Haika
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| [[Image:|300px|]] | |
| Wytchfire / Haika | |
| Player: @Miss Abyss | |
| Origin: | Magic |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Blaster / Dominator |
| Security Level: | 35 / 50 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Mariko Jones |
| Known Aliases: | Mari |
| Species: | Human |
| Age: | 30 |
| Height: | 5'9" |
| Weight: | 145 lbs. |
| Eye Color: | Dark brown |
| Hair Color: | Red |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | Japanese, adopted American |
| Occupation: | Hero, part-time "Robin Hood"esque outlaw / Homeless shelter organizer & volunteer |
| Place of Birth: | Somewhere in Japan |
| Base of Operations: | Paragon City |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | Matthew Jones (father, deceased) |
| Known Powers | |
| Ability to generate, control, and manipulate fire / magical abilities | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Cooking, adept in several languages | |
| Equipment | |
| ' | |
| ' | |
Wytchfire was this player's third or fourth character made ever. There was no real thought behind it other than 'lolz, fire'. After a while, the player noticed she had chosen the more 'Asian' looking face for this obviously white chick, and thought up a story behind the character. It wasn't until Mari started dating Blake that the character took off in a RP sense.
Contents |
Origin
Mariko is Japanese, adopted by an Air Force officer when she was just a child, in a rather unusual circumstance. Matthew Jones, an African American Air Force officer, was driving back from leave one night during a blizzard. Barely able to see, he almost hit a woman in the road. When he got out to see if the woman was alright, she shoved a bundle into his hands, warning him to take care. That bundle was Mariko as an infant. The woman, after delivering the child, disappeared in a flurry of snow.
Matthew was flabbergasted as to what to do with a child, but he couldn't abandon her. He took her back to his base and explained the circumstance to his superior officer. A visiting Japanese dignitary was present, and named the woman a snow maiden: Yuki no Onna. He advised that the officer do what the snow maiden requested or else live in fear of the spirit's curse. Matthew had always wanted a child anyway, and through much red tape because of the bizarre circumstances, was finally allowed to adopt Mariko.
Training
Mariko lived in America with her father, a perfectly normal and healthy girl. When she turned ten, her body temperature began to rise, slowly. At first, fearing she was sick, Matthew took her to hospitals, but other than the rise in body heat, she was still perfectly healthy. It wasn't until objects began to spontaneously combust around her that he decided to investigate the mystical side. Up until this point, Mariko had never known her origin and Matthew tried to ignore it. He consulted a mystic, and was told that his daughter was channeling from directly from an elemental plane, and if she could not learn to control it, would be a danger to everyone around her.
Reluctantly, he searched for a teacher, and found one willing to teach her control back in Japan. He told his daughter what she had to do, and promised in a few years, when she had it under control, she'd be back in the States. Knowing she was a danger to everyone and possibly herself, she agreed.
Mariko ended up spending the next sixteen years in Japan. As she aged, the more heat she channeled, and the harder it was to control. Her sensei was strict, demanding only the best from his students. Her training was harsh, but it taught her the discipline and iron will she shows today. It was not without its scars, however. When she was sixteen, she and another student grew enamored of each other. When the boy finally kissed her, the surge of hormones set her powers out of control, and she burned him badly. Her sensei nearly kicked her out for that, but with a promise never to touch another student and a month of groveling, she was able to stay to complete her training.
Mariko never saw her father again. When she was twenty-two, her sensei informed her that her father was sick. A few weeks later, he died. Having learned the hard way her powers were affected by her emotions, she thanked her sensei for the information and continued with her studies. There was no room for grief.
The Rikti Invasion
Much as the sensei disapproved, his students were not cut off entirely from the world. When the Rikti attacked, the world knew. Mariko was aghast at the destruction caused. Feeling guilty for never tending her father in his last days, she told her sensei that she would be going to Paragon to see if she could aid in any small way. Her sensei refused to allow her to go, saying that if she left, she could never return to complete her training. Knowing that she couldn't turn her back on the world like she did her own kin, she left anyway.
She was too late to help in the actual fight, but crime was rampant. People needed help getting just the basics, food, water, shelter. She stayed and worked tirelessly to help clear rubble, arrest criminals, and eventually decided to just make Paragon her home.
It was during this time that she met the Russian, Sturmovik. He wielded ice as she did fire, and the two made a good duo against the forces arrayed against the city. In him, she found a companion of like desires and understanding. The Russian was locked in a suit of armor, which kept his body cool, a necessary precaution to keep him alive. Neither could feel a person's touch, and both were lonely, devoted to protecting the people. To this day, they can still be found patrolling the streets of Paragon.
It was also during this time when she joined Sanction, a small ragtag group of heroes and vigilantes led by Phantom Solider. It was a life, even if she felt like she wasn't living. She devoted her spare time to meditation and helping the homeless, contributing to shelters, working in soup kitchens, anything she could do to assauge her guilt for abandoning her father. It was a comfortable existence.
Valentine's Day Massacre (Otherwise Known as Blake)
During the Valentine's Day assault on DJ Zero's space where heroes and villains were required to help each other to complete their objectives, Mariko ended up helping out a young ice wielder known as Frigid Yeti. Blake was the total opposite of her: ice where she was fire, crass where she was polite, loud where she was quiet... the comparisons go on. Yet, what intrigued her was that he lived his life, loud and annoying and crass, but lived it completely. He also hit on her. Incessantly.
Unused to such attention, she at first ignored him, but when he became more persistant, she relented thinking that it could not be so bad... and that it was the least she could do for him after he helped her out. When he showed up as 'The Love Samurai', she was not only offended and angry... but also a little bit flattered that he'd go to all that trouble. He kept asking her out after that, and... she kept accepting. Before she knew it, they were a couple.
It wasn't that she was so enamored of him, or that he was attractive, or even that he paid attention to her that kept her around. Rather, she was patient with him at first... and he showed her a soft interior he kept hidden from the world. He told her on one occasion that he'd never had anyone give him a chance before, not like this, and that was what sealed the deal on her end.
Haika
During one of their conversations, Blake informed her succinctly that Longbow was up to no good. She scoffed at him, but he was so insistant that she finally decided to come to the Rogue Islands to investigate for herself. Using the name Haika to hide her hero identity, she learned to channel her powers a different way, and began out in Mercy, like every other villain.
Shocked, she soon found out that Blake was right, that Longbow was not entirely on the up and up. Through much thought, she finally decided that it was a war between the Phalanx (and Paragon in general) and Arachnos, and in war... all things were fair. However, in coming to the islands, she saw the squalor the people generally lived in, and was horrified. Paragon had a ton of heroes to protect its citizens. The Islands had no one. Mari decided to stay and help where she could, doing the same for the Rogue Island's citizens as she did for Paragon's.
Heartache
During this time, she moved in with Blake as their relationship became more physical. They also began arguing over just about anything, and though they would always make up... there was always another argument. She loved him, and was a bit shamed to admit it, but hotly defended him and her choice in him to anyone who expressed scorn, and there were many who did so. She loved him, and knew she couldn't change him, but still wished he would at least treat her with some respect in public instead of treating her like one of his other girlfriends.
She was concerned, however, that the relationship was eroding her control of her powers. Whenever she became upset or happy--a daily cycle with Blake, back and forth and back again--the fire she channeled would flare, and become briefly uncontrollable. Her body temperature began to rise slowly again, inching up in degrees the more impassioned she became. Spells began to go awry, and the fire began seeping through the wards she set to keep from blowtorching her residence. It was a serious problem, and it frightened her.
Blake came to her one day frustrated and wanting to have relations. She was angry that would be all he wanted from her, and told him no. Instead of her arms, he went to someone else's. True to who he is, he told her right away. She exploded, almost literally, and attacked him on the spot, verbally and physically right in the Giza. Both were kicked out, and she flew off, weeping, and unable to put the fire around her out. For days she stayed either on a rock near the ocean or in Pocket D, where the power inhibitors brought her flame down to a 'safe' level. They attempted to recouncil, but even when she forgave him, she was unable to stay calm around him, and he ended it bare moments after they got back together, citing that he didn't want to hurt her anymore.
Deal with the Devil
Her heart broken, pain and sadness became the summation of her existence. Unused to dealing with such feelings from such rigorous denial of any emotions, Mariko stayed away from people as much as she could while trying to deal with her emotions and her out of control powers. Seeing Blake in the D was a torment as he seemed to so easily put her behind him while she dwelled. Mari would vow to move on time and time again, desperately seeking her center and iron control she had lost, but the merest mention of Blake would be enough to set her off anew. She was getting nowhere.
It was at this point a message was left in her residence--at this point a cave, for her fire was leaking through any and all wards she set and she feared burning down the building when she slept--offering a solution to her problem, and a place in Mercy Island to meet. She went... and came face to face with Ghost Widow. Thinking her end had come and that her cover was blown, she stood her ground. Instead of attacking her, the Widow offered a solution: if Mari had another place to channel her emotions, and thus her energy, she could live her life again. Mariko left after exchanging a few words, but the offer stayed in her mind. She thought to leave the Islands completely.
At this point, her and Blake worked briefly together. During that brief interaction, hope was lit and then rudely extinguished. Knowing that he would never come back to her, her grief renewed, she approached the Widow. In exchange for part of her essence, Mariko would be able to channel her emotions, her fire, anything she liked, into the Void, in her philosophy, a space between dimensions, between worlds. Nothingness. With that, she would be able to shove her emotions away to keep control of herself, gaining mastery of her own soul. With acceptance, Mariko became one of Ghost Widow's agents, though it's a secret kept well by both. The Widow has asked her to continue what she was doing, helping the Islands, patrolling them, keeping lesser villains in line.
It wasn't until she was requested to aid Phipps in putting down a Bane Spider revolt that she realized what position she put herself in. The Bane Spiders were all connected by a psychic bond, and some of them desired freedom. Arachnos could not, would not, allow them to go free, and Phipps used Haika to help stop the revolt...but not before she learned what the Banes wanted...simple freedom. Although technically, all she did was defeat some of Arachnos' minions, she felt sick inside, knowing that was the first step to utter corruption. The next task would be easier to bear, and so on. Knowing that Ghost Widow had a piece of her essence, she could be at the Widow's mercy, completely.
The Dread Aces
There had to be a solution to her problem. She daren't tell anyone, not even Sturmovik, what a mess she had gotten herself into. Any other heroes would likely see her as a villain if she went to them for aid, and the Phantom... she shuddered to think what the ghost assassin would do if he knew. The only solution was to find a group based in the Islands and gain entry, and hopefully allies. They had to be strong, and against Arachnos in general. Enter, the Dread Aces.
Having known a little bit of Kichi and Fearghas from brief interactions, she knew they were part of the Aces. She asked Kichi about them, and managed to get an interview with the Crimson Cutlass, the Aces leader. Citing truthfully that she wanted reliable people to watch her back in the Islands as her reason to join, she was allowed in on a trial basis, and has since became a full member.
While with the Aces, she met Graffiti Samurai. She knew of him heroside, and was leery of him at first. With time and the realization that their goals were identical (as far as protecting people who needed it in the Islands went) they became friendly. During one of their conversations, he expressed interest in learning magic, and she agreed to teach him.
Unfortunately, though, while Mariko eventually relaxed and enjoyed being with the Aces, they simply traveled too much and she was locked by responsibilities to either the Islands or Paragon. Unable to spend all of her time away (which, undoubtedly people would come looking for her eventually), she left the Aces, bitterly disappointed.
Powers
Mariko is a magician, a sorceress. She crafts spells, mostly of an elemental variety, and is able to summon kami, nature spirits. She is adept at most types of written spells--even those she is not familiar with--and setting wards to ward off evil. She is practiced in most forms of basic magic (such as hermetic or cabbalistic) but specializes in elemental.
Fire
Mariko possesses the raw, natural ability to channel elemental fire and heat. She can't turn this off. She can control the amount, however, requiring always some degree of control. To this effect, she does not actually sleep, but enters a light trance to rest to maintain control. If she ever loses this control, she explodes, violently, and is bereft of the fire for a small time. She can manipulate any sort of heat or flame, lowering or intensifying it, and shape it as well. The limits of her power with fire are unknown...but immense.
Void
Due to her bargain, Mariko also has an affinity with what she calls the Void, or nothingness. It is the space between worlds, where one can put anything or summon anything. Some may call it negative energy, but rather, it is an absence of energy. She can channel anything--including parts of herself, such as her emotions--into or out of it. She also has a degree of Soul Mastery, or mastery over a person's "soul" energy. This aids her in evicting possessing demons from a person, tracking a person through their spiritual signature, and channeling energy from them to her, or vice versa. The limits of this power is unknown.
Allies
Every person needs friends, and these are the few she has.
- Sturmovik: The Russian. He's ice from fire, as she's fire from ice. The Russian is her first real friend, her favored partner in the struggle to bring order from chaos. She is extremely loyal to him, although isn't sure what he thinks about her sojourn to the Islands.
- Kichi: Fire azn sisters! *ahem* Kichi and Mariko are quite a bit alike. Both channel fire and both follow bushido. They share a certain bond because of that, and Mariko views Kioko as the opposite side of the same coin. Recently, her estimation of Kichi went up as Kichi helped her to convince Crimson Cutlass to spare Unchainer's life. Granted, it was for a different reason entirely, but the thought of killing a defenseless enemy was just as abhorrent to Kichi as it was to Mari.
- Graffiti Samurai: Her student. Graff is very exuberant... sometimes, but balanced with an inner grief. She is hesitant to pry too much into it. He is a hero fighting evil in the Islands, something the two of them share.
- BlackSpiralDancer: Though they are very obviously on opposite sides and both know it, there is mutual respect. The werewolf operates on his own code of honor similar to bushido. He also seems to have a fascination with Japan, considering her to be superior simply because she was born Japanese.
- Ashigaru Tsuyama: Ashi is a very nice guy, who tried to give her some advice and comfort when Blake and Mari broke up. It didn't work, but it was still nice of him to try.
- The Thorn Bandit: He's Blake's friend, and nearly as crass as Blake is. However, when they were working together, and she expressed surprise that he would, he put it to her succinctly, "Blake's pissed at you, not me." That someone could think beyond supporting his 'bro' blindly surprised her, and she's ... reluctant to call him a friend, yet here he is. Also, he doesn't grab her behind like he does other women--he gets burned.
- Crimson Cutlass: Mariko respects Crimson, for the most part. However, the Captain is only human and prone to make errors in judgement. One of those errors (in Mariko's eyes) was wishing to kill Unchainer after the villain had been defeated. Mariko was able to convince the Captain not to, but rather turn her over to the authorities, but Crimson has lost face for the error.
- Fist Fight: Casey. A very sweet girl who's full of life... and seems to enjoy busting heads. They make a vicious duo when fighting, and Casey has promised to have a 'girls' night' with Haika and Ray soon.
- Sovereign Fist: Ray is a sweet man who is a lot smarter than people give him credit for. He's easily confused (as Mari is) by pop culture, but way worse than she. She respects him.
- Jet Nitro: The Aces second in command, Jet is the epitome of what Mariko had. To this end, she envies Jet, but likes her just the same, as both are very serious individuals who don't joke around much. It's a relief to know that Mariko is not alone in that trait. However, Jet is also a warrior, if not always a killer. Because of the Unchainer debacle, and Jet's hardcore insistance that Unchainer should die, Mari lost much respect for Jet.
- De-Motivator: A fellow Ace and someone who seems focused (despite his protestations that he's not), Mariko enjoys De-Mo's company. Plus, they share a love of eating healthy and he likes her low-fat cooking.
- Junior: A newcomer to the Aces, Mari is not certain about Gerard. He's admitted he was formerly part of the Council, a group Mari has squared off with many, many times in Paragon. Being an admitted telepath as well makes her extra leery of him, but as everyone deserves a second chance, she is giving him the opportunity to prove himself...although she's watching him like a hawk in the meantime.
Enemies
Technically, many, as she fights versus most sorts of villains both in Paragon and in the Islands. However, these have a special place.
- Chill Yeti: Blake, the ex-boyfriend. While she regrets dating him and losing her self-control (and somedays her self-respect), she doesn't consider getting to know him a mistake at all. If only he wasn't a bloody selfish idiot, he might have made something of himself. As it is, they can barely pass by each other without sniping each other with hateful words. The merest mention of him can, and usually does, make her lose what control she has. It doesn't stop her from feeling sorry for him when he's going through a rough time or wanting to help, but it does limit the amount of help she's willing to give.
- Unchainer: Recently, Rose broke into the Aces base, and was soundly defeated. Mariko arrived as they were deciding what to do with Unchainer, and the general consensus was to kill her. Mari was horrified at the thought, and convinced Crimson to turn her into Paragon until the care of Zeal Drain. Mari went with to make the drop, but en route, the chopper was attacked by Unchainer's minions and friends, allowing her to escape. Since then, Mariko has vowed to bring Unchainer to justice, seeing as it was thwarted. On a darker note, the sparing of Unchainer's life and subsequent escape has made Mari wonder why they *shouldn't* have killed her as the whole effort suddenly seemed futile. It is for this reason Mariko made said vow, just to prove to herself that it was NOT futile and is, indeed, the right thing to do.
