( … you see them? that’s choi wooshik, or commonly referred as choi. they’re a twenty-four year old citizen of gaia under avalanche support, working towards the monk class! please welcome them!! content warnings for parental death, injury, minor blood mention. )
Born the second child of his parents, a good, happy and calm family. His mother a monk and his father a time mage, Junhee (Choi’s sister) became a time mage and Choi a monk. While Choi grew up, his mother taught him everything, how to throw a punch and how to avoid one. Choi grew up and he became a lot like his mother, a happy and open boy who was good at martial arts and throwing punches. They didn’t have much while he was a child, but Choi never took anything for granted, he was happy with what he had.
Choi was happy, and his family was happy, everything seemed fine, almost perfect, but nothing lasts forever, does it? A night, a late night in the year of 2011, the year when Choi had turned sixteen, something happened. A brigand broke into the home of Choi’s, everybody was sleeping, until Choi suddenly heard a noise from his parents room, he decided to check out what it was, and to his surprise, his parents laid in their bed as normally, however a brigand was in the room too, and his parents’ bed was covered in blood, the sight shocked Choi and he was speechless and couldn’t do anything, the moment the monster noticed him they ran up to him, began fighting him, Choi was thrown across the room, and as he landed on the ground he was unable to move, when he woke up the monster was gone, but some things were different than they were before.
A big headache was struck upon him, but it wasn’t his head who hurt the most, it was his eyes. He screamed in pain and soon enough he was taken to the hospital, if he could he would’ve cried, but his eyes hurt too much, instead he screamed at the pain, later the doctor told him that he had gotten eye trauma. Apparently the monster had thrown him so hard that his eyes had been hurt severely, kindly he asked the doctor if he would be able to see again, to which the doctor answered that the chances were close to zero. And so, the eye trauma had led to Choi losing his vision.
In the beginning it was rather hard, he didn’t know how to do things and he felt like his world had fallen apart, then he got a Labrador retriever as his guide dog (which he called vision) to help him, slowly he got used to it, and learned to do average things again, however after the incident of his parents death and him losing his vision, it struck clear for him that he could not trust Shinhwa, and so he decided to support Avalanche.
( … you see them? that’s kim taehyung, or commonly referred as 1004. they’re a twenty-four year old citizen of gaia working towards the machinist class! please welcome them!! content warnings for parental death, mentiones of illness. )
Since young, Taehyung had always shown an inclination for creating and crafting; just not in the way his father had hoped. Owning a family blacksmithing business, from the very moment his parents found out they were pregnant, they’d hoped Taehyung would eventually takeover said business. However, to their slight disappointment, Taehyung’s interest gravitated towards long-ranged weapon rather then melee.
As a child, he was always somewhat of a loner. Preferring to sit alone and draw up his rather extravagant weapon ideas over going out to play with the other kids. As he grew older his introvert tendencies only solidified when he started studying weapons and it became a rare sight to see him without a book in hand. But, with his increasing knowledge, his designs became less extravagant and more technical. Eventually, the weapons he crafted became progressively more functional and efficient.
For as long as Taehyung could remember his mother was a soldier for Shinwa and Taehyung had always admired her for it. Although some part of him hated the long stretches of time she was away on missions; he loved the stories she would tell of her adventures when she came back. Up until her tragic death during a mission, Taehyung had dreamed of following in his mothers footsteps and using his skill in weapons to aid Shinwa himself.
Taehyung for a long time had remained in blissful ignorance over what Shinwa did because he was much too young to care. It was only one day, when he was taking care of his father who had fallen ill, that the weakened and vulnerable man confided in him about his mother’s death. Admitting his worry that Shinwa hadn’t been completely truthful about it. He recounted the last time he’d seen her and how she’d seemed to be having doubts about her alliance with the group. How she was starting to question how good the corporation really was. His father never outright said it, that day, but Taehyung had read between the lines; his father was suspicious that Shinwa had something to do with his mother’s demise.
This confession brought Taehyung many sleepless nights and it wasn’t long before he stopped wanting to become a part of Shinwa. Deciding he wanted nothing to do with the politics of it all. Instead, he decided, he would use his weapons and skill to bounty hunt troublesome monsters people needed hunted. Figuring it was the best way to use his skill for good and make a living for himself at the same time.
( … you see them? that’s choi junhee, or commonly referred as juniel. they’re a twenty-six year old citizen of gaia working towards the time mage class! please welcome them!! content warnings for blood, injury, parental death. )
Once upon a time, there was happy yet poor family living in district 8 despite the fact they didn’t have hardly any money to their name. The family always seem happy and close with each other. They didn’t need for many things, the parents would provide what they could and the children would cherish what they do have. It was only her mother, father and her big brother living in a small cosy crappy home. Junhee use to love watching how her mother could make a lovely meal out of nothing as she got older she would learn more on how to do it too. Those moments in their tiny kitchen made her fell in love with the whole of cooking, her dream was to become a chef. However in this world, dreams tend to be just dreams for people like her.
The most important thing their parents taught them were how to fight against the monsters and it is always stick together no matter what happens. Her father was time mage while her mother was a monk, she went under her father wing when came to learning the art of magic, meanwhile her baby brother learnt everything for their dear old mother. Their parents were pretty impressive in battle, they use their skills to enhance each other making them quite the perfect team against any threats. They seem so unbeatable, it was so inspiring. Sadly, one day they were defeated by something so terrible, the monster stole her brother sight.
The young girl was at home preparing a lovely meal to fill their bellies after their day out, it seem like another lovely day before the skies ripped open and rain down hard on her parade. Big sister will never forget the day when she saw her brother eyes crying blood, it was horrifying. Fear ever really stuck into her heart until that very day, what kind of monster did that to him?! The worst part she was relieved that she wasn’t there to witness the monster ripped her own parents apart or stole her brother sight. Junhee swore she would never let Wooshik out of her sight again, she will do anything she could to protect her little brother from harm maybe one day to find something to restore his sight so he can see again.
Fast forward to the present day, Junhee opened up her little diner in district 8 so she could fill the hungry people. Every warrior need their strength to fight against the horrible creatures of this world. It make her happy to see their faces brighten up as they slurp down the bowl of her ramen noodles. Thankfully, her time magicik helps a lot in the kitchen and serving up the wonderful dishes in quite timely manner. The avalanche members are very much welcome to her diner, she always to help their cause especially her little brother joined them. Junhee wanted to join alongside him but she isn’t that good in a fight so she rather not be hindrance to the team but at least she can fill up their bellies with good and drink.
( … you see them? that’s park chaeyoung, or commonly referred as eden. they’re a twenty-one year old citizen of gaia working towards the white mage class! please welcome them!! content warnings for abandonment, violence, death. )
.01 // the circumstances surrounding chaeyoung’s birth are an enigma.
what she’s told is that she was found swaddled within the arms of a trembling, frantic woman, fear swimming within her eyes as she speaks about how a widow can’t raise a child upon her own, how she doesn’t want the baby to follow in her tragic footsteps – giving chaeyoung up, essentially. rumors have it that they were adventures themselves, that her mother had just barely escaped death but her father wasn’t as lucky. it’s a choice made out of an impulse decision and she understands – it’s where she got it from, after all. it’s not something she thinks about all that much.
.02 // she’s taken in and raised by an older, loving couple within a clan of nomads, always traveling and never staying in one place at a time for too long. it’s here that chaeyoung is given the name eden and she learns her morality: that the earth was the one to be exalted for what she has given us, and all of the creatures residing upon the planet were to be respected as one. there’s a deep affinity towards magick within the sect and she finds herself training within the white mage class from a young age, drawn to healing the weak and never the one to strike first within any kind of battle or disagreement. it’s enough to feel content in, but for some reason the girl still never feels like there’s a place for her within the group – not a complete outsider, but she doesn’t really fit in exactly, either.
.03 // her travels are where beliefs are put into practice – they never stay in any area for too long, always leaving upon a certain kind of feeling that she learns to pick up as she ages. it doesn’t make leaving any easier, however, especially when she gazes at her domiciled peers and their relationships, their memories, how she would never be able to accumulate cherished memoirs in the same way they did. she supposes that the trade off is better – the hands on discovery of different cultures, facing monsters and the overwhelming sense of respect that they demand up close – even going so far as to tend to small, weak monsters that were left battered in reckless battle – along with seeing sights that one wouldn’t find within the safety of their abode. it fulfills the adventurer in her somewhat, and it allows her to understand that this is what she was put on this earth for. this was her purpose.
.04 // all is well until she turns nineteen. eden is deep in slumber, resting underneath the stars with the rest of her clan, a temporary stop of rest upon their way to gaia whenever a pack of coeurls lunge towards them in ambush. the people of her clan were small in number and easily outnumbered – the only thing eden remembers from that night are the screams of the defenseless ( non-magick users ), her heart pounding in her ears and light soles pummeling the ground as she runs through the dark night; pure instinct to just run. she doesn’t remember how far she went or how long she ran, or how she was even able to escape or rest for the night without as much of a scratch ( she thought one was even following her, possibly ). what she does remember is attempting to travel back to the location at sunset, only to find torn remains and keepsakes in the area, but no sign of life. they were gone, and she was alone.
( but that was her fault this time, wasn’t it? )
.05 // it turns out that she – they – weren’t that far from gaia, but she thinks of the journey on the way to the city as a form of metamorphosis. she vows not to flea from a battle again if there’s someone that needs protection, no matter how daunting it looks. ( and it’s how she found her chocobo, nala ) it’s here that she learns how to speak up for herself, gains many skills as she meets several people ( and is desperate need of money, shelter, food ) – and it’s her adaptive nature that allows her to be quick on the uptake, learns that she can help them out in exchange for currency. a hired jack of all trades, no day is similar to the other and it’s something that she’s come to enjoy – something that’s she good at without compromising her values. it fits, and it also helps bring her to gaia.
.06 // gaia is her place. not necessarily home, but it’s better than other cities she’s visited, more welcoming, a lot more safe, and less harsh to someone with her personality. the nomad upbringings still live within her, which is why she’s always on the go somewhere, never staying at jobs, relationships, places, with hobbies – for too long. there are times that she might travel outside of the safety of the city for a some time, possibly on the search for group of people that are familiar to her – but something always keeps pulling her back here, for some reason.
( ... you see them? that’s manoban lalisa, or commonly referred as lisa. they’re a twenty-two year old citizen of gaia working towards the thief class! please welcome them!! content warnings for near-death experience: drowning, mentioned. )
i. it all starts with her father pichit and mother kamon, running away together to the country of south korea in the early ‘90s and in the year of 1997 they give birth to their only daughter, lalisa. the saying 'as thick as thieves’ never felt more true, at first they were happy living mundane lives with simple jobs. bi-weekly pay, wasn’t really cutting it for them. the two were 'reformed’ thieves but ah old habits die hard. the older their daughter got the more she was left alone while her parents went out to get real money.
ii. when lalisa was about seven years old, she started to realize her parents would come back in the dead of night, drenched in sweat. yet rolling in with riches and in the district they were from.. it didn’t make sense. nothing her parents were saying to her made sense. lies, were keeping her family together. lalisa didn’t really mind it for the most part, she enjoyed being alone and being able to do whatever she wanted. her parents were fine with leaving her for periods of time it was a win / win for everyone. though as lisa grew older she started to become resentful of her parents and jealous of her friends with tight knit families.
iii. on her eighth birthday lisa decides to go off exploring, her parents nowhere to be found only a note saying 'happy birthday, will be back soon’ she wanders far beyond her home, lake anima to find herself a birthday present. things quickly go awry as she’s chased into the water by a goblin and she starts to drown, things go black, she wakes up to see someone had saved her life. someone about the same age as her and she’s so happy, that she decides to bring them a present. an act of kindness not even her own parents would do for her.
the next day when the meeting was supposed to take place, the other party never arrived and lisa was devastated to say the least. she kept the present just in case.
iii. the art of the family business came into play when lisa was about ten, her parents when they were around taught her how to pickpocket. lift food from shops and convenience stores, telling her that this was her talent. she had become good at it, even with the small scores, even if something told her it wasn’t right… seeing her parents proud faces and hearing their praises drowned out her conscience. she wanted their love and attention, and boy did she get it. lisa only got better at the skill of thievery with age and she grew to enjoy it. so much she decides it’s the perfect way of achieving her dreams of leaving poverty and suffering behind her forever.
iiii. at the age of seventeen, lisa decides to set off by herself in the world and become a world renowned wealthy woman. whether by legal or not so legal means. she also makes it a point to one day meet the person who saved her life that fateful day and give them their long awaited gift. now she drifts from place to place and always having her mind on money.
( ... you see them? that’s yang jeongin, or commonly referred as jinx. they’re a eighteen year old citizen of gaia under avalanche’s support working towards the time mage class as their team’s magick canon. please welcome them!! death, violence. )
the lovers —
appear in the boy’s life as a picture-perfect couple with a red string knot tight by fate. powerful mages, they were, whose romance bore a stellar ball of sunshine named yang jeongin. the moment this little star opened his eyes, they knew no magic in the universe could compare in the twinkle jeongin’s eyes held.
he was truly loved, there was no question, no doubt. they gave everything they could – gave and gave up everything they could. they wanted the best for him and if that meant sacrificing their own dreams, so be it. jeongin, the living dream that only mattered to them.
but there would be no dreams, if there were no nightmares.
death —
greets jeongin with a harsh smile at the tender age of 12.
death took many forms, death could be knife held firm in hand, death could be the silent cries never heard, death could be as beautiful as lilies. for the yang’s death came as a secret, a secret his mother was not supposed to discover.
they tried to hide, tried to outrun him. but death was quick, death was smart, death caught up and used their one and only weakness – jeongin.
suddenly death was a wager, death was a wager made by these strange men. the boy’s life in exchange of the secrets. it was no surprise that his mother complied, she returned everything she found.
just like that everything was back to normal, everything was fine as if nothing happened.
yet death lingered, death came to visit one fateful night, just when they thought they’ve escaped him.
all jeongin could do was watch as their house, the house he grew up in, get eaten up by the flames as his father tried to go back and get his mother inside.
but it was too late.
now, death was everything to jeongin. the smell of kimchi jjigae as he passes this restaurant on his way back from school. the lilies jeongin brings to his mother’s grave everytime he visits. the tears that help him fall asleep in the small hours before dawn. the empty alcohol bottles he finds in the morning. the blank look in his father’s eyes. even in his own reflection he saw death.
the emperor —
once had light in his eyes, now he only had a cold, dark stare. he once had a kind, loving voice, now he only had a sharp tongue. he once had a heart of gold, now he only had a heart of stone.
this was not the father jeongin knew, jeongin loved – this man was a complete stranger.
jeongin lost his mother but who knew he’d lose he father in the process too?
the harsh emperor’s reign started with extreme training for jeongin. the boy was barely thirteen yet he was pushing his body’s limit as if he was in his prime. then there were the raids, the mission’s with people jeongin didn’t know. jeongin’s playground did not consist of seesaws, swings, and slides, it consisted of violence, hate, and anger. this was jeongin’s life, no time for games, friends, fun.
he was a kid yet wasn’t supposed to act like one, be like one. his father made sure of that, made sure he was ready to fight, ready to kill whoever stood in their way. jeongin hated it, hated every single thing about it, but what he despised the most was how good he was getting at it. he felt like was turning into his father, into a monster.
soon enough, jeongin found his loyalty bound to avalanche without choice. they were just a few then, his father being one of the first few supporters ace had to back her up on her plans.
jeongin was still young, very young, to know what he got himself into. why was he here? where was this going? what was the purpose of this all? how was this for his mother? when will it end? the boy had a thousand questions but they were left unanswered.
that was until a mission goes wrong and he finally meets the father he thought he’d lost forever. he held jeongin’s hand tight and told him a story on his deathbed, a story that finally answered his questions.
up until that moment, he’d always thought that his mother’s death was an accident, that he was to blame for everything, that he was the monster. however, it’s shinwa who’s the real monster here. it was shinwa who owned those secrets, it was shinwa who made the wager, it was shinwa who set his home aflame, it was shinwa who killed his mother.
the hermit —
stares back at jeongin, he had the same brown eyes as him, the same red hair, the same burn scar spanning from his shoulder to his forearm.
jeongin was the hermit, jeongin was alone, so alone more than ever.
his father wasn’t blaming him, his father wasn’t punishing him. his father was protecting him, training him, so that when the time comes, he’s strong enough to bring these monsters down.
it was clear, it was his job to finish whatever his father started to avenge his mother. with that, jeongin willingly took his father’s place in avalanche’s five. he was young, but ace saw potential in him, saw the fire ignited in him, which is why she did not hesitate to give the boy a place in her head team.
jinx, a name he’d been branded with for the misfortune he brought those who came up against him, had now picked a side – too bad it wasn’t shinwa’s.
the magician —
who has been said to have the potential to be one of the most powerful mages of his age, truly does have power, does have greatness, does have everything a mage could ever dream of but he needs none of that.
what he needs is something he’s still in search of – a family.
( ... you see them? that’s kang seulki, or commonly referred as berserker. they’re a twenty-four year old citizen of gaia under the shinhwa alliance working towards the monk class. please welcome them!! content warnings for violence, neglect, manipulation. )
-Seulki comes from a family of affluence, all he’s known all his life is that they’ve got money and that they wanted him to be the next heir to the fortune, but all of that came with a price.
-His father is a high ranking member in the Shinhwa corporation, and his father’s plan was to groom him into becoming an acceptable heir to carry on the operation after he was gone. All of this meant that he’d be homeschooled as a child and tutors would come in to teach him all that he would need to fulfill his duties.
-As a child he craved tenderness, the kind of relationships that he only read about but never got the chance to experience as his parents always seemed more like cold and distant strangers than the kind and doting parents he would read about in books.
-His father took away each and every chance that Seulki got to form a kind of relationship that would make him vulnerable. Be it animals or even the other tutors who would grow protective of him would simply vanish without a word in his life. Seulki was beginning to feel the coldness of isolation and knew that his father was behind it all.
-As the years went by, he started to become more rebellious, beginning to do more and more things that were against his father’s wishes until he finally managed to sneak out of his home, and venture out into the city. Seulki had of course been out into the city, but never alone, never like this and it was all a new experience to him.
-It was here that he met a boy and the two would quickly hit it off. This made Seulki sneak out of his home more often to met his new friend, and in time that friendship sparked into something more, something he never thought possible for himself. They were young and foolish, but so in love that nothing felt like it could come between them. Seulki truly loved the boy with all his heart and he believed he was loved back just the same.
-Little did he know that all this time his father had been sending one of his goons to tail Seulki, so he always knew what his child had been doing for the past few years. With the change in his boy’s attitude, his father came forward and apologized to Seulki for keeping him locked up like a prisoner, and offered to make amends.
-Seulki was overjoyed and mentioned his boyfriend, and his father suggested that he should come over for dinner. He felt as if he was over the moon, and told his beloved, and the next day he came over for dinner. It all seemed to be going great, but everything took a turn once Seulki’s boyfriend tried to attack his father, throwing him aside as he revealed that it had all been a strategy to get close to one of the important heads of the Shinhwa, using Seulki to do so.
-The attack failed the man fled the scene, but Seulki as broken beyond repair asking his father to send Seulki to train, and make him part of the Shinhwa militia. Using his rage to climb up the ranks and become a well known soldier in due time. The beserker they called him for his savage fast paced and brutal fighting style. All Seulki wants to do is to see the man he once loved again, and ask if whatever they had was true.
( … you see them? that’s song hyerin, or commonly referred as phantom. they’re a twenty-three year old citizen of gaia under avalanche’s support working towards the thief class under their team’s open canon. please welcome them!! content warnings for death mention. )
l o a d i n g …
long before she was “phantom”, song hyerin was a girl. a girl who was left behind in the wake of the events that had led up to her eventual rise, and potential fall. orphaned at a young age when her mother was out of the picture long ago and the actions of her father had morphed into something that became unnoticeable to those in power, she became the outcome of his attempt at a grandiose outing of the company that had been quick to bring seoul into the form of gaia after the meteor strike so many years ago; it was a shame that her only parental figure left had dwelled so much on the past and not on the future.
he had passed in an accident, the authorities had told her. But hyerin would never forget the ominous uniforms of the shinhwa soldiers looming down at her, all threat and no remorse. and so when they said they’d wait until she’d packed her things, she used the only other option out of her formerly shared apartment, and fled through the fire escape.
run hyerin, run.
p h a s e o n e …
fourteen years of experience didn’t have much to offer to the world, but the girl was tenacious. A life full of neglect managed to translate over into something akin to determination, mirroring stubbornness. And if hyerin had picked up anything from a father who was plenty absent in her life, she’d learned that information was the key to survival; that much was obvious thanks to his former company silencing him into the ground, six feet under.
( they would not succeed with her. )
district two was no longer her home, but she’d use its resources to her expense: technology and the idle bodies making their ways home from the expansive jobs that had littered the province, tired and irritable. thieving was something her father would probably disapprove of simply because it’d mean he would have to pay attention to what she was doing, but who was there to keep tabs on her now?
p h a s e t w o …
and so the life of hyerin became one focused on survivability and convenience, one of slippery fingers and stolen identities, until it wasn’t enough. she could only take so many wallets at a time, so many loose dollars, and it wasn’t enough to sustain her.
she took on the only other thing she was remotely interested in when she lived under her father: the ethernet and all its capabilities of running news sites, social media outlets, and critical information to the public eye that was all filtered, of course; but what if it wasn’t?
nearby computer labs and untraceable ip’s would prove to be useful in her delve into information hacking and cryptography, and she proved adept at manipulating individuals to suit her own ends; knowledge was power, and hyerin was out to right her father’s wrong, using what he couldn’t. practice made perfect, and the girl was obsessed with lurking in the shadows, invisible to the naked eye, but glaringly loud when she had a keyboard underneath her fingers.
( so this was what power felt like. )
and so that how she survived: selling information she’d pried from those in charge of gaia — politicians, corporations, governments, and celebrities — all in her domain of inquiry. the retrieval of such information became her lifeline, and the levels she’d go to reach certain pieces of knowledge became more audacious over time. until one day, she was noticed by the very same company that had brought her to this method in the first place. shinhwa was out for blood for the girl who was leaking secrets, no matter how small; she refused to spill any for them. hyerin went into hiding at nineteen, deleting all traces of her identity, her security irreparably and inevitably compromised.
p h a s e t h r e e …
the rise of ‘phantom’ came years after hiding, but this time with allies on her side. avalanche had been welcoming to the girl with nothing but a laptop and the clothes on her back, making 7TH HAVEN her new home, where the vendetta against shinhwa was strong in everyone and anyone for various reason. and so she’d used her skills in both cryptography and sticky fingers to her advantage, now even better than ever due to the new resources at hand. even more weaponized than before, motivation drives her to do what she previously couldn’t as part of ace’s head team, alongside people of equal talent and finally, finally, the nomad is home.
this was her time, her era, and she’d be damn sure to finish the job her father couldn’t.
