Post by Blake Mcdermott on Dec 12, 2010 0:11:09 GMT -5
Blake Mcdermott
"Let’s make a deal; you and I."
"Let’s make a deal; you and I."
NICKNAMES: //[/color] Writes books under the pseudonym of ‘Mary Belle’ , makes himself known in underground circuits under a myriad of alias, formerly known as Blayne Cobhthaigh
AGE: //[/color]27
DATE OF BIRTH: //[/color] February 29th
GENDER: //[/color] Male
ALIGNMENT: //[/color] Neutral Evil
OCCUPATION: //[/color] Magus, Novelist
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HEIGHT: //[/color] 1.72m
WEIGHT: //[/color] 62kg
EYE COLOR: //[/color] Reddish brown
HAIR COLOR: //[/color] Black
PIERCINGS: //[/color] Two on either ear
TATTOOS: //[/color] Command seals in the shape of the Ourobous on the back of his left wrist.
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: //[/color]
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- Self-serving
- Self-centered and an egotist, the largest priority in Blake's life is, well, himself. No matter what he might do, or how he might seem, rest assured that the end results of his actions will end up benefiting him in some manner or another. He is very much a selfish bastard, and he makes no illusions about it to himself.
- Charismatic
- In spite of how much of a conniving bastard Blake may be, his charming, suave, and charismatic exterior is flawless. Because that kind of act’s what wins him points in public. Shamelessly deceitful, manipulative, and calculating, each and every one of his associates are only such so long as they remain useful to him, and yet, for some strange reason, they are always there. Indeed, there are even many who might call Blake a friend, not knowing any better.
- Flexible
- The only thing that is ever constant are his goals. If the direct approach doesn't work out quite the way he wants it do, then it is quite obvious that a rather less orthodox is called for. The realization of his desires usually come at the cost of crushing those of others underfoot. And truly, Blake couldn't care about the insignificant pieces that just happen to get caught up in his actions. It is also with these values in mind that Blake is able to make, with confidence, rapid and often risky decisions on the fly.
- Detached
- More than just a trait, his utter lack of empathy has become completely engrained within his character. He doesn’t choose to disregard others; it just simply doesn’t occur to him. As a result, his decisions are cold and calculating; his reasoning almost mechanical. Being selfish and manipulative is something that comes naturally; any other person else may very well be a bit of furniture; a dog; an insect. But he is not malicious. The way he views the world may be compared to looking through a film. And Blake knows this. What’s more, he sees it as an asset.
- Meticulous
- If there’s something that Blake is not, then it is careless; a contingency for every plan, and a fallback for every choice. Risk is something to be taken in measured doses. Minor inconsistencies will inevitable lead to errors; a single fraying thread will lead to the unraveling out of the whole cloth. Humans are fickle creatures, and so Blake compensates by making his plans watertight in all other areas.
- Self-regulated
- The few things that Blake makes up his mind about, he makes his mind up for good. Somewhere in that twisted mentality of his, there does exist a rather curious set of ‘rules’ that he adheres to, albeit one that will only ever be known to Blake himself.
LIKES: //[/color]
Books & literature in general
Drama
Cooking
Spicy foods
Surprises
Knives
Cats
DISLIKES: //[/color]
Loose ends
Excessiveness
Irrelevance
Unquantifiable details
STRENGTHS: //[/color]
Deceitful and duplicitous, cunning and conniving; his tapestry of lies is weaved so thick that nobody, perhaps not even himself, could possibly hope to see through it. And but of course that’s precisely the way Blake likes it. It’s virtually impossible to pin him down; he’s slippery, his network of informants astoundingly vast. He’d probably be able to talk circles around you, disappear just when you think you’ve tracked him down; the sort of person who delights in infuriating his enemies.
He knows how a human mind is supposed to tick, and he’s not afraid to take advantage of it.
WEAKNESSES: //[/color]
Blake tends to be a perfectionist; worry over the little details. And, no matter what he might like to think, he’s only human. Holding impossibly high standards for yourself can’t exactly be healthy, after all.
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MY FAMILY LINE: //[/color]
The family that Blake was born into boasted of a lineage stretching back all the way to the Age of Gods, mired in over two thousand years of history, and though their records are mired with large swathes of blank areas, holes, and inconsistencies, theirs was a family that had been firmly established within Clock Tower and the Association from earliest memory. And that was what made their fall into obscurity even more demeaning than it already was.
For now, it is safe to say that the Cobhthaighs no longer exist. In any shape, or in any form, and although the beginnings of their gradual decline may not be pinpointed, it can be safe to say that the family’s death was spelt out in clear letters the moment that their crest was no longer compatible with their eldest heir.
The last head of the family had 453 prana, over three quarters of which were from their crest. Blake, or Blayne, when he was born, had a mere fraction of that, and, incompatible with the crest, most of the prana-intensive spells that his family were known for was closed to him.
MY HISTORY: //[/color]
Retrospect is a rather curious thing, and doubly so in Blake’s case, for a multitude of reasons. Twenty-seven years ago, Blayne Cobhthaigh was born as the sole heir to his line. Twelve years ago, Blayne Cobhthaigh disappeared off the face of the earth, taking all traces of his family with him. And Clock Tower never even got the chance to blink at their passing. And presently, one certain Blake Mcdermott emerges from whatever rock he was hiding under to participate in Lucca’s Grail War.
Those are the unmitigated facts.
During his early years, Blayne’s handicap was not at all readily apparent, his studies progressing at an easy pace; the boy proving to be a bright student. The family held high hopes for him, and the boy, impressionable, eager to impress, and hungry for approval strived to meet those standards. Although holding no such illusions about reviving their family, and recognizing their dwindling circuit count for what it was, they reasoned that their crest could make up the difference for Blayne. Except they had no idea the family had gone downhill that far.
It didn’t take long for Blayne’s ‘lack of talent’ to catch up with him, though, to the point that his father outright refused to give him the crest. But if what he lacked was inherent ability, then he would make up for it in other ways. Clock Tower was a traditionalist institution; it didn’t recognize anything other than its archaic perceived notions of power, but Blayne would prove it otherwise. He would show his family, and the world, what he could do. He would prove to them that nothing was unattainable; that nothing was out of reach.
When he was fourteen, his family finally settled on the decision to adopt another child. She was eight; also from another soon-to-be obsolete family with antiquated values. But her name was unimportant; who she was – even less important. No. Her very existence was the concern at that point, slated to take away everything that Blayne had ever worked for. At that point, something occurred to him; a thought.
What was the point in striving so hard to appease such an outdated, redundant, and narrow-minded system? Clock tower was stifling, and the association was nothing more than a rabble of pretentious bigots.
All of a sudden, there seemed very little point in listening to what that flawed system was telling him. Of course he was being held back, of course his potential was being stifled.
Such a revelation was what planted the gears into motion. It would have been pointless to attempt to succeed within the smothering confines of the current association. He would have to work either outside the system, or not at all.
Just because his innate power was merely ‘average’ didn’t mean that there weren’t ways for him to work around that. Even though the Cobhthaighs were a dwindling family, they still possessed a fair number of artifacts, most housing enough power for Blake to at least consider filching them from them. But he was patient. He would take his time; minimize risk.
Eventually, the Cobhthaighs left him out of the family talk altogether, leaving him as a stranger in what was supposed to be his own home. But he had learnt to disregard that; he gathered his own intelligence, formulated his own plans, constructed enough of a network both inside and outside of the Association that he had enough backing to create a safety net.
It took a little over twelve months but, in time, his plans were finalized; loot everything of value within the household, and flee. But, like most endeavors, things didn’t go quite as planned. He had assumed most of the items he was after were stored in the family vault; a place he had not visited in almost two years. He had not taken into account that the items might have been moved after the transferal of inheritance rights.
It contained nothing but useless trinkets, superficial baubles that he couldn’t use at all.
And although it was possible to have left there and then, he, well, he wanted to make a statement. Recalling snippets of overheard conversation and stolen glances, he had surmised that the library was the next-best place for those ancient family artefacts. And he was correct. To a point.
Long story short, everything wasn’t quite as he expected, and he had managed to get away with only a handful of second-rate trinklets while also somehow managing to burn the entire manor down in the process. And he kind of stabbed his mother in the eye, through the brain, and out the other end in the process, but that was all in the spirit of good, well, something.
He disappeared before they could track him down, not that ‘they’ were trying very hard; everyone who cared very much were probably bone and ashes.
He had contacts in several underground organizations in the UK, the Sicilian Mafia, the Camorra, and the Cosa Nostra, just to name a few, and not including the number of allies he had found within Clock Tower. He first fled to America; changed his name, went ahead and told everyone he was a Scottish immigrant, wrote books and short stories as a hobby, and to make some chump change. With the paperwork to prove it. Even worked as an ethics teacher for a time under false credentials, before deciding it was too formulaic. But he kept the cats.
He would have occasional correspondence with contacts in the association, although their insistence on snail mail made responses delayed without fail. He would get large amount of his funding from offering tips to both authorities and criminal gangs alike. Other times he would act as a consultant for a large percentage of profits. Suffice to say, even though his lifestyle was never particularly lacking, he worked quite the myriad of odd jobs and alias to stay on top.
His magus studies were never neglected.
It was only recently that he caught wind of the Grail War in Lucca, while he was visiting some contacts over in England; the cover was a trip back to meet the family. That was seven months before the start of Lucca’s Grail War. What seemed like a long time to most anybody else was too short for him. He moved to Lucca two months before the start of the sixth Grail War. He brought his cats with him.
MY GOALS: //[/color] Blake's got many goals, though one of the foremost is to reach Akasha. Just to prove that he can. And another is to overthrow the current association. The former will lead to the latter. And winning the Grail War will be the catalyst.
However, should he fall short of those two, creating a niche for himself in the history books seems like a fair goal too.
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He has all the modern amenities that one can be expected to be had. Three laptops, one PC, a multitude of wireless tracking devices, a mobile phone that doubles as remote access to his computers, and much, much more. In fact, with contacts and favors to call in from all around the world, it can be said that as long as it’s on the market, Blake can get his hands on it somehow.
He usually carries around a set of thin metal throwing needles; not exactly knives, but easier to carry around. He pretends they are very expensive toothpicks. But what he really uses to defend himself are not fancy sharp metal implements, but guns. Considering the people he knows, getting a hold of firearms isn’t exactly hard, and he usually carries at least one sidearm on his person at all times, with enough ammo to fire off twenty-eight shots.
A collection of magical artefacts also grace his collection, but that’s for the spells section~
RANK: //[/color] 6th
ELEMENT: //[/color] Average one [not that he utilizes it much trolol]
EXPERTISE: //[/color]
Deception: Misleading, insincere, and often outright deceptive, this has almost become second nature to Blake. He can make up entire personas on the fly, and every second phrase that pops out of his mouth may very well be a lie. Falsehoods and trickery is what he lives on, and if he wasn’t good at it, he most certainly wouldn’t be living long.
Perception: It takes one to know one, and Blake is very, very good at picking out character. He can just as easily pluck out threads of deception as he can weave them. Not only this, but he can even just as easily discern insecurities, discomfits, unmask those dirty little secrets that should never see the light of day, just from a conversation. He knows the cues, the hints, the clues. How people are supposed to tick.
Knifeplay: A hobby of his, which he picked up just over ten years ago. Mostly just a pastime, but it’s proven useful at times. Able to hit a target from 20 meters away with pinpoint accuracy, ten years of practice certainly gets one somewhere.
MAGIC CIRCUITS: //[/color]
7 circuits at 4 prana each, resulting in 28pr.
SPELLS: //[/color]
Interference [wind]
Rank: D
Cost: 10pr
Range: 50m
Effect: Although Blake is incapable of conjuring up high-level spells, it doesn’t take much to disrupt circuits. Being refined into one-line, a thin stream of Prana snakes into an opposing mage’s circuits, making future spellcasting difficult for some time to come. However, depending on the magus they may be able to still caste most of their repertoire, or none at all . Generally, any C-ranked or above spell has a good chance of backfiring, as well as spells that take up more than a quarter of available prana. It doesn’t last long, however; maybe at most something like five minutes, and it is most effective right before a spell is released (imagine somebody poking their leg out to trip you while you wake right before you walk past them).
Redirection [wind]
Rank: D
Cost: 6pr
Range: 50m
Effect: Another simple, one-line spell, similar but slightly different in application to Interference. Being unable to meet spells unleashed by opponent magi head-on, a simple spell redirects the trajectory of other spells. More powerful spells will most likely be unaffected, but E and D ranked spells have a large probability of going off course and missing Blake by a large margin. If numbers must be taken into account, then it can be estimated that anything costing upwards of 25 prana will only be veered off course by a little, something that costs the same amount or less may be redirected right back, and anything more than 50 prana probably won’t be affected at all.
Gold watch
Rank: -
Cost: -
Range: Self
Effect: A strange little trinket that Black picked up when he left the house. Inlaid with all a manner of gems, undoubtedly to focus prana or somesuch, it does much more than just tell the time; it gathers the mana. Although the amount of mana in the atmosphere is usually spread thinly, the watch is a decades old relic, and, as a result, has gathered a sizable amount of prana for use. But it does something more. It is a veritable tracking device for areas with large concentrations of prana; both mana and od. Despite it’s previous use, it may also be used to siphon away remnants of escaping od, or any congregation of prana without an anchor, really. With no upper limit, it is well within Blake’s interests to go around killing other Masters and Servants.
Although Blake can't exactly siphon away the prana located within the item for himself, what he can do it use it as a medium to cast spells through, sort of like swapping a battery. It has an initial count of 100pr.
Miscellaneous trinkets
Rank: D
Cost: -
Range:
Effect: Blake’s gathered up quite the number of souvenirs in his travels, and none of them are much use on their own. Often just one-use items like a single, generic-casting of fireball or something, and this one lovely silver spoon which detected prana in the vicinity, none of them are particularly impressive in their own right. It must be said that no effect exceeds a standard fireball in damage, and none of them would be particularly dangerous to any competent magus.
Rain [Fire]
Rank: B
Cost: 80pr
Range: 200m, 5m diameter area
Effect: Despite the rather innocuous, and very misleading name, ‘Rain’ is a two-verse spell that makes a small area blistering-hot, with temperatures upwards of 1000 degrees Celsius that are more than enough to cook a human by combusting all the oxygen within a certain area for sixty seconds. Even if the heat doesn’t kill an opponent, the suffocation probably will. A memento of the Cobhthaighs, and known only to Blake in theory, he nonetheless keeps it in mind in case he might use it.
PLAYER'S NAME: //[/color] Sunny/Creeper
FACE CLAIM: //[/color] Orihara Izaya, Durarara
OTHER CHARACTERS: //[/color] Emma, Vicky, Anne, Isaia
MISC. INFORMATION: //[/color]
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