appy//HMD
Name: Maddin
Age: BLARGH
Journal: consumeraddict
Contact: aim = ConsumerAddict03
1. Character's Name: Jacob. His 'flock' doesn't use family names, but he usually uses "Corvus" in human society.
2. Age: 23. His people age the same as humans, for the record.
3. Background: Jacob comes from an alternate Earth, a world almost exactly like our own except for the existence of magic. The magic on Jacob's Earth doesn't tend to be all that useful, however, as its too chaotic to truly control. So (most of) humanity has embraced technology, giving them a technology level and civilization basically the same as ours. There are a few more wild places, since humanity has learned to avoid the natural fonts of wild magic on the earth. At least the sane ones.
Magic has caused one other big change in Jacob's earth: the existence of hybrids. Magic, on its own, can Change things it touches, and one of the changes is hybridization between two species (normally between animal/animal pairs or plant/plant pairs (mineral/mineral is possible but less likely; something like animal/plant is not TECHNICALLY impossible but has never been documented and probably wouldn't live long)). Out of these hybrids most are simply other forms of wild animals, but sometimes a human/animal hybridization produces a sentient species. In this age of a global economy, most of the human/animal hybrids have entered human society, where they are seen anywhere from second-class citizens to nothing more than beasts who learned how to talk.
Jacob grew up in a band of human/american crow hybrids, most of which he was related to. They traveled a lot (mostly in the US), partly due to being hybrids and partly due to the fact that many of them had issues with kleptomania (mostly of shiney things. Lots of corvid instincts held over despite being mostly human in form). Most cities they settled near viewed them as something akin to gypsies or a traveling freak show, but Jacob's family did its best to survive and not be overwhelmed by negativity.
So Jacob's childhood was a relatively happy one. He learned things from his family and, when they were around a city that'd allow it, went to classes at public schools with humans and other hybrids. His marks were average to below average and he generally found himself eager to socializes with anyone who'd talk to him for more than a few minutes. Jacob considered them all friends, though his classmates and neighbours didn't always share that view. The lively attitude of his flock ('murder' was really the correct term, but humans got nervous when it was used for some reason!) and their constant migrations kept him from realizing how lowly he and his kind were viewed.
After Jacob graduated high school, at age 18, he decided to strike out on his own. He loved his family dearly, but staying with them constantly seemed, to the young man, stifling. Going off on his own sounded like the wisest choice if he wanted to live up to his full potential. So when they moved on to the next city, Jacob found a job and got a small place for himself.
Things did not go nearly as well as he would have liked.
The only job he managed to get was at a grocery store, working with the inventory in the back where none of the customers would see him. The studio apartment he got looked nice at first, but once he actually started spending time there he discovered the walls we paper thin, the place was full of maintenance issues, and it had quite a roach problem. (The latter wasn't as much as problem as a source of free food, though, crows weren't picky eaters.) He could call it quits and go back to the flock, or he could tough it out and make the best of it. Jacob, never one for quitting, decided that he'd do his best to rise above the troubles life had given him. But he wasn't quite as strong as he'd hoped either.
Every time there was trouble at the store with anything missing, the bosses looked to him. The bird hybrid was bound to be taking things, right? (Okay, he really wanted to sometimes, but Jacob never stole from WORK.) It only took him three months before he was fired. His landlord was far from sympathetic, so Jacob was forced to give away the tiny savings he'd managed to build up to stay off the streets. His cheerful nature was starting to get overwhelmed by the issues with bills and series of short-term, well below minimum wage paying jobs he managed to get.
It took Jacob a year to get his head back above water. He remained in the same tiny apartment, but had managed to get a job in a warehouse moving boxes around. He worked longer hours than the human employees, for lower pay, but was not in danger of being fired at the drop of a hat. It was hard work, but it paid the bills and Jacob was no longer living paycheck to paycheck.
Unfortunately, though things were finally starting to get better for Jacob he didn't feel it. The stress and depression of his situation had overwhelmed him and Jacob was doing little more than sleepwalking through life. He went to work, he went home, sometimes he went to the bars, but he did little else. He chatted with a few people at work but the only people he might call friend were the other two hybrids working at the warehouse and he didn't feel very close to either. The regulars at the bar knew him, but it seemed most of them enjoyed the spectacle of a giant bird drinking than wanting to actually be friendly. And yet Jacob was so worn out he didn't even notice this. That's just the way things were, he had to work in order to pay bills. Humans always thought they were better than hybrids and always got the bigger slice of the pie. He didn't have the power or the energy to do anything about it.
Sometimes late at night when he couldn't sleep, or when he'd drank too much, he'd wonder how things had been different when he was a kid. Had he just been blind then? Or was it because things were tough now it was natural to think childhood was better? But mostly he pushed these feelings down inside himself. Musing on the past or how things could be didn't get him fed.
And so Jacob lived three years in a nightmare of his own making, never quite waking up. At least until the magpie-girl came around.
She was the only other avian hybrid he'd seen in the area, so he couldn't help but notice her. He first met her trying to sell girl scout cookies outside a gas station. It was cold and raining, and everyone who stopped by her seemed more interested in heckling her than purchasing delicious cookies, but Jacob couldn't just pass by unnoticed. He had three dollars in his pocket he had meant to use for lunch that day, and, well, cookies were food, right? She seemed so happy to have sold something, too, and though Jacob never expected to see the girl again he went to work that day feeling good.
She showed up again two weeks later, this time appearing outside his warehouse trying to sell candy bars for her school during lunch break. One of the human workers had stolen her money bag and was taunting her by holding it out of reach while others cheered him on (occasionally throwing things at her). The hybrid workers just shook their heads and watched, and Jacob expected himself to end up doing the same thing. He probably would have if he hadn't recognized her. Instead he puffed his feathers up, strode over to the group and snatched the girl's bag away from her tormentors. He shooed her away as the group turned its attentions to him. Jacob went home that day with a black eye, a sprained wing and a broken rib, but for him it was worth it. He was starting to wake back up.
But he'd been blamed for the fight and only been given enough time off to get himself patched up before being forced back to work. Most of the workers gave him trouble, the hybrid workers wouldn't talk to him, and even the humans he was friendly with told him he would have been better keeping his mouth shut. He did his best to lay low and try to figure out how to handle things from there, but once again the answer wasn't completely up to him.
This time the magpie-girl followed him home from work.
Her name was Margaret, and it turned out she didn't live all that far from Jacob in the first place. She lived with her mother and step father, a human, and spent most of her time outside school trying to make money. While she was part of the girl scouts, the candy bars money was going straight to collection agency on her parent's backs. But even though she had less than he did, Margaret wanted to thank Jacob for standing up for her. He wouldn't let her give him any money, but eventually submitted to letting her take him home for a home cooked meal. (Of roadkill stew, but that was one of Jacob's favorites so no biggie.)
Margaret's parents weren't sure what to make of it when she showed up with strange man, but after things calmed down enough for Jacob to explain they welcomed him in as if he was one of the family. Margaret got in a lot of trouble, it seemed, and he'd made a big impression on her when he'd helped her out. She spent most of the dinner talking about how she wanted to help out her friends like he'd helped her. Jacob wasn't sure what to make of it, really, and while he went home with a smile he was also more troubled than he had been in years.
Margaret was so happy. He just couldn't understand it; she knew how close her family was to being homeless, and yet she didn't seem to care. Her parents loved her, she had friends and she rarely ever went to bed hungry. The pain and the inequality, she didn't hide from it but she wasn't overwhelmed by it.
Jacob wanted to live like that. When he was young he almost purposely turned blind eye to the "little troubles," and now that he was grown he'd let them beat him down. He couldn't go on as he could, but there was one thing he'd forgotten. When he left his parents had told him there would always be room for him in the flock.
The next day he quit his job, sold most of his belongings, said good-bye and thank you to Margaret and started walking. While his family had moved around a lot, but there were a few places they tended to stop by regularly. He made his way to the closest one and got lucky. True to their word, the band took him in without a second thought. And Jacob finally remembered what it was like to be happy.
He didn't seek to return to the 'innocence' of his childhood, however, this time Jacob pulled his weight as an adult. The band still moved around, adults finding jobs in any new city or town they move by. If unable to find paying employment outside of the flock, adults were expected to help take care of the younger and older members. Jacob has bounced between both, he likes playing with the kids and teaching them to fly but tends to prefer finding somewhere in human habitation to work.
For the past five months, Jacob's flock has settled outside of St. Louis, MO. He currently holds a job as a tour guide at Anheuser-Busch (since having hybrid tour guides can be another attraction) and has a small social life outside of his flock. He spends most of his free time working with a grassroots movement to help hybrids gain equal-rights. He takes pride in standing up for those who can't or won't, and is starting to make a name for himself by doing so. One day he hopes to track Margaret down and thank her for what she did for him.
4. Personality: Jacob is generally a happy guy; he does his best to remain optimistic and see the best side of things. He's not blind to the sadder or darker sides of life, however, he just knows what will happen if he lets himself get dragged back down by them. If he finds himself getting too stressed, angry or sad he forces himself to take a break and relax. Still, he fears ending up back in the depressive fog of his past, so at times he tends to force the optimism a bit too much. Then he's not sure if he's trying to convince others or himself.
Family and friends mean a great deal to Jacob. Crows are social creatures, and he's spend most of his life with a lively band of friends and relatives. Once being alone in the world was exciting, but now its just empty to him. Friends, even people who are just being nice to him for the moment, are a source of comfort to him. He can be a bit blind to when he's being too friendly or annoying, though. Who wouldn't want more friends?
He has a bit of a problem getting distracted easily, usually by shiney or sparkly objects, not quite ADD but something close. This is a corvid thing and seems to be common amongst his flock. He does his best not to steal things, but sometimes small, sparkly things just end up in his pockets without him noticing.
He also talks a lot. Like a lot. This may also be a corvid trait, as a lot of his family do the same thing. He talks more when his mood is better, or when he's trying to force himself back to happy.
Jacob's favorite activity is flying. He tries to take time out of every day to just soar; when he was living alone he rarely flew, so the first time he did so after he left that life all the happy memories of flight as a kid returned. He'd be devastated if his wings were ever clipped or broken.
5. Previous Game Developments: N/A
6. Appearance: Jacob's build is mostly human, he's built more for running (or flying) than weight lifting and does a good job of keeping himself in shape. His people are generally slightly shorter than humans, and Jacob stands at 5'5". His hair and eyes are black (the norm for his tribe) and his skin tone is a somewhat tanned caucasian tone.
Jacob's most notable features, at least to those outside of his tribe, are his pure black wings and tail (which are really just scaled-up crow parts). These aren't his only (outward) nonhuman traits, however. His fingers are clawed and resemble bird's talons, but only from the last knuckle. His feet are also clawed and bird like, with a few feathers around his ankle. A line of feathers runs down his spine between the wings and his tail.
7. Abilities: Generally, Jacob is quick and athletic, he excels more in avoiding hits than taking or giving them. His mind is pretty quick, too, he's not really smarter than most other people but he's quick to come up with (sometimes rather odd) solutions to problems if given the proper incentive.
Also he can fly. He can't carry much more than his own weight (perhaps up to 5-10lbs, certainly not another person) but he doesn't have any trouble remaining aloft for hours at a time if the winds are right and he's not worn down. This ability is partly inborn magic and partly due to his hollow bones, so he's more fragile than a human would be.
Jacob does not know any magic, but he has the capacity to learn it, should someone be willing to teach him. His elemental-affinity would be "wind." Due to the chaotic nature of his inborn magic, any magic Jacob learns would have a chance of going wrong somehow. The more practice he gets the more control he'd have, but it'd never be a 100% success rate.
Also he can drive a forklift. I foresee this being his most useful skill in the keep.
8. Languages: English/Common, corvid and basic song-bird (though the last one is pretty hard to SPEAK, he can at least understand bits of it...like "where is bath room" or "here is dangerous" or "hey pretty, wanna make eggies.")
9. Items: Just clothes and a small silver necklace.
10. Weapons: No actual weapons. He does have claws on his hands and feet, but they don't do any more damage than a normal crow's would do.
11. Writing sample - Third Person Prose:
He had the table set up nicely. A bit neater than Jacob usually kept things, but this was for something important, something that first impressions mattered for. It still seemed a bit odd to him, so clean and sterile and non-personal...but he admitted it was probably for the best. An information table for a political movement needed to fit certain criteria and if he was allowed to put whatever he wanted on the table it certainly wouldn't. Not to mention the literature would be hard to find.
Despite how odd the neat table looked to him, Jacob felt a little accomplished to have set it up all by himself. Its not like this was his first time manning a table, but he'd always had someone helping him or telling him what to do before. Today he was all alone, at least until his relief came in the afternoon. Or if something happened, but he was set up on a college campus and that rarely attracted much trouble. Colleges were big places for all sorts of movements to gain support. (Which meant Jacob would rather be talking somewhere with a more varied demographic, but the group had decided to stick with this for awhile.)
So the table was all set up and all Jacob had to do was wait for people to come by and he could talk to them or hand out pamphlets and fliers. Predictably, it didn't take him very long to get distracted. Since it was morning, not many students were out and about, so Jacob ended up amusing himself by chatting at the crows in the trees nearby. They didn't have anything interesting to say (normal birds rarely did, unless they knew where some food or shiney things were), but he wasn't looking for anything other than a way to kill time.
And, apparently, look like a fool. Jacob wasn't sure how long he'd been at it when a voice surprised him. A young man, probably a student, snickering at Jacob. "What are you doing?"
"Ah, eh, heh." Jacob grinned and turned to the man, sitting back down in his chair and rubbing his head a bit. "It gets a bit boring and lonely out here, you know? It seemed like something to do other than just talk to myself, but, heh, it probably doesn't look any better, huh?"
The student snickered again. "Can you really understand them?"
"Sure. They're not much for conversation, though. Mostly babble about how they think they saw a hawk the other day, or hey did you see that dead dog by the road, or about twenty conversations about the change some girl dropped by the vending machines." The student laughed, so Jacob grinned. "Its like talking to a group of three year olds with ADHD and no parental supervision. Amusing for awhile then it gets annoying.
"So. Are you just here to laugh at me," He winked, trying to make sure the other knew it was a joke and Jacob didn't take offense, "or were you interested in maybe hearing about what we do?"
12. Character sample - Q&A:
What is your biggest fear?
Falling. Not, like, falling down or something like that. Though I guess falling from a ways up would really suck if you live through it. But falling back down to where I was once before. Where everything was dull and lifeless and I wasn't any better. Falling back down into that pit.
I think I know enough to make sure it doesn't happen, though.
A very good friend of yours lies to you about something important, but for a decent reason. What do you do?
I'd be hurt. Who wouldn't be? I mean, they're my friend and they lied to me, that always hurts. But I guess if its for a good reason its not that bad, I'd try not to get angry with them. At least not too angry. Not 'I'm going to kick your ass' angry, at least, maybe 'I'll yell at you a bit but forgive you in the end' angry. But as long as they had a good reason and they don't keep doing it. You aren't really friends if you can't make up after something like that.
You wake to find that you have turned into a pony. How do you react and what is the first thing that you do?
Do I still have my wings? If I still have my wings then there's no problem. Well, I guess the whole lack of thumbs thing is an issue...oh and horses can't talk, can they? Damn, this might be more of a problem than I thought. Okay I guess we have to start on if I can get out of the room. Horses are big. What happens if I wake up in a room with a small door? I don't really want to spend the rest of my life in one room.
For 24 hours, you have a super power of your choice. What power do you have, and what do you do with the time you've got it for?
I can already fly, that's all I need.
You find a young but incredibly dangerous creature in the forest. It's not a threat right now, but it won't be long before the creature grows up and begins preying on residents. What do you do?
I can't just raise it not to be a threat, can I? I mean, sometimes if you raise an animal right it won't attack. I'd have to feed it and everything, I guess it'd be a pretty high maintenance pet if you have to worry that if you missed a feeding he might go out and maul a neighbor instead.
Well, I guess I'd find a way to release it somewhere far away from people.
13. Tattoo: Around his wings, or where they connect to his back at least. (Was thinking white on the black feathers (prolly still back on skin below it) if that's good?)
14. Room Preference: Somewhere up high :3 4038
Concrit/HMD/plotting/etc goes here too!