damn, aight let’s do this
9. Describe their personality in a paragraph.
(I always feel like I’m a bit off with these but w/e. They’re kinda short and I’m too tired to create a well constructed, concise summary for both but the additional responses should give some more insight)
Teokkin - Exceedingly loyal to the cause, pugnacious, and with an active strive for displays of wit, Teokkin fits many of the stereotypes associated with Inquest. He’s determined to earn the respect of his peers, preferably through trust but will resort to fear, particularly those that would not align themselves with Inquest. Of course, it can be a challenge to impose threats on someone when they go crying to the Peacemakers immediately, and so he often must opt to linger on the side of passive aggressiveness and careful wording. When a threat presents itself, he’s seldom the one that throws the first blow, but returns fire with swift retribution.
Nizktt - Reclusive, and a bit eccentric in a way different from most Asura, Nizktt is often more at home in the jungle, without any artificial structure over his head. It’s not quite a return to the race’s roots as tunnel diggers, favoring the above ground more, but caves are nonetheless his favorite dwellings. Even moreso when surrounded by his personal moa flock, to which he has named and carefully bonded with each and every one, having had as many as 18 of them. Some asura would go so far as to call him a savage, or a primate, but he has brushed such namesakes off and they do little to faze him now, regarding those that still call him such to be ignorant and myopic. Even if he spends his time far from laboratories and halls of study, his mind is as capably developed as any typical asura, having undergone the rigors of their education all the way through college before his life centered around the wilds.
13. What’s their favorite place in Tyria, and why?
Teokkin - Like any self respecting bookah-antagonizer, Rata Sum is Teokkin’s home and soul. Though some of his early years were spent beyond the cube, in Metrica, Sum is where he matured into the rat-bat he is now. It’s where he can be comforted by the familiarity, the congregation of great minds (but some are more great than others), a wealth of machines and magical artifice, and the distinctly infrequent presence of non-asuran beings.
Nizktt - Why, his moa cave of course. Most of its occupants have been recovered since Nizktt’s unfortunate imprisonment at the hands of the Magistracy and subsequent freedom granted to him by an opposition group, with credit to his great diligence towards finding the lost moa.
14. What’s their least favorite place, and why?
Teokkin - Any of the major cities of the other races. They are permeated with their smells, voices, and filth, and in far greater concentration than any town or outpost. It’s hard to say which one he hates the most, really. Divinity’s Reach is full of pompous, airheaded lunatics (he, of course, does not hate them because of their conceit, as that would be contradictory, but because they are horribly undeserving of wielding any pretense of superiority). The Black Citadel, or rather, Charr as a whole, in his eyes, embraces brawn over brains in many scenarios, which is just repulsive to him. He has somewhat of a guilty curiosity for their machinations however, outwardly claiming he sees them as horribly rudimentary and primitive like many asura, but knows that is an unsagacious lie after learning of the raw, brutal, and pants-soilingly intimidating destructive capability some of their more inspired creations possess. Hoelbrak on the other hand does not even make an attempt at such creations, and beyond that, essentially takes everything Teokkin dislikes about Charr and magnifies it to a greater scale. Finally, The Grove is a spectacle of both natural and magical biology, but tainted by the utterly obnoxious personality of the many Sylvari inhabiting it. And since Teokkin never was much of a florist, the Grove just isn’t anywhere near appealing enough to overlook the constant pestering and infuriatingly curious nature of the natives.
Nizktt - Speaking of the imprisonment, it’s fairly easy to imagine why Nizktt very quickly developed a terrible dread for that facility. It’s not only the severe trauma it inflicted, which he thankfully was resilient enough to keep forced out of his thoughts after some recovery time but nevertheless seethes with emotion at the memory. It helps that he has an… unusual connection with a species of flightless birds that give him something to ventilate unpleasant feelings to (In a positive way! he’d never hurt precious birbs). The loss of Rizzi though, his longest time traveling and hunting companion, had felt like part of himself perished with her.
15. Describe a high point in their story, and then a low point.
Teokkin - Probably the time he saved Kezza while Gerik was off flirting with Oola, if I’m remembering the name correctly. Teokkin felt a bit of pride in that moment, knowing he’d earned some of Kezza’s favor and elevated her respect of him over Gerik. I still need that RP log tbh… But as I look back on it, Teokkin doesn’t really have any very significant high points; there are lesser ones but Teokkin’s life is more often permeated with misfortune. So, moving onto that:
Let’s look at his more distant past instead of reviewing what happened in RP, cus why not. After Teokkin completely alienated his birth family, being on a tenuous enough relationship as it was, by spontaneously razing their laboratory (the materials within igniting the facility into a veritable inferno at a rate unprecedented even by the krewe utilizing them) through a combination of intentional mischief and innocent negligence which nearly caused the death of them (it DID spell an unfortunate end for some of the other lab technicians on site), he was cast into foster care. It was devastating to him; he didn’t know what he was expecting as punitive action for what he did, especially since he was already lectured on multiple occasions not to play with fire, but to be displaced from the family entirely by his own parents was an outcome not even hinted in his thoughts. It manifested an intense feeling of loneliness that he was quite vividly reminded of in recent times after claiming the position of Magistrate at the expense and subordination of former Magistrix Kezza and Disaggregator Gerik, brought on by their responses.
21. What are their biggest strengths? Biggest weaknesses?
Teokkin - He’d like to say it’s his intellect, but that’s any asura. Loyalty stands out in him, a product of the shame he feels from his rebellious, hoodlum upbringing. Perhaps it’s also intimidation, but that’s a tool he uses surprisingly sparingly, and too many things bigger than him do not take his threats seriously, making bluffs a difficult proposition when the scenario does not allow for violence but still requires a subdued target. Neutralization by electrocution has made a suitable substitute in many scenarios. As an elementalist he’s grown quite proficient in most fields however, and features some martial capability with his convertible, mechanized staff-spear; it’s a shame so much of his prowess goes unused within the constraints the Magistracy places on utilizing violence, as it’s seldom the primary option, but he draws from that ability as a source of confidence all the same. So yes, for an asura that claims to prefer intellectuality and discretion, he’s quite fond of simply projecting near-lethal quantities of electric current upon a victim, or impaling them on a fiery spearhead.
That can just as much be a weakness, and misdirection from the likes of a Mesmer or skilled rogue can easily catch him off guard. Both best be careful to avoid an outburst that would spare little in the vicinity, however. Expounding further, Teokkin’s young, pyromaniacal tendencies were not the product of themselves, but symptoms of a more subtle desire for power, and the respect gained through it; this occasionally manifests in borderline maniacal conniptions that can be a short term boon in combat scenarios but typically ends with prolonged exhaustion and several moments of confusion and self-loathing. These fits are not, however, restricted to direct confrontations, and he simply isn’t in enough battles for him to feel that the results outweigh the negatives of the outbursts. Because of them, Teokkin accepts the Magistracy’s reduced tolerance for violent action as a blessing, and frequently expresses a great deal of self restraint on both starting fights and then elevating them to destructive levels, which can be a limiter for him in attack.
Nizktt- He prides himself on his ability to adapt. He, naturally, was a Statics alumni, finding solutions through re-purposing already existing materials. All it takes to recognize this sort of resourcefulness is for one to notice his handmade bow: crude only in appearance, it is expandable from a shortbow into a longbow, and equipped with blades that are just as suitable for cutting through thick underbrush as it is for slicing and dicing flesh.
He is deeply connected to his moa however, and while they are certainly capable of hiding or defending themselves as well as coming to the aid of one another, they are still animals with limited coordination and intelligence, and instinct that can override rationality. Rizzi was his closest and one of the first he befriended, and he is reminded of that loss constantly when around his moa. Indeed, if something were to inexplicably happen to his flock, it would scar him deeply. Fortunately for him, while it’s usually immediately obvious he has a connection with moa as he almost always has one following him, very few know about the flock and who it belongs to.
23. Give them an AU, any AU.
Teokkin - For funsies sake, it’s exciting to imagine a near-godmode Teo that annihilates everything in his path, the Inquest having acquired him from when he was but toddler-aged, having removed him from his family by force, and amplified his capabilities to essentially use him as a living weapon. Something like the biotics from Mass Effect; like Jack, even. It’s not the most original trope but it’s fun to think of.
Nizktt - Tarzan edition, raised-in-the-wild-by-moa, of course. As if they didn’t have enough of an influence on him. With a hint more seriousness but not really much, Disaggregator Nizktt is an occasional, funny thought.
