PLAYER
✧ NAME: Malathyne
✧ LJ USERNAME:
strikeraids ✧ CONTACT (EMAIL, AIM, MSN, PLURK, ETC.):
Email: when.all.your.dreams.come.true [at] gmail
AIM: strikeraids ; thinemalathyne
Plurk: Malathyne
✧ CURRENT MUSE LIST:
memoryshell CHARACTER
✧ NAME: Braska
✧ SERIES: Final Fantasy X
✧ HISTORY:
'sup Wikia ✧ TIMELINE: Post-FFX (Sin has been defeated, and he is awaiting the arrival of Auron and Jecht on the Farplane...)
✧ PERSONALITY:
Braska can be considered the quintessential Spiran summoner, much like his daughter Yuna. He has long been seen as calm, even-tempered, wise, and kind, always willing to heal the injured, help the poor, and listen to the troubles of anyone who needs it. He is also known to be reasonable and reliable, a natural leader, always considering all sides of the situation, steadfast and stable. Braska's trademark is his smile and happiness; the gentle, accepting smile of a summoner with the laughter of someone who relishes every moment. Even in the darkest of times, he's able to offer that smile and that laughter, and he is capable of reminding people of what light still exists, even when it seems all hope is lost.
Braska has a knack for understanding people, and this allows him to connect to them in a way that helps him see the bigger picture of their potential and how they can reach it. He knows that life isn't easy and that there are some things that can only be found through personal struggle, and because of that, he is the type to let someone go and make their own mistakes. They may hurt in the process, but in the long run, they will be better for it, and that is more important than shielding them from all harm and guiding them through by the hand, as much as he may want to sometimes.
Braska is unwaveringly loyal to those he cares about, and the more he cares for someone, the more loyal he is to them. He isn't capable of betraying his family or friends, and he will do everything in his power to help them. Despite ultimately being a family man and someone who prefers the company of those he holds most dear, Braska cares for everyone he meets. He is touched by their struggles and wants nothing more than to help them overcome them, whether it means he tells them the truth as it is or if they just need a gentle reminder that the sun will rise again. He is always more than willing to share his smile and his laughter with those who need it.
The happiness he offers to those around him isn't usually fake, though, not entirely; he does his best to find the small things to smile about, because if someone can laugh, then they'll start to feel better, at least a little. Baby steps are still steps away from the darkness, and Braska knows from personal experience that though it is so hard to find the light at times, all one needs is a reminder that it can be found, even if that reminder has to be brought up over and over again. The kindness and altruism isn't an act, either. It is an honest part of who Braska is; he cares about all people, regardless of background or creed, and although the summoner's role was a burden, it was one he willingly carried. If his selfish desires could be transformed into something good, something useful, something that would help people, he would do it without hesitation.
Underneath all of the soft lines and geniality, there lies a stronger backbone made of steel. It is a mistake to think that just because Braska is kind and laid back that he is also mild and weak-willed. He is more stubborn than he appears, and once he sets his mind on something, his determination to fulfill his goal becomes very evident. One can't be a proper summoner if one is easily influenced by others and gives up at the first obstacle, after all. He chooses his own path and sticks to it, come hell or high water. He judges what is right and wrong, good and evil, for himself; in so trusting his moral compass, he isn't one to go with the crowd for the sake of safety and blending in.
Likewise, underneath all of the perceived purity and sweetness, there lies a darker undercurrent to his emotions. In Braska, his darkness is founded in fear, depression, loneliness, and hatred. He fears losing those he cares about; he takes personal loss very hard, and the death of his wife all but destroyed him. She was his best friend, lover, and love, the one to support him when everyone else turned away... and she had been ripped away from him. He mourned heavily and, for a long time, was depressed. He'd been excommunicated by the faith that coursed through his veins, the community that he had been raised in, the only safety net he had ever known until he met his wife, but then, in his mind, he was alone. This loneliness and grief gave way to anger, and that anger transformed into a hate he never expected to feel so strongly. He hated Sin. He could not allow his wife's death to go unavenged, and the only hope to destroy Sin was to become a summoner.
Braska's pilgrimage was, deep down, a crusade for revenge, but he also used it to deliver important messages. He believed it important for everyone to lead their lives the way they want to without fear of ridicule or oppression. If they believed something to be worth fighting for, they should fight for it, even if all odds were against them, and Braska believed he (and his guardians) epitomized this. He didn't become a summoner just for himself, though that was a large driving factor. He became a summoner for the good of all Spira. Thanks to his young daughter and the fayth, he rediscovered the light. He wanted -- and wants -- to prove to those who feel utterly alone and abandoned that there are still those who care, that there is still good in the world, that they can rise above everything in their way and succeed. His pilgrimage was ultimately a march of hope to show the naysayers wrong and bring peace to the people Braska loves so much.
✧ ABILITIES/POWERS:
ᘒ Stats:
* This section is headcanon, as Braska is not a player character in Final Fantasy X, so a lot must be assumed and drawn from existing formats. This section is based on the way mages usually are set up in Final Fantasy games.
Braska isn't known for his physical prowress, and while he could smack something in the face with his staff or rod, it wouldn't do enough damage to kill fiends. As such, his strength lies in his magic. He is quite the formidable caster, proficient in both White and Black magic, and being a summoner only enhances this focus on magic. As such, his magical defenses are high, but his physical defenses are low.
ᘒ Equipment:
* This section is more headcanon. It is based on Yuna and Lulu's equipment. The Celestial Weapon is assumed because of Braska's legendary status in Spira; he was a powerful summoner, and that suggests the best equipment possible. The name "Dreamwaker" comes from a staff weapon in Final Fantasy Tactics.
Weapon:
His Celestial Weapon,
Dreamwaker. In FFX, all
Celestial Weapons have the auto-abilities Break Damage Limit (letting the player exceed 9,999 damage) and Triple Overdrive (allowing their overdrive gauges to fill at triple speed), and then two others that specializes the weapon for its user. Dreamwaker also has Magic Booster (which increases potency of magic spells by 150% but doubles their MP cost) and One MP Cost (which means all abilities that require MP will only cost one MP).
In terms of in-game at Prom, this basically means that as long as Braska is wielding Dreamwaker, he can cast spells which deliver a very strong punch (Break Damage Limit, Magic Booster) without expending nearly as much energy as he otherwise would (One MP Cost). Without it, though, his magic loses that bonus and requires more energy to cast. (Triple Overdrive is nulled, if only for the fact that the mechanic is difficult to convert and would just make Braska even more powerful when equipped with Dreamwaker.)
* Braska, like Yuna, needed the Moon Sigil and Crest in order to unlock the true potential of his Celestial Weapon. (Headcanon: He entrusted the Sigil to a summoner he connected with, Belgemine, who is the one who gives it to Yuna.)
Armor:
Braska wears an enchanted bracelet (as seen in his
official art, if you look at the wrist of the hand holding his staff), and it's the enchantments that provide the auto-abilities that add to his defense. When he activates it in battle, it creates a shimmering artistic buckler-like image, similar to
Yuna's rings and
Lulu's bangles.
The bracelet that Braska will have with him when he arrives in Promenade is called Mainstay Relic. It has the auto-abilities Auto-Protect (it automatically casts a spell that guards against physical damage on him whenever he activates it), HP Stroll (which recovers his health as he walks while unthreatened), and Silentproof (which makes him immune to anti-magic effects). Once a simple bracelet given to him by his wife as a good luck "keep you safe" charm, it gained power when he visited her brother, Cid, in order to reconciliate* (similar to how Tidus's sword Brotherhood received its auto-abilities after Wakka visits Chappu). The image it creates when activated is green and gold, and it features a gear-like design.
* This event is headcanon, as we are not told most of what happens on Braska's pilgrimage. This event was decided upon because Cid isn't still raging about Braska running off with his little sister in Final Fantasy X or X-2 (in which we see more of him and learn more about him); it isn't mentioned at all, which means Cid's come to peace with it... mostly, anyway. A conversation (or two, or three) with Braska may have helped with this.
ᘒ White Magic:
* This section is more headcanon. This is assumed because the party would not have survived without a White Mage, and it seems to be typical that summoners are trained in White Magic.
As a priest, Braska was trained in the art of healing and holy magic. During his pilgrimage through Spira, these skills were expanded upon until he could cast
all White Magic spells.
ᘒ Black Magic:
* This section is more headcanon. This is assumed because the party would not have survived without a Black Mage, as there are some fiends, both weak and very powerful, that just cannot be defeated without Black Magic.
In order to defend himself and those around him, Braska had to learn offensive spells. As he journeyed on his pilgrimage, he learned (both via the lessons of Black Mages and self-teaching) how to cast
all Black Magic spells.
ᘒ Summoning:
As a summoner, Braska traveled all over Spira to meet with spirits bound in stone statues called fayth. His goal was to create a soul bond with all of these fayth; once this bond was made, he would be able to summon their dreams and bring them into reality in the form of great creatures. These summoned beings, called aeons, would then obey his orders and aid him in the defeat of fiends and Sin. In order to create this connection, he had to pray to the fayth until they found him worthy enough to bond with. The more aeons he had, the more qualified to be a High Summoner he was. As a successful High Summoner, Braska has bonds with all the fayth save Anima (as she wasn't an accessible fayth at the time of his pilgrimage). The stronger the bond a summoner has with the fayth, the stronger his aeon. Considering that Braska has spent a lot of time traveling with his guardians and fayth, his bonds with them are very strong, as per expected from a High Summoner.
He bonded with the fayth in this order:
Bahamut,
Shiva,
Ixion, Ifrit,
Valefor,
Yojimbo,
the Magus Sisters, and
Jecht.
(Jecht is a special circumstance. Even though he became Braska's Final Fayth, Braska will not be able to summon his Aeon without Jecht in Promenade.)
Overdrive:
* This section is more headcanon. This is Yuna's overdrive, as it's the most logical one for a summoner to have.
Grand Summon: After taking so much damage, Braska can tap into a store of energy that allows him to summon one aeon that has the ability to use its Overdrive, even if it previously did not have the energy to do so before.
✧ TIME OF ARRIVAL:
Day
✧ MASK DESIGN:
✧ PLACE OF SOLACE:
n/a... until I can figure one out. Could he maybe bring the Moonflow?
SAMPLES
✧ FIRST PERSON:
[here]and
[here] ✧ THIRD PERSON:
It felt strange, Braska reflected, to have a room to call his own again. When was the last time he had anything of the sort…? It had to be over ten years ago, before his daughter’s pilgrimage and before his own. Goodness. Braska closed his eyes briefly. Ten years without a real home. The Farplane was comfortable, yes, but, well -- They said home was where the heart was, and Braska‘s heart was with four people, and only one of them, his wife, had stood on the Farplane next to him.
But he had been grateful for that -- as grateful as he could have been, considering the situation. Auron was truthfully dead and walked amongst the living to fulfill his promises. Jecht… Jecht was Sin, and more alone than anyone could fathom, and more tortured. At least Yuna lived and loved and was loved in return. Yuna grew stronger through her struggles and heartaches and rejoices all the same, and for that, Braska could not thank (who?) the fayth enough.
But now, he was far from the Farplane, far from Spira, far from the age of Sin. Braska found he had the inexplicable compulsion to touch everything around him, a toddler obsessed with the feel of the world. He ran his hands along the curves of the chair backs, dug his fingers into the grooves etched into the headboard of his bed, brushed his fingertips along the softness of the curtains. Though he did not know the names of these alien woods or fabrics, the feel of it was achingly familiar. Braska could not remember being so focused on the sense of touch, and he attributed it to his experience of being dead. When you take the body away from the soul, and the soul will thirst for what is missing. Give the body back, and the soul will cherish every little thing -- every little thing.
In his room, there was a large picture window which overlooked a park across the street, and in front of it was a large, wooden desk rich with color and design. In front of it Braska sat, absent-mindedly running his forefingers along the wood’s grain, staring blankly out the window. In the gray twilight, he could see three children playing on one of the park paths. He smiled softly; this was obviously a world of peace. It would come as a warm welcome after everything he’d been through.
But… But, Braska knew better than that. He could not ignore his intuition now, not when it proved itself right so often in the past. Something wasn’t quite right there; Braska found himself alone, separated from his wife and guardians on the Farplane, with no explanation as to how or why. Those he had spoken to -- people from other worlds! -- were also displeased with the situation, and there was word of a resistance that had been formed by others who had been here for longer. The king and queen assured them all that they belonged here in this strange city of Promeande, but it nevertheless made him uneasy. He, with the help of his friends, brought the Calm to Spira, even though it was not the everlasting one. These thoughts made his heart ache, and he could not push them away. Where were Auron and Jecht now? Was a personal Calm truly that far out of reach for Braska and his dear guardians? After all they lived through, could they not find peace?
✧ ORIGINAL CHARACTER QUESTION: n/a