Final Five

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ͼNameͽ
Hyun-seok [sook] Kohaku Artemyev

ͼAgeͽ
21

ͼGenderͽ
Male (originally)

ͼAppearanceͽ
Hyun-seok has coarse black hair and dark, reddish-brown eyes that gleam red in the dark. His features are fairly refined, though his eyes are somewhat droopy. Although not particularly tall or buff, he is deceptively strong. Overall, he is more distinctly Asian in terms of looks, but has eyes slightly larger and a nose slightly pointier than one would expect from someone fully Asian. His skin also is a bit on the paler side. He is fairly unobtrusive, with no strong identifiers, and stands at 5'7", weighing about 132 lbs. He's not very good-looking as a guy, but certainly could not be called flat out ugly. Usually, his hair is short and messy, again more Asian in style. Most of his skin is unblemished, but his hands are heavily calloused. In terms of clothing, he usually sticks to a relatively casual style, with a simple zip-up jacket and casual long pants of some sort. His voice is low and quiet, often difficult to hear.

ͼPersonalityͽ
Quietly Sarcastic
This boy is a relatively quiet person who doesn't like running his mouth off. Why bother talking at times when words are unnecessary? Small talk of any kind makes him cringe, and he has quite a low opinion of people who talk too much. Despite this, he is very well aware of how important words are, and thus can spend quite a long time in silence trying to pick the right word - a silence that quite often results in him saying half of what he wanted to, or, as a matter of fact, nothing at all. This can make him very blunt and at times difficult to understand, but when he does have all of his words in a row and his brain on straight, what he says is full of substance. That is, if he's not simply trying to drip sarcasm for the fun of it. Communication aside, with those he trusts, his subtle, deadpan humor will bleed through his every word, whether or not anyone else understands it.
Meticulous
This boy was always a hard worker. His mother and father instilled a good work ethic in him, and as such, he was never that lazy kid in school who copies answers or skims through his homework hastily. He was, by both nature and nurture, careful to put his best into everything he did. As his life changed, however, so did his work ethic. He came to learn that it's not just "good" to get the details right, it's essential. The more time has passed, the more convicted he has become that everything should be carefully thought through when planning something. This can make him seem like a rather irritating, and slightly wishy-washy perfectionist, but anyone who stops to actually think about what he says can see that the concerns he brings up tend to be quite valid and thoughtful. It's also possibly the most personable part of his general character, as there is no better way to make him let down his guard than by irritating him just a little bit. Slant that picture on the wall ever so slightly to the left, or leave that book in the wrong section of his bookshelf, and he'll open his mouth and talk for hours.
Practical
Though in no way lacking in wit and imagination, when it comes down to it, Hyun-seok focuses on what makes sense in the here and now, rather than big, flashy ideas that don't actually get anyone anywhere. He dislikes wasting his time, and tries whenever possible to minimize unnecessary things. Reality is hard, and within that hard reality, there is nothing stupider than waste. As a result, he may do things that others would consider embarrassing or disgraceful without hesitation. If it's an issue of aesthetic versus substance, he will choose substance every time, his pride be damned. This rule of thumb extends to dangerous activities and disgusting foods. More importantly, this has shaped his moral limits. He certainly does not enjoy killing or abducting others, but when he weighs his options, there are times when he thinks it's worth it. An individual life is not more important than thousands of others, whether that price is paid immediately or in the long-term.
Suspicious
Having had bad experiences in the past of trusting other people, he can no longer bring himself to be the naive, innocent boy he once was. He may try to protect the general peace of the population, but he trusts almost no one unless he absolutely has to. He is now constantly on the look-out for signs of betrayal, and could be called almost paranoid about it. He shares these worries with no one until he's very certain, but it has been common knowledge that obsessively watching over his own back is his automatic response to people in general. Just because someone looks innocent or trustworthy, doesn't mean that they actually are. Appearances can be deceiving, as he knows very well from his times as a girl, and he doesn't intend to be tricked by anyone or anything. Even when he seems like he has complete faith in you, he's watching carefully. While this hinders his ability to trust the rest of the Final Five on an individual basis, he does believe in the organizations intent and its effectiveness, and thus makes an effort not to let his suspicions overwhelm his ability to work with them as only trusted allies can.
An Actor
While by nature he is quiet and unassuming, this Korean-Japanese-Russian mix has something of a talent for pretending he's someone else entirely. Depending on the situation, he can lie quickly and convincingly create a whole new persona to match. Though he rarely remembers these personas long after he's discarded them, it is a simple matter for him to make them, and he does have a couple familiar fallbacks he likes to use. When pretending to be someone different, it is almost impossible to make him return to his old personality, and he can change quite literally anything, from his gait to his accent. That said, he is still the same person, and cannot change his skills list by pretending to be someone else. On top of which, he only acts as something different if he deems it absolutely necessary, and it therefore does not happen too often.

ͼBiographyͽ
Growing Up
Hyun-seok's was born into a family as unexceptional as he himself looks. His father was a mix of Korean and Russian, and his mother was Japanese. Both were orphans, as they'd met at an orphanage. He also had a younger sister by the name of Hye-ri, who was four years younger than him. They were a peaceful sort of family. Their income was enough to kept them fed, clothed, and comfortably housed, but in no way excessive. They owned a small, two-bedroom condominium and both parents worked full-time, his mother as a pharmacist and his father as a martial arts trainer. Still, for as long as he could remember, Hyun-seok was loved. His parents had a very good relationship with one another, his sister looked up to him; they were a good family - normal and boring, but good and strong. As for Hyun-seok himself, well, he was blessed. Taking more after his father than his mother, he was physically fairly strong and fast, as people go. He was well-coordinated and had a particular aptitude for the aspect of martial arts that required close-ranged weapons. Academically, he was not the best in his class, but he found he could do well as long as he worked hard. He had good friends and the teachers who understood him liked him. Up until he was fourteen, that was how his life stayed.
Losing Everything
Right before his eyes, he lost everything. He didn't know quite how it happened, only that one minute he was laughing and talking to his friends and family at a school gathering, and the next, the whole world seemed to be falling to pieces around him. In a freak accident, the ceiling fell in, and just like that, everyone was gone. He was one of several survivors of the school function, but one of the only ones left with no extended family to turn to. He knew what would happen. His mother and father had told him about life in an orphanage, and while it didn't sound terrible, it was not the kind of life he wanted to be subjected to. He didn't want a new family. He wanted the freedom to grieve in peace. So rather than allow himself to be taken in by the currently overloaded social service system, he grabbed the old wooden staff he used as practice often, his i-pod, and a wad of cash from home and made his way to the slums of the city, where crime ran rampant. Slipping into a world so far from his sheltered lifestyle, Hyun-seok was forced to adapt quickly. He upgraded his staff with the latest technology and, with the martial arts training from his father, learned to fend for himself, fighting off thieves, muggers, and those who would try to harm him. He could feel his heart freezing over with every person he met, and he tried so very hard to convince himself that just surviving was fine, that all he needed to do was get by. He tried hard to pretend nothing anybody did or said could wound him, and that he was fine either way, but some part of him knew that was not true.
Changing Reality
When the Abyssals attacked, three years ago, Hyun-seok had very little involvement in their defeat. He certainly knew about them, and the five that became the iconic saviors, but that was all they were - saviors. They were not people, and despite the horrors of the Abyssals that had brought humanity together for a few hours, life returned to life after the crisis was over. His world returned to the reality that humans were the true monsters. He recognized no change in himself after the strange undersea phenomenon, but he was becoming stronger and faster, much more so than normal humans. He had just managed to scrape by his nineteenth birthday when his whole world changed again. Once again, it happened quite suddenly and in a rather unwelcome manner. He'd just tucked himself in for the night, never having been more grateful for making it to another birthday, when a scream sounded not far from his makeshift hovel, apparently coming closer. He tried to pretend he hadn't heard anything, but the sound of the scream echoed in his mind. It was a girl's scream, he could tell, and probably a young one at that. She sounded so afraid, so vulnerable. Suddenly, a vision of his sister's eyes widening as the ceiling fell flashed in his mind. If it was her scream, her fear, how could he ignore that? Swearing, he grabbed his only weapon and raced out of his sloppily-made little room, catching sight of the girl coming towards him.

She was careening down the street, riding an odd-looking machine that was obviously some prototype gone wrong. The end of it was smoking and malfunctioning and it looked like the girl riding it was going to go straight past his home and into a wall not far away. Not waiting for the peculiar vehicle and its panicking rider to fly past him, Hyun-seok ran towards it and, to even his surprise, managed to jump onto the back of it, grabbing the girl by the waist. He wasn't sure why he was helping her, perhaps only that she reminded him of his sister. In any case, it was clearly a wasted effort. The girl had a death grip on the machine that he couldn't seem to pry loose. He swore. They were going to hit the wall, and both of them were going to die. He looked around frantically for something, anything, that could make them stop without turning them into pancakes, but he couldn't think straight, too overwhelmed by adrenaline and his own sense of panic and regret. As they got too close to the wall, he slammed his eyes shut and... Time Stopped. The whole world seemed to stop and Hyun-seok could see every bit in exquisite detail. He could see the tail of a cat slinking into a side alley away from them. He could see the wall that he'd been sure would be the death of him. He could see the cracks in the pavement that was making their ride so bumpy. And he could see the girl's weird little machine, and her small, teenage hands gripping its handles.

To his surprise, a screen suddenly filled his vision, numbers and letters filing their way into orderly little boxes that told him things like what his health and assets were. Options began popping onto the screen quickly scrolling through and ordering themselves into different categories such as "viable" or "extremely stupid." All the while, the scenery didn't seem to change, he was still frozen in time. One option caught his eye. It had gone under the category "untested" and it didn't seem to make much sense to him. It simply read, "EXCHANGE VEHICLE." With what? And how? He didn't know, but without really thinking about it, he reached out a mental hand and clicked on this strange new option. The world returned to normal speed, and before he really knew what was going on, the vehicle under them seemed to magically turn into a lame horse.

The horse collapsed, tumbling him and the girl onto the street. They fell gracelessly and both ended up covered in bruises, but they were alive. The adrenaline wearing off and the shock kicking in, the first thing he did was throw up. Then, Hyun-seok began to laugh in an almost maniacal manner. The girl had passed out, maybe from fear or maybe from a bump on the head, but he checked her vitals and she was alive. They were both alive. He laughed until he couldn't breathe at the absurdity of it. At that moment, an older man came stepping closer, concern on his face. "What do you think you were you doing?!" He exclaimed, revealing a strong Chinese accent. "Are you crazy? You could have died."

The still giggling boy looked up at the man and shook his head, unable to find the words to explain why he'd done it. He didn't actually know why he'd done it, actually. Finally, he caught his breath again, and managed to wheeze, "Do you think you could take this girl to the nearest hospital? I'm kind of... I think I'm crazy." He laughed shakily again. He didn't have any reason to trust that this man would actually take the girl to a hospital, but there wasn't much he could do at this point, his legs felt like jelly.

The older man shook his head, but agreed and managed to get the girl onto his back to take her to the hospital. His face still close to the very unsanitary ground, Hyun-seok noticed something shining in the ground next to him. It was a coin, gold on one side and silver on the other, with a hole in the middle. It had nice carvings in the middle but wasn't any kind of currency. He called out to the man, feeling generous after having had a narrow escape from death. "I think you dropped this."

The man looked back, then shook his head again, "Keep it." He followed it up by muttering just loud enough for him to hear, "You're going to need it, crazy." He didn't know what that meant, but he took the man's kindness, scooping up the coin, almost as a sort of trophy, and wobbling his way back home, still trying to digest what had happened.

Hyun-seok discovered the true extent of his powers gradually as he continued to fight for his life. It was difficult, at first, to get used to, but he eventually learned how to control it properly. He tested his limits, while trying to keep his newly gotten abilities under wraps. He realized he could use it, not just against individuals, but also against institutions. He hadn't forgotten what had happened to his family. It was an accident, but it had been a new building and the weather had been fair. His family had died because of negligence, and now he had power to make sure things like this didn't happen again. Quietly and obsessively, he began to enforce order in the crime center of the city, in order to make it easier for him to survive and move. Before he could concoct any sort of plan to extend his reach against institutions he saw as flawed, however, he caught the attention of the Final Five, and was recruited to join. He has been a part of the Final Five for around a year and a half now.

ͼStatsͽ
Might - 3
Finesse - 4
Fortitude - 4
Health - 3
Speed - 3
Perception - 10
Arcane - 1
Spirit - 4
Heroism - 1

ͼAbilitiesͽ
While his powers may seem broad and generally unrelated, Hyun-seok's abilities are all related to perception. Whether simply influenced by others' perceptions, or an enhancement of his own, his abilities focus on, are impacted by, and exist on the principle of perception. While not the flashiest set of supernatural abilities, when combined with his increased strength and speed, and his training and real life experience, they become invaluable in helping him win almost any combat he enters. That said, his powers have little direct combat capabilities, which is why his arcane and heroism are very low.

Gender Swap
Hyun-seok has what he considers the rather unfortunate ability to change genders. He considers this unfortunate, because it means that, rather than having one cohesive set of skills, the focus of his abilities changes according to which gender he is, and neither one is better than the whole. As a matter of fact, he feels that it is something of a handicap that he has to switch genders to access certain skills, but it does have the elements of surprise and disguise. The statistics above are his bottomline stats. As a male, his Might, Speed, and Fortitude are increased by one each, while as a female his Finesse, Spirit, and Perception are increased by one each. He does not have a limited number of times he can do this, but the change in gender is hallmarked by a sudden glowing of his skin and a brief flash of light when he makes the transition. His clothes do not change with him. His girl form looks much the same as his original form, but with more feminine features and long instead of short hair. He becomes perhaps mildly more attractive as a girl, but does not become a stunning beauty. When he is in female form, he also prefers to be referred to as Hyun-sook instead, as it feels a bit odd being called with a masculine name when one is female. His personality, though, does not change, and his memories remain full and intact no matter which gender he is. As a female, he usually dresses in a sailor uniform, and two chunks of his hair are tied up in the front. When he thinks he's going to need to move quickly, he ties his hair up into a ponytail, but he never cuts it. He has a suspicion he might be a bit like Samson.
Movie Mode
Although his mental faculties in normal times could only be called "adequate," when using this ability, his mental functions speed up several times. With this power, he can freeze moments and replay or fast forward them. His view comes to include his peripheral vision and it is an exact and perfect processing. While he can only stay in this mode for a brief moment, it's like time stops for him in that moment. He can see and analyze everything before the world continues to move. He cannot see into the future, of course, but he can play and replay and speed up memories. While this means he can use it to perfectly recall certain memories, it does require an actual rewind (people moving backwards and speaking backwards nonsense squeakily) so any memory beyond an hour becomes tiring for him to retrieve and replay. On the other hand, this is extremely useful in combat, where every moment counts, and it has saved lives on many occasions, as it means he can pause the world long enough to figure out how best not to die. It seems rather like he has hyper-quick reflexes, when it is anything but reflex that keeps him alive in such a way. He has to close his eyes to do this, but it is usually so quick that this makes very little difference in actual battle, barely longer than a blink.
Broker
Broker is very simple to describe, but less so to carry out. It is the ability to swap things of equal value. Anything 6 inches or less from his skin can be switched for something else. He can do this any number of times and with any kind of object, living organism included, without getting more tired than he would get jogging the same amount of time. The real problem lies with the definition of "value." Everyone values things differently, and as I said above, Hyun-seok's powers are all about perception. While most of the time he can get away with only switching things he considers of equal value, if people are focusing on him and know of his ability, their perceptions of value change the nature of his power dramatically. He could, for instance, switch someone's healthy hand for another, equally healthy hand if they were not paying any attention, since hands are hands, and if they're both healthy, they're pretty much the same. If, however, the person whose hand he's touching at the time is aware of his intent to use his power, and is very attached to their own hand for whatever reason, he would be incapable of switching the two. This means that the more people know about him, the more of a disadvantage he has. In battle, the main use for this is to confuse the enemy and rob them of any fatal weapons they might have on them, but it could also be a useful skill to kidnap or steal.
Game Mode
Although this sounds and seems similar to Movie Mode, this ability is radically different. Movie Mode is about information-gathering. Game mode is about compartmentalizing. When information becomes too much for his brain to handle on its own, he separates it into more manageable pieces. A holographic display that no one else can see will pop up in front of him, cataloging his general (inexact) health, his physical abilities, that of his opponent (that he's already aware of), and the options he has in front of him. He does not have to close his eyes to do this, and it updates as soon as he becomes aware of any new information. He uses it often to help him keep his focus, and most people are not aware that he sometimes just keeps it open while he's fighting because he finds it useful to be constantly compiling pertinent information and the avenues that open to him while he does so. He can use it at the same time as Movie Mode, allowing to assess all of his options in an instant with perfect recall of every single detail of what's going on around him, but that takes a high mental toll after the adrenaline wears off. He usually spends a day or two after that with mild nausea and vivid nightmares.

ͼEquipmentͽ
Hyun-seok has, in his possession, only four items he considers of any importance. The first is a small, circular, plain metal flask which he carries water in so as to prevent people from drugging or poisoning him. The second is his old staff, which has been upgraded to carbon-fiber and has both a piercing tip and the capability to electrocute from said tip. The third is his i-pod, as music has become quite a calming influence in his life since the loss of his friends and family. The fourth is his special coin with one gold side and one silver side, which he keeps in a leather band around his neck, and tosses to make decisions. While this is not equipment per se, Hyun-seok also has had training in Hapkido and Wushu, a hybrid of which his father taught. He can also get by alright in Japanese, Korean, and Russian.

ͼTheme Song(s)ͽ

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Yeesh, what's that now... twelve CS', five spots? Man, @Asuras, I really don't envy you right now... Everyone's character's are great! And then some of that formatting...

Yeesh.

On a less nervy note I just decided to start watching Kekkai Sensen! I figured if this was based off of it, it'd probably be pretty good, and I was right!

(The monkey is my favourite though)
 
I hope I was in time for @Asuras to give me some feedback! It seems like this will be a good RP. My fave submitted character so far is Marlin.
 
View attachment 76482
ͼNameͽ
Hyun-seok [sook] Kohaku Artemyev

ͼAgeͽ
21

ͼGenderͽ
Male (originally)

ͼAppearanceͽ
Hyun-seok has coarse black hair and dark, reddish-brown eyes that gleam red in the dark. His features are fairly refined, though his eyes are somewhat droopy. Although not particularly tall or buff, he is deceptively strong. Overall, he is more distinctly Asian in terms of looks, but has eyes slightly larger and a nose slightly pointier than one would expect from someone fully Asian. His skin also is a bit on the paler side. He is fairly unobtrusive, with no strong identifiers, and stands at 5'7", weighing about 132 lbs. He's not very good-looking as a guy, but certainly could not be called flat out ugly. Usually, his hair is short and messy, again more Asian in style. Most of his skin is unblemished, but his hands are heavily calloused. In terms of clothing, he usually sticks to a relatively casual style, with a simple zip-up jacket and casual long pants of some sort. His voice is low and quiet, often difficult to hear.

ͼPersonalityͽ
Quietly Sarcastic
This boy is a relatively quiet person who doesn't like running his mouth off. Why bother talking at times when words are unnecessary? Small talk of any kind makes him cringe, and he has quite a low opinion of people who talk too much. Despite this, he is very well aware of how important words are, and thus can spend quite a long time in silence trying to pick the right word - a silence that quite often results in him saying half of what he wanted to, or, as a matter of fact, nothing at all. This can make him very blunt and at times difficult to understand, but when he does have all of his words in a row and his brain on straight, what he says is full of substance. That is, if he's not simply trying to drip sarcasm for the fun of it. Communication aside, with those he trusts, his subtle, deadpan humor will bleed through his every word, whether or not anyone else understands it.
Protective
He doesn't exactly fit the hero images. At first glance, Hyun-seok looks like just a normal boy. On second glance, he looks like a grumpy, reticent, and downright rude young adult. Neither assessment is completely incorrect, but he also is a boy with his heart in the right place. Almost as if he can't help himself, he tries to protect those around him with no concern for his own safety. It takes very little to win this protective spirit of his. In his eyes, everyone's life is of equal value, so he does not play favorites. In a no-win situation, this supernatural is the one to fight for the win-win that simply doesn't exist. Bad or good, murderer or saint, a life is a life, and he will do what he has to do to protect it. This has gotten his heart broken more times than one, as it simply isn't possible to protect everyone, but he's had to learn to move on.
Practical, but Suspicious
Though in no way lacking in wit and imagination, when it comes down to it, Hyun-seok focuses on what makes sense in the here and now, rather than big, flashy ideas that don't actually get anyone anywhere. He dislikes wasting his time, and tries whenever possible to minimize unnecessary things. Reality is hard, and within that hard reality, there is nothing stupider than waste. As a result, he may do things that others would consider embarrassing or disgraceful without hesitation. If it's an issue of aesthetic versus substance, he will choose substance every time, his pride be damned. This rule of thumb extends to dangerous activities and disgusting foods. The exception to this rule, however, lies in trusting others. Having had bad experiences in the past of trusting other people, he can no longer bring himself to be the naive, innocent boy he once was. He may try to protect everyone, but he trusts almost no one unless he absolutely has to. As such, he tries to stay distant from the rest of the Final Five. He is so afraid that someone he will come to trust will simply betray him again.
An Actor
While by nature he is quiet and unassuming, this Korean-Japanese-Russian mix has something of a talent for pretending he's someone else entirely. Depending on the situation, he can lie quickly and convincingly create a whole new persona to match. Though he rarely remembers these personas long after he's discarded them, it is a simple matter for him to make them, and he does have a couple familiar fallbacks he likes to use. When pretending to be someone different, it is almost impossible to make him return to his old personality, and he can change quite literally anything, from his gait to his accent. That said, he is still the same person, and cannot change his skills list by pretending to be someone else. On top of which, he only acts as something different if he deems it absolutely necessary, and it therefore does not happen too often.

ͼBiographyͽ
Growing Up
Hyun-seok's was born into a family as unexceptional as he himself looks. His father was a mix of Korean and Russian, and his mother was Japanese. Both were orphans, as they'd met at an orphanage. He also had a younger sister by the name of Hye-ri, who was four years younger than him. They were a peaceful sort of family. Their income was enough to kept them fed, clothed, and comfortably housed, but in no way excessive. They owned a small, two-bedroom condominium and both parents worked full-time, his mother as a pharmacist and his father as a martial arts trainer. Still, for as long as he could remember, Hyun-seok was loved. His parents had a very good relationship with one another, his sister looked up to him; they were a good family - normal and boring, but good and strong. As for Hyun-seok himself, well, he was blessed. Taking more after his father than his mother, he was physically fairly strong and fast, as people go. He was well-coordinated and had a particular aptitude for the aspect of martial arts that required close-ranged weapons. Academically, he was not the best in his class, but he found he could do well as long as he worked hard. He had good friends and the teachers who understood him liked him. Up until he was fourteen, that was how his life stayed.
Losing Everything
Right before his eyes, he lost everything. He didn't know quite how it happened, only that one minute he was laughing and talking to his friends and family at a school gathering, and the next, the whole world seemed to be falling to pieces around him. The world shook, the ceiling fell in, and just like that, everyone was gone. He was one of several survivors of the school function, but one of the only ones left with no extended family to turn to. He knew what would happen. His mother and father had told him about life in an orphanage, and while it didn't sound terrible, it was not the kind of life he wanted to be subjected to. He didn't want a new family. He wanted the freedom to grieve in peace. So rather than allow himself to be taken in by the currently overloaded social service system, he grabbed two personal items and a wad of cash from home and ran into the chaos that had become Shanhu. The underbelly of the beast was worse than he'd expected. With the new monsters known as the Abyssals running rampant, no one felt safe. And when no one feels safe, everyone is fair game. Slipping into a world so far from his sheltered lifestyle, Hyun-seok was forced to adapt quickly. With the martial arts training from his father, and quiet improvements in his speed and strength he himself didn't recognize, he learned to fend for himself, fighting off thieves, muggers, and those who would try to harm him. He could feel his heart freezing over with every person he met, and he tried so very hard to convince himself that just surviving was fine, that all he needed to do was get by. He tried hard to pretend nothing anybody did or said could wound him, and that he was fine either way, but some part of him knew that was not true. As he grew and learned, he didn't realize that from that day when everyone he loved died something had changed inside of him. So, with the supernatural abilities he'd gained growing stronger and stronger inside of him, it was really only a matter of time until they decided to show themselves.
Changing Reality
Hyun-seok had just managed to scrape by his fifteenth birthday when his whole world changed again. Once again, it happened quite suddenly and in a rather unwelcome manner. He'd just tucked himself in for the night, never having been more grateful for making it to another birthday, when a scream sounded right outside of his makeshift hovel. He tried to pretend he hadn't heard anything, but the sound of the scream echoed in his mind. It was a girl's scream, he could tell, and probably a young one at that. She sounded so afraid, so vulnerable. Suddenly, a vision of his sister's eyes widening as the ceiling fell flashed in his mind. If it was her scream, her fear, how could he ignore that? Swearing, he grabbed his only weapon and raced out of his sloppily-made little room. He followed the sound of the scream, moving as quickly as he could, he made it to the entrance of an alleyway, through which he could see a clump of figures that looked like they were ganging up on one person. Blocking his way, however, was a small, wizened man with a good-natured sort of face. He was smiling, but did not look as though he was going to move. "Please move." Hyun-seok asked, nicely, but as expected, the older man did not move.

Instead, his request was met with a question. "Young man, do you need something?"

"Yes, I need you to move." He said, quite bluntly. He didn't have time for this. His fingers gripped the hilt of his only weapon tightly, the girl's screams were getting more frantic.

He took a couple steps back, preparing to break his way through, but the older man shook his head casually. "Don't do that, son. You may want me to move, but you certainly don't need me to." He moved closer quite suddenly, startling Hyun-seok. "What you need, is to get your priorities straight. You can't save anyone." The next thing he knew, he was flying into the wall. The man was just another person trying to survive in this world temporarily gone mad, but seeing the innocence of someone who would rush to save another had made him want to teach this kid a lesson: innocence is dead. He spent the next ten minutes beating the boy up mercilessly. At the end of those ten minutes, Hyun-seok was battered and bruised, but had fought back enough to still be alive. The man gave him a long, cold look, then threw a coin at him. It was gold on one side and silver on the other, with a hole in the middle. It had nice carvings in the middle but wasn't any kind of currency. It was the only kindness the man could think to give. "I don't need it so I'll give it to you. It should serve as a reminder to you, that you should know better than to try acting the hero now, brat." And just like that, he walked away. It was an odd encounter, and Hyun-seok was too stunned to react at first.

During that time, however, the poor girl had been beaten, robbed of any money she'd had on her, and was being raped. Mustering up the last vestiges of his strength, Hyun-seok ran to help her, eventually making his way into the alley. He was, however, exhausted and hopelessly outnumbered. Seeing new sport arriving, the muggers turned their attention to him. He fought tiredly, but was in no condition to be even entertaining. That was when one took out a knife, prepared to finish both him and the girl off. The knife swung towards him, and the black-haired boy closed his dark, reddish-brown eyes, prepared for the end, but as he did so... Time Stopped. The whole word seemed to stop, and Hyun-seok could see every bit in exquisite detail. He could see the boy with the knife, his arm suspended mid-swing. He could see the others jeering, one with bloody knuckles, another with his zipper still down. He could see the display sword he'd taken from his father's study where it had skittered a couple feet away from him. And he could see the girl. The poor girl, passed out, her underwear carelessly tossed to the side, blood dripping down one eye from where something had cut her forehead.

Shocking all of the boys in front of him, his skin began to glow an eerie greenish-white color. He began to glow more brightly, causing them to take several steps back. Then, in a sudden flash of light, his body changed to that of a girl. His eyes shot open, and he could suddenly see a screen hovering in front of him, numbers of all kinds each orderly placed in their own spot. His own health, his assets, his location. Options began flickering across the screen, and he could somehow keep up with each one. Run. Get the sword. Cover the girl. Disarm the boy with the knife. Jump off the wall. Some of the options were ridiculous and useless, but others seemed to make sense. He had... options. Why hadn't he just seen them before? With the information provided to him by the floating screen, Hyun-seok managed to fight his way through, retrieving the girl and making a break for it. He got scrapes and bruises, but at least he was alive, as was the girl. He was broken and tired and angry and- AND A GIRL - but the both of them were alive, and that was a very good thing indeed. As he ran back out the alleyway, he caught a glimpse of something shining. It was the coin. The coin from the man who had made this happen. Whether for better or worse, this was his reality now. Pausing, he scooped the coin up and continued to run with the unconscious girl on his back.

Hyun-seok discovered the true extent of his powers gradually as he continued to fight for himself and those around him. It was difficult, at first, to get used to, but he eventually learned how to control it properly. He tested his limits, while trying to keep his newly gotten abilities under wraps. He largely managed to keep it from getting out that there was a homeless kid who could turn into a girl and back, but it wasn't always possible to hide his powers, as he found himself relying more and more on them to get him out of tight spots. Finally, he caught the attention of the Final Five Organization. One of their agents carefully convinced him to join, appealing to both his sense of justice and the fact that he had nothing left to lose. He has been a part of the Final Five for around a year and a half now.

ͼStatsͽ
Might - 3
Finesse - 4
Fortitude - 4
Health - 3
Speed - 3
Perception - 10
Arcane - 1
Spirit - 4
Heroism - 1

ͼAbilitiesͽ
While his powers may seem broad and generally unrelated, Hyun-seok's abilities can be summed up in two words: Perception Reality. He uses human perception to change his reality. He has come to learn that his own perception and the perception of others is both his greatest asset, and his main weakness. That said, his powers have little to no direct combat capabilities, which is why his arcane and heroism are very low.

Gender Swap
Hyun-seok has what he considers the rather unfortunate ability to change genders. He considers this unfortunate, because it means that, rather than having one cohesive set of skills, the focus of his abilities changes according to which gender he is, and neither one is better than the whole. As a matter of fact, he feels that it is something of a handicap that he has to switch genders to access certain skills, but it does have the elements of surprise and disguise. The statistics above are his bottomline stats. As a male, his Might, Speed, and Fortitude are increased by one each, while as a female his Finesse, Spirit, and Perception are increased by one each. His supernatural abilities are also split into two. While he can use Movie Mode as both a female and a male, he can only use Broker as a male, and Game Mode as a female. This means that in combat, he often has to switch genders continuously. He does not have a limited number of times he can do this, but he slows down dramatically and cannot use any of his powers for two seconds while changing genders. The change in gender is also hallmarked by a sudden glowing of his skin and a brief flash of light when he makes the transition. His clothes do not change with him. His girl form looks much the same as his original form, but with more feminine features and long instead of short hair. He becomes perhaps mildly more attractive as a girl, but does not become a stunning beauty. When he is in female form, he also prefers to be referred to as Hyun-sook instead, as it feels a bit odd being called with a masculine name when one is female. His personality, though, does not change, and his memories remain full and intact no matter which gender he is. As a female, he usually dresses in a sailor uniform, and two chunks of his hair are tied up in the front. When he thinks he's going to need to move quickly, he ties his hair up into a ponytail, but he never cuts it. He has a suspicion he might be a bit like Samson.
Movie Mode
Although his mental faculties in normal times could only be called "adequate," when using this ability, his mental functions speed up several times. With this power, he can freeze moments and replay or fast forward them. His view comes to include his peripheral vision and it is an exact and perfect processing. While he can only stay in this mode for a brief moment, it's like time stops for him in that moment. He can see and analyze everything before the world continues to move. He cannot see into the future, of course, but he can play and replay and speed up memories. While this means he can use it to perfectly recall certain memories, it does require an actual rewind (people moving backwards and speaking backwards nonsense squeakily) so any memory beyond an hour becomes tiring for him to retrieve and replay. On the other hand, this is extremely useful in combat, where every moment counts, and it has saved lives on many occasions. He can only do this once every twenty minutes, and during that split moment he is physically incapable of doing anything, including breathe. He has to close his eyes to do this, as well.
Broker
Broker is very simple to describe, but less so to carry out. It is the ability to swap things of equal value. Anything 6 inches or less from the front of his hands (palm-side) can be switched for something else. His only limitation is that it cannot be anything but his hands, as he can do this any number of times and with any kind of object without getting more tired than he would get jogging the same amount of time. The real problem lies with the definition of "value." Everyone values things differently, and as I said above, Hyun-seok's powers are all about perception. While most of the time he can get away with only switching things he considers of equal value, if people are focusing on him and know of his ability, their perceptions of value change the nature of his power dramatically. He could, for instance, switch someone's healthy hand for another, equally healthy hand if they were not paying any attention, since hands are hands, and if they're both healthy, they're pretty much the same. If, however, the person whose hand he's touching at the time is aware of his intent to use his power, and is very attached to their own hand for whatever reason, he would be incapable of switching the two. This means that the more people know about him, the more of a disadvantage he has.
Game Mode
Although this sounds and seems similar to Movie Mode, this ability is radically different. Movie Mode is about information-gathering. Game mode is about compartmentalizing. When information becomes too much for his brain to handle on its own, he separates it into more manageable pieces. A holographic display that no one else can see will pop up in front of him, cataloging his general (inexact) health, his physical abilities, that of his opponent (that he's already aware of), and the options he has in front of him. He does not have to close his eyes to do this, but in return, it does take up some time in the real world, and is therefore less useful in battle. By itself, it tires him out the way a difficult test might tax the mind, and although it doesn't have a number limit, he has to be careful in how he uses it, or the mental exhaustion could dull his other capabilities. He can use it at the same time as Movie Mode, but that takes a high mental toll and should only be used as a last-ditch effort. He also spends a week with nausea and vivid nightmares after doing so.

ͼEquipmentͽ
Hyun-seok has, in his possession, only four items he considers of any importance. The first is a small, circular, plain metal flask which he carries water in so as to prevent people from drugging or poisoning him. The second is a katana he took from his father's display. He only uses it in times of emergency, though he's good enough at it. The third is his i-pod, as music has become quite a calming influence in his life since the loss of his friends and family. The fourth is his special coin with one gold side and one silver side, which he keeps in a leather band around his neck, and tosses to make decisions. While this is not equipment per se, Hyun-seok also has had training in Karate and Judo, a hybrid of which his father taught. He can also get by alright in Japanese, Korean, and Russian.

ͼTheme Song(s)ͽ


((Finished it kind of hastily... Sorry. Will also edit pix a bit to make smaller, and will add more theme songs. But laters. When I has times. Feedback super welcome!))
I like his Broker ability! Could fit right into one of my favourite Visual Novel series.
 
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Ahaha. Thanks! It was an ability that came to me for a different character, but in the end I didn't get to use that character much, so I felt like this was a good opportunity to retry the idea!
 
Some things to note, firejay. Abyssals attacked two years ago, and the attack lasted only a few hours. During that time, the majority of humans were working together to survive. Those that we're stepping out of the line were dealt with by the police and the support side of the Final Five. Not saying that there couldn't have been some chaos, but from my convos with Asuras, it sounds like that sort of stuff is minimal.

Also have no idea what the casualty count was after the Abyssal attack ended, so yeah, it'd be good if Asuras could confirm that.

Also, the old man was probably just salty as fuck about how the Final Five got so poplar for being heroes. xD
 
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Even if I don't make it, I had alot of fun making the CS. So I'd like to know what wasn't good about it and how I could improve upon it. Good to learn from my mistakes.
 
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@ERode. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I was having a little difficulty figuring out what the attack was like and when it happened, since neither was mentioned in the OP. I just tried filling in the blacks myself and forgot I could ask @Asuras. Haha.
 
So, I assume that this RP is closed by now (and judging by everyone else's CS, I don't really feel like I'm up to the task anyway). That said, I'll probably end up stalking the IC if you don't mind, because this RP seems like it will be awesome :D
 
So, I assume that this RP is closed by now (and judging by everyone else's CS, I don't really feel like I'm up to the task anyway). That said, I'll probably end up stalking the IC if you don't mind, because this RP seems like it will be awesome :D
I think if you made a CS you would have a chance. I think mostly it's about if you have a cool idea to roll with, something fun and original more than the prettiness of the CS (Though damn if I could make CS' as good looking as some here I would feel like some sort of god). But yea, I mean I plan on watching the IC if I don't make it ^^
 
REVIEWS

Now, i'm not the type of guy to go out of my way to be seething or severe, so don't expect these reviews to be harsh. I will however express what is on my mind, and given this is a review, please don't take what I say personally.

@ERode
=Tian-Gui Jian=

Minor acts of heroism catching the attention of the Final Five? They don't hire every beat cop that rescues a child from the flames of a burning building. Whatever Tian-Gui did, if it was minor, the Final Five wouldn't have reached out to him, even for a supportive position.

I'd also like to point out that the Final Five didn't disappear right after the Abyssals were defeated. There was a few weeks that they remained before their disappearance.

Regardless of his apprenticeship to Gigakill, Tian-Gui wouldn't have been appointed a member of Final Five by simply being left, nor would he have been given the directive to search for new members, though his opinion would certainly be taken into account. Essentially what would have happened is the supporters would have eventually chosen Tian-Gui to be a replacement, and then searched for more members themselves.

In any case, CS is written well. I don't see any issues with his personality or powers. They are straightforward and make sense, and he's not a crazy anti-hero with an edgy past, so kudos to that.



@Zombehs
=Ling Zhu=

Zombehs said:
Then everything changed when the Abyssals attacked
hqdefault.jpg


I have nothing to say about this CS. Everything is sufficient.



@Samster
=Tomoki Mia=

While her personality is nice, it would be odd to consider her "martyrous behavior" as at odds with modern society, especially in a place like Shanhu. The setting of Final Five was specifically made such that it messed with a few common tropes, namely Alien Invasion and Humans are Divided; that is, that the world is highly unified and helpful to one another.

Asuras said:
The world had become a strange place, with a sense of shifting governments and a globalized, mixed culture that made up for its chaos with a common sense of peace and community.

If anything, her benevolent behavior is a welcome and common sight in a place as globalized as Shanhu. I have no problem with her personality, but this supposition doesn't fit well.

Other than that, CS looks good (especially the design! xD Bonus points for that).



@Krimp
=Sen Ma=

Her history is a bit... questionable. Why would these scientists abduct a girl who suffered from the damages of a collapsed ceiling? If they were there to simply heal her, they would likely have been legal, public doctors simply seeking to make sure she was okay. However, given they performed various operations on her to (presumably) make her a superpowered individual, it's certain they were in fact what you'd call White Coats in Shanhu; essentially mercenary scientists who perform illegal experiments for corporations and governments who can't do it themselves.

In such a case, they'd be the exact opposite of the sort of people who'd have good rapport with the Final Five. In fact they'd be the targets of intervention by Final Five, not a group of folks who'd introduce her/get her into the Final Five.

Also. Katana #1.



@SteelMoon
=Alani Rhykov=

Her father was in the alien war? That would make him 90+ years old.

There is nothing in particular I have to say about the character itself, but I do notice (and must notify you), that your grammar isn't quite up to par with what I'm expecting and seeing in other CS's.



@Bootfist
=Marlin Crowe=

Bootfist said:
and full of himself
Bootfist said:
not because he's actually that full of himself

First problem I notice that I should have pointed out earlier is that the arcane is a phenomenon reserved pretty much solely to Shanhu. Picking up magic study in high school and college before going to Shanhu would be... unprecedented. Especially if he's 36. 20 years ago, there was no sign of magic shit anywhere in the world. Even when it did show up, the spread of magic to other parts of the world is painfully slow, heavily monitored, and even then still rare. If Marlin found magic shit in Washington, it probably wouldn't be the nice kind he could walk up to and ask for a lesson from. An "arcane elder beast" probably wouldn't have found much interest in a place outside Shanhu anyways, though I suppose such a rarity can be ignored in favor of convenience.

Bootfist said:
politicians.

Heh.

Anyways, what I think needs to happen is that Marlin goes to Shanhu much earlier in his life, and that his "experience" isn't as extensive as you currently make it out to be. The Final Five themselves formed only 8 years ago in secrecy, though they made themselves public during the Abyssal attack 3 years ago. Marlin probably shouldn't go back more than 1 or two years than the FF.



@R-9 Pilot
=Runa Yggdrasil=

Being made up of an Abyssal is a no-go. Their forms are incorporeal as it is, and certainly not able to be harvested for "genetics" or what-not to stuff into an science experiment. Other than that, I don't have anything to say about this CS. I've talked to you already about how I like how her bio meshes well with realistic FF tasks and concerns.



@Kaykay
=Sonia Kaguya=

Man... honestly all I can say is that her personality seems like an absolute mess. I have a hard time even understanding what she is in terms of personality. Is she emotional or robotic? Does she care about people or not? In any case, I advise you refrain from giving her as absolute descriptions as being extremely intelligent and the like; your character can only ever be as intelligent as the player.

Her biography too is a wanting. For a pair of parents that seemed to mull carefully over what was best for their daughter, saying that they treated her as a tool seems very contradictory.

Manipulating matter entirely is far too broad an ability.



@Skyswimsky
=Kyouko Hiruma=

Skyswimsky said:
While she may seem a little bit arrogant

A litte bit?

Skyswimsky said:
she considers it a failure

But she can't even spell failure.

Is she really that dumb that she'd swim in an abnormally-colored pool of water in a factory? >_>

Shanhu is built partially by the US, and given a majority of the money going into its construction was theirs, their laws hold a bit more sway than people are willing to admit. This includes age restrictions for casinos.

I don't understand what Unbreakable Will is supposed to do.

A... puddle... of magic science mumbo jumbo.... gave her something as chuuni as "Seven Keys of Creation". Why in gods name would something as fundamental to the universe as the Seven Keys of Creation be gifted to her while swimming in toxic sludge in some factory pool? This just doesn't add up.



@Silverdawn
=Jay Brett=

His personality could use a bit more effort. It's also quite bland in and of itself. He's a good guy who beats up bad guys... That's about it.

His bio is also extremely short. Doesn't tell me much about who he is and how he got where he is today.

@Active tracking: Noooooo. Nononono. I've seen this sort of ability before, and it did not sit well with me as the roleplay progressed.



@TwistedPainter
=SAM=

Oooo a robot.

Is that, 19 years since creation, 19 years equivalent mental maturity...?

His personality puts him a bit at odds with the general activities of the Final Five. In many cases, "knocking them out" simply isn't an option, and I can't imagine the supporters of the FF would put someone like SAM in one of the five seats if he wasn't capable of killing things.

Back during the alien war, humanity was nowhere near the technological level to make an artificially intelligent, martial-arts learning machine like SAM. I also find it strange that programmers would make a robot made for combat susceptible to PTSD. Also, the Final Five were created only 8 years ago, not 100 (during the alien war).

Katana #2



@firejay1
=Hyun-Seok=

Much like with SAM, his lenient save-all nature is unlikely to work well with the Final Five and their designs.

firejay1 said:
As such, he tries to stay distant from the rest of the Final Five.
9Nwz2qb.gif


His father was a mix of two ethnicities so he decided to make his name contain three different naming conventions? xD

Dat edgy background.

I must say, his powers are... strange. The term 'Reality Perception', while not evidently super-powerful written below, certainly has dire connotations that I don't like.

Katana #3
 
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Thanks for the input. I'l reread and edit the grammar. I'l be honest and say it's never been my strongest point. I guess I just have to take more time on it.

Oh and I'l change the father thing too. Thanks for the help!
 
No biography? No review.
Umm what do you mean? It's right there below personality, though I guess it could be a bit longer

Edit: edited my cs to have a space between the lines
 
Umm what do you mean? It's right there below personality, though I guess it could be a bit longer

Bah. Forgive me. It must have been from having looked at the screen so much my eyes missed it.
 
Bah. Forgive me. It must have been from having looked at the screen so much my eyes missed it.
Don't worry about it it's easy to miss since it was right under the Personality and looks like it was the same paragraph
 
Don't worry about it it's easy to miss since it was right under the Personality and looks like it was the same paragraph

Edited in a review for him.
 
yeah I was kinda rushing anyway it's cool, actually I'm not super proud of him so I'll just delete him
 
@Asuras

Amendment: Seattle detective, age stays the same, transfers to Shanhu later on, makes the deal with his patron later in life instead of earlier. I'll opt to ignore details for the sake of convenience. A fae beast would too. It'll still give him enough history with his patron to make everything else work. And it'll be interesting.
 
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@Asuras I tweaked some stuff around and threw in some Laws of robotics. In all, I justified the PTSD thing, the 'war' was changed to an abyssal sort of resistance squad, and SAM is now open to killing as long as he is given the order. Let me know if it's still not 100% or anything. I also changed the age to be his neurological state of mind :P I changed the katanas to Odachis. Extremely long, straight bladed, single edged swords. The Katana's longer, sharper, more badass older brother.
 
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