ᘚ a passing mod (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
passingmod) wrote2012-01-05 03:02 pm
passingmod) wrote2012-01-05 03:02 pm
Entry tags:
Applications
| ONE PASSING NIGHT ↓ rpg thought ooc spam quick facts rules & setting FAQ mod contact theme suggestions credits reserves applications taken characters hiatus post dropping potential apps wanted APPLICATIONS ↓ what to know misc. rules application in detail blank form sample app how we review |
WHAT TO KNOW |
Applications are ALWAYS OPEN, and will be processed as they are received. They must be posted in the comments, NOT linked to. Before applying, read the rules & setting page and this post in their entirety. Use the potential applications page or the FAQ if you have any questions about the process. There is also a sample app and an explanation of how we process apps if those interest you. The wanted characters list may also be helpful. In general, however, we would rather have a shorter, better written application than a longer one, every time. That said, length is one of the least important factors in our applications. We look primarily at the voice samples, then the personality section and writing sample. The voice samples are by far the most important section, and we prefer that these be thread links, because they give us a sense of how you play the character rather than simply how you write an application for the character. The application page from the former site can be found here. |
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MISC. RULES |
We do allow challenge apps, but we wait the duration of the reserve for the other app to come in before processing them against each other. Applications or parts of applications (such as the initial comment containing contact information) will be screened on request. There is a one week grace period for dropped characters during which applications for them will be held pending. The former player can choose to pick up those characters at any time during that week without re-applying. If you are asked for a revision, you have one week to submit them before your app will be automatically declined. You must resubmit your app in its entirety if that happens. Always feel free to ask us to clarify what we're looking for on revisions; we won't bite. If you are rejected, we encourage you to re-apply. We like seeing players that have taken our critique and worked on improving their portrayal. The exception is a character rejected on the grounds that they would be difficult to impossible for others to play with. Playability is an important factor. Our plagiarism policy is as follows: the first offense will be met without consequence. The second offense results in a one month ban from apping. Subsequent further offenses will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis but most likely incur longer bans, up to and including indefinite bans. |
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APPLICATION IN DETAIL |
Your name: Your journal: A sock is fine, or a commonly used character journal if you don't have a personal one. Just please be consistent with your identity for ease of reference. Contact: AIM/plurk/email/etc., whatever you prefer to be contacted. Other characters played at Passing: Character name: Character fandom: Version: V1, V1.# or V2+ should be the only options. Canon point: What point of their timeline you're taking them from. Importing development from old game? If yes, where from? Background: Link to the Wiki entry on it, or if the series has its own wiki, the character's page. A comprehensive fan site is an acceptable substitute. If you cannot find one of these that works well enough for us to get a good grasp of your character from a third party, please write out the standard 'history' section for this on your own. Please include this even if applying for an AU version of the character. OCs need the history section written out as well, obviously. In general, though, this should be a link whenever possible and not a written history. We use it to compare an unbiased third party account against your represented version of the character. If you include a written history, we will ignore it completely and look up whatever is available for that character on Wikipedia ourselves. Changes from canon, if AU: What it says. Detail here how the AU world is different from canon, or what events have happened in their previous game that have lead them to be different. Personality: The meat of the application, and self-explanatory. We want to see that you understand what makes them tick. If AU, try to include explanation for where and why the character has changed from canon. Abilities: What are they particularly good at, or if they do have superhuman powers, what are they? A bullet point list will suffice. Writing sample: At least 200 words of your own writing in third person prose, preferably about the character you're applying for. Samples about others are allowed, in any setting. This is to gauge your writing style and technique, not your grasp of character. That's the next section. Voice sample: You may either write 200 words of your character speaking to himself, or you may link to threads, or you may request to thread with a mod character. Regular voice sample: If choosing option one, the standard first person sample rules apply. The word count applies only to spoken words, not action in brackets, and since 200 words is a lot for some quiet characters, more than one different samples are allowed. Linking to threads: If you are linking to threads, make sure they are lengthy ones that demonstrate your understanding of the character. We don't need a million of them, but remember that this is as a substitute for a sample, and we will evaluate it the same way. Threads that took place in other games, museboxes, or ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small} dear_mun are all fine.Threading with a mod character: You may also request to thread with a mod character - please do so in the body of your application when you submit it, rather than contacting a mod privately. The first available mod will respond back as soon as possible and discuss with you who your character would be best suited to play off of of their characters, and then you will agree on a time to sit down and crack out a thread. These will be 'quick log' style in brackets and not prose to make them go faster and keep the focus on dialog. These do not have to be masterpieces of wonder, but your application will not be judged until you have finished the thread (at least 20 comments on your part), so think carefully before choosing this option. The mods will make every effort to respond to your tags quickly. |
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BLANK FORM |
Comment here with this! |
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Master Chief John SPARTAN-117 | Halo | V2 - Part 1
Your journal:
Contact: xSaintjade on AIM, ultralisk underscore
Other characters played at Passing:
Character name: Master Chief | John | SPARTAN-117
Character fandom: Halo
Version: V 2.0
Canon point: Post-Halo 3 AU
Importing development from old game? Econtra, with a few changed events on the aftermath of the game and a little development from Dressing Rooms.
Background: Link on Halopedian.
Changes from canon, if AU: With the end of the Battle of the Ark and the victory of humanity against the Covenant, John-117 was left along with Cortana on the aft of the Forward Unto Dawn. With little hope for rescue in many years, the Master Chief entered cryosleep. Knowing that her lifespan as an AI had been severely shortened, and that she could die during his long sleep, his last words to Cortana were to wake him when she ever needed him.
Another world, however, saw fit to call him for duty to help save it: The world of Econtra. Unlike many residents that were drafted with either happy lives after having finished their conflict, or others that still had many things to do to save their own worlds, the Spartan was different: His quest to protect his world succeeded at a very high cost. His home had been glassed, nearly all of the people he cherished had died or had gone missing for too long to have any hopes, and ended his war alone and abandoned thousands of stars away from home.
He arrived believing he had nothing left, save for the duty that was given to him.
In there, he made friendships and alliances with many of the residents, some of whom would create lasting bonds with the Master Chief. Most importantly, he reunited with many fellow Spartans and UNSC personnel to share information about their world, and prepare the worlds of the younger Spartans for the most crucial moments in the War against the Covenant in their timelines.
Beside learning of the fate of Dr. Halsey, Senior Chief Mendez, and of the rest of the Spartans at Onyx, he learned the entire truth of the SPARTAN-III Project. The revelation of hundreds of children, made Spartans, and sent to suicide missions, shook his foundations somewhat. It became one of the driving points of the Master Chief to save the Spartans that remained.
Most importantly for his world and of those of his comrades stuck in the Nexus world of Econtra, he faced the most vicious creature to ever be encountered by a Spartan in combat. After many tortures by the Keepers and the Entropi alike, the residents won, and the Master Chief finished his duties in Econtra carrying vital intelligence – related to his world, and to the alien enemy he fears could ever return.
With the conclusion of the Econtra campaign, he chose to return to the aft of the Forward Unto Dawn, to Cortana, even if it meant he would have to return to a frozen grave, with the dying hope that he would ever be found. He clung to the hope that someone would find him, and that he would find a way to find the Spartans at Onyx, and find a way back to Earth. All, to follow the promise of Johnson not to let Cortana go. But it was not the end of his adventures out of his universe.
Cortana, upon realizing what had happened to the Master Chief, discovers the slipspace rupture that accompanied him when he left and returned, caused by the Econtra AI known as the “Indigeo”. With the closest alternative for rescue available, she performs one final sacrifice for the Master Chief: She diverts the remaining energy of the Forward Unto Dawn into firing a beacon into the rupture for anybody in the multiverse to find them. The rest of the energy is sent directly to the lone pod that remained for years. With no more energy for her to operate with, Cortana succumbed to Rampancy and AI death.
Eventually, he is found by an old friend from the world of Econtra: The former senshi of water and knowledge, Mercury, Mizuno Ami as she was known by her friends. Having received the signal, the soldier ventured into the world of the Spartan to wake him from his sleep. With the Nav database erased as marked by the Cole Protocol upon immobilization of the ship, she transports the Master Chief to another Nexus while he prepared for his return.
With the slipspace rupture closed and his path back to the Dawn severed, the Master Chief realized he would not see his world for a long time. Even then, his objective became to return to his Earth, save his team trapped at Onyx, and report everything that transpired in his journeys.
For several days, the Master Chief remained to rest, re-arm and repair his equipment in the Nexus while he waited for another slipspace rupture to open up for his universe. In there, he made a few friends and allies, some of them related to the people he knew from the world of Econtra... However, apart from Mercury, John did not find UNSC personnel, or anybody that hailed from the world of Econtra.
By the time another time-space rupture opened by the concentration of numerous slipspace-capable ships, the Master Chief found himself in the middle of a Jiralhanae Fleet, the Fleet of the Fateful Path, preparing for a jump to engage another, similar one. The Spartan snuck aboard the Covenant Flagship Prominency, and for days, he remained hidden to wait for the adequate moment to strike, readying himself for a one-man raid until the time was right.
Once the Fleet engaged another in combat in a clear act of Civil War, the Master Chief revealed himself, and fought his way through dozens of Grunts, Jackals, and Brutes that had long-since considered the Spartan an unstoppable demonic force. Before a nearby Separatist fleet appeared to take advantage of the chaos that spread with the reports of the Spartan, the Master Chief successfully stole the Nav database of the Covenant ship – And activated his PINpoint to be sent back to the Nexus before his ship was burned to cinders.
Now with the knowledge that the Covenant Civil War was still raging on after the end of the Great War, he realized the conflict for humanity has not really ended. Once the Covenant ceased fighting, they could turn their eyes back on humanity. This forced the Master Chief to continue preparing and re-arming himself with as much technology from many universes as he could obtain.
Most importantly, now with a Covenant Nav Database in his hands, he's waiting for the chance to translate the file, and use it once a slipspace rupture opens again for him to return to his world.
In the meantime, for the years following the Econtra Campaign, the Master Chief had been venturing into several other worlds and Nexuses performing a few odd jobs, mercenary duties, and favors, to support himself and his equipment as he prepares for the next time a slipspace rupture opens up in his world.
Personality:
One thing that must be known before delving into his personality is his history: Having been stolen at the age of six, raised in a military environment, and having lived for the whole of his adult life in war, John-117 grew up for most of his life in a tight-knit group, learning to care for each and every person he serves with, and developed a control over his emotions beyond even that of the rest of the Spartans; but almost to socially crippling levels. Those that become his enemies, they will be lucky if he ever takes the time to give him a single word as he fights.
Those that know him will notice he's quite laconic, and rather fluent in dry humor for many of his interactions. He speaks what is necessary, and elaborates when required upon him. For much of his life, he lived with individuals with whom the tiniest motion of body language could be read, and interacted almost solely with those of his unit, save for a handful of outsiders. Even outside of his element, he retains this way of communicating himself.
With those he's the close with, he can joke and send dry humor their way, but feels limited in this regard due to his position as the Commanding Officer of the SPARTAN-II. Must be noted, however, that he's more open nowadays thanks to Econtra, and not as limited as he used to be in the past. It's close friends that see this side of him more often.
John is not cold. He is compassionate and willing to sacrifice himself if it means saving one more person. But having seen and done many things, he's both accustomed and scarred by his entire decades fighing, but not completely. In the last five years, his whole life changed violently and abruptly with the fall of his home, the discovery of ancient threats, and his journeys through several universes.
In a way, he's of the “Seen It All” type, but not immune to surprise or fear. He feels fear, but pushes it to the back of his mind and transforms it into a drive to fight. It's the reason he has been considered the bravest, luckiest, and arguably the best among the SPARTAN-II.
After forty years of using the armor, he cannot let go of it. The air feels cold for him, and he has almost turned pale for the long time he has lived inside of it. Not watching the world from behind his visor and his HUD makes him feel exposed. While Spartans in general need the MJOLNIR on a personal level, the armor is almost a part of him, he and it are one and the same, and feels skinless out of it.
Growing up in a military environment made him unaware of many social customs and ways of thinking until after the Fall of Reach, though most of his maturity and emotional hardness was obtained throughout the Human-Covenant War. He's grown ever since, but a civilian lifestyle is not within his line of thought.
For instance, a big part of his character that still remains with him even after paid dearly for continuing to think like that, is the desire to win.
Halsey noted that, in a way, Spartans resemble children. Despite his very keen mind and leadership abilities, there are things John simply did not understand for some time, such as winning not being the most important thing, and things outside of the way the military in general thinks. Having spent a few years outside of the wing of the UNSC has made him improve a lot on this matter.
Because of his mother, Halsey, Cortana, and Ami, he holds those that are intelligent and strong in high esteem – women particularly, seeing in them the recurrent traits from the people he has grown to cherish.
An important part of his character are promises. When he gives you his word, he'll return to his grave, cross through worlds apart, or venture into hell to fulfill it. Sometimes he knows he will not win, but he will still devote himself to it, for that person he gave his loyalty to.
This does not mean he will completely let go of his own moral codes, his orders, the laws of the UNSC, or his patience for them. For instance, Dr. Halsey is treated by almost all of the Spartans as both their Commanding Officer and their mother, but when she told John through Cortana to rest after having taken too many injuries after the battle of Halo 04, he snapped saying that he “doesn't take orders from civilians – not even her.” ... Even when he had been doing that for Halsey for a long time, treating her as both her Commanding Officer and his mother.
A scenario better used as a comparison is Cortana: After the promise that he'd return to her, he focused first on ending Truth's plans before he ventured again into an infested High Charity. After Econtra, he fulfilled Johnson's last will not to let her go, by returning to the aft of the Forward Unto Dawn.
For most of his life, he categorized people as “squadmates”, “officers”, and “threats”, and see deaths as either “spent lives” and “wasted lives”, even when he had been warned by his trainer not to rely on those terms too much, and finding out that even he would hesitate to classify any death as either a needed sacrifice or a pointless loss.
It was after the Battle of Halo 04 when he learned the true importance of lives. While he had been brave and noble even before his conscription, he was part of those that believed in the sacrifice of the few for the good of the many; after seeing many of her Spartans die and the Covenant at the doorstep of Earth, Dr. Halsey admitted to John that she had been mistaken in justifying her actions:
"For a long time I had thought that we had to sacrifice the few for the good of the entire human race... I have killed and maimed and caused a great deal of suffering to many people – All in the name of self-preservation... But now I'm not sure that philosophy has worked out too well. I should have tried to save every single human life—No matter what it cost."
It wasn't until after her saw more pointless deaths, and seeing Linda-058 prepared to die onboard the Unyielding Hierophant when he finally understood what Halsey meant – how a single person could make a difference in an entire war. With it, he devoted himself to save as many lives as he could.
However, the Battle of the Ark tested his resolve for that philosophy. Being unable to save Miranda, Johnson, and Cortana, the Master Chief felt guilt for not fulfilling his promise of saving everyone and getting them all home – feeling he failed himself and Halsey. It was something he grew to accept with time. That in spite of how much he fought, that he would not be able to save everyone. He learned that winning wasn't always the most important thing. There would be times in which he would never win.
The days following the Fall of Reach and his adventures throughout several worlds, however, have become a bigger part of his character. It has been confirmed that he has been scarred psychologically after the events of the three Halo games. After the Fall of Reach, he was driven to his limits not only physically, but psychologically for months: He saw his home glassed and lost dozens of his Spartans (his family) be slaughtered in that battle, he found the ringworlds and faced the Flood more than once, he lost everyone dear to him in the last months of the war save for Cortana, and he had to deal with the pressure of saving an entire galaxy with three races crying for the death of humanity.
The events at Econtra gave him some respite, and made him a lot more social, but in other matters, they continued to scar him: The Entropi by themselves were bad enough as they are, but their ability to destroy entire dimensions; along with the screeches, their attacks that were able to burn armor as if it wasn't there, and the smell of rotten flesh caused a strong psychological aversion in him towards them. They reminded him of the worst things of his war. The smell of the Flood, the plasma of the Covenant, and the destruction he had to avert to save his world. Ultimately, his entire experience in Econtra changed him as strongly as the months following the Fall of Reach and the battles of the Halo rings. Right now, those very elements of the alien race are his greater fears, and are now along with the nightmares he has of the last days of his war.
In a way, it also strengthened him.
Having faced the ultimate challenge for any Spartan, an abomination capable of killing gods and reducing entire dimensions to barren wastelands, his morale improved a lot. After having fought, survived, and won against the alien threat, he is confident he can take on stronger opponents, relying not only on merely physical power, but on intellect, teamwork, and unity.
Master Chief John SPARTAN-117 | Halo | V2 - Part 2
After Econtra, he became more social, more or less to the level of Kurt-051, but without losing the laconic manner of speech that's characteristic from him. He can reach out to people, but always needs some time alone for peace after a long day, or with the company of a very close friend.
Right now, he understands the need to bend and break some rules for the greater good: To save peoples' lives, and to continue fighting where many cannot go on. Time ago, he also made a trading agreement with a smuggler by the name of Anadra Kelrian and served as her bodyguard for a while, justifying himself in that he neededthe weapons she could provide him for the sake of his world. Breaking the Spartans' “No-Drinking” rule for just an instant, however, is the result of both improved social skills and generally being fed up with everything strange that's happened to him after the Fall of Reach.
However, in spite of how much he had changed because of Econtra and during his travels in other universes, at his core, the Spartan has not changed.
While the Master Chief has grown social and become accustomed to even the more mudane actions, he knows there is no hope for him to ever fit into any normal life. For him, the battlefield is, and will always be, his home. He knows well there will always be war. He will fight until he wins or he dies. All, to defend everything he swore to protect from the day he was made a Spartan, and marked as a protector of Earth and its' colonies.
Abilities:
CANON
AUGMENTATIONS AND MJOLNIR MARK VI
All of the SPARTAN-II were subject to a series of augmentations meant to make them smarter, faster, and stronger. The successfully augmented SPARTAN-II were strong enough to run at 30 mph out of armor, bend metal, and toss heavy machinery meters away... All, freshly augmented, and out of armor. Their senses made them keen enough to see and listen with incredible clarity, and according to Fred-104, can even hear a pin drop in a sandstorm.
Most importantly, the augmentations were made to allow them to wear the MJOLNIR. A suit of armor that can kill normal humans with the very act of moving. The current version worn by the Master Chief is the MJOLNIR Mark VI, a Powered Assault Armor that beside increasing his strength, speed, agility, durability, and reflexes of the wearer by five, can generate its' own energy shields. When hit, the suit takes a few seconds to regenerate them.
Some other functions inclue an AI slot, a layer that controls temperature, magnetic weapon holders, biofoam injectors, radiation reading, a water recycling system, a pressure seal, and both air filters and an oxygen supply for hazardous environments. The armor has been broken and reforged in his time in the multiverse.
TRAINING AND COMBAT EXPERIENCE
All Spartans were subjected to intense training beginning from the ages of six, and concluded with augmentations and deployment when they turned fourteen. This training was meant to make them the utmost Special Forces of the UNSC -even aboved Helljumpers-, and instructed them in almost every known skill: From weapon handling, CQB, melee combat, military procedures, survival, fitness, leadership, first-aid and field surgery; to marksmanship, starship operation, piloting, driving, hacking, and mechanics.
John-117 is a special case among Spartans. With all these skills, he is not the fastest, strongest, or the most specialized in any task, but the most balanced one in all aspects. What made him the leader of the SPARTAN-II was his bravery that went beyond even the rest of the Spartans, his leadership, and his care for his men – and by the opinion of Dr. Halsey, arguably the best.
His standard weapon is an MA5C Rifle, an Automatic/Semi-Automatic Rifle from his world that's become the bread-and-butter of UNSC infantrymen firearms from its' application onwards. He carries a Stiletto and a combat knife with him as well. Even with most of the coating restored, the MJOLNIR continues to carry some of the scars of the encounters with the Entropi.
MENTAL FORTITUDE
Something that is not always noted, is that Spartans have brilliant minds. Even as children, Dr. Halsey noted that all of the candidates were completely above their peers not only phsyically, but mentally as well. She claimed that they could have become Alexanders the Great or Cleopatras had they all been born centuries in the past. Linda-058, for instance, had an entire spy network set up when she was less than six years old. After augmentations, they could even perform square roots in their heads, and beat Halsey at “twenty-questions” games.
As noted in his abilities, John is the bravest Spartan, and is perhaps the most mature one with the things he has went through. He has remained solid and standing in events that have emotionally broken most people, such as when facing the Flood. When feeling fear, he transforms it into a drive to fight and win, and like the rest of the Spartans, practices the meditation arts of Zen a lot. Both in warfare, and in times of peace.
He has not gone unscarred. The last five years took a toll on the Master Chief, and even had his timeline remained unaltered, it has been confirmed that he changed psychologically after the events of the Fall of Reach. Moreso with his experience in Econtra, he has changed in a lot of ways, and some traumas have either remained, or turned stronger.
The Entropi and the Flood, for instance, are his greatest fears. He is afraid that, one day, they could cross the barrier of his universe.
LUCK
The biggest of his powers. The fact he has not only always found himself at the right places at the right time, but that he has been through many perils and many stars, and has survived and won where everyone else has died – even against enemies that have stood unchallenged for many millenia.
Even from the moment he was considered for the SPARTAN-II Project as a child, his biggest trait was always noted to have been luck, and after the Fall of Reach, that trait has shined more than ever. Perhaps the biggest evidence that the supernatural does exist in the Halo universe.
DEAR MULTIVERSE
BlasTech Industries E-11 Rifle
Courtesy of a smuggler by the name of Anadra Kelrian, result of a trading agreement made after finally beginning with the right foot. Being the standard-Issue weapon of the Clone Army of the Galactic Empire, the E-11 Blaster Rifle is a compact Automatic & Semi-Automatic weapon with a particle beam that fires up to 500 rounds per canister.
Due to its' nature as an energy weapon, however, it carries the risk of overheating, melting, and exploding if used recklessly and with no time to cool down. His first weapon was used to great effectiveness and subsequently wasted in his raid of the Fleet of the Fateful Path, but was replaced with a brand-new one after the smuggler found the Spartan again in the Nexus. He has been far more careful with that weapon ever since.
INFINITY
Supernatural vision
After having drank a special sake from Yuuko, the Master Chief further improved his eyesight to allow him to see the supernatural. He can see spirits and magic that to many would as well be invisible, seeing them as colors flowing in his eyes; colours seem more vivid to him, and magical energy is now within his visible spectrum.
Writing sample:
John dreamt he was driving.
He knew his dreams well. There were almost always with the same traits. It is the first time in years he has ever had a lucid dream, but it's strangely not one he is in control of. He was driving past the massive cedar trees of the Highland Mountains of Reach. He recognized the Longhorn Valley and the Big Horn River.
Even as he dreamed being inside of his armor, he recognized the soothing scent of the trees. It's been many years since he's been home.
The Spartan looks down as he holds the handles of his vehicle. It's a model of a Mongoose he didn't expect to ever get past the planning phase. A two-wheeled variant. A massive abomination of a motorcycle meant to carry the size and weight of a fully-armored SPARTAN-II, and move him through places with an agility and size not even the standard model would provide.
As he looked up, the scenario slowly revealed a small asian town behind the blurring trees as he sped past. The Spartan turned and took a small stone path, passing shrines and several houses as his vehicle growled with the movement.
His visor looked at the houses. Then turned to see at what laid beyond.
It was not a common dream. It was not a natural one. But in the meantime, he was about to dive deeper into it. Know what it was about. And what was sending those dreams.
Voice sample: Link to a meme in which John finds himself in the world of AU!Mercury.
Master Chief John SPARTAN-117 | Halo | V2 - Part 3
Derp.
Master Chief John SPARTAN-117 | Halo | V2 - Part 4
/END. SO SORRY FOR SPAMMING THIS
ACCEPTED!
And now:
You've been accepted! Welcome. :) There are a few things to go over.
ᘚ Please join the comms. These notifs haven't been working lately, so if a day goes by and you haven't been accepted into the communities, feel free to nag us.
ᘚ Comment to the taken page.
ᘚ Our activity requirements are 20 comments each month for each character, and please remember to tag every post your character comments on - this is how we keep track of activity for ACs.
ᘚ If you use plurk, you might also consider following the mod account, though this is not required.
Do all of that, introduce yourself on the OOC comm, and start playing!
Re: ACCEPTED!
While it wasn't a purchase from Yuuko per se, given the existence of equivalent prices in xxxHolic, I'm alright with diminishing the ability if needed.