FAQSo what are the different elements? They are Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Light and Dark. Six in all, though there is one other category that won't be available.
Which category is that, and why is it unavailable? The seventh category is called by its companion cat, the Jaguar. It's unavailable because it's the only category that can control all six elements at once-everyone else can control only one element, and this isn't changeable. Jaguars, when they do appear, will be distant to the characters played in the rp and are NPCs only. This is to keep things fair to everyone taking part.
Ok... So what's this about a companion cat? This was mentioned in the interest check briefly, but each character will also have a companion cat, depending on their element. This cat can talk and shape change, taking one of three different forms-the house cat, the big cat (in the case of all the cats but the Iriomote Wildcat, that is) and the battle cat. For this cat, think of your regular cat-i.e. a tiger-and make it as large as a Shire horse. That is your battle cat.
But a Shire horse is massive! Well, that's kind of the point, in this case-your character will, at some point, be riding their cat into battle to protect the planet from external forces.
Well, that makes sense... What are the different kinds of cat, though? It's a little more complicated than that, and for this, I shall actually try to use the list feature, for once. It goes by element, emotion, cat, weapon.
- Water, Sorrow, Tiger, Martial Arts.
- Fire, Happiness, Lion/Lioness, Glaive (a staff the same height as the user with a steel spike on one end and an eighteen inch long blade the other).
- Earth, Anger, Iriomote Wildcat, Sword (this can be a rapier, a double edged broadsword, a greatsword, anything that's a sword, essentially).
- Air, Playful/Cheeky, Snow Leopard, Bow and Arrow (this will generally be a longbow, made from yew wood grown by the Earth Guardians. The arrow heads do differ, depending on what you're shooting at, so please keep in mind that a regular arrow can't pierce plate armour and will just bounce right off!).
- Dark, Deceptive, Black Panther, Clawed Brass Knuckles (think Woverine from the Xmen).
- Light, Serene, Cheetah, Staff (also made from yew wood, this staff is specially grown so that it's stronger than that of the Air Guardians' bows. This is to keep it from snapping in the middle of a fight, or from being cut in half by an enemy).
Wow, that is a lot of info! Hey, you didn't say anything about the house cats there. Why not? Simple-there was already a lot going into the list! Here's the house cats and their larger counterparts, complete with links to pictures of the cats for you:
Right, so that's all the cats, then. Is there any particular features that the characters should have? Actual facial features and physical descriptions are, of course, up to the player-however, I do ask that Earth Guardians have brown hair, Air have light blue hair, Fire have red hair, Water have dark blue hair, Dark have purple hair, and Light have yellow. Shades of said hair is up to you, though.
You mentioned something about battles? I did, yes. Now, the characters in this rp aren't complete newbies to the Island-they have been here around a year or so, long enough to have earned the right to enter the Cattery and be chosen by their cat. This means that they have at least a basic control of their powers, preferably more, and have learned about the enemy that they face.
This enemy is the Goddess's evil younger twin, the Star Father, and unknown to the world at large, the Guardians have been fighting him since their formation centuries before, because of two reasons: one, he has held the Goddess captive for time immemorial (She was only able to create the Guardians because his grip on Her weakened for a moment) and two, he keeps attacking the planet in an attempt to destroy it. The Guardians 'ride out' from the planet into space to face his horde of Hounds in space where they won't be seen and cause a mass panic.
Wow, wasn't expecting that twist. So does that mean space suits and the like? No, no space suits-the students of the school are placed into groups of twelve (six boys, and six girls, one of each from each element) and have to work together to keep each other safe. That means air is provided by the Air Guardians, and warmth by the Fire Guardians. Once again, though, it gets more complicated than this.
Again?! Yes, again. Now, you've likely noticed that each type of element has its opposite-this works among the Guardians, too. So the Light Guardian girl will work more with the Dark Guardian girl than she will any of the others.
Well, that makes sense... It does indeed. Also, the Light, Fire and Air Guardians can heal the other members of their group, but while they are doing this, they will need protection-which is where the Dark, Water and Earth Guardians come in. For example, if the Air Guardian needs healing, she can't do it herself, so the Light Guardian will heal her while the Dark and Earth Guardians protect them both.
Interesting. What if they combine their powers? And how extensive are those powers, too? A classic example of combined powers would be earth, fire and water. Earth raises the ground, fire heats it so it becomes molten lava, and water cools it so it hardens into proper rock-voilà, there's a new platform of rock that can be used for taking off from the Island. You can use your powers whichever way you wish, but you
cannot become the element itself. That's a no-no. Using it is possible, becoming it isn't.
Well, there goes that idea. Oh, yeah-you mention in the prologue you put up that they take on some cat like features. Are they actual neko people or furries? Neither. The only thing that turns cat like is the pupils of the eyes-instead of the circles a regular person has, they would gain the slit-like pupils of a cat. Other than that, there are no cat features, though any physical imperfections that the person may have (such as being overweight, having bad eyesight or having a limp) will dissipate as they go through the transformation and gain control of their powers.
Ok, fair enough. What about the story? You said that this rp was based on it, right? I did, yes. In fact, the story and rp will run alongside each other, and new chapters will be posted here in the OOC thread when they're ready. Events seen by the entire school-such as a Masquerade Ball I have in mind where the main character will be attending as her Jaguar self-will be available for the rpers, too. With players' permission, their characters may even appear in the story itself, and places that are particularly described in the rp will also be used in the story.
So... the story and the rp will be augmenting and bettering each other?Exactly. =^.^=
And we can have more than one character if we wanted?You can indeed-this is Alpha, after all, and having two human characters and their cats would certainly help to fill out the quota needed. Don't forget that these are talking cats with personalities and interactions all their own-for example, a Norwegian Forest could jump onto a Savannah cat behind the owners' backs, and the two could have a wrestling match while the owners are talking about something. They could finish talking, turn to find their cats and ask what they think, and find them completely the other way around, with the Savannah pinning the Forest.
All right. What about their history? Something about the children being fostered? Yes. Children stay with their biological parents until their fifth birthday, and then go into fostering. Foster parents are carefully vetted, so any child abuse in their histories happens before the fifth birthday
only. Eye change-and therefore power emergence-doesn't happen until the child hits their teens, and there isn't a guaranteed chance this will happen. It will also only happen
before the child's sixteenth birthday, so the maximum age of a new Guardian will be fifteen years eleven months and thirty days and no older.
Why are the children fostered, exactly? This is to protect the children, really-if they were still living with their biological parents, then there would be arguments between the parent and the Guardian about the Guardian taking the child to the Island for teaching. Also, it gives children from poorer families a better start in life, as all the foster parents involved are carefully checked before being given a child to care for.
How is the transformation discovered? By a video game helmet that covers the entire head of the child, which then analyses the child's pupils while they play. This is done on a daily basis for all children from the age of eleven, for an hour after school during the week and at home by the foster parent. This is the only time the child is allowed to play video games, and if the change does begin in them, then it sets off an alarm on the Island with the child's details. Remember that there is only six hundred Guardians at once, not including the Jaguars, so they wouldn't be inundated with large numbers of new students!
So my character could be seventeen and have only just got their cat? Yes, they can, because it can be a few days after their first completed year at the school that they receive said cat. Remember the age limit?
Fifteen years, eleven months and thirty days. So is that it for the information? As far as I know right now it is, yes. If anything new comes to my attention I will add it in here for you.
Great! What about a character form? I will put one up for you another time, but it will be simple enough-name, nickname, age, gender, personality, element, type of sword if you're an Earth Guardian, description of both you and your cat, as well as your cat's personality, and your character's history.
What about your characters? Who will you play? Ah, now this is a tricky one... I don't want it to seem unfair on anyone, and I know some people will likely think it is, but my characters won't be anyone from the group itself. I shall play the NPCs (the teachers, for example, and when needed, the Jaguars-which will hopefully be only in extreme situations) so that there is at least some guidance to the rp itself-not to mention, people will need to know what their characters are meant to be doing when in battle.
All right... What about a character list and application form? Oh, and the posting list, too! Well, posting list will be set once everyone has made their first posts, and if someone has a new character to add in, then just post when you feel it's appropriate to-i.e. right after an NPC post, or when everyone else has, or when arrangements have been specifically made here in the OOC. As for the player list, it is currently as follows:
Light Girl and Cat: Sarah Canary Pritchard the Second and Sir Nesmond (JDizzle)
Light Boy and Cat: Arthur Williamson and Bandit (thetruegarsot)
Dark Girl and Cat: Mary Elizabeth Strauss and Arnott (Cotton)
Dark Boy and Cat: Jace Radford and Xavier (Luna)
Fire Girl and Cat: Shirah and Felicia (Jirou Kirou)
Fire Boy and Cat:
Water Girl and Cat:
Water Boy and Cat: Francis/Scar/Wattson and Lizbeth
Air Girl and Cat:
Air Boy and Cat:
Earth Girl and Cat: Kara Alester (Luna)
Earth Boy and Cat: Edaine (eh-dane) Foster and Ella (Cotton)
Here's the NPC list so far, which will be updated as needed when new chapters are added (speaking of which, here is the
link to the story itself). To those curious, the Disciples are the leaders of their factions and will often act as teachers to the newer Guardians (in other words, your charries will know them and they'll know your charries).
Jaguar girl and cat: Anna Firerose and Annete (Annete is a regular cat, though she will be able to speak at some point, too, and Anna will be getting another cat as well-this will be her 'official' companion, though she will spend time with Annete).
Jaguar boy and cat:Female Disciple of Light and cat: Sienna Ray and Sandy (Sienna is also the Headmistress of the school)
Male Disciple of Light and Cat:Female Disciple of Dark and Cat:Male Disciple of Dark and Cat:Female Disciple of Fire and Cat:Male Disciple of Fire and Cat:Female Disciple of Water and Cat:Male Disciple of Water and Cat:Female Disciple of Air and Cat: Aliana Breeze and Castrina
Male Disciple of Air and Cat:Female Disciple of Earth and Cat: Marina Earthwar and Jadine
Male Disciple of Earth and Cat:Other NPCs also include:
Matthias Firerose, Anna's father and second in command to the Disciples of Fire
Asteria Firerose, Matthias's wife and Anna's mother, the only 'Landy' (i.e. powerless person, non-Guardian) on the Island.
And of course, I promised you a form as well, so here it is:
Code:
[b]Name of Character:[/b]
[b]Name of Character's Cat:[/b]
[b]Character's Element:[/b]
[b]Character's Age:[/b]
[b]Character's Physical Description:[/b]
[b]Character's Personality:[/b]
[b]Cat's Personality:[/b]
[b]Character's History:[/b]
This part I would like as detailed as possible-what was your charrie like before they were sent for fostering? How did they react to being taken from their birth family? Did they get on with their foster parents? Where were they when they found out that they are Guardians? Detail is always a good thing, so don't hold back!