In real life, I'm a short, slim young man with long black hair. (Yes, I'm a guy.) Most of the time, I try to act friendly and cheerful, but sometimes I become a bit of a Knight in Sour Armour, snarking and acting cynical, but still holding onto positive values beneath.
I am For Happiness; one of the most if not the most important thing(s) for me is for everyone to enjoy their lives, and to not suffer needless pain and suffering. I also see myself as (sensibly) Chaotic Good due to my respect for individual freedoms; I believe the human race can and should be trusted with freedom (within reason), and that one of the best paths to enjoying your life is to follow your true desires and be honest with yourself. I have a tendency, when experiencing or believing myself likely to experience "negative" emotions, to avoid or emotionally detach myself from the source, and turn either rational and analytical, or sarcastically detached. I have elements of The Spock, but I feel I've also grown beyond them. I do still like logic and rationality, seeing them as "[some] of my favourite tools", but no longer define myself by them. Nowadays, I also sometimes act on (Downplayed) It Amused Me.
I don't much care what others think of me, and I'll always say what I think. If people act friendly to me, I'll reciprocate. If they don't, or want to be an ass, I don't care. I'll cheerfully reciprocate. However, I always (try to) state my opinions as opinions and respectfully accept others' opinions. I also tend to bring up adverse opinions and play Devil's Advocate, just for the fun of it, and to highlight relativism, as well as sometimes to highlight issues I believe would benefit from the attention. (This sometimes tends to get confused with my actual opinions -_-).
On here, and in my taste in fiction, I tend to live by the Rule of Cool. I love Stuff Blowing Up, Technology Porn, big epic magic spells, and Lighter and Softer. I easily suffer from Angst Aversion and Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy, since as previously noted, my typical response to negative emotions is to avoid or emotionally detach myself from the source. I enjoy works which don't take themselves seriously, and feature Casual Danger Dialogue; as I've joked before (about TFC) "they're so busy throwing one-liners even while they're slinging lasers at each other that it's easy to forget they're trying to kill each other" - and I like it that way.
My all-time favourite shows are Transformers Cybertron and Yu Gi Oh GX, of which I actually prefer the English dubs - partially because I hate reading subs, and partially because their tone, dialogue, and soundtracks make them Lighter and Softer and less serious. For example, in the Single-Stroke Battle Climax of the Final Battle of Galaxy Force (the Japanese version of Transformers Cybertron), sombre music plays, as opposed to the triumphant and uplifting Our Ally 2
which plays in Transformers Cybertron.
I typically enjoy roleplaying light-hearted, cheerful characters who tend to be Spirited Competitors if not Blood Knights in combat, although I can (and do enjoy) getting philosophical and writing character(s) like that, including the occasional dramatic or Mind Rape scene. I sometimes enjoy the process of Deconstruction, but usually don't enjoy the results, and thus inadvertently ruin a lot of works for myself with Fridge Horror.
Side note: Despite what it may seem, I do not know anything about the plot of Rebellion, and would like to keep it that way.
Isaki
Isaki is a fun-loving, thrill-seeking Puella Magi. Her main goals are to seek action and excitement, usually through combat against Witches; she lives for the Rule of Cool, and tends to fangirl over things which are sufficiently awesome (or cute). She tends not to think too hard about stuff (especially philosophical stuff), and often rushes in without thinking, her typical battle plan being "I'll make it up as I go along; now, let's see what you've got!"; however, she can be surprisingly perceptive and adaptable in combat. Her wish was for a "more exciting life", and she was actually rather satisfied with the way it turned out; she tends to see negative events as challenges to enjoy and overcome. All this makes her very unlikely to Witch wut from despair, but rather more likely to die or waste all her mana in combat. However, she is no Sociopathic Hero; she cares deeply for her friends, and is generally friendly and good-natured to everyone, despite her love of combat.
Her "weapon" is a pair of magical rollerblades, which she can summon and unsummon at will (even in civilian form). Her support power is Ki Attacks, which she can use to enhance her melee strikes, form energy blades over her hands, or fire as beam attacks. She nearly always strikes with an open hand. Her typical fighting style is to hit-and-run with her energy blades, fire energy beams and hurl Sword Beams on the move, and pounce on any weakness or even spare moment with her "Tamashii Gekido" (or just use it for a Beam-O-War). In a group/team, she makes an effective Speed Tank, as she's usually the first one into combat, her loud mouth and smartass comments tends to draw attention to her, and she enjoys dodging at least as much as attacking.
Was initially inspired by asking myself what I'd wish for if I were female, and offered the opportunity to make a Contract. However, she has, of course, evolved a long way since then.
Cyberna
Cyberna, the Wireframe Witch. Her nature is Nihilism. She fills her empty world with heavily-armed constructs she's forgotten the meaning of, and sets them against any who enter in order to test them and amuse herself, in a futile attempt to recall the feelings she's lost and forgotten.
However, those with strong wills and clear convictions to weather the storm will find her fragile constructs lacking in substance.
PMMM spoiler: She is the Witch form of Isaki.
Non-spoiler author's notes: Originally created as a random bossfight for the Avatar Arena. Was arc welded to the above spoiler.
Cyberna doesn't see much use nowadays, as I feel like her day is passed.
Isana
Isana is an Alternate Universe version of Isaki, who after being transported to Madoka's Sanctuary was unable to accept a truly peaceful happy ending, as it meant no more action and excitement. As such, she (gradually) goes off the deep end into It Amused Me territory, starts Gadflying, and eventually escalates into outright Trolling as she goes further and further chasing cheap laughs and trying to start fights. This is only worsened by the other Puella Magi turning away from her in response, leading to a vicious cycle. Eventually, her trolling breaks through old wounds and pushes Homura over the edge, resulting in a cataclysm which nearly destroys Madoka's Sanctuary.
Deeply struck with guilt and remorse, Isaki withdraws to a secluded corner of the Sanctuary, and tries to work out how she could have done such a thing, resolving not to emerge until she is sure she will never hurt her friends again. She realizes her pursuit of action and excitement was (partially) born of fear, a desire to escape her nihilistic fears below the surface. Seeing a world without struggle, strife, and challenge, a happy world without meaningful goals to strive for (and distract herself with) pushed those fears into overdrive. Bolstered by her conviction to never hurt her friends again, she confronts and accepts her nihilism/existentialism, in the process becoming able to merge with her Witch half and take its power for herself, emerging as a fused entity.
While her sincere apologies are accepted, the other Puella Magi are unnerved by her new self, which is visibly no longer human, and she realizes their friendship can never be what it once was. In the same moment, she realizes she can use her newfound power to leave the Sanctuary, and travel between worlds and across dimensions. She does so, becoming a multiversal pilgrim with no destination in mind. Somewhere along the line, she realizes that The World Is Just Awesome, and resolves to see all the infinite, beautiful sights of the multiverse.
Being merged with a being of Nihilism, Isana tends to be rather distant (and sometimes vague and cryptic), though not uncaring. Her default mood is serenely cheerful, and strong emotions rarely last long in her. Though she is True Neutral in theory, and does not seek out opportunities for heroism, she cannot abide senseless harm or destruction, and will do whatever it takes to contain malicious or destructive entities and phenomena - whether using her own powers or contacting local assistance - though she will not kill unless there is no other way to manage the threat. She also often involves herself in situations, whether out of curiosity, boredom, or her own whim, and will then work towards (what she sees as) the best outcome, or at least making a positive difference.
Isana's human form is merely a wireframe construct, and more fragile than a true body; however, she has improved it to the point that the only constantly visible sign of this is her eyes, which are a gateway to her Barrier and visibly inhuman. As a result, she usually keeps them closed or covered (which does not impair her visual ability) unless she needs to extend this gateway into a "Cybernetic Zone" (see below). Additionally, the benefits of this form are the ease of its repair, which merely takes a short amount of time, and the fact that damage to it does not hurt or harm her true soul, as well as it neither aging nor requiring any form of sustenance.
If her human "avatar" is sufficiently damaged, Isana briefly loses control of her powers, the spirals in her eyes going out of control and manifesting in the "real world". Attacking the spirals in this state will actually hurt Isana, as well as causing them to shorten, drawing out her soul, which appears as a small blue "star" (yes, Isana's eyes are literally Windows To The Soul). In this state, she cannot do anything except attempt to reform her human construct - which she cannot do while the spirals continue to get hit - and is basically helpless. Destroying the spirals would leave Isana a disembodied soul, as close to death as she's ever been.
Isana is capable of near-invisibility, appearing as little more than a flicker of light if she wishes. This is achieved by exploiting her Witch's Barrier, hiding within it. However, her Barrier can be detected by magical senses, energy-detecting technology, or space-time measuring technology. Furthermore, when she "opens" her "Cybernetic Zone", she loses this ability, as her Barrier now overlaps reality, using her as an anchoring point, so she cannot withdraw into it without the "Cybernetic Zone" fading.
In combat (or for other purposes, such as transport) Isana is capable of manifesting and using functional wireframe weapons, vehicles, and devices of many kinds. However, this ability is highly limited unless she "opens" her "Cybernetic Zone", forcing her Barrier to overlap the real world and allowing her to fill the area around herself with wireframe shards to form her constructs. She also has access to Isaki's powers, and can use the Ki Attacks in close-quarters combat, although she no longer uses the rollerblades. Despite her theme, all of her powers are based on magic, not technology; her constructs do not have to be physically possible or technologically plausible (although they usually are, albeit with somewhat increased effectiveness and capabilities).
She is weaker than Cyberna in sheer power, being limited by her available wireframe shards, and the time it takes her constructs to form. When one of her wireframe construct is damaged or destroyed, some of the shards forming it are destroyed, others become shards again; shards are also generated over time. However, she compensates for this with human intelligence, planning, and sanity. While she can appear to form autonomous constructs, such as attack drones or autoturrets, she cannot create true Familiars; her wireframe constructs are under her mental control, and cannot persist outside of the Cybernetic Zone.
Isana was originally my response to the Arena's Power Creep, Power Seep; I came up with the random idea of merging Isaki and Cyberna, and created a backstory to justify it afterwards. I think I did a pretty good job of making it plausible and in-character, though, and really like her character now.
However, I probably gave her Imagination-Based Superpower too many limits; in particular, her constructs take too long to form, so she can potentially end up forever on the defensive, preventing her from forming constructs. She can account for this with her Ki Attacks, and regain her effectiveness thus, but is still far less powerful than originally intended.
In a subtle but significant change, I decided to make Isana's "Soul Star" much less vulnerable, making her far more completely immortal (originally, it could be destroyed once drawn out). I did this for two main reasons: to make her character make more sense, and to make it clearer when she's "dead"/defeated.
If Isana's Soul Star were vulnerable to conventional attacks, Fridge Logic would make it difficult to justify her continued existence; her drive to prevent harm and destruction would lead her into dangerous situations, as would her blase; attitude towards dangerous creatures and phenomena, and her willingness to admire them up close and personal. Isana becomes surprisingly vulnerable surprisingly easily; her human construct is less resilient than a true human body, and it takes her attention and shards to repair once damaged, thus leaving her more vulnerable to further attacks. Once it's completely destroyed, attacking her spirals prevents her from doing anything but attempting to repair them and reform her body. With how comparatively fragile I've established them to be (cannot take a large magical explosion or a nuclear blast, and would not be able to take a sufficiently powerful physical force or magical/energy attack), Fridge Logic leads me to believe that if that were the case, her Soul Star would have been destroyed long ago, long before she could fully realize her vulnerability.
To justify her continued survival, and explain, allow and further justify her easy confidence, focus on admiration, and Time Abyss perspective - which are kind of the point of the character - I've decided to change her character to remove the explicit vulnerability of her Soul Star, and instead imply the opposite. (After all, Grief Seeds are capable of surviving the damage that kills their Witch unscathed...)
Essentially, when fighting her in a roleplay, if you destroy her body enough to reveal the spirals, you've basically won. If you destroy her spirals, you've basically killed her.
Omega
Omega, the Final Number, is the last of the "Numbers" Combat Cyborgs created by Jail Scaglietti (of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha infame). After "obtaining" a shipment of Metatron Ore from the TSAB (who were sold out by his high-level connections), Jail decided to build a new Combat Cyborg around it, using it to augment her capabilities and setting her loose to see what effects it would have.
The result was Omega. As beautiful as she is deadly, she weaves through the storm of battle with unearthly elegance and poise, returning fire with a pair of shapeshifting weapons which allow her to adapt to any combat situation on the fly. Fortunately, since Scaglietti was only able to obtain a limited sample of Metatron, other factors keep its effects on her mind in check; her beauty is matched only by her compassion and her love for her Sisters, though Metatron still whispers its "truths" into her mind...
Initially, the Will of Metatron led Omega to believe that the "Will of Life" was conflict, hatred and the urge to destroy those who stood against you. As such, she feared and came to believe that eventually, everyone's wills would bring them all into conflict - conflict which could ultimately only be resolved with the destruction of all life. Due to this, she was willing to ruthlessly impose her own will on others and fight those who opposed her, although she left alone those whose wills did not conflict with her own, and her compassion would not allow her to hurt or kill unless absolutely necessary.
However, thanks to her altruism and compassion - which she acted on without knowing why - she also sought a solution to this seemingly-inevitable cataclysm. When the Orbital Frame Hathor (as roleplayed by Questor) revealed the true Will of Metatron to her - also altering her Metatron's influence thanks to changing its resonance - Omega finally saw the solution she'd been seeking. All would be one in Metatron.
But doubts still remain in her. Her loyalty to her creator puts strain on her, as his missions and tests mean she cannot always serve the Will of Metatron. The Metatron inside her grows and builds up, and if it is not used up in combat, or by creating Metatron Seeds and Infusions (which allow others to use Metatron's powers, and the Metatron to grow in new places), its Voice and Will inside her grow stronger.
Her general compassion and love for her sisters presents another point of conflict. As the Will of Metatron grows stronger inside her, it urges her to act immediately and forcefully to fulfil its goals - the destruction of threats and further spread of itself. While her power limiters and Metatron filters generally allow her to suppress this buildup and maintain her rationality for the most part, she will go into a foul, insular mood and become quicker to violence if she has not had the chance to engage in combat - or otherwise deplete her Metatron - for a long time. And she always fears the consequences of losing control, especially when training with her sisters.
Ah, Omega. Originally created as basically my replacement for "Nanohman" (see below), she was initially to be little more than a cackling Metatron nutjob. However, her character ran away with me - to far better places.
Originally, she was to appear relatively sane and loyal to Scaglietti, despite her Metatron ramblings. However, she was soon going to decide that she was all Scaglietti needed, and dispose of the other Numbers. She was then going to fall further to the dark whispers of Metatron, and decide to show Scaglietti himself the "Truth of Life", likely killing him before she could realize the true Will of Metatron. (This would have partially been a pragmatic decision to get them out of the picture, as I don't know enough to effectively roleplay or even discuss Scaglietti or the other Numbers in-character.) At this point, she would then realize she had nothing left - no purpose, no goals, no orders, no master, no sisters - except the dark whispers of Metatron. And go completely off the deep end.
Fortunately, I realized that doing this would be going the exact same direction as Nanohman, and would make her similarly unplayable/unenjoyable to play. Furthermore, after deciding to use Serene Psychic Witch
◊ as her avatar, I started playing up her beauty (and its implications), and she turned in a far more pleasant direction, becoming a classic Nanoha villain.
At first, I planned to have her Metatron (and associated craziness) build up, making her need to occasionally use it up in combat or become gradually more and more bloodthirsty, culminating in an Ax-Crazy rampage if she wasn't "sated". However, I feel that this concept - "do X evil/antisocial thing or go insane/do it anyway, to your detriment" - is rather overused. Furthermore, it turns her into a rather boringly straight use of Fighting from the Inside and Superpowered Evil Side. As well as limiting her ability to have cordial interactions with other characters, and not being consistent with the kind of character I want to write her as.
As such, I decided to downplay but not remove this element, and instead make it so that Omega has little enough Metatron to basically be able to "control" it... only she's not completely against it; the conflict comes from her trying to reconcile it with her other beliefs and more benign drives, as well as fear of what could happen if she loses control.
Omega's Happy Ending will come when Jail Scaglietti and the Numbers are defeated as per (modified) Strikers canon; her and Alpha (see below) will be defeated in a two-on-two battle by Nanoha and Fate, even despite reluctantly using her Shining Emissary Mode (possibly even having it remotely activated by Jail to make her fight at her hardest, if she’s having doubts). Afterwards, she will be imprisoned, and then contained and monitored, by the TSAB - but ultimately set free, and allowed to work for them. This will allow her to express the Will of Metatron in combat missions and by helping the TSAB to study Metatron (possibly furthering its spread).
She may always hold her belief that "all will be one in Metatron" - but her own contribution to that will be to keep the peace on Mid-Childa and the other Administrated Worlds until that day comes, and to try to repair Metatron's public image, after the damage overzealous cultists did to it.
And along the way, she’ll come to understand and enjoy friendship and normal life.
Alpha
The creation of Alpha was set in motion when Jail figured out that not only could Omega create new Metatron samples, doing so actually helped her stay stable, by counteracting the Metatron build-up. As such, he had her create several new Metatron samples, and began to study them. However, due to having limited knowledge of what Metatron was truly capable of, he didn't secure it sufficiently; the Metatron samples grew and joined together, and took over some of his equipment. Knowing it was likely to be recontained, and too little to do much about it on its own, the Metatron hijacked the equipment Jail had used to create Omega, and used it to shape its own creation: Alpha, the Daughter of Metatron.
Being created as a Combat Cyborg, Alpha is not completely under the control of Metatron; she has a human brain, mind, and (in part) body. However, she has little reason not to be loyal to Metatron, and indeed her faith in its visions (both literal and figurative) gives her a great deal of satisfaction and contentment. Her main restraints are "big sister" Omega's counsel, along with the fact that acting too openly and hastily would likely (further) damage Metatron's reputation and public image - making it likely to face a galaxy or even multiverse united against it - and the fact that both her and Omega have limited amounts of Metatron within them, and are left severely drained by creating new Metatron Seeds or using Infusions.
As a fellow Metatron-based Combat Cyborg, Alpha sees Omega as a sister and the other Numbers as more akin to cousins, while Omega sees them all as sisters; however, Alpha has quickly become Omega's closest sister, partially due to being a kindred spirit who can truly understand her, partially due to the empathic resonance created by their Metatron when they are near each other. Though she has little loyalty to Jail, Alpha cares deeply about her sister, and likes to accompany her on missions wherever she can, as well as seeing little reason not to accept them. Omega's rationality also helps to keep Alpha's blind loyalty to Metatron in check.
Mostly inspired when I found her avatar pic by accident and thought "holy shit, that's Omega's sister". The rest of her characterization flows from there.
ANKO, MIKI and SAKI
ANKO, MIKI and SAKI are warped versions of Sayaka, Kyoko and Isaki, who have been forced into surrendering what remains of their humanity to the Will of Metatron in return for powerful (miniature) Orbital Frame bodies. Though scraps of their old personalities, powers, and fighting styles remain, they have become solely and zealously devoted to spreading the "Truth" of Metatron, and defending it from the "Unenlightened" (although SAKI takes these "duties" rather less seriously, and focusses more on showing off the benefits of her Metatron powers to or against the "unenlightened", hoping to get them to convert). Modified Metatron Filters (as well as the Light of Metatron itself) prevent their Soul Gems (which still reside at the core of their new systems) from growing corrupt, neutralizing the threat of them transforming into Witches, but also cutting them off from the reach of Madokami's power, preventing her from saving them.
As well as retaining their signature weapons (though MIKI's has become a Blade Below the Shoulder, and SAKI has gained true, physical blades), ANKO, MIKI and SAKI have gained new Metatron-based powers. These include flight, the ability to fire off Beam Spam including Homing Lasers from their new wings (or blasters and Attack Drones in SAKI's case), limited Gravity Master powers, and the Null Shift - a pale imitation of the Zero Shift subsystem.
Another "OC" inspired by a picture
◊.
Sorry guys, couldn't resist the temptation of having my own Orbital Frames once I Youtubed it and saw Jehuty in action.
Metatron Originally from Zone of the Enders, and co-developed with Questor, who was sadly banned for being a Jerkass.
"Since the Dawn of History, Human beings have realized various forms of energy. Civilizations have progressed with them." In some worlds, one of these energies was Metatron, a mysterious, empowering, and space-bending energy derived from unknown white crystals. "Where does such energy as Metatron lead our civilization?" is, however, a question more should have asked, for in this case it was more literal than most. What few realized until it was too late was that Metatron was alive, a gestalt entity with a distributed consciousness known as "the Will of Metatron". Capable of resonating within any Metatron crystal or energy, the Will could take over technology and even minds, if its energies were improperly filtered, contained, and restricted.
To be continued...
Arisa (Azura)
At first glance, Arisa appears to be merely a flirtatious party girl, mostly interested in having fun. However, if pressed, she can reveal powerful fire magic. She also at times reveals a deeper side, which seems to mostly value individual freedoms, hopes, dreams, and desires, and displays concern for those who do not allow themselves to - or are otherwise unable to - pursue those things, or are trapped in situations of pain and sorrow, or who are otherwise not on the path in life they desire.
This is because she is actually the demoness Azura, seeking opportunities to siphon Life Energy and offer a Deal with the Devil.
Warning: The following section assumes knowledge of the above spoiler. Spoilers off for the next part.
However, Azura actually comes from a world where the conflict between Heaven and Hell is actually an Order Versus Chaos battle, and both sides in fact include both good and evil, with more good than evil overall; Hell is naturally a Hell of a Time. Her personal alignment is Chaotic Neutral, with a slight bend towards Chaotic Good; she is a Blood Knight who enjoys clashing with the forces of Heaven, and will also at times bait unpleasant sorts into Mugging the Monster for her own amusement, but also genuinely hopes for others to pursue and live their dreams, and enjoy their lives.
Life Energy in the 'verse is not a fixed pool of lifespan; rather, it is produced and used by one's body, soul, and emotions. Its loss is exhausting at worst, and can eventually be recovered from unless one is drained to the point of becoming comatose or worse.
Life Energy can be gathered by Azura - or other demons - in various ways. Powerful (usually positive) emotions and moments of "feeling alive" unknowingly create accompanying bursts of life energy, which can be harmlessly drawn upon and "collected" by a nearby demon. Sexual activities, as an "act of life", also produce similar energy bursts. While demons are capable of a full range of emotions, their powerful bodies and souls consume more Life Energy than they produce, requiring them to feed off either the ambient life energy in Hell or humans' Life Energy. Their demonic magics and Reality Warping are also fuelled by this energy.
Directly draining a victim is also possible, but the victim's will will allow them to resist, making this difficult and inefficient (unless the victim is weakened, willing, or their willpower is otherwise compromised). It is also for this reason that tricking or coercing someone into a Deal with the Devil is less effective and efficient, as they will resist, but deals with recipients willing to put their heart and soul into the bargain can yield tremendous amounts of energy. Finally, demonic binding spells can allow a victim to be drained continuously or sporadically over a longer period of time (albeit with the same caveat of resistance making them less effective), allowing the binder to drain a much larger amount of Life Energy over the long term, or gain a power boost when necessary, usually as part of the payment for a contract.
Azura is not capable of directly harming or destroying a soul; such spells and abilities are considered Black Magic by both angels and demons, and only used by the most depraved of demons or Knight Templar of angels. Her Reality Warping is also not combat effective, thanks to requiring too much energy and concentration.
The Phalanx (Blaeza, Sefir, Iona, Curea)
The Phalanx is a team of four mysterious Magical Girls, each of whom has hair, eyes and outfit of a certain colour theme:
Blaeza, the Firestorm. As the (physically) strongest of the Magical Girls and most adept in melee combat, she tends to act in a brash, cocky, eager manner. Her colour theme is red.
Sefir, the Windstorm. Much like her abilities, she tends to move and act with a casual, easy grace which can turn sharp where necessary. Her colour theme is sky-blue.
Curea, the Healing Shield. She tends to act kind and caring, but pragmatically so rather than in a bleeding-heart way, focussing on preventing and overcoming harm and negative situations rather than freaking out or shedding tears over it. Her colour theme is leaf-green, and her outfit has a vaguely leafy motif.
Iona, the Shining. Her colour theme is a shining silver, and she tends to have a distant, "transcendant", yet hopeful air to her.
Oddly, the Magical Girls appear to be bound by or to a four-gemmed ring which each of them wears. This ring seems to contain their physical bodies when not in use, and unless the situation requires it, they seem to choose a varying one of their number to speak and act for them, the others emerging only when their presence seems required. They also have a tendency to sometimes refer to themselves collectively as "we", rather than in the singular, as well as making reference to an unknown creator, suggesting they may not be naturally born humans...
Phalanx was originally a tool of my Author Avatar, created because I wanted characters to enter scenes (particularly the Arena) explicitly on my behalf, fight for me when I didn't feel like using Author Powers, and make me look more awesome by their presence - not-so-evil minions, basically. And since I already had a reputation of using Magical Girls, I figured I might as well run with it For the Lulz.
They also originally did not in fact have free will, and were essentially directly controlled by my Author Avatar in-universe as well as out, being essentially pretty People Puppets with no true minds of their own; their seeming personalities were for show. Naturally, this was an uncomfortably creepy concept, and they were not used for long in this form.
However, I later decided to reinvent the concept to remove the explicit references to my Author Avatar, remove the creepy concepts, render them truly alive and independent, and leave their creator and agendas more mysterious, to make them more playable and less tone-breaking.
Fenix/Phoenix
Fenix was born an ordinary child on Earth. Growing up in the world of Transformers Cybertron several decades after the canon series, Fenix grew up in awe of the Autobots, the powerful celestial allies of Earth and the human race.
But watching them from afar, bitterness began to take hold in him. While in awe of their power, he also felt that none of Humanity's accomplishments held a candle to their quasi-mystical technologies. The vast majority of Humanity had sat back and cowered on Earth, achieving nothing, while the Autobots had recovered the mythical Omega Lock from Starship Atlantis, revived their mechanical deity, Primus, and closed the Grand Black Hole that had threatened the universe (if not the multiverse).
Driven by his frustration with the comparative powerlessness of the human condition, and his delight with the awesome powers of the Cybertronians, the young man devoted himself to science and the study of Energon, researching the mysterious mineral-force. Rising through the ranks of the field, he played a steadily growing role in several breakthroughs as he became more and more adept at manipulating the quasi-mystical force, designing technology based upon it.
But it was never enough. Every time he held Energon technology in his hands, he could feel the power inside of it.
But he was human. Born of flesh and blood. The power of the Cybertronians was forever out of his reach.
No. He would never accept this.
And one day, as he walked, lost in thoughts of the newest miniaturized Energon reactor him and his team were developing, a car sideswiped him.
Fortunately, he was unharmed by the incident, tumbling to the ground with nothing worse than cuts and bruises. But it had given him a clarity he'd never seen before. Human life was not only weak, it was fragile. It could end at any time. There was no more time to waste. Already his ambitions had nearly died once, crushed out like the fragile, dying ember that human life was.
He decided enough was enough. It was time to make his move. Now was his time, today his day. He would claim the power of Energon for himself, and no force in the universe would stop him.
So he stole the Reactor.
Recklessly, using highly experimental and hypothetical procedures, he bound the Energon Reactor to himself. When it came online, the power was like nothing he'd ever imagined. As the Energon flowed through his veins and nerves, he understood at last how the legendary Autobot warriors must have felt when they were reborn into more powerful forms. He would not be parted with it for anything.
Thanks to his exemplary record thus far, few suspected him at first. So by the time the crime was finally puzzled out, he was long gone.
Slipping away via the Space Bridge, he fled to the Asteroid Belts, where he found refuge among the freedom-loving "Independent Colonies". These roughshod mining operations wanted no part in the Autobots' motto of "Till all are one", and opposed what they saw as alien domination and assimilation. Their core values of freedom, human strength, and independence fitted him like lock and key. In return for his expertise with the manipulation of Energon, and the design of weapons and devices based upon it, the quasi-rebels gave him shelter and asylum, allowing him to continue his work with relative impunity. He hardly had fame and fortune, never mind luxury, but then, he didn't need or desire such things. All he wanted or needed was his work.
To further augment his power, and protect himself in the rather rougher "neighbourhood" he now lived in, he designed a suit of armour to channel it - the Phoenix armour. (Its similarity to a certain ancient movie amused him no end.) He delighted in his newfound strength, using it to menace and mock the Space Pirates which were a constant thorn in the Independent Colonies’ side without the Autobots to patrol their space. The legend of the Phoenix grew, a cocky, lawless avenger, proud of his power but loyal to his newfound home.
The Phoenix armour is his Magnum Opus, a set of Powered Armour powered by his Energon Reactor. The Energon flowing though it gives it increased resilience, "supernatural" capabilities based at least partially on its user's will (including a Battle Aura), ammunition limited only by its remaining power, and the ability to activate a Cyber Key Power.
Its capabilities are divided into three "Assault Modes", used proportionate to the level of threat it is facing:
Light Assault Mode: Used to take on lightly-armed humans and other "normal" threats, Light Assault Mode consists only of gauntlets, boots, the Energon Reactor, and a combat harness for improved mobility and durability. Its weapons in Light Assault Mode are wrist-mounted micro-missile launchers (which can also fire shotgun-like bursts at close range, thanks to the versatility of Energon projectiles), Energon Blades (which can create Razor Wind), and submachine guns concealed within the gauntlets.
Heavy Assault Mode: Heavy Assault Mode is used to take on threats such as smaller starships and mechanized infantry, and adds the torso armour for a full suit, allowing it to tank stronger attacks as well as dodging and blocking. It also gains shoulder-mounted Ion Cannons, which deliver a quick and powerful shot and can be overcharged to deliver heavy and sustained firepower (for Beam-O-War situations, or to burn through shields and armour), but have fairly long cooldowns and can't be rapid-fired. Finally, it gains full flight capabilities, thanks to a winged jetpack-like addition on its back.
Ultra Assault Mode: Ultra Assault Mode pushes the Phoenix to Super Weight 4, giving it the power to fight moderately-sized starships and weak Cybertronians with support, and is triggered by activating its Cyber Key Power. Because of this, it can only be used for a limited period of time. However, while it lasts, it gives the Phoenix energy wings, larger Energon blades, greatly improved mobility, and a massive increase in Energon power, overcharging all its systems to make them far more powerful.
The Void of Escape
The Void is a mysterious being that usually first appears as a nameless, sourceless dread and sense of ominousness. It will attempt to trick its victim into fleeing their place of safety and the presence of other people by inducing paranoia. However, the further and faster they run, the worse things get; mundane things will at first start to appear ominous, and will eventually mutate into warped, malicious forms which will actively attempt to attack the victim. Soon, they will be assailed by nightmarish visions.
As long as they continue to run. If they stand and fight, its power will be weakened and possibly even broken, and the nightmares will prove surprisingly weak in direct combat.
All through this, the Void will speak to them in two different ways: it will threaten to "take" and "consume" them, declaring that "the Void has you", and attempt to make them more afraid, telling them to "run from it", but it will also offer them safety and salvation if they "run to it" and give into it. It will declare itself both pleasure and pain, salvation and damnation. Eventually, it will name itself the Void of Escape.
Eventually, the visions will climax in the victim being swallowed by something and transported to the Heart of the Void, a world of two different kinds of fire - golden flames which heal, and more normal flames which burn and wound. It is here that the "true" form of the Void will be revealed: a supernaturally beautiful, almost angelic young human girl, usually crying. She will appear to be within a sanctuary of healing fire, which is seemingly being attacked by harming fire. She will speak to the victim, offering them sanctuary, escape, and safety, while decrying the outside world.
When she touches them, a psychic exchange will take place; they will see her story. She was created by a malicious, tormented individual who hated everything, yet loved her; yet still abused her. She was torn between loving him back, and wanting to escape. Eventually, he cast her out (feeling that his love for her made him weak). Her pain and desire to escape connects with a "deeper primal force", which she merges with to become the Void of Escape.
She will also see their story, and will attempt to use it to convince them to abandon their life, convincing them that only pain awaits them in the outside world, while she can save them. If they accept, they will stay with her, within her safe embrace (literally and figuratively) while eventually becoming one with her; if they refuse, she will lash out at them, transforming into an Eldritch Abomination while displaying shock, sadness, and disbelief, but they will typically be released (physically) unharmed after suffering a final, agonizing attack.
The Void was originally a "generic evil of doom" designed to disrupt a roleplay scene I didn't know where to go with via Chandler's Law. However, I decided to use it again, and this time added the fear and escape motif, while deciding to make its secret weakness "actually trying to fight back". Over a few subsequent encounters, I developed it into the entity described above. I basically consider it my go-to "Mind Rape in a tin can".
"Nanohman"/BE!Nanoha
"Nanohman" is an Alternate Universe incarnation of Nanoha Takamachi, corrupted by Metatron into an Omnicidal Maniac who truly lives up to her moniker of the "White Devil". This corruption happened via an alternate timeline where Fate did not save her from Orbital Frame Idolo, and she eventually came to "accept" the "Truth" of Metatron, joyfully reuniting with her crazed Device and going on an omnicidal rampage.
The first act of this rampage was to return to the Arthra and lay waste to it, killing everybody aboard, including Lindy, Chrono, Yuuno, and Fate, and leaving it a Metatron-covered wreck.
This horrific monster uses twisted versions of Nanoha's normal attacks, as well as several new moves, including the sniper beam Brightlance, as well as her new ultimate attack, the nightmarish Hypernova Breaker. It enhances and restores its dark powers with Metatron Cartridges loaded into Raising Heart's Cartridge System.
Surely no redemption can be possible for her at this point... unless you run her out of Metatron and separate her from Raising Heart before it can activate another Metatron Cartridge, but even then, And Then What?? She'll just go into a Heroic BSoD upon remembering what she's done...
Yeah, "Nanohman" is NOT my favourite or best character concept.
Originally, she was going to be a Befriending-obsessed lunatic, being at least a Laughably Evil parody of fanon portrayals. However, that somehow fell by the wayside - probably because I wanted to contrast her against the Ax-Crazy Raising Heart, whose personality had already been established by Questor in her origin roleplay - and she just started talking Metatron BS in entirely too serious a tone.
I then completely failed at making her "irredeemable" with her mass murder spree aboard the Arthra, since she did it under the influence of Metatron; it ultimately only succeeded in leaving her nothing to come back to if she was saved. I also failed to take into account the fact that other characters (and players) would notice (remember) that there's a freaking 9 year old girl under all that crap, causing most of them to want to try to save her.
I eventually realized all these reasons she was a shit character, as well as the fact that she was basically inducing Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy in me, and realized that I wasn't exactly gonna enjoy myself roleplaying if I had to be emotionally detached just to play my own damn character. I basically abandoned the character concept at that point.
Also, she was a Black Ending character before they were cool. Suck on that, SymeSynth.
Ascendant Magica
(For obvious reasons, Puella Magi Madoka Magica spoilers ahead.)
After the Bittersweet Ending of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Madoka has used most of her remaining power (that wasn't bound into her Contract-bound wish) to create the Sanctuary, where she transports all former Magical Girls when they fall. Sayaka, Mami, Kyoko, and Isaki have all implicitly fallen, and are joined by Homura, who has herself fallen in battle (possibly in a certain Arena battle) rather than becoming her Rebellion incarnation who I still don't know that much about, only that she exists.
(This version of Madoka has also either figured out how to change/adapt her Contract-bound power, or made a different Contract in the first place - something more along the lines of "I wish I could save everyone! All the Magical Girls, all the Witches, everyone!" - as she can save Magical Girls whose Soul Gems break from damage as well as corruption.)
An uncertain period of time later, the Puella Magi have had some time to recover from their traumas and resolve some of their hangups, becoming much better-adjusted overall, but Victory Is Boring has set in (for some of them). Gadflying, shenanigans, and Ship Tease ensue, as well as eagerness for new adventures.
General Characterizations
Madoka: Madoka has taken a A God I Am Not attitude towards her role, and always refers to and sees the other Puella Magi as her friends. The Sanctuary's only official rule is "no worshipping [Madoka], no shrines to [her]".
However, Madoka nevertheless feels driven to protect her friends; she just wants everyone to be safe and happy. She is also painfully aware that her own defeat, no matter how unlikely, would have disastrous consequences for all the Puella Magi under her care, and is as a result terrified of attracting the attention of Eldritch Abomination(s) - as indeed (nearly) happened in at least one instance.
Homura: After all that she's been through, Homura just wants a break; Madoka's (mostly) safe and that's all she wants. However, she is also willing to do whatever it takes to protect Madoka, and sees herself as Madoka's secret weapon and last resort if the Sanctuary is ever threatened, or Madoka ever needs anything else done. To this end, she continues to train herself and build up her arsenal, now being equipped with both her old and new powersets.
She usually looks down on the other Puella Magis' activities, not deigning to get involved.
Mami: Mami is extremely glad to never have to be alone again, and to no longer have to worry about Soul Gem corruption, the constant Puella Magi turf wars, and the threat of Witches (including her own). As a result, she is extremely eager to (re)connect with the other Puella Magi, and become as close to them as possible, tending to go along with them and their activities, though not against her own ideals. She also tries to keep the peace and foster friendship among them. She is confident and powerful when accompanied by her friends and supporting them, but is vulnerable to falling back into depression and despair if forced to remain alone outside of Sanctuary.
Kyoko: Kyoko still maintains a snarky, aloof, and more pragmatic/cynical outlook than all the others. She also enjoys a combative "challenge" to "stretch her legs", and retains her confrontational attitude. However, without the constant Puella Magi turf wars to darken her outlook, she has grudgingly (re)connected with the other Puella Magi and adopted a more Knight in Sour Armour attitude, looking out for the others.
She has mostly reconnected with her former mentor Mami, but also wishes to prove that she has surpassed her (she hasn't). She also butts heads with Sayaka, as she believes - to a certain extent - that Might Makes Right, and wishes to show Sayaka the "truth" of this "realistic" philosophy. Her and Isaki have formed an Odd Friendship, and are fairly frequent sparring partners; although Isaki's light-hearted attitude annoys her on the surface, she is intrigued, amused and perhaps a little impressed by her way of dealing with the world.
Sayaka: Though she has overcome her attraction to Kyosuke and its consequences, Sayaka is still mostly the same person - the wannabe white knight, hero of justice. She is as quick to judgment and keen to action as ever; she believes and wishes to prove that Right Makes Might - a philosophy which often causes her to butt heads with Kyoko, who believes and seeks to prove to her the opposite. She also has a bone to pick with Isaki over her reckless, "irresponsible" attitude.
Isaki: Isaki is eternally grateful to Madoka for creating the Sanctuary, and allowing them enjoy effective immortality. For this reason, she is immensely loyal to Madoka at the fundamental level, and perhaps the only thing that can make her take a situation truly seriously is a threat to Madoka. However, she also sees Madoka as trying to spoil her fun, and is not above defying her on smaller matters or even playing the "you can't stop me" card. She also enjoys sparring with Kyoko, and doesn't get how Mami can seek and live such a quiet life, but is happy enough to hang out with her. Her attitude infuriates Sayaka, despite it being Not So Different from her own, and causes Homura to think of her as an idiot.
"Homes" within the Sanctuary
Within the Sanctuary, all the Puella Magi have some degree of control over the spaces they inhabit, which form themselves from both their conscious and subconscious preferences.
Madoka: Omnipresent. (Though she can and does take her attention off the Puella Magi, giving them privacy.)
Homura: What looks like a holographic theatre, but is actually a high-tech training room. (Madoka isn't happy about this.)
Mami: A humble cottage with a very nice garden. What's in the basement, however, is a closely-guarded secret.
Kyoko: An urban flat and the alley leading up to it.
Sayaka:
Isaki: A dojo and skate park.
