- Joined
- Apr 30, 2019
- Messages
- 13
- Reaction score
- 23
- Points
- 178
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-ˋˏ ༻ The line between passion and obsession is thin as a thorn and just as sharp. ༺ ˎˊ-
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Oh, how I love the forbidden fruit, It keeps me inside, in my head.-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-
I want what I can't have and that's okay. I want what I can't have and that's okay.
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❁ ConceptA defector of the cloth turned scientific researcher whose morbid fascination with deadly flora often leads him to trouble. Despite his best intentions, something more dangerous than his innate curiosity stirs just beneath the skin...
❁ Basic Info
- Name: Bram Severijn (brahm seh-vuh-RYNE)
- Christened Name: Abrihem Anki
- Race: Alior
- Culture: Anglian
- Age: 23 (June 4th)
- Gender: Male
- Alignment: Chaotic Good
- Religion: Agnostic (The Covenant)
- Occupation: Head Botanist at Perennica Labs
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Where is the angels I knew in the Bible? I heard, I can't see it,
I don't pray for survival I know that theres more.
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❁ Appearance
Bram's dedication to science and research shines forth from his howie lab uniform, sporting the iconic greens and golds of Perennica Labs with his field journal attached at the hip. Despite his unassuming nature, his face is a constantly morphing canvas of bruises that never seem to get the time to heal properly.
- Hair: Brown, Undercut
- Eyes: Olive
- Skin: White
- Height: 6'1
- Build: Lean
INFJ-T - Bram is polite to a fault, smiling through the best and worst of situations as best he can. While his practiced pleasantries can come across as disingenuous and a little unnerving, it's as far as his limited social experience goes. He's eager to avoid conflict and will try to remedy rising tensions with a distraction or unsolicited fun fact. His true self easily shines when in discussion of his passions, always eager to share his knowledge with others or learn something new. However, he is quick to worry and dwell on worst case scenarios, leading to uncharacteristic bursts of irritability. His only coping strategy is to distract himself with work until he's run himself dry.
❁ Skills
Bram is hopelessly devoted to the study of natural sciences, specifically the evolutionary patterns of local and exotic flora. Working at Perennica Labs allows him to cultivate all kinds of plants and put their unique properties to alchemical use. His magnum opus is his growing Herbarium of Natural Anomalies that lists a number of mysterious, deadly flora and how not to be killed by them.
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There's some kind of burning inside me. It's kept me from falling apart.-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-
And I'm sure that you've seen what it's done to my heart, but it's kept me from falling apart.
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❁ Backstory
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For the first 23 years of his life,
Abrihem'sBram's whole world fit inside the walls of his all-male Unionist monastery, using the word of Grace to fuel their purist propaganda. Tucked away in the Anglian countryside, Bram remained untouched influences of other people, cultures, and ideas, even barred from knowing his mother. His only family was in the looming clergy that evaluated his every move. As the surprise son of the exalted Abbot, Bram would have to excuse his existence by following his father's footsteps in priesthood, never to set foot beyond the monastery.
Despite his clear destiny, his efforts were quick to fall short of the clergy's expectations. A persistent stutter muddled his prayers and recitations. His difficulty grasping theological nuances meant he lagged behind his peers, their disappointment baring down on him like a guillotine. As hard as he tried to earn their respect, Bram knew his true calling would not be found in religious tomes. Instead his thoughts wandered to the abundant flora surrounding his home, a companionship free of judgement and ridicule. -
Bram would further his personal studies with the scarce scientific texts that slipped into their donation supplies. His intellect thrived on facts and systematic explanations that finally, finally made any sense to him. For once, Bram didn't feel utterly worthless, he just felt he was in the wrong place for his kind of mindset, but choice was not a luxury he could afford in this holy tomb he called home.
The years leading up to his inevitable priesthood weren't much easier. The more Bram learned, the more restless he became, a persistent ache in his chest keeping him up at night with the longing for something more, something better. This ache gave him the fuel for riskier ventures, sneaking around the monastery and trading stolen goods for better books. It was the most thrilling his life had ever been, that was until he was ratted out by a supplier. - The full outrage of the clergy came crashing down on Bram, yet when he was ordered to repent and reclaim his honor, Bram refused. He found the fire in his tumbling voice to reject his leaders, his faith, and his fate as a priest, yet this wasn't enough to dissuade the clergy's plans for him. His honesty was rewarded with swift apprehension, confined to a locked room until his ordination while his father simply watched on, unwilling to stand against the clergy's decision. The night before the ceremony, a high priest was invited to the monastery to ensure Bram would be ready for his inevitable priesthood, whether he liked it or not. For if Bram would not hold his worthless tongue, then they would simply remove it.
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There were no gods left to hear his sobbing pleas as the priest raised his blade. Bram shuts his eyes...
He awakes on his feet. What's left of the priest coats the room from floor to ceiling and drips down his outstretched hands... - He never looked back. He couldn't. All Bram knew was that someone was dead and the blood on his robes wasn't his. So, he fled, leaving behind the only home he'd ever known. For weeks Bram would wander this journey of harsh enlightenment, navigating close calls and hard lessons with his frantic will to survive and learn. These efforts were eventually rewarded with his arrival to Regalia where his fear of the world finally melted away into awe. Here Bram could let his mind run rampant, devouring new knowledge and devoting himself to scientific discovery. And for that blissful, fleeting time, Bram believed he'd finally found his freedom.
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During one of Bram's many misadventures in the sewers, he was jumped by a starved vampire, but his fangs would never reach Bram's flesh. It was then he learned exactly what happened that night before his Ordination as a writhing hydra of vine and thorn erupted from his chest, lunging with a mind of its own towards the vampire's neck (It's okay, they're friends now). Somehow, both managed to escape in one piece, but Bram's reality was left shattered by this revelation. With so many questions and no clues to follow, Bram and his "passenger" would form a turbulent partnership if they wished to continue living uninterrupted.
Thus, for now, Bram masks his true nature behind scientific achievements and a well-practiced smile, desperately clinging to normalcy while trying to understand what's he's become.
❁ Synopsis
Bram was raised in an isolated unionist monastery In Anglia, destined to become a priest like his father. Due to a speech impediment and learning challenges, he consistently fell behind the expectations of the clergy, becoming Isolated by their judgement. Bram instead found solace in the company of nature and literature, especially the few scientific books that snuck their way into donation bins. Otherwise his life was horribly monotonous, his hunger for more making him restless as the years dragged by. This restlessness led to risker moves to expand his knowledge, and eventually his hobbies would be discovered by the outraged clergy. When ordered to repent, Bram refused, instead taking advantage of their attention to rebuke the clergy's hubris, but not even this would be enough to dissuade his destiny. A high priest was brought in to "prepare" Bram for his ordination, ensuring he'd never raise his voice against the clergy again.
One second, Bram was staring down his punishment at the end of a knife.
The next second, the priest on the floor, the walls, the ceiling, his hands.
With no memory of what happened and no other choice, Bram fled the monastery to face the unknown world, surviving by the skin of his teeth and the kindness of strangers. His frantic efforts eventually landed him in Regalia, a place where he could finally put the past behind and forge the future he always wanted. But after a mugging finally revealed to Bram his monstrous nature, he now teeters on the thin tightrope of being an upstanding local scientist and the host of a bizarre plant-beast burrowed beneath the skin.
❁ Plot Hooks
Green Thumb
With his blatant affinity for all things nature, Bram can list the properties and applications of a vast variety of plants by heart. He takes great joy in imparting his knowledge on willing or unwilling ears and testing said knowledge on alchemical experiments with varying degrees of success. He's always looking for more botanical assistants to join his lab.A Whole New World
Given the fact a majority of Bram's life was spent sheltered within an all-male monastery, his knowledge of the world around him is rather limited, but steadily growing. Concepts like modern technology, cultural conflicts, and, well, interacting to women are still quite new. Never shying away from a learning opportunity, Bram's questions may seem juvenile and ignorant, but come from a place of genuine curiosity.For Science!
What Bram considers "occupational hazards", others might define as "near-death experiences". For him, no obstacle is too great in the pursuit of knowledge, leading Bram to many misadventure with little to no regrets. With his habit for danger and injury, Under the Skin (See: Monster Invoke)
Maybe it's how he hangs onto his smile like a lifeline, or maybe its the way he can bend his joints beyond normal function, but to the more inquisitive there comes a thought: theres something a bit off about Bram. Daily life in Regalia is a performance of survival, Bram teetering on the blade's edge of normal civilian society and a dark secret lurking just behind his ribcage. What would it take for that dark something to snake its way to the surface?· · ─────── ˃̶༒˂̶ ─────── · ·
-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-God, hear my plea as I will cry for you. Hold my head up and I will try to do,
What makes me stay alive, I want to live tonight. Help me let go or I will die a fool.
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TW: Body Horror Descriptions
❁ Monster Invoke
❁ Monster Invoke
- Title(s): Beast of Blood and Thorn, The Mangled One,
Spiky Meatball
- Nick Name: Stekel (Stay-cull)
- Origin: The Covenant ((Potentially to be changed pending Magic update))
- Dimension: God ((Placeholder. WILL be changed with Magic update))
- Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
- Concept: A family curse born from a mysterious barter made by Bram's ancestors to survive the fall of Ceardia. The fractured remnants of an unknown power exist within the Severin bloodline as a semi-sentient beast that is believed to be kept dormant through Unionist devotion.
Liars.
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Bram's monstrous companion exists as a sprawling network of blood-red vines and toothy thorns lurking beneath a cage of human bone and flesh. These semi-sentient vines, nicknamed "Stekel" (Stay-cull), live in turbulent symbiosis with its human host, sometimes acting beyond Bram's control for what it considers to be their best interest. Triggered by intense emotion, fear, or danger, the thrashing vines blossom from the host's chest, shredding away the visage of humanity strip by bloody strip. Its only form of communication is by clattering its thorns together in a menacing rattle.
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TBD
- Bram and Stekel have finally achieved some form of understanding where the two can now work together in conflict resolution, though this is dependent on how much they agree with each other on the given dilemma. While they remain as separate personalities, it seems they've managed to influence each other in subtle ways, becoming more alike the more they collaborate. Their dependency on one another has become far more vital as Stekel has now begun replacing Bram's organs and muscles with its own superior function, making separation near impossible.
- While only occurring once so far, Stekel's has the potential to exist beyond the constraints of Bram's body. As a last ditch effort for their survival, Stekel may consume what is left of Bram in order to emerge as a hulking, amorphous clot of vines tangled around their host's skeleton. This plant-flesh hybrid is alone, forced to face a world it doesn't fully understand, acting out of curiosity or survival rather than malice. Basically, the two swap places: Stekel is now the host while the remains of Bram course through Stekel's circulatory system to be used later. In this state, Bram is trapped in suspended animation, unable to think or make decisions, and his body can only be reconstructed the next time Stekel is bested in conflict. But with each total reconstruction, not all of Bram's humanity survives, loosing some small part of his humanity along the way.
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Whatever you do. Whichever way you choose.
We are trapped and free. We are trapped and free.
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❁ Stats
Attack Stat: STRENGTH
Defense Stat: CONSTITUTION
[14/14 points spent]
Proficiency Points:
Attack Stat: STRENGTH
Defense Stat: CONSTITUTION
[14/14 points spent]
Proficiency Points:
- STR: 7
- Bruiser Stance (ST) FREE
- Weapon Throw (IT) FREE
- Bruiser Tackle (IT) FREE Alior
- Force Toss (IT)
- Bruiser Rampage (PT)
- Bruiser Agony (PT)
- Technique Parry (CT)
- Bruiser Feint (CT)
- Building Scale (MT)
- Steady Body (CT)
- CON: 4
- Rage Counter (PT) FREE Alior
- Thick Hide (PT)
- Iron Will (PT)
- Breather (PT)
- Status Endure (PT)
- DEX 2
- Escape Artist (IT)
- Flexible Maneuver (PT)
- Magic:1
- Monster Invoke
- Intelligence: 0
- Wisdom: 0
- Faith: 0
❁ Mechanics
Monster Invoke
- Whether by a curse or by voluntary blessing, this Pack allows the user to transform into a Monster Transformation, which counts as a Disguise. A Monster Disguise is a monstrous version of a Character that breaks beyond the design style of a purely humanoid character and thus can have all manner of visual changes that make them look more monstrous. During Transformation, if anyone is a witness to the Transformation, the Monster can also alter part of the witness's memories, so that they will not remember who Transformed, that the original person ran away, or was never even there to begin with. During the Monster Transformation, the user gains +2 Attack Stat (Break Cap to 11) and +1 Defense Stat (Break Cap to 9), but can no longer use ranged attack emotes. If the user drops to 0 HP, the Monster Transformation will be reverted after which the memory alteration no longer works. Additionally, Characters with Monster Invocation may receive more positive or additional interactions with entities that either feel alignment with, or close approximation to Monsters, such as the Eldertide or the Body Arken (Private Message DM's during Events to inquire). Keep in mind that Monster Transformations are always defined as "Monstrous", and thus fall under Regalian Law High Law. This means it is strongly recommended not to use Monster Transformations is very public spaces or in the middle of the city, as the Regalian Guard & Knights and most law-abiding citizens will attack to kill on sight. If Monsters get arrested, kill-perms are likely to be granted to have the Character executed.
The Covenant
- All worshipers of The Broken Gods are granted the gifts of the Broken Gods. These gifts mainly aim at their spite and rejection from the world's status quo, in allowing them to choose one Mechanic of any Religion except Evolism, and add it to their own Mechanics. Additionally, The Broken Gods worshipers have a unique Mechanic related to Disguises or Monster Transformations. While these would normally be removed upon reaching 0 HP or being Knocked Out, Broken Gods worshipers who are defeated in combat or outside of it can never be forced out of any Disguise or Transformation. Keep in mind, this may cause problems with Knights, because a Monster that is not transforming back, may need to be executed, so use this judiciously.
- Mortis Cult Perks (Broken God Mechanic): All worshipers of The Mortis Cult are granted the gifts of the Death Gods. These gifts mainy aim at making them somewhere between Undead and Alive. Mortis Cult worshipers can choose to be both Undead and not Undead at the same time, gaining Deathveil Mechanic 1, Deathveil Mechanic 2, and Deathveil Mechanic 3, but are not subject to any of the Undead Rules associated, meaning they can still use God Magic, and be Afflicted. However, if they become fully Undead, then the normal rules apply. From this point, they can be returned to this state of between Undead and Alive by sacrificing a single Static Divinium to cure their undeath and return them to the default state of this Mechanic.
- Deathveil Undead no longer need biological processes such as breathing, eating, or sleeping. They are theoretically immortal so long as their body is not physically destroyed, as destroying their head will still force their soul to detach from their body and pass on. Deathveil Undead can live for hundreds of years, though we recommend a maximum of 500, due to the stringency of lore from this far back.
- Deathveil Undead, due to their connection with the Ordial Gods Malefica, the Consigner, and the Machinist, are able to use Divinium to summon these entities, even if normally Pagan or Cult Gods such as these could not be summoned. In doing so, not only do they have access to the normal Divinium Summoning, these entities also double as having all functions of the Spirit Dukes.
- Deathveil Undead do not need to remain bodily cohesive, meaning parts of them can live independently from the main body. This could for example allow them to send a hand crawling under a doorway which can later be re-attached, or an eye held around a corner to see. This allows Deathveil Undead to creatively interact with some Staff Events by creatively using their bodily flexibility.
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Thank you for reading!
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