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◎ Name: Mai
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formidable
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Character Info
◎ Character's Name: Ai Thao Kha
◎ Character's Canon: Original (Phase Shift)
◎ Character's Age: 18
◎ Character's PB: Art by me! Fullbody | Portrait
Ai Thao is a slender young woman who stands at a height at about 5'3. Her hair goes past her back and a majority of her right hair is set into one long braid while the rest hangs freely. Her clothing tends to involve long sleeves, heeled boots, and dresses with the occasional pair of jeans, all in subdued colors; pastels and vivid, revealing fashions are rare. She's usually wearing a pair of pearl earrings. When using her psychic powers, her eyes turn luminous and indigo colored.
She has a series of magic seals that are tattooed to her chest, that are usually invisible (but can be revealed by released magic energy) and can only be undone by the person who placed them there in the first place.
◎ Canon Point: After coming to a draw in a battle with a rogue clone named, Lan.
◎ Background/History:
Espers a.k.a. psychics exist alongside witches and wizards, concealing the truth of their existence from normal human beings in the modern 21st century Earth. Psychics live in special communes all around the world in order to train one another in controlling and utilizing their special mind based abilities. The population of espers compared to magic users is proportionally higher, but the latter group has more control due to their vastly superior ability to use magic for concealment and cover ups of "leaks" that would reveal their presence to the normal world. Small factions and groups from both magic and psychic groups (and the rare "normal" human supernatural investigator) help deal with said leaks so full blown and wide scale magical and psychic catastrophes can be prevented.
The esper groups are scattered and hidden away from normal society and only top government agencies around the world are usually aware of them and employ their services. They usually have a longer lifespan than normal people, but by no means are they immortal and are not as long lived as their magical brothers and sisters. Historically, they flock into groups to be with those who are the same as them and tend to avoid integrating with normal people although there has been a recent trend in modern times of psychics losing their sense of camaraderie with their fellow espers and independently going out on their own and mixing with the outside world, causing a dilution of psychic powers which is seen as a major issue within the esper world. From each geographic region, most qualified or aged esper is chosen to be on a specially appointed council that creates the various politics and rules among espers and mediates with the magic folk.
While the history of espers has long been obscured due to the lack of physical records and evidence, it is widely believed that they are all descendents of a fairy, a special immortal that previously lived in a different realm called, The Land of Bliss; a magical paradise that is either lost forever or still exists and cannot be reached anymore. This fairy was known as Phuong; she was an ageless woman with powers that could match the most powerful wizard, the Witch King. And while she would neither confirm or deny that the espers were a result of her mingling with a human in her lifetime, one thing was for certain; with her in the world, all espers felt a connection with one another, like a huge harmonious network that made them feel at ease despite the harshness of reality.
She existed in the human plane among her psychic descendents up until the late 1970s near the end of the Vietnam War where she finally met her end under mysterious circumstances. Phuong's death was seen as a blow to psychics around the world. Without her presence, their psychic connection with one another was severed and their abilities limited. Phuong's body, however, remained intact. A plan among the council began to form in order to restore her in some shape or form and to strengthen their psychic bloodlines in the future. With that in mind, they began to bargain with the Witch King...
Long story short, is that Ai Thao Kha is a clone of Phuong. She and her fellow clone sisters and brothers are a result of combining science and magics, but the finer details of their creation is hidden from the general esper population and for the clones themselves, their memories of their birth are wiped from their minds in order to keep the secret ironclad. Not many of them survived at first, but over time, a small group endured and they all shared the same trait; clear, but deep blue eyes, the same as Phuong.
Ai Thao is part of a pair and her "sister" Lien Kha was created at the same time in the Vietnamese esper commune located in the mountains of the country. While Lien was seen as a functional and decent, if overall average psychic, Ai Thao was considered to be a near miracle. Not only was she an almost perfect physical copy of Phuong, but she displayed a variety of esper abilities with great potency. Her power was such that she nearly was driven mad at a young age while trying to deal with her telepathy/mind reading powers, to the point where it was deemed necessary to use magic seals, tattooed onto her chest, to cut off half of her strength. Even when running on half of her energy, Ai Thao is considered one of the most powerful psychics in the 21st century. Basically, she is considered a success on all levels... Except for her personality traits and characteristics.
Instead of developing into a sage and compelling esper that could one day unite all psychics, Ai Thao, one way or another, became a gentle, reserved, and considered somewhat passive young woman in other people's eyes. While her twin, Lien, was outright energetic and rebellious, Ai was more obedient towards her elders and instructors, but rebellious in a different manner.
Her flaws became apparent around age 13 when she began recieving assignments from the council. Ai Thao was sent with an overseer to "recover" a criminal psychic that had been disrupting their rules. The capture went smoothly, but then the overseer told Ai to execute the man. To his and to her own surprise, she answered easily enough: "No." At first, this was to be expected, since she was young and still inexperienced; the criminal's fate was left up to the council in the end. Ai participated in more missions of a similar vein as time went on and again and again, she was confronted with the same situation of having the life of a person in her hands. But the answer was the same every time: "No." Her instructors and the council began to realize that somewhere along the line, Ai Thao had decided by herself about what was right and wrong. Using her abilities to take the life of another was seen by her as inherently bad. How she came to this conclusion was a mystery, even to her, but it may have had to do with the fact that she is for all intents and purposes a copy of someone else and that someone, Phuong, was at her very core a being that wished no cruelty on others and that core was passed onto Ai.
She continued recieving her education and training in the commune. Her sister Lien, left the country to pursue her own interests, which made Ai Thao feel a little more lonely than before. Despite being surrounded by fellow espers and clones, at some point it occurred to her that she had no one to call a true companion and friend. Her powers and her status as a "new" Phuong made her more feared than loved, and those who knew of Ai's true nature didn't necessarily respect her. An emotional esper was not the kind of leader that was needed. Life was mostly peaceful for a few years, with the occasional mission to complete, but otherwise, Ai Thao grew up into a young woman who had yet to experience real difficulty.
When Ai Thao turned 18, she received an unexpected visitor on the night of her birthday; the Witch King himself had come to give his congratulations and even greeted her as if she was an old friend, something that came as a pleasant surprise to her. From him, Ai learned that the Witch King and Phuong had been long time acquaintances as they were the most long lived beings on the planet until her untimely demise. Seeing Ai Thao, who was a near match for Phuong in physical appearance had made him nostalgic even if he was somewhat disappointed by how quiet Ai Thao was compared to the more spirited Phuong. When asked what Ai wanted for her birthday gift, she responded by saying she would like a friend. Amused, the Witch King asked her what kind of friend she would like and after some thought, Ai Thao sincerely proposed a friendship between them without the pretense of her being a copy. The Witch King was thoroughly entertained by how this one girl would fearlessly ask to be his friend when most of the world even his own student feared him. He accepted her offer and gave her a gold pendant to seal the deal.
Before the Witch King took his leave, he told Ai Thao that she was not going to be the same person in another few years and that her kindness could not last if she stayed the way she was now. Her commune had sheltered her for too long and he said that she would have to shed her old ways in order to progress. What he said clearly troubled her and gave way to apprehension; and yet Ai Thao replied by saying there had to be some worth in allowing herself to be the way she is and that allowing one's heart to be open had some worth even in a world that accepted the notion less and less as time went on. She didn't know how to change herself currently, but she knew if she had to make certain compromises, she would feel dead inside. The Witch King, satisfied with her answer, left with only a few cryptic words:
"Then I pray that your kindness endures even if you have to die another death."
Not long after her birthday, several incidents of property damage and the deaths of several psychics in America were reported. Ai Thao and two other psychics from the commune (Tuyet and Hau) were dispatched to investigate and deal with the perpetrator accordingly. Ai Thao was able to meet up with her sister, Lien, who volunteered with helping the trio, seeing as her own ability of psychometry would easily track down their target. While they all expected the job to go smoothly, the outcome was far from desirable.
They came across a rogue clone of Phuong, who called herself, Lan. She had come from an organization that had steadily leeched the secrets of the magical cloning process from the psychics. Lan's initial goal was to be used as a tool for their own mysterious purposes, but she did not have the necessary strength. What Lan did have, was the ability to tap into her magic reserves that was given to her at birth and use it to absorb the energy of other psychics, thus making her grow in power. By the time Ai Thao and her group found her, Lan had killed enough espers to take them on by herself. Ai Thao tried to reason with Lan, trying to appeal to the fact that they shared the same origin and that she did not have to choose a bloody path. This only resulted in Tuyet and Hau being mortally wounded and Lien about to be absorbed by Lan. This awoke a true sense of urgency in Ai Thao who finally fought the rogue clone with untapped ferocity despite using only half of her power. The fight ended in a draw as both exhausted themselves and Lan escaped.
As Ai Thao attended to the recovery of her sister and comrades, she took that time to reevaluate her actions up until that moment. She now realized the weight of responsibility that was on her shoulders and how she depended on her passivity to avoid difficult decisions that others made for her which in this case, allowed her allies to get hurt. Even if the future was uncertain from that point on, Ai Thao makes the resolute decision to take on Lan and defeat her once and for all. And if all went well, she would be able to spend time with her friend, the Witch King, with no regrets to burden her.
◎ Is the character a hacker and/or do they have a sixth-sense?
Ai Thao has a sixth sense as part of her psychic abilities. She's particularly sensitive to changes in the atmosphere and is able to detect magic/supernatural/psychic auras from most individuals, objects, or areas and is able to see ghostly/spiritual forms. Since she operates on 50% of her overall power, concealment from her sense is possible.
◎ Personality:
The psychic world has high expectations of Ai Thao Kha since she one of the more successful clones of their revered Phuong to date. The problem is, is that instead of an eloquent, forceful, and grand esper that would make an ideal leader, she presents herself as demure, sentimental, and naive. Although being emotional is seen as the opposite of logic and reasoning, Ai Thao rationalizes her way of thinking in this manner; while flawed (as any way of thinking is bound to be), it does in fact operate on a semblance of logic. Being kind to others would reward her in the long run and to her, benevolence should prevail over making people submit to her whims and power.
In a way, this thought process is selfish and self-satisfying even if Ai Thao didn't see it that way herself. Although her kindness isn't necessarily bad, it was a way of self-preservation; because she didn't want to be feared and respected for her immense power out of fear of isolation, Ai's gentleness gave her a reason or excuse to refuse having to perform actions that require an ironclad resolve. She feels that being harsh and forceful would mean having to kill a part of her soul; she was afraid of changing. Her attitude doesn't really attract other espers (mostly the elders) who only see her behavior as flighty and passive. And because she lived like this, it made her more sheltered and her life as a psychic was not difficult to endure for the longest time. Her outlook was challenged when she had to fight against Lan, someone who was a pure threat and had to be stopped at all costs. People got hurt and more would come in harm's way if Ai Thao did not decide to take action and thus she's able to step up and be more assertive in her work.
Ai Thao is very aware of the abnormality of her existence, but considers herself a separate entity from Phuong, so being a clone doesn't give her too much of an existential crisis. By all accounts, she considers herself a human being. She's more troubled when other espers who have never met Phuong, have an idealistic image of their revered psychic rather than what she actually was. To Ai Thao, since her birth, she always had a feeling that Phuong, as powerful as she was, was not a cruel person who dominated others. Perhaps this is the reason why she acts the way she does even if it's incomprehensible to others. She wants to express the part of Phuong that was ultimately good.
On a more basic level, Ai Thao is genuinely sincere and sweet which can make way for nice or silly when interacting with others. She doesn't see the need to elevate herself over others despite her enormous capabilities and is someone who is diligent in small tasks and helping out others. She was raised to be polite and addresses most people she meets with "Mr./Mrs./Mister/Miss." There's a sense that she's still a little childish and immature though. Her impatience shines through if someone doesn't treat her courteously, tries to be manipulative, or riles her up on purpose and she can get thoroughly exasperated by people like her sister, Lien, who acts on impulse and audacity. Ai also gets flustered in situations where people actually reciprocate her good nature or show affection since she's used to the austere atmosphere of her commune (she's especially shy when it comes to matters of dealing with the opposite sex). She's prone to rambling when nervous and over analyzes certain social situations. Ai wears her heart on her sleeve and isn't afraid to show her feelings which can be a detriment when it comes battle or deep conversations. On the other hand, she can be unpredictable precisely because of that. She has more mettle than she gives herself credit for, showing that being sensitive just means that she has all the more reason to care and take action against any wrongs.
Although her life revolves around honing her skills, she does have normal interests such as singing, watercolor painting, and perhaps the most amusing, eating. Since her power can deplete easily, Ai consumes food for energy, but she can be shockingly gluttonous, able to eat large meals and able to ask for seconds and even thirds. Food is pleasurable and it's a way for her to connect with others. Her knowledge of the world outside of her commune and other espers is cursory so she tends to be more fascinated and appreciative of the modern world and culture compared to most people. Ai Thao has a healthy curiosity and is always eager to learn new things that have nothing to do with ESP.
She always has the desire to pour her heart out and to have someone she can call a true friend. Ai is relieved that she can't read minds anymore because it allows her to assess the needs of other people in a normal fashion that allows her to develop relationships without having that fence to jump though there's the matter of actually developing real relationships. The people she is closest with is what she calls a fearfully small amount; her sister Lien, Tuyet, and Hau, the two espers she works with closely, and her "grandmother," the person who acts as her guardian. Ai and Lien, despite being twins by definition are separated geographically and by Lien's own personal desires. Ai doesn't feel like other espers see her as a person, but as a means to continue their existence in the world. The Witch King was the first person she ever asked to be her friend because she feels as if they are similar in that sense; people who are feared, but rarely thought of as people with beating hearts. Ai thinks that the Witch King's loneliness is probably greater than hers and hopes that their friendship can bear fruit one day.
Ai Thao is a young woman who has a lot of growing up to do in terms of strengthening her resolve when it comes to difficult situations that have no easy solution. She realizes that to end needless suffering, she herself will have to suffer in some shape or form. In spite of all that, Ai Thao keeps believing in treating others with kindness and warmth and even if she has to go through hardships, those are aspects of herself she will not let go of and instead hone through the ups and downs of her life as an esper.
◎ Powers/Abilities:
★ Telekinesis
Ai can move objects with her mind and it's strong enough where she can make multiple objects and people levitate without too much difficulty. She can also make herself fly.
★ Electrokinesis
Ai Thao can produce electric power with her own power reserves which she uses as an offensive attack to shock and paralyze a target or short circuit electric objects. She gives it a defensive use by covering her body with an electric aura that could paralyze a person on contact.
★ Healing
Using her energy, Ai is able to heal wounds and even patch up broken bones. She can't heal diseases or sicknesses, but can ease the pain that comes along with it. This healing doesn't extend to surgery, so if a limb is lost, OH WELL.
★ Hypnosis
When Ai Thao focuses her gaze on someone, she can send a mild suggestion that one would feel inclined to follow or to make someone fall asleep; this doesn't work on higher leveled psychics or magic users. This ability is the weakest since she doesn't not use it often and it's only used for misdirection or covering her tracks.
OTHER/SEALED
★ Sixth Sense [OTHER]
As explained above, she's particularly sensitive to changes in the atmosphere and is able to detect magic/supernatural/psychic auras from most individuals, objects, or areas and is able to see ghostly/spiritual forms.
★ Telepathy/Mind Reading [SEALED]
Ai Thao used to be able to communicate with others by thought and read minds, but she could not handle the strain as her mind reading was particularly powerful, causing her much agony. This ability is locked up, although she believes that every once and while, she claims that she can hear whispers.
Ai Thao's true strength has been magically sealed so she only has access to 50% of her power. The seal has been tattooed on her chest and can only be removed by the person who made them in the first place. When removed, her power is such that she would be nigh untouchable and could level a small town or city on her own (not that she has such destructive tendencies in the first place).
Her physical abilities include some basic hand to hand combat for defense and being a surprisingly good sprinter. However, she's not physically strong and is still for all intents and purposes, a squishy human being and thus depends on her speed and agility to pull her through. Since she only has access to half of her power, she also depletes it easily and she makes it up by eating. A lot.
She's capable of speaking Vietnamese and English.
◎ Weapons & Other Special Inventory:
〉〉 One set of different clothing (Black top, white skirt, and sandals)
〉〉 The gold pendant she received from the Witch King on her birthday.
〉〉 And basically the clothes on her back.
CEREALIA-Specific
◎ Element: Water
◎ Sense: Sound
Ai Thao is someone who likes listening and talking to people so she's someone who's always willing to lend an ear. Verbally confiding in her is something she finds more valuable than simply being able to hear a person's thoughts like when she had her telepathy unsealed and constantly heard the voices in people's heads until she couldn't take it anymore.
◎ Seven Character Traits:
( Gentle, Kind, Diligent ) | ( Erratic, Emotional, Anxious ) + Reflective. 〉〉
Samples
◎ First-Person Sample:
Test Drive Sample!
◎ Third-Person Sample:
"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry..."
Ai Thao Kha sniffed as she sat at the side of Tuyet's bed. They had returned to Lien's apartment after the harrowing encounter with the rogue clone. All things considered, the wound in Tuyet's shoulder was almost completely healed thanks to her ability, but the sight of her comrade's bandaged up shoulder, made Ai Thao's heart ache. Tuyet had awoken and was sitting upright in bed, disregarded Ai Thao's numerous apologies. Instead, she gazed critically at her fellow esper and spoke to her in a level tone.
"Ai. Hau and Lien are...?"
Ai let out a soft sigh.
"They're both recovering. Lien just had bruise marks around her neck, but there's nothing I can do about Hau's eye though..." she trailed off, the memory of Hau's eye still fresh in her mind causing her to choke up slightly. If only she hadn't froze up, if only she acted more quickly, if only, if only, if only.
"Ai."
Tuyet's voice brought her back to reality and made Ai Thao straighten herself up.
"Lan got away didn't she?"
Ai bowed her head, hiding the shame that clouded her face.
"... Both of our reserves were exhausted. Neither of us would have won."
"It's not about winning. It was about capturing her. Nonetheless, I understand." Tuyet exhaled and settled herself into the bed more comfortably.
"We'll discuss the situation more thoroughly in the morning. I trust you'll look after all of us to the best of your capabilities."
"Y-Yes." Ai nodded in affirmation.
"Please, sleep as long as you need. I will continue in attending to your wounds Miss Tuyet."
Tuyet closed her eyes giving no reply. Ai stood up, bowing her head and exited the room. It was a useless, but reflexive gesture.
Ai checked on her other two patients and after confirming their status as deep sleepers, she retreated to the living area, seating herself on the sofa, relegating herself to deep thought of the past day's events. The fact of the matter was simple. She had failed, short of getting her comrades killed. That psychic, Lan was unlike any opponent she had ever faced. Those people Ai had helped bring in over the years had not posed much of a challenge or she eventually overcame them with her power. Lan was different. She was a beast that would consume all in her path even disregarding the people who created her for her own self-satisfaction.
Wasn't I being satisfied myself during all those other times...?
Ai Thao Kha was just content with completing the work given to her by the council. While she was concerned for the life of others, it wasn't as if their lives had to hinge on her decisions alone. It was never her decision to begin with. Was it? If she was a person with an iron will, would the outcome have been better for this particular battle? But she knew in the end that it was just wishful thinking. It wouldn't have stopped Tuyet from getting wounded. It wouldn't have stopped Hau from having his eye ripped out. Her own sister had almost died due to her own negligence. Those transgressions would have been enough to earn Lan a death sentence along with all the other murders that were on her head.
She gripped her hands together tightly, to the point where her nails pierced her skin as she thought of the psychics whose lives were ended by that woman's hands. Ai didn't know if this was the point where she had to resort to ending a life. Lan, who was born for the sake of someone's greedy whims, surely could see that there was more to her existence... But yet again, a fruitless wish.
"... I'll stop her. I'll stop her no matter what."
When she said this aloud, a surprising peace settled over her. Ai Thao thought the path of aggression would have troubled her more, but that wasn't it. She simply needed to affirm it within herself. She was here. She had the power to stop all of this meaningless bloodshed. Her past life would have done the same, but now it was up to Ai to decide how things would turn out.
No one should have to be hurt because Ai Thao didn't want to stand up for them.
◎ Is your character retaining any previous game memories? N/A
◎ Name: Mai
◎ Journal:
formidable◎ Contact:
Character Info
◎ Character's Name: Ai Thao Kha
◎ Character's Canon: Original (Phase Shift)
◎ Character's Age: 18
◎ Character's PB: Art by me! Fullbody | Portrait
Ai Thao is a slender young woman who stands at a height at about 5'3. Her hair goes past her back and a majority of her right hair is set into one long braid while the rest hangs freely. Her clothing tends to involve long sleeves, heeled boots, and dresses with the occasional pair of jeans, all in subdued colors; pastels and vivid, revealing fashions are rare. She's usually wearing a pair of pearl earrings. When using her psychic powers, her eyes turn luminous and indigo colored.
She has a series of magic seals that are tattooed to her chest, that are usually invisible (but can be revealed by released magic energy) and can only be undone by the person who placed them there in the first place.
◎ Canon Point: After coming to a draw in a battle with a rogue clone named, Lan.
◎ Background/History:
Espers a.k.a. psychics exist alongside witches and wizards, concealing the truth of their existence from normal human beings in the modern 21st century Earth. Psychics live in special communes all around the world in order to train one another in controlling and utilizing their special mind based abilities. The population of espers compared to magic users is proportionally higher, but the latter group has more control due to their vastly superior ability to use magic for concealment and cover ups of "leaks" that would reveal their presence to the normal world. Small factions and groups from both magic and psychic groups (and the rare "normal" human supernatural investigator) help deal with said leaks so full blown and wide scale magical and psychic catastrophes can be prevented.
The esper groups are scattered and hidden away from normal society and only top government agencies around the world are usually aware of them and employ their services. They usually have a longer lifespan than normal people, but by no means are they immortal and are not as long lived as their magical brothers and sisters. Historically, they flock into groups to be with those who are the same as them and tend to avoid integrating with normal people although there has been a recent trend in modern times of psychics losing their sense of camaraderie with their fellow espers and independently going out on their own and mixing with the outside world, causing a dilution of psychic powers which is seen as a major issue within the esper world. From each geographic region, most qualified or aged esper is chosen to be on a specially appointed council that creates the various politics and rules among espers and mediates with the magic folk.
While the history of espers has long been obscured due to the lack of physical records and evidence, it is widely believed that they are all descendents of a fairy, a special immortal that previously lived in a different realm called, The Land of Bliss; a magical paradise that is either lost forever or still exists and cannot be reached anymore. This fairy was known as Phuong; she was an ageless woman with powers that could match the most powerful wizard, the Witch King. And while she would neither confirm or deny that the espers were a result of her mingling with a human in her lifetime, one thing was for certain; with her in the world, all espers felt a connection with one another, like a huge harmonious network that made them feel at ease despite the harshness of reality.
She existed in the human plane among her psychic descendents up until the late 1970s near the end of the Vietnam War where she finally met her end under mysterious circumstances. Phuong's death was seen as a blow to psychics around the world. Without her presence, their psychic connection with one another was severed and their abilities limited. Phuong's body, however, remained intact. A plan among the council began to form in order to restore her in some shape or form and to strengthen their psychic bloodlines in the future. With that in mind, they began to bargain with the Witch King...
Long story short, is that Ai Thao Kha is a clone of Phuong. She and her fellow clone sisters and brothers are a result of combining science and magics, but the finer details of their creation is hidden from the general esper population and for the clones themselves, their memories of their birth are wiped from their minds in order to keep the secret ironclad. Not many of them survived at first, but over time, a small group endured and they all shared the same trait; clear, but deep blue eyes, the same as Phuong.
Ai Thao is part of a pair and her "sister" Lien Kha was created at the same time in the Vietnamese esper commune located in the mountains of the country. While Lien was seen as a functional and decent, if overall average psychic, Ai Thao was considered to be a near miracle. Not only was she an almost perfect physical copy of Phuong, but she displayed a variety of esper abilities with great potency. Her power was such that she nearly was driven mad at a young age while trying to deal with her telepathy/mind reading powers, to the point where it was deemed necessary to use magic seals, tattooed onto her chest, to cut off half of her strength. Even when running on half of her energy, Ai Thao is considered one of the most powerful psychics in the 21st century. Basically, she is considered a success on all levels... Except for her personality traits and characteristics.
Instead of developing into a sage and compelling esper that could one day unite all psychics, Ai Thao, one way or another, became a gentle, reserved, and considered somewhat passive young woman in other people's eyes. While her twin, Lien, was outright energetic and rebellious, Ai was more obedient towards her elders and instructors, but rebellious in a different manner.
Her flaws became apparent around age 13 when she began recieving assignments from the council. Ai Thao was sent with an overseer to "recover" a criminal psychic that had been disrupting their rules. The capture went smoothly, but then the overseer told Ai to execute the man. To his and to her own surprise, she answered easily enough: "No." At first, this was to be expected, since she was young and still inexperienced; the criminal's fate was left up to the council in the end. Ai participated in more missions of a similar vein as time went on and again and again, she was confronted with the same situation of having the life of a person in her hands. But the answer was the same every time: "No." Her instructors and the council began to realize that somewhere along the line, Ai Thao had decided by herself about what was right and wrong. Using her abilities to take the life of another was seen by her as inherently bad. How she came to this conclusion was a mystery, even to her, but it may have had to do with the fact that she is for all intents and purposes a copy of someone else and that someone, Phuong, was at her very core a being that wished no cruelty on others and that core was passed onto Ai.
She continued recieving her education and training in the commune. Her sister Lien, left the country to pursue her own interests, which made Ai Thao feel a little more lonely than before. Despite being surrounded by fellow espers and clones, at some point it occurred to her that she had no one to call a true companion and friend. Her powers and her status as a "new" Phuong made her more feared than loved, and those who knew of Ai's true nature didn't necessarily respect her. An emotional esper was not the kind of leader that was needed. Life was mostly peaceful for a few years, with the occasional mission to complete, but otherwise, Ai Thao grew up into a young woman who had yet to experience real difficulty.
When Ai Thao turned 18, she received an unexpected visitor on the night of her birthday; the Witch King himself had come to give his congratulations and even greeted her as if she was an old friend, something that came as a pleasant surprise to her. From him, Ai learned that the Witch King and Phuong had been long time acquaintances as they were the most long lived beings on the planet until her untimely demise. Seeing Ai Thao, who was a near match for Phuong in physical appearance had made him nostalgic even if he was somewhat disappointed by how quiet Ai Thao was compared to the more spirited Phuong. When asked what Ai wanted for her birthday gift, she responded by saying she would like a friend. Amused, the Witch King asked her what kind of friend she would like and after some thought, Ai Thao sincerely proposed a friendship between them without the pretense of her being a copy. The Witch King was thoroughly entertained by how this one girl would fearlessly ask to be his friend when most of the world even his own student feared him. He accepted her offer and gave her a gold pendant to seal the deal.
Before the Witch King took his leave, he told Ai Thao that she was not going to be the same person in another few years and that her kindness could not last if she stayed the way she was now. Her commune had sheltered her for too long and he said that she would have to shed her old ways in order to progress. What he said clearly troubled her and gave way to apprehension; and yet Ai Thao replied by saying there had to be some worth in allowing herself to be the way she is and that allowing one's heart to be open had some worth even in a world that accepted the notion less and less as time went on. She didn't know how to change herself currently, but she knew if she had to make certain compromises, she would feel dead inside. The Witch King, satisfied with her answer, left with only a few cryptic words:
Not long after her birthday, several incidents of property damage and the deaths of several psychics in America were reported. Ai Thao and two other psychics from the commune (Tuyet and Hau) were dispatched to investigate and deal with the perpetrator accordingly. Ai Thao was able to meet up with her sister, Lien, who volunteered with helping the trio, seeing as her own ability of psychometry would easily track down their target. While they all expected the job to go smoothly, the outcome was far from desirable.
They came across a rogue clone of Phuong, who called herself, Lan. She had come from an organization that had steadily leeched the secrets of the magical cloning process from the psychics. Lan's initial goal was to be used as a tool for their own mysterious purposes, but she did not have the necessary strength. What Lan did have, was the ability to tap into her magic reserves that was given to her at birth and use it to absorb the energy of other psychics, thus making her grow in power. By the time Ai Thao and her group found her, Lan had killed enough espers to take them on by herself. Ai Thao tried to reason with Lan, trying to appeal to the fact that they shared the same origin and that she did not have to choose a bloody path. This only resulted in Tuyet and Hau being mortally wounded and Lien about to be absorbed by Lan. This awoke a true sense of urgency in Ai Thao who finally fought the rogue clone with untapped ferocity despite using only half of her power. The fight ended in a draw as both exhausted themselves and Lan escaped.
As Ai Thao attended to the recovery of her sister and comrades, she took that time to reevaluate her actions up until that moment. She now realized the weight of responsibility that was on her shoulders and how she depended on her passivity to avoid difficult decisions that others made for her which in this case, allowed her allies to get hurt. Even if the future was uncertain from that point on, Ai Thao makes the resolute decision to take on Lan and defeat her once and for all. And if all went well, she would be able to spend time with her friend, the Witch King, with no regrets to burden her.
◎ Is the character a hacker and/or do they have a sixth-sense?
Ai Thao has a sixth sense as part of her psychic abilities. She's particularly sensitive to changes in the atmosphere and is able to detect magic/supernatural/psychic auras from most individuals, objects, or areas and is able to see ghostly/spiritual forms. Since she operates on 50% of her overall power, concealment from her sense is possible.
◎ Personality:
The psychic world has high expectations of Ai Thao Kha since she one of the more successful clones of their revered Phuong to date. The problem is, is that instead of an eloquent, forceful, and grand esper that would make an ideal leader, she presents herself as demure, sentimental, and naive. Although being emotional is seen as the opposite of logic and reasoning, Ai Thao rationalizes her way of thinking in this manner; while flawed (as any way of thinking is bound to be), it does in fact operate on a semblance of logic. Being kind to others would reward her in the long run and to her, benevolence should prevail over making people submit to her whims and power.
In a way, this thought process is selfish and self-satisfying even if Ai Thao didn't see it that way herself. Although her kindness isn't necessarily bad, it was a way of self-preservation; because she didn't want to be feared and respected for her immense power out of fear of isolation, Ai's gentleness gave her a reason or excuse to refuse having to perform actions that require an ironclad resolve. She feels that being harsh and forceful would mean having to kill a part of her soul; she was afraid of changing. Her attitude doesn't really attract other espers (mostly the elders) who only see her behavior as flighty and passive. And because she lived like this, it made her more sheltered and her life as a psychic was not difficult to endure for the longest time. Her outlook was challenged when she had to fight against Lan, someone who was a pure threat and had to be stopped at all costs. People got hurt and more would come in harm's way if Ai Thao did not decide to take action and thus she's able to step up and be more assertive in her work.
Ai Thao is very aware of the abnormality of her existence, but considers herself a separate entity from Phuong, so being a clone doesn't give her too much of an existential crisis. By all accounts, she considers herself a human being. She's more troubled when other espers who have never met Phuong, have an idealistic image of their revered psychic rather than what she actually was. To Ai Thao, since her birth, she always had a feeling that Phuong, as powerful as she was, was not a cruel person who dominated others. Perhaps this is the reason why she acts the way she does even if it's incomprehensible to others. She wants to express the part of Phuong that was ultimately good.
On a more basic level, Ai Thao is genuinely sincere and sweet which can make way for nice or silly when interacting with others. She doesn't see the need to elevate herself over others despite her enormous capabilities and is someone who is diligent in small tasks and helping out others. She was raised to be polite and addresses most people she meets with "Mr./Mrs./Mister/Miss." There's a sense that she's still a little childish and immature though. Her impatience shines through if someone doesn't treat her courteously, tries to be manipulative, or riles her up on purpose and she can get thoroughly exasperated by people like her sister, Lien, who acts on impulse and audacity. Ai also gets flustered in situations where people actually reciprocate her good nature or show affection since she's used to the austere atmosphere of her commune (she's especially shy when it comes to matters of dealing with the opposite sex). She's prone to rambling when nervous and over analyzes certain social situations. Ai wears her heart on her sleeve and isn't afraid to show her feelings which can be a detriment when it comes battle or deep conversations. On the other hand, she can be unpredictable precisely because of that. She has more mettle than she gives herself credit for, showing that being sensitive just means that she has all the more reason to care and take action against any wrongs.
Although her life revolves around honing her skills, she does have normal interests such as singing, watercolor painting, and perhaps the most amusing, eating. Since her power can deplete easily, Ai consumes food for energy, but she can be shockingly gluttonous, able to eat large meals and able to ask for seconds and even thirds. Food is pleasurable and it's a way for her to connect with others. Her knowledge of the world outside of her commune and other espers is cursory so she tends to be more fascinated and appreciative of the modern world and culture compared to most people. Ai Thao has a healthy curiosity and is always eager to learn new things that have nothing to do with ESP.
She always has the desire to pour her heart out and to have someone she can call a true friend. Ai is relieved that she can't read minds anymore because it allows her to assess the needs of other people in a normal fashion that allows her to develop relationships without having that fence to jump though there's the matter of actually developing real relationships. The people she is closest with is what she calls a fearfully small amount; her sister Lien, Tuyet, and Hau, the two espers she works with closely, and her "grandmother," the person who acts as her guardian. Ai and Lien, despite being twins by definition are separated geographically and by Lien's own personal desires. Ai doesn't feel like other espers see her as a person, but as a means to continue their existence in the world. The Witch King was the first person she ever asked to be her friend because she feels as if they are similar in that sense; people who are feared, but rarely thought of as people with beating hearts. Ai thinks that the Witch King's loneliness is probably greater than hers and hopes that their friendship can bear fruit one day.
Ai Thao is a young woman who has a lot of growing up to do in terms of strengthening her resolve when it comes to difficult situations that have no easy solution. She realizes that to end needless suffering, she herself will have to suffer in some shape or form. In spite of all that, Ai Thao keeps believing in treating others with kindness and warmth and even if she has to go through hardships, those are aspects of herself she will not let go of and instead hone through the ups and downs of her life as an esper.
◎ Powers/Abilities:
★ Telekinesis
Ai can move objects with her mind and it's strong enough where she can make multiple objects and people levitate without too much difficulty. She can also make herself fly.
★ Electrokinesis
Ai Thao can produce electric power with her own power reserves which she uses as an offensive attack to shock and paralyze a target or short circuit electric objects. She gives it a defensive use by covering her body with an electric aura that could paralyze a person on contact.
★ Healing
Using her energy, Ai is able to heal wounds and even patch up broken bones. She can't heal diseases or sicknesses, but can ease the pain that comes along with it. This healing doesn't extend to surgery, so if a limb is lost, OH WELL.
★ Hypnosis
When Ai Thao focuses her gaze on someone, she can send a mild suggestion that one would feel inclined to follow or to make someone fall asleep; this doesn't work on higher leveled psychics or magic users. This ability is the weakest since she doesn't not use it often and it's only used for misdirection or covering her tracks.
OTHER/SEALED
★ Sixth Sense [OTHER]
As explained above, she's particularly sensitive to changes in the atmosphere and is able to detect magic/supernatural/psychic auras from most individuals, objects, or areas and is able to see ghostly/spiritual forms.
★ Telepathy/Mind Reading [SEALED]
Ai Thao used to be able to communicate with others by thought and read minds, but she could not handle the strain as her mind reading was particularly powerful, causing her much agony. This ability is locked up, although she believes that every once and while, she claims that she can hear whispers.
Ai Thao's true strength has been magically sealed so she only has access to 50% of her power. The seal has been tattooed on her chest and can only be removed by the person who made them in the first place. When removed, her power is such that she would be nigh untouchable and could level a small town or city on her own (not that she has such destructive tendencies in the first place).
Her physical abilities include some basic hand to hand combat for defense and being a surprisingly good sprinter. However, she's not physically strong and is still for all intents and purposes, a squishy human being and thus depends on her speed and agility to pull her through. Since she only has access to half of her power, she also depletes it easily and she makes it up by eating. A lot.
She's capable of speaking Vietnamese and English.
◎ Weapons & Other Special Inventory:
〉〉 One set of different clothing (Black top, white skirt, and sandals)
〉〉 The gold pendant she received from the Witch King on her birthday.
〉〉 And basically the clothes on her back.
CEREALIA-Specific
◎ Element: Water
◎ Sense: Sound
Ai Thao is someone who likes listening and talking to people so she's someone who's always willing to lend an ear. Verbally confiding in her is something she finds more valuable than simply being able to hear a person's thoughts like when she had her telepathy unsealed and constantly heard the voices in people's heads until she couldn't take it anymore.
◎ Seven Character Traits:
( Gentle, Kind, Diligent ) | ( Erratic, Emotional, Anxious ) + Reflective. 〉〉
Samples
◎ First-Person Sample:
Test Drive Sample!
◎ Third-Person Sample:
"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry..."
Ai Thao Kha sniffed as she sat at the side of Tuyet's bed. They had returned to Lien's apartment after the harrowing encounter with the rogue clone. All things considered, the wound in Tuyet's shoulder was almost completely healed thanks to her ability, but the sight of her comrade's bandaged up shoulder, made Ai Thao's heart ache. Tuyet had awoken and was sitting upright in bed, disregarded Ai Thao's numerous apologies. Instead, she gazed critically at her fellow esper and spoke to her in a level tone.
"Ai. Hau and Lien are...?"
Ai let out a soft sigh.
"They're both recovering. Lien just had bruise marks around her neck, but there's nothing I can do about Hau's eye though..." she trailed off, the memory of Hau's eye still fresh in her mind causing her to choke up slightly. If only she hadn't froze up, if only she acted more quickly, if only, if only, if only.
"Ai."
Tuyet's voice brought her back to reality and made Ai Thao straighten herself up.
"Lan got away didn't she?"
Ai bowed her head, hiding the shame that clouded her face.
"... Both of our reserves were exhausted. Neither of us would have won."
"It's not about winning. It was about capturing her. Nonetheless, I understand." Tuyet exhaled and settled herself into the bed more comfortably.
"We'll discuss the situation more thoroughly in the morning. I trust you'll look after all of us to the best of your capabilities."
"Y-Yes." Ai nodded in affirmation.
"Please, sleep as long as you need. I will continue in attending to your wounds Miss Tuyet."
Tuyet closed her eyes giving no reply. Ai stood up, bowing her head and exited the room. It was a useless, but reflexive gesture.
Ai checked on her other two patients and after confirming their status as deep sleepers, she retreated to the living area, seating herself on the sofa, relegating herself to deep thought of the past day's events. The fact of the matter was simple. She had failed, short of getting her comrades killed. That psychic, Lan was unlike any opponent she had ever faced. Those people Ai had helped bring in over the years had not posed much of a challenge or she eventually overcame them with her power. Lan was different. She was a beast that would consume all in her path even disregarding the people who created her for her own self-satisfaction.
Wasn't I being satisfied myself during all those other times...?
Ai Thao Kha was just content with completing the work given to her by the council. While she was concerned for the life of others, it wasn't as if their lives had to hinge on her decisions alone. It was never her decision to begin with. Was it? If she was a person with an iron will, would the outcome have been better for this particular battle? But she knew in the end that it was just wishful thinking. It wouldn't have stopped Tuyet from getting wounded. It wouldn't have stopped Hau from having his eye ripped out. Her own sister had almost died due to her own negligence. Those transgressions would have been enough to earn Lan a death sentence along with all the other murders that were on her head.
She gripped her hands together tightly, to the point where her nails pierced her skin as she thought of the psychics whose lives were ended by that woman's hands. Ai didn't know if this was the point where she had to resort to ending a life. Lan, who was born for the sake of someone's greedy whims, surely could see that there was more to her existence... But yet again, a fruitless wish.
"... I'll stop her. I'll stop her no matter what."
When she said this aloud, a surprising peace settled over her. Ai Thao thought the path of aggression would have troubled her more, but that wasn't it. She simply needed to affirm it within herself. She was here. She had the power to stop all of this meaningless bloodshed. Her past life would have done the same, but now it was up to Ai to decide how things would turn out.
No one should have to be hurt because Ai Thao didn't want to stand up for them.
◎ Is your character retaining any previous game memories? N/A