Alvin (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
opportunitycosts) wrote2021-08-31 10:25 am
opportunitycosts) wrote2021-08-31 10:25 am
[ application] songerein
Player: Laena
Age: 34
Contact:![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
laenavesse
Current Characters: n/a
Character: Alvin
Canon: Tales of Xillia 2; year after post true ending and CRAU from![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
forgottentales
Age: 28
Background Information:
wiki; write-up (includes link to a write-up for first game information)
Look the guy has a lot of stuff here is a very short run down:
Alvin had a very rough life growing up that shaped him to be the iconic Tales traitor. He was a spy using the mercenary work as his cover and played pretty much everyone he met. Of course he knew he what he was doing and wasn't exactly proud of any of it, but he had his own reasons. Alvin's world compromises of two continents, Elympios and Rieze Maxia, and he hails from the former while trapped in the latter. Eventually he would meet Jude and Milla and after being involved and partying up with them, he finally begins to find a new path for him to walk as well as a new place to be, especially when his primary motivation for everything, returning his ailing mother back to Elympios, is tragically lost.
After changing alignments for the last time to side with Jude and Milla, he helps them destroy the barrier between the two continents and starts working on finding his own path. It should be noted at this time that it's revealed that Alvin comes from a highly influential family, but although he is the legitimate successor as head, he declines it all. He keeps his name, but he doesn't go by "Alfred," opting to choose with his new name, "Alvin." That isn't to say he doesn't respond to it or denies it, but he would prefer "Alvin." In the first game, he acknowledges that he's too "feral" to make the cut with the noble prestige and he honestly prefers his more "commoner" life.
Sp instead of dealing with family politics, he becomes a businessman, partnering with Yurgen to try and get fruit trade going between the two countries. As an aside, this would actually be an idea he heard from Presa once. He would later be pulled back into the whole adventuring and saving the world gig after he meets Ludger and Elle, and everyone learns that their world comprises of fractured dimensions, or alternate dimensions based on their world. He would help see everything through before once again returning to his life as a businessman.
CRAU Portion:
—Or so it would be until he joinsis dragged by Leia into the Realm of Stories to help deal with the problems caused by the Story Eater. They also encounter Julius which was...a bittersweet reunion. With the Essence of the Frog Prince, he joins the others in traveling to different stories to help repair and restore them. Since Leia's Essence was the Frog Princess, the two were stuck together—not that he minds, it made it easier for him to keep an eye on her. For the most part he played a supporting role in taking care of things in the setting while others reenacted scenes. In a story that is a mash up of Beauty and the Beast and The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, he is cast as the Beast in the final scene with Leia. Aside from that, he was only there for a short time and aside from a very bad rough patch he had with Leia that was later reconciled, nothing really notable happened. Having experiencing the cursed life firsthand, he will be wary of the fae and fairies in Songerein.
Personality:
Alvin is a complicated character with two full game's worth of development. In order to talk about how he is now, one has to understand how he used to be.
Alvin was the traitor of the series. He lied, backstabbed, did everything for his own self interests and while he did have his reasons (bringing his ailing mother back to their home in Elympios), that doesn't excuse any of it—and he fully recognizes that. But he was basically a guy who had the world shit on him and had to deal with that. He does begin to change toward the end of the first game and vows to turn his life around—to no longer be the guy who always got his hands dirty. So with this is mind, here is how he is now—or at least trying to be. A lot can happen in a year, but no one does a full 180, especially not when they've been through what he has.
At the end of the first game, he is ready to put all the lies and dirty past behind him. He's not going to pretend they didn't happen, but he doesn't want to be like that anymore. He really, truly, regrets all the things he's done and tries to live an honest and good life—or at least as much as he can. He wants to have friends. He wants to be trusted.
Joining with Yurgen is a big chance for him to do just that. The problem is he still has to deal with Elympion culture and if you add the natural sleazy underworld that plagues business in general... It's obvious that Alvin is a natural businessman, able to charm the clients and figure out the best opportunities for both sides to play the perfect hand for deals. However, Alvin doesn't use underhanded methods to cheat, and will readily call anyone out on it and walk away from it. It's one thing to compromise and barter around, and another to do it at someone's expense. Sure he might use the common tactics having having people hype up a product, but he won't misrepresent it as he fully believes in what he sells.
In addition, he doesn't use his family name to take advantage of any deals, instead preferring to work from the ground up and make a name for himself. He hates the bureaucratic life and wants nothing to do with it. However, that doesn't mean he's going to ignore his potential "power," either. He might no longer be associated with the family much, but he's still a Svent and he still has it in his back pocket. He'll make the connections when he has to, but only when he has to. And if anything, he'll use Balan to help since his cousin is pretty influential himself. But even when he does, he'll pay them back. He's not going to just blindly use his advantages—it's more like calling in a favor that he'll make due.
Known for his lies, Alvin is still capable and he knows how to throw a story when it's needed, but he no longer lies out of self-interest or malicious intentions. "Harmless" lies, you could say, and he does not lie when it comes to business. He fully means it when he says he wants to be more honest with his life and who he speaks with. There may come a time when he has to, but he won't like it.
Alvin is still a secretive individual, but now he's more likely likely to open up and tell someone about his problems or misgivings than he would have in the past. He also would be more likely to tell more about himself than he would. There are still a lot of skeletons in that closet that he'd rather stay locked in, but he'll fully acknowledge that they exist. More importantly, he's not going to be keeping secrets at the expense of others or for his own self interests. However, if a secret must be kept he is now your best bet as he won't be spilling them to anyone else anymore.
Alvin will also volunteer himself to play the asshole villain or the fall guy. Compared to everyone else in the group, he's had the experience and the dirt to do it with. He's not exactly proud of it, and never feels good about it when he does, but he has long since accepted that that's how he used to be and that it will always be a part of him. However, he will only do this when necessity calls for it, and he doesn't mind being the distraction when needed.
All that said, his loyalty is something that is definitely there now and he is more than likely to stand by a friend's side through thick and thin. He's not going to outright bail on someone like he would have in the past. However he also won't make any promises he knows he can't keep as he does not want to hurt anyone through that way again.
Alvin's always had that "real world" practical sense, and this continues to be a prevalent factor in how he goes about things. He's mostly an optimist, but he's more of a realist optimist. He knows that not everything is going to go as planned, and he knows how to handle when shit hits the fan. He will say what needs to be said, even when that time may seem insensitive. Having been to the bottom of the pit many times, he knows better than anyone that you can't just sit there and have to keep moving on.
That all said, he still has that immaturity about him, too. He might not crack as many blatant innuendos, but he can still throw them out there, especially implied or hidden ones. He's still one to joke, to tease, and spin tales for the fun of it. He's also still very much the casual, laid-back, pal around type of guy that he has been, but there's more of an "older" feel to it.
He has a lot of confidence, playing it cool and keeping up his appearance. He's also quite shameless. But his weaker sides are also more exposed and no longer tries to hide behind a forced mask. He knows it ruins his "cool" image, but there are more times when he appears vulnerable, especially when something is truly getting to him. His confidence isn't a complete charade, but when it gets shaken, it's shaken hard. But most importantly, he's more true to himself.
A large part of this development comes from him facing and fighting himself in one of the more painful Fractured Dimensions. By doing so, he is able to kill his past. There is also Presa in that same dimension, and as she was a big part of his life it needs to be mentioned that her death at the Hollowmont and in the Fractured Dimension made him realize how useless he was at the time and then later how much he truly regretted everything. It's bittersweet, but she helps push him forward.
Abilities & Inventory:
Alvin is a tank. Seriously, his main stat is strength, he packs a lot of vitality, crits like a madman, and his specialty is breaking through guards. To translate that from game mechanic terms to "real life," he's a strong, seasoned fighter who would be a formidable foe in the battlefield. His main weapons of choice are his gun and broadsword, both specially designed and both wielded together. As mentioned, he can pack a punch and put enough force to stun his enemies, especially with his charged attacks.
As his fight style suggests, he's ambidextrous. His dominant hand is the left hand, and he first learned how to fire a gun with this hand. He then later trained his right hand so that he could wield the sword. Due to the special design of the weapons, he can combine them to "charge" and boost his attack power. Going into a charged state also allows him to perform his artes in a slightly different variation (so same skill, but with boosted power and slightly different look and sometimes mechanic, such as one three shots instead of one). Thus his dual weaponry allows him to attack both long and melee range. In addition to his skill in weaponry, he is decent in hand-to-hand combat.
In terms of how adept he is with his weapons, when it comes to his gun he is an ace marksman. He only knows how to use a handgun, but he can aim very well even from far distances and seems to know the right spots to hit when it comes to inanimate objects. As for his sword, he's no fencer and actual swordsman "style" isn't really that big on his list, but he knows how to wield it. Less than actual defined style, he just moves where he needs to. He has his own stances and is very dexterous with the blade despite its large size. He is also pretty quick and nimble with it, too—again, not on par as someone wielding a slimmer sword, but more than one would expect. He makes up his lack of speed with force—each swing counts.
In addition, he now has his father's gun. It's a basic revolver so not as fancy as his main gun, but he is capable of using it and can duel wield both guns. However, since it's an heirloom, although he always carries it he doesn't bring it out to battle and only has it if he can't have his sword with him.
Most important to note is his lack of a mana lobe. Or rather, the inability to use his. Since he can't use his mana lobe he can't perform any true spirit artes. This means all his attacks are physical martial artes. However, some of his artes have an elemental effect and his main element is fire. How he is able to utilize the elements without the use of spirits or spyrix is due to the Lilium and Allium Orbs.
For the first game, he had the Lilium Orb which helped unlock certain abilities within the user. It allowed the user to sense the intents of their companions and link up with others to grant them the ability to synchronize their attacks easily. After the schism fell, Allium Orbs were used and are based off elemental cores and he will be carrying one again.
His mystic arte (or his "special ultimate attack") is called Terminus Pride wherein he jumps high into the air, unloads his gun, combines it with his sword, and then dives down for the finishing blow. It's all fire based. Like in all Tales of games, these mystic artes can only be performed when going into "Overlimit" which can be filled constantly. So to translate that from game mechanics and be more realistic, it means they have to be really energized in battle. So this move wouldn't be done unless it was against a tough opponent and it was necessary.
Now for some non-fighting abilities, Alvin grew up living the life of a spy and traitor. Although he's trying to turn over a new leaf, that doesn't mean his skills from the old days are wasted. He's good at reading people and can weasel his way into learning information. He's also good at deceiving by saying just enough to get the foot in the door and make his way in. That also means he's good at deflecting or turning topics back around if it starts to head in a direction he doesn't really want.
As a businessman, he'll read his customers and clients and be able to tell when a deal is going to work and or is going south. Even when it's not, he'll still try to turn it around, but he won't get bent out of shape if it doesn't. That also means he's also learned to read and play the market. He might not be the best there is yet, but he has the talent and makings for it. Handling money, accounting, managing, public speaking—these are all skills he'll have developed and will continue to develop.
For the items coming in with him, he's getting his original guns, greatsword, his father's gun, and the Allium Orb. His clothes will be his default Xillia 2 suit.
Suitability & Plans:
Alvin has done a lot of development on his own, but there's still more he needs to get through. Especially with a rough past like his and the amount of changing he has to do. Throwing him in a place where he'll be forced to face his fears, nightmares, and weaknesses on varying different levels will be a great way to do just that. It'll be a great opportunity to really dig in there and figure him out. Not to mention all the new CR and influences he can have while in Songerein. He's also a very versatile character to throw into anything, so there will be no shortage of opportunities for him.
Most importantly, I really do want to give him an opportunity to prove himself. I don't know if I'll have him establish a business himself, but I do want him to get into it. He can consider it as "practice" for the real world, hah, but keeping up with the business life is a big thing. He'll also fall back to his mercenary roots when needed. There iiiiis another thing I've been wanting to play out but not sure if it'll happen. Anything that goes back to his old Exodus traitor spy days would be very interesting to play out, especially with how he would handle it now. But that's low on my list.
Test Drive Sample: Sample
Questions: why was alvin's app the hardest
Age: 34
Contact:
Current Characters: n/a
Character: Alvin
Canon: Tales of Xillia 2; year after post true ending and CRAU from
forgottentalesAge: 28
Background Information:
wiki; write-up (includes link to a write-up for first game information)
Look the guy has a lot of stuff here is a very short run down:
Alvin had a very rough life growing up that shaped him to be the iconic Tales traitor. He was a spy using the mercenary work as his cover and played pretty much everyone he met. Of course he knew he what he was doing and wasn't exactly proud of any of it, but he had his own reasons. Alvin's world compromises of two continents, Elympios and Rieze Maxia, and he hails from the former while trapped in the latter. Eventually he would meet Jude and Milla and after being involved and partying up with them, he finally begins to find a new path for him to walk as well as a new place to be, especially when his primary motivation for everything, returning his ailing mother back to Elympios, is tragically lost.
After changing alignments for the last time to side with Jude and Milla, he helps them destroy the barrier between the two continents and starts working on finding his own path. It should be noted at this time that it's revealed that Alvin comes from a highly influential family, but although he is the legitimate successor as head, he declines it all. He keeps his name, but he doesn't go by "Alfred," opting to choose with his new name, "Alvin." That isn't to say he doesn't respond to it or denies it, but he would prefer "Alvin." In the first game, he acknowledges that he's too "feral" to make the cut with the noble prestige and he honestly prefers his more "commoner" life.
Sp instead of dealing with family politics, he becomes a businessman, partnering with Yurgen to try and get fruit trade going between the two countries. As an aside, this would actually be an idea he heard from Presa once. He would later be pulled back into the whole adventuring and saving the world gig after he meets Ludger and Elle, and everyone learns that their world comprises of fractured dimensions, or alternate dimensions based on their world. He would help see everything through before once again returning to his life as a businessman.
CRAU Portion:
—Or so it would be until he joins
Personality:
Alvin is a complicated character with two full game's worth of development. In order to talk about how he is now, one has to understand how he used to be.
Alvin was the traitor of the series. He lied, backstabbed, did everything for his own self interests and while he did have his reasons (bringing his ailing mother back to their home in Elympios), that doesn't excuse any of it—and he fully recognizes that. But he was basically a guy who had the world shit on him and had to deal with that. He does begin to change toward the end of the first game and vows to turn his life around—to no longer be the guy who always got his hands dirty. So with this is mind, here is how he is now—or at least trying to be. A lot can happen in a year, but no one does a full 180, especially not when they've been through what he has.
At the end of the first game, he is ready to put all the lies and dirty past behind him. He's not going to pretend they didn't happen, but he doesn't want to be like that anymore. He really, truly, regrets all the things he's done and tries to live an honest and good life—or at least as much as he can. He wants to have friends. He wants to be trusted.
Joining with Yurgen is a big chance for him to do just that. The problem is he still has to deal with Elympion culture and if you add the natural sleazy underworld that plagues business in general... It's obvious that Alvin is a natural businessman, able to charm the clients and figure out the best opportunities for both sides to play the perfect hand for deals. However, Alvin doesn't use underhanded methods to cheat, and will readily call anyone out on it and walk away from it. It's one thing to compromise and barter around, and another to do it at someone's expense. Sure he might use the common tactics having having people hype up a product, but he won't misrepresent it as he fully believes in what he sells.
In addition, he doesn't use his family name to take advantage of any deals, instead preferring to work from the ground up and make a name for himself. He hates the bureaucratic life and wants nothing to do with it. However, that doesn't mean he's going to ignore his potential "power," either. He might no longer be associated with the family much, but he's still a Svent and he still has it in his back pocket. He'll make the connections when he has to, but only when he has to. And if anything, he'll use Balan to help since his cousin is pretty influential himself. But even when he does, he'll pay them back. He's not going to just blindly use his advantages—it's more like calling in a favor that he'll make due.
Known for his lies, Alvin is still capable and he knows how to throw a story when it's needed, but he no longer lies out of self-interest or malicious intentions. "Harmless" lies, you could say, and he does not lie when it comes to business. He fully means it when he says he wants to be more honest with his life and who he speaks with. There may come a time when he has to, but he won't like it.
Alvin is still a secretive individual, but now he's more likely likely to open up and tell someone about his problems or misgivings than he would have in the past. He also would be more likely to tell more about himself than he would. There are still a lot of skeletons in that closet that he'd rather stay locked in, but he'll fully acknowledge that they exist. More importantly, he's not going to be keeping secrets at the expense of others or for his own self interests. However, if a secret must be kept he is now your best bet as he won't be spilling them to anyone else anymore.
Alvin will also volunteer himself to play the asshole villain or the fall guy. Compared to everyone else in the group, he's had the experience and the dirt to do it with. He's not exactly proud of it, and never feels good about it when he does, but he has long since accepted that that's how he used to be and that it will always be a part of him. However, he will only do this when necessity calls for it, and he doesn't mind being the distraction when needed.
All that said, his loyalty is something that is definitely there now and he is more than likely to stand by a friend's side through thick and thin. He's not going to outright bail on someone like he would have in the past. However he also won't make any promises he knows he can't keep as he does not want to hurt anyone through that way again.
Alvin's always had that "real world" practical sense, and this continues to be a prevalent factor in how he goes about things. He's mostly an optimist, but he's more of a realist optimist. He knows that not everything is going to go as planned, and he knows how to handle when shit hits the fan. He will say what needs to be said, even when that time may seem insensitive. Having been to the bottom of the pit many times, he knows better than anyone that you can't just sit there and have to keep moving on.
That all said, he still has that immaturity about him, too. He might not crack as many blatant innuendos, but he can still throw them out there, especially implied or hidden ones. He's still one to joke, to tease, and spin tales for the fun of it. He's also still very much the casual, laid-back, pal around type of guy that he has been, but there's more of an "older" feel to it.
He has a lot of confidence, playing it cool and keeping up his appearance. He's also quite shameless. But his weaker sides are also more exposed and no longer tries to hide behind a forced mask. He knows it ruins his "cool" image, but there are more times when he appears vulnerable, especially when something is truly getting to him. His confidence isn't a complete charade, but when it gets shaken, it's shaken hard. But most importantly, he's more true to himself.
A large part of this development comes from him facing and fighting himself in one of the more painful Fractured Dimensions. By doing so, he is able to kill his past. There is also Presa in that same dimension, and as she was a big part of his life it needs to be mentioned that her death at the Hollowmont and in the Fractured Dimension made him realize how useless he was at the time and then later how much he truly regretted everything. It's bittersweet, but she helps push him forward.
Abilities & Inventory:
Alvin is a tank. Seriously, his main stat is strength, he packs a lot of vitality, crits like a madman, and his specialty is breaking through guards. To translate that from game mechanic terms to "real life," he's a strong, seasoned fighter who would be a formidable foe in the battlefield. His main weapons of choice are his gun and broadsword, both specially designed and both wielded together. As mentioned, he can pack a punch and put enough force to stun his enemies, especially with his charged attacks.
As his fight style suggests, he's ambidextrous. His dominant hand is the left hand, and he first learned how to fire a gun with this hand. He then later trained his right hand so that he could wield the sword. Due to the special design of the weapons, he can combine them to "charge" and boost his attack power. Going into a charged state also allows him to perform his artes in a slightly different variation (so same skill, but with boosted power and slightly different look and sometimes mechanic, such as one three shots instead of one). Thus his dual weaponry allows him to attack both long and melee range. In addition to his skill in weaponry, he is decent in hand-to-hand combat.
In terms of how adept he is with his weapons, when it comes to his gun he is an ace marksman. He only knows how to use a handgun, but he can aim very well even from far distances and seems to know the right spots to hit when it comes to inanimate objects. As for his sword, he's no fencer and actual swordsman "style" isn't really that big on his list, but he knows how to wield it. Less than actual defined style, he just moves where he needs to. He has his own stances and is very dexterous with the blade despite its large size. He is also pretty quick and nimble with it, too—again, not on par as someone wielding a slimmer sword, but more than one would expect. He makes up his lack of speed with force—each swing counts.
In addition, he now has his father's gun. It's a basic revolver so not as fancy as his main gun, but he is capable of using it and can duel wield both guns. However, since it's an heirloom, although he always carries it he doesn't bring it out to battle and only has it if he can't have his sword with him.
Most important to note is his lack of a mana lobe. Or rather, the inability to use his. Since he can't use his mana lobe he can't perform any true spirit artes. This means all his attacks are physical martial artes. However, some of his artes have an elemental effect and his main element is fire. How he is able to utilize the elements without the use of spirits or spyrix is due to the Lilium and Allium Orbs.
For the first game, he had the Lilium Orb which helped unlock certain abilities within the user. It allowed the user to sense the intents of their companions and link up with others to grant them the ability to synchronize their attacks easily. After the schism fell, Allium Orbs were used and are based off elemental cores and he will be carrying one again.
His mystic arte (or his "special ultimate attack") is called Terminus Pride wherein he jumps high into the air, unloads his gun, combines it with his sword, and then dives down for the finishing blow. It's all fire based. Like in all Tales of games, these mystic artes can only be performed when going into "Overlimit" which can be filled constantly. So to translate that from game mechanics and be more realistic, it means they have to be really energized in battle. So this move wouldn't be done unless it was against a tough opponent and it was necessary.
Now for some non-fighting abilities, Alvin grew up living the life of a spy and traitor. Although he's trying to turn over a new leaf, that doesn't mean his skills from the old days are wasted. He's good at reading people and can weasel his way into learning information. He's also good at deceiving by saying just enough to get the foot in the door and make his way in. That also means he's good at deflecting or turning topics back around if it starts to head in a direction he doesn't really want.
As a businessman, he'll read his customers and clients and be able to tell when a deal is going to work and or is going south. Even when it's not, he'll still try to turn it around, but he won't get bent out of shape if it doesn't. That also means he's also learned to read and play the market. He might not be the best there is yet, but he has the talent and makings for it. Handling money, accounting, managing, public speaking—these are all skills he'll have developed and will continue to develop.
For the items coming in with him, he's getting his original guns, greatsword, his father's gun, and the Allium Orb. His clothes will be his default Xillia 2 suit.
Suitability & Plans:
Alvin has done a lot of development on his own, but there's still more he needs to get through. Especially with a rough past like his and the amount of changing he has to do. Throwing him in a place where he'll be forced to face his fears, nightmares, and weaknesses on varying different levels will be a great way to do just that. It'll be a great opportunity to really dig in there and figure him out. Not to mention all the new CR and influences he can have while in Songerein. He's also a very versatile character to throw into anything, so there will be no shortage of opportunities for him.
Most importantly, I really do want to give him an opportunity to prove himself. I don't know if I'll have him establish a business himself, but I do want him to get into it. He can consider it as "practice" for the real world, hah, but keeping up with the business life is a big thing. He'll also fall back to his mercenary roots when needed. There iiiiis another thing I've been wanting to play out but not sure if it'll happen. Anything that goes back to his old Exodus traitor spy days would be very interesting to play out, especially with how he would handle it now. But that's low on my list.
Test Drive Sample: Sample
Questions: why was alvin's app the hardest