Night Hunters [Open]

[Nimakhal]

Is this still open to join? Do we just submit here? Didn't see an application thread anywhere.

[Kissa]

Yep. This is still open. You can post character draft here or PM it to me.

Character thread is here if you wanna see what he have.

Info thread is here. I recommend reading Chronicles under Registry. There is summary of main stories. At the moment we are approaching end of GM scenes, so you would have to wait till joining a new GM scene, but people are free to do their side scenes in existing threads. 

[scribus1000]

Name: Isabella "Izzy" Vivian Gunther (rude nicknames behind her back have been "Knockers", "Shiver Me Milkers", "Jizzy", "The Homewrecker", "Cowgirl", etc.)
Rank: Charon
Age: 27           Years in service: 4
Sexual orientation: Pansexual but hetero-favored.

Aura: Isabella owns a rather lengthy bullwhip as her Aura--the grip is a rigid rod that is comfortable to hold, while the rest is a flexible material that seems tougher than leather but isn't quite of earthly origin. With this weapon Izzy is talented enough to knock the cigarette out of a person's mouth, without harming him; is able to grapple or ensnare targets from a distance, can even seize objects or limbs and yank them in one direction or another (like a gun out of someone's hand), or use it as an impromptu rope. The loud crack of the tip when the whip is snapped for show can also be an excellent intimidation tool.

The weapon has crippling weaknesses like any other; the worst among them is the fact that certain "hard" targets like those covered in armor are extremely difficult to injure with the whip, unless there are weak points she can target. Such a weapon also requires great coordination and training, else the user may accidentally strike or maim unintended targets, including herself. Needless to say, Isabella gathered countless self-inflicted incidents, much to the amusement of her peers, before eventually mastering the weapon as well as honing her accuracy with it. Yet she still practices, and the results show bright as day.

Zero trait: Salmon

Infrared: The Charon program's chipping procedure granted Isabella a natural biochemical "switch" to toggle infrared vision in her eyes. It's not perfect by any means--especially with the fact that Isabella herself is a warm-blooded mammal emitting heat--but the sight grants her access to decent night vision and allows her to gather more information than a person with only human eyesight could attain. It's possible to overload this vision and daze her in the presence of intense heat, whether it's from fire, explosions or other things.

Night hunter skill package - Every Night hunter has the Zero power. By using the power the hunter can enhance their speed, strength and mobility, use Zero abilities, regenerate their wounds and manifest their Auras. With the Zero come the negative side of the power too, which means that using the power will cause strain or corruption. In addition the zerons have some inhuman physical traits. As every hunter has had to graduate from a Military academy, they are all at least sufficient in driving a land vehicle, marksmanship and hand to hand combat.

Abilities: Both of her abilities are centered on her Aura.

Extension/Reduction: Isabella's first ability is a simple on-the-fly Aura adjustment that allows her to reduce or extend the length of her bullwhip. The maximum length is about 10 meters, and the minimum length reduces it to less than one, which lets it function as an amusing riding crop. The strain it takes to do this is light, but certainly still has a presence when accumulated.

Ice Queen: With zero, Izzy's whip is able to start an endothermic reaction, creating immense cold on its surface that is capable of turning water to ice and inflicting severe frostbite within seconds of contact, and can freeze vulnerable objects (soft, temperature-sensitive things) or flesh solid, which can then be shattered with any force appropriate for the task.

This effect is concentrated at its best on the tip, although it's present in the length as well (immediate freeze for a few inches of the tip, slow freeze at the nearby length--half a meter, some chill for another half meter, then no noticeable effect from then on in). The nature of the damage inflicted stifles regeneration and may create vulnerabilities for teammates to take advantage of, especially for enemies of amorphous or shapeshifting design. Note that the freezing effect is only local; if the whip wraps around a leg as Izzy applies freeze to it, then only the section of the leg that is ensnared will be affected, not the entire leg. Similarly, if submerged in a body of water, then only a portion of the water surrounding the whip will be frozen. It will naturally cool the water near the freeze point, but Isabella cannot freeze an entire lake, for example.

Objects that are normally resistant to cold will also be resistant to Isabella's freezing Aura, although physics still apply to materials that intense cold interacts with (liquid expansion when it freezes, hot metal warping when cooled rapidly, etc).

Ice Queen takes medium strain to perform.

Appearance:

Isabella is a fairly tall woman with five feet and ten inches, or 177 centimeters and change, to her name. It might intimidate folks that prefer other people to literally look up to them. The hunter has no visible scars, tattoos, piercings or other decorations on her body--perhaps a sign of competence, or just a tentative fact that she has yet to make any mistakes that can't be regenerated away. Genetic lottery winnings blessed her with a natural allure, coupled with flawless creamy skin, brown eyes that glint with assertive yet playful energy, and a full head of blond hair that she usually keeps bound in a ponytail. On missions, she typically adjusts this to a tight bun instead to minimize any odds of her hair being grabbed.

Skirts or dresses are a rare sight; you won't find this Night Hunter wearing them by choice. Usually it's only for formalities, or to entertain the thoughts of other, important types that take a liking to Izzy, whether it's that playful energy she carries or the odd way she uses greater vernacular alongside the drawl of her accent, or even things as simple as admiring the ample, curvy figure that mingles with the hard-fought athletic build thanks to Academy training across the board. When she's on her own time, her choices narrow to long-sleeved blouses, jeans, baggy clothing and their poorly-revealing ilk.

To those more interested in her body than her thoughts or fashion, they have plenty to look at; the night hunter's bosom is noted for its excellent size and mature heft, and Isabella's wide hips and shapely rear end are hard to miss for those vulnerable to such distractions. Behind her back, these qualities have led to less than pleasant rumors and insulting nicknames. However, most can agree on one thing: there's more to Gunther than just looks. Even if the accusation that some upwards velocity to her career came from those looks being used wisely might be true.

Personality: In a word, Isabella is quickly described as "easygoing", and it certainly works from a surface level glance. While it's clear that she has personal interests of her own and a recognition of right and wrong that she'll sometimes set aside for her personal sense of justice, and her greater good (not always the greater good), she has no desire to let them clash with others, nor to let it drag down any chances of getting the job done. In combination with these attributes comes her slight drawl that is typical of Southern United States folk, a trait that may make her distinct and easier to remember along with her mannerisms.

There's a friendly, flirty side dispensing plenty of crass jokes or profane statements, and it doesn't always know when to pack up and go home, but conversely, Izzy's morale will shine in places where you might need it the most. To a degree, some may suspect that she fights as hard as she does out of some unspoken passion to prove herself, albeit never recklessly. Making sure everyone in her vicinity knows who she is and what she's done. Even though she's not the boss, she'll waste no time exerting a shard of her own presence by directly calling upon someone in charge to make a decision. That she will then carry out, obediently like any other well-adjusted Night Hunter.

At first look, she might seem disorderly, but in spite of all the above qualities in play (perhaps settling in hypocrisy on some points), Izzy's noggin houses a sharp, cold, and calculating mind that will never stop probing for details that are either interesting or useful; something that is easy to forget when she's challenged you to a drinking or gambling game and wagered her bra as collateral. She's both the sister of battle that's strode through the crucible as a pup and come out the other side a she-wolf, and if she trusts you, she's also a good friend who'd drink you under the table or pass out trying. It seems even with her greedy hands, there are lines she decides not to cross.

Biography:

Isabella is the product of a quietly arranged encounter between a young Paradise City aristocrat and the Dogtown mistress he selected, as his wife was no longer able to conceive and the two wanted a third child. The surrogate had been generously encouraged to carry the child to term, did so, and was meant to turn Isabella over for payment... but reneged at the last moment. It turned out that a planned transaction was easier to discuss ten months before the fact than it was when you were cradling precious new life in your hands.

The Paradise couple understood and respected the mother's decision--for a few years, and then one swift kidnapping job on top of a botched hit got them their prize. Ms. Caroline Wrighton spent the rest of her days in a coma, the unwitting kidnappers who were lured by the amount of zeroes on the gig perished in two separate "accidents" to tie off loose ends, and Izzy, as young and naive and easily manipulable as she was at that point, figures that Paradise was her real life. That Caroline was the kidnapper, who kept her despite knowing she couldn't properly care for her, and that the young Berktonite been on the wrong side of the wall. Izzy believed the story she was told, took up the Gunther family name, and was raised as one of their own among two half-brothers, while memories of that past grew filmy and faded with the years.

What didn't fade, however, was the wanderlust and rebellious nature vested in her. Perhaps it was karmic retribution for what the two Paradise nobles had done, but whatever the reason, teenage Isabella proved impossible to bring to heel for the family, spitting in the face of a destiny plotted out for her without her own say in the matter, including against an arranged marriage (this was discussed later on) that would be mutually beneficial for the two families involved. While this political chessboard was being tended to, Isabella spent as much time as she could being literally anywhere else with Dogtown friends, finding a fascination with old western films and firmly planting herself in the shoes of the protagonists she watched rootin', tootin' and/or shootin' their way through the problems and villains that opposed them.

It was a meager but fulfilling adolescent life, and while the time felt too short after a Sin attack claimed the lives of several of her friends, the Night Hunters that stepped in to thwart the threat were a clear enough sign of what her true calling should be. Without even having to say anything about it, her parents picked up on the newfound interest and swiftly brought down the proverbial hammer, cowing her into submission with the threat of being disowned, comparing her to the "soulless" mother they rescued her from. For a time, this brought everything back on track.

What it also brought about was that vague, uncomfortable feeling from so long ago, with the face of a mother she could no longer even remember. Curiosity and a burning need for closure won out, and Izzy couldn't leave well enough alone. Rooting through her own family's belongings brought up figurative bread crumbs leading to a list of names for surrogates, finding her biological mother on this list (perhaps they supposed no one, least of all Izzy, would ever be so brazen as to search through their files), and with this information she went on another one of her escapades, this time to the police--only to be turned away from the understaffed, overworked department that barely had the manpower to prevent new crimes popping up, let alone chase down ghosts of the past. What she did manage to get ahold of was an obituary mentioning the tragic disappearance and eventual discovery of the "remains" of Caroline Wrighton's child, while the mother wasted away in a coma for a few months until her own demise.

She confronted her parents. It wasn't the first time she asked about the truth, but it was the first time they told her more than the initial explanation: Finally revealing that Caroline Wrighton was just a bit of Dogtown trailer trash who had a deal and a generous reward waiting for her, and failed to deliver. Even if she didn't ultimately go through with it, the idea of selling off her daughter was a proposal she'd entertained and even agreed to. And look, the fact we took matters into our own hands probably saved your life--spared you from working in that slum until either a disease, a bullet, or a Sin could kill you.

"But the plan to hand me off to some dipshit noble family like a cow they wanna borrow is different, right?" Isabella sneered and promptly earned a backhand across the face. When the stars cleared out of her tear-filled vision, the conversation essentially ended there, with a reminder of the sheltered life she'd lived, and the assurance that she'd swiftly lose it if she didn't learn her place.

It was around this time that Isabella came to terms with the idea that apart from her half-siblings, there weren't any people within the walls that didn't see her as anything but a living thing to impose their own will upon; the idea that her identity was merely being someone's product in one way or another. That every choice worth making had been made beyond her interests or awareness. If Isabella wanted to pursue her own ideals, well...the only one currently in her corner, was her. This in mind, the choice was somewhat simple: Jumping feet-first into the military Academy and the Charon program. Against the immediate disapproval of her family (her half-brothers silently gave praise but didn't risk stepping out of line), the Dogtown peers who found it mind-boggling that she'd willingly piss away a financial and physical security that they'd never had in their lives, the Paradise City grunts who couldn't fathom someone losing so much voluntarily, and the military sharks assuming this was a short-lived tantrum before yet another brat was broken and ran home crying to momma, Isabella faced an uphill struggle virtually every day while instructors and rivalries alike wore her down. When that was done, post-chipping graduation day came with a letter telling her she was no longer welcome on the Gunther estate. Whatever road she chose to go down was solely hers to navigate.

'Least now I'm the one at the wheel, she'd thought grimly to herself before crumpling the paper and tossing it in the wastebasket.

Her first assignment was both unpleasant in its short-term business, but beneficial in the long term payoff. Isabella was placed in SRU-4, under the command of a high-ranking officer who, while passably competent at his job and led his unit (Izzy included) through a number of successful Sin skirmishes, had a handful of vices that were known of but usually only discussed behind closed doors. Through him, Isabella was introduced to the seedier underside of Berkton's criminal scene and some of the perks it could offer. This knowledge did not come freely. Isabella found herself embedded in much of the same business, acting on her CO's illegal and very off-the-books orders, completing enough of them to be trusted. Quickly she learned many, many tools of the trade, having seen the writing on the wall. Even if most of the military culture was to turn a blind eye because of her CO's results, she still had a feeling that at some point the bubble around that officer would burst. Among these tools was a realization centered on exactly how much the people in this crowded city loved their depraved nature and the ability to exert it over others, including the unfortunate Zerons that Izzy had seen in some enforced orgies here and there. A vice could be used against those most vulnerable to it.

Through these underworld connections, she managed to find another officer whose marriage was on the lacking side, and gradually persuade him to shuffle her assignment to another unit. This particular man wanted significantly more than Isabella's loyalty, however. The irony of her position now versus where she would have been on the Gunther estate's long-term plot was not lost on her. The only difference, she reckoned while discarding the remains of her innocence that night, being that she worked for herself, and would resolve to continue doing so in every feasible angle she could find. While there was no witness to the act, it was rather clear in the aftermath that a transaction had been made. And probably not a moment too soon, as in the months after, her former CO was caught in a scandal that ballooned far bigger than any clean service record could mitigate.

Izzy found herself safely deposited in SRU-3, with a bullet barely dodged still hissing behind her ear. The move incurred a favor or two, but ultimately she came out better off, and lucky. But who knows how long a lucky streak lasts under a dry plank of wood like Fairchild...?

Advantages:

Deadeye precision. Firearms, knives, baseballs, and including her Aura's flail; whatever can be aimed, Izzy has a gift deeply rooted in the ability to hit her chosen targets. Granted, she's no machine, and moving targets that fight back are their own challenge, but getting to the top of her class in marksmanship is a detail worth remembering.

Femme Fatale. Maybe it's the rugged, tomboyish nature of her attitude in sharp contrast to her undeniably feminine figure, something the jackets and baggy trousers can't hide. Perhaps some unspoken challenge she unconsciously leaves hanging in the air as some exotic treat to be caught and tamed. Regardless, it's led Izzy to get either underestimated or objectified at the first impression, viewed more as someone's callipygian trophy or mouthy bimbo rather than a good soldier, and it's both a quality she has taken advantage of and an annoyance more times than she'd like to admit. As a result, she is desensitized to depravity, having seen a fair amount of it over time, and has become rather shameless. Isabella is indifferent to stares or touchy advances, and generally looks only as far as to what she'll get out of someone's attention. For most, sex appeal is a fun pastime, but to her it's merely a tool to be used against those with loose lips or deep pockets. And that tool has turned sharp in Izzy's hands.

Underground connections. Isabella's charm, (mostly) fierce loyalties, her "Get 'er done" attitude, and propensity for providing favors here and there (mostly actual favors and the occasional "favor") have earned her a handful of allies on the sweaty scrotum of Berkton's underworld scene. It comes nowhere close to Berkton's elite class, but situations that require a little information, half-decent funds or a few illicit items may be within Isabella's ability to help SRU-3.

Weaknesses:

Greed. The problem with her cooperation lies in steering her to use her options. More often than not, asking her to squeeze her resources off-the-books leads to her squeezing yours, at least teasing about it if you're on friendly terms ("If I do what you're askin', what's in it for me apart from your pretty smile and a thank-you?"), or looking for some other way to profit off her efforts. When you say you "owe her one", you may as well have signed a contract with your blood as the ink. That being said, some threads of moral fiber still exist in her soul, so knowing how to play at them can give some room for haggling.

Supremacy bias. It's an unpopular school of thought, but Isabella often holds Charons in higher regard than the humans they work under, and seems to sympathize with Zerons from time to time. There's something about the willingness of the former to fight and the dedication of the latter to protect, that earns her respect and her pity respectively. It's in sharp contrast to ordinary people with their cruelties, and their impulses, and their destructive natures in spite of, or perhaps because of, their dire circumstances against the Sin that have driven them into crowded little cities where they wait like fish in a barrel to be picked off... Someone that knows this aspect of her can manipulate it for their own needs.

Desperate ambitions. Izzy has a handful of favorite lines, but a stand-out phrase is the idea that "If you ain't got any pawns, then you're probably one of 'em." Everybody's playing the game in their own way and she's no exception: There is a scrap of humanity and cheery, optimistic energy left in her heart, but aside from that, success in her unit is motivated more by the renown it would bring than any dedication to making the world a better place. More than anything, she wants her golden parachute ready at the end of her so-to-speak tenure, and it's hard to make her risk it unless there's an angle for the two other weakspots of hers described above.

Trust issues. The bastard daughter of a bigwig family corporation has been disowned after finding out her real mother perished by their hands for politics; she cannot say she belongs to Dogtown or Paradise City and therefore remains in an anathematic classist limbo; she likes Zerons but cannot trust their programming, and cooperates with Charons but cannot trust any to tolerate her past deeds, if they discover them; she has nearly every professional relationship revolve around someone wanting something from someone else; and she has personal relationships tainted strongly by how often she'll keep others at arm's length, studying them while she fears being studied in turn. Playing Berkton's game comes at great personal cost to one's stress, and the debts for Isabella keep piling on in that regard.

O&Os
Roleplay ONs: Generally outlines what most people here already say: Talk about the roleplay if and when you need to! It's a core topic since it's why we're here, in these threads in particular.
OFFs: Radio silence concerning comforts/discomforts, any issues arising from said silence, etc.

Sexy ONs/OFFs: Signature link has those, but this hyperlink saves you a scroll.

[Kissa]

Went through Izzy's sheet. Looks like a good addition to the team!

Here come edits, which are only few:

Rank: Charon (I need to update to info thread that we have only Charon and Corporal ranks for our Charons after the rank reform).
Aura: If you have a picture, please add it here.
Ice Queen: I thought about this for a long time. It's good as long as the freezing solid effect affects only areas where the Aura hits. It won't spread around like one was splashed with liquid nitrogen and it won't affect solid targets (like metal). It doesn't matter whether the target is living being or inanimate object, if its mostly made of liquid it can freeze.
Advantage: I was wondering does Izzy need dualwielding for her Aura or can it be used sufficiently without dualwielding... If you think she is going to need it then one of the existing advs has to be replaced with dualwielding advantage.

Otherwise everything is in order.

[scribus1000]

Went through Izzy's sheet. Looks like a good addition to the team!

Here come edits, which are only few:

Rank: Charon (I need to update to info thread that we have only Charon and Corporal ranks for our Charons after the rank reform).
Aura: If you have a picture, please add it here.
Ice Queen: I thought about this for a long time. It's good as long as the freezing solid effect affects only areas where the Aura hits. It won't spread around like one was splashed with liquid nitrogen and it won't affect solid targets (like metal). It doesn't matter whether the target is living being or inanimate object, if its mostly made of liquid it can freeze.
Advantage: I was wondering does Izzy need dualwielding for her Aura or can it be used sufficiently without dualwielding... If you think she is going to need it then one of the existing advs has to be replaced with dualwielding advantage.

Otherwise everything is in order.

Patch notes 1.1 is live!
Rank adjusted to Charon.
Aura has been replaced with a whip, picture added.
Ice Queen updated with more precise wording.
Advantage unchanged since meteor hammer was removed.

[Kissa]

Patch notes 1.1 is live!
Rank adjusted to Charon.
Aura has been replaced with a whip, picture added.
Ice Queen updated with more precise wording.
Advantage unchanged since meteor hammer was removed.

Izzy is accepted : ) You can post her sheet here.

[scribus1000]

Exxxcellent ^.^ thank you