Post by Administration on Mar 19, 2010 12:21:14 GMT -5
IMAGE DUE BY APRIL 15TH
I'm half asleep, I'm half awake.
It always seems so real, then fades away.
I know I've sold my soul, I've had to pay.
I guess these major deals are obviously, not quite what I was dreaming of.
[/center]Knight Name:Iris
Gender: Male
Age: 20
Birthdate: April 22nd
Personality:Iris is somewhat of an oddity in comparison to a majority of Royal Guard, even among the most hard-assed members. This is in large part due to his excruciating physical and mental training, coupled with his unparalleled meticulous work schedule.
When he isn't moving through the Crystal Palace like a gust of wind, carefully checking every inch and crevasse for faults, he's busy on Artemis Mariner emailling new emergency escape plans to the palace staff; or sending out reports on how to improve job performance. Mind you, he tends to personalize a ton of these directions for different branches of the Royal Guard and staff.
Once finished with his daily duties, his workout comes into play. While some of this tend to be on the normal side, free-running or practicing his combat skills for example; a good number tend to boarder on the bizarre. His favorite being scaling the Crystal Palace. Which it should probably be noted, he's gotten a fare share of peeping tom reports filed against him because of this activity, but only one was true, and he honestly thought the maid to be a spy!
His behavior often tends to intimidate his peers, leaving them to question if he's a masochist at his core. And while Iris wouldn't dare admit to it, they couldn't be more spot on. While it's not sexual or pleasurable by any means, and he honestly feels that putting himself through these harsh activities is for the best for the royal family; subconsciously, it is for punishment.
Iris is one of those people who tends to procrastinate a lot when left with a lot of free time; "What am I?", Who was I?", "Why am I really here?" are three of the questions he constantly ponders to himself. Without something specific to put his mind to work, he'd find himself lost in an endless sea of questions and theories. Like the other Star Sworn Knights, he has no knowledge of life before his awakening. And while he's told that he willingly forfeited his name and family to serve the royal family, it doesn't bother him any less; the fact that he had a family, and that they may be in danger causes him to have minor anxiety attacks at times. It's in these little moments that doubt creeps in. Iris loves his work, the palace staff, the royal family, but knows in his heart that he's the type to leave a clue to his origins behind.
All things considered, he's not a tough guy to build a friendly relationship with. Surprisingly, he's rather down to earth and approachable. Even during his strict patrols and training, he loves taking enough time to greet the palace staff, discussing their concerns and comfort levels; after which, if he can't immediately solve a problem, he it passes on to the king and queen in his daily morale reports. His conversations with the staff typically don't travel beyond business related topics, as he has trouble connecting with people on most things that are part of "normal" every day life.
As a Star Sworn Knight, Iris understands that he is an exception among his peers, but he doesn't think highly enough of himself to flaunt it, and would never attempt to hold any individual up to his standards. In fact, he has a habit of downplaying the importance of his role quite a bit. He considers himself nothing more than an extra body to help the other members of the Star Sworn Knights get some well needed rest.
Iris accepts that he and the royal family share a business relationship, however, he can't help but treat them as his own family. And while he'd never do something as crazy as outright calling the Queen or King "mother" or "father", he does look to them as his surrogate parents. So it's no wonder he's so aggressively protective of them. If it's even possible, he's even more protective of the princess; and though his intent is pure and well meaning, his tendency to loom over her probably scares off any potential suitors.
Physical Appearance: For a full-blooded Japanese male, Iris would be more at home on another planet than his home land. He shares little in the way of appearances with his countrymen, his looks seeming to be a mixture of a little bit of everything. Iris stands at an unusual six feet, three inches; weighing two hundred-two pounds. His build is in the medium-large range and while he is toned, Iris shares more common features with runners and climbers than body builders. Meaning, his body is built more for utilizing it's speed and endurance than outright brute strength. Iris' skin has a slight tan due to spending a majority, if not all, of his time outside.
His hair is a light shade of silver, light enough that it could be confused as white. His choice of hair style isn't anything to extravagant or over the top. Since his hair tends to grow in curly and becomes a huge pain to manage, Iris keeps it short; in a clean Ceasar-cut.
Iris' bright lavender eyes are the real attention grabber, though. Due to their shade, his eyes seemingly emit a soft glow, growing more noticeable as his emotions intensify. He's never encountered another individual who shares this feature, and if he did, they'd be bombarded with questions about their origins. As it may be his only clue to his past.
Obviously, Iris' alien features tend to attract some unwanted attention; and while there are a few people out there that might love this, Iris shys away from it. His clothes reflect this fact, hiding just how well built he really is. Iris prefers the more casual styles, wearing long sleeve shirts, loose fitting jeans, and sneakers. Iris doesn't gravitate toward any specific color, his closet containing a little bit of everything. This has earned him the nickname of "Rainbow" by some members of the royal guard, because of his willingness to stroll around in "girly" colors. Needless to say, he absolutely despises the name.
Strengths:
Artemis Mariner - To simply say Iris has vast knowledge of the Artemis Mariner is an understatement. He owns it. There is just no other individual in existence that can accomplish what he can with this device. He can hack almost any database, has created his own software that searches Crystal Tokyo's computers for information he needs, can gain access to camera feeds throughout the city; it's potential is unlimited. The citizens of Crystal Tokyo should thank their lucky stars that this thing is in the hands of somebody who's responsible.
Analyst- Iris might have trouble connecting with people on a personal level, but he knows people; maybe even better than they know themselves. His analytical nature has left him with an eye(and ears) for minor details that go unnoticed by a vast majority of people. An example of this would be sub conscious emotional responses or very minimal changes in one's tone, because of this Iris is like a human lie detector.
Strategic Genius - When it comes to preparation and executing a plan, Iris is king. Every move he makes or word he's spoken is carefully thought out down to the finest detail. His mind works like a computer, being able to draw from an almost endless wealth of knowledge to analyze almost every situation and eventuality on the fly. The scariest thing about this? His mind works like this so often that It hardly takes any effort on his part anymore.
Weaknesses:
Self Sacrifice - Iris will be the first to a fight and the last to leave, often pushing himself to the mental and physical limit. Some would consider his determination a positive trait, but it's dangerous in Iris' case. He has trouble accepting that being around in a weakened state, or in a situation where it's impossible for him to contribute anything useful, puts everyone at risk.
Social Skills - Iris can hold a conversation as long as it's business related, but as soon as it veers off that path, how much experience he has dealing with the normal population becomes very apparent. Having problems with your spouse? Get a new one! Child giving you minor trouble? Send them to a military school! He tends to lean toward what he considers logical, than give a well thought out emotional response.
His Past - Iris is not as mentally strong as he'd like to think. Multiple questions of his past can, at worst, cause the young man to experience minor anxiety attacks.
Dreams: Although he tries to avoid the issue almost entirely, the nagging feeling to find out about his past still exists in the back of the young man's mind. He's even gone as far as sneaking looks at secret records to find clues, but still comes up empty handed. So, it's not the law that stops him, but rather the idea of how to approach the problem.
Habits: Iris is one of those people who refuse to accept a compliment, and will actively dismiss it by minimalizing his involvement or himself. On some occasions, he'll even attempt to out flatter the complimenter.
Background: The days of Iris' awakening were quite possibly the worst period of his life. For the medical staff the first few days were hell, it was as if they had forcefully brought a bear out hibernation. Iris was unruly, violent, and on the edge of sanity. And who wouldn't be? As far as the young man knew, there was nothing in existence before he'd opened his eyes, and even his most heartfelt of pleas were met with basic Star Sworn Knight rhetoric; and an offer to join, which he crudely refused. Iris was alone, kept under tight watch. It was impossible to escape, not that he wanted to...he had no place to go, no known family to seek out, and knew nothing of the world outside the walls of his room.
Any confidence or motivation that had once existed within the young man had depleted rapidly; after awhile, Iris just wanted to be left alone in his room, and with the exception of daily check ups, was granted his wish. Of course being a patient, and not a criminal, he was allowed a few perks: a list of books and access to a PDA, stripped of any messaging abilities, of course.
In the months Iris spent in seclusion, he'd find solace in research. The arts, military strategy, philosophy, politics; how they were utilized, and the prominent figures behind them. Iris' therapy sessions were now daily opportunities for fun, through applying what he studied. And to his therapists dismay, they'd find themselves falling into his verbal traps; giving up valuable personal and professional information in the process. Luckily for them, doing so wasn't harmful, and only fed Iris' newfound curiosity and sense of humor.
Stories of the "crazy" former Star Sworn Knight candidate, who could best the greatest therapists Crystal Tokyo had to offer, eventually reached the royal palace, and soon after Iris would get a visit from a very special guest: Queen Lady Serenity. Despite the rumors of his reputation, she entered the young man's room unguarded, no weapons...completely unprotected. This fascinated Iris, as his therapists and doctors always had security, but for the first time he was granted the keys to the car; trusted with control.
Their first few meetings were full of Iris' usual games, but the Queen was strong, gracefully chuckling as she effortlessly reversed each tactic the young man attempted; leaving him dumbfounded. Iris found himself at awe of her personality and intelligence, gaining an unrivaled amount of respect for her. Finally, he started to open up, revealing his charming personality, ideals, and dreams.
Iris, with Lady Serenity's encouragement, finally left his room. As a reward, he was given a full tour of Crystal Tokyo and the palace. That day he fell in love with the city and it's people, finally finding purpose in his new life: "To protect the peace of Crystal Tokyo." Still, the young man had trouble finding exactly where he'd fit into the Star Sworn Knights ranks. Interestingly enough, it would be Horae who would ultimately influence the change in Iris' personality, and finally help him find a role to focus on.
When Iris first arrived at the palace he was nothing special, just a sickly looking young man with above average intelligence, and dreams of grandeur. Horae shattered these dreams with a simple question: "How do you expect to protect anyone from behind a desk?". Horae had an interesting point, one can't truly protect anything by just sitting on his rear going through bits of data! Furthermore, how could he speak of the militaristic lifestyle without living it? After that day Iris began his transformation into the workaholic he's now known as. Upon a request from Iris, Horae became his mentor, training him in Combat Sambo and Jodo.
His meeting the princess for the first time only solidified his decision to become "Iris". He found her determination and stubbornness to be endearing qualities, especially for a girl her age with such a heavy burden on her shoulders. Iris sincerely believes that she is the embodiment of his purpose, and Crystal Tokyo's final hope for peace; as she hasn't yet encountered the true darkness the city holds within it's boundaries. Because of this, while she may be the king and queen's daughter; she is Iris' most prized jewel.
Of Whom I Serve
Residing Power: Through use of the Artemis Mariner, Iris can pinpoint the exact location of each member of the royal family.
Uniform Description: Pending?
Attack Name: Nothing. He just presses a button on his bracelet to activate it. Boring, huh?
Description of Attack: The Artemis Mariner was a gift granted from above, as far as Iris is concerned. It's as if it was specifically crafted with him in mind. While being able to locate the royal family at anytime is very useful in his line of work; for Iris, it's having the ability to communicate and share information with his comrades instantly, access the internet, or other databases while on the move where it shines. It's like having a mini high powered PC on his person at all times.
Your Nickname / Alias:Talib ("Tal" will do, though!)
Your Contact Information: RealityTactics (at) Hotmail (dot) com
How Did You Find Us?: I stumbled on this site about two years ago through some list when I decided to quit rping. Maybe about a month ago I decided to restart this hobby, and the site was still in my favorites and just reopening. That's pretty much it. Doubt that was any help... XD
Roleplaying Sample: A long sigh escaped from between the young male's lips. On his bed he sat, hunched over, fists clenched tightly in frustration. Here he was again wide awake at two in the mourning, after going to bed just a little over an hour ago. Oddly enough, it wasn't the exhaustion that accompanied his lack of sleep that had become an annoyance; but rather the fact that it had become so frequent, that his body had become accustomed to functioning with little rest.
"Don't look at it. Don't you dare..." Iris chided himself, closing his eyes tightly. His tone, was but a mere whisper, but carried with it such a high level of disgust. With the way the young knight was damning himself, one would have thought that he'd committed a crime. He hadn't technically, but in his mind he had done so multiple times. Iris doubted the royal family's story about the Star Sworn Knights, he doubted them. His thoughts were borderline treasonistic.
While Iris played the part of the happy workaholic in front of his friends, and enjoyed it, it was the lonesome nights like this he dreaded; the nights where he had nothing to do, but think of himself, his place in the world. Being in charge of information gathering and military strategy, Iris' role required his sight to be on the past, as well as the future. It was a constant reminder of what he didn't posses, what he longed for: a past. Was he born from a beaker? Was he royalty? Was his family loving? Perhaps he was a war hero? Maybe a farmer? Anything would do...he just wanted something to grasp on to, something to call his own.
"Why...?" The young knight asked himself, disturbed as his lavender orbs gazed down upon his palm. Resting in his right hand was a small cardboad covering, stained with tobacco; it reading simply, "Emperor County Papers". Iris wasn't a smoker, he had no signs of being one, but when he awakened to this "new" world; clutched tightly in his hand was this small package. He knew it was important, he could feel it in his heart, but despite how much research he did, how hard he tried to remember...there was nothing left. "W-why...can't I remember?!?!"