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[deus_ex_machina]

⌈ PLAYER SECTION ⌉
Player: Althea
Contact: magicarp @ plurk
Age: older than dirt
Current Characters: n/a


⌈ CHARACTER SECTION ⌉
Character: Machina Kunagiri
Age: 17
Canon: Final Fantasy Type-0
Canon Point: End of Chapter 7

Background: "I've always been the one who's needed help."

Personality: Machina might seem to be a bundle of contradictions, and to some degrees he is. Seventeen is a hard age under normal circumstances, but mix in some end of the world and weird magic and you get a recipe for a trainwreck waiting to happen.

By and large, before the start of the war, Machina is a serious student who works hard, but otherwise is both friendly and well liked by his peers. Being top of his class, he doesn't rest on his laurels but continues to strive to improve himself. Once he's transferred into Class Zero, he comes head to head with no longer being the best, and in fact not being able to match up to them at all. It feeds his sense of insecurities, but rather than wallow in that, he just keeps working harder to prove himself to them and not be a drag always needing to be saved.

Problem is, he's kind. Or as his peers are prone to point out, he's too kind/soft/sensitive to be caught up in a war. Being a cadet training to maybe become the prophesied savior of the world is one thing; being a child soldier in a war engulfing your world is a nightmare beyond his capability to deal with. He takes the war hard. He takes the casualties hard. He just wants the fighting to end and the peace to be restored. The Crystals of Orience take away memories of the dead, so the living do not have to carry that weight and move on. Rather than accepting this as the blessing it's meant to be, Machina dreads and fears it. He is obsessed with finding out the truth behind his brother's death. Doing so only feeds his fears more and more, he is terrified of losing Rem, just as he is terrified of losing his memories of her, or being forgotten himself.

He is also a thinker. Unfortunately, Machina thinks too much. His classmates dub it doom and gloom. He overanalyzes everything. It's not even a case of getting lost in thought, as much as he permits the "brain weasels" too much power as he continues to stew and churn things over and over. It blinds him to seeing reality with a clear and objective eye, distorting his understanding of truth. So when he's put to the task of spying on Class Zero, he doesn't have any moral compuncture preventing him to doing just so. He's justified it in his mind already. Unfortunately his constant thinking is only shared with himself, leaving others baffled when he displays angry outbursts for slights imagined or overinflated in his mind. When angry, he's given to yelling, and then stomping off to be alone.

He's learned to be distrustful. He started off an outsider when transferred into Class Zero and certain kids made sure he knew they thought he was dead weight and would never be one of them. It put him at odds with group cohesion. They make no bones that they're willing to dump anyone who can't pull their weight or will impede the success of the mission. He cannot abide the idea of leaving anyone behind and is incapable of creating those kind of practical callouses to put an assignment over a person. Unfortunately he lacks discernment over who he can and cannot trust, and can be manipulated by someone who recognizes his vulnerabilities for what they are: his fears of loss, his dismay at losing a brother he's forgotten, a burning need to protect Rem at all costs, a hunger for power.

He is a self-appointed protector. Quite quickly he takes on a he-and-Rem-against-the-world attitude which irritates many. It starts off with his wanting to keep her safe, for selfish reasons... namely she's the only other person who remembers their village. As the war drags on, he decides that it falls to him and only him to protect her, his country, and their world. It starts off noble and rapidly spins into arrogance. He'll become a spy against his classmates to prevent the task from falling to her. But as his emotions start to trickle away after becoming a l'Cie, the honorable, upright, dutiful Machina gives way to cold detachment. His goals don't change but his personality does, as he's no longer mortal.

Ultimately, he's willing to throw away his humanity, his warmth, and his allegiances for the power he believes will keep him from losing everything he cares about.

Abilities:
Magic - Thanks to the blessing of Rubrum's Vermillion Bird Crystal, Machina possesses the ability* to cast an array of magic. The five main types are Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, Defense, and Other. The full list can be found here. Magic ability reaches its peak in adolescence and begins to diminish upon reaching adulthood.

*His ability to use magic is summarily cut off when he is in "l'Cie mode", actively using powers granted by the White Tiger Crystal.

Weaponry - Machina fights with twin rapiers. He has an array of techniques available to him, many of which will drain health away from opponents and grant him healing. Some will also stun.

L'Cie - In exchange for his humanity, Machina has been granted "the power of gods." He is a Secundus l'Cie meaning that the powers he possesses are considered a unique set and are not necessarily combat focused. His particular powers are an ability to manipulate and enhance machinery and weaponry. It's possible for him to power a magitek anti-magic shield so that he and one other are the only ones not to perish in a fatal summoning. He can feed power into hopelessly damaged machines and weapons
and restore them to full use, extend the mechanical capabilities of a weapon, and ostensibly fuel a weapon of mass destruction and not die to it.

While actively in l'Cie mode, he does receive some buffs to a mortal's combative power. He deals more damage, takes less damage, and has incredibly increased attack and movement speeds.

He does have a Focus, though there is no hard and fast deadline in which to complete it. However, if he should choose to reject his Focus, he would be subject to transformation into a Cie'th (a monster). If he fulfills it (not likely in the game), he would subliminate and enter crystal stasis.

Alignment: Thras. Above all else, Machina is ruled by his fear: fear of loss, fear of forgetting Rem, fear of being forgotten. This fear drives him to desperate measures that have tragic consequences. By becoming a l'Cie, he gains a sense of courage arising from that power, that he's finally strong enough to protect the things he cares about.

Other: He has a white tiger-styled mask that serves to conceal his identity. His clothing will turn the white associated with Milites and in that form is known as Incognitus. With the mask, he loses control over his own actions, driven to obey the White Tiger Crystal. Likewise he loses all sense of emotion and drops into monotone speech.


⌈ SAMPLE SECTION ⌉

General Sample: Test Drive Threads

Emotion Sample: Specifically Prompt A

Questions: L'Cie in Orience gradually lose all emotion over time as they become more attuned to their Crystal's will and move away from mortal concerns. Despite not having a Crystal present to bark orders, will Machina still continue to slowly lose all emotion?