Application for vatheon

[monadont]

☆ Player - - -

( Player Name ) : Ten
( Personal DW ) : tenshinoakuma
( Age ) : 18+
( Timezone ) : GMT +08
( Other Characters ) : Serph ( bufudine ) | Digital Devil Saga

☆ Character - - -

( Character's Name ) : Shulk
( Character's Age ) : 18
( Series ) : Xenoblade Chronicles
( Canon Point ) : During the first fight with Metal Face, after he's saved by Fiora. YEP.
( Playability ) : n/a

( History ) :
For some reason, the Xenoblade Wiki doesn't contain the entire plot, so here's the normal Wiki page

( Personality ) :
Shulk's most obvious trait is that he's a really nice guy who smiles far more readily than frowns. In general, he cares a lot for other people -- though he's especially attached to his friends -- and tries his best to help where he can, whether it's running a small errand for them, or fixing something of theirs that's broken; he finds it hard to turn away people in need. Shulk really appreciates his friends and his mentors in his hometown, who he both looks up to and trusts with all his heart; they are the closest thing he has to family. Because he was young and doesn't remember much about his parents when he was orphaned, Shulk has long accepted his parents' death and has absolutely no problems talking about what little he remembers of them. There's really nothing much he wants emotionally in his life that he doesn't have already; he's very happy with the friends he has and he wants nothing more for them to keep that strong bond and be best friends forever.

Being simultaneously laid-back and hardworking, Shulk has absolutely no problem laughing and joking with friends, giving and receiving light teasing in good fun, or skiving on responsibilities every now and again; he puts plenty of hard yards into his work to deserve some rest and relaxation. As an equipment R&D scientist for the local Defence Force, he's very good at modifying weapons and repairing machinery from scrap metal and other broken machines. However, his real line of expertise is in research, and while you can take the boy out of the lab, you can't take the lab out of the boy; Shulk gets easily excited over technology and geography (to the point of running off to get his notes in the middle of a conversation) and would love nothing more than to work out the secrets of things he doesn't understand. While Shulk is considered very smart by most people in his hometown -- it isn't uncommon for him to receive streams of praise -- he lacks the ego that tends to come with the territory; when there's someone else who's better than him in his fields of expertise, he's the kind of guy who'd be excited to learn from them rather than feel jealous over their superior knowledge and skill. Nevertheless, his research has given him an analytical mind that almost constantly asks how and why things work. As a result, he's far more likely to take a step back and think over his next move than jump straight right into problems, though he has no problem with taking action himself, too.

Generally, Shulk has a positive outlook on people, tending to look at their good traits while still being aware of their flaws. Rather than criticise someone for their faults, he tends to vastly prefer giving them encouragement, cheering them on when they're feeling down. Still, he's very much an ordinary person, having his ups and downs, his bouts of irritation and times where he says something particularly insensitive. There's been more than a few times where he's done something dumb, like give a well-meaning gift to someone that's really obviously not going to be something they'll like! When he's made a mistake, he's quick to apologize and mean it, though.

On the other hand, Shulk has a rather pessimistic view of things, having a tendency to worry about future outcomes. Once Shulk is involved in something, he feels a great sense of responsibility over it and does what he can to make sure things go well. However, it doesn't stop him from worrying about "what-ifs" such as "what if it doesn't work?" or "what if I can't do this?", especially when it's concerning something that's both important and an unknown to him, such as wanting to change the future of someone he knows will die, but not knowing the exact circumstances of their death. While Shulk does have realistic expectations of himself and others (he doesn't expect to be able to save everyone), it doesn't stop him from feeling like he could have done more.

However, despite the fact Shulk is generally very nice and not prone to letting his emotions take over his ability to think, when it comes to his friends being in danger and he doesn't have time to think, he gets caught up in the moment and lets his emotions take over him. Although he's not physically strong at all -- he gets called frail a few times -- Shulk has a strong desire to protect his friends and see that they'll be okay. Unfortunately, this very same desire has culminated in an intense hatred and desire for revenge on the Mechon (a race that he considers to be mindless murder machines), who killed a close childhood friend. When it comes to Mechon, he just wants to make them pay. All calmness goes out the window and at that point, Shulk stops thinking, readily accepting deals of power (without reading the fine print) that will help him get his revenge.

Yet... despite the capability of such intense hatred, Shulk finds the idea of killing sentient beings abhorrent. When dealing with sentient beings, he will try his hardest to prevent someone from being killed in front of him, regardless of whether they're a close friend or someone who has demonstrated nothing but cruelty, even going as far as stopping his friends from doing the killing. Shulk will try his hardest to hold conversation, even with those who stand in his way, and attempt to come to some kind of peaceful solution. Even if it fails, he'd rather try to work things out again and again than to kill them, which can be far too idealistic at times. But that's why he has great friends who'll watch his back! Still, when ill fates befall those who have done him great wrong, Shulk always wishes they could have worked things out.

tl;dr Shulk's a really nice, stand-up guy who gets geek boners and sometimes goes on genocidal rampages.


( Strengths/Weaknesses ) :
As Shulk is a researcher rather than a soldier, he's not particularly strong, agile, or capable of taking a hit, though his reflexes are generally good enough to prevent him from getting skewered. In general, it's thanks to his friends (who he trusts from the bottom of his heart to have his back) that he stays safe and gets through. That isn't to say that he's useless in battle; he does have some sword skills and Shulk tends to slip in behind or to the side of an opponent while they're distracted by his friends to attack them, using his head to find other ways for the party to fight more effectively. Additionally, he has access to a healing spell (through a catalyst on his weapon) that's good for patching up minor wounds or giving someone that little boost to get them back on their feet.

However, the weapon he uses, the Monado, is special. It's considered something of a divine sword that, when activated, splits open to reveal its true cutting edge; an energy blade that's capable of cutting through the toughest of steel with ease. The Monado has the power to bestow various benefits upon Shulk and his friends, but since Shulk has only recently become the wielder of the Monado, he can only Enchant (機) his friends' weapons with the same steel-cutting sharpness as the Monado for a brief period of time. However, the Monado is also currently incapable of harming sentient beings with its energy blade; it will simply harmlessly pass through them.


( Other Important Facts ) :
Shulk has the ability to see visions of the future through the flow of ether aka life energy. At this current point in time, he has little control over them; his visions spontaneously manifest themselves whenever they want, whether it's in the middle of battle or while he's just standing there. Although Shulk already takes on a sense of responsibility when bad things happen, it becomes especially prominent with this ability; his visions give him the knowledge of the future, and when he can't change an unpleasant future, he feels helpless and responsible. This just makes his tendency to keep things to himself even worse, though he's generally forthcoming with his problems when questioned by his friends who know him well enough to call him out when he tries to hide things.

However, he cannot see the future of the Vatheon's locals and his visions of Vatheon's foreigners will be far less forthcoming compared to how frequent they are in canon. (Basically, visions will be default 'switched off' unless plotted out beforehand with players).



( Sample ) :
aka threads Ten did without appropriate icons--
Slightly after Shulk's current canon point.
These two threads are at later canon points but the general personality still stands.

( Questions? Comments? Concerns? ) :
SPOILERS EVERYWHERE but Shulk actually carries the sleeping soul?spirit? (canon gets really confusing) of a God within him, who is partly to blame for the sheer intensity of Shulk's rage. This God also the reason Shulk is still alive; Shulk actually died 14 years ago and is basically a shell kept animated by this God. However, this God is also potentially appable. The soul of the God doesn't actually communicate to Shulk (Shulk is unaware of the God's presence, which only exerts his will subconsciously) so it isn't like I'm RPing two characters.

Given all this, would it be acceptable for Shulk to keep the God's soul within him, and in the off-chance the God is apped in Vatheon, have the soul leave him for its true owner and have Shulk kept animated by the coral?