Leto
mal Diomedes
Linyu
aan Lutum
Leto
mal Diomedes
Personality Traits
Brave and Lucky - Leto's bravery on the field was never in question, though among his fellow officers he was viewed as a reckless adrenaline junkie. His bravery often gets the man into pinches he only seems to squeeze through by some form of insane luck. How many crashes has he walked away from now? Was it 6? No, 7?
Charming and Vain - Even in his older years the pilot carries himself with a suave demeanor that wins him as many enemies as it does friends. His vanity is the only thing keeping him from being a truly skilled ambassador, unable to humble himself in many situation. He's good, and he knows it.
Clever and Impatient - His clever whit has gotten him through a delicate political career as an officer, instinctually knowing the direction to take or which commander to schmooze. If he had the patience to see a plan through past it's first steps he could have been a truly great leader in Garlemald... but the right opportunity seldom comes, why wait?
Selfless and Trustworthy - As vain as the man is, there's little he would not put on the line for others. His friends and subordinates always knew they could rely upon him no matter the danger. His selfless attitude is just another stain of his lack of ambition.
Background
The Father's Vice - Leto's father, Remus mal Diomedes was never accused of being a gracious or forgiving man. Leto's rebellious, stubborn nature was met with a strong hand and a structure of control. His father's disappointment in the boy was always clear, never seeing the boy strive for his true potential. He squeezed through his schooling and training as an officer only thanks to his father's name and his own whit, not from intelligence or hard study. Often relegated to attending his father's events as a form of entertainment, playing music from a silent corner of the room while the heads of state and military wings conversed. He leapt at the first chance to escape his father's rule.
Clipped Wings - Leto's athleticism and sensory acuity made him an excellent candidate for aeronautical application. He applied himself to the practice unlike any of his peers, making up for intellectual study with dedication and pure talent to the craft. He would have very likely earned himself a command in the prestigious aeronautical unit beneath the VI th legion, along side the Agrius... but his dreams were squashed when he drew the ire of one of his instructors, who took the opportunity to deny the young man. Leto earned himself a commission as an airship pilot serving with the XII th legion in Doma, transporting field engineers throughout the region, supporting the fleet. Over twenty years of service in the territory earned him an upstanding command of his own vessel and crew.
His reward was short lived however, when he placed his ship and crew in harms way to save a company of civilians. His selfless act brought his ship down in a fiery ball of ceruleum, earning him the respect of the local population and the anger of the occupying officers. Unable to punish the now local hero for fear of upsetting the population, they saw fit to remove him from his command and "promote" him to a new position.
Patent Pending - Leto's new command was beneath no other than his father Remus. His "promotion" was an obvious slight to him and his family and put the man back beneath the stringent tutelage of his totalitarian father. Leto was put to task running a small team of magitek engineers, designing compact power sources for individual magitek devices. The cumbersome nature of ceruleum tanks makes application for smaller units of magitek difficult, so his team underwent experiments of a rare auricite and the construction of his own patent design for aether-nets to trap and charge the new cells with local aether.
An investigation into his father's research would derail his goals when he discovered project MERCY. His father's design would upend the world, placing conquered territories under full control by removing the freedom of will. Leto sought to destroy his father's work, but there was more to it than files and stacks of research. His father's design was implanted in the flesh of an innocent Doman conscript, Linyu aan Lutum. Leto elected to destroy his fathers lab and run from the capital with Linyu in tow on a stolen airship prototype and bounty on his head.
Linyu
aan Lutum
Personality Traits
Fearlessly Loyal - She won't think twice to step in front of a bullet for you, provided she likes you enough... or you happen to be a Garlean citizen.
Brilliantly Impulsive - Linyu is gonna touch your stuff. She has a scientist's impulse to take things apart and put them back together, and according to her they only occasionally end up broken.
Cheerfully Unempathetic - Sometimes happiness isn't a goal, but a prison. Fear, sorrow, anger, and hurt aren't in Linyu's vocabulary, and when others around her are in distress, she has a hard time relating to their emotions.
Gullibly Trusting - Whatever part of the brain makes people distrust what they're told, Linyu's isn't working quite right. Unless she knows for a fact that something isn't correct, she's likely to believe it without much second thought.
Background
From Clay - Linyu is a product of the Garlean propaganda machine. Taken from her Doman village at the age of seven as insurance for her family's cooperation with their Garlean occupiers, Linyu was raised in one of Garlemald's cultural integration programs for foreign workers, and given the surname "Lutum", which means clay. And indeed, her upbringing did mold her as intended: With very little memory of her home or family, Linyu worked very hard to make herself of use to the empire and rise above the menial tasks to which most non-citizens were assigned. Proving herself highly intelligent and agreeable, Linyu was accepted to study medical science at the Imperial Academy for Foreign Assimilation, and graduated top of her class... not that this afforded her much distinction. She then received her first assignment, working as an assistant medicus in a research lab under the direction of Remus mal Diomedes.
Small Mercies - In her new position, Linyu began to struggle. The laboratory to which she was assigned was engaged in refining advanced applications of hypertuning, the combining of man and magitek that emerged as a side-endeavor from the Resonant Project. These experiments had a very high mortality for the subjects involved, all foreign non-citizens like Linyu. Her duties centered around tending to their medical needs, and the emotional toll was quite brutal. Linyu quickly went from a bright, ambitious Garlean subject hoping to earn citizenship to heartsore, and a little bit rebellious. Linyu very quietly defied orders, euthanizing a few of the suffering test subjects without authorization, her own little acts of mercy. Upon being caught, Remus mal Diomedes decided that instead of reporting her insubordination, she would be of more use as a subject for a secret project he was running. He declared this decision to be truly merciful, and so named the experiment Project MERCY.
Subject Alpha - The project into which Linyu was forcibly recruited had the goal of increasing Garlean control over hypertuned conscripts, and perhaps over entire populations of foreigners in the territories the empire occupied. Magitek implants were placed into her brain to suppress unwanted emotional states, such as anger, fear, and suspicion, and promote obedience to those above her in the social order. These implants were flawed prototypes, however, and damaged adjacent parts of her brain, leaving Linyu partially paralyzed and in critical condition. Eager to save Project Mercy, which had cost too much to make a fresh start feasible, Remus mal Diomedes outfitted Linyu with some of the technology being used in his more mainstream hypertuning experiments, and then applauded himself for saving her life. Linyu was no longer capable of resenting him for it, though she understood how nefarious his actions were in an objective sense.
Trapped in a laboratory, Linyu might have lingered indefinitely under the Praefectus' thumb, had his son Leto not broken into the laboratory one night to destroy his father's work. Luckily for Linyu, he valued her life enough to take her with him when he escaped. They fled to Ishgard, in hopes that the experts at the Skysteel Manufactory could assist in understanding what had been done to her, and perhaps reverse it.
Gallery
Hooks
The Good Doctor - Before she was a test subject, Linyu was a physician - top of her class, in fact. Her skill is not magical, but technical, with a specialty in neurology and a great deal of surgical experience. When aetheric healing and alchemy aren't enough, Linyu stands ready.... probably with a big needle.
Oh Garlemald - Leto is a recent defector from the Garlean Empire. Do you have a particular hatred for the actions his people have participated in and feel like sharing? Give him a mouthful, or throw your drink in his three eyed face. Are you a kinsman wishing to track him down, or another defector? Say hello with a punch to the gut, or buy him a round.
Metal Maiden - Linyu is an oddity, to be sure. Most magitek engineers have heard of hypertuning by now, but to examine an individual up close, even a suboptimal prototype, might be of interest to a great many machinists and mechanics, and she is certainly in need of some assistance with refining and repairing her less-than-human parts.
Airship for Hire - Leto's ship often docks in places where he can most bring attention to it and himself. Does your FC have need of a good pilot with a large vessel? Transport, action, research. Hire us for short, or long term trips with your team!
OOC Details
Hello! We are Bee and Fate!
We're a pair of writers who've been engaged in cooperative writing together for nearly a year, and we're really good friends. We're short-para writers who enjoy plot and scheming in our RP, as well as dark themes like criminality and horror. We have each been RPing for a very long time, and have a wealth of TTRPG and DMing experience. We also enjoy playing the game! Maps, extreme trials, mount farming, hunt trains, and raids are all on our to-do list.
Our usual active times are 2pm to 12am EST with a dinner break and some family time somewhere in the middle.
What we're looking for:
Good Story - We like RP that pushes our characters forward in some way. Give us a hook, or pick up one of ours! We wanna make some ripples in this pond.
RP Connections - These characters are defectors from Garlemald, looking to make their way in a world that harbors no love for them. We'd love to meet characters involved in magitek engineering or other Garlean refugees.
A group to call home - We're looking for an active, heavy-rp FC that makes sense for our characters, isn't too big, and has a good mix of pick-up RP, social events, combat events and storyline.
Thematic Balance - We like to keep our spread around 50% slice of life, 10% combat, 40% story. These spheres often overlap, so this is just approximate.
What we aren't looking for:
Tavern RP - We'll do it... but not for long. Taverns/onsens work as venues for RP with a defined purpose, but "let's drink with strangers" isn't our favorite scene.
ERP/love triangles - Our characters are together, and dramatic love triangles are not for us. Casual IC flirting is perfectly fine (and usually hilarious), so don't worry about that! But if you come to us OOCly looking for ERP, it'll be a no.
Drama - We're a pair of chill adults, and we wanna be around other chill adults. Please don't treat either of us like your therapist or try to pull us into drama. We've seen some nonsense and can smell it from a malm away.
Creepers: You know who you are. We're both happily married. Begone!
Contact Information:
If you have some ideas and want to cook up some spicy plot paella, feel free to reach out! We're enthusiastic and friendly and around pretty much always. We'd love to meet you!
Fate
In Game: Leto-mal Diomedes
Discord: Fateful#9046
Bee
In Game: Linyu-aan Lutum
Discord: DramaproofBunker#5950