Jamil Viper

« PLAYER INFORMATION »

Name: Sarah
Are you over 18?: yes
Contact: discord: slothtastic#4525 or PM journal
Other characters, if any: n/a

« CHARACTER INFORMATION »

Character: Jamil Viper
Canon: Twisted Wonderland
Canon point: post-Chapter Four
OU or AU?: OU
Age: 17
Species: Human

« RECORD »

Disposition:
Control freak. Jamil discovered the members of his dorm planning a surprise birthday party for him and immediately took over all of the planning.

Much of Jamil's personality can be linked back to the fact that his family has served another family for generations. His own fate was decided before he was ever born. When it comes to a lot of decisions related to how he lives his life, he feels confined and trapped by this role. So, when he gets a chance to switch things around and be the one in control, he latches on firmly. In some cases, he actually gets satisfaction out of managing a situation perfectly. In a lot of cases, though, it's simply about mitigating something potentially bad.

One of the phrases he says often is, "could you not make more work for me?" Whenever something unexpected happens in his life, he's expected to be able to make it work. Kalim orders a surprise banquet? Jamil has to make it work. The transfer student needs something? Jamil has to manage it properly. It's so ingrained that even in a situation like his own birthday party he's incapable of just sitting back and letting people put it together. After all, someone could cut themselves, or the food could burn, or they could just make an absolute mess of the decorations and then he'd have to clean up after them all. That's what goes through Jamil's head when he tries to manage others.

Self-control freak. Jamil's desire to maintain control over his situation is linked to his own strongly-imbued sense of responsibility. His own identity is tied to being the son of the Viper family. He describes some of his first memories being on his parents bowing their heads to a useless kid his own age. He was told over and over again that he needed to be constantly aware of himself. That, combined with the other duties he was asked to take on as a retainer, made him develop some strange habits.

At school, he could not perform better than Kalim while also knowing that a failing grade would hurt his family's honor. As such, he used his intellect and skill to score perfectly average at everything he attempted. In his school sports he never took excessive risks. He constantly controlled and manipulated his own performance.

Although the pressure to maintain this came from his family and outside forces, he has internalized it. He takes quiet pride in his ability to avoid surprises and chaos. He even explains to the protagonist that he chose bells as a hair decoration because they made him more aware of his own rough movements.

Bluntly, a Schemer. In order to cover up for his master's failings while not drawing attention to himself, Jamil got used to doing meticulous work behind the scenes. His first reaction to many situations is to start planning, adjusting, and figuring out what he can gain from a situation.

It's not compulsive scheming, though. When the situation calls for it, Jamil can be extremely direct. Rather than lulling someone into doing him a favor, he'll also simply ask directly and state his terms. This oftentimes works just as well as his schemes. There's still a certain balance to these agreements. He doesn't trust things offered for free, preferring to trade goods or work when he can. He expects people to think the way he does and prepares accordingly.

He's also not beyond underhanded means. In canon, he doesn't use Snake Whisper to wantonly get his way but when he feels it's necessary (i.e. getting the protagonist to agree to stay, getting a pop star to secretly aid an evacuation) he uses it without hesitation.

Ultimately, a teenage boy. All Jamil's life, he's been expected to act a certain way, bear the responsibility of his family, and work for no open recognition. He thinks of himself as mature beyond his years. In reality, he's a teenage boy with a deep-seated need for approval and independence.

Jamil is competitive and self-centered. Rather than holding back and having to lose 3-2 in a match, he would rather go all out. Rather than a boring 5-0 sweep, he'd rather play with someone he could perform against and still challenge himself. He loves to dance and gets very offended when met with even justified criticism. At the end of Chapter 4, when he finally lets these aspects of his personality come to the surface, we finally see a full picture of who Jamil is.

In an event, Jamil wishes "to travel alone." He wants to experience life out of Kalim's shadow, where no one knows who he is. In essence, Noctium is handing him just that, but it's harder to forget your past than simply saying it.

Under pressure:
When things go wrong, Jamil is capable of quick-thinking... within reason. His own need for control leads to him planning dozens of contingencies for various situations. However, thrown into a situation with none of those contingencies, whether he succeeds or fails depends on the moment. He does not find failures acceptable. This can lead to a boiling-over of his temper that rarely shows itself in his day-to-day life.

When Jamil is under pressure, his mask of perfect servitude slips, his language gets more harsh, and he's been shown to even go far outside his normal measured behavior. During an event, he's even seen threatening to burn down an entire display because 1) nothing is working to stop the guests from littering and 2) the litter is going to attract bugs and he despises bugs. In a sense, Jamil's tightly controlled emotions mean that when he does let go, he really lets go.

In the environment of Noctium, however, there is one major pressure that is absent from his life: the presence of Kalim Al-Asim as his friend, rival, master, etc. As such, certain things he's built his identity upon are going to naturally cause things to shift (for example, not having to downplay his own achievements).

Condition upon arrival: Perfect health, no underlying conditions.

Abilities:
Offensive Magic. Offensive magic in Twisted Wonderland comes in four categories: Fire, Water, Tree, and "Null." They follow the usual triangle of effectiveness with null being neutral to all others. Water includes things like ice, Tree includes nature and plants. Jamil's null magic manifests as darkness. Basically, offensive magic goes like "pew pew fire ball."
Utility Magic. Aside from offensive, element-based magic, there's also plain old utility magic used to enchant objects or brew potions. Jamil specifically says that he uses magic every day to do the elaborate braids in his hair. He also, like all students at Night Raven College, can use a broom to fly.
Unique Magic. Everyone that can use magic in the world of Twisted Wonderland also has a Unique Magic that is only theirs. Because of the power of this magic, students are rarely open about what their Unique Magic is. Jamil's Unique Magic is called Snake Whisper and it allows him to hypnotize and manipulate people for a much lower magic cost than other magicians (it's implied that only high-level magicians, the kind you'd find outside of high school, have the natural magic reserves and talent to control minds).

In order to trigger Snake Whisper, the victim must look Jamil in the eyes. There is a spoken incantation to go with it, although in some scenarios he's seen skipping that entirely and simply using it on the main character. It's implied that Snake Whisper can be fought against and it's ideally used with a subject that is either unaware or very trusting. Once under his control, Jamil can issue orders to the person under his control. Since it's closer to hypnotic control, Jamil can ask the people under his control to use their own knowledge and powers. The longer he keeps someone under his control, the more strain on his own magic reserves. When a person is released from Snake Whisper, they don't really remember what happened. If questioned, it can become clear they weren't really choosing to do what they did.

Jamil's Snake Whisper will absolutely have an opt-out post and OOC communication will be key to any time it's used in Noctium. As per game rules, no Manna will be generated with a person under Snake Whisper. I'll also be choosing to nerf it in the opt out where players can also choose to have their characters aware while they are under its effects.

Inventory:
Magic pen (size and color reference)
Misc. personal items such as Madol (now-useless currency), mini-personal sewing kit, bandages. Be prepared for any situation... except jamjarring.

Gembond: Ruby
Gem Location: Upper right arm (reference)

« MISCELLANEOUS »

Sample:
tdm toplevel; and since that didn't get as meaty, two tdm threads
tdm thread 1
tdm thread #2

Notes: no notes, please consider if a snake held a knife how would it do so?