Art: 'Only Original Characters 2' Roleplay

I am playing an Alternate Universe version of my character, Rivek, in a roleplay on Gaia Online. The concept is that your character has died in their world and re-appeared in a new plane ruled by five warring factions. These Planesborn dislike Outsiders - the dead who have appeared in their afterlife - and each Faction has a different idea of what to do with them. They are all arguing but their overarching ruler, the Lady of Cerxes, instructs them to find the "perfect" Outsider to represent their case in court.

Rivek dies in his canon way. But his body is so badly damaged he has to make a deal with a one-eyed god from his Alisian religion. The god offers him a contract: if he helps Outsiders, then his scars will slowly heal up. But since the mind and soul cannot be tied to such a damaged form, they have to be tied to physical objects. He signs and loses the hawk-magic he has in canon. But instead, gains a sword (the physical talisman for his mind), a mask (the totem for his body), and a giant pair of wings (the token for his soul).

He cannot physically part with any of these items. However, if anyone were to grab hold of these talismans, that part of him would be at complete mercy to whoever picked it up. At times, he plucks out feathers from these wings and turns them into quills, to write smaller contracts with people.

The premise gives an interesting level of play - and character action is all about motivation. At his top level, he seems like a nonchalant, friendly fellow who drinks too much and causes too much trouble. But really he is scheming for the best way to get his form back. This is because he has an underlying fear that his current state is very weak, and he will no longer be human if he doesn't recover from his scars. However, he does not recognize that as his core, the humanity he seeks really will come from his actions.

And, since I am a judge and not a contest participant, I added a layer of complexity that my character does not know about: his amethyst-eyed god isn't a god at all. He is a Faction leader who knows morally questionable magics. Rivek is not the "perfect" Outsider, just a tool to find his Faction's representative (from among the contestants' characters). And in the end, he will have to face a choice and give up the body and humanity he's worked for here or let the Faction destroy the world he came from. Obviously, he's a hero, so you can guess what he'd do. ;)

 

He happens to be covered in burn scars. Also, somehow due to a severe lack of eligible male characters in this game, Rivek happens to be the most suitable bachelor. I drew this to ask the women of Serendipity, "You like this freak? Just what are you smoking now?!"

 

So I've drawn him in a more anime-appealing style, and well, he had a certain interaction with my friend's character, Laveris (you can read it all here). Well, he's a bit of a flirt, and she's a bit of a hedonist, ehehehe... 

 

A would-be tattoo design. Basically, he is a happy-go-lucky bartender who trades stories with people, trying to 'help' them out (usually in ways they don't think they want). But a particularly evil character, Devaena, finds out through some eavesdropping that he hast these three talismans. As evil folk are wont to do, she decides she has to have these items. Clearly, this is not something Rivek wants to happen.

So, he muses over the possible threat with Lurp, and she decides to shape-shift into a giant spider and attack Devaena. However, since Devaena is a Yugoloth in disguise, she uses her magic powers to trap Lurp in a sphere-spell.

Devaena goes off looking for more trouble, leaving the Lurp-sphere in her room at Dead Man's Meet, the inn where Rivek works as a bartender. She weaves a spell so no one can come into the room. Rivek... doesn't actually go into the room. He jimmies open the window and slips a wood ramp in, letting the sphere roll outside on its own. But since she weighs significantly more than he does, he grabs the window ledge as he falls, spreading his normally hidden wings to cushion himself. He hides Lurp in the kitchen and goes back to work.

This means Devaena is out to get him for good. So, after the sphere-spell wears out, he asks Lurp to shift into himself, so the pair can fake his death. It takes a few replicas of his talismans and a lot of tortute (death by a thousand cuts, anyone?), but the pair is successful. And bonus, Rivek manages to set Devaena on edge by alerting the Peace to her.

Now, he is hiding out, running opium between different dens.

Hence, 'dead men tell no tales.'

Rivek drinks gin and dances blues because he's secretly an old man from the Prohibition.