application

[sentbytheseer]

APPLICATION - TRAMITEM

Player Information

Name: Penbee
Age: +30
Time Zone: Central
Email: suki (.) fangirl @ gmail.com
Other Contact Info: plurk: penbee
Prefered method of contact: plurk or pm
Current Characters at Tramitem: Aziraphale/Mr. Fell
Reserve: I have reservations about this

Character Information

Full Name: Erik
Nicknames: none I can think of offhand.
Canon: Dragon Quest XI S
PB: ...Do I need to have a PB or are his human-shaped video-game character icons good?
Journal: sentbytheseer
4th Walling: No?
Canon Point: Act 2, after the events and revelations in Arboria.

Canon Information

History: The Wiki ends before his pull point, but just know that they go from there to Arboria, meeting Serena en route, and find out just how they survived the fall of the World Tree...and what it has cost them all.

And then they acquire a flute-fishingrod and summon a whale to ride. Yeah, I don't know either.


Personality:
Per the wiki: "Despite his gruff exterior, Erik has a kind heart. He doesn't always believe everything he is told, even from a prophet, but he is willing to admit when he is wrong and do what is right for the good of others. He is described as "slightly nihilistic"."

Erik is the first character the Main Character befriends on the journey. He comes off as tough and cool, in that typical kind of a scoundrel sort of way that is, you know, trope-appropriate for your second character. The Han Solo. The Guy Who Knows A Guy. The guy who is trying to act tough and cool because he's putting up a front and has to to survive. But he devotes himself to the cause despite any doubts or misgivings. Sometimes he'll provide a cynical comeback or snarky remark, but Erik is always a true and compassionate friend and he gets on board with the whole Luminary and saving the world thing really quick. In fact, most if not all of his character titles have something to do with being the Main Character's friend: "Eleven's Pal," "Luminary's Bosom Buddy," etc.

He can be a bit of a little shit, so much so that when the memoryless Erik is polite, a bit timid, and apologetic on the ship, Sylvando remarks that he wished Veronica were here to see it ("He's lost his memory and gained some manners! I wish Veronica were here to see this—she'd die!"). But once he regains his memories, he's grateful to them for coming with him, he's 100% right back on board with the quest. Often his Party Talk moments reveal his inner sentiment, or his kindness. When consulted about Michelle, for example, he suggests telling her the truth, because "If someone I loved spent their whole life all on their own cause of me...I wouldn't be able to forgive myself." But he's also considerate of the position it puts Eleven in, suggesting he won't hold it against the hero if he can't tell her.

He knows he has to help the Luminary in order to gain forgiveness, and though he later expresses that maybe he wasn't always sure it was going to work out, that the Luminary would show up, he went for it. Because he's as much a devoted brother as he is a devoted friend, and he feels forever guilty about Mia's fate.

CR-AU: N/A

Physical description:
A young man in his late-teens with anime-typical youthfulness to him, and short in height (the character book puts him at 5'5" but anime tends towards short characters so I imagine he is average to short). Spiky mid-light blue hair swept back from his face like Super-Saiyan Gohan. Blue eyes that more or less match his hair color. He has gold hoop earrings and notable parts of his ensemble include a green hooded tunic (left open a few inches down his chest) and a purple beaded necklace. He is left-handed.

Most of the characters speak with some accent or dialect, usually used to connect characters with locations/regions. I couldn't possibly begin to tell you what Erik sounds like he's speaking. Youko suggested it was a form of Scandinavian accent, since he hails from Sniflheim region. But the accent almost sounds American to me. One wiki suggests it is American Mid-Atlantic.

In the end, regardless, Erik sounds like he's from no place specific on the map and like no one else except Mia, fitting for his character.

Meta Powers
Erik serves the function of the party's thief. His weapon abilities include knives, swords, and boomerangs and he can double-wield. He cannot use a shield. He mainly equips clothes, not armor or robes. In DnD terms, I think this would make him a medium armor class user.

Based on his raw stats: Erik is intended to be played as the stereotypical thief character he is. He's meant to act swiftly in battle, steal or get extra hits, or act first in the battle order. He's not very resilient, so he tends to take hits hard when they connect. The plan is not to GET hit. He cannot provide healing support and in fact does little in terms of support boosts at all, aside from being able to wake sleeping party members. His limited magic points are spent on either spells that repeat their effects, or on abilities determined by the weapon type equipped.

Knives focus on causing status effects. Sword abilities boost attack power. Boomerangs themselves hit all enemies per throw (reducing in attack strength with each additional enemy after the first) and most abilities boost damage done. (Erik in my party tended to use knives or boomerangs)

Characters gain abilities by both leveling up and by a point-buy system akin to a sphere grid. Unlisted abilities are stat boosts, like Agility +10 or Attack +5 When Wielding (so you only get that boost when he has that kind of weapon equipped).

General Spells & Abilities:

• Half-Inch - Chance to steal from a monster, success rises with deftness for 75% cap


• Dodgy Character - Doubles evasion for two turns


• Divide - Erik's clones copy his actions for one turn


• Sticky Fingers - Raises base steal rate by 15%


• Falcon Slash - Strike twice at full power, each hit can critical


• Critical Claim - Guarantees a critical hit, cannot miss


• Rubblerouser - Summons an earth sigil that will inflict damage on one enemy every time they try to act.


• Evac - Allows the caster to return instantly to the start of a dungeon, cave or tower.


• Cock-a-doodle-doo - Cures all party members of the effects of sleep.


• Peep - Cast this on a treasure chest to reveal its contents. (General, not specific. Like item, gold, or mimic)


• Boulderbringer - Summons an earth sigil that will inflict a lot of damage on one enemy every time they try to act.


• Mountainmover - Summons an earth sigil that will inflict a lot of damage on a group of enemies every time they try to act.


• Ridgeraiser - Summons an earth sigil that inflicts devastating damage on a group of enemies every time they try to act.

(groups are 2 or more enemies of the same type, so like a group could be "Bureau goon" 1, 2, and 3, but the attack would not also hit Mr. Martin...as he is his own unique group/type, but goons are goons)

Sword Abilities:

• Flame Slash - 120% fire damage to one enemy


• Sword Stance - Increases parrying chance by 33% for four turns


• Dragon Slash - 200% (plus 10) damage to dragon-family enemies


• Metal Slash - 1~2 damage to metal slimes, cannot miss


• Miracle Slash - Restores at least 20 HP per slash


• Fatal Flash - 40% chance to instantly kill one enemy, 250% damage if attempt fails


• Dually Deadly - Removes damage reduction found in dual-wielding

Knife Abilities:

• Sleeper Hit - 120% damage with a 50% chance to snooze the target


• Cobra Strike - 120% damage with a 50% chance to poison the target


• Persecutter - 620% damage if target is asleep or confuses, 110% damage otherwise


• Victimiser - 620% damage if target is poisoned or paralyzed, 110% damage otherwise


• HP Hoover - Restores at least 20 HP per stab


• Assassin's Stab - 20% chance to instantly kill target


• Nastier Knives - Increases status ailment chance for knife skills by 25%

Boomerang Abilities:

• Ooze Bruiser - Deals 150% damage to Slimes


• Metalicker - 1~2 damage to Metal slimes, cannot miss


• Power Throw - 120% damage, no reduction


• Twomerang - 120% damage twice, 240% total


• Starburst Throw - Up to 125~135 light damage


• Double Down - 180% damage twice, 360% total. 50% chance to reduce target's resistances to ailments and debuffs by one stage

Game mechanics allow characters to hit Pep Mode, wherein their stats receive a bonus and their bodies glow slightly bluish. Erik's pep stat boosts: strength, deftness (a stat which governs: frequency of critical hits and preemptive strikes, success of stealing, and the ability to escape battle), and his evasion (dodge).

Notable/Unique Needs: Nah. He's human. He needs a rest every now an again to recharge his abilities, but who doesn't?

Earth AU

Earth AU Name: (Christopher) Erik Gyldenhal
Earth AU Age: 20

History:

Erik grew up in a fairly typical American household somewhere along the mid-Atlantic to two working-class parents. He is the second son of Jennie and Peter Gyldenhal and has two brothers: Tobias (Toby), four years his senior, who entered the Navy out of highschool and has been stationed in California for the last three; and Benjamin (Benji) who is less than a year younger than Erik and pretty much his best friend. Jennie worked as a shift manager at a nearby grocery store until recently (she now does elementary school substitute teaching), and Peter works as a plumber. The boys were often shuffled between nearby aunts and uncles during the after school hours, and sent to play with their cousins or neighborhood children. It was a good, decent life. They always had someone to play with, even if usually it was each other. They weren't wealthy by any means, and their parents, while busy, were never too busy to be loving parents.

While the boys definitely had their fair share of disputes, and occasional physical disagreements as young boys do, for the most part they had a healthy, caring relationship. Toby was the epitome of a big brother, though the age gap between him and the younger two somewhat set him apart from them in terms of interests and socialization. Benji was a delightful firecracker, while Erik was a thoughtful, compassionate brother ready to offer a bit of a witty, sassy remark.

The boys attended public schools and either rode the bus or took their bicycles. Benji excelled in his lessons, bright as always, while Toby and Erik were earnest but average students, with Toby taking more of an interest in sports and the outdoors, and Erik lacking direction but keen at making friends. It was here in school that Erik started to go by his middle name (there were a lot of Chrises in his 2nd grade class and in an effort to differentiate himself, Erik seemed like a better option than being Chris G).

Benji had aspirations of doing a newspaper-delivery job during their middle-school and early highschool years, but that fell through in this post-modern world of very few physical newspaper subscriptions. Still, during the time it did work, Erik was there beside his brother the whole way, helping to drag him from bed early, and riding with him on his route. Riding his bike was freeing; it gave him legs to go farther than he was able to as a young person without a car. Even when Toby was gifted the hand-me-down hatchback from their parents, Erik still preferred the freedom of setting out on his own on foot or by bicycle and controlling his own travel adventure.

And boy did he like to travel.

Toby probably started it, driving his brothers up to NAVSTA Great Lakes before his boot-camp began, talking about all the places he might get to see in the Navy (and that actually almost sounded like a good stint, Erik thought, until he realized he'd be stuck looking at nothing but ocean and the winding gray battleship walls during deployments--never mind the whole...military thing). The trip was long enough and far enough, and not framed as a family vacation enough that Erik saw potential in it. So this was what travel was. Travel wasn't packing into a family's Subaru and sleeping against your brothers in the backseat until you arrived somewhere to read some dusty old plaques and stay at over-crowded tourist destinations. Travel was an adventure of maps and scenery. It was physical. It was not the destination.

While still a teenager living with his parents, he took a job washing dishes and bussing tables at a local restaurant just to earn wages for train tickets up and down the coast. There was something ...better about trains or cars, or bikes, than by plane. By plane you didn't see anything. Everything was ant-specks below you. It sucked. By train, you saw woods and coastlines, rivers and bridges and shipyards. Places rural and off the beaten path. By car you had that vast American romanticism of long stretches of highway. And by bike...by bike you saw whatever you damn well wanted.

It was an expensive and time-consuming hobby, but he had the itch of wanderlust and sometimes he just had to get up and go. He was a savvy, spunky enough little teenager in the era of cellphones and wifi; his parents worried, as all parents do, but they trusted him to manage these trips alone or with a friend or his brother. And so he did. Every summer, he took at least one or two trips somewhere by train, absorbing the geography and, yeah, even reading the musty old plaques. He liked being the kind of guy who knew OF places, knew how to GET places, and knew people IN those places. It was empowering.

Erik has dreams of backpacking across the country. He hasn't, yet, but he has plans to. Benji has just began his second year of college, majoring in business, so it will be a while til he is freed up for shenanigans.

In the meantime, wanderlust has brought Erik to the biggest of big cities. The Big Apple. It's the kind of place where every block is another adventure and where navigating is a beast unto itself. The microcosm of bustling life is exciting, even if he does still want to get up and go, get out of here. At least it's the kind of place where he can know a guy who knows a guy, and he certainly knows his way around, working as he does for a bicycle courier service.

He's spinning his wheels a little, not sure where to drop his next map marker. Maybe he'll try going back to school, do a little community college or major in geography. He's never been the best student, but he could probably get in somewhere. Maybe he'll stick around, see what the city has to offer while he scrapes by for rent. He's comfortable in the thought that all else fails, he can always go home.

Personality:
Erik's a good kid. A bit bold when he needs to be, somewhat flippant, but good.

Although he hasn't had to be, not really, he's very self-reliant. He doesn't like to impose upon others if the need isn't there, and he's fine striking out on his own. He is confident in his abilities to navigate both physical spaces and social ones, even if his social cues sometimes lack.

He's social enough, without being overly friendly, and likes to 'know a guy who knows a guy,' so he tends to make friends with people who are in jobs where or related to things he frequents: convenience store clerks, the booth operators and conductors at stations, restaurant hosts, the front desk workers and concierge at hotels and high-rise offices. From there, he networks out to know their peripheral spheres. It's not business, exactly, it's more keeping his pulse on things. And it's not even shady. It's just useful.

(He used to do it with the conductors at the stations when he was a kid, too. They knew him and it saved his parents an extra step in the process of sending an unaccompanied minor on a train. Plus he knew then who was reliable to turn to if he ever needed it. See? Handy. Thinking ahead, this one.)

He's the type of guy who has cultivated that too-cool, gruff, cynicism because it looks, well, cool to be leaning against the wall, away from the group, seeming mysterious and maybe a little dangerous. The accent might even be pushed a little to give him a tough guy kind of smart-alek talk. It gives an impression, and it says don't bother me unless I want to talk to you. It's all about image and it was kind of important when being a young teen setting off on one's own that you weren't too friendly or invited too much socialization with strangers. Besides, Benji's the golden smart kid, and Toby's the stalwart trooper; Erik had to carve out his own niche in there somewhere, right? Not like he ever actually gave his parents any kind of serious trouble. It was never about rebelling; it was about LOOKING like you were a rebel.

He's loyal to a fault, though. His friends are everything, like brothers and sisters to him, and he'd go the extra mile for them any day, just name it. And since they're like brothers and sisters, he does enjoy poking fun, ribbing them a little. It's how you know you like a person, he thinks, when you can joke around with them, tease them, and be a little bratty with each other. It's what love is about, isn't it?

Physical description:
Erik is a natural blond and dyes his hair blue regularly because he thinks it's cool. He's heard all the Sonic the Hedgehog jokes, ok, keep them to yourselves. He tends to favor hoodies and hooded jackets. He doesn't have the hoop earrings; instead he has small-medium spacers in both earlobes. Otherwise he basically looks the same, just wearing a modern wardrobe.

Your Characters 'Event Memory'?
The end of his scene in the Definitive Edition, explaining his subsequent memory loss. Erik, overwhelmed by the onslaught of monsters, hears "Healija's" voice offer him a deal: his memories for the power to win the battle. Deciding that having no memories is worth it for the chance to live and make NEW memories, and never one to be down for the count, Erik agrees to the deal and powers up to take on the barrage of enemies.

Anything else?

Writing Samples

It was a scant four hours after he crashed his bike and Erik was still finding scratches that needed bandaids, but he was licking his wounds pretty good, he thought, all things considered, and trying to not have another panic attack over the near-deathness of it all or the weirdness--and look, maybe he was making a rash decision going to this thing because this Bureau looked shady as shit, but goddammit all if he hoped this Support Group thing might do him some good.

So bruised and shaken up, Erik loitered at the edges of the meeting and drank down a cup of water as he scanned the room for any familiar faces. Just...play it cool. Everybody here had the same kind of shitty wakeup call. Just...be cool.

That ...voice said it was gonna take his memories, take the ones most important to him. And then that Martin guy said Erik was going to be getting back memories. Did he know? Did that Mr. Martin have any idea who those people were? The kid with the long hair, or the guy with the funny eyelashes; the two girls who looked like sisters, or the chick with the long hair and the old man… Who were all those people and why were they important enough to lose?

He took another drink. He couldn't go around fighting skeleton dragons and some purple horned shithead out of some Toriyama manga. That wasn't his style. He rode a bike, delivered packages, barely made rent. Hell, both his parents were alive! What the hell kind of hero story were they trying to set off for him here; didn't they all know you couldn't be a hero without at least one parent dead? It was like some Batman thing or something, right?

Maybe he should call his parents. Wouldn't want to jinx it.

But seriously, this was like some kind of starter pack for a hero story. He called bullshit until he got a good old magic sword. They always got magic swords. Usually that lit up. Or flamed. Or were made of light or flame. You know, something like that. It was symbolic, the light in the darkness. Whatever the hell his 9th grade English teacher was trying to shove down their throats about symbolism and imagery and whatever. Heck, wasn't he supposed to meet some luminary in the underground? Light in the darkness. Called it.