[OOC] Application @ a_facility

Oct 23, 2009 04:34

OOC Information: See here.

IC Information:  
Name: Sephiroth
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII
Timeline: End of Advent Children
Age: approximated to early 30s
Appearance: His most striking feature would be long, straight silver hair; the next would be his intense, glowing green-eyed gaze. Sephiroth is a six-feet tall, pale-skinned, well-built man. He typically wears an outfit unique to a SOLDIER elite like himself: tight black knee-high buckle-strapped boots, black pants (that presumably extend into his boots), SOLDIER belt, black gloves, black leather suspender straps doubly-crossed over his bare chest, and an open black buckle-up coat with shoulder armor. [Image on Final Fantasy Wiki]

Abilities: [Note: Game-specific terms are eventually explained in the 'History' section of the application.]
  • Physical Capabilities and Combat Styles: Having been infused with JENOVA before birth, Sephiroth has enhanced strength and agility. In both FFVII sequel Advent Children and prequel Crisis Core, he's shown to be powerful enough to rupture and destroy buildings using only his sword. He can also produce aerial slices that can cut through similar types of structures and injure anyone or anything unable to block or avoid them. Though mostly a power-based fighter, he wastes no movement in dealing with opponents. In Crisis Core, he's shown fending off his two SOLDIER elite best friends with minimal movement, effectively managing a balance of his power and speed.
  • Combat Abilities: Sephiroth's primary means of combat is sword fighting; he wields an overly long sword known as the Masamune Blade. In Advent Children, it's implied that he can summon the sword because Kadaj is already unarmed when Sephiroth uses his body as a vessel--the sword materialized as he blocked Cloud's attack. As mentioned, he's powerful enough to produce aerial slice attacks capable of causing serious damage. Additionally, in Advent Children he uses a quick combination of swordplay and grabs, punches, and kicks while battling Cloud. This implies he has some hand-to-hand combat skills or realistic military survival training given his rank as a SOLDIER elite.
  • Magic Abilities: In the original game during the Nibelheim flashback, Sephiroth is equipped with full-mastered materia to use high-level magic and immune to all damage. Later shown as having absorbed the knowledge of the Lifestream, he's supposedly capable of using magic without materia equipped. Similarly, some attribute his aerial slash energy blasts and ability to seemingly teleport to magic, rather than physical strength and agility. (For RP purposes, I power him down to materia-based magic abilities and attribute his energy blasts and presumed teleportation to strength and speed.)
  • JENOVA-related Abilities: Sephiroth is shown in the original FFVII game as able to control JENOVA's physical body and its individual parts, using them as projections of himself if not images from others' memories. Additionally, he uses JENOVA's body to produce physical manifestations that are controllable puppets. He's capable of mentally attacking, influencing, and manipulating JENOVA-infused targets/victims infused with and reacting to JENOVA; however, this seems limited to those who are psychologically unstable and appears to work by taking advantage of their insecurities. Toward the end of the game, Sephiroth absorbs enough Lifestream energy to evolve into a higher forms Bizarro Sephiroth (a cocoon-like state) and Safer Sephiroth (ultimate form, presumably preparation to ascension as a god). In this state, his ability 'Supernova' summons a meteor to destroy the Solar System and cause the sun to explode, critically injuring his opponents by reducing their health to 1. In Advent Children, Sephiroth has avoided dissolution despite his defeat in the game; although he is physically dead, he can remain in existence as long as there is a source of JENOVA cells for him to influence and manipulate. Sephiroth's primary means of sustaining himself comes from sheer willpower--he believes that as long as people on the planet (and especially Cloud) remember him, he can perpetually be revived by their memories.
 
Personality: As a SOLDIER, Sephiroth was competent and capable, confident in his abilities, and a well-respected leader. Though he was a SOLDIER elite and acclaimed hero, he seemed indifferent toward his achievements and arrogant but not obnoxiously loud or boastful. He greatly valued his private life and enjoyed the few friendships he had, but both his disposition and rank kept him distant from many of his comrades, making him somewhat dark and mysterious to anyone beyond those friends who experienced his flawed, human nature. Unfortunate circumstances blurred the line between professional and personal, and he soon came to question those friendships, loyalties, and even his purpose in life.

That ended the point in time when Sephiroth was clear-headed, reasonable, and moderately considerate to others."I knew ever since I was a child, I was not like the others. I knew mine was a special existence."
-Sephiroth

"There was one SOLDIER named Sephiroth who was better than the rest. When he found out about the terrible experiments that made him, he began to hate Shinra, and then, over time, he began to hate everything."
-Marlene

Learning about his origins inevitably led him to insanity. Overcome with hatred and wrath, he became ambitious enough to formulate a meticulous plot to absorb the Planet's energy and become a god. Despite his defeats, he remains ambitious, enigmatic, and insane. He is intensely driven to his objective to become a god and often chooses elaborate and grandiose executions of his plots. Sephiroth seems particularly vengeful toward Cloud Strife, who had experienced an important self-realization, came to reject Sephiroth from obtaining his body, and eventually defeated him. Cloud seems to be the only real barrier that prevents Sephiroth from succeeding in his plans; however, it is Sephiroth's belief that as long as people remember him, he will never truly disappear.

Sephiroth doesn't necessarily think he's evil. He just thinks that what he's doing is right. Others may find him difficult to get along with due to his god complex, and to some extent that's okay--gods don't need friends, do they? No, they just need to uphold their own sense of justice.

History: [Note: Continuity issues between the original FFVII video game and its expansion compilation are noted throughout the background. Much of the prequel Crisis Core (CC) overlaps with flashback events in the original game while the Advent Children movie (AC) takes place two years after the original game, it is coupled with the Last Order OVA, which has yet another interpretation of the Nibelheim incident covered in both the original and CC. Release order is as follows: original FFVII, AC+Last Order OVA, CC. Lastly, I originally used this history in my app at edensphere; however, it's the clearest and most summarized one I've written.]

Sephiroth was born approximately 30yrs before the beginning of the original FFVII video game to ShinRa Co.* employees Professor Hojo and Lucrecia Crescent. [* ShinRa Co. is the prevalent energy company in the FFVII game and acts as a governing power over Midgar, a place built almost entirely on its technology.] The two scientists were involved in the Jenova Project, a study of the discovered remains of an inhuman being called Jenova. The two agreed to use their unborn son, Sephiroth, in an experiment to study the effects of Jenova's cells on a human subject.

After his birth, Sephiroth was raised by ShinRa Co. He displayed inhuman speed and strength at an early age before becoming an elite SOLDIER with his friends Angeal Hawley and Genesis Rhapsodos*. [* These two characters and all events relating them to Sephiroth are only in CC.] The highlights of his career were his victories during the Midgar-Wutai war (prequel CC reveals that Sephiroth was also credited with other people's successes). A year after this war, he and two other SOLDIERs (Angeal and Zack Fair) were assigned on a mission to deal with rogue SOLDIER Genesis. After Angeal disappeared, Sephiroth wanted to avoid involvement since the two who defected were his friends. However, Zack convinced Sephiroth to search for and hopefully reason with them. Inevitably the mission seemingly ended when Angeal and Genesis were defeated in Modeoheim.

Afterward, Sephiroth and Zack were assigned to investigate a Mako* reactor in Nibelheim. [* Mako is a natural resource that is compressed into energy; it's eventually revealed to be the Lifestream, the planet's stream of consciousness where all of its life comes from and returns to.] In CC, Genesis made an appearance during their first visit to the reactor and prompted Sephiroth to read the files on the Jenova Project. In the original game, Sephiroth discovered his origins as an experiment and his role in the Jenova Project during the company's stay in the ShinRa Manor; he misinterpreted Hojo and Professor Gast's mixed reports, concluding that he was the last of the Cetra* and that humans were the cause of the Cetra's extinction. [* Cetra, also called Ancients, were a race chosen as protectors of their planet. Legends speak of their rest in the Promised Land, a place of peace and abundance. The original game treats Cetra as both a human race and separate 'endangered species'. It's important to note is that Sephiroth isn't actually a Cetra but had believed mistaken reports that Jenova was.]

Continuity discrepancies make it difficult to determine whether it is his identifying as an inhuman monster -as Genesis suggested (in CC)- or the idea that he was one of the last survivors of his race who was mistreated and experimented on (implied in original game and Last Order OVA) that drove him crazy. Regardless, Sephiroth was consumed with hatred and wrath--he first destroyed the town of Nibelheim before going to the reactor to release his Mother, Jenova. Zack pursued in an attempt to stop him but was unsuccessful. Just as Sephiroth was able to free Jenova, he was taken off-guard by a regular, Cloud Strife. Although injured, Sephiroth attempted to leave with Jenova's head when Cloud tried to finish him off, resulting in Sephiroth physically entering the Lifestream (the original game and CC show Cloud throwing Sephiroth from a gangway into the Lifestream; however, the Last Order OVA shows Sephiroth jumping in of his own volition).

While traveling in the Lifestream, Sephiroth learned the truth about Jenova's nature, that she was a being that landed on their planet when it was hit by a Meteor that formed the Northern Crater. (Thus, Jenova and the Cetra are entirely different and unrelated beings.) He absorbed Jenova and the wisdom of the Cetra before eventually reaching the Northern Crater, where he was physically sealed in Mako. Sephiroth had learned how their planet heals itself of wounds--when it receives injury, it gathers energy from the Lifestream where it's been wounded in order to heal itself. With that in mind, he formulated a meticulous plot to inflict their planet with such a grave injury that all of its energy would gather in that one spot--then Sephiroth himself would absorb all the energy and become a god.

Throughout the original video game, Cloud and his party encountered 'Sephiroth' a number of times; however, each one they encountered was not actually Sephiroth himself (who was still sealed in the Northern Crater) but Jenova's body -in whole or part- under Sephiroth's control, or an astral projection. Sephiroth's will had become so great that he was able to control Jenova's body, using its parts as projections of his image and controlling his manifestations as puppets to find and retrieve the Sephiroth Clones, or individuals who've also received Jenova cell infusion procedures to prove Hojo's Jenova Reunion Theory that those strong enough to withstand infusion would reunite when their cells were called.

Cloud and his friends eventually reached the Temple of the Ancients and discovered Sephiroth's goal. At this time, Cloud obtained the Black Materia* that Sephiroth awaited at the Northern Crater. [* Materia is a crystallized form of compressed Mako energy; it enables various abilities depending on its color. For example, red materia are used to summon powerful monsters used in battle attacks while green materia can cast magic spells. The Black Materia is a special materia that can summon the Meteor that once nearly destroyed their planet.] In the Forgotten City, Aerith Gainsborough, the real last Cetra, attempted to stop Sephiroth with her White Materia, which would cast Holy to defend their planet from Meteor. However, part of Jenova's body came as an image of Sephiroth and killed Aerith--although she had cast Holy, it was unusable because Sephiroth himself was blocking it. Following this, Cloud and company eventually reached the Northern Crater, where Sephiroth assumed control of the Jenova cells in Cloud's body and obtained the Black Materia. A barrier was formed around the crater as Sephiroth began the summon.

After the barrier was taken down by ShinRa's Sister Ray cannon, Cloud and buddies descended into the Northern Crater to confront Sephiroth. When he appeared to the group, he was already undergoing transformation, first as Bizzaro Sephiroth before shedding his cocoon to become Safer Sephiroth. However, when his physical body was defeated and destroyed, Sephiroth began a mental assault on Cloud in attempt to claim the body for himself. But Cloud had already undergone self-realization, and Sephiroth's attacks were ineffective. He was then banished back into the depths of the Lifestream. Meanwhile, it was too late to stop Meteor from crashing into their planet, but Cloud's victory ensured the casting of Holy, and that power, combined with the Lifestream itself, saved their planet from complete destruction.

Two years after that defeat, the disease called geostigma spread to many of their planet's inhabitants. A trio of silver-haired brothers appeared and confronted Cloud to ask him for "Mother's" whereabouts. Eventually the youngest brother, Kadaj, obtained a case of Jenova's remains and absorbed its contents--through this absorption, Sephiroth obtained Kadaj's body to use as a vessel. This time, Sephiroth revealed his new plans to take the planet and 'sail it into darkness'--he could crash their planet into another one to re-enact his original goal and become a god. Cloud and Sephiroth battled once again, and Sephiroth was once more defeated. Before he disappeared, he declared he would 'never be a memory', a forewarning of continued revivals and resurrections in the future, regardless of shape or form.

Roleplay Sample - Log:
"I will... never be a memory."

It was another 'defeat', more like a minute setback; with that, he released the remnant's body. Again he was without corporeal body, but Sephiroth was certain the day he'd rise would come again.

... Then it was like he woke to find himself in a utilitarian white room. It struck him as odd, like he'd just woke from a very realistic dream. But he didn't wake with a start despite how completely unexpected it was. Glowing green eyes inspected his surroundings--white ceiling and windowless walls. He saw up, noting white sheets. White floor. The few furnishings in the room were steel-brushed. This vaguely resembled something in the back of Sephiroth's mind; he scowled slightly while thinking about it as he was so much better than to be trapped some kind of experiment. There would be no repeat of the JENOVA Project. Only her original purpose and objective, which he would become a god to fulfill. And that would rid the world of foolishness such as this--the madmen and such dreamers would die by Sephiroth's mighty hand of justice.

Sephiroth rose to perform a quick investigation of the room, but there was hardly anything that piqued his interest beyond the communicator. The man took a moment to inspect it, to check its functions and capabilities, noting other users on its network and attempting to identify them, before stowing it on his person for later use if necessary. Sure, he didn't know where he was, who had brought him here and how, but that was part of the challenge... Someone else was playing god, and if anyone was supposed to be a god, it was Sephiroth. He'd analyze this situation, discover its weaknesses, and then put everyone in their proper place. That's what he decided to do, and the best start was to familiarize himself with whatever was available.

After thoroughly going through everything in the room and making mental notes of what things were, their uses, and so on, the man finally stalked to the door and carefully turned the knob--it was time to investigate the rest of this world.

Roleplay Sample - Journal: [Note: This likely would be his first journal entry; as he assimilates and meets others, he's likely to use it strictly as a communications device rather than information storage/dump.]
TEST Test test. Check.

[private]
Private setting, check.
[/end]

Questions? Comments? Crazed and creative statements?  Those go here.
Just wanted to leave a note that I'm always open and flexible to collaboration and compromise. I don't bite, so feel free to ping me regarding anything--actually, I'm more likely to be afraid of everyone else biting me.

It's difficult at best to play insane-Sephiroth at any game merely because even the creators don't clearly define the bounds of his abilities. Because many players know who he is or are familiar with his ridiculous powerhouse abilities, it causes many people to shy away from interactions. Similarly, Sephiroth isn't really a journal character, and I play him very log-intensively. I like to put up open logs but have experienced that many are reluctant to drop characters into them.

So, just also wanted to make a note that I will try to contact anyone who does drop in; I'd like to put to rest the assumption that he'll kill anyone on the first encounter. Despite the god complex and his insanity, he's still a very methodical character. And I'm a very methodical player.

Uaaah, I hope I don't sound scary. O__o;;; Anyway, that was just a little FYI, so... Thanks in advance for your understanding! ^^;;;

Other Information:
Room: Suite 2B.
Rating: PG-NC17. G might happen on rare occasion. Might.
Power: Ranked 10. Ability handicap at approximately 25%. (75% nerf.) No weapons.
Death: Negotiable. I openly lean toward allowing others to kill him.
Smut: Doubtful. First, convince me it's both possible and necessary for a plot.
Yaoi/Het/Yuri: Asexual. Again, convince me it's both possible and necessary first.
CR: See here.

~facility, ooc-comments_disabled, ooc

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