Witches' Reign App

[bot_builder]

Name: Mordrid
Journal: momemordrid on lj
Contact: momemordrid at gmail dot com


OC or AU: AU
Character Name: Jack Spicer
Series: (if AU) Xiaolin Showdown
Gender: Male
Age: 27
Requested Sponsor: Sapphire
Entry position (Cadet, SeeD, Instructor, other): Cadet
Appearance: Older and taller but otherwise as in canon.
History:
General (Canon) History
And a bit here
And a little here
AU History, starting a few months after show's end:
After the years of accumulating stress his life consisted of, Jack finally had a breakdown. He spent a couple days in the hospital, during which time his parents were eventually convinced that whatever had caused the breakdown wouldn’t go away after just a few days in a hospital and to get him to see a mental health professional. He was diagnosed with multiple mental issues, including remarkably low self-esteem. He was started on Ritalin and cognitive behavioral therapy to treat the ADHD, general counseling for the self-esteem issues and further cognitive behavioral therapy for the separation anxiety disorder centered on his mother.

Therapy convinced him that his “gang friends” (as the therapist understood the Heylin to be) weren’t actually a healthy group to be hanging out with, and so Jack ended up cutting ties with them—just spending a lot less time surrounded by constant put-downs helped his self-esteem markedly. His self-esteem was further built up to a certain degree by counseling, and working on his many problems just generally made him feel better about himself as well, making him more confident overall. Therapy also led him to finally accept that he couldn’t handle physical fights (and that his bots were currently incapable of taking the Xiaolin), which led him to rethink his world domination plan. He became much more self-aware in general. Between the Ritalin and being taught methods to cope with the ADHD, he was finally able to think relatively clearly, which he found led to a pleasantly surprising increase in his ability to function and make better thought out decisions. As part of his therapy, he was also taught methods for calming himself in stressful situations, making him able to handle a lot more situations thoughtfully instead of in panic mode. Therapy also cured his separation anxiety disorder.

The therapy was fairly intensive for the first year, and between that and his still high stress levels he ended up having to retake a year of high school (he had spent much of the year working on his bots instead of doing homework because working on the bots was more relaxing; and his parents were oblivious enough that he got away with it). After graduating, his parents couldn’t convince him to go to college. Instead, he continued to focus on improving his bots, and eventually began selling some of the simpler models for spending money. On discovering that he could make pretty good money from selling bots, he started up BetterBots as a proper company and not just a front to infiltrate the world’s armies. (He had been anonymously donating a few combat models to various insurgency groups and then anonymously offering to sell the same models to the governments they were fighting; he still does that, but now he has a business plan!)

He finally got around to moving out of his parents’ basement when he was 25. Since then, he’s been building bots for resale in his new house’s extensive basement (…that didn’t come with the house; his bots built it) with the robotic production line he put together. Some bots he sells to private individuals, but most of his machines are warbots intended for military use. He now usually sinks the profits back into parts, and is primarily supported by the trust fund his parents had set up for him—but he had bought the house with his own money, of which he is very proud.

(At the time of his entering the game, it will have been roughly ten years since the show's finale.)


World History: His world is basically modern day earth. Except for the monks with magical powers. And the evil immortals with magical powers. And the powerful magical artifacts scattered around the world. And the magical creatures like dragons and mermaids. And the high tech robots that are produced by one company (other than Jack's robots and vehicles, that is). So... yeah, totally just like earth.

Most people in his world don't know about any of that magic stuff though.
Garden History: N/A
Abilities & Physical Abnormalities:
Abnormal appearance: Red eyes

Abilities: He's able to build robots and machines quite easily(including wingless/bladeless flying machines). He once built a snowmobile that could morph into a much larger robot. He has built robots out of ordinary appliances. He’s made several robots that were visually indistinguishable from himself, and built another bot capable of copying a large number of people’s appearances and voices. Some of his bots are sentient.
(His bots are much tougher now, in general, and most of them can repair themselves. These abilities are based on a future!episode.)

He usually wears his helipack, a backpack-like device that can sprout two small propellers and which allows him to fly.
He has had some martial arts training, but only enough to be decent at dodging. He also has above average nimbleness when he's at ease, but he gets klutzy when he's nervous. He has had some snowboarding and figure skating training and is pretty good at both.

He is extremely intelligent (though certainly not always the most sensible), as demonstrated by his technological capabilities. On the other hand, he sometimes has difficulties remembering how to do mundane things, and doesn’t always think before he just does something, making some of his decisions… less than intelligent. He’s gotten less impulsive since going on medication, but the desire to stop thinking and just do something already! still creeps in.

Personality:
He has a rather petty and childish personality. He has a smart mouth and loves to annoy people--something he’s quite good at, even when he’s not actually trying. He has managed to get it under control enough to be polite, but he still forgets himself from time to time. He also has a chronic backstabbing problem. Due to his desire to be on the winning team (to ensure he survives long enough to rule the world) he changes allegiances at the drop of a hat. He is constantly on the lookout for things he thinks will give him an edge.

Jack is afraid of a lot of things: the dark, clowns, being flushed down the toilet... Overall, he's just a coward. But at the same time he is determined to get his own way--this usually results in him whining a lot, but he is usually willing to fight for what he wants. The therapy helped him to not be quite so terrified of everything as well.

Jack's life goal is to rule the world. He wants to rule the world largely to prove to himself that he's not a failure. (He's much less of a "cartoon villain" by now and tries to be subtle in his power-building.) He believes Good and Evil to be sharply defined alignments. He has long claimed to be evil, although he has broken himself of claiming this to other people. By becoming an underground arms dealer, he finally is responsible for untold deaths—a fact he’s quite proud of. He does his best to keep this part of himself hidden from everyone else though, as for some strange reason other people react badly to megalomania because secret plans based on secret motivations are that much more likely to succeed.

Although he acts cocky, he secretly has rather low self esteem. His repeated defeats at the hands of the monks and the constant mocking by the rest of the Heylin did not help that in the slightest. He’s spent a good deal of time away from both the Xiaolin and Heylin by now, so he is doing somewhat better, but he’s still got self esteem issues.

For all his faults and insecurities, Jack has the makings of a leader. Not a necessarily a good leader, but a leader nonetheless. In canon, quite a few people defer to his judgment, even when they ought to know better. He is able to get others to follow him. While he can work well enough with others, he works much better if he's the one giving orders. Jack even managed to overcome his hero worship and imprison Chase a couple times so that he could be the one in charge. One possible future is shown where he does indeed rule the world.

His lack of self-confidence had often led him to hesitate and to let others push him around. He’s gotten more confident and self-reliant through therapy and personal effort, but he still has his moments.

He is rather scatterbrained. He is able to focus much better now that he’s on medication, but he still has a disorganized thought process. He also has a hard time remembering mundane things, like how to tie his shoes.

He is in fact quite capable of doing good, or even being sweet; but that part of himself distresses Jack, so he tries to only indulge his good side when he knows he'll get something he wants out of it. Or when someone flatters him into it.

Thanks to his therapist pointing out how the Heylin were using him, he’s become a little reclusive; people like the other Heylin are the type of people he prefers, and the knowledge that that kind of person would just take advantage of him has made him want to avoid people in general. He’s pretty social though, unfortunately, and his bots only do so much to fulfill that need, so he’s not a loner; he just doesn’t have many non-superficial relationships. Because of his new self-awareness brought out by the therapy, he has realized how socially awkward he was, and has been too nervous to seriously pursue any romantic relationships (and once again, he knows that his type would be inattentive lovers at best).

What are your plans for the character in-game? I mainly want him to be able to build CR with people and see how he's able to function with others long term. I also hope to make him an instructor eventually--the Garden will probably seem like a nice safe (yet useful!) base of operations. (He won't have any serious desire to conquer the Garden or the game's world; at least not right away. That may change though. >D)
Anything else? Is it safe to assume the infirmary has some form of Ritalin? He, ah... kinda needs it to function.


i) IC Questionnaire (can be found on the application page)
What do you prefer to be known as? Jack Spicer, Ev--ah, aheh, Jack Spicer's good. I mean, that's my name. You know. [Fidgets nervously.] Er, what's the next question?
How old are you? 24, just last week.

Do you have any history in combat? Yes, I have. Lets see... So far I've mainly fought against martial artists--they didn't usually have weapons, but most of them had magical abilities and/or magic items. ...Actually, they all had magic powers. They just sometimes also had magic items. And they tended to gang up on me. [Pouts]
If so, have you ever killed? Er.... No. No, not yet. [Pleasant smile]

i) How do you feel when you get involved in some project that calls for immediate and rapid activity? I thrive on that sort of thing! That stuff is fun.

ii) Do you organize and initiate leisure activities? For other people? [Makes a face] No.

iii) What role do you take when working in a group? The leader, unless there is someone else in the group I feel would make a better one. I am capable of taking direction if it's really necessary. Totally capable. But I work best if I'm the brains of the operation.

iv) How talkative are you around other people? It depends on the situation, but I generally enjoy talking to other people. 

v) What three things would you want to have with you on a desert island? State your reasoning. Hm. A canteen filled with, um... water, I guess? Yeah, water makes sense. Ok. And my helipack. Aaaaand... Lets see. Um... Torn between a good map and a straight-out GPS... You don't know what that is. Ok, that means no satellites either, I'm guessing? Laaame. Ok, forget the GPS, it would be useless. Definitely going with the map.

The water would be for drinking, duh. You need water in deserts, even I know that. And the helipack and map so I could get off the island as quickly as possible. Yes, my helipack can fly me long distances... [Suspicious look] ...Why? This isn't going to turn into some kind of cruel and unusual placement exam, is it?

vi) Is it important to be liked by a wide range of people? No. I don't think that's possible, anyway. Everybody likes different things! You'd have to be some kind of social chameleon... That is... Huh. [Ponders.] Ok, I guess it is possible to get everybody to think you're their friend. But it would be a lot of work with very little return. I mean, sure, you should be civil when you can, but not purposefully making people hate you is very different from them actually liking you. Why would you even want a whole bunch of people liking you? How many friends do normal people need?

vii) When the odds are against you, is it worth taking a chance? Yes, always. The odds are usually against you--if you only ever try things that are "safe", then you'll never accomplish anything important! You'll just be a loser, forever.

viii) Do you consider yourself to be an impulsive person? Perhaps a little.

ix) Would you agree that planning things ahead takes the fun out of life? It really depends on what things are being planned. Vacation schedules, for example, should be left as open as possible. Military excursions should be as meticulously planned as possible. Most things fall somewhere between those extremes. [No, that doesn't really answer the question, does it? It translates to: YES BUT THAT MAKES ME SOUND IRRESPONSIBLE SO I WON'T SAY THAT.]

x) Do you like surprises? No. They're usually bad. And sometimes physically painful.

xi) Do you sometimes wonder if there is something wrong with you? Ah,er--no. No, I've never wondered. [Very tiny smirk]

xii) Do you consider yourself to be smarter than your superiors, and disagree with their decisions? [Purses his lips] Well... Yes and no. I do my best to follow orders from superiors if it's at all feasible, but I know that I am smarter than most people. It's just a fact. Where I came from, there was a test to measure IQ--er, general intelligence. I scored abnormally high both times I took it.

xiii) Lastly, how do you feel about cabbages? [Shudders] I associate them with an unpleasant experience from back when I was a teen. I avoid them whenever possible.


iii) Bracket/Comments

[Jack flops back onto his bed.]

LAME. I thought I was done with this when they finally let me out of high school.

[Looks listlessly over to the course catalogue for a minute, before sighing and picking it up. He flips through it half-heartedly.] Lame, lame, lame, la—h-uh, that one looks kinda interesting. Lame, lame, la—wait I have to FIGHT? In… [He tries to count the weapons courses but gets bored and stops.] UUUGH, this is why I stopped going to showdowns! This sucks.

[Tosses the catalogue away and sighs dramatically.] I can’t believe I, Jack Spicer, have been reduced to this. This is worse than when they made me repeat that grade. I’m a busy man! I’ve got a business to run! A world to—uh… do stuff in… Yeah. Aheh. [Looks around nervously.]

[Hops up and starts pacing.] Look, Jack, we're not getting back home anytime soon. We have to learn about this world. Otherwise we can't function. And this seems to be the safest place to learn. [Takes a deep breath, than exhales slowly.] Ok. I can do this. It can’t be that hard. [Sits back down on the bed and picks up the catalogue.]

[Almost immediately he bolts upright again.] They get you up at SIX-THIRTY? What kind of inhuman place is this?!