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 Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2015 7:08 pm
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Name: Ostara Eggjaa
[Ostara- Old High German, Eggja - Old Norse for 'to incite' ]
Blood colour: Green ███████ #62a001
Gender: Both, physically female
Symbol: Egg
Personality: Ostara is very ambiguous when it comes to their gender as they often times present as both. That being said they are aggressive when it calls for it, and chill as the arctic trenches in the deep sea at other times. It takes a bit to rile them up enough for them to pull out their blades. Being a Greenblood means that they aren't as hot tempered as the warmer colors and not as prone to flying off the handle as the cooler colors. This of course, doesn't mean that they don't, just that it happens much rarely. Mothum raised them better than that.
Just like they were raised to see the Hemospectrum as a sort of tool that it probably isn't. The warmbloods learn to fight hard, how to think fast and how to avoid death early on, because to fail would guarantee their death. The cool bloods learn how to plan ahead, how to dance in political circles and how to lead an ever growing, ever changing army. They learn the consequences of their actions through the lives of others. You mess up, it is others who are harmed. Only it's the entirety of the lower half of the hemospectrum that is their whipping boy. Either way all cut their teeth in the pain of others, both figuratively and literally. To them it is a fascinating concept and a superb form of population control.
But when they aren't pondering the unique situation that has befallen their race Ostara can be found either with their nose in a book or outside in their garden. They aren't afraid of hard work and getting dirty and believes that if something has come too easily to them, then they had to have been doing something wrong. But staying indoors doesn't do a young troll any good, even if 'indoors' includes the garden that is below their treehive.
To promote a good growth Mothum coerced arranged for Ostara to meet some trolls around their age. Naturally this came in the form of a FLARP group. Sadly several members of the group had gruesome small accidents and eventually they broke up or were absorbed into larger FLARPing sessions. Ostara became a drifter between these groups, the wildcard if you would. Mostly they seemed to show up when someone was about to get culled or lured into a trap. Those days they didn't know if they were a help or a hindrance, either way their popularity fluctuated depending on what actually went on. By the time they stopped they were happy to note that they were neither famous nor infamous for their deeds. They didn't really like being in the spotlight no matter how many new faces they got to meet because of it.
Strengths:
Upbeat: Nothing seems to get them down; belittling, beating, threatening. When their mood switches is when others have to be worried, because that's when the weapons usually comes out and someone is about to get hurt. Even then a small smile can still be seen on their face, even if a bit more fang is showing.
Patient: The world could be ending and yet Ostara could be found sitting and watching the grass grow, literally. They have no problems taking someone aside to explain things in different ways so that they'll understand, or to read out loud something for someone else to learn from. It also helps that they have a photographic memory, which makes teaching others a lot easier. This trait was cultivated by their love for a good puzzle, the more complex and time consuming it is the better, because they know that in the end it'll be worth it.
Flaws:
Odd talker- Ostara sometimes forgets that not everyone has a way of silent communication with their lusus, and that their gestures both subtle and exaggerated can be mistaken for other things. That being said Ostara also has a bit of a hard time with speech, seeing as how their lusus is a moth and doesn't make much sound, if any at all. They either speak a little oddly, dropping a vowel or consonant here and there, or speaking quick enough that their words sometimes run together.
Self-conscious: They are well aware that their manner of 'speaking' isn't conventional at all, but at the same time they make very little effort to change it. They'd rather stay the way they are and interact with others only when needed or requested, then try to change something that is so fundamentally them that to do so, makes them feel as if they wouldn't be them anymore. Whenever bouts of self-consciousness strikes they get mellow, their mood shifting marginally from the almost peppy outlook to something quieter, softer. They tend to stick to themself or wander a little bit away from the others. The moment is quick to strike and tends to linger a bit.
Weapon: Twareg Knives x 2 [One of Each]
Appearance: Pre-made. Short bob hairstyle with a bit of a curl to it, small rounded horns (which they hope will grow larger as they age), and a small scar under their eye shaped a bit like a bolt of lightning. Their most notable trait is not their nearly blunt buck teeth, but the tail end of a wad of fabric that hangs on the left side of their body. Whenever asked about it they give the asker a blank look. Surely they're joking and actually know what it is....?
Home: Lakeside. Treehive with a fenced in herb and flower garden. To get into the house there are two ways to go about it. One is to get a lift from a flying Lusus, the second is to use the rope and shimmy your way up. To get down you can simply rappel down the line. The treehouse is built in a very large, very healthy old tree. Their treehive is two stories tall with the top floor dedicated as a respiteblock and sleep block. Mothum spends half of their time sleeping outside, on the trunk of the tree, or inside with Ostara. The lower floor is mostly library, with a few non-reading material sources of entertainment. Their computer is hopelessly outdated and is used mostly to check the weather and look for interesting events going on in their area.
The garden below is fenced off in a rather creative way. Calcified, and sharpened giant spider legs jut up from the earth, the requisite gaps between each cluster has been left, to encourage passage of the unwary. The second ring is filled with man eating plants that have been lovingly crossbred with acid spitter plants, to better tag the runners. Ironically enough, for all the blooms there's only four main plants, with a lot of off branches. Ostara has to periodically trim them back to prevent them from growing beyond their claimed slice of land. The inner garden is first ringed by yellow flowers of varying species, mainly because yellow seemed to be the color that the carnivorous plants balked at. Nothing that made it that far was harmed by them. Inside the ring of yellow was a herb garden, a medicinal garden, and a very small carrot and cabbage patch. They liked carrots.
Lusus: Mothum
While Ostara loves Mothum with all their heart, they know that when push comes to shove Mothum would knock them out in a heartbeat. All to keep them safe of course. Mothum might look fragile and delicate but they were fast and the dust let off by their wings was nothing to sneeze at; Literally! The sheer amount of dust was enough to choke a troll and make it incredibly hard to breathe, as it tended to line the inside of the mouth and throat, and if you were unlucky enough, the lungs as well.
That said Ostara spars with Mothum regularly, in hopes that one day they'll be able to emerge victorious. The current tally though shows that Ostara has a long way to go still, at least, with physical prowess. In a battle of intellect they seem to be tied, as whatever Ostara learned Mothum will eventually learn as well, if only by listening to the silly wiggler ramble on about whatever subject matter has caught their attention.
Power: None
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Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2015 8:43 pm
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Sypon crit!
Ostara is coming together. I think that their profile is solid in terms of not contradicting itself, but you should consider doing some elaboration! I have some questions for you concerning their personality.
The first two lines in Ostara’s personality description are concerning to me. It’s sounding like you’re somehow linking personality with gender. In terms of gender stereotypes on Alternia, gender is a non-issue (and in fact with the matriarchy in place, some concepts may flipped or nonexistent entirely). I wouldn’t suggest drawing a parallel between gender expression and a tumultuous personality – in general it just gets a little questionable.
I’d also like to add as a general note to be more specific about when Ostara is aggressive, and when they are chill and upbeat. Multiple times in the application you mention that sometimes they are aggressive (when the time calls for it) and other times they are relaxed. This doesn’t really say much about your character! Pretty much everyone is like this, so try to reduce the amount of ambiguity in Ostara’s traits. Is their upbeat nature infectious? What do they think about their positivity? What sets them off?
As a side note to that, there may be Alternian stereotypes about trolls of certain castes having different temperaments, but it’s not necessarily truth (and for the sake of our shop not expected, considering our caste of shop characters). Especially since lowbloods are generally seen as more docile, whereas you’ve written that they are “hot tempered”. How does Ostara view themself? Being a greenblood means effectively being middle class in Alternia, and I’m not quite understanding what you mean when you compare them to warm and coolbloods given the existing stereotypes.
“Just like they were raised to see the Hemospectrum as a sort of tool that it probably isn't. “ Is this Ostara’s view? The Hemospectrum is most certainly a tool used by many trolls, and they seem to think that it’s interesting to take advantage of. But, you don’t mention how they interact with the hemospectrum! Do they think positively about it? Do they ever use it to their advantage? What do they think about their own place in the hemospectrum? It looks like Ostara is more of a high-thinker and a philosopher than a do-er, but when it affects them how do they react (or if my assessment is incorrect, do they go out and do anything about it?)
What drives Ostara’s interests? What do they like about gardening, and what kind of books do they enjoy? Again, specificity will help you out here.
Does Ostara enjoy FLARPing, or is it just something that Mothum tries to get them to do? What do they think about the danger, and how do they like to play? FLARP is a pretty intense sport so it’d definitely help sell how Ostara goes into things and reacts.
I really like Ostara’s patient trait! I haven’t seen this kind of trait in the shop for a while; great direction and ideas here.
I’m not 100% convinced on their “odd-talker” trait. It seems as though it may fall into a situational category and it’s reading as more of a “cause” of their self-conscious trait. I might elaborate more on it to separate it. It’s almost there though, and part of it may be needing to see it in practice.
Ostara’s home is really well thought out! I can see it very clearly in my mind. Because it’s so specific (and incredibly dangerous), though, it might be a good idea to pull some of those details into Ostara’s personality. Why did they make such a dangerous garden? For their own protection, for other purposes? Do they have an interest in these specific types of plants? I’m interested to know!
Overall, they are shaping up. I’m excited to read the next installment!
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