Empatheias application

[nofarplaneyet]

⌈ PLAYER SECTION ⌉
Player: Belmont
Contact: draculabackwards
Age: 39
Current Characters: n/a


⌈ CHARACTER SECTION ⌉
Character: Auron
Age: 35
Canon: Final Fantasy X
Canon Point: At the moment of being Sent.

Background: http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Auron

Personality: If a man is considered by the planet at large to be a hero, one would expect such a hero to lap up the attention and adoration in recognition of his deeds. Auron considers his “heroic” deeds to be the worst failure of his entire life and all subsequent actions are only a means to fix what went horribly wrong.

He appears to be very much like an ideal warrior – stoic, powerful, not prone to making idle conversation unless needed. He's the sort of man to keep his cool when others would panic, size up a situation and act accordingly. Auron's sense of personal honor guides him to act how he feels is right, even if this would put him at a disadvantage or radically change his life. He had been on the fast track to an elite position as a monk of Yevon, but he refused a political marriage and ended up in disgrace.

His sense of loyalty to either a cause or a person is deep and unwavering, as long as that person and cause is true to him. He only knew a little about Braska and nothing about Jecht before meeting them, but they gelled as a group and became close friends, practically family. Even when knowing his friends were going to give their lives for the sake of Spira, he swore to watch over their children as best he could.

This is not to say that Auron never gets emotional. When he confronted Yunalesca after a “successful” fight with Sin that resulted in Braska dead and Jecht gone, he found out the terrible truth. Everything they fought for had been for nothing because of the very system set up by the Church of Yevon. With a voice breaking in emotion, Auron completely lost his temper and rushed Yunalesca, only to be dealt what would turn out to be fatal wounds. There is also a scene where the past is played out before the party and Auron can watch his past self. He didn't do anything to stop Braska and Jecht, not having another way to solve the problem of Sin. Auron, usually the calmest of the bunch, loses his temper at his failure and repeatedly slashes his sword through his past self.

His experiences have left him more cynical in general, but especially of the promises of the Church. Idealism has been thoroughly scrubbed from his soul. At the same time, he is not the type of man to tell someone that their idealism is misplaced. He'd much rather the person learn for themselves to they could make their own decisions. Along with the cynicism, he's sharp with the occasional quip, even indulging in a bit of gallows humor, remarking, “Being dead has some advantages.”

After finding out the truth of his friends' deaths, Auron was filled with despair and a horrible sense of failure, along with self-loathing. It could be argued that his rush to attack Yunalesca was his inability to deal with the enormity of the truth. He either lost his senses momentarily and his temper snapped or was filled with so much remorse that he wanted to die as well. However powerful these negative feelings had on Auron, they are countered by one of his greatest strengths: sheer determination.

Not only didn't he die at the point of attack, he crawled down a mountain, sought help, crossed a field, had enough strength to ask someone to take care of Braska's kid and only when he fulfilled one promise as best he could, did he pass on. Even then, his strength of will and the need to both avenge his friends and protect Jecht's son allowed Auron to live on as an Unsent, a living ghost. Spira has multiple paths for the dead. Either a person dies and fades to pyreflies and goes into the Farplane, a person is filled with negative emotions and turns into a fiend (a monster) or a person has enough sheer willpower to stay with senses in tact and become an Unsent. A person has to keep a strong hold over whatever is tying them to Spira or they will pass on. In this form, Auron found a way to raise Jecht's son and enact his revenge on the system that had killed his friends and so many people over a thousand years. They are the kind of actions that would be impossible for most people and lauded if pulled off. For Auron, they aren't anything worth celebrating. All he sees of these accomplishments are a means to correct a mistake and fulfill a promise. He is not a glory hound, looking for fame. If his determination has helped him accomplish a goal, there is a personal sense of self-satisfaction and that is enough reward for him.

Although not having children of his own, he does have paternal feelings towards Tidus and Yuna, seeing their fathers in both of them. He did watch over Tidus for 10 years. Canon doesn't specify what kind of familial relationship Auron and Tidus had. We do watch a little flashback from Tidus' perspective that Auron watches Tidus' games and knows enough about the sport that Tidus is highly interested in to give commentary on how poorly he did one time. Considering that earlier in his life, Auron didn't know or care about the rules of blitzball, it's evident that he took the time to learn something important to both his friend and the kid he watched over. He might be the stern kind of guardian but he does seem to care enough to offer constructive (not abusive) criticism.

In addition to criticism, Auron also is willing to let the people around him make mistakes and make their conclusions in order to help them grow and change as people. He knew all of the terrible truths surrounding the pilgrimages to stop Sin, but he didn't stop Yuna from making her own decisions. Even though having Yuna give up her pilgrimage for marriage would have been a giant stumbling block in trying to avenge his friends, he didn't stop her from making the decision herself. He is the sort of person to know that people need to have their own experiences in order to make their own decisions instead of forcing his opinion on other people.

Auron is the sort of man that might be a bit difficult to get to know and even sound like a grumpy old man who'd most likely tell you get off his lawn, but if you somehow became friends with him, you would not find a truer, more loyal person at your side.

Abilities: Having been trained as a monk in the Church of Yevon, Auron is no stranger to combat. Although he isn't one to boast about his skills, he had been considered to lead all of the monks in the church. His preferred weapon is a giant blade that would be called a great sword in most other cultures, being nearly as long as he is tall, but is called a katana. For sake of clarity, I refer to it as a Spiran katana. He has also traveled his world twice on pilgrimages so he is no stranger to long distance travel and living off the land. Depending on how you build up the character in game, you could go full on mage with him, but he works best as a swordsman and he possesses Overdrives (ultimate attacks) that either rip the enemy apart or punt them into space. He also served as a parental guardian of sorts for Tidus for 10 years, so he does have some knowledge on how to parent a young man.

Alignment: Sosyne as Auron normally is a very calm individual, trained as a monk to be battle hardened and not panic in situations where normal people would. However, when his ire is truly up or in the thick of a fight, calmness is replaced by action and anger at his opponent.

Other: As Auron has accomplished his revenge and all that he set out to do on Spira, he might actually be a bit more approachable. Over time, anyway. He'll be bringing with him his clothes, his Spiran katana and a jug of questionable liquor.


⌈ SAMPLE SECTION ⌉
Remember that we ask for samples that show 1) core character portrayal and 2) some use of emotions, such as environmental effect. You can also use the same sample source for both, just make sure to directly link or quote the emotion portion. We highly encourage using the Test Drive, and you can use prompts from the Test Drives, Intro Logs, and the Task board if you need them. Refer to the main application page for links and more suggestions.

General Sample: http://empatheias-ooc.dreamwidth.org/164808.html?thread=19804616#cmt19804616

Emotion Sample: [Auron sat down in the field, his legs crossed and tucked close to his body. Although skeptical of the importance of emotional magic, he couldn't deny that this place certainly prized the idea. He supposed it could be like any skill – hard to accomplish at first but growing easier with practice. His Spiran katana rested in the grass beside him. He'd heard much lauded about his skills, but when he'd started learning art of weaponry, he'd been flat out terrible.]

Nothing like getting kicked down to beginner. [He could meditate – something he'd also trained over time as a monk – but this exercise seemed to be the opposite. Emptying the mind and relaxing was the opposite of feeling. He could try thinking about something he enjoyed, but his past experiences and his altered existence as an Unsent had divorced him from a lot of simple joys.]

[Maybe...maybe he could concentrate on something he did appreciate now: being grateful to be alive. To feel blood in his veins, his heart beating, the sun's warmth on his skin. His senses felt much sharper than he remembered while Unsent and he felt simply...thankful.]

[The grass around him had grown more vibrant in response. He thought it might be a trick because how could that even be possible? But it was true. He could track the color change with his eye. In a circle around him, the grass was definitely a lighter, brighter shade than the grass further out.]

Hunh. I don't know what good coloring grass does, but it's a start.


Questions: I think I'm okay!