Post by MARIUS PHOENIX on Jul 29, 2009 1:54:35 GMT -6
MARIUS ALLAN PHOENIX
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god gave you style and gave you grace.
god put a smile upon your face.
bad cop:
for the record - state your name and any aliases you go by.
“Oh boy… I’m Marius Phoenix now, little joke on my part, but I’ve had a lot of names in my lifetime! Jonas Westingmoor, Gavin Dexter, Andrew Derrickson, Milos di Pagniore—that was a fun one—and my first one wasn’t really one at all; it was just the ancient Egyptian words for ‘fire bird.’ My caretaker had no need for trivialities. Oh, and Ally has taken to calling me ‘Birdie’; not that I’m going to let that continue, of course.”
state your age. [pauses] your real age, smartass.
“Well, I’m actually five thousand, eight hundred and twelve years old, but this human form of mine is going on thirty-eight. Not that I recommend bringing it up again, thanks!”
state your occupation or what you consider it to be.
“I, sir, am a professor of Mythology at the University of California: Los Angeles! But, on the side, I’m third-in-command or so for the Resistance army. [smiles]”
good cop:
so what was it like growing up with a family like yours?
“Well, sadly, I never really had much of a real family; no blood relatives or the like. But my caretaker was about as close as I ever got to a real parent, and he did a darn good job! Alright, let’s see, where to start…?
“So there was this cult, in ancient Egypt, right? They were followers of Sutekh, or Set, the god of chaos. Set’s eternal enemy is—was, old habits die hard—Horus, the god of, well, order. Horus was sometimes represented as a falcon and was often associated with Ra, the sun god. So this cult, they were really deep into the serious kinds of magic. Like, bad stuff where, if you perform a ritual, you may or may not make it back out in one piece. Intense stuff. So they decide they’re going to summon Horus onto our earth and destroy him themselves—thinking that Horus would be weakened on our plane—so that Set can finally rule the heavens. But, due to an interesting mix-up, instead of summoning the ‘Sun Falcon,’ Horus, they summoned the ‘Fire Bird,’ being me, a phoenix!
So I get there—and let me tell you, that was a weird experience!—and regardless of the fact that I’m obviously not Horus, they decide to try and kill me. And technically, they succeeded, I guess, but the thing about phoenixes is, well, you know: we’re reborn from our own ashes. But to make ashes, you have to have a fire, so whenever a phoenix ‘dies,’ of whatever cause, we burst into flame. And apparently it’s pretty big, since when the cult killed me, they were all incinerated in the fire I made. I was found, in my own ashes and surrounded by charred people remains, by the man I mentioned earlier as my caretaker. Back then I actually did call him ‘father,’ but it seems a bit weird now…
“So anyway, he took me in, got me a nice little perch and all, the best food he could find—once he finally figured out what my bird form ate, which was an amusing process—and I lived pretty well for a while. But my caretaker somehow just knew I was capable of more, and so he decided to train me. He taught me, first of all, and after a whole lot of work, to change into a human form. From there, we worked on communication, movement and coordination, manners and customs; all the things that would let me pass for a normal person.
“Like all humans, though, he eventually died, despite my best efforts with my newly honed healing powers. I spent as long as I could in his old house, but I moved up north when people started to get suspicious of me.
“The rest of my life has been pretty uneventful, really. I’ve always lived fairly comfortably, but not so that I draw attention. It definitely helps to be born in Egypt where pure gold is just laying around; I slowly sold off all my possessions—but I still have a few important ones, of course. It’s strange to see how much they’ve aged, especially when I look up and see that I haven’t. It’s also pretty odd to donate something that you used to use every day to a museum and to be ‘thanked generously for your enlightening contribution.’
“Oh, and about the hunting. I was approached one night, many years ago, by a vampire who’d noticed that I had lived as long as or longer than he had. He could tell I wasn’t like him, but didn’t know what I was. I didn’t feel like telling him, since I’ve always felt like the opposite of a vampire, really, and I didn’t like them very much. Well, he didn’t appreciate that, and tried to kill me—again, he technically succeeded, but I have a hell of a counterattack. And it just so happened that he was the head of a clan, so there were a lot of people that missed him, and I was blamed for his “death,” which is only partially fair, in my opinion. So I had to kill a lot of vampires over the years that followed, which improved my technique quite a bit—since before it had been ‘get killed and hope he gets toasted in the blast.’ It also insured that I hated the damned things. So now I hunt the bad ones, which is most of them, in my experience. Somewhere along the way I found some rogue werewolves and demons and such and started hunting them as well. Now it’s a hobby of sorts, you could say. I’ve also trained another hunter, odd as that is. Ally. She’s coming along nicely.
“I’m not really used to being in a relationship like this—Oh! I don’t mean like that! I just mean a friendship! I’m not used to having a friend like her! Ahem. But she found out what I am, so she won’t wonder when I don’t age… It’s a comforting thought, to have someone who knows your secrets. But I can trust her with them too, which is an even greater bonus.
“So now I have myself a comfortable—and easy—job, a nice apartment, a beneficial hobby, and a good friend. Life is good as of late.”
thank you for offering up that information. so share with me something personal about you.
“Hm, where to begin…? Well, I’m quite positive and optimistic. It’s very easy for me to disregard hardships and misfortune, since I’ll outlive whatever it is by far. I enjoy helping others and comforting them in hard times; I like to do things for others in general, really.
“I’m usually rather softspoken, but not necessarily shy. And I usually make my emotions apparent, though I’m almost always happy. If I’m not, that’s when I get good at concealing things. I’m so used to being happy that I’m very good at pretending like I am. No use in bringing others down. And it takes a lot to make me angry.
“I… well, I get distracted from my projects easily. I’ll always pick them back up, but… Well, it just usually takes me longer than most to do things. But I’m loyal and determined enough to stick to them.
“Oh, yes, loyalty. I certainly have that. I hold that virtue highly. Despite the fact that I’m not human and can never fully be accepted by them… I’ll do what I can to help them, for as long as they need me. It’s something I’ve committed myself to, and I’ll never lose sight of it. [smiles]
“I tend to be a bit awkward in conversations… I’m much better at writing letters and emails and whatnot, where I can plan out what to say before anyone else sees it… But it takes effort to get my words in order, and it shows more when I’m speaking to someone face-to-face. Ally thinks it’s ‘cute,’ for some reason. She keeps calling me cute and ‘aww’ing at me. I haven’t the slightest idea why.
“On top of the general awkwardness, I’m also a bit British. Not that I have an accent or anything, no, my speech is clearly articulated—usually to the point of being odd—but some of my expressions and such are British. Or at least that’s what Ally says.
“Er… What else…? I’m usually easily impressed and encourage others often… That’s all I can think of, sorry!”
bad cop:
so what fancy things can you do? be specific, punk.
“Well… I never die—or at least, I don’t stay dead. But if I have to be reborn, I can’t go back to my human form until my bird form is at least partially mature, so I’m stuck as a bird for a few weeks. Which isn’t really all that bad, since I can fly, but I have to be careful about where I go, since my colors are pretty unique and all. I have some healing powers, but not really anything significant. If the wound is fatal, then all I can do is take away the pain—which I guess is something in itself, really. I can’t be burnt by fire; it’s hot, certainly, but it never causes me pain. I think it’s because it likes me. I’m also a bit stronger than your average human, simply because I’ve been training for so many years, and the fact that I’m not actually human, I suppose. I can change human forms, but it takes a lot of effort, so I usually just keep a few and cycle them around. This current one is my favorite, I think.”
i bet you think you’re the best, huh? better than everyone else.
“I’m certainly the hardest to kill! [laughs] But that doesn’t really make me the best, per se. Sure, I’ve gotten to see a lot—and I mean a lot of things in my lifetime, but… Sometimes the brightest stars burn for the shortest time, you know? There are so many mortals that have made a far bigger impact on society in a matter of decades than I have, or will, in millennia. So I definitely admire the human race, and I’ll do what I can to protect them. The rogue vampires and werewolves are inexcusable. They have the power to benefit mankind, and instead they use it against them. I honestly don’t see what good animosity does anyone.”
good cop:
so what are your likes and dislikes?
“Firstly, and most obviously, I love the sun. I feel a sort of kinship with it, I suppose. And fire; it’s, oddly enough, kind of like a mother to me, or at least it gives me the same feelings of comfort. I like having candles around, and made sure my apartment had a decent fireplace. I can’t deal with the ‘romantic candlelit atmosphere,’ though. One can hardly woo a person when one’s mother is in the room, right? In my case, it’s like having a constant reminder of my not-quite-normal origins. A little neon sign that reads ‘You’re not human!’ Not good for relating to others.
“I highly enjoy reading, especially historical novels or biographies. It’s lovely to have someone else’s take on my past. I also enjoy mysteries and the classics, other pieces of general fiction and such. That’s not to say that I dislike nonfiction. I love anything to do with mythology—for obvious reasons—though I don’t care all that much for books about vampires and the like, especially if it’s glorifying them. Ugh.
“I love teaching and learning, but I resent know-it-alls. I love my current job, and always enjoy interacting with my students. I never cease to be surprised by their insight and opinions.
“I enjoy talking—which I’m sure you’ve probably guessed by now—and storytelling, and I like to think I’m fairly good at it. I don’t mind public speaking at all, and could probably be a politician if it wasn’t so important for me to keep a low profile. I’m still considering it…
“I also like travel, but I mean the short-term sort. Going on walks or taking a short fly-around, that sort of thing. It’s a good way to clear my head.
“I dislike vampires, obviously. And rogue werewolves, et cetera. Basically anyone who abuses their power.
“Speaking of power, I don’t really care for it much, myself; the only way I got the position I have in the Resistance is just by being helpful and available. I don’t really like telling others what to do. I give suggestions and guidance quite well, I must say, but orders aren’t really my thing.
“I’ve taken a special interest in magic as of late, so I suppose I’m on my way to becoming a mage or something. We’ll just see how that turns out, but I am certainly enjoying the research!”
i’m wondering – do you have any distinguishing features?
“Let’s see… I suppose I’m tallish, a little over six feet or so, and I’ve been told I’m well-built. I don’t really work out much or anything, though; just a matter of eating healthy and fighting a war, I guess! Brown hair, guess I’m kind of average-looking, really. I don’t consider myself all that attractive, but then, I’ve been looking at this face on and off for five thousand years! [laughs]
“I usually wear clothes that are appropriate for my job as a professor, so business casual. Blazers and collared shirts, that sort of thing, but I like to keep it down to earth at the same time. So no ties, and I rarely button the collar all the way up. But I’ll go on record with this: I am not ashamed to wear a sweater vest when the weather permits! I like sweater vests! Hmph!
“For hunting, comfort and maneuverability is definitely the priority, and I usually choose dark colors, since it’s almost always night time—not to mention I just feel cooler doing it.”
so, are you seeing anyone special? or have anyone in mind?
“Er, um… Not exactly… Ah…[whispers] Don’t tell anyone, but there’s this one student of mine, Ally… She’s… really great. But of course only from a professional standpoint... er..."
are you sure you don’t want some coffee, Professor Phoenix?
“Oh, no, thank you. I’m trying to cut down; bad things happen when I have too much caffeine…”
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NAME/ALIAS: Amy/Ami
AGE: 18
RP EXPERIENCE: 4 years or so.
ANY OTHER CHARACTERS?: Silas
ROLEPLAY SAMPLE:
[see Silas’s application]
