Briar Moss: Application, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
taxonomites
Nov. 13th, 2011 03:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thornandmossYOUR NAME: Tri
PERSONAL JOURNAL: tricia868
EMAIL: tricia868 at gmail dot com
AIM: trichan868
CHARACTERS IN TAXON: n/a
CHARACTER NAME: Briar Moss
CANON: Circle of Magic
MEDIUM: Book
BIRTHDAY/AGE: 20th of Goose Moon (May), chosen by Briar; he does not know what day he was born. He's not even quite sure what year he was born but guesses his age to be around 18.
CANON POINT: early Will of the Empress, before going to Namorn but after agreeing to go along and look after Sandry as a favor to her great uncle. This was really not the destination any of them had in mind.
WHY THIS CHARACTER AND CANON POINT?: I enjoy the amount of CR that can be developed when playing characters with friendly charm and/or a tendency to casual flirtation; Briar has both. The characters of this sort that typically appeal to me also have much more serious sides to their personality and history, not readily apparent to quite everyone. I've never played Briar before, but the balance within his personality is similar to that of another character I really enjoy RPing. The canonpoint was chosen because I really like the potential for rebuilding relationships at this point in time. Taking Briar from a point where he's at odds with his recently reunited foster family presents opportunity for growth and for mending himself and his relationships, particularly if Sandry or any of the others join him here. I like the exploration that comes from a canonpoint that is not a neat resolution-point. I'm typically more interested in character interaction than any specific plot, and I appreciate plots that provide a chance for working through character issues or furthering character relationships.
PROGRAMMED POSSESSION: Briar will be bringing with him his shakkan, a 154 year old carefully tended miniature pine tree that acts as a storehouse for magic. The shakkan and Briar can communicate with each other on a magical, non-verbal level, and Briar can use the tree as a magical anchor or a source for additional power when needed. The tree's basic personality is that of a profound calm and patience, though it is occasionally a little mischievous and sends out new buds when it thinks Briar isn't paying attention. Most of these need to be pruned away, and the tree knows it. Sometimes it can convince Briar to let it keep just one, though.
ABILITIES/WEAKNESSES: Plants really like Briar. He can communicate with them on a simplistic level, and they tend to get excited when he enters a garden or greenhouse, leaning toward him or sending out new growth. Before his power was found, he received nasty scars from a rose vine that liked him a bit too much. And trying to tattoo himself with plant dyes was a bit of a mistake; the vines on his arms now change color and form, developing different and often garish blooms. Briar is an ambient mage, a magic user whose power comes from a particular aspect of the natural world. In his case, that power relates to plants. Briar has both mundane and magical gardening skills. Weeding, for instance, requires no magic. He can restore old herbs and plant products to a fresh state, renewing herbal medications. Educated in the uses of all the plants he handles, Briar is skilled at putting together medicines. He has worked in disease analysis and treatment development, though not as head of the operation. Briar's area of particular expertise is in the shaping of miniature trees, called shakkans in the series. The shapes of these trees can be charms to bring a certain quality to the households in which they reside.
Plant mage may seem a harmless vocation, but Briar's magical talents can be put to more sinister uses. Bundles of the seeds of thorny plants can be scattered ahead of or among enemies and made into a lethally effective weapon or barrier as they are forced into rapid growth. He can ask plants to crumble a building, as roots crack rocks on a much slower and less obvious basis. Briar's magical power was increased exponentially by being spun together with that of his foster sisters as a preteen. He has, in the past, combined his power with that of his sisters to complete workings involving more than one type of magic. Magical bonds still connect the four, but growing up and time apart mean that they are not currently accessing these bonds for either communication or working in magical concert with a combination of power.
The greatest physical hazard of using magic is the ease with which one could pour too much power into a working, draining away life force along with magical and killing the mage.
There are other consequences too. Briar is not comfortable with the violence he has witnessed or participated in. He is plagued by nightmares after a series of atrocities and narrow escapes with his teacher, Rosethorn, and student, Evvy, on a war front; Briar can't sleep alone if he wants to ensure he'll sleep soundly. Dreamless sleep potions that would work on the average person do nothing for the plant mage but make him a little bit sleepy. Briar also occasionally sees or hears things that aren't there and flinches at certain sights or sounds, like temple bells. He isn't good at admitting a problem. He'll just do his best to be pleasant and charming to the pretty girls he meets, and if they wind up in his bed, well, it'll be enjoyable for everyone involved along with staving off Briar's nightmares. It is a fairly typical case of post traumatic stress disorder for which Briar refuses to see a mind healer. He's said that it's a "charnel house" inside his mind, and he won't inflict those memories on anyone else, particularly his sisters, even if it means lessening the burden of the trauma he has experienced.
In his younger years, Briar was trained as a thief. He maintains skills as a pickpocket and lockpick. He is in good physical shape and knows how to use and conceal knives, and to fight with a staff.
PSYCHOLOGY/PERSONALITY: Briar is fond of easy sarcasm and playful jokes. His sense of humor is a little less quiet than that of his sometimes more stoic or temperamental sisters. He is a flirt and not looking for anything serious, but he won't lead a girl on; Briar is very straightforward about what he's looking for in a casual relationship. He doesn't pursue relationships with big political or emotional ramifications, at least not right now.
With age, magical expertise, and the respect that accompanies both of those, Briar is no longer quite as insecure about his origins as he once was. He has matured a bit since he tried covering his prison tattoos with new tattoos of flowering vines, succeeding in making his hands far more noticeable than they ever were in the first place.
Intensely loyal to his chosen family, Briar would and has followed his mentor into death to rescue her, even knowing he would likely lose his own life in the process. They're the only real family or home that he's known, bonded by magic and love, not blood. Briar has a strong sense of right and wrong in spite of his early upbringing, and while he still carries knives for self defense and maintains his skill at evaluating goods and picking locks, he has not stolen anything in a long time. Though he may have left gangs and slums behind him, Briar still has strong empathy for those unable to escape from such situations. He takes note of the poorer areas and their populations, as well as the criminal activity, in cities he visits, and has been known to befriend or help people from those areas. He'll go to great lengths if someone is involved in the sorts of injustice he dislikes most.
Currently struggling with a difficult homecoming a month or two previous, Briar is not yet back on good terms with his family. He lost his old home, and the new one doesn't feel quite like home yet. Briar is hesitant to let people in as more than casual acquaintances. His family is not even much of an exception right now, with memories of the war still in the forefront of his mind. At this point, the front he puts up has acquired a bit more finesse than the defensiveness and occasional resentment of his younger years. Briar's acquired some polish, and can deal with people he dislikes politely, even with a smile. If he doesn't feel like having a childish argument or riling people up, of course.
HISTORY: http://tamorapierce.wikia.com/wiki/Briar_Moss#Biography
CANON SAMPLE: "They shaped you all wrong, didn't they?" Briar murmured softly to the foot-tall maple on his worktable. He had rescued it from a stall in the market, seeing how unhappy it was. Checking out the competition among vendors was always a good idea, but today's venture had left him more concerned for this tree than his business. If he was undersold by the seller in question, so be it. At least he actually listened to what the tree needed.
He reached into his kit for several weights of the wire Daja had brought in from the forge at his request. "This isn't gonna be pleasant, but it can't be too much worse than how uncomfortable you are already." The plant mage loosely wrapped the maple's trunk with heavy wire to begin the process of slowly correcting its shape. He shook his head, grimacing. A tree has to agree to being shaped, and to the way it's shaped; anyone working with shakkans ought to know that. As the plant picked up on his agitation, he smiled and gave the pot a reassuring pat, running a finger gently over a leaf. "Don't worry. We'll get you sorted out."
His newest acquisition settled, Briar went to the window, enjoying the breeze and idly watching the clouds shift. Long acquaintance with Tris assured him that she was probably at her own window, watching the storm be born. She was the one who'd pointed out the phenomenon in the first place, years ago.
If this were Discipline, they'd both be on the roof right now, possibly with Daja and Sandry as well, sprawled on the thatch in companionable silence or laughter and conversation. Briar looked at the building's structure around his window. The roof would be a little more difficult, but by no means impossible, to reach here at Number 6 Cheeseman Street. He pondered climbing out, clambering up right now. That would be an invitation of sorts, though. An afternoon watching the clouds together, and next thing you know, the girls'd be clamoring to get back into his head. Especially if Sandry happened by or heard of it.
Clouds might be magic, particularly if you asked Coppercurls, but not the kind of magic that could make them all kids again. Climbing up there didn't mean he'd find them waiting and everything simple.
Another day, maybe. Once he'd cleaned up the mess in his mind and the four had gotten to know each other all over again.
PERSONAL JOURNAL: tricia868
EMAIL: tricia868 at gmail dot com
AIM: trichan868
CHARACTERS IN TAXON: n/a
CHARACTER NAME: Briar Moss
CANON: Circle of Magic
MEDIUM: Book
BIRTHDAY/AGE: 20th of Goose Moon (May), chosen by Briar; he does not know what day he was born. He's not even quite sure what year he was born but guesses his age to be around 18.
CANON POINT: early Will of the Empress, before going to Namorn but after agreeing to go along and look after Sandry as a favor to her great uncle. This was really not the destination any of them had in mind.
WHY THIS CHARACTER AND CANON POINT?: I enjoy the amount of CR that can be developed when playing characters with friendly charm and/or a tendency to casual flirtation; Briar has both. The characters of this sort that typically appeal to me also have much more serious sides to their personality and history, not readily apparent to quite everyone. I've never played Briar before, but the balance within his personality is similar to that of another character I really enjoy RPing. The canonpoint was chosen because I really like the potential for rebuilding relationships at this point in time. Taking Briar from a point where he's at odds with his recently reunited foster family presents opportunity for growth and for mending himself and his relationships, particularly if Sandry or any of the others join him here. I like the exploration that comes from a canonpoint that is not a neat resolution-point. I'm typically more interested in character interaction than any specific plot, and I appreciate plots that provide a chance for working through character issues or furthering character relationships.
PROGRAMMED POSSESSION: Briar will be bringing with him his shakkan, a 154 year old carefully tended miniature pine tree that acts as a storehouse for magic. The shakkan and Briar can communicate with each other on a magical, non-verbal level, and Briar can use the tree as a magical anchor or a source for additional power when needed. The tree's basic personality is that of a profound calm and patience, though it is occasionally a little mischievous and sends out new buds when it thinks Briar isn't paying attention. Most of these need to be pruned away, and the tree knows it. Sometimes it can convince Briar to let it keep just one, though.
ABILITIES/WEAKNESSES: Plants really like Briar. He can communicate with them on a simplistic level, and they tend to get excited when he enters a garden or greenhouse, leaning toward him or sending out new growth. Before his power was found, he received nasty scars from a rose vine that liked him a bit too much. And trying to tattoo himself with plant dyes was a bit of a mistake; the vines on his arms now change color and form, developing different and often garish blooms. Briar is an ambient mage, a magic user whose power comes from a particular aspect of the natural world. In his case, that power relates to plants. Briar has both mundane and magical gardening skills. Weeding, for instance, requires no magic. He can restore old herbs and plant products to a fresh state, renewing herbal medications. Educated in the uses of all the plants he handles, Briar is skilled at putting together medicines. He has worked in disease analysis and treatment development, though not as head of the operation. Briar's area of particular expertise is in the shaping of miniature trees, called shakkans in the series. The shapes of these trees can be charms to bring a certain quality to the households in which they reside.
Plant mage may seem a harmless vocation, but Briar's magical talents can be put to more sinister uses. Bundles of the seeds of thorny plants can be scattered ahead of or among enemies and made into a lethally effective weapon or barrier as they are forced into rapid growth. He can ask plants to crumble a building, as roots crack rocks on a much slower and less obvious basis. Briar's magical power was increased exponentially by being spun together with that of his foster sisters as a preteen. He has, in the past, combined his power with that of his sisters to complete workings involving more than one type of magic. Magical bonds still connect the four, but growing up and time apart mean that they are not currently accessing these bonds for either communication or working in magical concert with a combination of power.
The greatest physical hazard of using magic is the ease with which one could pour too much power into a working, draining away life force along with magical and killing the mage.
There are other consequences too. Briar is not comfortable with the violence he has witnessed or participated in. He is plagued by nightmares after a series of atrocities and narrow escapes with his teacher, Rosethorn, and student, Evvy, on a war front; Briar can't sleep alone if he wants to ensure he'll sleep soundly. Dreamless sleep potions that would work on the average person do nothing for the plant mage but make him a little bit sleepy. Briar also occasionally sees or hears things that aren't there and flinches at certain sights or sounds, like temple bells. He isn't good at admitting a problem. He'll just do his best to be pleasant and charming to the pretty girls he meets, and if they wind up in his bed, well, it'll be enjoyable for everyone involved along with staving off Briar's nightmares. It is a fairly typical case of post traumatic stress disorder for which Briar refuses to see a mind healer. He's said that it's a "charnel house" inside his mind, and he won't inflict those memories on anyone else, particularly his sisters, even if it means lessening the burden of the trauma he has experienced.
In his younger years, Briar was trained as a thief. He maintains skills as a pickpocket and lockpick. He is in good physical shape and knows how to use and conceal knives, and to fight with a staff.
PSYCHOLOGY/PERSONALITY: Briar is fond of easy sarcasm and playful jokes. His sense of humor is a little less quiet than that of his sometimes more stoic or temperamental sisters. He is a flirt and not looking for anything serious, but he won't lead a girl on; Briar is very straightforward about what he's looking for in a casual relationship. He doesn't pursue relationships with big political or emotional ramifications, at least not right now.
With age, magical expertise, and the respect that accompanies both of those, Briar is no longer quite as insecure about his origins as he once was. He has matured a bit since he tried covering his prison tattoos with new tattoos of flowering vines, succeeding in making his hands far more noticeable than they ever were in the first place.
Intensely loyal to his chosen family, Briar would and has followed his mentor into death to rescue her, even knowing he would likely lose his own life in the process. They're the only real family or home that he's known, bonded by magic and love, not blood. Briar has a strong sense of right and wrong in spite of his early upbringing, and while he still carries knives for self defense and maintains his skill at evaluating goods and picking locks, he has not stolen anything in a long time. Though he may have left gangs and slums behind him, Briar still has strong empathy for those unable to escape from such situations. He takes note of the poorer areas and their populations, as well as the criminal activity, in cities he visits, and has been known to befriend or help people from those areas. He'll go to great lengths if someone is involved in the sorts of injustice he dislikes most.
Currently struggling with a difficult homecoming a month or two previous, Briar is not yet back on good terms with his family. He lost his old home, and the new one doesn't feel quite like home yet. Briar is hesitant to let people in as more than casual acquaintances. His family is not even much of an exception right now, with memories of the war still in the forefront of his mind. At this point, the front he puts up has acquired a bit more finesse than the defensiveness and occasional resentment of his younger years. Briar's acquired some polish, and can deal with people he dislikes politely, even with a smile. If he doesn't feel like having a childish argument or riling people up, of course.
HISTORY: http://tamorapierce.wikia.com/wiki/Briar_Moss#Biography
CANON SAMPLE: "They shaped you all wrong, didn't they?" Briar murmured softly to the foot-tall maple on his worktable. He had rescued it from a stall in the market, seeing how unhappy it was. Checking out the competition among vendors was always a good idea, but today's venture had left him more concerned for this tree than his business. If he was undersold by the seller in question, so be it. At least he actually listened to what the tree needed.
He reached into his kit for several weights of the wire Daja had brought in from the forge at his request. "This isn't gonna be pleasant, but it can't be too much worse than how uncomfortable you are already." The plant mage loosely wrapped the maple's trunk with heavy wire to begin the process of slowly correcting its shape. He shook his head, grimacing. A tree has to agree to being shaped, and to the way it's shaped; anyone working with shakkans ought to know that. As the plant picked up on his agitation, he smiled and gave the pot a reassuring pat, running a finger gently over a leaf. "Don't worry. We'll get you sorted out."
His newest acquisition settled, Briar went to the window, enjoying the breeze and idly watching the clouds shift. Long acquaintance with Tris assured him that she was probably at her own window, watching the storm be born. She was the one who'd pointed out the phenomenon in the first place, years ago.
If this were Discipline, they'd both be on the roof right now, possibly with Daja and Sandry as well, sprawled on the thatch in companionable silence or laughter and conversation. Briar looked at the building's structure around his window. The roof would be a little more difficult, but by no means impossible, to reach here at Number 6 Cheeseman Street. He pondered climbing out, clambering up right now. That would be an invitation of sorts, though. An afternoon watching the clouds together, and next thing you know, the girls'd be clamoring to get back into his head. Especially if Sandry happened by or heard of it.
Clouds might be magic, particularly if you asked Coppercurls, but not the kind of magic that could make them all kids again. Climbing up there didn't mean he'd find them waiting and everything simple.
Another day, maybe. Once he'd cleaned up the mess in his mind and the four had gotten to know each other all over again.
