Beastworld: Emergence - Sign Ups

Humanity is overrated.

Most people believe humanity to be the be-all end-all of sapient species. For centuries, it was considered the only one. Against the odds, humanity rose to the top of the pack and left everyone else in the dust. Cats and dogs were domesticated, other species reduced to cattle. Humanity continued to progress, crossing peaks and valleys that few ever dreamed they could. But it lost something along the way. Somewhere in the middle of their ascension, they forgot their place in the world order, losing their connection to something special. For many, such progress was a worthy trade-off. To others, the damnation of the planet wasn't worth the risk. Others still are disillusioned with modern living and governance, longing for a return to something simpler. But for the vast majority, the modern world is the only one they know.

But it wasn't always this way. Long ago, the world was far more vast. Vast oceans and seas ran from coast to coast as far as the eye could see, magic oozing from every pore, small villages and clans living in harmony with nature. Today it seems a distant memory, even a fantasy. But in another world, such pastoral grandeur is a reality. In the land of Ki, the forests and hills remain pure, not a speck of technology or pollution to be seen. Villages are sparse, humanity non-existent. But others have taken their place. In this world, the beast folk rule. Not human or beast, but somewhere in between. Steeped in magic and tradition, the beast folk took a different path. Many live as beasts, hunting and foraging in the wilderness, telling tall tales and moving from place to place. A few have grown, learning to cultivate crops and build something greater, but their connection to nature remains. It's a hard life. Compared to us, they may seem primitive or barbaric, but their ways are no less valid.

But things have changed. Three years ago, the Great Convergence began. Bits of Ki began spilling into Earth, breaking the boundary between dimensions. Forests and lakes appeared out of nowhere bringing the Beastfolk with them and letting magic seep into the atmosphere. Villages and settlements were supplanted with beast folk territory. Monsters began to appear, wreaking havoc on large populations and spreading the magic even further. Small groups of humans disillusioned with the modern world returned to the old ways, the appearance of beast folk and their world pushing them to act. All that magic accelerated their reversion, but it was their choice, even if others didn't agree with it. The world was in chaos and looked for someone to blame and the Beastfolk were convenient scapegoats.

In the three years since, the world has slowly reached a degree of stability, but the Beastfolk remain. As do the monsters and magic they brought with them. The gradual spillover has only increased. Many humans see Beastfolk as freaks and barbarians, no better than animals. But others wish to change that. The world's governments have begun establishing diplomatic relationships with beast folk, hoping to create order out of chaos. But Bravehart University is the lynchpin. A school made for humans and beast folk, normies and neo-tribalists, any race or culture that wants to learn. It's a place where anyone and everyone can learn to celebrate their differences and overcome them, a cultural exchange. Even other beast folk have much to learn from one another. But if the school can overcome their differences, then maybe the rest of the world can do the same.

But the university has another purpose. Bringing this new world together is its chief goal, but some would see it undone. Anything from monsters to hate groups to beast folk terrorist cells could tear this world apart if given the chance. In accordance with such threats, the academy has been charged with keeping the peace. It's a secondary goal, but it supports the first. What better way to show unity than standing together against common foes? But if they press hard enough, perhaps they'll discover what caused the Great Convergence in the first place.

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Hey everyone! This is a quasi-Urban Fantasy Academy RP, co-run by me and Kkhohoho. Long ago, the Earth used to be one until it was split in two. Our world leaned towards science and technology, the other towards magic and nature. Where humans became the dominant species on Earth, many sapient species or Beastfolk developed on Ki, embracing their primitive lifestyle. Both worlds existed independently, but ever since the Great Convergence, that's all changed. Beastfolk have begun spilling over into Earth and taking their homes and magic with them. In the three years since, many humans and beast folk or even other beast folk have been at each other's throats. Bravehart Academy is one of several solutions to bring everyone together. Your goal is to learn from these different species and overcome your differences while protecting humans and beast folk from mutual threats, proving to the world that everyone can live together in harmony.

Some students are humans. Some are normies, others are neo-tribalists. Humans that chose to return to nature, only for an influx of magic from Ki to accelerate the process. But most are beast folk. Beastfolk come in all shapes and sizes and from many different cultures. Each species has its own culture and traditions, their own history and mythology. A few have advanced far enough to learn agriculture, but most are hunter-gatherers. In some cases, the only difference from beasts is their ability to think and reason, though others have progressed further. Some races have had dealings with each other, whether it be through trade or shared beliefs, but others have stayed apart. The academy is just as much for the different beast folk as it is for humans, forcing them to look past their differences and come together as a community.

Most beast folk have the same abilities as their beast counterparts scaled up, but many are blessed with native magic. Most races have their own brand of magic they're born with. Whether that be water magic, shadow magic or something else, all beast folk magic tends to be strong and they can use it instinctively. Humans can use magic too. Their magic is more versatile, but the tradeoff is it's less powerful and has to be learned. A few beast folk are in between, but they're very rare.

• Name:
• Age: All students should be at least 18 physically. Most are young adults, but most beast folk don't age at the same rate. Some reach maturity pretty quickly, others take longer to grow.
• Race: Everyone should be playing some sort of beast folk. If you make a strong case for a Neo-Tribalist or something, maybe we can make an exception, but that's the general rule.
• Appearance:
• Personality:
• Beastfolk Abilities: Self-explanatory. What can your beast-folk do? A cheetah beast folk could be fast or have claws, a turtle beast folk will have a hard shell, etc. This can also include skills or traits that aren't inherent to your given species, but make them stand out.
• Magic: Most Beastfolk have some sort of magic. Most of them are born with it, but it's unique to each race. Their magic is strong and they can use it instinctively, but it's hard to learn from other schools and they can't use magic other than their given field. There are exceptions, but these are few and far between.
• Equipment/Gear:
• Background:
• Etc: Anything you can think of that doesn't fit into the other categories.

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Last but not least, some extra information about the setting for your perusal.

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Let me know if there are any questions about the RP you have and I'll do my best to answer them. Here's the Sign-in sheet:

CHARACTER LIST:

• Name: Hananaibira (or just "Hana")
• Age: 18
• Race: Kuroneko, a tribe of black cat beastfolk.
• Appearance: Ninja kitty◊. Stands at 3'5.
• Personality: Quiet, stoic, and serious, Hana is devoted to his duty and very good at it. Unfortunately, this has come at the cost of being able to hold a conversation; Hana's social skills are on par with an agoraphobic lobster. Thrown into social situations, he does the bare minimum and tends to panic whenever he exceeds said bare minimum, sometimes to the point of outright fleeing the room. Hana is a devout believer in his tribe's religion, and his loyalty to his village and people is foolproof.
• Beastfolk Abilities:
  • Claws Out: Kuroneko have sharp, retractable claws on their fingers and toes, which are useful for both climbing and combat.
  • Born Hunter: Kuroneko have heightened agility, flexibility, and balance, making them natural hunters.
  • Realm of the Senses: Kuroneko have stronger senses of hearing and smell than most, as well as the ability to see in the dark.
  • Camouflage: Less a natural ability and more something Hana has learned, but they can take advantage of their own dark coloring to blend into their surroundings.
• Magic: ...boy, is that the million-dollar question. As far as anyone knows, the kuroneko lack any sort of innate magic, unlike pretty much every other tribe. Oh, they've tried, but for whatever reason, the abilities that come so easy to other beastfolk elude them. Still, they've adapted, and get on very well for a species that's seemingly magic-less.
• Equipment/Gear: Hana is one of very few people to possess a metal weapon—a tachi created by his mentor. He also carries (stone) knives, as well as a bracelet carved from fish bones (which is meant to be a talisman to ward against wicked spirits).
• Background:
  • Hana was born the third child to a family of farmers in the village of Shironohara. His early life was spent working the rice fields, but it never quite appealed to him. At 12, he went and got himself apprenticed to Makanisoyuki, the head of shinobi—kuroneko warriors. Hana swiftly proved himself a prodigy with the blade, "graduating" at 16 and becoming an official member of the shinobi. Expectations for him were very high.
  • Of course, their village suddenly being plunged onto Earth changed...a lot of things. Most notably for Hana, he was the one picked to attend this "Bravehart Academy" in the hopes it would shore up his (quite lacking) social skills. I see no way this could go wrong.
• Etc:
  • Hana is what kuroneko culture knows as a taimashī, a man's soul in a woman's body—in other words, a trans man.
  • A doc on kuroneko society. More to be added, probably.

"Kept me waiting, haven’t you? Tch. No matter. Dawdle all you’d like. In the end, your defeat remains inevitable."

• Name: Wildflower (of the Flower Clan)
• Age: 23
• Race: Skunkfolk
  • Physiology: Skunkfolk normally stand between 4½ and 5½ feet tall, though some individuals can stand as tall as 6 feet. They are covered with dense black fur with a distinctive white stripe, which keeps them comfortably warm year-round. They are omnivores with a taste for both meat and vegetation. Skunkfolk possess sharp claws on their hands and feet, which they use both to hunt and to dig, but these aren’t their only natural defense. They are able to spray an incredibly foul-smelling fluid from scent glands on their rear ends with shocking accuracy, as well as being able to expel flatulence with the force of cannon fire. In addition, they are masters of wind magic, able to guide both arrows and scents on currents of wind. Skunkfolk are nocturnal, and though their eyes aren’t adapted to seeing in the dark, they combine their wind magic with acute senses of smell and hearing to be very effective night hunters.
  • Culture: Skunkfolk are hunter-gatherers who live in small, spread-out family clans. The largest of these clans comprise about 20 adults and their offspring. When a clan gets too large, several members splinter off to seek new hunting grounds and form and new clan. Due to their warm fur and the location of their defense mechanisms, skunkfolk generally do not wear any clothing, and the nomadic clans sleep in temporary dens dug under massive trees or caves instead of in permanent settlements. Skunkfolk are traditional and largely resistant to change, and while they value independence and personal autonomy, they place immense stock on clan loyalty. The skunkfolk’s few crafts include simple, traditional jewelry and the bows they use to hunt prey.
  • Folklore: The skunkfolk are largely unconcerned with the origin of the world itself, their stories instead focusing on the origins of their people. The tale goes that in an age long past, there was god known as Aniwye, the first and greatest of skunks. Aniwye possessed spray so foul it could kill a man instantly, and backwinds so powerful they could level mountains. Originally a wise and just god, Aniwye grew drunk on its power, becoming a monster that terrorized the world. Eventually, a group of brave hunters known now as the Great Ancestors tracked down and slew Aniwye for its crimes, splitting the god’s power among themselves and becoming the first skunkfolk.
• Appearance: Wildflower in her natural state, nearly 6 feet tall, broad, and well-muscled.◊ As much as she'd like to attend the academy in just her fur, there is a dress code, which she does the bare minimum to comply with by wearing a sports bra and a skirt which she's ripped the back half off of to expose her butt.
• Personality: Wildflower is proud, even-tempered, and slightly aloof. She has nothing against talking to others, but the clannish nature of her society means she's slow to form friendships. She is extremely devoted to her clan: keeping them fed and safe is the very reason for her being and she reacts with hostility at any slight to their honor.
• Beastfolk Abilities:
  • Heightened Senses: As a skunk, while her eyesight is nothing to write home about, her senses of hearing and smell are much more acute than those of a human.
  • Claws: While the large claws on Wildflower's hands and feet are designed for burrowing through dirt and wood, they're very sharp and are equally useful for hunting and self-defense.
  • Spray: The most iconic ability of the skunkfolk, Wildflower can spray a noxious liquid from scent glands on her rear end. This spray is accurate at up to 40 feet, and it's foul aroma clings to its target, being strong enough to incapacitate nearly anything with a sense of smell for at least a minute or two, if not substantially longer. It can also temporarily blind opponents if it hits their eyes.
  • Backdraft Cannon: Like the skunks of Native American folklore, Wildflower is capable of expelling flatulence with the force of a cannon, a powerful and destructive ability hampered by its limited range.
• Magic:
  • Wind Magic: The power of the skunkfolk is the power of wind, and each skunkfolk is able to freely manipulate the air around them. While massive gusts and tornados are visually impressive, Wildflower prefers more subtle uses of this power, guiding her arrows on streams of wind and directing the noxious stench of her spray away from her allies and towards her enemies.
• Equipment: Wildflower is never without her weapon of choice: An intricately carved wooden bow and its grass-woven quiver filled with stone-headed arrows.
• Background:
  • The skunkfolk are among the most "primitive" of the beastfolk, operating as hunter-gatherers in small and scattered family clans and crafting little except bows and simple wooden jewelry. Among each clan, the greatest hunter of each generation is chosen to bear the clan name as part of their own. With a combination of hard work, talent, and good genetics that left her standing head and shoulders above her peers, Wildflower was chosen to bear the name of the Flower Clan for her generation.
  • As the greatest hunter of the clan, she was largely responsible for keeping the clan fed and safe, a job that got exponentially harder once the Great Convergence left her forest home in the midst of unfamiliar settlements. With her clan's traditional ways, resistance to change, and reluctance to interact with outsiders doing little to endear them to their new neighbors, it eventually became clear that Wildflower would have to resort to drastic measures to keep her clan safe.
  • These drastic measures consisted of breaking with her clan's traditions to attend Braveheart Academy, surrounding herself with outsiders in an attempt to carve her clan a place in this strange fused world. While the strange rules and customs of this new environment can grate on her, she's willing to put all her discomfort aside for the sake of the clan.
• Etc: Is not a Smelly Skunk unless she's spraying. You can't be a good hunter if your prey can smell you coming.

Edited by PossiblyQuiteInsane on Jun 22nd 2023 at 8:53:20 AM

Name: Brittany "Batty" Misato

Appearance: W-Wait! I'm not ready yet!

Age: 18

Race: Usually found in caves that stretch down for miles, Batfolk normally don’t show themselves often in the night, and if they do, usually only a few. However, if you were to ever stumble upon one of their dens, you would bear witness to a sudden exodus of flapping wings and panicked screeching. At their core, bat folk can be quite cowardly. When not snoozing in their dens or hunting for insects and other small creatures, rarely hunting large beasts, they can be found cultivating mushrooms. They usually don't have clothes due to their fur, but some wear scraps of leather. Brittany's subspecies corresponds to Vampire Bats in the human world, and speaks Nahuatl.

Personality: Brittany's lazy, even though she can be quite observant and smart. She'd rather not take on more work than necessary, and though she's quite nice, she can be a bit self-absorbed. She's obsessed with manga and the like, and wants to make her own popular manga. She also loves food and material things. Put simply, she's a shut-in weeb.

Beastfolk Abilities: Brittany has bat wings from her arms that allow her to fly, though she can't carry anyone while doing so. She also has enhanced smell and great hearing, and with the latter the ability to let out a clicking or screeching noise to "see" in dark places. It can also double as a short-range disorientation move.

Magic: The Batfolk, despite their nature as scavengers, can whip out their magic in dire circumstances. They have blood magic, which allows them to control organic beings with their own blood. That's the standard use, but with a little more work, she can solidify and telekinetically control her blood to create weapons to hurl at people.

Equipment/Gear: Aside from the clothes on her back, Brittany has a bag filled with books of manga ideas she couldn't finish.

Background: Brittany lived in her cave most of her life, drawing and brainstorming story ideas. Her parents force her to go to Braveheart University in order to cultivate her talents. While on Earth, she found several outlets for creativity, one of which was manga. So she's addicted to it now, along with other forms of entertainment. Yay.

Edited by Jules-Firenze on Jul 1st 2023 at 9:41:42 PM

You piss off the Venom T-Rex. Roll initiative.

• Name: Sophiuchus/"Sophi"
• Age: 21
• Race: Naga. Naga are hunter-gathers, usually living near the coast or the shallow end of the ocean. They live between 5-6 feet tall, but their tails are at least 10-15 feet long. If their tails are fully raised, they can tower over most other beast folk. They have thick green or blue scales that act as natural armour and protect them from the elements, reducing the need for clothing. Their gills and long tails allow them to breathe underwater, but they can live comfortably on land. They are susceptible to heatstrokes or severe burns and stick to cooler climates, living near large bodies of water to cool themselves off. Naga are spiritualistic and have a strong sense of community, but their internal independence is just as strong.
• Appearance: Smart snake.◊ Stands between 5-6 ft, but can raise herself to 20. Tail is about 15 ft long. Wears basic protective gear and a lab coat she found in the dumpster as a cloak. Isn't buff but does have some lean muscle. When she's in her room or at home, she tends to go au natural.
• Personality: Sophi is a total sweetie. She can be stubborn and overconfident but makes up for this with her warm and bubbly attitude. She's compassionate, apologetic and very spiritual, putting the needs of others other herself. But more than anything, she's a genius. She's always been curious, wanting to learn as much about the world as possible. Her background means her initial knowledge is somewhat limited and she has trouble understanding English, but her potential is boundless. She's already made leaps and bounds, able to grasp the fundamentals despite her limitations. But her thirst for knowledge is balanced against her spiritual beliefs. According to her, many things can be explained or have a logical explanation, but what made those explanations possible? What set the forces of creation in motion? No matter how much you think you know, there is always something more and the reason for it may not always be apparent.
  • But knowledge isn't her only goal. She wants to improve her people's standard of living and secure a place for them in the new world order, but to do so means they need to start advancing as a species. She's begun studying many different philosophies and systems of government, but she's torn. As much as she wants them to move forward, she's worried her clan will lose their traditions and beliefs. Most of them feel even stronger than she does. Her worries and obsession can lead to her being single-minded, even self-righteous, but it's always for the sake of her people.
• Beastfolk Abilities:
  • Naga Biology: Most Naga have long tails and gills on their necks that allow them to swim and breathe underwater. Their fangs are sharp and poisonous and they have unhinjable jaws to swallow their prey whole. Their bones are incredibly strong and so are their tails. If their prey is proving difficult, they wrap their tails around them, squeezing them to death. They’re capable of controlling how much force they use and can easily restrain their foes if they so choose. They can use pit organs to detect their prey through heat, similar to infrared vision. Their thick scales give them some protection and modesty, but they're not invulnerable.
  • Biotech: As smart as Sophie, her scientific understanding is somewhat limited. This is both due to her upbringing and limited information, but her spiritual beliefs and strong magic allow her to compensate. By applying the laws of her world to those of ours, she can create advanced technology with organic components. Heat beams, water cannons, image inducers and more are all possible, but it's the tip of the iceberg. The more knowledge she masses, the stronger her technology becomes. Once she's finished her education, who knows what she could do?

Magic: All Naga are gifted with strong water magic, but their strength is dependent on how much water they have access to. At home or in the rain, they’re incredibly powerful, conjuring floods or whirlpools on a whim. Without such vast amounts of water, their abilities are more limited, but it doesn’t decrease their potency. Most Naga carry jugs of water to enhance their abilities, but it's no substitute for a fresh lake.

• Equipment/Gear:
  • Solar Cannon: The Solar Cannon is Sophie's first true success. Fusing her limited knowledge of thermodynamics with her knowledge of plants and a small spiritual infusion, she's created a handheld cannon that puts most conventional weaponry to shame. She can shoot out beams of solar energy to blast her opponents away, serving as a useful tool when her magic doesn't do the trick. Its strength is dependent on the amount of sun available and its organic casing and components make it somewhat fragile, but it's easy to carry.
  • Hypno Lenses: Contrary to what Jungle Book lead people to believe, most Naga or snakes can't hypnotize their prey, but it gave Sophi an idea. Crystallising small bodies of water and infusing them with special properties, she created a pair of glasses that simulate hypnotism. All Sophi has to do is touch the frames and her glasses will start flashing, pacifying her prey and making them susceptible to suggestion. Is working on a pair of contact lenses as the next step.
• Background: Sophie was always a fish out of water. Like many Beastfolk, her people were hunter-gathers, using nets and their water magic to score fish. Sophie had her people's ways and teachings drilled into her head since she was born and was largely content but was always curious. She wondered if the sun wasn't a floating ring of fire or if the moon wasn't a glowing orb. If the world wasn't what she was led to believe. Sadly it was, at least on Ki. Had things continued, perhaps she would have come to accept it. But then everything changed.
  • Suddenly she was in a world where all her theories and philosophies were correct. The sun was a ball of gas, the moon was a chunk of a rock and the Grand Oroboros wasn't what kept everyone grounded. She wanted to learn as much as she could, but there was a problem. She was a green snakewoman with gills who didn't understand the concept of fashion and all those strange hairless apes were shocked and appalled as a result. She was chased back to the ocean with only a few books that she couldn't read. But she was a natural genius. What little she could grasp was enough for her to start with. She couldn't put words to most of it, but there were enough pictures to understand the basics.
  • But her upbringing put her in a unique position. As smart as she was, she was a spiritualist at heart. Her knowledge was limited, but she could see it through a different lens, make once-impossible connections. Filtered through her humble upbringing and infused with her natural gifts, she could create wonders that neither world had ever seen. With enough practice, she could improve her people's standard of living and their relations with other beast folk and make a difference. But they didn't see it that way. Some of them were open, but others branded her a heretic, seeing her inventions as a threat to their way of life. Threatened with banishment, she left her people before they could make a decision. Wanting to expand her knowledge and help her people, she travelled to the Academy, eager to continue her journey.
  • Etc: Notes on Naga society.

Edited by kkhohoho on Jun 17th 2023 at 3:40:06 AM

• Name: Sun Yi Min
• Age: 23
• Race: Shi Kong, the monkeyfolk. One of the more advanced races, though still primitive by human standards, the monkeyfolk tend to prefer mountains, and though they lack the claws and fangs of other beast races, their superior agility and supposedly higher intellect gives them an edge. In particular, they focus on self-improvement as a path to enlightenment.
• Appearance: Wild child. Stands about 5'1".◊ On the leaner side, but still muscular. Unlike others, Yi Min has embraced modern fashions.
• Personality: Exuberant, joyful, boisterous. A kind, pure-hearted warrior who wishes to become as strong as she can, so she can be a hero to the world she so loves. She thinks of herself as a 'champion of justice' who protects the weak, and will step in to defend people she's never met. She sees the world as a beautiful place, and loves being in nature and playing with animals. She's not well-versed in technology, but she's not opposed to it either, so long as it isn't used to destroy nature. Even the smallest creature, in her eyes, is something worth protecting. While she enjoys fighting strong opponents, there's no bloodlust hidden in her love of combat - she never kills her enemies unless they pose a threat to numerous innocents, and if someone refuses to fight, she won't force them (though she's not above pestering someone for a sparring match). As well, she prioritizes the safety of others over her own desire for battle, so if the world's at stake, she won't allow the enemy to power up or heal for the sake of a fair fight.
• Beastfolk Abilities:
  • Monkey Business: Physically, she's incredibly fit. As a monkey, she's highly nimble, possesses a prehensile tail and feet, and has a superhuman sense of balance. She's highly flexible and her movements are wild and hard to read.
  • Martial Arts: Skilled with both her body and a variety of melee weapons. She can easily read the flow of her opponent's attacks and counterattack accordingly. She can even make use of pressure point strikes to paralyze parts of her opponent's body.
• Magic:
  • Neili: The monkeyfolk refer to their magical energy as qi, or life energy. With this energy, Yi Min can enhance her physical abilities to superhuman levels, or fire it outward in the form of energy blasts. Passively, Yi Min can detect qi energy, allowing her to sense living things and get a rough estimate of their power level.
  • Shen Wai Shen Fa: Self-duplication. By dividing her qi, Yi Min creates multiple bodies. The clones are weaker than the original, and the more clones she makes the weaker each one is.
  • Qinggong: The power to negate gravity. Yi Min can walk on water, scale vertical walls, stick to ceilings, and leap great distances.
  • Huoyan-jinjing: Yi Min's golden eyes can see through deception. In other words, she's a living lie detector.
• Equipment/Gear: An ornate wooden staff, which she has infused with her own magic. It can extend or shrink, float in the air, and be recalled to her hand with a thought.
• Background:
  • A bright golden flower born to the Guo Shan tribe. Inheriting their boldness, yet tempering it with kindness, Yi Min grew into her strength quickly and became a steadfast fixture of her tribe. Like many of her tribe, she wandered and met nearby tribes, seeking to experience as much of the world as she could. Always she kept in mind the legend of the Monkey King, and strove to surpass even him one day.
  • This day came sooner than expected. As one of the more outgoing tribes in an already outgoing culture, the Guo Shan leapt at the chance to both teach and learn from humans, their fellow primates, strange and hairless though they were. They held a tournament to determine who would be sent to Bravehart, and Yi Min proved her strength and valor.
• Etc: Document on monkey culture and society.

What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?

Errybody is accepted!

• Name: Noa Takenaka (竹中乃あ)
• Age: 19
• Race: Catfolk/Human Hybrid (猫人間交雑種)
• Appearance: Nya.◊ A surprisingly human-looking beastfolk mix, having the appearance of a pretty young brunette with short hair and olive skin. Fiery yellow eyes, which can flare with actual flame with enough aggression, and particularly pronounced canine teeth. Has a long tail which she keeps wrapped around her waist, usually secured into her belt loops so that it doesn't get in the way. Her ears are a lot harder to hide, and especially sensitive to stimuli. When in her feral state, her tail forks in two and her features become more animalistic; claws extend from her fingers and toes and her pupils thin into catlike slits. Stands at a height of 5ft, weighing only 100 lbs.
• Personality: Noa is a feisty, courageous young woman with a typically jovial and relaxed demeanour, though she possesses a fierce and violent side that is eager to lash out towards those who she believes deserve to be on the receiving end. Short-tempered, prone to snapping and yelling at others when annoyed, but she has a soft side and never intends to hurt her allies with her outbursts. If she believes she's crossed a line by upsetting someone who didn't deserve it, her demeanour will shift dramatically into one more bashful and ashamed, though she finds it difficult to maintain her composure when in an emotionally vulnerable state. Noa ultimately wears her heart on her sleeve, putting her foot down when she feels it necessary and unashamed to express her beliefs, and she will ferociously defend her loved ones if she feels they are being threatened. Noa hides a lot of self-hatred beneath her outward demeanour of confidence and humour, and when she thinks she's failed horribly at protecting her friends, she has a tendency to wallow in her own grief unless she's snapped out of it. While in her feral state, Noa follows her basic impulses and violent urges with little to no reasoning beyond attacking the source of her rage, though she occasionally shows some smart tactics when she allows herself to pause and think through her actions for a moment or two.
• Beastfolk Abilities:
  • Catlike Physiology: Noa has the incredible agility and flexibility of a cat, (almost) always able to land on her feet by twisting her body in midair and capable of leaping large distances in a single bound, and with great precision on that. She has an excellent sense of balance and environmental awareness; able to sense changes in the atmosphere and nearby presences as well as resist being knocked prone by heavy hits due to her incredible equilibrium. Noa also has a pronounced sense of smell, taste, and hearing, as well as a slightly broader field of view and the ability to see better in dark environments. Claws in Noa's fingers and toes also allow her to scramble up walls with remarkable grip.
• Magic:
  • Nekobi (猫火): Noa has the ability to enhance her strikes using a fiery application of ki, which is manifested by Noa channelling her inner fury and focusing it into her fists or feet. This has the effect of making her physical attacks explosive, and if she blocks an attack with her arms coated with ki her flames will defend her and rebound the attack back towards her opponent—provided it isn't strong enough to break through and knock her out of her defensive stance. By focusing her ki into an injury, she can force it to heal at a rapid pace, at the cost of draining her stamina: as such, she tends to only use this ability at the end of a fight or in dire situations. Noa can also gather her ki between her palms and hurl an explosive fireball at her enemies, but this takes a little time to prepare and she can't exactly stop her opponent from simply moving out of the radius of it if they see it coming.
  • Kunō Katachi (苦悩 形): When Noa enters a state of all-consuming rage, her cat half takes over to the point of transforming her into a more feral and demonic shape; causing her tail to fork into two, her pupils shift into vertical slits like that of a cat, her claws extend to their maximum length, and her posture instinctively lowers to a quadrupedal position. While in this form, Noa's speed and agility is amplified to a supernatural degree, her strength is increased to be able to smash concrete with her strikes, and her catfire goes into absolute overdrive; shrouding her in a perpetual aura of flame that makes her volatile to the touch and able to hurl fireballs at will with little windup. She also gains the ability to use her increased ki output to rocket herself through the air at high speeds, as well as dash on the ground while leaving a fiery trail, and even her breath becomes inflamed so as to let her exhale a potent stream of fire up to 15ft in front of her. This form drains Noa's stamina at a rapid rate, in no small part due to her fire shroud attempting to heal her wounds even if she is uninjured, which causes her to burn out quickly when she fights in this form.
  • Spiritual Awareness (霊的感知): Noa has the ability to perceive the ki of others who possess it, as well as see normally-invisible spirits and other supernatural beings or events that others cannot. In return, however, other supernatural beings can sense her presence if they possess a similar ability, and Noa's aura can be quite potent due to her latent ki potential. Noa can also meditate in place over the course of a few hours in order to seek out auras in a vicinity of 20km, though this power is relatively useless unless she already knows what she's looking for, and a waste of time and energy if she fails to locate anything of interest.
• Equipment/Gear: Noa carries only her clothes, her fighting gear, a sealed bottle of catnip, and her trusty mirrored shades.
• Background: Noa is a crossbreed, the result of a human and a beastfolk… intermingling to produce a hybrid offspring that eventually grew up to become a feisty young woman who doesn't quite know her place in either category. Noa has little attachment to her parents, in fact not knowing specifically who they are (a fact she is reluctant to admit, especially around those who are fortunate enough to have their parents around) and as such feeling relatively alone in her predicament. Perhaps because of this very situation, Noa has trained herself rigorously in order to survive alone, slowly discovering her unique capabilities as a half-blood and the potential that her beastfolk side might have been more than just a simple animal-person. Desperately searching for an identity and some sense of belonging, Noa has ventured from place to place throughout Ki in order to find work and generally something meaningful for her to do with her skills, up until the Great Convergence when she happened to slip out of the world that she had grown so overly familiar with. Eager to explore her human side in a way that will make her feel less ostracised, Noa eventually signed up to Bravehart Academy (after an adjustment period, of course) with an intent to try and ease herself into the transition of her new life, with her goal being to find a comfortable place in-between: neither too human or too bestial, all in an effort to finally be at peace with herself.
• Etc:
  • Slightly odd and catlike mannerisms due to spending more time nurturing her animalistic side over her human side, but simultaneously she acts too human to fit in with most full-fledged beastfolk. In short, she comes across as strange to both sides.
  • Unsurprisingly a cat person, even if actual cats seem to dislike her (catfolk themselves are as variable as anyone else).
  • Her fighting style is an eclectic hodgepodge of many different martial practices she has encountered over the years, with some being from Ki and others from Earth (for as much as she could glean in her limited time spent in the human world). Despite the flaws in her personal style, it seems to work for her and it is constantly changing.
  • A shockingly good dancer, possibly due to her catlike agility and fighting experience. An adept swimmer too, despite the stereotypes.
  • Arrived on Earth almost immediately after the Convergence occurred, meaning she has around three years of experience to get used to living in the human world. She's mostly spent her time as a recluse, only coming out at night to roam while hiding her catlike features, but it's allowed her to learn a fair bit about humanity and settle herself in quite comfortably. She considers Earth to be a better home than Ki was for her by this point in time, even if she's still not wholly used to acting herself.

Edited by Enirboreh on Jun 19th 2023 at 7:00:56 PM

bork

• Name: Maho Suzuhime
• Age: 18
• Race: Half-Foxfolk
• Appearance: If it wasn't for the presence of a pair of fox ears (along with the lack of other ears) and a large fluffy tail, it would be easy to mistake Maho for a regular Japanese girl... Well, okay having orange-red hair is a little odd but otherwise she passes for a normal (and rather attractive) human.
• Personality: Maho is easy to dismiss as a bubbly idiot and she kind of is. She's a sheltered but incredibly upbeat girl who focuses most of her attention on her job as an Idol. She knows nothing about beastfolk beyond the fact that they existed in a separate (until recently) plane of existence and that she was the daughter of one, but in exchange she knows a lot more about human society and culture (mostly the parts that revolve around Idoling). She doesn't like the idea of fighting, believing that most situations can be solved with talking and being kind.
• Beastfolk Abilities:
  • Claws: The standard retractable claws common to a lot of beastfolk species. Though Maho's have been clipped so she stops accidentally tearing her costumes.
  • Cute: Maho has the ears and tail of a Foxfolk. While the ears do have a better range of hearing than humans (a very useful trait for her job) overall their presence really just gives her a charismatic appeal among humans.
  • Idol: This isn't an Ability of her Beastfolk heritage but it's also not Magic. For years Maho has trained and performed as a Japanese Idol, becoming highly adept with the performance arts and interacting with a fanbase.
• Magic: Weirdly, the magic Maho has access to doesn't fit the traditional arts of the Foxfolk.
  • Unstraddle the Line: A fancy name for a fairly simple act of what is either transmutation or illusion. When used this piece of magic either hides Maho's animalistic features or it turns her into an entire normal fox for as long as she can hold attention on keeping up the spell.
  • Kitsuneden: By fluffing up her tail and waving it around fast enough, Maho is capable of generating an electrical charge that theoretically could be used in combat but more often she utilizes to recharge her phone.
  • Sirenic Knack: With focus, the sound of Maho's voice (actually saying words is optional) can lure listeners onwards. Unlike expectations it isn't a force of emotional attraction, just an urge to physically approach. While this really wouldn't be useful in performance anyways, Maho promised her mom not to use this magic on stage just in case it really was an 'unfair' influence on others.
• Equipment/Gear: A phone with a very robust data plan (but parental controls keeping her away from the more toxic fandom spaces), her personal grooming kit of brushes and other sundries, assorted school supplies for taking notes.
• Background: To some people, the worlds of man and beast were never truly separate; With the right tricks, the barrier could be traversed. Even in human mythology there were the signs of this being known from the appearance of half-animal beings in stories to the repeated idea that some realm of wilderness untouched existed behind a veil. But as time wiled on, the secret to accomplish that feat became more and more unknown and the stories were thought of as simply stories. Some of the last known mages, those who traversed the barrier and stole magic from the other side, had died out by the 1990s and for most their secrets would have been lost to time with them... If it wasn't for the fact that in an act of petty squabbling one of those mages published their rival's tome of rituals online for 16 months in 1993. Of course, the publishing did not cause some grand revelation because most people would not immediately believe a rambling text online to be legitimate magic but a few people did attempt to cross the barrier between worlds and become mages. Among them was Maho's human mother, who during her travels in Ki met and had a one-night fling with a foxfolk that she assumed to be a trickster spirit.
  • Yeah so anyway nine months later the half-foxfolk Maho was born. Faced with the choice between raising an unusual child as a single parent and rendering this beastly child unto Ki, Maho's mother took the option to take on responsibility and raise the girl herself. Maho's childhood was sheltered and home-schooled, because you can't really enroll a child with fox ears and a tail into the public education system without causing waves but it was also fairly idyllic. She got to watch TV and around the same time that her magical abilities came in she picked up a love for music. Maho wanted to be an Idol, no matter what it took.
  • The training was difficult, the hours long but she learned the trade and debuted as "Kon-Konixy" along with other girls who bore animal features like herself. Of course for the other girls it was all costuming and Maho knew that, but it felt like having kin and the adoration of the crowd was equally as fulfilling. She knew how to keep her secret and how to use her powers to do so, learned how to engage with her audience online and keep her head cool about criticism... But then her secret got out. The Convergence sent ripples through the world, revealing the existence of beastfolk and leading Maho's idol group to shift gears into a new aesthetic to not seem like hopeless trend chasers... Leading to Maho relying on her powers to hide her nature, something that worked until she lost concentration during a concert and everyone realized that all this time those ears and tail weren't just for show.
  • It's an awkward situation she's in now, her fans rocked by the revelation and her own life unseated by finding out that other beastfolk now exist within the world. The Academy recruited her for the PR, both that of having a publically-known beastfolk in touch with the modern world and to help Maho sort through her own PR image post-revelation.
• Etc: Maho likes meat and eggs, similar both animal foxes and foxfolk but prefers her food cooked (bacon and omelettes are her favorite). She also really likes chocolate.

It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.

Accepted and Accepted.

Name: Leigh Lindgren

Age: 24

Race: Human

Appearance: Long hazel hair turning blonde at the tips, a nice well-kept beard and shoulders so broad his back could be used as a table. Leigh is a man more akin to a fairytale prince lost on a farm. His more notable choices of clothing are an airy shirt that he’s made, and a ring with a crest he seems to always wear.

Personality: Good looks are only secondary to Leighs still optimistic attitude to life. He isn’t very calm about his position in life. Working hard to keep himself afloat due to the tragedy that struck 3 years prior. Still he believes that there is no reason to blame the Beastfolk for something that is affecting everyone, often getting into fights due to his beliefs, his tenacity and refusal to give up no matter the odds have gotten him closer to death more often then most Normies out there.

Beastfolk Abilities: Has none.

Magic: All humans have the option to learn magic. Leigh doesn’t see the need to do so.

Equipment/Gear: Leigh has a lot of stuff, most of it he’s bought with his money, including Daily necessities, a whole computer and streamer set up, a phone, an axe, A Damascus hunting knife, and a variety of other everyday and survival items like books and fishing equipment.

Background: Son of famed explorer and Animal rights activist, his parents were both lost during the original chaos of the Great Convergence. There isn’t much left of Leigh’s life that hasn’t been toppled to the ground except the last members of his family, a brother and sister. He’s started using his social media channel to obtain money to pay for the three of them. picked to be a student at Braveheart was not an opportunity he could afford to pass on.

Etc: Theme:

Edited by Faelisya on Jul 3rd 2023 at 3:12:35 PM

Accepted.

• Name:
  • Ceremonial Name: Mardan Relien Meison Eden Tao Carillon Bergur Avnam Eimon Damor Musal
  • Personal Name: Micaio Antero

• Age: 31. Maned wolffolk age a little slower than humans (which means plenty of time to explore this vast world!), so in human years he's at most 20.

• Race: Maned wolf-folk

• Appearance:
  • Micaio is, biologically, as typical as maned wolffolk get. He stands at 7'5'', most of which is taken up by his long, bandy legs. His fur is primarily a rusty orange, with a paler undercoat that shows through especially strong in his tail and underbelly, black "stockings" on the ends of his limbs and the black mane that gives his species their name stretching from his head all the way down the back of his neck - in other words, the typical colours of his kind. His dark eyes sparkle with an eternal curiosity, tempered with a subtle hint of slyness.
  • What is not typical is his dress sense. His ragged clothing is the same concept in spirit as the travel shawls his people traditionally wear - clothing and its accessories as symbol of your life and journeys, not as something you wear to appease a nonexistent nudity taboo - but could not differ more in appearance. Fragments of school uniforms, work uniforms, sports uniforms, of casual and formal suits, of every type of human clothing under the sun, all sewn together into a wild, colourful patchwork studded, like any good maned wolf shawl, with various small trinkets representing the important experiences and encounters of Micaio's life. The appearance of Micaio's garish fabric-splosion regularly changes as he replaces parts of it on a whim, often somehow making it even more of an aesthetically bamboozling mess than it was before.

• Personality:
  • The dominant facet of Micaio's personality, especially now he's at Braveheart, is his absolute obsession with humans. These strange creatures have conceptually fascinated him from the moment Ki and Earth were merged. The marvelous devices exploiting natural laws his kin did not even know existed, all to compensate for their total lack of innate magic. The cities that soar like mountains of concrete and metal. The incredible breadth of cultures and mindsets within this one sentient race. He loves ALL of it, and he expresses that love with giddy, perhaps slightly culture-fetishistic glee at every opportunity.
  • Beyond humans, Micaio possesses a robust curiosity in general - common among maned wolffolk, who consider curiosity a cultural virtue. He also has a rather poor grasp of the acceptable boundaries of that curiosity, or more accurately, his knowledge of those boundaries is quickly overwhelmed in the moment by his sheer excitement at the thought of a new experience. Micaio is a creature of impulse, and it compels him to do genuinely creative and thoroughly stupid things in equal measure. Sometimes both.
  • Micaio's overall demeanour is friendly and approachable, or at least he does his best to come off as such. His occasionally overbearing and distinctly eccentric personality makes the success of his attempts at friendliness very dependant on the person. Enhancing the impression of eccentricity is the way he talks - florid and ramblingly verbose, drenched in extended metaphors and vivid verbal imagery even at his most casual. Once again, a somewhat poetic mode of speech is a common maned wolffolk trait, but Micaio goes the extra mile.

• Beastfolk Abilities:
  • Speed: Gangly creatures that they are, maned wolves are not the physically strongest beastfolk going, but they make up for this with the rapid stride their long legs afford them. At maximum sprint, maned wolffolk can reach speeds of 47 miles per hour (~75.6km/h), like their feral quadrupedal cousins; a more average, long-distance maintainable running speed would be something like 30mph (~48km/h). For the record, that lesser speed is still faster by several mph than Usain Bolt. They're unlikely to be able to punch beefier beasts out, but maned wolves are excellent at outrunning them.
  • Stamina: Maned wolves are well-adapted to their lifestyle of constant on-foot travel, possessing vastly superhuman levels of resistance to fatigue. They can walk all day, every day, with only the briefest of breaks to eat, drink and sleep, and come out none the worse for wear. Wearing a maned wolf down isn't impossible - you're just going to have to try really, REALLY hard.
  • Canine Senses: As canines, maned wolffolk have sharper senses than humans, particularly of hearing and smell. Navigation during their wanderings is accomplished largely by way of sensory cues a human would be completely unaware of.

• Magic: The maned wolffolk's magic notably has little direct combat application, since they're not a martial people by any means. Instead, it revolves around enabling and enhancing their nomadic lifestyle.
  • Travelspace: Within every maned wolffolk's travel shawl, there is a small pocket. Small from the outside, anyway, for it is the primary receptacle of their main magical ability - the power to make small pockets and bags much, MUCH Bigger on the Inside. A whole warehouse's worth of space lurks within an opening the size of a child's purse. Additional Required Secondary Powers to this ability are a complete lack of encumbrance from anything held within an affected pocket, and the ability to pull objects far larger than the opening in and out of it with ease, Hammerspace style. With this ability, the maned wolves can keep an entire well-stocked dwelling's worth of resources on their person without the need for any fixed abode. There's little in the way of sorting for the objects contained within, however; expect lots of rummaging for what Micaio needs, and the odd Rummage Fail.
  • Magic Doors: This ability is more limited in scope, but nonetheless, it's an important one for the maned wolffolk's emphasis on finding new experiences however you can. Any door or door-like construct crafted by a maned wolffolk will not take anyone who travels through it to the location that is physically on the other side. Instead, they will be transported via teleportation to a location anywhere on the planet you are currently on - so, formerly anywhere on Ki, now anywhere on the recently formed Ki/Earth hybrid - that fits the door's material construction and design. It's all but impossible to pick a specific location for a door to take you this way, and a lot of the qualities that determine where it sends you are quite arbitrary, but that's exactly how the maned wolffolk like it; not knowing what you might find when the door opens equals exciting opportunities to discover new things.
    • Of note - a door will transport anyone who goes through it to the same location, unless it is taken apart and reconstructed, which will cause the ability to register it as a different door that thus leads to a new location. This ability also only applies to a door a maned wolf built for the express purpose of utilising it. They can travel through doors others have made as normal, and it's also possible for them to build doors that simply lead you from one room of a building to another ("but why would you want a door that's so boring?") There is also exactly one location the doors can consistently access, "the Green Room" - but that's material for the lore document.

• Equipment/Gear: Even Micaio couldn't tell you what all is lurking in the deepest depths of his Travelspace, but there are some basic items he'll get regular use out of - enough preserved food to last several months, a lighter (which he does not understand how to use just yet and will likely burn himself with), a flashlight, and a Bowie knife. All are recent, human-made acquisitions, and will thus seem extraordinary to most beastfolk who aren't quite used to the human's technology yet. He also has a huge variety of tiny trinkets sewn into his "shawl", though rather than being used for anything, these are purely symbolic. Most are fragments of rock or jewellery from the old world of Ki, but a single unfired AK-47 bullet and a Coca-Cola bottle cap have joined them as of late. He treats a single fragment of black cloth stitched into the garment with particular reverence. At some point on his travels, he replaced the wooden utility stick usually carried by maned wolves with a "shiny new metal model, built by the humans!" His words. He's very proud of it. Nobody's yet had the heart to tell him he's carrying around a walking stick he stole from the grounds of a nursing home.

• Background:
  • Micaio does not know his parents. This is not a tragedy, but a universal species trait - maned wolffolk have no concept of monogamous romance and find the idea ridiculous when it's explained to them, seeing no use in tying yourself to another person and refusing to carve a truly independent path. You mate to make babies, you move on. Thus, like most maned wolf pups, Mardan - as was his "milk name" - was raised by a rotating cast of caretakers who trusted each other to rear a child properly, a common practice among his species intended to introduce the pup early to the idea of having no constants in life and being exposed to many views of the world.
  • Mardan was about 16 in his species' years, nearly ready to officially come of age, pick his personal name and start living alone, when Earth and Ki merged. The maned wolves, isolated as they were, often took longer than others to notice how different the world had suddenly become; many who did immediately retreated to the Green Room for an unusually long and universal meeting of the minds, debating the impact this unexpected turn of events would have on their nomadic and pointedly simple way of life. Not Mardan. The teenager immediately saw this new world as an excuse to experience things no aguará had experienced before, and he was thrilled at the opportunity. It was his brief but enlightening encounter with his first human - a young woman on the verge of undergoing primal reversion, whose name he did not catch and tongue he did not understand but who nonetheless managed to convey a wealth of fascinating information to him before she departed just by existing - that really set his human obsession into motion. The black cloth in his "shawl" is a fragment of her simple clothing that tore off on a branch, worn by him as a symbol of his fondness for her entire species. Someday, he hopes it will draw her to him once more, and they can truly befriend each other.
  • Not much later, the pup declared his intent to come of age. The personal name he picked reflected his newfound life's mission - Micaio Antero, "amico anthro", the friend of humanity. The newly rechristened Micaio set back off onto Earth with the intent of discovering as much about humanity as possible, steadily building his new, unorthodox travel shawl and picking up artefacts of our civilisation that caught his fancy as he went. He slowly pieced together the language of humanity, though the results of his attempts at direct communication were decidedly mixed - not all the humans were as eager to meet the babbling anthro canine built like the Slender Man in a garish patchwork poncho as he was them.
  • Braveheart Academy is a place most maned wolffolk would have balked at. Sealing yourself in a single building for years, all to learn one specific thing? Ghastly. An affront to their values. But Micaio's obsession with becoming a Friend of Humanity has long since overridden his basic maned wolf values, and he signed up for an opportunity to bridge the gap between his world and the human's the instant he heard news of it. Some reflexive wanderlust may still kick in, however, even with all the assigned student territory in the world to explore.

• Etc: There was going to be a document on the maned wolffolk appended here, but it grew so long I was unable to finish it in time. It may be edited in later.

be nice to benjamin it's not his fault he got beat up by a microbe

Accepted.

Is this still open, and more importantly, is it still alive?

it's still alive ye, and still open i think

be nice to benjamin it's not his fault he got beat up by a microbe

in that case...

Name: Lakaiia (lah-KAY-uh), or Kay.

Age: 18

Race: Genetfolk.

Appearance: Art mine◊. Clocking in at around 5'6, Kay is a thin and wiry anthropomorphic Cape Genet with dark red hair partly buzzed and hanging over one eye, those eyes strikingly orange with an ember-like glint of red within the pupils. She is typically clad in drab, comfortably well-worn secondhand clothing that she can easily replace if damaged (with the exception of her necklace and cloth mentioned below), and usually goes barefoot to keep her clawed toes free. Wears a handful of piercings, namely a set of rings decorating her large ears.

Personality: Brusk and tomboyish, Kay is typically quiet and withdrawn around those she doesn't know—which in this case is pretty much everyone. Worth noting that part of this is learned behavior instilled in her out of a desire to keep her power safely under control.

She takes quickly to those she has perceived common ground with, though, and is unfailingly loyal and protective of them from then on. She's also incredibly athletic and has something of a competitive streak insofar as this is concerned, with beating her fairly in tests of skill being another way of gaining her trust.

Beastfolk Abilities:

• Speed and agility: As is natural for genetfolk, Kay is supremely agile, flexible, and swift on her feet, adept at climbing and traversal when no straight path is available.
  • Thusly, she is very much a traceur, and took an immediate liking to parkour when she was introduced to it. Often uses this to find high-up hiding spots where she can meditate in peace.
• Tail: Kay's long tail is partially prehensile. While not as strong or dexterous as her limbs, it is nevertheless useful for gesturing, simple manipulation, and keeping balance.
  • As an extension of her spine, though, hanging from it is ill-advised.
• Claws: She possesses sharp and partly retractable claws on her hands and feet.
• Night vision: Her large eyes allow her to quickly adjust to—and see perfectly in—incredibly low light, though not total darkness.
• Heat resistance: As a side-effect of honing their innate magic over generations, genetfolk are resistant to high temperatures. For instance, shoving one's hand in a campfire or pit of coals may result in only discomfort, and they are largely protected from their own flames.
  • Resistant being the key word; they can still very much be burned by high enough temperatures.
  • As another consequence of this magic, genetfolk have little issue keeping themselves warm in cold temperatures. Notably, though, they are not invulnerable to the cold, and in fact fare especially poorly without the aid of said magic.
  • They also sport a high resting body temperature, sitting somewhere in the 'high fever' range, which can sometimes complicate medical care if one isn't already aware of this and accounting for it.

Magic: Genetfolk magic entails control over heat and flame (known among them as Tatrulla, or 'the cursed gift', tah-TROO-luh), with this easy access to fire affording them a degree of technological advancement a few notches above their fellows, chiefly in the domains of heating, cooking, metalworking, and energy sources such as steam. However, they are also keenly aware of how destructive this power can be and generally keep to themselves in small nomadic groups that seldom establish themselves or stay in one place for long, occasionally trading others for the metal items they create, like tools and jewelry... though never weapons or armor, this being a strong cultural taboo and one of the reasons they've isolated themselves.

• Flashy but low-heat displays are easy for Kay, bending gouts of open flame to her will as if they were mere silk ribbons in the hands of a dancer, with hotter and more precise applications requiring exponentially more focus and effort.
  • She can, in effect, create and manipulate what Earth science knows as plasma, but this upper range is dangerous even to her, well exceeding her kind's natural heat resistance.
• Through touch, she can transfer heat into and out of objects, using her body as a conduit. The limit for this is dictated by her heat resistance.
• By focusing, she can remotely sense the temperature of objects and living things, even through walls provided they're not made of a particularly insulating material. This effectively allows her to see in infrared, most useful when her night vision fails her or she's trying to find someone.

Equipment/Gear:

• A metal lighter that she primarily uses as a particularly durable stim/fidget toy, not really needing it for its intended purpose.
• A ceremonial cloth (Tullua, or tuh-LOO-uh) usually kept tucked into her jeans, where it partly hangs over her hips like a short sarong. This is customarily used in nightly ceremonial meditation/practice sessions.
• A chain necklace bearing a vibrantly-painted metal pendant (Tua, or TOO-uh) that she uses to help her focus during the aforementioned mediation, this and the cloth both being keepsakes from home.

Background: Born to a traveling group of genetfolk, a young Kay was found to be particularly talented in Tatrulla, which despite all genetfolk being capable of it on some level, is often seen as an ill omen owing to its potential destructive power.

Rather than perform the ceremony to strip her of her magic as is customarily done to those who grow too powerful, however, her family group sent her away to Bravehart Academy where she might learn temperance and cooperation far better than she would among the relatively isolated genetfolk society.

Etc: Contrary to their felid appearances, genetfolk are omnivores with varied diets, particularly favoring insects, shellfish, eggs, and fruits. Some cooking skill is customary and near-universal, being that most genetfolk can heat cookware with a thought.

Edited by Chortleous on Jul 22nd 2023 at 5:02:52 AM