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 Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:02 pm
Woohoo! Welcome to my quest for a Cabbage Patch Kid inspired by The Second Hand of Time (more easily found on the interwebs as Toki no Byoushin) story arc of DNAngel. For the record, this is not a cosplay. I just used the concepts behind the Second Hand of Time as a basis for Kali's abilities. Have fun!
Update
Now that the contest is over and I've finished my period of headdesking over how much of a complete idiot I am due to the mistakes I overlooked, I'm going to start reworking Kali's concept to make her into a better character. Here's my checklist of things I need to fix:
Fix the story section to include just the true part of the 'legend'
Change Kali's appearance to make her more original
Completely redo the ability section to stave off godmodding potential
Get rid of the time-bending ability
Add Seth's background
Thank you to EmperialTeal for pointing these things out. I hope I can make a character worthy of this shop heart
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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:03 pm
Table of Contents
o1. Introduction
o2. Table of Contents
o3. The Inspiration
o4. Summary and Appearance
o5. Personality and Disposition
o6. Abilities and Limitations
o7. Special Possessions
o8. The Guardian
o9. The Rest of the Family
o1o. Writing Samples
o11. Songs
o12. Notes and Critiques
o13. Artwork
o14. Credits
o15. Extra
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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:04 pm
The Inspiration
All information taken from the DNAngel series by Yukiru Sugisaki.
So What Is The Second Hand of Time?
In DNAngel, the Second Hand of Time is a piece of artwork created by the Hikari clan. Art from the Hikari clan is special in that the artist put so much of his soul into them, that the art started to have a soul itself. The Second Hand of Time was placed in a church, where the people in the surrounding village considered it their god and protector. Due to tragic events, the Second Hand of Time was sealed away. These events are recorded in a fairytale called Ice and Dark. However, over time the story was changed to a more friendly version known as Ice and Snow.
Ice and Snow
Long ago, there was a village girl named Freedert who was in love with the son of the Duke, Elliot. Their love was mutual, but they were destined to be torn apart. It was not because of their classes or families, but of war. Elliot marched off to battle, leaving Freedert behind. Unfortunately, he was shot by an arrow and killed. Freedert went to the church, and pleaded to the Second Hand of Time to give Elliot all her remaining time. The Second Hand of Time granted her wish, and when Elliot awoke he found Freedert breathing her last. He called out to the Second Hand of Time, asking it to return the time to Freedert. The Second Hand of Time was so touched by their love for each other, that it gave them eternal time and protected the village for the rest of eternity.
Now for the real version...
Ice and Dark
Elliot and Freedert had another friend by the name of Kyle. They spent all their time together, despite the fact that Elliot was the son of the Duke. However, as Freedert grew to love Elliot, Kyle became filled with jealousy. When war came, Kyle promised Elliot he would look after Freedert. After Elliot left, Kyle ran to the church and prayed for the Second Hand of Time to take away all of Elliot's time. "He'll die a hero's death. If he were gone, maybe I'd have a chance with Freedert." And so, Elliot was shot down in battle by an iron shaft shaped like the hand of a clock. Freedert, distraught over Elliot's death, went to the church and begged to give all her time to the one she loved. The Second Hand of Time did so, and Elliot awoke to find the village destroyed and Freedert dead. Filled with grief, he stabbed himself with his sword--a gift from Freedert--hoping that it would give all his time back to her. However, the Second Hand of Time can only exchange time. It cannot create more.
I've made a terrible mistake...
In DNAngel...
The Second Hand of Time story arc of DNAngel begins when Daisuke Niwa is told to steal the art from the church. When he goes as Dark Mousy--his art thieving alter ego--he somehow unlocks the seal placed on the Second Hand of Time. This pulls Daisuke into another plane where he finds Freedert, leaving Dark in the real world. In her final moments, Freedert became one with the Second Hand of Time and froze herself in time. She now exists inside a world within one of Daisuke's paintings, which she says has enough life in it to sustain her. She begs him to give her more time--which has been started again by the breaking of the seal--by drawing more pictures. As time goes by, Daisuke's condition starts failing, as a human cannot exist inside the world of the painting for very long.
Meanwhile, Dark works in the real world to figure out how to pull Daisuke out of the painting. All Freedert wants is Elliot to return to her, and that's why she waits frozen in time. Eventually, Dark finds Elliot's sword, where his soul is chained inside. At the end of the story arc, the world inside the painting starts to deteriorate as Freedert runs out of time. Dark manages to carry Daisuke out, but not before Satoshi--a friend of Daisuke's, and an enemy of Dark's--drops Elliot's sword into the painting. As Freedert asks the Second Hand of Time to stay with her until the end, Elliot's body falls to her. They hold each other one last time until the world disappears.
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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:05 pm
Profile Summary
(NOTE: There are entire posts dedicated to Kali's personality, abilities, etc. This is just "Kali At A Glance" )
[ If I could afford art, a picture would go here :B ]
Name: Kali Whyte
Name Meaning: Wikipedia Kali is a feminine form of the Sanskrit word "kala," meaning "time." It also means "black." Kali has therefore been translated variously as "She who is time," "She who devours time," "She who is the Mother of time," "She who is black," and "She who is black time."
Gender: Female
Concept Base: the Second Hand of Time/Toki no Byoushin
Personality in three words: Needy, friendly, and calculating
Primary Power: Exchanging time between two living objects, and taking an organism's time for her own sustenance
Greatest Strength: Manipulating people to her needs
Greatest Weakness: In order to keep functioning as a human being Kali must take the time of living organisms, a very delicate and dangerous process for her and the being.
Greatest Fear: Stagnation and running out of time
Hobbies: Drawing, making home movies, meeting people, terrorizing the neighborhood woodland creatures, archery
Likes: people who need her, collecting things, hatching evil plots, artwork, thinking back on the past, listening to orders from people older than her
Dislikes: a 'self-made' person, making mistakes, wasting time, ungratefulness, open-ended things, taking orders from people her own age or younger
Appearance
Skin Tone: White
Hair Color: Dust colored
Hair Style: Bangs and two pigtails that she lets hang in front, over her shoulders
Eye Color: Green
Height: When she's fully grown, around 5'3"
Build: Slight. Kali was not built to be a fighter.
Clothing: While I know what I like clothing-wise, I have absolutely no sense of fashion. This is something that I'll leave to the artist.
Accessories: A plain, silver bangle on each wrist. The circle represents eternity, so the bangles would fit nicely with Kali's affiliation with time.
Yay For FaceMaker: Here's a FaceMaker image of Kali
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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:06 pm
Personality and Disposition
Cabbage
Silly! Cabbages don't have personality!
Baby
Ah yes, the joy of infants. Poop, drool, the throwing of food, and covering it all with seemingly innocent smiles. The whole deal. At this point, Kali is completely unaware of her 'special needs,' because what kind of baby worries about anything more than being fed, held, burped, and--oh, shinies! But just because she can't steal your time doesn't mean that she won't ensure that you spend every living moment with her. She's the baby that screams at 2am in the morning just because she can, and daddy comes running to give her anything she wants anyway so what's the big problem? Kali likes being held, to feel secure. Her favorite object is her blankie, because it's oh so soft and warm. As she becomes more aware of the world around her, and the wonders of meeting new people, she'll do anything she can do get them to go, "Oh, she's so cute!"
Once she hits the terrible toddler period, she'll be walking, talking, and starting to use the big-girl toilet. However, she'll still want her guardian to go with her everywhere. She needs to be tucked into bed at night, given her favorite blanket, and--if it's not too much trouble--a bedtime story, things that fortunately Seth doesn't have any problem giving. Probably because he's scared of what'll happen if he doesn't. Kali has also discovered a love for making art, and the wall is her favorite canvas. With other children, Kali likes to take charge and be the leader. She gets first choosies, and if she doesn't get it she'll most likely throw a tantrum.
Near the end of this stage, she'll realize her need to take time from other living objects, but it's more of a game to her than a necessity. Look, daddy! I just turned a roly poly all hard and gray! Isn't it pwettyful?
Child
By this point, Kali has figured out she likes coordinating things. She's the one writing game plans in the sand for Capture the Flag, and creating strategies on how just to get that cookie jar off the counter without the grown-ups noticing. It's not just the planning that excites her, but the gratitude and recognition she receives afterward. "That was so great, Kali!" That's what she wants to hear. Fear the ego of the time-eating child. Also, when it comes to making friends, Kali starts running into huge roadblocks. She has a fierce desire to make close, individual friendships with other people...without any interference. She doesn't want to be a friend; she wants to be THE friend. This doesn't mean that she doesn't have casual relationships with other children, just that the ones she decides to attach herself to should look out for warning signs. Kali's not above turning friend against friend to be number one in a person's life.
Around the house, Kali's a little daddy's girl. She does her chores, even when not asked. She doesn't make Colette angry--which is a feat all in itself. She helps with other household needs like making dinner, cleaning up her sister's messes, and planting in the garden. Unlike most children her age, she likes being told what to do by adults, provided it doesn't go against any of her previous plans. Listening to adult authority is her new security blanket, especially since she gets praised so well for being such a good little girl.
In regards to her powers, she's started collecting the stone remains of the creatures she's stolen the time from. As of yet, she hasn't realized that this is essentially killing the animals. She's graduated from insects to small, furry animals such as rabbits and moles. Her room is littered with them, positioned on shelves like a figurine collection. Instead of selling lemonade in the summer, she's selling garden statues. Just keep your household pets away from her yard, or else you might one day pass by her stand going, "Aww, that cat figurine looks JUST like Snowflakes!"
Important Transition
Sometime between being a child and a teenager, it will dawn on her that 'stealing the time' from something is technically murdering it. When she was younger, the whole process seemed like a game. Even fun. Because, y'know it took time to track those creatures down and then get them to hold still long enough for her to take their time. She took the attitude not unlike a kid smiling as he tore the wings off an insect while being completely oblivious to the pain he was causing. However, once she's old enough to realize the ramifications of what she's doing, for a short period of time she'll try to stop taking time. Unfortunately, this futile attempt against her condition will fail miserably, and will probably leave her with a deteriorated body part--most likely a hand. Eventually she will come to terms with what she's doing. Rationalization can get a person very far in life. "Well, I guess that's the way it's supposed to be. No reason to fight it." By the time Kali is a teen, stealing time will become more of a routine, a necessary evil. It keeps her alive, anyways. What's wrong with that?
Teen
Puberty, raging hormones, and instinctual rebellion. As much as Kali tries to be above these things, she falls to them eventually. Her love for planning has turned into scheming, getting her into all sorts of trouble if she isn't careful. The clingy friendships have turned into something like minor obsessions. While outwardly she would never show it, inside she's become slightly paranoid about her friends. Who are they with when they're not with her? Are they betraying her? Why aren't they here with her right now? Instead of throwing these questions at her friends, she starts playing with them to figure out where their loyalties lie. You didn't go to that party instead of spending the night with me, did you? Now why would you do that? I thought we were friends. We're supposed to do everything together.
This is probably related to the desperation linked with her need for time. Now that she's older, she's finding that there just aren't enough rabbits on the property to keep her going. The need for new sources of time are leading her to less-than-ethical means of finding them, such as breaking into stables or pet stores. However, people are going to notice when their beloved pets suddenly turn into a piece of architecture. Kali's started entertaining the idea of stealing time from people...but first she'd need their full consent.
Kali finally realized that her timeless stone figurine collection was just slightly creepy, and instead turned her artistic tastes toward more mobile forms of art. Therefore, she's started making home movies. Also, she's started to pick up archery, though she's not entirely great at it. Watch out for arrows through your glass windows.
Youth and Beyond
This will be determined through RP, as I don't want to lock Kali into anything beyond her teen stage.
Random Personality Analysis Information
[ All information taken from Please Understand Me II: Temperament, Character, Intelligence ]
Personality Type: ESFJ
What the heck does that mean: Extroverted, Sensing, Feeling, Judging
Social Role: Guardian--Provider
View On Life: Stoic, Pessimistic, Fatalistic
Likes To Be: Dependable, Beneficient, Respectable
Trusts: Authority
Yearns For: Belonging, Security
Prizing: Gratitude
Aspiring: Executive
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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:07 pm
Abilities and Limitations
Exchanging Time: In the same vein as the 'fairytale' Ice and Dark, Kali has the ability to exchange time between two organisms. However, she can only exchange time between a living thing and a deceased one, and the dead one must have died of unnatural circumstances (aka NOT old age or sickness). For example, your dog got hit by a car? Find some other animal of relative lifespan and bring it to Kali. She'll exchange their time, and voila! Your dog lives!
Pros: Very good insurance against accidents
Cons: Just because it's revived does not mean it's healed. If the body has started to decay, or there's a mortal wound somewhere, the newly revived animal/person would just continue to live despite such things. It's like a more friendly form of zombification without the constant moans of "AUUGGgghh!" and the brain fetish. Also, whatever was providing the time no longer has any anymore, and therefore will turn to stone. Warning: Attempting this on humans may produce undesirable results.
Degeneration of Time: This is more of a condition, rather than an ability. Basically, Kali's time degenerates as she moves through life. It's like having a leaky gas tank; it's constantly running low, the hole isn't helping, and it costs a crapload to keep it full. As she starts to run out of time, her body starts to decay. If she runs out of time completely, she'll turn to dust.
Pros: Not too sure if there are any pros to this, except that it'd make for a great Halloween costume if she let herself decay to zombie levels.
Cons: The description is basically the cons. Also, she can't un-decay herself even after she 'refills' her time. Therefore, if she let her hand turn to nothing but bone, then she's stuck with a skinless, muscle-less hand.
Why dust instead of stone: Earlier, it was stated that those who run out of time will turn to stone. However, if Kali runs out of time she'll turn to dust. This makes a twisted form of sense in my brain, so let me try to explain. When Kali takes the time from a living being, it's all at once. The only way I could think of to describe what it might be like to have every atom of your being freeze in place for the rest of eternity would be to turn to stone. However, Kali degenerates slowly, decaying and losing time as she goes. Therefore, hers would be a gradual return to dust, or sand.
Give Me All Your Time: This is an extension of her Exchanging Time ability to counteract the degeneration. The way she 'refills' her time is through stealing it from other living things. For the most part, she is able to take the time from animals and plants with short lifespans without any risks. Animals and plants with longer lifespans, however, take a bit more preparation. Continuing with the leaky gas tank metaphor, just as you don't want to let the tank go empty, you don't want to overfill it either. You could ruin the system, breathe harmful vapors, or destroy the tank. In the same way, Kali could end up 'poisoning' herself in a sense, screw up the process of taking time, or cause harm to herself. Therefore, she would need to regulate herself to take time only when she needed to.
Pros: It keeps her functioning, not to mention she gets a nice little stone figurine afterward.
Cons: Firstly, she'll have to deal with the fact that she's killing creatures to sustain herself on a regular basis. Also, the need for time increases as she gets older. As a child, stealing time from a rabbit might allow her two weeks of sustenance. As a teenager, she'd have to take the time from a horse in order to get the same effect. There's also a chance that the process might backfire when tried on creatures with longer lifespans, in effect taking away the time rather than adding to it. It may also create a larger 'hole' in her metaphorical tank.
How is this not godmodding: Firstly, I would ask OOCly before Kali took the time from anything related to another person's character. Also, taking time from a human is a huge undertaking. If Kali tried to steal the time from another person without their consent, it would backfire horribly and leave Kali with little to no time left--in which case she would turn to stone. The only way Kali could take time from another character--NPC or CPK--would be if the transfer was consensual, which is ludicrous on any grounds. Maybe if she hooked up with the emo kids...
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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:08 pm
Special Possessions
Yes, the image is very small, but as my scanner is not working I cannot get a larger picture D: . This is only thing directly related to the Second Hand of Time that I want Kali to possess, but it's purpose is slightly different. In DNAngel, this was the piece of art known as the Second Hand of Time, which is also shown as being used as a hairpiece for it's human form as shown here (art by saishuu-hinoiri, found through random DeviantArt search). However, in Kali's case I'd like it to be more of a necklace. Also--while this is not in the series--I'd like the red part to open up to reveal an analog clock...kind of like a pocket watch.
What It Can Do: This is what Kali uses as a medium to collect time from something else. It also looks quite pretty.
What It Can't Do: Tell you the time. The positions of its hands are directly related to how much time Kali has left.
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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:10 pm
The Guardian
[ Once again, if I could afford art, a picture would go here :B ]
Name: Seth Whyte
Gender: Male
Age: 43
Occupation: Scientist/Inventor
Personality: While Seth might have the brains of a supergenius, he's got the mentality of an eight-year-old. Calling him naive would be a grand understatement. He greets people with an enthusiasm usually only found in preschoolers. "Let's be friends!" seems to be what his smile says. This may be due to the fact that he lives in the middle of nowhere with sentient robots, and therefore has very little human interaction. Unfortunately, his memory for things beyond science is very dim. So while he might be very excited to meet you, an hour after you leave he probably won't remember your name. Some might take this as callous or uncaring, but that's honestly just how he is. It's a good thing he has his robots pay his bills for him.
When it comes to his work, Seth throws his entire being into his creations. You don't create flying robots who belittle you on a daily basis through casual meddling with gears. However, his experiments usually end up in the whole house exploding, but this doesn't bother him one bit. That's what the cleaning robots are for. But ye be warned, those who entire his household unprepared...for his creations come from the mind of a mad scientist. Well, not so much mad as much as, "Let's see what happens if I make a thermo-nuclear toaster! Instant toast!"
Fortunately, Seth does have the attention span to care about those within his household. He loves kids, and would love some of his own (biologically), but that whole finding a female partner thing makes it difficult. So instead, he takes the route of letting others throw kids at him. He's been given Aislin already, and there's always room for more.
Appearance: Seth isn't exactly what you'd call the cleanest man in the universe. From years of being holed up in his basement laboratory, his brown hair has become a permanent nest for soot and dust. His hands can never seem to come clean, and his clothes are just remnants of their former glory. He's fairly skinny, and has hairy legs. For his poor eyesight, he wears glasses that constantly keep getting themselves lost. His eyes are olive green, which are only noticeable when he walks out of his basement completely covered in black grime. At home, it's a good day if he remembers to put something over his boxers other than his lab coat. When he goes out, he's usually in tattered jeans and a t-shirt of some kind. In that situation, he looks not unlike a hobo.
Hobbies: Inventing things, listening to old records, playing with kids, searching through trash for materials, line dancing
Likes: Creating things, kids, the outdoors, classic jazz, all of his creations
Dislikes: Colette's rage, unnerving situations, having to do a lot of work for a simple task
Reaction to Kali: It's not everyday that you find out your kid has to murder steal the time from innocent creatures in order to stay alive. When Seth first figures this out, it's the labs for Kali. He'll want to figure out exactly what's going on, why it happens, and how it works. Kali will still be treated like a daughter instead of a science experiment, though during the early stages Seth will constantly be like, "Let's see what happens when we do this...!" Once he's figured out all he can, his attitude will shift to a more wary one. People will start figuring out why their prized begonias have suddenly turned hard and gray, or why their dog is now a garden ornament. It's also not likely that the other guardians would like their kids to be hanging around a girl who could potentially turn their kid into a giant rock. However, Seth's not the kind of person to make direct orders, especially not when the receiving end will probably bite back. The most protest he'll be able to put up will probably be something to the extent of, "Please, please, please don't turn the neighbor's cat to stone again. Okay?"
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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:12 pm
The Rest of the Family
Colette
This robotic bundle of rage joy is one of Seth's first creations. She's a floating sphere with an antenna sticking out the back, and a camera lens in front. When needed, she deploys very thin mechanical arms, of which she has somewhere around six (more just seem to keep popping out of her hardware). She floats, talks, condescends, pays the bills, and keeps the household running. When Seth describes her to other people, most think she's his wife until they find out she's not human. Easily annoyed, and prone to violent irritation, Colette is one of the few who can keep Seth in line. However, if you do as your told and don't get in her way, she can be quite congenial toward you.
Aislin
One day, a record showed up on Seth's doorstep. After a very strange experience that brought him to the mountains and involved some sort of psychedelic musical experience, said record turned into a little girl. While Seth only thought this slightly strange, all worries were gone once he realized that he now had a child to take care of. Unfortunately she's a very high maintenance little girl. Always wanting to be the center of attention, Aislin goes out of her way to make the focus on her. She also has a liking for pretty, shiny things. Hopefully she'll grow out of this by the time she's a teenager.
Jasper
Jasper is the house cleaner, in a very loose sense of the word. He's a flat disk that acts as a vacuum cleaner, window washer, and feather duster all-in-one. Obviously, he's another one of Seth's many creations. He can't speak, but he can whir with emotion. Usually the only interaction Jasper gets with the sentient members of the household is when he needs help getting up the stairs.
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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:13 pm
Writing Samples
Sample 1
[ Kali is a child for this sample ]
It wasn't a normal day in the Whyte household unless something exploded, and today Seth filled that quota three times over. Kali sat on the step of the back porch, idly poking a concrete-beached earthworm with a short stick. She would have been inside watching TV, drawing, or organizing her figurines like she normally did on a Saturday afternoon, but instead Colette and Jasper were busy making the air inside the house breathable again. Putrid, black smoke poured from the open kitchen window above where Kali sat. From inside the house, she could hear Colette's yells and Seth's excuses above Jasper's whirring.
"What the hell were you thinking?!"
"I'm telling you, I was just testing out the new engine!"
"The new engine for what?!"
"For the self-emptying trash cans, of course!"
"Why in the world do those need engines?!"
Seth then ran off a bunch of reasons that the young Kali hardly understood, but nevertheless gave her visions of metal cans rocketing themselves to the end of the driveway. Her daddy was always doing crazy thing like that. Colette constantly said it was because her father was lazy. Regardless, whatever her daddy did resulted in her being stuck outside with nothing to do. Aislin was gone at a sleepover, a thought that caused a pout to form on Kali's lips. She wanted to be old enough for a sleepover. Staying up all night with friends, watching movies until ungodly hours of the morning, and all that other fun stuff her older sister kept bragging about. Well, one day she was going to have a sleepover, and it would be the best one in the entire universe! She would plan it all herself, of course.
Poking the worm only served to add to the boredom, so Kali took it's time instead. She smiled, the worm slowly turning to stone starting from its back end. The process would never cease to fascinate her. She took a deep breath when it was over, refreshed from the extra time, like having a snack before dinner. Too bad worms were too small for her collection.
A rustle in the nearby bushes caught Kali's attention. Finally! Something interesting. Leaving the timeless worm at its resting place, she pushed herself off the step and cautiously tiptoed her way toward the sound. Maybe it was a squirrel, or a rabbit, or a monster. Any way you put it, it sounded like a fun game of chase. Kali pushed some of the leaves out of the way to get a better look before she squeezed behind the foliage. No reason to get in the dirt if there's nothing there. But instead of a squirrel, rabbit, or girl-eating monster, she was met with two large, golden eyes.
"Meow?"
"Kitty!" Kali squealed, causing the poor kitten to dart further into the bush. It was an orange tabby that looked more like a puffball with eyes than a cat. By the looks of it, the kitten couldn't have been any more than a few months old. Kali pulled her head out of the bush and timidly made her way behind it. She got on her knees at eyelevel with the frightened animal. Against the trunk of the bush, the tabby scrunched into a shaking ball.
"It's okay," Kali reassured it. "I'm not gonna hurt you."
She stuck out her hand, inching it forward. The kitten didn't run, which made things easier. Finally her hand reached its target, and the tabby tensed so that its fur stood straight up.
"It's alright," Kali cooed, petting it softly. Eventually the kitten relaxed and ceased to shake, and even had the courage to lift its head to lick her hand. The light touch tickled, and she pulled her hand back giggling. Without reaching back into the bush, she wiggled her fingers at the opening.
"Come on," she coaxed, but the kitten just looked confused. "You can come out now. I'll pet you more."
After another minute, the kitten gingerly exited the bush. Immediately, Kali scooped it up in her arms, much to its surprise. It felt so soft as she rubbed her face against its head. As she held it to her chest, she could feel a rumbling noise. It was purring.
"Aww, I'm gonna show you to daddy!" she proclaimed, making her way back to the porch step. Once she reached the sliding glass door, she banged hard knowing that he and Colette were probably still yelling at each other.
"Daddy, daddy, daddy!"
After a few minutes of this, there was finally a muffled reply. "What is it sweetie?"
Seth opened the door, allowing more smoke to escape the house. The inventor's face was covered by a black gas mask that made him look like a giant bug. If Kali hadn't seen him in it a million times before, she might have screamed.
"Look what I found!" she exclaimed, holding up the kitten for her daddy to see. Seth started unfastening the mask, revealing his soot-covered face. His green eyes sparkled in contrast to the dull, black grime. It didn't look like his clothes survived the catastrophe either. He leaned in closer to get a better look at the creature.
"Well it looks like you've found yourself a kitten," he smiled, sticking out a finger to stroke its forehead. "Look how cute he is."
"Can we keep it daddy?" Kali asked, her green eyes getting big. It was time to switch to begging mode. Daddy never could resist a plea from either of his two daughters, and that's what made the begging process so fun. He always gave in. "Pretty please?"
"Keep what?" Colette emerged from the smoke, her lens darting around to find the source of all the commotion.
"The kitty, Colette!" Kali smiled, holding the kitten up so that her surrogate robotic 'mother' could see. "I found it in the bushes and it doesn't have tags or nuthin. Can we keep it? Please, please, please?"
Colette paused for a moment, her lens focusing and refocusing on the creature. "Absolutely not."
Both Seth and Kali's expressions dropped. "Why?!"
"Do you seriously think a pet could survive in a house like this?" Colette turned around to face the destruction inside the home. The smoke had cleared enough to where Kali could see the remains of their dinner table. All two legs of it. It didn't seem like they had a microwave anymore either.
"I'll take care of it, I promise!" Kali pleaded, hugging the kitten to her chest. She found it. Finders keepers, right? Colette merely swayed side to side, as if shaking her 'head.'
"You're not old enough for a pet," she explained, and before Seth could add anything she continued, "And Seth's hardly able to take care of you and Aislin, never mind adding a kitten to the family."
Seth looked crestfallen, and Kali felt on the verge of tears. Why was Colette being so mean? She'd always done what the robot told her to do. She did her chores, cleaned up her messes, helped Jasper around the house...couldn't Colette have enough gratitude to let her have this for herself?
"Just let it go in the backyard," Colette said coldly, turning to go back inside the house. "It'll go find a better home elsewhere. Seth, we've got work to do."
She disappeared back into the smoke, leaving Seth to deal with his heartbroken daughter. He looked at her apologetically, but--as the entire household knew--no one contradicted Colette.
"I'm so sorry, baby," he said, bending over to give her and the kitten a hug. Kali, however, stepped away.
"Just go," she sobbed, cradling the kitten, who was completely oblivious to its plight as it started to bathe itself. Seth opened his mouth, but then decided against saying anything and went back into the house after Colette, dejected. Kali looked down at the kitten. She didn't want to let it go. By all rights it should be hers. It didn't have any tags, and it looked too young to already have an owner. The tabby looked up at her with its large eyes and mewed again. There was no way she was going to let this one go.
And then she got an idea.
She set the kitten on the ground, where it sat looking up at her, it's short tail wrapped around its feet. Its whiskers twitched with curiosity. Kali's face was still running with tears, though now she was filled with determination. There was only one way to get around Colette.
"I'm going to have you with me forever, whether that stupid robot likes it or not," she said stubbornly, pulling out her special necklace. The top popped open to reveal a clock, the short hand pointing to the seven and the longer one toward the nine. Almost halfway to being completely out of time. "Good."
The top popped shut, and she focused on the kitten. This wasn't the best of solutions, but at least this way she could keep it. Slowly, its fur turned from orange to gray, fuzzy to hard. Within ten seconds the kitten had turned to stone. It's face was still cocked to the side, staring at her curiously. It didn't even have the chance to realize what was happening. Kali wiped away her tears, and smiled. It was hers now.
Later that afternoon, Kali was finally allowed back into the house. Pretty much everything in the kitchen and living room was destroyed, but at least the air was breathable. When she approached Colette, she held up her newest figurine.
"I've named him Fluffy. Can I keep him now?"
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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:14 pm
Songs for Inspiration
Just about every concept I come up with has been sparked by listening to music. Therefore, I thought I might as well post the songs that inspired Kali here. I've also posted links to lyrics--if the song has any--and downloads if available.
NOTE: After compiling all the songs I drew inspiration from, I realized that most are either emo-sounding or sinister in nature. This is purely coincidence, I tell you D: ! She can be happy or not-evil, I swear! Just not both at the same time *cough*
Instrumental Songs
Ship of Fools by Yuki Kajiura: This is the song that spawned Kali while I was trying to figure out how to turn the Second Hand of Time into a viable concept. There's a part I particularly like in the middle, where bells are resounding in the background behind a melody played on something that sounds like chimes. I've always associated bells with time, so it fit well. The tone is also quite creepy and suits Kali perfectly.
Download to Listen
Nephilim by Yasunori Mitsuda: Another instrumental that's actually an image theme to a character in Xenosaga, who's also a creepy little girl who exists outside normal reality. I don't know how to explain it, but I just think of Kali when I listen to this song.
Download to Listen
Vocal Songs About Kali
Pain by Joanne Hogg: Musically, this is not one of my favorite songs. I don't even really listen to it that much. However, the lyrics seemed to fit an older Kali and helped me in fleshing out her concept.
Download to Listen | Lyrics
Vocal Songs To Kali
Because of You by Kelly Clarkson: *shot* I know! I know! Emo-pop songs do not have a place here D: ! However, if anyone ever got the full ******** treatment from Kali, this is probably how they'd feel toward her.
Lyrics
Call Me When You're Sober by Evanescence: *shot again* If applied to Kali, this would be more appropriately named "Call Me When You Don't Have Potentially Fatal Ulterior Motives." The second verse would especially apply to an older--probably late teen stage--more desperate Kali.
Lyrics
Songs Suggested By Other People
Our Time Is Running Out by Muse: Suggested by Aletea. I've only heard this song once, but the lyrics fit perfectly when said to Kali. Even the title is fitting.
Lyrics
Endlessly by Muse: Also suggested by Aletea. Again, I've only listened to it once, but the whole 'I won't let you go' thing has Kali down.
Lyrics
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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:15 pm
Notes and Critiques
Feel free to rip apart my concepts. I'll gladly take the criticism, since I hadn't really gotten anyone to critique it when I first posted everything up here. This post is just to show the critiques I've gotten, as well as the changes I made to improve upon the concept. Anything with "-fixed-" next to it means I've modified the appropriate section to include new information.
XIIIDestinyKeys: The critique was done through AIM, so I'll just post the points she made.
"When meeting new people, she'll do anything she can to get them to go, "Oh she's so cute!". <--Alright. Dude, how many babies do you know that are aware they can be cute? You were just on a rant about how she doesn't understand anything and then...? ^^;"
"Does she realize she's killing the animals? *assumes not* Alright. I'm pretty sure if she did know when she was younger, that might freak her out. *pretty sure most little kids are horrified to learn they've killed something the first time* Most kids. >>;; Does maybe her guardian notice and take care to make sure she doesn't figure it out until he thinks she's ready? Which leads me to teen. She's killing stuff and apparently come to terms with it. I think that's sorta a big deal...and I'd like to see maybe a little more fleshing out on it? I'm just curious. How does one adapt to that sort of knowledge, y'know?"
"Seth, maybe you could just add likes and dislikes to go along with hobbies? *shrugs*"
"Here's a thought. Would Seth try to protect her from people?"
And my response:
Totally missed that. I should have clarified. Once Kali becomes aware of the fact that doing cute things makes people fawn over her, she'll do anything she can for the attention. This would take place much later in her baby stage, where such awareness is actually possible. -fixed-
This is why I have people critique me. I completely missed this somehow. In order to fill this gaping hole in Kali's personality, I've added a section to her personality called "Important Transition." -fixed-
Sure, why not xD ? -fixed-
Another huge thing I missed that I should have been paying attention to. While Seth would be concerned for the safety of Kali's friends, he's too much of a doormat to do anything beyond begging that she doesn't go around and steal time in public. -fixed-
EmperialTeal:
Quote: Kali, let's see! To stat, I didn't really understand why you recounted two versions of the legend, one true and one false. One of those was unnecessary. I was also wary of the reference you used for the hair and teh reff of the hair adornment. I get that you just wanted to use them as reffs, but combined with the fact that your concept has tan skin and long creamy blonde hair, it made me uncomfortable. Like you were almost doing a cosplay, but mixing two shows together so it wasn't a cosplay. For a contest of originality, I wasn't comfortable saying yes to something that seems based of two existing characters. Also, she was described rather similarly to Aislinn. (Tan with light hair.) But my biggest problem was her powers. They are far too powerful, and there's a lot of godmode potential. Even if you'd never use the powers in a way that would be godmoding and always asked before sapping time from anyone else's characters... that would be OOC manipulation of IC stuff. The powers need to be far more heavily restricted than they are -- for example, having the person she takes time from be willing in order for her to be able to switch the time. The degeneration of time is to me unnecessary. It just seems like an extra plot point, but I don't see why it's integral to have a character who loses time, except to make it so she *has* to sap time from others. Also, as I see it, such an ability (or disablity) would be something that in a way reflects stage art, but then what do you do for growths? Do you always have your growths be her at her full power? But what if she gets locked away because people don't want her sapping their time and killing them? Then, to top it all off, time bending. I don't see how this relates to your concept, it just seems like an even more unecessary power, and another one that's far far too powerful. Now, if you had a kid and gave these powers, would I actually stop you? No. You can do whatever you want once you have a kid. But in a concept contest, it's in my hands (and Drako's, and Natsube's) so since I personally think such powers are a terrible idea, I said no. For me, any time you play a character with a massive power base like time, I think the responsible thing to do is balance their powers. I don't think it's fair to have such a powerful character when you RP with others. (Exception being GM emergency smackdown characters -- Des will know what I'm talking about. But they're not meant to be fair, they're meant to fix things when things go really terribly wrong.) And then finally, your guardian didn't have a background, just personality and appearance. Missing guardian background was automatic no for me, but even if you had the background, the powers were really my issue, as well as the originality. From your thread, she really did seem physically like characters who already exist. You had really great child personality, though, and a strong writing sample. But when I see a character so powerful with such potential for abuse, even if I've known you a long time and know you never would abuse it, in an RP situation I would say no. I think it's important to leave the super-characters for personal writing projects, or set them up in some way that their powers are severely restricted. (For example, I've got a character or three [pun intended] who are deities, but the characters in question cannot use their powers because they are governed by fundamental laws which they are totally incapable of breaking for any reason.) I think having her only able to suck time from willing people is a start, and alternately, what if she could only sap time from herself and give it away? Say she starts off with a hundred years and each time she gives some away, her clock decreases. Of course, these are just my opinions, you could absolutely do Kali in the Patch as she is with all her powers. But, for this instance, this contest, I voted no, and those were my reasons for it. It's probably not the most helpful critique, more like... me just trying to be honest and level with you.
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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:17 pm
Artwork
HAHA! Haha! Ha! As if I can afford artwork xD;; ! However, if you have the desire to draw Kali, feel free to do so and send it to me. I will love you forever and ownership of my soul will be transferred to you heart
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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:18 pm
Credits
This goes out to all the lovely people so far who've helped me shape Kali into who she is. Thank you to you all!
Aletea: For listening to me ramble, making suggestions on Kali's abilities, and helping me find more songs for inspiration <3
dark77778: For helping me come up with another time related ability. It really helped!
Florayne: For listening to me rant about Kali nonstop and giving me suggestions for fun scenes to RP later on.
Ary Keeyara: For encouraging me to enter this contest <3
XIIIDestinyKeys: For giving me a critique that turned my attention to some gaping holes in Kali's personality. Thanks so much!
Yukiru Sugisaki: Who created DNAngel, for without this wonderful manga I probably wouldn't have a concept.
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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:19 pm
[ Banner coming soon! ]
Extra Post
Do de doo...This post is just kinda here just in case.
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