Character Sketches.

[Symmetry]

Welcome, 1stofthelast.

We've got quite a few Zealian characters, so the introduction of more Keystonians is a good thing. Basically, your character can be from anywhere in the Toma Shell-altered timeline. (Sorry if I wasn't clear about this before.)

Earthbound citizens are pretty much treated the same way in ZEAL as they were in Keystone. (All but ignored, occasionally used as slave labour.) The introduction of a Earthbounder (?) from ZEAL is pretty much impossible, but that's not problematic at all if he/she's from Keystone. Gaspar would need some reason to summon him/her to the End of Time, however.

Actually, I take that back. An Earthbound citizen from ZEAL would be possible if for some reason they've been detained. He/She would need to be involved in the jailbreak scene, though. Otherwise they're going to have no way of getting to Keystone. (That would conviently provide us with a fourth person for easy EoT access....)

EDIT: Forgot to mention that yes, the planet is still in a deep freeze in the ZEAL timeline.

[V_Translanka]

I think I just got an idea for an even better name for my Glenn...I could call him Kaeru...Kearu? Whatever...Someone tell me how to spell that and that'll be his name...It's just "Frog" in Japanese, right? It'll be great...although...since he was never turned into a frog...Hmm...Maybe I'll just make him say it was a nickname from when he was little...

[ZeaLitY]

Kaeru, got it. Although you could go with Gama, but that isn't quite as cool. I know it from Naruto.

[V_Translanka]

Yeah, I think I like Kaeru...It'll be a nick referring to his green hair or something...I always wondered what the hell Magus meant by "more fitting form", perhaps it was the hair? Or wait, does Kaeru mean something other than 'frog'? I think I heard somewhere that it did...whatever...

[Leebot]

Yeah, I think I like Kaeru...It'll be a nick referring to his green hair or something...I always wondered what the hell Magus meant by "more fitting form", perhaps it was the hair? Or wait, does Kaeru mean something other than 'frog'? I think I heard somewhere that it did...whatever...

It also means "to return" or "to change."

[1stoftheLast]

Ok in case we want to go with the earthbound here goes...
Jack Nova, even though it doesn't sound like a very tribal name, it is.  Jack is an "Earthbound one" from either the distant past of the Keystone timeline or modern day Zeal.  

Jack's whole life has been spent with the extended family of his village.  No one comes into the village thats not born to it.  The endless winter makes travel impossable, the only time anyone travels is when the men make hunting rounds.  In fact, most of what the village eats is animal, plant life being very scarce in the tundra.  Because of the steady diet of protien, Jack, aloing with the rest of the village, has a very stredy build.  Jack is about 5'8'' and 230 lbs.  Also because of the thousands of years spent in survival mode, jack and his tribe have hieghtened senses, espesscaily smell and taste.

Language isn't well developed in the tribe, people usualy speak to each other only on matters pertaining to day to day life and survival.  Because of this Jack wouldn't be quick to understand abstract thought.  Women are revered in Jacks tribe because it is through thier cycles that the village can measure extended amounts of time(there is no sky to see the moon becuase of either storm clouds or floating continets, and there are no seasons).  

From a tribe that has never known war Jack may be at a dissadvantage but it wouldn't take him long to translate his hunting skills into combat abilities and considering his build he should be able to hold his own.  Weapons he carries include knives, harpoons, hatchets, nets.  He would think of these more as tools.

Reason for being chosen:

If we're doing the Zeal timeline Jack then we could say that he got kidnaped for the purpose of slave labor, then escaped with the rest during the jailbreak scene.  

If we're doing the Keystone from the past Jack then I guess he would get picked the same way the nba drafts players nowadays, purely on potential.  I figure the hard life, plus a strong build and heightend senses would make for a good person to have on your team, if you can give them some magic first then let them spend four years back home trying to learn how to use it.

Feedback is apreciated.

[V_Translanka]

Aw, man, 1stoftheLast...does he gotta be jailed in ZEAL? I mean, we've already got 3 people escaping, and what? We're already having trouble believing that being possible...but then add a 4th and not only is it more absurd sounding, but they also get a free trip to the End of Time...

I like the idea of him being Earthbound, but there's gotta be another way to get him to Keystone and/or the End of Time...Or maybe not...whatever...I don't even know anymore!

[Symmetry]

Meh, you guys are confusing me with your jailbreak.

My understanding was that as for cover, Gil, Argus, and Sigma would release a number of people. Then I thought you (pl) wanted four people so that the gate out of ZEAL would immediately take you to the EoT.


1stoftheLast:

Interesting character. I like the idea and it definately brings something different to the table.

On the one hand, while the jailbreak scenario would be "convinent", we've already got a number of people involved in it and adding someone else would further complicate who writes what and so on.

More purely Keystonian characters are always a plus. I somewhat lean towards Jack being summoned by the Gaspar draft. We have quite a few magically inclined characters, but one devoid of arcane talent, relying entirely on strength and combat skills, is something no party should be without. Good enough reason for Gaspar to summon him, I guess.

[Hadriel]

I think I've got a couple of ideas for characters -- I think I'll get a feel for the story a bit more before jumping in, but I think I'll post the general descriptions right now.  One of them, however, I'm not sure would work -- he's a hardheaded Princeton University archaeologist of the year 2180 AD, and as such, obviously from Keystone.  He doesn't care about his methods -- think of him as something of a slightly less sadistic Belloq from the first Indiana Jones movie.  In that vein, he's quite similar to the ZEAL researchers, and errs more on the side of evil and what knowledge, and thus, power, he stands to gain from the defeat of ZEAL.  But he does have a bit of a conscience, and this quest might give him the opportunity to reclaim it.  I was wondering if it mattered if I used a real-world location for his school.  In the grand scheme of things, I'd think it wouldn't make that much of a difference, but it's the admins' call.

The other one is a little younger than Serge was in CC, and is the son of one of ZEAL's top Nanashi supervisors.  He doesn't really have any ideals or anything yet -- for the most part, he's a victim of ZEAL's brainwashing.  But, a chance encounter with the dormant Lavos would provide the trigger for Gaspar to summon him.  As Lavos has been subjugated in ZEAL, he is not directly the reason for Gaspar's intervention, and does absolutely nothing short of just sitting there and triggering weirdness because of his natural aura of evilly EVIL.  Basically, he accidentally goes to the End of Time because he wondered what the big red button did.

Thoughts?

[Symmetry]

Well, I don't mind you using the name Princeton, but let's try and avoid recreating our own history in the fic's timeline. It probably shouldn't be related in the United States or something.

Also, you must give your character a whip. And that awesome Indy Jones hat.   (Not really...)

I don't think we've kicked around the name of Lavos' subjugation. I just figured he'd be in the core of the planet or pocket dimension somewhere just "sitting" there. I'm not sure if an encounter with Lavos is quite possible as there isn't a particular place where it is "detained".

Don't throw the idea out, but before you progress too much further there, let's try and tinker with this a bit.

[1stoftheLast]

Yeah I don't mind him not being used in the jailbreak scene, when he can just as easily be introduced by having Gaspar summon him for some reason.  Maybe Endless G has a plan to strike Zeal from the earthbound territory and needs a guide?

[ZeaLitY]

Well, the fact that your character kicks major ass should be enough for now. Gaspar will see the value in recruiting him, as the Entity saw in heading up Crono, Ayla, etc.

[Hadriel]

Tinkering is always good.  I do a fair bit of it to make my independent stories and papers better.

My idea was that the two histories are largely the same, but that none of the history that we know in our world matters to the storyline of ZEAL, and so it wouldn't get more than a passing mention, perhaps as research done on the character's resume.  In fact, if you work it right, all of the history we know can fit into a framework where it is a direct result of the Chrono Trigger history, mostly in relation to Lavos.  Therefore, either way, anything outside of the Chrono history outlined in the games is of little to no importance where Keystone is concerned in the ZEAL story.  Under such a framework, the very existence of the entire world that we know is the result of the events in the Chrono series -- the landing of Lavos, the destruction of Zeal, the war between Guardia and Porre, and the heroism of Crono and his friends in stopping Lavos from destroying Earth as we know it.  I believe I could write something pretty compelling with that -- to a student of history such as an archaeologist, knowing the events of the Chrono series under a real-world framework would be like having his entire concept of truth pulled out from under him by the echoes of Lavos' influence on humanity.  He would no longer be certain which way to go, and therefore initiate a literary transformation into one of several different types of characters which can affect the story in their own ways.

Or perhaps I have an irrational craving for realism...maybe it's the physicist in me.

I'd thought that ZEAL had properly subjugated Lavos and was currently using him for power via the Mammon Machine, which is a great deal more advanced and powerful in the ZEAL timeline than it was in Keystone, due to many extra years of time to develop its functionality before they decided to hook it up to Lavos.  If that's the case, Lavos, or at least whatever Pocket Dimension houses Lavos, is connected to the Mammon Machine.

[Symmetry]

I think its best to stear clear of tying the two worlds together for the purposes of this project, regardless of whether or not its plausible.

Your Zealian character is good to go. Lavos is indeed still off in its pocket dimension and should they desire, citizens of the kingdom could go observe it at the liking. Most don't though because after ~12000 years of Lavos being around in its docile state, it starts to lose any sort of wonder or awe-inspiring power. Going back to your evil aura idea, I think that works well, as it would serve to reinforce the notion that Zealians generally avoid "visiting" Lavos.

I figure the gate to Lavos' pocket dimension would be close to the Mammon Machine - for symbolic purposes more than anything.

I'm not entirely sure how he'd make his way to the EoT, though. Gaspar isn't "choosing" people from ZEAL, (His whole reason for summoning people is to bring together Keystonians to defend Keystone, Zealians join the party quite a bit down the road, the exception being Argus.) and the only other way to cross dimensions (for the time being) would be the Council's Centre for Temporal/Dimensional Research - which, can be arranged.

There is quite the thick plot going on within ZEAL itself, however, so you might want to consider leaving him there and writing about one in each.

[Hadriel]

Yeah, you're probably right.  It'd be an extra thing to deal with, it kind of takes away from focus on the game history, and it would likely distract from character development.  You could still probably fit everything in if you wanted to, except if ZEAL succeeds in permanently wrecking Keystone, so the only real concern is stopping ZEAL's corrupt government one way or another.

Scratch the archaeologist -- I can use that idea as comedy cannon fodder in the other fic I'm working on, since in that case I'm going for as much historical realism as possible, since it's virtually required for the story to make any damn sense.  Ironically, it's a humor/satire fic that treats our world as presented in South Park as if it is one with the CT world.  It presents several new time paradoxes a la Chrono Cross, and of course takes every possible opportunity to make fun of absolutely everything and everyone.

For now, I'll simply develop upon the Zealian kid.