LifeAftr Application

[petrifiedshadow]

APPLICATION

Player Information
Name: Lex
Age: 26
Contact: talianora; PM to this journal; Discord talianora#7723
Current characters: n/a

Character Information
Name: Starflight
Series: Wings of Fire
Appearance: A hastily completed coloring page from the official website, complete with lovingly rendered stick figure for scale
Age: 6 years (equivalent to a human teen, about 13-14)
Canon Point: The Dark Secret, post-Chapter 17
Canon History: The Wings of Fire series takes place on Pyrrhia, a world where dragons replaced humans as the dominant life form during an event known as The Scorching, which led to the establishment of a matriarchal society made up of multiple tribes after the dragons banded together to drive the humans to near extinction. About a decade before the start of the books, the continent of Pyrrhia was thrown into a war when a human killed the Queen of the Sandwings, starting a battle for succession amongst her three daughters who each allied themselves with other tribes.

Wings of Fire Wiki Page for Starflight

While the wiki is fairly thorough on canon events, there are a few details of Starflight's history that are not mentioned on the page but are significant to his character. His egg was brought to an underground peace group (the Talons of Peace) as one part of a prophecy that five dragons hatched on the 'brightest night' would stop the current war in 8 years time. In order to protect Starflight and his friends (fellow 'dragonets of destiny'), the Talons of Peace kept them trapped in a hidden cave their entire lives with three abusive guardians who were the only ones aware of their secret location. Their only connection to the outside world were through scrolls brought to them by their caretakers and their lessons in history and battle strategy.

In Summary

"Starflight had been terrified plenty of times since leaving the caves where he grew up. He'd thought nothing could ever be worse than the moment Queen Scarlet walked in with her guards, killed Dune, and took all the dragonets prisoner. But then there was the moment he stood in her arena, knowing that she intended for him to be dead by the end of the day. That was followed by the moment Queen Coral had them thrown in prison, Tsunami's plunge through the electric eels, the Skywing attack on the Summer Palace, their frantic escape right through the middle of the battle, and perhaps the actual worst, when Sunny had disappeared right in front of him in the rainforest. Not to mention all the scary things he'd faced since being abducted by the Nightwings. In fact, he'd spent most of the last few weeks in a state of near-constant terror."
- The Dark Secret, Chp. 16

Personality: Without a doubt, Starflight’s most defining trait is his intelligence. One of his guiding principles is ‘knowledge is power’ and he believes that with the right information you can overcome any problem. Starflight is naturally curious about how things work and wants to know as much as he can about everything, even if he knows that’s an impossible goal. One of his dreams is to become a groundbreaking, published researcher and help share new knowledge with other dragons. Starflight is frequently described as an insufferable know-it-all by his friends and has a tendency to give lengthy lectures and explanations at the drop of a hat, even if no one asked for one. His logical and analytical nature make him an excellent problem solver who can usually work through puzzles others can’t.

When you’re destined from birth to stop a war, there are a lot of expectations you’re meant to live up to, and Starflight feels like he has managed to meet none of them. A miserable fighter even after six years of daily training, incapable of standing up for himself, and even lacking the supernatural powers typical of his tribe, Starflight has spent his whole life trying to figure out how he is supposed to help bring peace, and not coming up with many satisfying answers. He internalizes criticism and insults, no matter how small, and is extremely insecure about how others see him. His greatest fear is being rejected for not being good enough and being worthless to help those he cares about. At this point, Starflight feels like his only redeeming quality is his intelligence, even if that isn’t entirely the case.

Starflight hates spreading misinformation or false facts, which makes him a terrible liar. Even when a lie would protect his friends, Starflight will still hesitate before saying anything he doesn’t believe to be true. He would rather stay silent than say something that he believes is wrong. When asked his opinion, Starflight will always give as direct and honest an answer as he can. He is usually pretty objective when speaking with others, which can at times seem unsympathetic and makes him come across as callous or uncaring, though Starflight is highly empathetic of others’ suffering. Starflight is easily flustered when others argue or disapprove of his ideas, at which point he would rather not say anything and concede than continue fighting about it, unless it was something extremely important.

When Starlight is trying to act confident he can come off as pompous and rehearsed, sounding more like a character in an epic novel than a real person (his friends often give him a hard time about “sounding like a scroll”). Unfortunately it is not an act he can keep up for long, if his plans fail that façade will quickly fall apart. On the few occasions that Starflight tries to take charge it’s almost always awkward and forced. Starflight is not someone who works well under pressure, often relying on others in volatile situations. He has rarely been in a situation without his friends to help him, and isn't used to having to handle problems on his own. However, he knows he can’t always depend on others and will step up to handle himself when necessary.

Starflight is cautious to a crippling degree, and has quite the reputation among his friends of being an indecisive coward. He wants to consider all the variables to a problem before making a decision, which is at best helpful for seeing all sides of a problem, and at worst terribly frustrating to deal with. Starflight often has trouble acting on a plan unless it’s been thought out thoroughly, and more often than not when he does act it’s in response to someone else deciding to take action. Starflight isn’t much of a risk taker and will always opt for the safest option if given the choice, even if it is an inconvenience. This has benefited him and his friends many times in avoiding danger or capture and keeping his more headstrong friends from doing something really stupid, but it is often as much a hindrance as a help.

Having spent pretty much his entire life trapped in a cave with the same seven dragons, Starflight is not used to being alone. He has always had his friends around him, and being by himself for extended periods of time makes him extremely nervous and uncomfortable. Starflight cares deeply about his friends, and views their strengths as an inspiration for the kind of person he wants to be. Starflight doesn’t have a lot of experience meeting new people, again due to living under a rock his whole life. He is usually anxious about being introduced to anyone new, especially authority figures. Starflight can be shy and awkward around people he doesn’t know well and is easily intimidated by others. He is slow to trust strangers, especially since escaping their life long prison he and his friends have been imprisoned and/or nearly executed several times over.

Due in part from general dragon culture, and partially from growing up during a war, Starflight sees fighting, violence, and murder as commonplace and something to be expected, though not something he really approves of. Starflight personally is not one to choose violence as a first resort, but he will defend himself and his friends if need be, though his fighting skills leave a lot to be desired. If his attacker is injured or killed, it’s unfortunate but justifiable. He is very empathetic with those who have been wrongfully victimized and treated inhumanely, having been put through many horrible situations himself. Even though he knows there’s not much he can do, he wants to help others and will always hold those responsible accountable for their actions.

Abilities:

• He's a literal dragon. Claws, teeth, horns, tail, the whole nine yards.
  
• Flight capable wings.
  **As discussed on the FAQ, Starflight's flying can be limited over unexplored areas. I'm good with there just being some sort of force or natural phenomena limiting the altitudes he can fly, though Starflight is such a stickler for the rules and overly cautious that if the Storyteller warned him not to fly over unexplored areas, he wouldn't. I'm also good with the exhaustion clause.
  
• Can breathe fire.
  **I would really prefer this not be nerfed completely, as Starflight already has a complex about powers he is 'supposed to have' but doesn't, so I would hate to have him lose what would be considered to him a pretty basic one. Perhaps we could limit his range, or the heat/intensity of his firebreathing?
  
• Extremely sensitive sense of smell (probably comparable to a dog).
  **This can be nerfed if need be. In canon it is generally referenced in determining if there are enemies nearby, or if he is being followed.
  
• Near photographic memory, especially with regards to things he's read.
  
• Most Nightwings can eat rotten meat without consequence, since they generally hunt in a manner similar to komodo dragons, poisoning their prey and then waiting till they are weaker to hunt them down. That being said Starflight has never put this ability to the test and under normal circumstances wouldn't take that chance.
  **If need be, I am totally fine with nerfing this. It's not clear in canon if Starflight qualifies anyway, but I felt it was worth a mention.
  
• Pretty clever and good at problem solving.

Inventory:

• 1x Dreamvisitor - an star-shaped, enchanted sapphire which allows the user to visit the dreams of whoever's name they state. Only works if the other party is asleep.
  **This is not a necessary item, and he can come into the game without it if preferred.

Sample

Thread Sample: Starflight on the TDM; Additional Sample

Q&A: If the samples are not sufficient, I am happy to do the Q&A. Otherwise, it's not necessary.