App for Ataraxion

P L A Y E R I N F O R M A T I O N
Your Name: Ket
OOC Journal: beautiful_dreamer
Under 18? If yes, what is your age?: Plenty old enough
Email + IM: musemail42@gmail.com | flutterpony
Characters Played at Ataraxion: Nowi nowi_wins

C H A R A C T E R I N F O R M A T I O N
Name: Senri
Canon: +Anima
Original or Alternate Universe: OU
Canon Point: Book six
Number: Random is fine

Setting: You can find good general information here. There is some more in depth information about the various characters and places on this site.
But the tl;dr is he's from a low tech fantasy world with a mostly arid climate, rising political strife, and some people have animal powers.

History:
Senri was born to a tribe of people who live in the mountains between Astaria and Sailand known as the Kim-un-kur. They are unique in that world because they view receiving an anima as a blessing from nature, and +anima are treated with respect. Senri's father was a bear +anima himself and one of the tribes more accomplished warriors. When Senri turned eight, his father took him out for his first hunt. It should have been easy, but they ran into a mad, man eating bear that had been stalking the mountains recently. They tried to withdraw, but the beast cornered Senri and tore out his eye. His father fought the bear to the death in order to protect his son. Unfortunately, the fight was so intense that Senri's father lost control of his anima and went berserk once it was over, attacking everything in sight. Including Senri. It was at that moment that Senri received his own anima, ironically from the spirit of the mad bear his father had just killed. Senri only just barley survives by killing his father.

You would think that would be enough of a tragic back story for any character, but you'd be wrong. Before the wound on his eye even finished healing, his tribe was attacked by Sailand's army. Anyone who wasn't killed was brought back to their country to be sold as a slave. +Anima usually fetch high prices, but the trauma was so evident on Senri that he was a tough sell and wound up going at a bargain price. The woman who bought him, Crystala, was well known for being a kind and fair master who treated even +anima fairly. But Senri was a challenge. The various traumatic experiences he'd been through had damaged his psyche to the point where he had trouble remembering things, or even creating new memories. This made it very difficult for him to perform any complicated tasks.

Many people would have given him up as a lost cause, but Crystala actually worked out a solution. She gave him a book and told him that if he kept a memento of anything important in it, then he would be able to remember. She added a flower to represent herself and from that point on, he was able to remember her. She also discovered that he had trouble controlling his anima when he was angry, so she solved that in essentially the same way. She converted a belt that he'd been wearing when she bought him into an eye patch and told him that as long as he wore it he'd retain his humanity. That one actually worked a little too well. Now Senri goes berserk whenever the eye patch is removed. The fact that either of these worked at all is significant because there is nothing special about the book or the eye patch. Nothing. They're not magic, they aren't made of special materials, and there's no charms on them. Totally normal. So why do they work? Because Senri believes they do. The ability to remember things and to keep control of his anima are things he always had, he just needed some way to bring them out.

Obviously, Crystala did a lot for Senri. It's probably not surprising that he really likes her. Which is why it's almost unfortunate that he was separated from her caravan while they were traveling in Astaria. They were attacked by bandits and Senri was lost in the struggle. Crystala did search for him, but never found him and eventually had to move on. Very little is known about the several years that Senri spent on his own after that. It seems that he just wandered from place to place, largely living off the land.
Eventually he came to Abon Village, where he began living in the field of flowers outside the village. The villagers liked him, bringing him food and supplies. Especially because he defended the village from bandits. The town was being troubled by yet another group of bandits when Cooro and Husky rolled into town. A crow +anima and a fish +anima respectively, they were the first +anima Senri had seen in some time. They helped him defend the village and afterward, he decided to follow them. In the next town they became involved with a gang of street urchins and wound up picking up a bat +anima called Nana.

The four of them travel the countryside together having pretty fluffy adventures but since most of them just involve Senri being along for the ride, I'll just go over the ones that have significance for him. While traversing a canyon, they meet a peddler named Rose who turns out to be a cat +anima. She and Senri become close and he takes a flower hairclip from her to remember her by. To her credit, she just lets him have it without protest. They also meet up with a battalion of soldiers who are traveling through the same canyon. Their leader, Igneous, has an intense dislike for both Kim-un-kur and +anima, so he's immediately hostile towards Senri. Senri doesn't like him much either, but they manage to part ways without incident. This time anyway.
The next time they run into those soldiers Igneous draws his sword on them and Senri responds in kind, activating his +anima. A local blacksmith stops the fight, lecturing both of them on drawing weapons rashly. He tells Senri that 'the power of a +anima is the same as a sword. It's not something you should use randomly to pick fights.' This does seem to resonate with Senri, and he's far less combative with Igneous the next time they meet. The kids stay with the blacksmith for while, helping him with his work. It's a fairly peaceful life. Eventually they move on.

Several towns later they hit Maggievil, a town dominated by a large gladiatorial coliseum. While Husky and Cooro decide to compete in the games in hopes of winning money, the kids decide it's better off if Senri doesn't. They're concerned that he might hurt someone with his claws. Senri doesn't mind, but when Nana also goes off to do other things, it does leave him wandering the coliseum alone. At the same time, a young boy called Pinion is trying to escape some government researchers who had been keeping locked up. They only brought him to the coliseum to test his unusual ability to draw and accurate map of anyplace he's seen a least once. They hope to find a military application for the skill. The boy runs into Senri and asks for his help. This leads to a merry little chase through the building which ends in Senri busting down a wall into the arena where his friends conveniently are. And in the meantime, Nana has hooked back up with Rose, who turns out to be Pinion's sister. They all manage to escape and Rose takes Pinion with her.

Several more fluffy/silly adventures later, they reach the town of Sandra. While the other kids are discussing what to do next, Senri spots a child with a stuffed bear. He follows her for a few minutes until some men start chasing her. Senri needs to stop finding lost children. She also asks for help ad he doesn't even hesitate to pick her up and start running. They actually escape their pursuers fairly quickly considering Penelope makes Senri stop several times because she saw some candy she wanted to buy, and a dog she wanted to pet, and let's stop for a drink of water, and any other silly thing that popped into her head. Senri never even questions any of it, just obeying whatever direction she gives him. Except one. She asks him to remove his eye patch so she can see his face better, but he firmly refuses. He knows he needs to keep that one. Eventually they are found by a boy who turns out to be Penelope's fiance (arranged marriage) and it turns out the the bear was a present he'd been going to give her and that she had just run away from home as a bid for attention. Senri does get a hug and a flower for his trouble though, and it's not as if he minds anyway. The other kids are concerned when they finally find him though. They should really stop letting him go off on his own....

As they leave Sandra the kids are passing by a mountain range and Senri begins to act strangely. He tells them he's going to the mountain and just starts walking. Somewhat at a loss, they decide to follow him, assuming there is something important on that mountain. There is. It's actually the mountain range that is the home of the Kim-un-kur. At the base of the mountain they run into Igneous and his soldiers again, but this time he asks for their help. His commanders have ordered him to negotiate with the Kim-un-kur so the Astarian military can establish a base in the mountains. They have a mutual enemy in the kingdom of Sailand so the Astarian government thinks the arrangement should work. Unfortunately, the Kim-un-kur won't negotiate. They won't even let the soldiers onto the mountain. Igneous asks the kids if Senri could act as a go-between to facilitate negotiations. Senri is going to the mountain anyway, so they agree.

On the way up the mountain, they see a bear which triggers a flashback to the day his father died. This is all too much for Senri's psyche, so he passes out. The Kim-un-kur, who have been watching the party's progress decide to step in and help, although they make it clear they're only doing so to help one of their own. Back at the Kim-un-kur's village the kids meet Upas, another bear +anima, who used to be friends with Senri's father and he tells them what he knows of Senri's past. Unfortuntely, believing that the mad bear's spirit must be extinguished, Upas lures Senri away from the group and attacks him. The eye patch comes off during the struggle and Senri goes berserk. They probably would have fought to the death, but Cooro and Husky intervene. Cooro realizes that the last thing Senri did before going berserk was reach out to try to get the eye patch back. So he finds it and uses the advantage of his wings to get behind Senri and put it back on them. Meanwhile Husky retrieves Senri's book and threatens to destroy it if he doesn't calm down.

It works, and Senri snaps out of his rage. Upas, upon seeing the children fight so hard to protect Senri, decides that he can trust them to keep the mad bear under control. Afterward, Husky decides that he wants to go to Sailand to see his mother, and Upas agrees to show them the way through the mountain pass as long as the other children agree to go with him. Husky is reluctant to ask, since he knows that Sailand is a dangerous place, especially for +anima. But of course the kids all agree to go. An awful lot was waiting for them in Sailand, revelations about Husky's past, complex social and political issues, and a reunion with Crystala. But unfortunately, Senri is coming to the Tranquility instead...



Personality:
When people first meet Senri, the impression they tend to get is is a very serious, stoic young man. It's a partially correct assumption. It is almost impossible to tell what Senri is thinking and his face rarely betrays much expression. He rarely loses his composure in a crisis, and isn't prone to any extreme emotional reaction. It has been suggested that he keeps his emotions in check to better control his anima, but Senri has neither confirmed nor denied this suspicion. This image is aided by the fact that Senri is generally very quiet, speaking only when necessary. Cooro and the others usually have to prompt responses from him. And even then, it's rare to get more than a word or two out of him. That said, he has no real problem answering question or giving opinions if you ask for them. Expect honesty though, because it really wouldn't occur to him to lie.

But despite first impressions, Senri actually is pretty emotional. The problem is that he doesn't display his emotions the way most people do. The clues are more subtle. He is an extremely kind and gentle person, and often goes out of his way to help others. When he saw Pinion running away from the researchers, he didn't hesitate to come to the child's aid. And at the time, he was unaware that the boy he'd saved was Rose's brother. He also has a strong protective streak, and was willing to stay in the field at Abon village for months just to defend their crops from bandits. And he never expects to get anything in return. He helps people because he can. He's very loyal to the people he cares about. He was willing to fight for Crystala after years of separation and with no concern for who her opponents were. If Crystala didn't like them, then they were bad. Simple as that.

Senri is also quite naive, and will generally accept what he is told at face value. His tendency to just go along with whatever he's told makes him very easy to trick. Nana often expresses concern about leaving Senri on his own, since she believes that bad people will take advantage of him. This is probably wise of her. Especially because Senri is disturbingly obedient. Unless he actively dislikes someone, (like Igneous) he will generally just do whatever they tell him to. In fact, he rarely worries about the moral implications of what he's doing. When Penelope ran away from home, he still helped her to evade concerned relatives. And he'll frequently take the side of anyone who has been nice to him and defend them, not really caring who is at fault.

Another common misconception about Senri is that he's stupid. This is not true. He's uneducated and illiterate, but actually has learned a number of useful skills. And he can be taught new things by a patient teacher. He is a little slow on the uptake, but that has a lot more to do with the severe psychological trauma he's been dealing with for most of his life. While Senri's anima is fairly well controlled thanks to Crystala, traces of it will always surface. Senri growls when he's angry, and tends to examine new things by smelling or tasting them. He will also lick wounds before even thinking about things like bandages.

Abilities, Weaknesses and Power Limitations:

In his world, some people are granted powers by animal spirits. In Senri's case, the spirit of a bear saved his life when he was only a child. This makes him stronger, tougher, and grants him better physical senses than a normal person. It also allows him to transform his arms into a bear's claws. Usually he just uses one at a time, but he does transform both arms on a couple of occasions. When not in use, his anima appears as a tattoo that runs the length of Senri's right arm.

The downside is that Senri's anima is tainted with the madness of a deranged man eating bear. This, combined with his peculiar blend of psychological damage, results in Senri being more feral than most +Anima. And under the right kinds of emotional stress, or just plain losing his eyepatch, Senri can lose control and undergo a dangerous full body transformation. In this state, he has no recognition of friend or foe and just attacks everyone.

As far as other abilities, Senri is very good with various wilderness survival skills. Not that they will be terribly useful on a spaceship... He's also a skilled woodcarver. Yay?
Inventory:

His regular outfit
One book with various small object pressed inside
One leather pouch
One long hunting knife
One small whittling knife
One hand knitted scarf

Appearance: Here he is!
Age: 15

AU Clarification: N/A

S A M P L E S
Log Sample:
The kitchens are the logical place to look if you want to find food, but Senri is having a hard time. Not the he isn't finding food, he's just not finding the specific food he's looking for. He picks up another box, sniffing it curiously. Nope. Not this one either. Jars are tougher. They're sealed too tightly to catch much of a scent from inside them. There's no choice but to open them. Hmm... no, not this one either. Everything is of course helpfully labeled, but that does Senri very little good considering he's illiterate. If he could, he would know that the little brown beans in this can are coffee beans. But the scent is intriguing, so he tries one.

Ugh. Bitter. He frowns and puts it back Having checked everything in this particular cupboard, he turns to survey the kitchen again. He spots a door he hasn't tried yet. It seems worth a shot.

Except that door is actually the refrigerator. Like many things he's seen since he arrived in this strange place, the blast of cold air takes him by surprise. He closes the door quickly. Taps it several times with a finger. Then looks around hopefully. If someone else is in the kitchen, maybe he can ask them. He's alone though. So he very carefully eases the door open again. It is very cold in there. Odd... But there's also more packages of food in here. He tries several of those before giving up.

The kitchens are too large and searching them could take forever. And he's pretty sure he saw some bees the last time he was in the oxygen garden. It'll be easier to get honey that way. It's been a while since he had wild honey, and Senri is looking forward to it.

Comms Sample:

Senri has very little understanding of technology, and is illiterate and non-talkative on top of that. This makes networks very difficult so I'm providing two samples here. The first is intended to show how how will initially approach the network and the communication devices. The second assumes that some kind patient person has taken the time to properly explain it to him.

Sample 1-

[The screen flickers on to reveal.... the floor. And then the ceiling. And then a very extreme close up of Senri's face. He sniffs at the screen before holding it away from himself. From the look of confusion, it is very possible that he has no idea what this is. But now that he's noticed the tiny person on the video he tilts his head curiously.

Tap... tap..... he pokes the screen twice with a finger, then frowns. Yeah, he has no idea what to make of this. But when the little picture on the screen finally speaks probably in frustration he blinks and lets out a small noise of surprise. It can talk. Now he looks at the screen with an expression of interest, listening to what the other person is telling him. Maybe they can explain what this is and why he has one...]


Sample 2-

[Senri's understanding of the network is a little better now, although he very rarely uses it to contact anyone. And he still hasn't mastered sending messages to specific people yet. So everyone is treated to the sight of Senri's face, tilted to a strange angle. A faint smile appears when he realizes that he's done it correctly, and someone is on the other end. Good. Because he has a question. He turns the device so that the video displays one of the gymnasiums. He seems specifically focus on the treadmill. When he pushes the button, it starts..... moving. The belt loops around again and again. He can't even imagine a use for this thing. But he's sure someone else knows.]

Found this....

[Oh, wait. That wasn't actually a question. He's slowly learning that words are required to communicate with this thing.]

What is it?

[Someone should record this, he's said five whole words today. Or maybe they should just hang up, since otherwise they'll have to explain gyms to Senri.]


An odd request- I noticed on the FAQ that characters can arrive in their undergarments. While that isn't necessary in this case, I'd like to request that in lieu of undergarments he can wake up with his eye patch on. Because without it, the first thing he'll do is go berserk and attack someone. Is this alright?