PLAYER: Pom!
ARE YOU AT LEAST 18 YEARS OLD?: Yep!
CONTACT: hnnng
CHARACTERS PLAYED: n/a

NAME: Alice
CANON: Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
CANON REFERENCE: character page. | first game scenario. | second game scenario.
CANON POINT: Chapter 8, right after taking taking a fatal blow from Marta
CRAU HISTORY: n/a
AGE: 18!
APPEARANCE: here! The best way to describe her aesthetic is... weird lolita fantasy nun? Who really knows. At 5' 3" and 106 lbs, she's pretty small and slender. She has an unassuming face, but those who are observant can generally pick up that she seems like she's a predator playing with her food more than anything else.
CONTRACT PAYMENT: She wants unlimited power! Pretty straightforward.

QUESTIONNAIRE:

• What are your greatest regrets, if you have any? What would you have done differently?

I should've killed Martmart when I had the chance.

[ Her grip on her riding crop tightens, and her knuckles go white. ]

I was more focused on putting her in her place and showing her how much of a hypocrite she is, but all she's done is ruin everything I've worked so hard for, and –

[ Her breath hitches, and she closes her eyes, taking a second before talking again. ]

It would've made my life a lot easier, and especially not end the way it did. So, that would probably be the answer I go with.

• Your Faction leader, not just your boss but the leader, has asked you to carry out a hit. The target is a non-affiliated public leader, well-liked by the people of the city. Do you carry it out? Why or why not?

[ She takes absolutely no time before she replies: ]

Duh, of course I do. Why wouldn't I, especially if it's the leader ordering the hit? They seem to think that getting them out of the picture is the best way going forward, so there's really no sense in trying to do otherwise, right?

Being a well-liked public figure has absolutely no bearing on whether they're actually worth keeping around or not. And the boss seems to believe the latter, so who am I to question their judgment?

[ The context would be worth figuring out if only to find out why she's doing it, but as far as Alice knows, following the leader's orders are going to get her closer to what she wants, so she has little problem with just shutting up and doing as she's told. She's taken a whole town hostage on orders, what's one little diplomat going to hurt? ]

• How do you define "failure"? How do you deal with the consequences of failure, from light to severe?

For me, failure isn't being stopped from reaching my own goals or anything like that. It comes from having a change of heart and giving up on them. Even if you get killed doing it, isn't it more of a disservice to yourself and all the hard work you put in if you were just to give up at the last moment? I'd never stray from the path I'm on, no matter how many times over.

[ She pauses. Even with everything that had just happened, she's more sure than ever of that. She can't give up, especially now. This place seems like a second opportunity to her, and it's something she's not going to let slip through her fingers again.

The moment passes, and she goes on: ]

For other people, though, it's not being able to do what I ask of them to do. Regardless of whether it's a big deal, or not one at all, there's only one way to make sure it doesn't happen again, right~? ♡

[ She taps her riding crop into her palm ominously as she giggles. ]

• You've worked with your Faction awhile now and you feel like the reward of your contract is within reach. [...]

Of course I'm going to argue the dispute myself with the leader, its not like I can trust anyone else to do it for me. Even if it is true, I'm not going to go off the word of some rando who I don't even answer to. It's always better to hear it from the snake's mouth, after all.

[ She smiles, tapping her crop into her palm. ]

If there is a discrepancy I missed, then I'd probably make sure things are more clearly spelled out so I don't run into the same mistake again. I'm a patient person, and I'm fully capable of acknowledging when I've misjudged something, but... what's that saying? "Fool me once, that's on me. Fool me twice, you're in for a world of hurt"...? ♡

[ Uh... no. That's not it at all. ]

POWERS & ABILITIES: Her list of artes is here, and a (kind of chaotic + low quality) video of her in action during her last boss fight is here.

General Physiology: As a half-elf, Alice is able to sense mana and powerful energy, which also apparently doubles as a radar for detecting non-humans as well? It doesn't get a whole lot of explanation or anything, beyond half-elves recognizing other half-elves. Not really sure how this would manifest here, but cutting it altogether, or only being able to sense extremely powerful things is beyond fine with me. She also has a pretty solid arm on her, as far as smacking things with a crop is concerned.

Healing Magic: Alice is able to use healing magic, either at an intermediate substantial level. Most of it is a single-target, but she is able to heal within a contained area. For nerfing, it'd probably be like... she's able to heal maybe some cuts and gashes. Maybe.

Elemental Magic: Where Alice shines is her ability to use elemental attack magic. While she's generally associated with the element of Ice, she's also able to use targeted water and earth magic, as well. While they all look different, the vast majority of them only cover a short area with concentrated affect. The main exception to this is Fimbulvetr, which is basically like a Limit Break that covers the field in ice and it explodes. She's also able to channel electricity out of the end of her riding crop in a straight line. Nerfing it heavily would just basically let her shoot water/rocks/ice without much else to it.

Hypnos: Alice uses machines to be able to control monsters and do what she wants. It's not really clear what the machine looks like, as it manifests differently depending on the monster design (the main one being a bow but??? again, it's vague). They run on small gemstones called Exspheres, which come in short supply in canon due to them mostly being outlawed by that point (they're made from human hosts that go through a bunch of suffering so............... yeah,). Depending on the power of the Exsphere, it may not be able to power one to efficiently control a larger monster, so it makes finding the right ones harder to find. They're able to be damaged and broken, which then break the control and turn the monster feral again.

Other Skills: She assumedly has some skill with fantasy technology, as she's able to maintain the machines that control her monsters to some degree! 

SUITABILITY: Alice, being from a JRPG, is definitely no stranger to violence and things of that like, whether it's happened to her (seeing her parents being killed by monsters when she was four) or she's the one who caused it (burning down an orphanage and killing the owner and his sons at ten). She's grown up in a world that isn't kind to her being a half-elf, and while one could argue that she hasn't taken any of it well, she has been able to survive under her own faculty (with a little help, of course). Her work in the Vanguard has also seen her help facilitate mass murder and terrorism plots, things she does without even batting an eye.

Sexual content isn't something she's uncomfortable with, even though it's not really something she'd go to unless she had to because it involves getting vulnerable. Which she's not about! Not to mention that if anyone finds out about her backstory and her relationship with Decus, there's absolutely going to be BDSM jokes and what have you. Just kind of comes with the territory.

FACTION SUITABILITY:

Shuten Clan: The aspect of the clan that resonates with her the most is strength being the end-all-be-all in regards to worth and power. She's a noodle and not very physically strong, but her goal in life is gaining power, to the point where those without it but try to interfere/get in the way are generally people she doesn't like. That's generally where it ends, though – lying to get what she wants is something like a second skin, and she has no sense of obligation to anyone but (with a key exception) herself. Her notions about failure only being if she changes her goals rather than dying fit the idea that death comes before dishonor, but only to a point.

As for their setting focuses, she isn't one that would necessarily shy away from the excessive partying, but it's not really something she'd go out of her way for, either. Given her experience as the leader of a combat-oriented group and her penchant for telling other people/monsters what to do, and her notoriety as being a sadist, she could definitely be a good recruiter for the fighters.

Tamamao Clan: Alice prides herself on her cunning and insight, to a very self-centered degree. While power does equal freedom, escapism isn't really something she's particularly interested in on the whole. She's already content with herself (lack of power aside) and doesn't really value most other people's opinions of her, so the core opinions aren't something that vibes with her a whole lot, if at all. That doesn't mean that she wouldn't vibe with it to some degree – as a spellcaster herself, she'd be very interested in Tenko-hime's magical prowess!

Her overall cuteness would definitely fit into the service industry really well, as she's known for getting a following of people, for one reason or another!

Sutoku Alliance: Knowing People and Using Information to Further Goals is something that appeals to Alice greatly – after all, it's basically one of the main reasons she joined the Vanguard and worked hard to be a lasting presence in it. While she constantly sees herself as an underdog, she is much more of the belief that people with power are better than those without, but that doesn't mean she won't work with groups that claim to want to bring power in vague egalitarian ways, so long as she sees it as a means to further her own ambition.

She is also very against any sense of religion/higher power, so the piety and asceticism is not something she's very fond of.

Dept. of the Enma: Depending on how you look at it, the department seems to be the one that is in the most control, if the Enma is particularly keen on making sure the other factions stay in line. It would take a great amount of willpower and influence to be able to maintain that balance, which is something that would very much interest Alice. She's not above using underhanded tactics or working for a cause she really doesn't believe in, if she thinks it'll get her what she wants. 

She has no doubts about the system or the people who run it being corrupt, whether it "works" or not. If she wants to change the world, she's gotta do it herself, which means dealing with the devil in the meantime. She definitely works best in a leadership position, and if she's placed lower, she works to make sure that she's in one before long (it took her just a month after joining the Vanguard to become the leader of the Combat Unit).



SAMPLES

other game thread! | murder.....

• ♡ Riding crop - A crop with an ornate gold hilt that has a button of some kind on the grip. Getting hit by this looks like it hurts.


• ♡ Bathrobe - A cheap deep red bathrobe, for when you want to look classy in your study but you just aren’t the kind of person with money for things like “a study” or “books” or “quality fabric.”


• ♡ Marionette - An intricate and complex puppet that either looks creepy or cool, depending on your point of view. Surprisingly fun to mix and match with each other! (burnt to a crisp w3)


• ♡ Rations - A set of military rations. At least they’ll never go bad?


• ♡ Folding Tablet: A tablet with a folding screen and pen input. You can't get internet out here, but hey, at least you can use a futuristic version of MS Paint (sara please feel free to fist fight her for this)


• ♡ Punk Jeans - A pair of black skinny jeans torn and safety pinned back together so thoroughly, you’re not sure how much of the fabric is left. But hey, they fit! (x2) forced onto decus at some point


• ♡ Gingerbread House - A whole elegantly designed gingerbread house with all kinds of candy accents.


• ♡ Malört - A bottle of a foul-tasting liquor produced and distributed exclusively in Chicago, Illinois. It’s literally named after wormwood, if you don’t like strong and bitter alcohol you’ll probably have a bad time.


• ♡ “Extra-Large Spice Grinder” - It’s. It’s just a full-on Medieval-style mace. (god help us)

• ♡ Devil Gundam Gunpla: There's something sinister about this thing, even if it's just a toy. It's very well-made, though! You can even see the individual shine of the teeth on it. Why does the robot have teeth??


• ♡ The Dreaded Knarrevik - An IKEA-branded nightstand! Comes unassembled in-box with the instructions missing. Good luck!


• ♡ Blobfish Kigurumi - No one asked for this. No one needed to bring this into the world.


• ♡ BBQ Sauce - A bottle of… barbeque sauce. Might be cool if you had, like, a barbeque! (x2)


• ♡ Gingerbread House - A whole elegantly designed gingerbread house with all kinds of candy accents.


• ♡ I Can’t Believe it’s Not Margarine! - A single stick of unsalted butter. Better refrigerate it.


• ♡ Snow Globe - A souvenir from… it looks like Punxsutawney, PA? Perfect to put on a shelf and look at once in a while.


• ♡ Labcoat - A standard white labcoat, perfect for pretending you’re a lab assistant to some kind of professor!