notdavinci

Mun: Sar
Plurk: Combeferret
Email: aislin.cross @ gmail dot com
Personal DW: fisher_queen

OUT of CHARACTER
Name: Sar
Other characters: Joly

IN CHARACTER
Name:Siroc
Fandom: Young Blades(PAX)
Canon point/AU:
Post series
Journal: notdavinci
PB: Mark Hildreth.
History: http://youngblades.wikispaces.com/Siroc. There’s a small bit of information regarding what little canon the show has given for Siroc at this link, though it does not touch on many concrete interpretations of the canon. Given the lack of information besides the official Young Blades webpage description, I’ve had some room for interpretations.

Considering that the show takes place in the 16th century, at a time when protestants, known as Huguenots, were persecuted by the Catholic church, and taken as slaves for their refusal to convert under a system of law that held very little, and often ignored religious protections, and the biography itself, it seems likely that Siroc was taken as a slave due to his religious convictions, and this is the interpretation that I choose to work with here.

Siroc was born to Protestant parents in a France that was, at the time, predominantly Catholic. When he was a boy, his family faced a good deal of persecution for their religious status, but held firm in their beliefs, and in teaching their son to believe the same things. The young Siroc, then known as Sebastien Rainier, took in these lessons of faith, and they were important to him, but he was far more interested in matters of science than of religion and spent his days reading and learning EVERYTHING he could get his hands on.

While he was aware that there were problems in France, and that it had something to do with his parents and the things that they were teaching him about God, Sebastien was not too worried about it as they were problems that affected other people and not his immediate family. There was a law, the edict of Nantes, which was supposed to allow protection for those who were not Catholic, even as it established Catholicism as the state religion of France, so it seemed that things might be all right.

Indeed, things were alright for a time, until enforcement of the edict began slipping. Under Louis XIV, control of this edict slipped away, and, eventually, more rules and laws persecuting Protestants came into being, driving many to flee the country. As time went on, things became worse for Sebastien’s family in particular. His father was killed in a demonstration, his mother grew ill and died soon after, leaving him with a little brother and sister to take care of.

Unfortunately, the death of his father had alerted authorities to the fact that his family were protestant, and it was not long before soldiers came to take his siblings away, and to attempt to get him to convert. Sebastien, then a teenager, refused, was jailed, experienced some torture of the type designed to wring conversions out of people, and was eventually taken as a galley slave.

Admittedly, in actual history, the taking of Huguenots as galley slaves happened a bit later, but given the canon’s way of playing fast and loose with history, fantasy and everything else (including a finale in which the characters meet Alexandre Dumas who is writing their story), one can conclude that dates in universe are different, and provide a rough guideline to history rather than strictly following events

At any rate, he spent a good portion of his teenage years, and early twenties working as a galley slave, desperate to escape his position. During this time, he thought and planned, and then attempted many escapes, some on his own, and some via slave uprising. However, none of them worked very well, and, as a ringleader, Sebastien often found himself paying for his actions. While his plans were brilliant, they often did not work out very well, and were the work of a well educated young man who had not experienced much of the actual world until he was taken captive.

Eventually, however, by a sheer chance, and a shackle that was breaking down, Sebastienwas able to escape while the slaves on his ship were being transferred to another, as part of a cargo trade in Paris. It was hard to believe at first, but he managed to get away and find a hiding place in a stable far away enough from the docks that no one would ask questions. He planned to stay there a few nights, maybe, and then to move on somewhere safer, but fate intervened.

Not long after he had found his hiding place, Sebastien was spotted by a young man in musketeer uniform who informed him he was trespassing in the stable of the musketeers. Rather than report him, once he’d gotten a good look at the exhausted and obviously hungry man, the musketeer introduced himself as Ramon, a poet who had fled Spain for mysterious reasons, and offered him some help.

It was at this point that Siroc actually chose his name, recognizing the need for a pseudonym if he ever wished to be safe again. When he had told his story to Ramon, the poet remarked that he had swept in like a great windstorm, a Sirocco. Liking the sound of that, and that it gave him a chance for greater safety, Sebastien became Siroc from that point on, and was glad to accept the aid that he was offered.

This aid, as it turned out, consisted of hiding Siroc within the musketeer barracks, giving him a place to sleep and wash and eat for a few days. Both of them were confident that the gig could go on until the exhausted Siroc recovered a little, and could return to seek out a life in Paris, but, as it turns out, he was discovered by d’Aratagnan, son of the original and famed d’Artagnan, who saw no problems in reporting Siroc’s presence to the head of the garrison, Captain Duvall.

Duvall, recognizing tenacity and courage when he saw them, and heard Siroc’s story, was not eager to turn him out into the streets, even though he was not exactly thrilled to hear that someone had been hiding in his garrison without his knowledge. Instead of turning Siroc out completely, he offered him a deal. If he could learn the basic skills of a musketeer within six weeks, not to perfection, but enough to show some aptitude and dedication, he would take him on as a cadet, the same as the other students there, with his basic expenses paid for, in exchange for his service.

While it was still service of a sort, it was service which left him with an option and a choice, and Siroc had a good friend who was willing to help him learn, and a d’Aratagnan who was willing to push a new guy further when asked to by the captain.

At the end of the six weeks, Siroc was certainly not perfect, and still made more than a few mistakes, but seeing that he had dedicated himself so fully to the life of a musketeer, he was accepted into the company, though it would be several months before he was judged good enough to begin going on patrols throughout the city.

With his new freedom in front of him, and granted several hours of leave each week, Siroc was able, not only to develop his skills as a musketeer, but also to devote himself fully to science and inventions, and, as a result of the education in his youth, and the new materials he was now able to access, he found himself truly valuing the wonders of science in what felt like a brand new world.

As a few years went by and he developed more skill in both fighting and science, Siroc became not only a musketeer, but an inventor as well. He learned how to make flying machines, a watermelon bomb, a submarine, and a prototype machine gun (all examples are canon and most of them later failed) . If his inventions did not always worked, well, there was always another chance to return to the drawing board and start again, just as he managed to start his life again. At home, in Paris, life was going fairly well, until, for whatever reason, Siroc found himself in Panem and caught up in a whole new system of slavery, one which he most certainly does not approve of, and in which he’ll do anything he needs to to survive.


Presentation:You know that aloof scientist who gets very excited about things that no one else can understand, and seems aloof and a bit set apart from the rest of the world? That would be Siroc. At least, that would be Siroc to anyone who fails to pay attention to him and what he’s doing.

Siroc’s tendency to lapse off into overly technical explanations of everything around him, and that dazed look he gives you if he’s interrupted in his work all support those assumptions that he is cool and aloof with a tendency to get distracted when it comes to ordinary life. This is, truth be told,part of who he is, but first impressions are not everything.

Once one breaks through Siroc’s layers of technobabble, which can be accomplished fairly easily with a joke, a confession of something serious, or an actual problem to be solved, he becomes much more approachable, and quite willing to help others in need of any sort of aid. His experiences, both in his early life and after becoming a musketeer, have made it impossible for him to ignore those in need of help, a trait which can make him a good ally in the Arena, unless, of course, he trusts someone he shouldn’t, making him an even better target. He’s certainly trusted the wrong person a few times in his life, and been tricked into schemes which could have had horrible ramifications if they weren’t stopped in time.

For example, there was the time he was tricked into building a prototype machine gun from plans rumored to belong to da Vinci. If his fellow musketeers had not stepped in to stop him, and to encourage him to destroy the weapon and the plans he had been using, things could have ended rather badly. As it was, his participation in that little scheme got him into a good deal of trouble, and, when he destroyed his work, really pissed off Cardinal Mazarin, a man who, in the tradition of the genre, has his own shadowy motivations and a great deal of power in France.

There are many times when Siroc’s devotion to science does get into the way, and overrides his humanity and better impulses. He’s tested love potions on his friends, destroyed his commanding officer’s desk because he needed the nails and bolts holding it together, and caused chaos in the garrison when more than one invention has gone wrong. One positive thing that can be said about this tendency of his is that Siroc is, at least, also willing to test his experiments and projects on himself, and they ARE well researched, really.

One would think that a man who has devoted so much time to his studies in the years after his escape from slavery would be a bit of a slouch in the physical department, but this is rather far from the truth. Although he is shorter than most of his fellows (Jacqueline, a woman disguised as a man for the purpose of entering the musketeers, is even a few inches taller), and not especially muscular, Siroc’s years as a galley slave helped him to build up strength through exercise, and he is much stronger than he looks.

He’s faster too, once he has a blade to hand, and has proved himself a capable fighter on more than one occasion. He may not be naturally gifted like d'Artagnan and Jacqueline, and is a little self conscious about this fact, but he’s worked hard to keep up with his friends,and enjoys the physical challenge that fighting with a sword presents. After seeing him in action during a fight, it’s certainly difficult to dispute the fact that this man of science can certainly defend himself and others should he need to. Separated from his friends among the musketeer cadets, he is not likely to be performing at his best, as a lot o their movements and tricks of the blade depend on fighting with each other, but he is good at coordinating those movements and making plans, a skill which would extend to any allies who he works with.

Overall, Siroc presents as a decent candidate for the arena with enough weak spots to make watching his performance interesting in matters of human nature as well as in displays of fighting. And his big brown eyes and mop of dark blond hair make him just attractive enough to keep an eye on for shallow purposes as well. He’d definitely present as an interesting candidate in any sort of arena.

Motivations: Given that Siroc has had to win his freedom, or rather, steal it, once before, he is likely to be unimpressed with the Capitol and the games as a whole. His version of being unimpressed is rather quiet, and it’s the sort of thing he is likely to keep to himself for a long time. Siroc learned the art of keeping your head down and doing as you are told the last time he was under someone else’s control, or rather, he learned the consequences of refusing to do as you are told, and that they can be rather dire. Because of his previous experiences in this department, he is more likely to bide his time and wait for the right moment to do anything in terms of speaking out against the capitol.

While he would abhor the idea of killing someone else in order to survive, and has religious convictions that go against this very idea, religious convictions he once would have died for, it’s very likely that he’ll try to keep his head down and follow the rules of the games, even so far as killing goes. He’s had to do it as a musketeer, for self defense and for the purpose of defending others, so he’s certainly got some experience in that department, and fear, at least as far as the first few arenas go, is likely to be a strong enough motivator to keep him in line. After that, he is more likely to grow disgusted enough that seeking other options would become attractive.

In terms of what those other options might be, Siroc is more likely to suggest working quietly and on the downlow. There are alternative ways to seek information than by simply being told, and he knows several ways to eavesdrop without being caught. ...He thinks. It’s quite possible he would be caught attempting to do such things, and he is not a good enough liar to pull off a convincing story, which could easily lead to trouble.

As he learns more of the world, and his natural curiosity allows him to explore science and how technology works, Siroc is likely to attempt to bypass the controls that keep him in the capitol’s eye. After all, how else can those who want to stop this fight without a little sabotage. He’s also willing to take the fall for said sabotage,and to sacrifice himself for an important principle, more willing, in fact, than he is to take the fall in the arena. This could present some really interesting opportunities as time goes on.


Setting: Siroc is likely to react with curiosity upon first coming into Panem, even in the middle of an arena. He’ll probably be full of questions, want to measure everything he sees, and will continue attempting to do this, as he is permitted in each new setting. He’d certainly be the type to analyze each original arena, and to look for patterns amongst them. He’s also the type to theorize that such patterns even exist, and likely to get overconfident in his ability to beat the gamemakers if he finds anything like those patterns in the arena.

While the idea of killing others is not pleasant, it is something Siroc has had to do, and he’d be able to pull it off without a lot of moral difficulties in the moment. After he’s removed from an arena, the guilt of whom he killed, and how, and when, is likely to sink in, and to disturb him for a while.

The idea of living after death will also be quite strange to him, and might very well lead to Siroc questioning his faith a bit. Being placed in a world where there does not seem to be a god, and the rules of life are changed is quite likely to be confusing and overwhelmingly terrible, and he will need some help, and to make connections that can help him through the initial shock, but once those things have happened, he should be able to pull through.

In the capitol itself, Siroc is very likely to flourish. He’s certainly interested in invention and technology, and can probably be found, whenever possible, watching scientists do their work, and perhaps learning a little about it himself. He’s rather more likely to be fascinated by the concept of body modification as it is done in the capitol, and while he is too much a man of science to truly care about fashion, he’d certainly not fight it if a stylist attempted to do something in the way of modifications on him. In fact, he’d rather welcome it.

Given the chance at a new life, as disgusting a life as it will turn out to be, Siroc is likely to be vastly excited at first, and he will want to explore everything he can. He may come off as rude at first, as he’s much more likely to break into a conversation by asking questions out of nowhere, or to rope people into his bizarre experiments, depending, of course, on whether or not he is allowed to do so. I could easily see him making friends with scientists in the capitol, and perhaps,accidentally, and in the name of SCIENCE, giving birth to something horrible as the result of meddling. While he would feel terrible, and try to make it right, he’s quite likely to repeat mistakes like this in the future, as the lure of technology draws him in.

Overall, Siroc would find the games abhorrent but would be willing enough to play along, at least at first, and would love spending time in the capitol, engaging in whatever he’s allowed to take part in, at least as far as the near future goes.



SAMPLES
First Person Thread:

For Tributes:

[Well. Siroc hadn’t quite believed them when they told him he’d be waking up again, and would compete here until he won. The concept of death was so finite,and there was a part of him that had really been looking forward to heaven if he had to die. The fact that he’s resurfaced here, that everything is *real*, and, most of all that he’ll be doing this AGAIN is not exactly happy. ]

I could say I was disappointed in how this all played out, or that knives hurt even more when they’re being run through your jugular. Or that I’m not surprised I finally went down, because the fact I have survived as long as I did, alone, IS pretty surprising.

[Those last few lines are bordering on sarcasm to say the least, and, though he’s keeping his voice calm, it’s clear Siroc is not exactly happy.]

The fact that you can use a fallen tree branch to stab somebody in the throat is new,and fairly painful, and I wouldn’t say I enjoyed that, but I’m filing it away for future use of my own because an innovation like that deserves repeating. All in all, it’s been a very educational experience,which I know I won’t be able to forg…

[Then he’s stopping, running a hand over his face,and through his hair, then letting out a massive sigh.]

I died. I died and I came back to life and here I sit, well, technically recline, among you. The facts are simple enough,and they’re staring me in the face, as we’re speaking, actually, but everything I know of...anything, suggests this isn’t possible. Everything I know of life,and faith and order doesn’t touch on this. So far as I knew, God doesn’t work like this.

And because I died before many other people did,that means I need to do this all again. Is this what people mean when they bring up the souls in purgatory,maybe? Because if it is, I’m developing a new appreciation for that process. And I really don’t, not that I think that my wants matter now, but I really don’t want to be here for another round of it.

...May I go home now? Sorry, but I've had enough.


Prose:While the instructions had been clear enough, Siroc found it extremely hard to believe them. Trapped in a strange place to fight to the death, like a gladiator, he understood well enough,even if he saw no reason why. The concept was not foreign, and he’d lived as someone’s slave through his teen years and a bit into his twenties. The best thing to do where that was concerned was bide his time and look for openings. Escapes worked better when they were well planned, and he’d need to get a lay of the land before he tried anything else. And,if Siroc could help it, he’d rather not anger those in power with a failed attempt just yet. If that meant playing their games, he guessed he was resigned to it.

For the moment, that meant doing as well as he could with this test, impressing them as best he could. Of course, given the weapons that lay before him, the performance would probably be a bit lackluster. There was a foil of some kind laid on a table, and he caught sight of that first, crossing towards it, then all of a sudden, stopped, and turned to face his judges as something occurred to him.

“I doubt I can impress you very much with this, if I’m alone.” He called, trying to keep his annoyance from sinking into the words he spoke, as he grabbed the weapon anyway, and made his way toward a practice dummy, launched himself into a spin, and neatly lopped off its head.

“Do you see what I mean?” He asked, now slicing off the target’s arms. “If this were a real person, someone putting up a fight, it’d actually be,” He struck another pose, stabbing the dummy in the heart this time, “Much more interesting than seeing me flailing around. I doubt that any of you want to be here, watching all of us doing the same thing, time after time.” He added, circling back around the table, gathering what materials he could. He’d need to build a base, first off, and several of the flatter, heavier swords could work for that, and then some lighter supports, and braces, arrows from a quiver of them did the trick, and the string from a nearby bow worked well enough to hold the structure in place for now. It wasn’t perfect, not by any means, but those would do for now.

Some more materials, which he’d have never chosen for the task himself , went into building up a throwing arm and makeshift mechanism that allowed for a slinging motion, and a sling itself finished the project with just enough time to test the rather clumsy trebuchet he’d put together, and there weren’t many objects he could launch.

His shoe though, that might do the job. Removing that, and settling it in the sling, Siroc turned his trebuchet, as awkward as it was, to face the forcefield, tugged back on his launching mechanism, and let fly. If gravity was on his side, it ought to bounce off that shield, and back to hit one of the dummies.

And something happened with that launch, though it was nothing like Siroc had planned, or hoped. instead of taking to the air, the shoe bounced back to hit him in the face, and his not so carefully engineered, and very doubtful machine buckled and hit the ground, in pieces, right as the buzzer signaling his time was up began to ring.

Could anyone here say disaster?

What is your character scored: 8


Based on his physique and form in canon, as well as the ingenuity he’s demonstrated in the past, Siroc should be scored around an eight. He’s demonstrated a definite survival instinct, an ability to think outside of the box, and enough weapons skills to help him out when it comes to fightin.

This demonstrates his ability to do well in an arena if he is provided with the right tools or weapons. It also shows off his great tenacity and desire to survive. Siroc is a contender to look out for and his innate need to live at any cost will definitely give him some advantage here.

Additional information: Question specifically for certain character types. Feel free to ignore if it does not apply to your character type. Please answer all that do (For example, a past victor AU would answer both their question, and the past victory question)

Past victor: Please describe your character's arena, and their relationship with the Capitol since.

Past victor AU: What district is your character from? How do they feel about home?

Hunger Games AU and OC: What is your reasoning for the capitol to include your canon doppelganger if they app in? What district is your character from? How do they feel about home?