Misako
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
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| Misako | |
| Player: @Flux Vector | |
| Origin: | Natural |
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| Archetype: | Peacebringer |
| Security Level: | 50 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Confidential |
| Known Aliases: | Misa |
| Species: | Kheldian |
| Age: | Appears 16 |
| Height: | 4' 10" |
| Weight: | 94 lbs |
| Eye Color: | Blue |
| Hair Color: | Black |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | Japanese |
| Occupation: | Confidential |
| Place of Birth: | Confidential |
| Base of Operations: | Paragon City |
| Marital Status: | Committed Relationship |
| Known Relatives: | Confidential |
| Known Powers | |
| Luminous Blast, Luminous Aura, Super Speed | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Limited Superscience, Heavy Experience, First Aid | |
| Equipment | |
| Wide Variety of Temp Powers | |
| No further information available. | |
Misako is a character who's taken on a life of her own since she was originally created. When I created her I was feeling a little bored and burned out on City of Heroes, and was looking for something fun and challenging to do. Eventually I came up with Misako, a cynical idealist from a high-class Japanese background who gained magical girl-like powers from an injured Kheldian, and through her I approached the everyday game content of City of Heroes with an "outsider's perspective" that took everything she saw and did very seriously. As she gained more power and had more experiences, the game's content itself strongly influenced her outlook and personality.
Contents |
IC Description
A short, slight Asian who appears to be in her middle teens, but whose eyes are distant and seem much older. Misako speaks in a calm and even voice, with careful pronunciation and only a slight accent. Her gestures are few and understated, and she exudes a sort of serene formality. She is fastidiously clean and neat, with close attention given to all details of her appearance - especially her hair. She wears a gold ring set with a ruby surrounded by small diamonds on her left ring finger, and a thin black scar runs the length of her right hand.
Origin
Only a month after arriving in America, the human half of Misako crossed paths with that of a defeated Peacebringer hero named Velocity whose symbiote needed to separate from its host in order to save both their lives. Seeking refuge in the nearest compatible person, the alien creature bonded with the Japanese teenager in what was meant to be a temporary and recuperative stay. It was half right. Although the alien recovered its power, it never regained "consciousness" and so was unable to leave her. Shortly after, Misako started displaying some of the basic superpowers of a Peacebringer and sought training in mastering them, starting her down the "hero's path." Over time the alien and the human have begun to truly merge, making a new, singular being.
Misako strictly maintains her secret identity as a superhero, protecting both herself in her human state and her loved ones from the consequences of her other life as a meta-human. She has rarely given anyone hints as to her real identity other than the fact that she's from Japan (something she couldn't hide anyway).
Personality
A complex and at times contradictory person, Misako is at once calmly rational and deeply emotional, idealistic and cynical, unyielding and softhearted. An introvert by nature, she is happy to let others have the spotlight and maintains a polite aloofness towards strangers and casual acquaintances. In order to make clearheaded decisions she stoically suppresses her feelings and clearly defines her priorities, usually appearing patient and serene but becoming stern or even harsh when under enough stress. Valuing peace and quiet highly, she rarely uses her powers casually or in social settings and plainly prefers "normal" activities to super-powered ones. Among people she is familiar with, she may display a dry sense of humor that is undercut by her general seriousness and formal, occasionally awkward speech. Even in a comfortable situation, though, Misako is reluctant to talk too much or too deeply about herself.
When the stakes are high enough, Misako is coldly pragmatic and can be brutal. In battle she fights relentlessly and to win, having both a high level of confidence in herself as well as a fatalistic acceptance of personal risk. She will make ethically questionable sacrifices if she judges them as necessary for a sufficiently worthwhile goal, and has a decidedly dark view of the City of Heroes world.
Misako is very much in love with Ruby Strike, and brightens and softens considerably around the demoness. She may behave in uncharacteristic ways where Ruby is involved.
Fame & the Public Record
Approximately a year ago, Misako became a media darling in Paragon City, a cute young girl who'd made Heroine of the City with numerous awards - awards that she continued to pile up after reaching the highest security level. There were interviews, posters, a fan club, action figures, and even some talk of a TV show. She played along to the minimum required, carefully guiding the coverage to keep her secrets and preserve her reputation. Then, like with most media fads, hers quickly faded when the next bigger thing came along and she was glad to let it. During the Second Rikti Invasion, Misako again fought very extensively and gained numerous decorations, but mostly declined to speak to the media. At the moment she is refusing to have anything at all to do with the press, going so far as to use her powers to avoid them.
Misako's Peacebringer archetype, her security level, supergroup affiliation, and badge information are available as part of the public record. She is fairly well-known for both leading and following on numerous successful Task Force teams. She has said publicly that she finds motivation in enabling people to live normal lives, that she believes heroes must be willing to kill as well as die in battle if they wish to be successful, that she believes most villains' unwillingness to die makes them less likely to succeed, and that she believes any sentient being counts as a person.
Friends
(This section's Still Under Construction - If you want to add yourself, feel free. If not I may add you eventually anyway. So nyah.)
Ruby Strike
Misako absolutely adores, completely trusts, and is totally devoted to her girlfriend Ruby Strike. Although protective of Ruby and willing to go to any lengths for her, Misako attempts to respect Ruby's status as her equal and fellow fighter and is willing to allow herself to be protected as well. Since Misako is easily embarrassed because of her seriousness and romantic inexperience, Ruby has fun teasing her and making her blush - and though she probably wouldn't admit it Misako rather enjoys it as well. For Misako, Ruby is her One True Love, and she has never shown romantic interest towards anyone else.
Supergroup: The Youth League
After attending an SG recruiting fair over a year ago, Misako joined the Youth League. Her choice of groups was heavily influenced by the League's seemingly easygoing, few-questions-asked attitude that would make her secrets easy to keep. She has remained with them since, and her sense of responsibility has caused her to grow into a role within the group where she provides subordinate leadership, mentoring, advice, and assistance for other members.
- Lorna Pyrel - After Ruby, Lorna is Misako's closest friend. Although it's difficult for two people to be more different in background or mindset, they've followed separate paths to many of the same conclusions and opinions. Misako puts a very high level of trust in Lorna, and she is one of the few people other than Ruby that Misako would turn to for advice or emotional support. Their friendship is further reinforced by their shared experience in battle.
- Valhalla Girl - One of the people Misako considers a good friend, and another person who could scarcely be more different from the Peacebringer. She sees Cindy as having a refreshingly normal outlook, and Cindy is one of the only people to consistently treat Misako as a normal person and "one of the girls." Thanks to this, although Misako doesn't always approve of what Cindy says or does, she's another of the people Misako might look to for advice.
- Damien Ghost - Ruby's adopted younger brother, Misako feels that Damien's exact relationship to her is poorly-defined but at least borders on family, seeing him perhaps as a younger cousin. Although she thinks he is a trustworthy and loyal ally and appreciates his acceptance of her relationship with Ruby, there is a distance between them that is yet to be bridged. Recent events have made Misako uncomfortable around Damien, and she simultaneously goes out of her way to help him while trying to avoid him.
- Volare - A young mutant who's become Damien's lover, Misako extends some of Damien's "family status" to Aaron - and some of the discomfort as well.
- Nathan Hyde - Although Misako doesn't consider Nathan a close friend, she respects him and considers him a stalwart ally. She feels partly responsible for an unpleasant experience he's had, and is hoping to one day make it up to him.
- Akuma Koneko - Misako feels a degree of responsibility for looking after the impressionable impling.
- Crypt Kid - Thanks to the way Ben deals with his unfortunate circumstances while retaining a positive attitude and strong sense of morals, Misako holds him in high regard; in fact she thinks he's a better person than she herself is. Although she enjoys socializing with him and considers him a friend, she is worried over how he might react if he knew about some of her actions and is reluctant to confide in him.
Other Friends & Acquaintances
Supernatural Powers
Misako's powers have grown considerably from her experiences and she's now a world-class, if not cosmic-class, meta-human.
Human/Alien Transformation
Unlike most Kheldians, Misako's powers were not available to her human host under normal conditions after her bonding; instead her human host transformed into a slightly different persona to unlock her powers. Over time the barriers between her two personae have broken down so that the transformation is now more accurately described as turning from alien into human, and is used as a means of suppressing her power to conceal her identity. Misako can also use this transformation ability to make some changes to her appearance (ie, change costumes).
Misako's body is fused with her symbiote's energy and is almost literally half-alien, reacting to damage differently than a normal person: she can remain active with injuries that would kill an ordinary human. Her alien form rebuilds itself primarily through quantum conversion of energy to matter rather than biological regeneration, which can cause her to sparkle or shimmer as she heals. Misako's power recovers very quickly, and her maximum energy potential is somewhat higher than an average Kheldian's, making her almost tireless and able to recycle her abilities - even large, high-power or exhausting abilities - with exceptional frequently. She can go for extended periods without rest, and can sustain herself on energy alone if no food is available (she still does get hungry - just doesn't die of it). Her conversion to "half-alien" has seemingly halted her physical aging and maturation/growth at the age of 16 and given her supernatural hardiness against (but not immunity to) diseases, illnesses, chemicals, and so on.
While in her alien form she will plainly radiate Kheldian energy as a passive barrier capable of deflecting some attacks, even when not actively using her powers; anyone who can sense or detect energy will readily be able to tell what she is. In her mostly-human secret identity, however, only a close inspection via the use of energy-senses, or the use of sensitive equipment, would reveal her.
Energy Control and Manipulation
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The bulk of Misako's super-powers come from her ability to use the energy generated, gathered, and stored by her alien body towards various ends. Misako has a very strong degree of control over her own body's energy and quantum state. Like all Peacebringers, she has the ability of energy-based flight. Thanks to her mastery of her powers she is able to convert herself to a fully-energy Lightform, she can phase shift to complete intangibility, partially phase shift to become invisible and lower her mass for super-speed movement, and in a very advanced maneuver she is able to shift in and out of phase rapidly for a short while as a combat tactic.
Exerting further mastery over her own body's state she is able to consciously boost her speed and resilience to damage. Misako can create an energy shield around herself, and can actively repair damage to her body as well. When necessary Misako also uses her energy powers to reinforce her physical strength, giving her super-strength relative to the level of energy she exerts and allowing her to fight evenly in melee with much stronger and larger enemies. For the purposes of lifting her usual strength is sufficient to lift one ton overhead while retaining full use of all her other abilities; her total exertion is as yet unmeasured.
Misako's ability to control energy outside her own body is also significant, but her power decreases rapidly as the distance from herself increases. Like other Kheldians she can fire energy blasts of weak to moderate strength; beyond the norm she is able to partially guide these attacks in flight, giving her a good chance of hitting elusive opponents or making "trick shots" or "called shots" with them. Misako deals considerably more damage in closer quarters, either by energizing her fists and delivering an attack in melee, or by gathering her power and releasing it in omni-directional point-blank explosive bursts. And at close ranges, she is able to project minor healing energy into others.
Within a few inches of any part of her body, Misako can manipulate energy fields and flows, allowing her to act as a power source for simple electrical devices or to control specially modified electronics. She can generate non-damaging heat, and various intensities of light (from subtle glows up up to dazzling/blinding light flashes capable of disorienting or partially blinding onlookers) from her body.
Cosmic Balance
Common to all Peacebringers, Misako has the ability called Cosmic Balance. The energy auras of nearby allies will weakly link with her alien side and contribute to Misako's power, making her stronger when she has allies nearby. She can sense the nearby presence of other beings through this ability, though the power is not accurate enough to pinpoint a definite location or identify strangers. Through this sense she can clearly identify other Kheldians and Nictus, but cannot reliably identify other broad categories of creature. If she is familiar enough with someone she may be able to pinpoint their location, even at a distance, and may be able to tell if their energy aura has changed. Finally, Misako is able to gauge some of an opponent's strength through the intensity and nature of their aura's feel.
(It's up to the other party to decide what, if anything, Misako can "feel" from their character.)
Super Speed
Misako can move at super speeds. As this is a development of her energy manipulation powers rather than a main ability in itself, she is of only average superspeed velocity. However her control is exceptional, and she is able to move precisely at her full speed. She has sufficient power to fight continuously at super-speeds for extended periods, only slowing as much as is required to attack. In terms of response speed Misako is top-class and she can react to the fastest opponent's attacks, even if they can outrun her.
Skills & Abilities
After more than two years of life as a heroine, Misako has accumulated a number of relevant skills and experiences. In particular, she's learned a great deal from her enemies, perhaps even more than from her friends.
Super-Science
Between the Kheldian knowledge she can access from her symbiote, and her study of and experience with enemy technologies (particularly Rikti), Misako is competent at certain limited areas of super-science. She is capable of creating or modifying certain devices in ways related to energy, electronic and computer systems, or quantum and dimensional mechanics. There is a "knowledge gap" between her original human education, and the special knowledge she gained from her alien side and her work with advanced technologies as a heroine. As a result her scientific knowledge generally cannot be applied to simpler tasks or mechanisms, making her able to create a portal to another dimension but not fix a broken toaster. Many of her original devices (as opposed to modifications made to existing ones) are prone to comedic failures early in development, and require refinement over time.
Experience and Knowledge
Heavily involved in superpowered combat and incidents of every sort with barely a break for two years, Misako has significant experience both as regards battle and the usual sorts of unusual events that come up in meta-human life. She often sees problems coming and will attempt to prevent them with an early intervention, or at least begin preparing for the worst ahead of time. She is familiar with the capabilities and limitations of most "standard" equipment and superpowers, including those used by enemy groups, and is familiar with common tactics and strategies both to employ and to counter these capabilities. She is also familiar in a broad sense with common supernatural and superhuman conditions, traits, and creatures.
Misako has a nearly encyclopedic knowledge of Paragon City's history and various faction and leader backgrounds (ie, of the City of Heroes canon). She is also privy to many, if not all, of the city's overarching super-powered secrets (such as Omega Clearance and the identities of Malta's founders).
First Aid & Medicine
Through study and experience, Misako has become very familiar with common-to-superheroism medical situations such as combat injuries, poisons, infectious diseases, and so forth. In practice she can act as a battlefield medic for providing emergency or ad-hoc care, and knows procedures and steps to contain and mitigate medical emergencies. In serious cases she cannot replace a medical doctor, but often can buy enough time for one to be found.
Equipment and Resources
Misako has access to a very impressive array of weapons, gadgets, and artifacts of varying strengths. Some of these are items recovered or acquired during her career, others come from her access to the Youth League's storage rooms and Vanguard's arsenal. Put simply, she's got a lot of temp powers. A few pieces of her equipment has been created or modified through her dabbling in super-science, but she also tends to carry a number of entirely mundane items that could be useful (such as a magic marker, a ball of string, and a swiss army knife). Being quite wealthy, Misako always has money - but due to her secret identity she will always pay cash when in her guise as a hero and as such will not have access to very large sums on short notice.
Weaknesses
As with other Kheldians, Misako suffers severe damage when attacked by Quantum weaponry. She is also vulnerable to having her concentration and movement disrupted by stunning or disabling attacks, and while she recovers energy rapidly she has little resistance to its being drained or siphoned away, such as by Biofeedback "Sapper" rifles. If her energy is completely drained or restricted from use, Misako is a very low physical threat.
Misako is magically inept. Even simple and straightforward spells and rituals tend to fail in her hands. She is able to use already-created charms, artifacts, and magic items when necessary; she also does not disrupt magic with her presence and spells affect her normally when cast by others. Spells cast in combination with others do not display this failure rate, if the others are able to cast spells. She just is generally unsuccessful if attempting to perform magic by herself.
IC Trivia
- Misako likes to listen to dramatic-sounding music, including Nightwish and Meat Loaf, and to Opera and Broadway musicals. She likes the Japanese groups Ali Project and Yousei Teikoku.
- Her favorite hobby is reading, followed by board and card games. She very much dislikes violent entertainment in general, but has been watching horror movies lately.
- Although she is heavily influenced by many anime characters OOCly, Misako herself doesn't watch anime. She thinks it's silly.
- Her favorite colors are blue and red. Her favorite food is oden. Her favorite ice cream is raspberry sherbet, but she rarely eats sweets.
- Misako enjoys tea, and finds both making and drinking it to be relaxing. She's partial to Darjeeling. She almost never drinks coffee.
- Due to her social stature, Misako drinks socially despite being underage, and has since before gaining her powers. She favors red wines.
- Although she's tried to learn, almost anything Misako cooks is a disaster.
- Misako is very vain about her hair, and refuses to cut it short. In her combat costumes she almost always puts it up, both to protect it and keep it out of the way.
- Other than for combat costumes, Misako will almost always dress in a skirt instead of slacks or shorts. She only owns one pair of blue jeans.
- Misako intensely dislikes most Warshades, doubting anything that would commit the sins of the Nictus in the first place could be reformed or redeemed.
- Her IC nickname, "the Dumpling of Death," was given to her by SG-mate Jay Boss after she took him on a few missions.
- She will almost never refer to herself as a "hero." She uses the word "vigilante" instead.
- It usually annoys Misako when others try to speak Japanese to her, attempt to mimic Japanese manners, or otherwise treat her differently because she's a foreigner.
- Misako rarely speaks Japanese herself, considering it rude to speak a foreign language in front of those who can't understand it. If someone else does, she will almost always reply in English or make an effort to translate for listeners.
- She has only ever cursed once IC.
OOC Trivia
- Misako's original concept, appearance, and design were heavily influenced by Nanaoha from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. Her personality, though, is completely different. Other strong anime influences on her have come from Maria-sama ga Miteru, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, and Simoun. Non-anime influences include Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Watchmen.
- Her theme song is Ankoku Tengoku ("Dark Heaven") by Ali Project.
- Misako's got a knack for survival. I've been playing her for two years, and she's gotten over 540 badges including all the taskforces, but she still doesn't have the 6th debt badge. Yay!
- Misako uses her Dawn Strike a lot. A whole lot; it draws comments and her usual teammates call it "the Kaboom." I've said before that if I ever get tired of it, it's time for me to retire her.
- Although Misako is bilingual in English and Japanese, her player only knows enough Japanese to fake it. Please be gentle!
