incensed - app

OOC
Player/Contact: Elia / tuchanka or PM
Other Characters: Kaeya Alberich (masking)

IC
Name: Lalli Hotakainen
Canon: Stand Still Stay Silent
Canon Point: The very end of the webcomic!
Age: 20

History/Personality: Ta-da!

Would you consider your character to be heroic? Why or why not?:

I do believe that Lalli is heroic—because he's so incredibly dedicated to his job, which sounds strange! I know! But in his world, scouts are essentially the first line of defense between plague-carrying beasts/monsters and an incredibly vulnerable population; Lalli recognizes the important role he plays, and thus Lalli is determined to be the very, very best. Putting himself in harm's way, night after night, all in the hopes of keeping others safe? That sounds pretty heroic to me.

But when you factor friends and family into the equation, Lalli's heroism becomes that much more noticeable. There's little he wouldn't do for those he cares for; he will push himself to his absolute limits to help them, to keep them safe, to be there when they need him most—and that can be a lot for Lalli, given his difficulty understanding why, like, people think/act the way that they do. Every time he leaves his comfort zone for someone else—by, say, following someone across countries rather than allow them to go on a suicide mission, or living inside someone's head for a few days while still scouting safe routes—it takes some serious effort; it would be far, far easier for Lalli to just Stay as he is, and yet Lalli proves time and time again that he is willing to change. He tries!

(And that is a quiet sort of heroism.)

Powers/Abilities: Here is that wiki link again! But as a (Finnish) mage, Lalli has access to some neat—and fairly specific—abilities... which are all very confusing. I'm going to link a few examples to keep this as concise as possible, so please bear with me!

• Lalli is able to see/hear the spirits of people/things around him, as his cousin—a much more experienced mage—briefly mentions here. It seems like a pretty benign thing, but if the spirits have been corrupted in some way, it... isn't exactly a pleasant experience? Spirits trapped inside Trolls/Beasts frequently attempt to lure mages close enough to kill them, and they are both very loud and very persuasive; they can overpower a weaker mage and force them to walk right to their deaths, which is why Lalli has spent years strengthening his mental defenses.
  
• As we're told in the comic, "Finnish mages posses the ability [to] control elements of nature" by reciting a runo. These are essentially pleas for certain spirits/deities/elements to assist a mage in various ways, i.e. asking the moon goddess to break out some moonlight, or telling loud spirits to shut up before they catch these hands. He won't be able to use this in the game, thanks to being faaaaar away from the spirits/deities he's used to, but it's an important ability to mention.
  
• Along with spells, Finnish mages are also able to help guide spirits to the afterlife. Helping human souls is a very tricky thing; mages need to know more about the human and/or their past life to guide them along, and corrupted human souls rarely remember anything. Animal souls, however, are easier to guide along! By placing the skull of a corrupted beast on top of a specific tree (a kallohonka), Finnish mages can ensure that the soul will pass on free of corruption.
  
• Finns each have a Luonto, aka "an outer being that follows and protects its human throughout life." The best info can be found here, but for game purposes: Lalli's Luonto—a lynx—is essentially a summon he can use to attack and/or defend, but as it requires a great deal of effort to summon, he rarely relies upon it. It's more of a last-ditch effort type of thing? Like, when he had to check a hundred or so troll nests at once to see if they would pose a threat to his teammates, he called upon his Luonto to knock them all out in one fell swoop... but that resulted in a) a rather intense nosebleed and b) Lalli spending several days in a coma-like state. Not fun at all.
  
• When Lalli overexerts himself, or simply falls asleep, his consciousness slips into what's known as the dreamscape. It's essentially like having an incredibly intense lucid dream? He "wakes" up in his personal dream (seen here) and can essentially do whatever he pleases within his personal dream. He can even leave his personal dream and attempt to enter the dreams of others, but as a Finnish mage, he can't just barge into them; he needs to be invited inside. Leaving his own personal dream is also a very dangerous endeavor! Different dreams are separated by a wide body of water, and corrupted spirits are always on the hunt for unsuspecting mages. Inside the dreamscape, though, Lalli can defend himself in ways he can't in the waking world, like cat bombing his way to freedom or flying to safety. Will he ever willingly leave his own dream in this game? No, because physical distance seemingly affects dream distance! The mages he knows are currently out of reach, except for one important exception...
  
• ...Which is Emil! Emil isn't even a mage, but after Lalli spent a good chunk of time trapped inside his mind, they can actually share dreams. It's almost like they've forged some type of psychic bond, because the dream-sharing thing seems to happen when they really need and/or want to communicate with one another? It's not a perfect process; the dreams they share tend to get rather wonky (i.e. ducks popping up on people's backs, birds swimming through the water like fish), and any sort of friction between them causes the dream to end, but it's still a Thing that happens.
• This isn't a power, per se, but Lalli is a scout—and he's very good at what he does. He's used to running throughout the night, watching out for dangerous creatures as he searches for safe places and safe paths. His endurance is incredible, and his memory isn't too shabby, either; he never carries a map with him, but he still manages to easily recall alternate routes and various points of interest.

Inventory:

• An ancient, battered Rubik's Cube™
• His hunting rifle
• A small dagger he always keeps hidden somewhere...

Coterie: Salamanders, please!

Samples: One and two! From another TDM.