revolver
Specialization: Ranged
Personality: Maru is a calm and reserved instructor, who mostly stays to himself, though is also often seen in the company of other faculty members. He's known to be afraid of Chocobos, but nobody knows why. Whenever he encounters one he jumps up and runs away screaming, while being chased by the Chocobo, who thinks that he wants to play.
Backstory: Maru enrolled in Balamb Garden at the age of 10, after he had demonstrated his skills with a gun to a SeeD member who goes by the name of Irvine Kinneas. Impressed with the child's abilities he was allowed to enter Balamb Garden based on Irvine's recommendations.
He took his studies very serious, but also showed a talent in engineering and tweaking weapons, which was a skill he had picked up at his father's junkshop. Maru passed his SeeD exam at the age of 19, being a bit of a late bloomer. During the ten years that followed he was regularly sent out on missions, but two years ago he decided that the more regular life at the Garden suited him better and he has been an instructor ever since.
Appearance: Maru is 180 cm (6 ft) tall, has black hair and blue eyes. His regularly exercises keep him fit and his body toned, though his muscles aren't as clearly defined as those of some of the other members of SeeD.

GF APPLICATION
Name: Kigfrit
Element: Fire
Description: Kigfrit is a nephew of Ifrit and looks much like him, though with a slightly darker skin and more body armor.
Bonus: Accuracy
Special Attack: Hell Lash - This attack is performed by a whip of Kigfrit, which rips large fiery boulders out of the ground and hurls them at his targets, dealing a moderate amount of fire damage.

[Caitlin]

Small side note; I decided to Nasha's shirt a bit. Instead of a yellow star and the name of her favourite pop band it now features a cute chicobo. I can't believe nobody made a chocobo reference yet! ;D

[Fenrir]

I most certainly think that Yuge should be the twelve year old that trapped Zeniera into a chest.  *grins*

[Latooni Subota]

Gosh. I go to work for one day, then sleep, and suddenly it's up to 4 pages! lol

I'll get mine up later this afternoon. Surprise surprise, it'll be a girl! :P

[kckolbe]

Woohoo!  Looking forward to seeing her.

[Latooni Subota]

Would anyone care if I was the daughter of Irvine, post-retirement from being everybody's favorite sniper? It'd be a good reason as to why my character is pretty handy with a rifle! Also, it amuses me. :3

[lore]

Another girl :)

CHARACTER APPLICATION
Name: Nona Gale
Age: 19
Enrollment Age: 9
Gender: Female

Weapon: Shield - round and metallic with rivets around its circumference. Used primarily for defense but can perform melee attacks as well.
Specialization: Defense
Personality: Carefree and humorous, Nona has few ambitions, and is far more interested in the goals and plans of others then her own. She never hesitates to step into the line of fire in defense of another, and does so with a defiant, fearless grin. Having something of a pacifistic streak, Nona is known for advocating every plausible non-violent strategy before escalating a conflict to violence. Content with her lot in life, she has come to believe the peace she desires comes with a price tag: the sacrifice and dedication of trained individuals such as herself. She had a love of chocobos, and they seem to respond well to her calm demeanor. Her favorite passtime is finding some vacant field, laying back, and watching the clouds scroll by.
Backstory: In a freak act of violence just outside the town of Balamb limits, Nona's parents were killed in a car jacking. When an armed drifter ordered her father to abandon his vehicle and his wife within, he resisted. The gunman panicked and shot them both. It was later revealed the shooter had been from Timber, a fact which was never forgotten by Nona's family. Raised by her fisherman uncle, Nona was fed a steady flow of hate and resentment for Timber residents from an early age - the remnants of which linger on to this day.

Believing himself incapable of providing a life that could compare to that of a SeeD, Nona's uncle enrolled her Balamb Garden. It was a difficult transition, but she eventually formed familial bonds with friends that had been previously absent in her life. Over the years Nona demonstrated promise and intellect, puzzling instructors as to why she has botched her SeeD exams time and again. Truthfully, Nona is reluctant to leave the garden and engage in real combat.     
Appearance:

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Nona is on the short side, 5'3'' with a healthy amount of muscle. She has a pear shape, with a smaller chest and broader hips. There's a wholesome, simple air to her and her fair skin has a healthy glow to it. Her wavy dirty blond hair is usually pulled back into a sloppy bun while in combat. Her eyes are a bright pale blue and generally carry an amused lackadaisical expression. When not in uniform, she wears a red hoodie, gray track jacket, jeans and leather ankle boots.   


GF APPLICATION

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Name: Golem
Element: Earth
Description: Golem has no consistent shape, and instead rises up from the earth in a different configuration of rock, roots, wood, moss, ect every time he awakens. Usually this shape is humanoid, but he could arise in the shape a rabbit, bear or chocobo etc if he desired. 
Bonus: Strength, defense.
Special Attack: When Golem appears he can be directed to give a hit or take a hit. Give a hit: Golem slams back into the earth, sending a seismic shock toward the enemy (AoE). Weaker enemies are disoriented on top of taking damage. Flying enemies are unaffected. Take a hit: Golem can be assigned an ally. The next time that ally is attacked, he not only absorbs the damage, but delivers a powerful counter attack.   

[Caitlin]

Would anyone care if I was the daughter of Irvine, post-retirement from being everybody's favorite sniper? It'd be a good reason as to why my character is pretty handy with a rifle! Also, it amuses me. :3

I believe the OP specifically requested that we don't play relatives of the known heroes and start up a completely new cast instead. We're allowed to reference to them though! :-)

Believing himself incapable of providing a life that could compare to that of a SeeD, Nona's uncle enrolled her Balamb Garden.

Don't you mean herself?

Also the picture of your character doesn't show up, but I like the overall character and GF you came up with. ^_^

One question about the 'take a hit'/ 'give a hit' though, is that something you can do with every  melee attack or is it an ability that's only active when Golem is summoned?

[lore]

Nope. I meant himself. Her uncle didn't think he could provide for her.

Give/take a hit is a summon maneuver.

Though I imagine cover would be among Nona's favorite magic.

[Fenrir]

I love your GF lore- great, great golem picture ;D

[lore]

Thanks. i thought it had that dark realism I love from FF8.

[Florence]

I believe the OP specifically requested that we don't play relatives of the known heroes and start up a completely new cast instead. We're allowed to reference to them though! :-)

Don't you mean herself?

Also the picture of your character doesn't show up, but I like the overall character and GF you came up with. ^_^

One question about the 'take a hit'/ 'give a hit' though, is that something you can do with every  melee attack or is it an ability that's only active when Golem is summoned?

First point: Quite right, you are. I would prefer if you not have a direct relation to Irvine. You can certainly list him as an inspiration, as I'm sure he's famous by now.

Second Point: Reading it, I believe "himself" referred to her uncle. And on that note, I like the character. I'll have to have Yuge out and about a bit in social situations (though I can't stress enough that I intend to employ him in direct combat only VERY rarely, unless its sparring or demonstrating techniques for a class), because I feel like the two of them would have one interesting relationship. Her dislike of people from Timber, him BEING from Timber. Her pacifist nature, his willingness to kill.

I most certainly think that Yuge should be the twelve year old that trapped Zeniera into a chest.  *grins*

Perhaps. He was a trouble maker, but not a bully. He wouldn't have just randomly picked a fight with a younger student. The most trouble he caused would be with the Disciplinary Committee :P

[Capone]

So against all better judgment, I shall be joining this group game I think. I just can't promise frequent postings. But my character will be a slacker, so if I have to be absent for X period of time we can just say he's off slacking somewhere.

I'll get to work on a character sheet.

*sigh*...I'm gonna pay for this, I bet.

[Fenrir]

Perhaps. He was a trouble maker, but not a bully. He wouldn't have just randomly picked a fight with a younger student. The most trouble he caused would be with the Disciplinary Committee :P

Fine, then I'll need someone else to create a bully to have thrown my character in a treasure chest- who doesn't need an arch rival?

So against all better judgment, I shall be joining this group game I think. I just can't promise frequent postings. But my character will be a slacker, so if I have to be absent for X period of time we can just say he's off slacking somewhere.

I'll get to work on a character sheet.

*sigh*...I'm gonna pay for this, I bet.

*squeaks* >.>

[Caitlin]

Nope. I meant himself. Her uncle didn't think he could provide for her.

Give/take a hit is a summon maneuver.

Though I imagine cover would be among Nona's favorite magic.

Thanks for the clarification! ^_^

And yeah, I can see that cover would be her favourite. Nasha doesn't really have a preference for offensive or healing magic, though I don't think she'll have a lot of protective/ status curing spells. I didn't really give that a lot of thought, but if another character specializes in supporting magic then Nasha won't pick it up.

Actually, come to think of it, I do think that she has a preference for ice magic, due to the region where she grew up, so I'll probably focus on that a bit more than the other offensive magic types.

[kckolbe]

James' GF (if approved) will cast protect/shell, depending on the threat.  Also, he is decent at magic and will have some support capability.

[Revenent]

Geez, I'm having a hard enough time keeping up with this topic to be able to actually sort through my ideas. ;D (Case in point: 7 new replies as I went to the post preview page.)

I guess I'll be putting up a male character, if I can manage to pick a few ideas and find a niche that hasn't been taken yet. I might be able to do it tonight, but that's not for sure, since I like to put a lot of thought into these things. Plus I'm in the middle of starting one group RP and revitalizing another.

[lore]

Yuge - I look forward to seeing Yuge. Nona's distrust of Timber natives is insidious - she's not even all that aware of her prejudices, but if something went wrong while he was leading a group, she'd be quick to assume it was his fault. Her perma-smile would also fade in his presence. I think they'd have interesting sparring/training sessions.

James - I'd very much like it if these two were friends, given their shared age and layed back dispositions. Maybe they both failed thier SeeD exams together. The fact that James is trying so hard while failing and Nona is purposefully not trying in order to fail could be straining the friendship.

[kckolbe]

Why is she wanting to fail?  Also, since this is her last year, is she trying to fail this time as well?

[AribethAmkiir]

Geez, I'm having a hard enough time keeping up with this topic to be able to actually sort through my ideas. ;D (Case in point: 7 new replies as I went to the post preview page.)

I guess I'll be putting up a male character, if I can manage to pick a few ideas and find a niche that hasn't been taken yet. I might be able to do it tonight, but that's not for sure, since I like to put a lot of thought into these things. Plus I'm in the middle of starting one group RP and revitalizing another.

I hear you.  I have no idea if there's even a niche left to fill or a GF, much less adding another female character is likely unwanted.  It'd be very nice to participate, but we've already got people throwing up two characters so I don't know if there'll be anything left when I finally have time to create a character.  Might just have to step away from this one.  :-(

[lore]

@kckolbe Nona is reluctant to leave the garden and engage in real combat. She has a pacifistic streak, and is fearful of actually killing someone. She's just had a bit of an epiphany: the peace she desires will likely come from the sacrifice and dedication of trained individuals. For the first time she's /considering/ giving it a sincere go. Might be fun to rp the pep talk that pushes her over the edge into doing so. 

--------------
edit

@Aribeth
I think a water GF with a 'flood' move would be cool
Or an undead GF from the salt flats!

[Latooni Subota]

Alright, rather than being the daughter of Irvine, I'm adjusting details to have her be a girl that was trying to follow him around to try and learn his techniques, to the point of actively getting herself in more than a little trouble, until he decided to drag her to Balamb Garden where she can bother REAL teachers since she insists on learning how to fight monsters better. Should be better, yeah?

[Capone]

I hear you.  I have no idea if there's even a niche left to fill or a GF, much less adding another female character is likely unwanted.  It'd be very nice to participate, but we've already got people throwing up two characters so I don't know if there'll be anything left when I finally have time to create a character.  Might just have to step away from this one.  :-(

Poppycock! Just request that people refrain from making second characters since there is no need for them. Second characters are for woefully under-populated games.

As for the ladies, well, speaking as a dude, there's no such thing as too many ladies. >.> I'm a bit biased in that regard, though. :P

Though I would like to hope that the game itself will be a lot slower than this thread. Some folk have jorbs!

CHARACTER APPLICATION
Name: Zandelle
Age: 17
Enrollment Age: 11
Gender: Male

Weapon: Dual-daggers
Specialization: Recon, infiltration (bow-chikka-bow-wow), assassination
Personality: Total slacker with unrealized potential

Backstory: Zandelle wasn't necessarily a problem child. He merely was never too interested in what everyone else thought was important. In regular schools he'd manage to climb out of classroom windows because it was just more interesting to be outside chasing butterflies. He didn't get into fights and he didn't break things, but he refused to obey the rules.

His parents kept trying to put him in more and more strict schools, but each of them gave up and passed him around. At the age of ten his parents divorced, neither being capable of raising such a troublesome young man on their own. Thus he was put up for adoption.

By the age of eleven Zandelle had been passed from one orphanage to the next, seeming to be disinterested in his own predicament. Sure, he loved his parents. He also wrote to them regularly. He did not feel any anger, but instead felt freedom. Yeah, more adults were trying to tell him what to do, but by climbing buildings, diving into public fountains and skipping classes, one institution after the next passed him on as a nuisance.

Until Balamb Garden discovered him, recognizing what potential someone capable of climbing and escaping has in war. Zandelle accepted the invitation to Balamb, though mostly as a comfy place of free room and board. Unfortunately, that whole "military training" thing gets in the way. Despite his intentional attempts to fail and be held back, he is continually recognized as being an exceptional candidate for SeeD.

Picking up his GF, Stray, didn't help. He had intended to fail that exam, just as all the others. Yet Stray found this intriguing. Instead of letting the boy fail, Stray tricked the examiners into believing Zandelle passed. Stray is a constant thorn in Zandelle's side now, looking to try and trip up the young man's plans. He is most amused by the young man's refusal to kill anyone, despite being extremely efficient at it.

Zandelle is often seen carrying around a porn magazine and "reading" it during class. In truth, the porn magazine is actually wrapped around a comic book. After all, people look at you strange if you're reading a comic book in public, but if you're reading a nudie mag they just think you're a pervert.

Appearance:

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

GF APPLICATION
Name: Stray
Element: None

Description: A sort of trickster, Stray is a cat without a definitive form. He (or she?) continues to change his (her?) breed and rarely speaks. An inquisitive gaze, crooked ear, or loud hiss is all the creature uses to communicate with Zandelle. Yet in stressful situations, s/he will certainly assist and help Zandelle. The real question is who is in control here?

Bonus: Speed, evasion

Special Attack: Confusion

[kckolbe]

Lore, sounds good.  I would love for James to have had company the second time he didn't pass.  Would she have sabotaged it somehow without actually hurting her team?

[Latooni Subota]

I hope this is all okay, after my edits. I'll have some stuff to send via PM as well, later on.



CHARACTER APPLICATION
Name: Milly Ring
Age: 18
Enrollment Age: 10
Gender: Female

Weapon: Bolt-Action Rifle "Lee Widowmaker"
Specialization: Long-Range Combat

Personality: Unlike her idol Irvine Kinneas she's very calm and cool, and keeps her head together under pressure. Rather than good-natured joking and flirting, she tends to be fairly serious other than a little snarking here and there. Admittedly, she occasionally throws out a joke . . but it tends to be awkwardly timed and completely deadpan, so we try not to dwell on those. She gets aggrevated by people who don't take their work seriously, and tend to goof off. Valor is her virtue of choice, and she's never one to back out of a challenge! Something she likes to keep secret though is her habit of keeping overly detailed diaries.

Backstory: A little less than 30 years ago, after the defeat of Ultimecia, Irvine Kinneas left Balamb Garden to return to Galbadia. Roughly 10 years ago, he finally returned to Balamb Garden with a little girl carrying a large rifle in tow, and an expression of exasperation. At some point during Irvine's travels around Galbadia and Centra, he impressed a young girl with his magnificent gunplay. That day was the day his nightmare began, as a little girl with a junky revolver began to follow him from town to town begging to be taught his techniques.

At first it was a little cute, having a kid apparently idolize him. When she started trying to fight wild monsters with a rusty gun, regardless of how strong they were? That's when the problems happened. Rather than just leave and risk the child getting herself killed trying to emulate him, he handed her one of his older rifles and brought her to Balamb Garden. After all, under the watchful gaze of SeeD, there was a much lower chance of her attacking a red dragon and being eaten. After some . . convincing, and assuring her that there were people far more impressive than him, she eventually agreed to attend the Garden and try to become a SeeD.

Milly quickly began to excel in her studies and most combat training exercises, but proved to be lagging behind in teamwork and Magic/GF training. After years of almost exclusively talking to just her father mostly, she had . . issues with making friends and teaming up. Over the years she's slowly managed to come out of her shell (Sort-of) and improve her teamwork, learning to cover people with her rifle so they can safely manuever in close range. Irvine's influence in her combat style is clear, as she copies his stylish gunslinging rather well, despite using a rifle rather than a shotgun. She's eager to graduate, and show off to that flighty jerk that dropped her off here how amazing she's gotten, assuming she can find wherever he's wandered off to this time . . .

Appearance:

Milly Ring

It should be noted that she loathes the school uniform requirements, and tends to 'forget' it whenever possible, or cover it up with her rather stylish coat. Because of this and her unrepentant attitude about it, she's a relatively frequent candidate for disciplinary action.


GF APPLICATION
Name: Meteor Master
Element: Non-Elemental
Description:

Meteor Master

Meteor Master is an offshoot of the Tonberry race, looking more like an alien than a normal Tonberry. It hovers about on top of it's halo, with a floating crystal lantern and oddly-shaped knife floating alongside it's body, a bright glowing ball attached to it's head. It prefers the high mountaintops to other areas, as if it's trying to get into space, maybe back to the moon. It's generally a rather lazy creature, that just likes to hover around and peoplewatch, though if attacked it can occasionally fly into a rather dangerous rage. Though it can shoot flames from it's lantern, and attack with it's knife, the real threat comes from the ball on it's head.

Bonus: Meteor Master, unlike what you'd think a Tonberry would do, grants a large bonus to physical and magical defense, and only a minor offensive bonus.

Special Attack: Meteor Mash- When Meteor Master is summoned it gathers up a large amount of energy in the orb on it's head, before shooting it up into the clouds. With an explosion of light a meteorite parts the clouds and falls to earth, smashing an enemy or tightly grouped pack of enemies. Of course, this all assumes that Meteor Master actually bothers with an attack. 1/3rd of the time he'll just make a half-assed stab attempt at a nearby enemy, and another 1/3rd of the time he'll just wander off to take a nap somewhere. Milly really dislikes her GF's flighty attitude.

[Caitlin]

I hear you.  I have no idea if there's even a niche left to fill or a GF, much less adding another female character is likely unwanted.  It'd be very nice to participate, but we've already got people throwing up two characters so I don't know if there'll be anything left when I finally have time to create a character.  Might just have to step away from this one.  :-(

Only the GM will be playing multiple characters Ari, and there are still more than enough niches left to cover. Each character is unique in its own way, even if they share a specialisation in something else.

There is also still a whole bunch of GF's that aren't used yet and even more that you could make up.

The only other person who offered to play a second character so far was me, but that would only be a temporary character to help at the start of the game a bit.


Latooni, I really like your character and the GF you came up with! You might still want to fix the spoiler title though. ;)

[Latooni Subota]

Hey, I was re-editing a sheet two times. Mistakes happen. XD

[Caitlin]

Hehe, I know you didn't do it on purpose, I thought it was an editing mistake but I figured you missed that one. :P

[Florence]

I love all the characters I've seen so far!

I hear you.  I have no idea if there's even a niche left to fill or a GF, much less adding another female character is likely unwanted.  It'd be very nice to participate, but we've already got people throwing up two characters so I don't know if there'll be anything left when I finally have time to create a character.  Might just have to step away from this one.  :-(

By all means, feel free to join up. I'm sure there will be room for your character.

And, as far as anyone not posting regularly... All I ask is that everyone try to keep a minimum of a post or two a week if possible, and post something up letting everyone know if its not.

[kckolbe]

I can definitely do 1-2 posts a week.  Glad to hear that is the standard.

[AndyZ]

Yeah, I can definitely see an argument that you don't have to worry about too many females if a lot of them are going to be pursuing F/F relationships.  You only need enough males to handle the heterosexual women (which further subdivides that you need enough heterosexual males, and gay males can form up on their own, but yeah.)

If we do get to the point that there aren't enough characters for a particular orientation, we can deal with it then.

[Mossberg]

To me FF VIII represents one of the best games all-time, it brought many innovative elements to games and it was one of the most original FF's, though FF VII was even more innovative. FF VII even changed the game industry as a whole and made RPG's what they are today, it was the first RPG that became really popular in the western world.

There are a couple of other "firsts" that can be attrributed to FFVII. The first multi-disc game on any platform, the first 3D FF, and don't forget about the whole materia customization stuff.

Don't get me wrong though, I love FFVIII too. In fact, I was wondering what if any spaces are available. I read the first couple pages but it ended up being too much for me to read since I know most of the game (some of the later parts escape immediate memory).

[Florence]

There are a couple of other "firsts" that can be attrributed to FFVII. The first multi-disc game on any platform, the first 3D FF, and don't forget about the whole materia customization stuff.

Don't get me wrong though, I love FFVIII too. In fact, I was wondering what if any spaces are available. I read the first couple pages but it ended up being too much for me to read since I know most of the game (some of the later parts escape immediate memory).

We're always welcoming more students. Bonus points if they're male :>

[Mossberg]

We're always welcoming more students. Bonus points if they're male :>

Well me and my character are male ( I don't do writing as other genders, don't ant to spend the time trying to think the "right" way. Is there anything that wsn't on the first two pages that I should know before I create my character?

[Florence]

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=144399.msg6507550#msg6507550

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=144399.msg6510733#msg6510733

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=144399.msg6510795#msg6510795

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=144399.msg6511016#msg6511016

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=144399.msg6511049#msg6511049

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=144399.msg6512565#msg6512565

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=144399.msg6512987#msg6512987

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=144399.msg6513012#msg6513012

There's the character roster so far. Other than that... I'm not entirely certain. I believe a few mentions of GF rules and such came up, but if you have any questions, just ask.

[Fenrir]

You could start up an accepted character sheet thread in whatever group forum the game goes in- and have those players post them in there >.>  so they are all together and such

[Mossberg]

It's been a while since I could rp without character limits. Do you expect multiple paragraphs or would one to two decent ones suffice?

[Revenent]

Hopefully this is reasonable enough for you. It's very late here and I only got 4 hours of sleep the night before anyway, but let me know if there's any issues with it.

CHARACTER APPLICATION
Name: Decker Reincam
Age: 18
Enrollment Age: 7
Gender: Male

Weapon: Automatic Rifle
Specialization: Mid-range Gunplay and Crowd Control
Personality: While most students who have made it as far as to be candidates for the SeeD program take their studies somewhat seriously, Decker has taken it to a new level, treating his studies as a duty to his country of Galbadia. He also has a tendency to be very competitive, and perhaps a bit overzealous in following orders. He'll often show very little regard for the safety of himself or others if it interferes with the mission in any way, though he won't go out of his way to harm anyone he doesn't have to. It's all about orders with Decker.
Backstory: Born to two very patriotic Galbadians who had served in the army in the war with Balamb, Decker was destined from birth to dedicate his life to the ideals his nation (and, more importantly, his parents) imposed upon him. In his early years, he was raised on patriotic memorabilia and heroic war stories: almost every toy he owned was a toy soldier, every show he watched was a war documentary, and enough of Galbadia's past mistakes were glossed over to fill a small novel. Once they were sure their son would have the same fierce national loyalty they did, Decker's parents sent him off to Galbadia Garden, seeing it as the best possible place to train him for future army service.

Of course, while the students and faculty of Galbadia Garden were all fairly patriotic themselves, they quickly decided that Decker's own sense of blind loyalty wasn't healthy for someone so young and worked to ease his fierce mentality, showing him that all nations had right acts and wrongs acts in their history, and that Galbadia wasn't necessarily superior to its neighbors. It took a few years of getting him to accept these truths, but eventually Decker's ingrained zealousness settled down and he was able to see the world more clearly, though he still remained loyal to his country. Eventually, the SeeD program was presented to him as an opportunity to grow strong and one day help out his homeland even more. While he was highly reluctant to move out of his true home, he eventually agreed and traveled to Balamb Garden to continue his training.

Decker now continues his marksman training as an ongoing part of the SeeD program, refusing to take his final exam until he's too old to continue. While he wants to stay and grow as strong as he possibly can, he looks forward to when he can graduate and hopefully take his skills back to Galbadia eventually, either to put them to use in the army, or, as his ambition is, get a SeeD-like group going for Galbadia Garden, as he believes it deserves.
Appearance:

Decker

GF APPLICATION
Name: Atomos
Element: Gravity
Description:

Atomos

Bonus: Attack (gravity manipulation to help the bullets hit harder)
Special Attack: Wormhole - A purple shroud of smoke appears seemingly out of nowhere and swirls along the ground, creating a thick blanket that one cannot see into as Atomos slowly rises out of it seconds later. While first appearing black and empty, his mouth soon begins to fill and swirl with gravitational energy, grass, dust, and debris rustling and blowing as a light suction slowly begins. Before the enemies even realize it, the suction into his mouth is getting strong enough to start pulling them toward it, and eventually even their resistance fails and Atomos sucks one or two enemies into the endless void inside of him before fading out into smoke.

[Mossberg]

Oh, I have one more question. Has the GF Doomtrain been taken?

[Caitlin]

Oh, I have one more question. Has the GF Doomtrain been taken?

Not yet. :-)

[Mossberg]

Not yet. :-)

Well I have my character then. I'll post it in a moment. Let me know if anything needs fixing.

[Mossberg]

CHARACTER APPLICATION
    Name: Janus Balthazar
    Age: 18
    Enrollment Age: 16
    Gender: Male

    Weapon: A .357 revolver.
    Specialization: Ranged and magical. His abilities are slightly below average, but to make up for it he is equally skilled with both his revolver and magic.
    Personality: Janus seems to be a little reserved except to those who he feels familiar with. At Garden he is typically the one close to the back of the class trying to avoid notice but at the same time absorbing all the information the teachers gave them. He even went beyond the classroom and spent about half his free time in the library even when he didn't have an assignment due. With the other half of his free time he trained in the use of a revolver, the gun that his father passed down to him. In battle he tries to appear calm at all times but when he can no longer control his anger he is a force to be reckoned with. His team mates and friends survival surpasses his own in his mind. He would willingly sacrifice himself to protect those close to him.
    Backstory: Janus was the son of a former SeeD whom had participated in the defense of Balamb Garden when Galbadia Garden attacked them. His mother was a villagers daughter from Balamb who happened to be visiting the Garden when they mobilized and she chose to stay with them and see what the fabled SeeD were capable of. Once Janus was of the proper age they enrolled him into the Garden. As he grew his fathers defense of Balamb Garden (which became more exaggerated as the years went on) hung over his head to where now he studies his academics and spells along with training in the use and control of the revolver his father had given him. And because he spent so much time spreading his focus he wasn't able to become quite what his parents wanted him to be. The bitterness of failing them stung worse than he could imagine.
    Appearance: Janus is 5'10", 185lbs., with brown hair that came almost to his eyebrows (and about the same around the rest of his head), and bright green eyes. His clothing, when not in his school uniform, consists of medium hued bluejeans, a dark blue or black t-shirt, and white sneakers. The only jewelry he has is a ring, in the shape of a snake eating it's own tail (basically an infinity symbol), and a pin that he puts on the collar of his jacket or shirt collar, which is in the shape of a sinuous dragon painted in red and gold.


GF APPLICATION
    Name: Doomtrain
    Element: Non-Elemental
    Description: When Doomtrain is summoned an ethereal looking set of train tracks start on one point of the horizon and stretch all the way to the horizon in whatever direction Janus directs with limits to how much he can turn and the time allowed for him. Doomtrain is an undead appearing locomotive pulling a caboose.
    Bonus:
        Junctions: Elemental Attack, and Status Attack.
        Abilities: Magic, GF, Draw, and Item.
    Special Attack: Railroad crossing bells ring as a track of ethereal whisps rushes under the enemy at the summoners direction. From afar, a massive train roars and gains speed. Doomtrain slams through all enemies, causing status ailments and depleting vitality.

[Caitlin]

Euh... The enrolment age is between 5 - 15, there is more information here.

I like your character and it's good to see more males joining the story now, hehe. ;)
They can nearly start harems at this point. :P

[Mossberg]

Euh... The enrolment age is between 5 - 15, there is more information here.

I like your character and it's good to see more males joining the story now, hehe. ;)
They can nearly start harems at this point. :P

Dang it. I missed that part. Okay, I'll repost it with a correct age.

And nothing is wrong with a harem. -starts looking at possible candidates- >.>

[Mossberg]

CHARACTER APPLICATION
    Name: Janus Balthazar
    Age: 18
    Enrollment Age: 6
    Gender: Male

    Weapon: A .357 revolver.
    Specialization: Ranged and magical. His abilities are slightly below average, but to make up for it he is equally skilled with both his revolver and magic.
    Personality: Janus seems to be a little reserved except to those who he feels familiar with. At Garden he is typically the one close to the back of the class trying to avoid notice but at the same time absorbing all the information the teachers gave them. He even went beyond the classroom and spent about half his free time in the library even when he didn't have an assignment due. With the other half of his free time he trained in the use of a revolver, the gun that his father passed down to him. In battle he tries to appear calm at all times but when he can no longer control his anger he is a force to be reckoned with. His team mates and friends survival surpasses his own in his mind. He would willingly sacrifice himself to protect those close to him.
    Backstory: Janus was the son of a former SeeD whom had participated in the defense of Balamb Garden when Galbadia Garden attacked them. His mother was a villagers daughter from Balamb who happened to be visiting the Garden when they mobilized and she chose to stay with them and see what the fabled SeeD were capable of. Once Janus was of the proper age they enrolled him into the Garden. As he grew his fathers defense of Balamb Garden (which became more exaggerated as the years went on) hung over his head to where now he studies his academics and spells along with training in the use and control of the revolver his father had given him. And because he spent so much time spreading his focus he wasn't able to become quite what his parents wanted him to be. The bitterness of failing them stung worse than he could imagine.
    Appearance: Janus is 5'10", 185lbs., with brown hair that came almost to his eyebrows (and about the same around the rest of his head), and bright green eyes. His clothing, when not in his school uniform, consists of medium hued bluejeans, a dark blue or black t-shirt, and white sneakers. The only jewelry he has is a ring, in the shape of a snake eating it's own tail (basically an infinity symbol), and a pin that he puts on the collar of his jacket or shirt collar, which is in the shape of a sinuous dragon painted in red and gold.


GF APPLICATION
    Name: Doomtrain
    Element: Non-Elemental
    Description: When Doomtrain is summoned an ethereal looking set of train tracks start on one point of the horizon and stretch all the way to the horizon in whatever direction Janus directs with limits to how much he can turn and the time allowed for him. Doomtrain is an undead appearing locomotive pulling a caboose.
    Bonus:
        Junctions: Elemental Attack, and Status Attack.
        Abilities: Magic, GF, Draw, and Item.
    Special Attack: Railroad crossing bells ring as a track of ethereal whisps rushes under the enemy at the summoners direction. From afar, a massive train roars and gains speed. Doomtrain slams through all enemies, causing status ailments and depleting vitality.

[AndyZ]

So I put together a list of everything we have so far:

Name: Nasha Flinder
Gender: Female
Weapon: Staff (Melee Weapon)
Specialization: Magic
GF Name: Vishka

Name: Alyssa Deftrix
Gender: Female
Weapon: Gunblade
Specialization: Melee Combat.
GF Name: Shiva

Name: Zeniera Rukein
Gender: Female
Weapon: Shuriken
Specialization: Infiltration and Evacuation
GF Name: Fenrir

Name: James (undecided)
Gender: Male
Weapon: Undecided, in and out of character
Specialization: None (luck)
GF Name: Fortunata

Name: Yuge Oshiro
Gender: Male
Weapon: Steel Knuckles
Specialization: Martial Arts
GF Name: Yojimbo

Name: Nona Gale
Gender: Female
Weapon: Shield
Specialization: Defense
GF Name: Golem

Name: Zandelle
Gender: Male
Weapon: Dual-daggers
Specialization: Recon, infiltration (bow-chikka-bow-wow), assassination
GF Name: Stray

Name: Milly Ring
Gender: Female
Weapon: Bolt-Action Rifle "Lee Widowmaker"
Specialization: Long-Range Combat
GF Name: Meteor Master

In Progress:

Name: Ari Lourdes
Gender: Female
Weapon: Chakram
Specialization: Time Magic
GF Name: Tempus

Name:Roweena Drake
Gender: Female
Weapon: Bola
Specialization: Blue Mage
GF Name: ?

I figured that this would help anyone else making chars.

[Caitlin]

Janus is missing from that list, but otherwise it looks pretty complete. :-)

[AndyZ]

Added.  Sorry, Caitlin.

[Caitlin]

Oh, no problem at all hehe, just trying to be helpful. ;D

[AndyZ]

^_^

Oh, right, it's not even your char.

Good catch.

[Revenent]

Yeah, that's totally complete...no one missing at all...

[AndyZ]

Sorry, Rev.  Added you.

[Florence]

Thanks for the list! :D

We seem to be growing nicely.

I think I might throw up my student character, then get to work on starting up a proper IC thread for this if everyone's ready.

Though, what category should this go in? Non-Con Human... or maybe Exotic? Just to cover bases :x

[AndyZ]

Katida Desu's throwing in her character right now.

Exotic would probably be the best bet if people want to get their GFs involved, or if the monsters get unusually frisky.  Otherwise, human should be fine.

[Florence]

Well, might be best to cover bases. xD

And alright, I still have to finish my character's sheet anyway xD

So there'll be a little time, but I look forward to starting this up and seeing where it goes.

[Eislynn]

Going to throw up my basics for now while I finish my write-up:

Name: Ari Lourdes (Female)
Weapon: Chakram
Specialization: Time Magic
GF Name: Tempus

[Caitlin]

Maybe for clarifications it would also help if we know which characters are male/ female? Could you add their gender to the list?

For most characters it's pretty clear, but some names could be male or female. :-)

[AndyZ]

I was considering adding gender, but when you don't know how many females are straight and how many are lesbian, it leads to the feeling that we need more men in order to "balance" things.  If people want me to, though, I can add it.

[AribethAmkiir]

I think Katida desu has the right idea here.

Name:Roweena Drake
Weapon: Bola
Specialization: Blue Mage
GF Name: ????


At least it's a place holder. 

[Caitlin]

I was considering adding gender, but when you don't know how many females are straight and how many are lesbian, it leads to the feeling that we need more men in order to "balance" things.  If people want me to, though, I can add it.

I don't even know if my character is going to have sex at all, lol. :P

I think I'll settle for bi-curious, which opens up relationships to either gender. She's very shy around men though, so she might not get any anyway. :-)

[Revenent]

I'd see no issue making Decker swing either way as well, just in case there's a shortage of eligible females, although I don't know if any other male characters would be the same way, anyway.

[AndyZ]

Updated with gender.  I put "In Progress" just in case Finn wants the chance to peek at them first before they're added to the list.

[Florence]

Haha, wow, this is one hell of a group assembled here. :P Doing all the GM work FOR me xD

[Eislynn]

I used the FFRPG Rule book for inspiration, but took some liberties as this is free-form. So here Goes:

Name: Ari Lourdes
Age: 18
Enrollment Age: 13

Weapon: Chakram
Specialization: Time Magic   
Personality: Ari has always been very mature for her age. She has a no-nonsense attitude towards her studies. She may come off as shy at first, but it's due to the fact that she 'studies' people she meets to gauge their personality before she attempts to interact.
Backstory: When Ari was thirteen, a dangerous criminal began to cause trouble in her remote northern hometown. In the weeks that followed his occupation, he began to demand protection money from local store owners. Ari's parents, mere shopkeepers, refused. The crime boss decided they were to be made an example of and they were killed right before Ari's eyes. Ari rallied the townspeople and together they made a plea to the Garden to send a security detail. The day of their arrival, Ari watched with awe from her perch in the clock tower as the SeeDs efficiently took down the Crime Lord's regime in a single sunny Sunday afternoon. She had been unsure where her life would lead until that point, but on that day, she decided to enroll in the Garden. As Balamb was quite far and she had little means to get there, she enrolled at Trabia to see where it would take her.

Once enrolled she proved a quick study in the field of Time Magic. It's no wonder she tended to make other students nervous, given Time Magic's bad past reputation. It wasn't long before she surpassed many of Trabia's instructors in the subject - she was thus recommended to Advanced Time Magic Studies at Balamb Garden, a high level course of study to which only the most mature students were admitted.

She had grown past the limit of her Trabia Garden. It was finally time to transfer to Balamb Garden.

GF APPLICATION
Name: Tempus
Element: Time
Description: A small silver clockwork butterfly flies through Ari's Chakram, growing until it is larger than an average person. It hovers on the field of battle, it's clockwork parts ticking furiously.
Appearance in link:

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Bonus: Haste. Ari's Chakram flies so fast in this state, that it resonates with a clear tone in the key of "C."
Special Attack: Celestial Stasis: A hazy clock face shimmers into existence across the battlefield, hands shuddering as they begin to slow, eventually stopping dead. For a moment, the second hand wavers as if it may turn and go backwards, but the force of its struggle shatters the ethereal clock into a shower of sparks and cogs. Inflicts stop on all enemies. Has the unfortunate side affect of occasionally hitting a team mate as well.

[Florence]

I'm not sure about the GF's bonus. I could see it auto-hasting her when a fight starts up, but to randomly cast spells around would be a bit hard to RP out fairly.

Also, Trabia Garden doesn't have SeeDs, though I suppose you could say that Trabia passed the request on to Balamb, or... you could always just say that in the time since the games, SeeDs have been stationed in Trabia and Galbadia Garden. Trabia to help it rebuild after the missiles, and Galbadia to sort of... keep an eye on them, make sure they stay on the right track.

Other that that, I like the character :o

[Eislynn]

Fixed?

[Florence]

Honestly, I would prefer if it was something passive to your character. I hate to nag or anything, I just feel like something auto-inflicting status effects on enemies is a little OP.

[Caitlin]

It's a very lovely character and GF description Katida! I really like what you came up with. :-)

[AndyZ]

If I might interject, I had the feeling more that the GF creates a field of null-time, which stops everything inside of it.  Enemies might be able to flee if they realize they're in that area of effect, though.  It could accidentally get PCs as well.

Would that clarification make it less overpowered?

[lore]

Wow lotsa people. It's great to be in a group with so much interest - but I was wondering how the threading itself will unfold.

I know our minimum is 1-2 posts a week, but will there be any kind of posting order so people don't return to five pages of thread after a couple days absence? I know that's a double edged sword as doing so can also kill a threads momentum.

Will you be splitting the thread into different areas/different levels of the garden Finn?

[Florence]

I didn't think that necessary at first, but with the level of interest this is getting, I might just have to xD

I'm willing to take any and all suggestions on how to organize this.

As for the GF, I'm honestly not sure. The thing is, most bonuses are more passive. If its an ability she has to activate consciously I'm alright with it, but I'm not sure how I feel about it being able to automatically slow down enemies.

[AndyZ]

OH!  You're looking at the bonus, not the GF power.  I see the difference now.  Sorry.

[Revenent]

The way I usually play it in my RPs is having a minimum waiting period for posting. Basically, there's a posting order, but someone doesn't show up to post after a set amount of time (three days, five days, a week, or whatever), then the other players are free to continue posting on their own until that person returns.

[Eislynn]

Honestly, I would prefer if it was something passive to your character. I hate to nag or anything, I just feel like something auto-inflicting status effects on enemies is a little OP.

Noted. What if instead of the slow, I adapt the bonus to making my Chakram fly faster or something like that? Like maybe a haste that only affects my weapon? Or should I distill it down to plain old Haste on my character? Also, just to clarify, you're alright with the special ability then?

Honestly, I understand your concern that it'd be overpowered. I want to assure you by mentioning that I love to play faulted characters, so it is my intention to play her as a student whose control of time magic may not be the best - I'm kinda thinking its kinda taboo what with Ultimecia's influence on history such that even the best minds in the field aren't that adept. I have no problem with it actually working only some of the time - I feel that's what makes things interesting.

I have no problems making other changes as you see fit - If you think it's still too overpowered, I will continue to change things to make the game run smoothly. Thanks for your input - it really helps me bring my character to life!

[lore]

Well if your are looking for suggestions to cut the initial clusterfuck of posting that happens when a game just starts, you could

a) Divide the students into teams and have them working toward different missions in the same thread. That way we could skim all the posts but only really have to pay strong attention/react to the posts of our teammates.

b) Have everyone begin by threading at the garden. Post 1-3 threads for different levels/areas of the garden. People can decide which level they want to post in



.

[Florence]

I am completely okay with that bonus, Katida :D

And lore... hum. This will take some thinking xD

[lore]

Of course. It's difficult to make that call not knowing ahead exactly how active the thread will be, and if there are any prolific posters among us.

[AndyZ]

Speaking for myself, I tend to post every day, often multiple times a day if I'm not otherwise busy.  Exceptions occur, but they're listed on my schedule in my A/A thread.

[Eislynn]

I am completely okay with that bonus, Katida :D

And lore... hum. This will take some thinking xD

Edited character. Thought it out and logically it would be really dangerous to have a hasted weapon if you weren't hasted yourself - Hope that's okay!

[Florence]

Yeah, that works fine! :D

[AribethAmkiir]

If I recall there were a few characters in FF8 that time traveled.  Since the game is set 30 years after the events of the game, what's changed in the world?  Is technology much more advanced, or did it become stagnant due to fear?  It was mentioned that it was possible that the other Gardens now had SeeDs, is that something that's going to be implemented or something being thought about?

I know everyone has been able to write a backstory, but if a character is eighteen years old they were born twelve years after the game's events and could've grown up in a world that was different than the game world.  Should we be thinking about any of this when we're writing our character's histories or just assume that the world hasn't changed much?

[Florence]

The world hasn't DRASTICALLY changed in terms of technology. The politics are a little shifted. I should have plotted this all out before I asked for character sheets, but I was sort of caught off guard by how popular this idea is.

Simply put, Galbadia is passive these days, trying to rebuild their might after the losses the suffered during the game. They're trying to hold firmly onto the city of Timber though, largely for morale. As long as they hold on to at least Timber, they can tell themselves they've still got some of their great empire.

Timber itself is resisting, with a new, more militant Forest Owls (Imagine the difference between Final Fantasy 7's AVALANCHE, and Before Crisis' AVALANCHE, and that's pretty much what the Forest Owls are like now), and the city is in something of a civil war.

Esthar is still struggling to fix the damage from the Lunar Cry, with monsters still being a major and constant threat within the city, and repairs still being carried out.

Dollet has been independent now, and there have been shifts in the inner policies. There are rumors abound that the Duke of Dollet is in possession of some sort of great power, but no evidence to back up the claims have been found. All the same, it has lead to political tension between Dollet and Galbadia, with the Duke of Dollet insisting Galbadia is spreading the rumors to turn everyone on Dollet, while Galbadia builds back up its forces to resume a campaign of conquest.

FH is still pretty much the same. Its one of the few places left that's peaceful and without any sort of political tension with anyone else.

Balamb is the same, though there was an attack a few years prior to the start of the rp, where a group of rogue Galbadian soldiers attacked the town, blaming Balamb for Galbadia's problems. This has left the people of Balamb mistrusting of Galbadia. It was during this brief conflict, that Yuge earned his reputation as both a ruthless monster, and a brave comrade-in-arms to his fellow SeeDs.

Trabia is... Trabia. Its cold and snowy, and pretty much everyone but Trabians and the Moomba don't care too much about it xD Trabia Garden is still working on repairs, trying to fix the Garden's internal systems.

Galbadia Garden is still struggling with PR problems after their association with the Sorceress. That said, however, they've been nothing but cooperative with their fellow Gardens since the game.

Balamb Garden has stationed SeeDs at both other Gardens to help with repairs and maintain the peace. These SeeDs still answer to Balamb Garden above Galbadia and Trabia, however, though they are encouraged to cooperate with the locals, and help promote friendly relations.

Winhill... still pretty much just a lovely little town out in the middle of nowhere.

... did I forget anything?

[Florence]

Just an update here: The great and wonderful Fenrir is helping with organization. So if you see her posting up threads or doing any of that GMy stuff, don't worry, she's not attempting a coup or thread hijacking or any such thing, she's operating with my total permission, and gratitude :>

[Latooni Subota]

I have to admit that I was DYING to pick Gilgamesh for my GF, for the awesomeness of having a snarky, random GF just poking fun at it's user for being so 'boring', but I figured he'd be a little too overpowered/too close to Yuge's Yojimbo. X3

[lore]

I hate to spam a fast moving thread, but thanks Fenrir!

And obviously Finn for all efforts thusfar :)

[Revenent]

I have to admit that I was DYING to pick Gilgamesh for my GF, for the awesomeness of having a snarky, random GF just poking fun at it's user for being so 'boring', but I figured he'd be a little too overpowered/too close to Yuge's Yojimbo. X3

Maybe Ultros, then? ;D

[Capone]

I think Katida desu has the right idea here.

Name:Roweena Drake
Weapon: Bola
Specialization: Blue Mage
GF Name: ????


At least it's a place holder.

Hrm. For Blue Magic, you can potentially take the character of GoGo from Final Fantasy 6 and turn them into a GF. Mimic isn't quite the same as Blue Magic, but it would be as close as you typically get.

Considering that FF6 used Gilgamesh from FF5 as a summon, I don't see why it can't work taking GoGo from 6 to 8's universe.

[lore]

Maybe Ultros, then?

Heh I'm sure the folks with tentacle monster fetishes certainly wouldn't object.

I understand it was agreed that we don't want to see GFs popping up constantly in battle, but would it be ok for the more sociable ones to make casual non-combat appearances? I see golem as being particularly interested in people, and likely prone to showing up when environmental issues area at hand (he weeps for Timber heh).

[Latooni Subota]

>Ultros as a GF

Oh my god, that would be the best EVER.

"Yeowch! Stop Drawing Fire magic, you brat!" "Hey, hey, go ask that girl for her digits. I think she's into the tentacle." "Okay, new plan. You and me are gonna go find Typhoon, and have a party!" "You know what we should do? Start an arena and make ALL THE GIL! GYAHAHAHA!" "WHY WOULD YOU ORDER THE CALAMARI WITH ME JUNCTIONED TO YOU?!"

[Mossberg]

I don't know if this has been addressed yet or not, but what about limit breaks (or whatever they are called in 8)?

[AndyZ]

I figure that a Limit Break would be a phenomenally rare thing where the PC is so seriously beat up and losing along with emotional trauma and desperation that it makes sense to happen.

[Florence]

>Ultros as a GF

Oh my god, that would be the best EVER.

"Yeowch! Stop Drawing Fire magic, you brat!" "Hey, hey, go ask that girl for her digits. I think she's into the tentacle." "Okay, new plan. You and me are gonna go find Typhoon, and have a party!" "You know what we should do? Start an arena and make ALL THE GIL! GYAHAHAHA!" "WHY WOULD YOU ORDER THE CALAMARI WITH ME JUNCTIONED TO YOU?!"

Yuge: ... I can hear... your GF from across the table. Tell it to shut up, or I'm digging in there and ripping it out. :I

I don't know if this has been addressed yet or not, but what about limit breaks (or whatever they are called in 8)?

They're still Limit Breaks. I've been thinking on that, if anyone would like to apply for one, simply post a nice, neat description and we can tack it onto your character sheet.

They work pretty simply. You get beat up enough, in an emotionally tense moment (I ask that people PLEASE don't overuse them. This shouldn't come down to every fight being won by super rage powar, ya know?), you can break your limits, and utilize a special attack. Afterwards, though, the character will be drained and exhausted, and in bad shape if the limit break didn't end the fight.

I figure that a Limit Break would be a phenomenally rare thing where the PC is so seriously beat up and losing along with emotional trauma and desperation that it makes sense to happen.

Basically, this.

[Fenrir]

Here is the Main Information Thread I'm working on- feel free to book mark it while it's being updated :D

Also- if your character is accepted please post in in THIS thread.

[Mossberg]

Alright, basically what I thought.

[MzHyde]

CHARACTER APPLICATION

Name: Isabella 'Belle' Starr
Age: 19
Enrollment Age: 15
Gender: Female
Weapon: Longshot Rifle, Elemental Ammunition
Specialization: Fire Support, Support Magic (Blind, Shell, Protect, Silence, Etc.)

Personality: Cocky and self-assured, Belle Starr thinks she's the best shot AND the finest lookin' lady to ever grace SeeD with her presence. Annoyingly, she at least has the talent to back up the first part (thought the second bit is a matter of opinion). She never seems to be down, always full of energy and cracking jokes. Some people find her grating, others find her quite charming.

Backstory: Born in Dollet to Maria and Marco Starr, Belle spent much of her youth getting in trouble around the city, exploring the back streets and other hidden areas. Belle worked up quite a reputation as a local troublemaker and often got into fights with kids either her age or older. Though not just for fun; usually in the defense of smaller children. She constantly felt ashamed at getting into trouble as she wants to make her parents proud, but she can't really help her curious and fiery nature. As she grew older Belle often spent time outside of the city, hunting with her father and eventually, helping to get rid of some of the local monster population. In order to make a name for herself and help support her family, she first thought to join the Dollet military, but they were just too uptight for her to really stand working with them. So, she applied to SeeD. Astoundingly, she managed to pass! While her test score was abysmal she passed the field exam with one of the highest scores the mercenary force has ever seen. Truly, her test grades still suck and she only barely manages to keep her grades good enough thanks to her outstanding marksmanship skills.

GF APPLICATION
Name: Gilgamesh
Element: None
Description: A gaudily dressed, multi-limbed, and boisterous warrior armed with a different weapon in each hand.
Bonus: Randomly; a bonus to Attack, Speed, or Defense
Special Attack: Gilgamesh appears and strikes the enemy down with one of a small variety of attacks, all of them very heavily damaging - unless he uses Excalipoor. Then it's just kind of silly.

[Mossberg]

I'm going to make a slight change to Doomtrain before I post him in the other thread. Just going to change the ethereal wisps into flame tracks like the original.

[Latooni Subota]

Sure Hyde, steal my rifle and the GF I only didn't pick because I thought it would be broken/stepping on the GM's toes. I see how it is! *Shakes fist* X3

[MzHyde]

There's eight pages of stuff! I tried to look at all the profiles I could. Well, they seem like pretty much opposites. It would be fun to play them off one another.

[Florence]

Well, if Latooni doesn't mind the similarities, then I hereby approve all characters posted so far :U -slams judge gavel-

[kckolbe]

So, how do we know if our char is approved?  Nothing bad was said after I posted him, but I don't remember Finn ever saying approved.

[MzHyde]

If there's a character thread or something can it be put in the first post for easy access?

[Mossberg]

So, how do we know if our char is approved?  Nothing bad was said after I posted him, but I don't remember Finn ever saying approved.

Well, if Latooni doesn't mind the similarities, then I hereby approve all characters posted so far :U -slams judge gavel-

There's your answer buddy.

[Florence]

Added a link to the main, central thread in the first post.

[kckolbe]

Given how many characters there are and that many have known each other for years, can we get a thread for character relationships before going to IC posts?

[lore]

we've been touching on that in the ooc thread

[kckolbe]

Here and there, and only with a couple of characters.  I just think it would be a waste not to develop that much potential history.

[slowmojoe]

Hello all, I'm interested in playing if it is not too late.... A place holder for my character, until I finish the full write up:

Name: Connor
Gender: Male

Weapon: Tonfa (pair)
Specialization: Defensive Melee

GF Name: Cú Chulainn

[Revenent]

Here and there, and only with a couple of characters.  I just think it would be a waste not to develop that much potential history.

I think it might be better to at least leave some of that for after we've started the IC. Planning every single friendship out beforehand tends to make things less fluid

[AribethAmkiir]

Given how many characters there are and that many have known each other for years, can we get a thread for character relationships before going to IC posts?

don't you think that's a bit premature considering the game doesn't even have a full roster and recruitment is still open?

[lore]

Hello all, I'm interested in playing if it is not too late.... A place holder for my character, until I finish the full write up:

Name: Connor
Gender: Male

Weapon: Tonfa (pair)
Specialization: Defensive Melee

GF Name: Cú Chulainn

Woop! another defensive character :) I hope you can make it.

I think it might be better to at least leave some of that for after we've started the IC. Planning every single friendship out beforehand tends to make things less fluid

Too true, but if people have known each other for 10+ years, it can be helpful to snag a best friend and rival, even if all the details aren't worked out.

Edit

Planning rivalries can also help eliminate OOC tension. I tend to like to talk to a writer before deciding my character has a beef with theirs. This might be overly cautious, but you never know.

[Capone]

Depending on the size of Balamb Garden and when people are joining, it might not be that hard to buy into the notion that not everyone knows each other. I know in College I met a lot of new people each year in my classes, with only a handful of recognizable faces semester to semester.

If Balamb is not as huge as a College, then even in high school there were people in my grade level I've never spoken to, let alone knew well.

[lore]

For sure. I didn't know the majority of people in my high school class beyond their name, but I still had some I got on with, and others I didn't.

[Kineas]

*spits out drink* Wh-wha FFVIII?! Are you still open? Oh goodness what kind of character would I play...?

Er, how about, is there a character list thread somewhere to get an idea about the cast? Perhaps I should just read all 8 pages~ >.>'

[Capone]

Character list

[Kineas]

Okay, question: Was the plan still to aquire GFs during the RP? If so is it okay if I post a character sheet application without full GF information yet? I'm having a hard time making a decision. xD

Also, thank you for the link, Capone. :)

Edit: Bwaaah, nevermind, I figured it out. =)

[Florence]

I believe we're going to start with them. You can feel free to start without one if you'd like, though, perhaps your character hasn't found one they're compatible with. However, it would put your character at a disadvantage against the other students who do have them.

[Capone]

So I went back and read some of the SeeD information, and I had forgotten how a lot of it goes. I forgot that Squall and a couple others already have Guardian Forces before going to tackle Ifrit. Fortunately, Zandelle can still meet Stray as part of the exam. I'll work out a low-level mission that Zandelle would have completed later, probably a recon, as that is the secondary requirement before the field exam.

Zandelle is not going to be much of a spell caster. In Final Fantasy VI the only spells Stray gave were Muddle, Imp and Float, so those are what I'll leave Zandelle with using once he gets a GF.