Death and how your character handles it.

[SunTzu7]

How does your character deal with killing?

 

Newton's a bit of a paradox in that while she will try to avoid killing if it's within her power to subdue instead, she has been part of a military force. She fought at Carteneau. Killing is well within her power and she'll not hesitate in a war or battle.

 

Outside though she'll try talking people down first. But push her too far and you'll soon see that Newton's silliness turns on and off in an instant.

 

How did your character feel after her first kill?

 

It was an ambush on her unit by a group of bandits, and reacting instinctively, she drove her blade through the first man. She was heavily armed and armoured, he was armed with a cheap sword and barely functional armour.

 

She barely had a second to register it before another sword came at her and she had to deflect that. All in all, she killed three people in that skirmish before they broke and ran.

 

They might have had their reasons, but they were attacking people she felt responsible for. In that respect, she didn't care much for the dead.

 

Does your character mull over it later?

 

Maybe the first time. Afterwards? No. Anyone who attacks something she's protecting is taking their lives into their own hands.

 

After Carteneau though, there's a noticeable drop in people she kills in combat. Make of that what you will.

[Chill Man]

So here are some questions for you:

- How does your character deal with killing?

- How did your character feel after his/her first kill?

- Does your character mull over it later on? (Exe. The nightmares)

 

- Javert won't go out of his way to kill, however if he kills then he'll make it as quick and efficient as he can manage.

- Javert's first kill left him feeling initiated; excited at his own success.

- Today Javert feels no regret, nor passion or self-satisfaction regarding killing.

[Mi Ming]

- How does your character deal with killing?

She drinks and tries to act like it doesn't bother her.

- How did your character feel after his/her first kill?

Claire was forced by her captors as a child to lure civilians to be captured by pirates and taken to Sahagan. Counting that as her first time killing Claire was devastated and traumatized. 

- Does your character mull over it later on? (Exe. The nightmares)

Claire will often sit and remember the lives of those she has taken, when this happens she usually starts drinking.

[-no longer matters-]

- How does your character deal with killing?

She's seen her fair share of death, She's been a Sell Sword, and Adventurer since she was 13 (Now 38) and has lived through quite a few bloody battles. She knows in war people dies, she can deal with it because she has to protect those that can't protect themselves. 

- How did your character feel after his/her first kill?

Scared, angry, and confused, she was 13, and she found out being an adventurer/Sell Sword wasn't a game.

- Does your character mull over it later on? (Exe. The nightmares)

The kill? No, the death around her from some events still haunts her though.

[Sylentmana]

How does your character deal with killing?

Quickly, quietly, and professionally. Tsubaki was trained as a ninja from the time she could first walk and is is skilled in the arts of espionage, sabotage, and assassination.  She actually enjoys assassination missions the most for two reasons: 

 

First, she finds it thrilling to infiltrate a heavily guarded fortress, stalk a target unawares, then take them out before they even realize they've been killed. she also prides herself on killing the mark and ONLY the mark. Having to kill any more is sloppy. Second, her superiors only direct assassinations toward the more undesirable elements of the world such as criminals and corrupt politicians. She appreciates this shadowy justice system as it allows her to help make the world a better place for those that matter, i.e. innocents and those who protect them. It would bother her if she had to kill a friend or family member, but so far that hasn't happened.

 

How did your character feel after her first kill?

Hungry and a bit bored. The mission was far too easy for her skills and the target too arrogant to hire proper protection.

 

Does your character mull over it later?

Only if the mission was particularly memorable. If the mission was a true test of her skills, or the target was interesting or unusual, or something else that would make it worth remembering. Otherwise, she views it like any other mission she's given.

[Gaspard]

- How does your character deal with killing?

 

Nonchalantly. Enjoying it even due to his early Dotharl upbringing (Enjoying massacres and such). He's no issue with dealing death and has done so in the past.

 

- How did your character feel after his/her first kill?

 

Since, culturally speaking, Dotharl are primed for war and violence, from what we know, I'd say; Proud, accomplished and 'mature'. Like a rite of passage.

 

 

 

- Does your character mull over it later on? (Exe. The nightmares)

 

At times, definitely. Being present in different Cultures does that to him, to the point that he's constantly confused to whether his way of seeing things is the right one or not. Also, being a Slave for several years shifted his perception to some degree since, for the first time, he was victim of his circumstances instead of aggressor. So that opened up a new can of worms in terms of ideologies.

[Sophia_Grave]

How does your character deal with killing?

Sophia wasn't exactly raised to be a killer, but war is a huge part of Garlean culture. She did her best to steel herself for the inevitable kills she'd have to make to further her cause. In her head, she's justified. She doesn't revel or particularly enjoy the act, but she does have a huge amount of pride in her ability to best her opponent or target.

 

How did your character feel after her first kill?

After the initial life-or-death surge of adrenaline, Sophia felt pride. In a life or death struggle, she came out on top. And then there was ambition. Death was simple; easy, even, under the correct circumstances, and the right death could change the world.

 

Does your character mull over it later?

At times, she wonders if a specific kill was necessary or not. She values life and prefers not to kill to do what she needs, but she will without a second thought if its the only option. She's definitely guilty when she kills someone she doesn't mean to. It also makes her feel weak, ironically, and not in control.

[D'aito Kuji]

- How does your character deal with killing?

 

According to a few sources, the violent death rate was 30 times higher in the late middle ages or early renaissance than it is today.  If I apply that to Eorzea, then violent death is almost as common as heart attacks are today.  That is, it would almost be a certainty that someone you knew was violently killed or that you had killed someone.

 

So I try not to apply current world moralities to my characters efforts.  D'aito Kuji kills when commanded, kills in self-defence, kills in the protection of others, and there is little resistance to doing so.  Before our modern conveniences, lots of people had to kill their own food or at least knew more about where and what their food came from.  People were far more comfortable with death because they were very familiar with it.

 

Add to all that, the rates at which people died form disease, infection, childbirth, and accidents, people had a tendency to become callous about death, even violent death. This helps to explain why so many people enjoyed public executions or animal torture as a form of entertainment.  The psyche simply had to be far more impenetrable to the softer emotions.

 

That's all a lot to throw onto Eorzea.  Our world doesn't have magic and some of the technologies used in the realm are beyond what we can do today.  So, Eorzea isn't as grim as our world was back then.  But I still believe that the average Eorzean is very familiar with death (especially post Calamity?)

 

But I use some of these historical things to inform how I think D'aito would deal with death.  Which is to say, she doesn't really think much about it at all unless the death was as a consequence of her own incompetence.  That would plague her both for the permanent nature of the failure but as a stain on her own sense of self and her pride.

 

- How did your character feel after his/her first kill?

 

D'aito was no doubt elated and flush with the thrill of victory.  In her tribe, like most of her sisters, she was raised as a hunter.  This helped to familiarize her with death and what it means to take a life.  When she joined the Maelstrom, her and fellows were ambushed by pirates and D'aito killed two of them but only after her commander had been run through.  To this day she regrets not acting faster and she is determined to not let another person die for her mistakes.

 

- Does your character mull over it later on? (Exe. The nightmares)

 

It would be wrong to say that she does not.  She chooses not to speak about them only rarely mentioning that she has killed anyone.  But she knows exactly how many and is no stranger to the soothing power of alcohol.  It quiets the mind before sleep and generally cures the nightmares.  She can become highly agitated when it is not available and will experience nightmares without it.  So there's no doubt that she's uncomfortable with what she's had to do but I feel that she's more haunted by what she was unable to do and the price of her failures.

[Viola]

- How does your character deal with killing?

Viola revels in it. While she doesn't remember her tribal life as a child, she remembers how exhilarating it is to kill others. Partially from her Dotharl bloodline, partially from her Dark Knight training; Viola is as much a slave to the kill as she is its mistress.

 

- How did your character feel after his/her first kill?

Her first (remembered) and second kills were a pair of innocent people; an old jewelcrafter and his wife. She was 9 at the time and on a whim, lulled them into taking her in and killed them both. She loved their screams. The kills were like the sweetest of nectars to her.

 

 

- Does your character mull over it later on?

She missed being free, at first. Killing the two had ended her up under the "care" of a Dark Knight who, instead of killing her, subdued and captured her. Now, Viola is thankful. Thankful that she learned to become judge, jury and executioner.

[Unnamed Mercenary]

[[steps in as a mod]]

 

Let's stay on topic, everyone.

 

Remember, don't respond to off-topic posts. Report them.

 

[[steps away]]

[ZoktaiKhor]

How does your character deal with killing?

As he deems it's needed sometimes some people aren't deserving of the life they have.

 

First Kill?

At first growing up Zach's first kill was a bounty mission for some pirates who were harassing farmers. It wasn't on purpose. Soo it shook him up a bit but sacrificing the life of a scoundrel to save a inocent little girl made him get over it. He has now has no remorse about killing those who commit crimes he deems unforgivable. However when he first dealt with those who were turned (tempered,drowned, etc by primals) He feels sick to his stomach.

Does he mull over it?

Some of these people were perfectly innocent until the primals corrupted them. He started aetheral research to see if people could be cured of this brainwashing but if he runs into them ...he curses him self and writes down every name he's slain.

[Zelmanov]

ALOT IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE DUE TO 3.0's MSQ, as such I made my answer a spoiler post just in case what I say may accidentally spoil things.

 

 

 

 

 

 

- How does your character deal with killing?

Orrin is a Dragoon of Ishgard, he can end a dragon's life without a second thought and for several good reasons.

 

When it comes to other human beings though, it is based on the situation. Deadly force against him is usually received with deadly force straight back unless he needs the person alive. He is quicker to kill heretics without even a word however. He sort of follows the quote "If you are ever held at gun point, pray the man holding the gun is an evil man for he will gloat and prolong your life, a good man will kill without a word." in the role of the "good man".

 

Orrin makes a distinction between deaths in war (combat between mutual parties) and deaths in domestic situations (mugging turned to murder etc). He honors the first and abhors the second. 

 

He is NOT a character that will say "Killing is wrong!" he will not cleave through a bad guy's lackeys and then decide to spare the life of the one responsible like so many superheroes do when they finally get their hands on the main villain.

 

- How did your character feel after his/her first kill?

 

I assume you mean human (elezen, roe, what have you) and not  just ending any life. His first killing of another human being was the one that haunted him the most. Though initially he felt nothing, which made him believe it was the right choice, eventually doubts that his decision was truly righteous or the only solution began to creep in. He avoids bringing it up, maybe even straight up deny it unless cornered with incontrovertible knowledge about it. but so far no one has done that in RP.

 

Any and all other humanoids he has killed there after don't even register, they may as well be dragons

 

- Does your character mull over it later on? (Exe. The nightmares)

 

Only one kill haunts him and he's repressed it mostly. Though the MSQ is trudging it back up. The rest of the time he seems to sleep well.

 

 

 

 

[Jean L]

I'm just going to talk about Nekhii because Jade and Sechen are pretty desensitized to it. Sechen just doesn't kill beastkin for food but killing out of self-defense or protecting someone else or a village doesn't bother her. Jade just doesn't kill on a job because it's super unprofessional of a thief/mucks up hiding.  

 

 

How does your character deal with killing?

Nekhii cries, he vomits, he shakes, he feels awful about it. He's not good at sneaking, and he's gotten harassed by the occasional angry drunk with a knife. He'd rather not die and so if it's kill or be killed, he goes for kill. Monsters and killing for food is different but killing people is the most horrifying idea to him.

How did your character feel after his/her first kill?

At first, since he was still living with the Horo, pretty normal. It wasn't until he started realize that death was horrific that he steadily felt worse and worse. 

Does your character mull over it later on?

He mulls over it a lot. It's why he eventually quits fighting and goes to healing instead.

[ShoggMommy]

- How does your character deal with killing?

 

Nonchalantly. Enjoying it even due to his early Dotharl upbringing (Enjoying massacres and such). He's no issue with dealing death and has done so in the past.

 

- How did your character feel after his/her first kill?

 

Since, culturally speaking, Dotharl are primed for war and violence, from what we know, I'd say; Proud, accomplished and 'mature'. Like a rite of passage.

 

I'm quoting Gaspard here for the fact that it echoes pretty closely to Saikhan or Dusk as she informs folks. She too being of the Dotharl clan has similar mentalities.

 

- How does your character deal with killing?

She in the past has enjoyed it, and still does, it's a thrill, an adrenaline rush. And even moreso with what path she follows currently. She very much does sort of snap into the thrill-of-it moments when it comes down to her hunt-targets, in this case those who harm others. She has a bit of Daredevil inspiration in some ways, she is very brutal and does not hesitate to protect those that need it.

 

- How did your character feel after his/her first kill?

She was brought up with it, it is what she knows, and she sees no real shame in it. Being in a war-like, brutal even 'savage' as some might call it, tribe; it's not so surprising. She does not however, like dishonor killings in her view of them.

 

- Does your character mull over it later on? (Exe. The nightmares)

Not really, she's something of a zealot so she doesn't feel bad for killing for her views. If it were an innocent? Maybe. Though she does and has mulled over killings of people that were close to her. In fact currently she's dealing with the repercussions of her mentor's murder.

[Sigil.9054]

How does your character deal with killing?

 

Seldi does give in to her predatory instincts a little bit, and if she's hunting something for food, or killing an animal/creature in defense, neither of these will phase her beyond the usual adrenaline rush from fight-or-flight mechanisms kicking in.

 

A more familiar sentient creature is a different matter. Members of the player races and the "friendly" NPC races are people she'd rather not have to fight. If it comes down to that, though, she'll act as reasonably as possible. There's a clear distinction in her mind between someone being a threat because they're drunk, and someone being a threat because they think Seldi and/or her kind need to be exterminated.

 

I guess, in the end, she's doesn't take it lightly, but she's practical.

 

How did your character feel after his/her first kill?

 

Again, killing for food is something that comes naturally, and doesn't phase her at all. Her first sentient kill was someone attacking her when she was lost and alone in the first moon following the Calamity. His motivation unknown to her. She was armed with a fillet knife that she'd been using to prepare her food.

 

It was a messy, awful affair. She wasn't moved to tears, but she didn't eat for a few days after that.

 

Does your character mull over it later on? (Exe. The nightmares)

 

Again, she's practical. Consciously, she rationalizes it and moves on. Unconsciously, that first kill haunted her nightmares for months. Eorzea is a dangerous place, and that's far from the last time she's been assaulted by *something* trying to kill her, and the ones that aren't animals always have cameos in her dreams after the fact.

 

Every time it happens, though, she gets just a little more used to it. It won't be long before it becomes second nature, and stops phasing her altogether.

[Klynzahr]

How does your character deal with killing?

 

        To put it simply, not well. Although her profession constantly places her in dangerous situations, she loathes the act of killing and will usually try to avoid it by any means. One of her hard fast rules is never to take a leve that calls for the death of a humanoid, including Garlean forays, bandit raids, and hunts for wanted criminals. Refusing these valuable jobs hits her hard in the coin purse, but she considers it to be a fair trade.

 

       When forced into a life or death situation, she is extremely reluctant to strike a lethal blow and this hesitation has cost her dearly on several occasions. She will attempt to talk an opponent down, trip or disarm them, and finally strike crippling blows. The two exceptions are the Sahagin conflicts that she fought in her youth and more recently the assault on Castrum Meridianum, when she assisted with the capture of several outposts and was ordered not to give quarter.

 

How did she feel after her first kill?

 

 This is an interesting paradox. Klynzahr's first kill took place during a naval struggle, when the Lominsian merchantman that she was crewing came under attack from pirates. She was on the gun deck working in a team of four, when a cannon ball demolished the gun beside theirs and took down the seaman in charge. Klynzahr and the two other sailors continued, with Klynzahr firing the long gun.

 

  She was thirteen years old, spraying the smaller vessel's deck with grape shot, and never once considering the death that she was raining down on them. She had simply stepped one place up in the well oiled machine , which she had been a part of since she could walk. To this day, she completely depersonalizes every naval battle that she fought in.

 

  Disregarding the dozens of lives that she was complicit in ending during her childhood, Klynzahr counts her first kill as the incident from her first year in the blood sands. She was fighting a young Highlander in particularly flimsy and impractical armour. Klynzahr's blade slipped under the woman's gorget and literally tore her throat out, leaving Klynzahr traumatized.

 

  She was in denial for hours, followed by several days of heavy drinking. Although several similar incidents have occurred since, she has never been able to shake the mental image of the dying gladiator's face and her fighting style has never completely recovered.

 

Do they mull over it later?

 

   Quite frequently. The garleans that she killed in Northern Thanalan and her fellow gladiators that have fallen haunt her the most. She feels particularly responsible for the three areana deaths that she caused, believing that she could have prevented them if she had been more conscious of her strength.

 

   These memories do haunt her nightmares, making her a particularly restless sleeper. In fact it is a rare night, when she doesn't wake up on the floor at least once. More significantly, they will often flash before her eyes when she is confronted by the possibility of a fight, shattering her focus and often leaving her the last person to react.