-Player Questions-
Minecraft Username: Erastiel
Discord Username: Silverstar#7465
Age: Twenty-Three
Pronouns: Any works!
Where did you hear about us: I really just Google'd: Pixelmon RP Server!
Tell us a little about yourself:
Oh boy, uh, I never really do well with these things but, here goes. Hobby-wise, I kind of flit between many. Mainly I game and write! And roleplay- both in writing of play-by-post and tabletop RPGs. I've recently been introduced to Minecraft less than, I think two years ago? And even more recently only got into modpacks and such. Toro League, as a result, intrigued me because it mixes together gaming (with the dedicated MC server) and roleplay!
-Roleplay Questions-
- What is roleplaying?
To me, roleplaying is many things. There's Live Roleplaying, Tabletop Roleplaying, then Roleplaying in the writing mediums, visual art mediums and so on. But in the end, I think it all boils down to the core of creating a persona(s) that fits within a given community or group and then being that persona(s) during the time which one spends in that community or group as is appropriate.
- What is meta-gaming?
Meta-gaming is often defined as using 'out of character' knowledge within the game or story. For example, you are roleplaying a character who is in location A and two other characters are having a discussion in location B (with B being far away enough that your character cannot overhear their conversation and has no other means by which to find out about said conversation).
However, you as a player/roleplayer are a friend of the two characters' roleplayers and they tell you about their character's conversation. You, as the roleplayer might know the contents of the conversation, but your character, within the story, who has no means to know of the contents, should not make any references to it until they come to know of it within the continuity itself.
- What is power-gaming / god-modding?
To me, both power-gaming and god-modding to me refers to a roleplayer who essentially assumes a 'god-like' style to their roleplaying. This involves things such as, but does not only include, making their character unable to die regardless of the severity of their wounds, making their character far more powerful than is within their character's actual means or giving their character something that no other character has in such a way that is is unfair to the rest of the community.
However, when I first learnt of these terms, I learnt them with a slight difference: while both power-gaming and god-modding refers to the above, the latter includes disregarding another roleplayer's autonomy of their characters without their permission, or in other words, roleplaying their character without first getting permission to do so.
- What is retroactive continuity/retcon?
To retcon something means one of two things. Either to ignore an event that's happened or to include an event that hasn't happened within a character's story. For example, say a character was thrown off a cliff and, due to some circumstances, both players agreed to pretend that hadn't happened; that is a retcon. But a retcon can also be where, for example, a character had missed, say, a party. The player, however, later wishes to instead say that their character had instead attended.
While retconning tends to be one the less frowned upon things in a roleplay setting, it is still only down with the permission of the rest of the group or the leaders of said group or community, so that it is fair to everyone.
- What is the difference between in-character (IC) and out-of-character (OOC)?
To put simply, when something is IC it is happening within the world with the player acting as their character. When something is OOC, it is the player as themselves who is acting. This is often used to distinguish if someone's roleplaying or not in order to avoid confusion and improve communication.
- Do you have previous experience playing on a RP server?
On an MC server, no. But I've been on forum roleplays for almost a decade now, I think. And recently joined Tabletop RPGs within the past 5 years!
-General Character Questions-
Full name: Lei Lixin / 雷莉昕
Age: Twenty
Appearance: Lixin is a rather short individual, coming up to someone's shoulders at best yet most often even below that. When compared to his average countrymen, his height would be considered within the expected range, but he's still on the lower scale of things.
A fan of lighter shades, Lixin can be often found decked out in hanfus of varying cool colors, with a preference for the color purple. It's fortunate then, that his silver eyes rarely clash with his fashion choices, as well as his raven-shaded hair. Like the others in his family, Lixin's hair is kept long; it reaches close to his waist and is kept neatly in a loose ponytail.
Though his parents may wish otherwise, Lixin has always been of a slender and slight build; his is slim and lean, without much defined muscles even after his mandatory martial arts training. His fair skin is almost flawless; barely there freckles dot themselves across his cheeks and nose and while his skin is mostly soft, his palms and feet show signs of his family's training.
Personality: As much as his parents would wish otherwise, he is everything they're not. Lixin was never assertive, never bold nor did he dare come to blows with others. He had always been a kind child who was perceptive to the emotions of his classmates and, while otherwise a prized trait, that coupled with his timidity meant that even during training he'd try every which way to avoid having to fight. It drove his parents up the walls.
His was a family of warriors, who were meant to be brave, determined, able to stand their ground and pick up their swords if it came to that, but Lixin hated everything that he had to be. He hated fighting, even in training, and shied away from not only confrontational situations but even people in general. He simply preferred being alone, so that he may avoid the intrigue that often plagued the nobility his family was a part of.
Despite his otherwise passive and timid nature, at least it couldn't be said that Lixin gave up easily. When the going got tough, he could be as determined as the rest of his family, digging his heels in until he achieved his goal; not giving up simply because something was hard yet achievable.
But again, unlike his family, he lacked their... perhaps not adaptability, for he was able to adjust his plans and actions as the situation called for it, but perhaps flexibility. He did not like lying, stealing, anything that could be considered morally 'wrong' and so sometimes finds himself in situations he could have otherwise avoided.
Because he is so different from his family and because of their frustration with him, he often doubts himself; worries if he's a failure and questions if he's doing the right thing. It's easy to simply say that he lacks confidence and can thus be easily swayed to do something by another, yet another trait he and his family both detest. All of this leads him to have a more pessimistic view on life and his gloomy nature has meant a lack of steady friends.
Biography: The Lei clan began when a soldier saved the life of an emperor, protecting him despite mounting odds. As a result of his bravery and skill, the emperor bestowed upon him a new name, one of lightning and thunder, and bade the newly christened general to serve him directly. Thus, the military Lei clan was born, a clan of upper nobility who rubbed shoulders with royalty.
It was a prestigious position and the clan elders only sought the best of their descendants. Those who didn't live up to standards... well...
When Lixin was born, third son to the current head of the family, his parents had thought him yet another prized son and their hopes for him reached the very heavens. He had been bright and cheerful- a veritable bundle of energy that seemed never-ending.
Yet, as the years passed the boy by, his parents realized that he was unlike any of their clan. He was everything they were not, everything they loathed in one of their own. It was not to say his parents no longer possessed any love for him, for they still saw him as his son, but they grew frustrated with his slow progression in his education and martial training. Endlessly, they would compare him to his brothers and sisters alike, all of whom had either shot through the ranks or progressed as expected.
They thought that being strict and harsh would whip the boy into shape, turn him into a man and warrior, but under the newfound pressure he simply withdrew into himself. Lixin, who had once been a bubbly child, grew distant from family and old friends alike. His parents were at a loss; they could not understand how he had turned out so wrong, so... different.
They resolved to find a way to change him, to make him better.
The years passed fruitlessly and by the time he was considered old enough to be an adult, the family had all but given up. Lixin himself had thought little of his chances of being of the clan and feared that, like those before him, he would be cast out from the only family he's ever known. Yet, his parents had one last gamble to play.
The Toro Region, a distant continent where he would have no support. It would be their last ditch attempt; a final chance for him to prove he was one of the Leis. His task: to travel with naught but a single Pokemon and, as his parents put it, 'grow up'. It was vague, but Lixin understood; they wanted him to be brave, to be able to put his foot down, to be a fighter. He could and would do whatever it took to achieve that, no matter how long it took. After all, his parents' full edict had been: You are to remain in the Toro region until you are fit enough to return home.
Flaws: Many would say that Lixin has many flaws. For one, he's too timid, often stuttering or shying away from even the simplest of things. For another, he's too rigid, possessing a strict moral compass that he rarely strays from. In the noble's court that his family is a part of, this otherwise prized trait is simply a liability that drives him into more trouble than he rightfully should be in.
In addition, some would call him a push-over; with his innate nervousness and inability to stand up to others due to his fear of confrontation, it's easy for others to get him to do something to their advantage.
Despite his determination when he sets his mind to something, it's setting his mind on something that's an issue. Due to his pessimistic outlook, Lixin finds it hard to begin things and often debates with himself if something's really worth it. This adds to his lack of self-confidence and self-doubt, which also makes it hard to form lasting relationships.
Ambitions: Lixin's ambitions are simple. He wants to go home. He wants to make his parents proud, to prove he does belong in the family. He wants to, as his parents put it, grow up; he doesn't want to keep shying away, to be so lonely. He wants to have friends and a place he belongs. But most of all, he wants to be happy. He just hopes this involves his family too, because he can't fathom not being able to see them again.
Starter Pokemon: Zorua
Skin: Skin Link!
-Open Response Questions-
You find yourself standing in a bustling town. Suddenly, a small girl runs up to you, her eyes seeming to glisten with fresh tears as her bottom lip quivers. “Please!” She cries out to you, “You must help me! My poor Meowth is stuck in a tree!” She points to a nearby tree as more tears spill out of her eyes and down her cheeks. How does your character respond?
The girl had caught him by surprise, lost in his thoughts as he was, and he started with a gasp. Were this anyone else, he would turn tail and run; he's never liked dealing with other people if he could help it. But the tears in her eyes gave him pause and he looked around. While the town itself was busy and alive with activity, the passer-bys around them seemed to pay little heed to the crying girl and Lixin believed that were he to ask another for aid, they'd turn him down.
So, he sighs and studies the tree to which she points. "Alright, I'll help. Just, um, please stop crying, okay?"
After arriving in Toro a cheerful woman walks up to you, a clipboard in her hand. “Hello and welcome to Toro! I would like to ask where you came from and why you came, as well as where you plan to go. All for for statistical reasons of course.” she asked with a bright smile as she held a pen to her clipboard. How does your character respond?
Lixin worries at the strap of his bag, drawing inwards as he glances up at her. "Um...urm..." He finds himself at a loss for words, his heartrate increasing with every passing second. He thinks he's making a fool of himself as he stands there mute, looking very much like a Magikarp out of water.
"I'm, um, f-from Tianguo..." He begins, when he finally finds his voice. "I'm here to, uh, well... explore...?" He's not entirely sure why he's here to begin with; his parents had believe him too soft as it were and had sent him here to toughen up. But the exact specifics as to how he should accomplish that were to be left up to him - and he hadn't yet figured that out.
"As for where I plan to go..." He purses his lips, then worries at them. He had looked over the region before his departure, but that didn't necessarily mean he was sure about his course. "Urm, I have some ideas, but could you, could you maybe... where do you think I should go first?"
You are walking along the road when your eyes lock onto a trainer's in the distance. At that moment, you both freeze in place. You see a glimmer in the trainer's eyes as he reaches for his Pokeball. "Go, Rattata! Show this chump what we've been training for!" the trainer shouts as he swiftly releases his chosen partner in the vacant space that separates the two of you. How does your character respond?
Xiao Ye, his trusty partner and friend, is often found jogging alongside his trainer. ...usually. But once he lays eyes upon the opposing trainer, and just before the other's pokemon touches the ground, the Zorua immediately takes off. Yipping and bounding back up the road from which they travelled, leaving Lixin all on his lonesome against a blinking young trainer. "Uh, dude, your pokemon?"
Lixin realizes the other still expects a battle and frantically gestures back up after his friend. "I, urm, you see- Xiao- I mean, Zorua- he's uh, he's my only- I don't have any-" The words catch in his throat as he hastily backpaddled, gulping down his nervousness while the other trainer looks on, confusion growing.
"Dude, I just want a battle..." The other trainer began, though as he trails off Lixin finds his feet have already turned him down the path after Xiao Ye, his feet pitter-pattering against the ground as he runs away from the fight.
