OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATIONPlayer Name: Jess
Player Journal: N/A
Age: 22
Contact: Still firebenderjess on AIM and Plurk
Characters Played: Alastor
IN CHARACTER INFORMATIONName: Margulis
Canon: Xenosaga
OU/AU/OC: AU
Canon Point: Right before leaving the moon to go back to Exsilium
History: For the most part, his history went exactly as canon. It was after his death that things changed, as he found himself thousands of years in the past, in a town called Prospero on an alternate Earth. Stripped of his powers, he quickly learned that his old political enemy, Gaignun Kukai, was present. He initially tried to ruin the former politician's reputation, telling Miles Edgeworth a skewed version of his history with the Kukai Foundation, though he didn't say anything that wasn't true. Edgeworth's insistence on getting the full story ruined that plan, however, and the lawyer made several attempts to mediate the emnity between the two, seeing it as a terrible waste if two of the more intelligent and capable men in the city were incapable of working together due to hostilities over a situation that no longer applied.
Still, those hostilities had their benefits. It was his dislike of Gaignun that helped him unlock his Persona, the angel Paschar, when the pair ended up in the same group investigating Caliban, the local dungeon. Though he lacked in self preservation or individual concern to trigger the emotional surge required for the first summoning of a Persona, his competitive nature provided when he saw his enemy, who had unlocked his power long ago, fighting so much more effectively.
Two months later, memories of the Persona users were broadcast over the local network. The best and the worst of Margulis' history was revealed, as was the destruction of his faith and his resulting suicide. For his part, he also witnessed elements of Gaignun's past, giving him a perspective on the conflict from the enemy side. The two decided to bury the hatchet after that, but some hard feelings remained as habit was hard to break.
He later arranged his own expedition into Caliban in response to it shifting locations, splitting the volunteers into three groups with himself, a woman he had befriended named Saori Nakagawa, and, reluctantly, Gaignun as the leaders. The groups discovered nothing to suggest why the dungeon had moved, but did learn that potentially useful items could now be found in it.
In the next month, the Persona users were plagued by Shadows taking the appearance and reduced powers of people important to them and attempting to use those forms to catch them off balance and kill them. Margulis' took the shape of Jin, offending him greatly and would have likely killed him if Saori hadn't intervened. Margulis was indignant and resentful of the interruption in what he saw as a personal fight, but he still returned the favor when Saori's Shadow assailant, in the form of her husband, broke her leg, even tending to her wound the mundane way, as he didn't have any healing abilities as of yet. He discovered at the same time that she was a Shinto goddess, but their existing friendship and the fact that she tried to downplay her status kept him from reacting poorly despite his previous experience with religion and deities.
It wasn't much after that he found himself in a new world, another version of Earth a bit further in the future. This Earth was dominated by a tyrannical government called the United Earth that had destroyed their planet's resources and was now using interdimensional travel to steal from other universes. He had been brought in by the Initiative, a desperate group of rebels on an island called Exsilium to help them fight against the United Earth, using time travel to change history and weaken their enemy. Though annoyed at the Initiative's method of recruitment, he was repulsed enough by the United Earth to be willing to help anyway.
He went through several assigned roommates there, but the one that stuck nearly the entire time Margulis was in Exsilium was Lee Chaolan. The two started off on a positive note, but Margulis' own tendency to keep people at arm's length kept the relationship purely professional to begin with. Lee's tendency to flirt only left Margulis more determined to avoid any kind of personal connection.
Around his arrival, he also discovered that Saori's husband was in Exsilium. He passed on news of Saori's imprisonment in Prospero, but otherwise the two didn't speak much. When the other man disappeared back to his own world, Margulis didn't take much note.
It was around New Years when Lee made a real attempt to approach Margulis on a personal level. The two discussed Margulis' past for the first time and Lee learned not only that Margulis was dead but also that he had taken his own life as punishment for his past actions. Lee was horrified, not by what Margulis had done to believe he deserved such a fate but rather that such a strong man had simply thrown away his own life. In an unusually somber moment for him, he offered to help Margulis atone so he could really live rather than wasting his second chance. Margulis was shocked, having been expecting anger or rejection, and realized that despite his seemingly childish attitude, Lee was worthy of his respect...and he might have begun to feel something else for him, as well.
As a result of a time machine malfunction in the new year, Margulis and Lee were both regressed to younger versions of themselves. Margulis, who was now fresh from his fight with Jin fifteen years ago and had a bleeding facial wound that would eventually become his iconic scar, was forced to let his roommate, who he didn't know at the time, sew up the gash. During this time they talked and discovered that they had very similar opinions about humanity. An offhanded comment also allowed Lee to learn that the man who was apparently his roommate was gay. When the Initiative managed to reverse the change, the two had only become closer for having seen each other at their best and their worst.
After some time of living in Exsilium, Margulis spotted a familiar face on the network: Saori Nakagawa, also from Prospero. And shortly after that, another time machine malfunction caused the two of them to switch bodies. This was how Lee met Saori, to his great amusement and Margulis' great irritation. Still, despite finding them a bit annoying when they ganged up on him, he was happy to see his two friends getting along and hopeful that it wouldn't end in disaster, as it had the last time he'd been part of a trio like this.
A while after fixing the body swap incident, the Initiative decided to rearrange the rooming assignments to condense the apartment population. Margulis, Lee and Saori took advantage of this to request that their new assignment leave the three of them together. The three of them worked well under one roof, even when Saori decided to adopt a mischievous kitten.
Then Margulis and Lee finally heard back from the Initiative about a mission request they'd made several months before. The two would be sent to Japan in order to ensure the success of the Atari console, which would result in an overall increase in the advancement of electronics. As the mission was simple, it left the pair with a fair amount of free time, which they used to explore the city. For the first time since his death, Margulis was truly excited. It had always been his dream to see Earth, but his time there in Prospero had been tainted by the Shadows and the time of Exsilium was so devastated that it didn't even count. But this was the real deal, not warped by supernatural abominations or twisted by centuries of war. And that set the tone for the entire visit.
But while visiting Earth while it still thrived was exciting, the most important part of the trip came at the end. Though Lee had been dropping hints during the entire mission, Margulis was clearly too emotionally clueless to get them. And so, at their last dinner before returning to Exsilium, he spelled it out: the flirting Margulis was passing off as just Lee being Lee had turned serious and the other man was hoping to pursue a relationship. After much inner conflict and having to examine his excuses for avoiding romantic involvement, he came to the conclusion that all of them were nullified by him no longer being in a position of responsibility and all that was holding him back now was fear of opening up to someone else. Not one to be ruled by fear, he was finally honest with his emotions and agreed, but made it clear that he wasn't yet comfortable with the idea of anything physically intimate.
The pair returned to discover their third roommate had gotten a pet and shock her with news of their new relationship, and soon after, it was announced that the Initiative was experimenting with technology that would allow them to send people home deliberately. The test subject made it through safely, but checking on him later revealed that the United Earth had tracked the shift and launched an all out attack on the world. Though most of the offworlders serving under the Initiative, Margulis and his friends included, fought in the battle, it was ultimately hopeless and the world was lost. The destruction of an entire planet struck home for Margulis, who had caused the same at least twice while blinded by his goals, and his hatred of the United Earth became that much stronger.
After about a week of forced rest, Lee learned that Margulis had a healing ability he disliked using for himself. After a short argument, he managed to find a way to convince his boyfriend to swallow his pride and use the ability. This meant that they were both back to full health when one of the offworld scientists announced that he was looking for volunteers to test a backup communications system which would allow telepathic communication between people wearing special rings. Margulis and Lee both volunteered, leading to some awkwardness when they began broadcasting private thoughts, allowing Margulis' Persona to speak to others and reveal things Margulis himself refused to admit to. Overall, however, the glitch caused no real harm for him and hearing Lee's touching, if sappy, thoughts about him helped him to push past his reservations about physical intimacy.
After the rings incident, things were relatively quiet for a while, until the United Earth tried to bomb Exsilium. The more powerful offworlders, including Margulis and Saori, made attempts to limit the damage to the city while the rest fled underground. Margulis was mildly injured as a result, while Saori was temporarily blinded. The city as a whole survived, but not without major damage. And the United Earth hadn't given up.
As people finished recovering from the bombing, a serious illness began spreading around. The Initiative discovered that it was a biological weapon created by the United Earth and spread by sleeper agents. Despite being moderately ill with it himself, Margulis helped to capture and interrogate the United Earth agents and with the information gained from them, the Initiative was able to send spies of their own back in time to make sure that the illness would be a curable bacterial infection instead of an incurable virus.
Afterwards, Margulis was pulled once again into Prospero, without memory of Exsilium. During this second visit, Jin and Pellegri both arrived and made attempts to repair their relationships with Margulis, although only Pellegri met with any success. Though Margulis wanted to fix things with Jin, he felt their friendship was too far damaged for it to be possible, and his own emotions were still too volatile for him to speak to his former best friend without guilt or resentment.
After a couple months in Prospero, he once again suffered through an age change. This time he was regressed to fifteen, well before he'd become bitter about humanity and the universe. He was confused to see Pellegri the same age as him, as the last time he'd met her, she'd been five. The two argued childishly for a while, but ultimately realized it wasn't getting them anywhere. When night fell, Margulis insisted on going outside and fighting Shadows despite his age and luckily came out intact until he was returned to his normal age.
After several more months of strange but ultimately insignificant happenings, Saori disappeared from Prospero. But Margulis didn't have long to be upset by the loss, as he soon returned to Exsilium, to find a very worried Saori and Lee. He reluctantly informed his older friend of her disappearance from Prospero, to her distress.
Later, after Margulis had gotten used to Exsilium again, the Initiative got their hands on a spaceship, which crashed into the apartments during its landing. But the apartments were repaired, plus a few vexed but harmless ghosts, and the spaceship was likewise restored. Already being experienced with space travel, Margulis was part of its test flight and found it a relief to be able to travel off planet for the first time in almost a year.
His relief, unfortunately, didn't last long, as Lee disappeared from Exsilium not long after that. And while Margulis was still recovering from the loss, the United Earth once again decided to bomb Exsilium. This time, however, they had launched a nuclear strike that would destroy the city entirely and render the land uninhabitable. The Initiative decided to flee to a partially restored base on the moon, but would have to leave the civilians behind to die. Many people resisted the decision and attempted to sneak civilians on board the shuttle anyway, but Margulis understood that this was a case where it was impossible to save everybody and the people who could make a difference had the highest priority...even if it once again reminded him uncomfortably of a decision he had made with far too much ease at one point in the past.
The Initiative remained on the moon base for a while, using time travel to sustain themselves and try to undo the damage to Exsilium. They finally managed to restore it to something livable, but Margulis never got the chance to go back.
Personality: Cold passion is the best way to describe the core of what drives Margulis. He is a man of conviction and little mercy, making decisions based on practicality rather than morality. This is not, however, because he doesn't care. When he has a goal, he puts his entire being into achieving it and places it above all other priorities, risking his own life and those of others without a second thought.
On an individual scale, he is strict and often impersonal. He refers to people by surnames when he has reason to mention them individually, and in most cases doesn't bother with personal address at all. The exception is people who have made an impression on him. If someone manages to earn his genuine respect, he shows a more caring side, potentially even becoming somewhat invested in that person's safety. At the same time, he expects more of that person, placing more responsibility on their shoulders as his way of showing faith in their abilities.
During his time in Exsilium, he did manage to open up slightly. Though still reserved, he has learned not to deny his feelings toward others as much and has become more accepting of physical attraction despite its ability to distract. Though no easier to impress, it no longer takes a mind reader to tell when he cares about someone.
Regardless of his personal opinion, he tends toward formality. Even his speech patterns carry an archaically stiff tone that sets him apart from most others. Despite this, he does show a distinct, if sarcastic, sense of humor and a strong dramatic streak. In fact, part of the reason for his archaic speech patterns may well be the impression they make.
The reason for his callousness toward people in general and distance even from individuals is actually fairly simple. His experiences with his world's culture of oppression and greed has destroyed his faith in humanity, convincing him that only a handful of people are worthwhile and the rest are useless. This is compounded with the great focus he has on the idea of individual motivation and will in a world that has largely grown complacent.
Another aspect of his harsh treatment of others has been arrogance and pride, but that has been tempered somewhat by discovering Wilhelm's manipulation. While still prideful and confident in his own abilities, he is no longer blind to his own faults. He acknowledges that he can be wrong and make mistakes and is less likely to follow orders or accept claims unquestioningly.
Prospero and Exsilium have also humbled him somewhat. In Prospero, he was without his powers, stronger than others only through training and wit. He no longer takes his abilities for granted as a result and is more appreciative of teamwork, although is still unlikely to accept help from anyone other than a personal friend.
Wilhelm's revelation also broke him, to a large extent. With an unwillingness to ignore what he'd learned and return to his old ways but an inability to move on and find a new direction, he lost his will to live. The discovery has also left him questioning himself and even more bitter than before, believing his life's ambition to be hopeless and the many deplorable acts he's committed in the belief that they would serve the greater good worthless.
And it is the greater good that he thought he was serving. Despite his disgust with humanity, his goal has always been the betterment of the human race. From his ultimate goal of returning to mankind's homeland of Earth to his habit of taking in others who don't have a place in normal society and show traits he considers promising to even the unethical experiments he sacrificed billions of lives on, everything he's done has been in the hopes of leading humanity away from the dead end he sees them moving toward.
Through his time in Exsilium, he was forced to face both the past that he was ashamed of and the fact that he couldn't give up on himself because of that shame. Though still plagued by self-doubt, he's been reminded that sometimes difficult choices are necessary. While they should certainly remain difficult, simply being able to make them isn't something he should hate himself over.
Also unusual is his open-mindedness with regards to non-humans and modified humans. While the rest of his organization seemed to show distaste or distrust for modified humans, he himself treats them no differently from anyone else and even befriended a super soldier he'd rescued from the cruelty of the Federation legal system. While artificial humans are often treated as objects, he outright refers to them as people. He is a man of many faults, but irrational bigotry is not one of them.
Strengths:Leadership: Margulis is an experienced and charismatic leader who has a talent for inspiring trust in his subordinates
Swordsmanship: The guy is crazy good with a sword. Or swords. Of any type.
Ethers: Standard RPG magic, only technology instead. He specializes in fire and lightning and can boost his physical abilities way above anything he should physically be capable of.
Intelligence: Tied into leadership, he's good at planning ahead. He's also willing to question things that don't seem to add up, even if it means doubting his superiors.
Willpower: Once he's set, he's incredibly difficult to sway. He's also resistant to attempts to actively alter his mind, as he is immune to his world's equivalent to the Heartless.
Weaknesses:Pride: Accepting help is incredibly difficult for him and he's more likely to struggle through an injury than to admit he needs healing.
Temper: Though he usually keeps a good handle on it, certain triggers will make him lose his temper entirely and do things he would normally think better of.
Self-doubt: He's still struggling with the damage caused by realizing he'd been in the wrong, so he has a tendency to second guess himself when doing things that might risk others out of a fear that he's going too far.
Self-loathing: Though improved, he still places very little value on his own life. He won't hesitate to go on a suicide mission unless he knows he has friends who would be hurt by it.
Abrasive tendencies: Though overall a good person at heart and good at inspiring faith, he's difficult to deal with on a personal level. As a result, he comes across as far less approachable than he really is and has difficulty making real friends.
Possessions: Daily outfit (purple and pink longcoat with a red phoenix on the back and black, pointy gloves), a ridiculously sharp and sturdy saber, a set of four throwing knives, some hair gel and a genetically engineered plant that shoots thorns with a permanent Stop Ether cast on it. Don't ask.
Pony/Animal Type: Unicorn
Cutie Mark: Two crossed blades surrounded by flame.
Pony Picture: 
SAMPLESFirst Person: *Between the scar running down the right side of his face and the seemingly permanent scowl, the red unicorn on the scrolls right now looks rather scary. The sword hanging from his side and the annoyed tone of voice probably don't help, either.*
Congratulations, this place is actually stranger than the one with an extra hour at midnight, if only by virtue of the fact that physical transformations there were temporary in nature. Unless I've stumbled in in the middle of some sort of town-wide supernatural event, in which case I'd appreciate the details.
Either way, I'd like a little more information than the name of this town and the fact that newcomers like myself are not uncommon. And don't bother with the alternate world explanation, I'm already well aware of the existence of the multiverse and places like this, where people from multiple universes unwillingly gather.
Speaking of which, if the names Prospero or Exsilium are of any significance to anyone here, I'd like to hear from you. Other than that, if you're curious about either of those places, I'm willing to answer a few questions. Just don't waste my time with anything stupid or overly personal.
Third Person: Margulis had been through his fair share of unpleasant alterations, but this so far seemed the most inconvenient. He'd been quite content on two legs and didn't at all appreciate being turned into a technicolor version of an extinct animal. Still, at least he had his powers, even if they were reduced. He could live with it, at least as long as he was here.
But what made this really awkward in a way he couldn't ignore was the horn on his head. While unicorns were a type of Gnosis in his original world, they'd come to have a different association for the universe hopping swordsman. Lee Chaolan, the first person who'd managed to truly break through his emotional defenses, had worn images of the creatures constantly. It was ridiculous how easily the heartache came back, not that he ever intended to mention it.
Besides, there were other things to concern himself with besides memories of people he'd met in other worlds. Getting the lay of the land, for one. If he was going to be living here until he went back to the afterlife or, more likely it was beginning to seem, on to the next interdimensional hub, he would want to familiarize himself with the layout of the town. He'd also need to find somewhere to stay, since that didn't seem to be provided this time...hopefully somewhere that wouldn't mind the prickly looking plant he was carrying on his back. Fortunately, the hostile thing was in stasis and would probably stay that way for a while.
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