Esteban Drake [Sunflower Muse☼]

OOC Information
Name: Ley
Contact: LaureLey, crowneddragon

IC Information
Character name: Esteban
Character canon: OC, CRAU + memory-alterned
Wiki Link: Not Available, sorry!

Game Information
OU/OC/AU/CRAU: Post VoidTrecker Express, and post Folkmore. Esteban has lost all memories of his time growing up, and doesn't quite realize it, in a sort of hazy way that doesn't get addressed at first. He only knows that he's been with the circus for quite some time, and is an easy first-friend to any of the newcomers!

Job: Fire-spinner/Fire-dancer and other fire-related party tricks. Plus oddjobs; Esteban likes feeling useful.

Powers and Skills: Esteban believes he's a rather normal human (with pointy-ears), though he has strong fire-resistance that he takes for granted. He also doesn't feel the cold much, or at least, not the same way people feel the cold. He's more likely to notice an absence of warmth than to notice the air is cold.

Unbeknownst to him, Esteban is a hybrid, born of an elf and a fire dragon. He originally could shapeshift between his two forms, but at this point, his shapeshifting is not instinctive (consider it locked for now). In his half-dragon form, he resembles a Tiefling with horns, wings, a tail, and standing on slightly misshapen feet. He cannot fly; merely glide with his wings. He does not have a fire-breath.

He does have innate magic, but it mostly a-regulates his bodyheat and b- ensures blood flows properly through all his limbs when he is in his half-dragon shape. Running out of magic causes him to faint, but it generally self-regulates.

Housing: Esteban would love to be housed with Karlach, but PG hasn't responded yet, and he would not force the issue.

Questions:
1. What are three things your character fears?
Esteban has a slight claustrophobia, so the days spent stuck in the carriages get him antsy. He can get in small spaces, he just Really Doesn't Like It. (If the weather is somewhat mild, he tends to sleep outside).
Loss and grief. Esteban doesn't know how to deal with those. He is terribly afraid of losing the people he cares about.
Rejection. Esteban does his best to be loved in return, but there is always a particular sting when friends turn away, and when lovers push him aside. Esteban has a history-- remembered or not-- of rejection, and his confidence wavers when he risks being rejected by loved ones.
Also, big birds. While he's less afraid and more wary, Esteban Does Not Like Big Birds. Cassowaries, ostriches, terror birds, chocobos? Birds that size should be illegal.

2. What are three things your character loves?
Esteban loves his friends! So Much! He's very open about it!
He loves getting to know cultures and stories and essentially things that have influenced people as they grew up.
He loves changes, and the shifting seasons. The little things that renew the world. And the moons, very much so!

3. What are three principles your character believes in, whether or not they are true to these principles?
People are worth it. No matter how twisted and hurting and broken they are; people are worth being helped and being loved and being listened to. He believes in the best of people, and will sometimes frame even negative CRs in a way that makes them friendly, or at least willing to help him.
He would rather die freely than to live in a cage.
People tell stories, because they are made of stories. They make up languages and cultures and dances and arts to say 'I am here. I exist.'

4. What are some themes you'd like to work through with your character? There is no number limit for this one, write as much or as little as you'd like.
Esteban is canonically a semi-immortal with an expected lifespan of ~400-500 years. He originally knew this, but it didn't give me much opportunity to work him through that.

What does it mean that he will outlive everyone that he loves? What does it mean that he is still going to die one day? How does one grieve for having too long a lifespan? How does one love knowing, acutely, that loss is to follow?

Inventory: As Esteban has arrived Some Unknown Time Ago, his clothes have been shifting and changing since then. But he does have:
a- a silver charm tangled in his hair. The charm is of a bunny and a sunflower, cradled in the curve of a crescent moon.
b- Two golden charms on a cord dangling from his neck. One of them is a lozenge with what looks like a plant stamped on it. The other is of a small dragon rearing on its hindlimbs. Both are about the size of a thumbnail.
His fire tools, also found in his fire-spinning/fire-dancing references.

OOC information
Player Name: Ley
Player Pronouns: She/her
Player Contact: LaureLey, LaureLey#5044, or PM
Preferred Tag Style: Prose. I TRY to match action, but it has a bit more prose than usual through it. I never expect anyone to keep up with my wordcount (especially when I get excited), so please don't let it intimidate or worry you!
Monthly Pacing: Tags usually answered within 24 hours, though I have bad days. Over 4 days is unusual.
OOC Limitations/Disinterests: Negative CRs for the sake of negative CRs, extreme gore isn't my cup of tea, but I'm open to discussing a level of blood/damage that would be acceptable for the situation.

General character information
Character Name: Esteban
Permissions: 🦊 Permissions. I don't have an Opt-in, Opt-out, but I'm just a PM away if there's any need.
OOC Intro? 🦊 Link to OOC Intro

Character Role: Legend.


Public Knowledge: Fairly recent arrival! He got here at the beginning of January.


General CR information
Wanted CR: I'm mostly searching for people to have a light-hearted/silly CRs with. Shitpost with me! I want to learn to leave seriousness behind and just laugh at my own character! I don't do it really well right now, but I'm trying to learn!

Esteban is searching for friends of any kind! He likes finding people to look after, or kids that need a bit of a safe person to cry to. Found Family is great around him, though he wouldn't really know how to put it into words.

Unwanted CR: Negative CR for negative's sake. Romantic CRs; Esteban has a not boyfriend he's taking things slow with. Trying really hard to take things slow with. He might flirt a bit, but he won't mean anything too deep.

Goals For Your Character:


Specific CR for the trials: During the trial, what are you looking for in particular? What kind of CR you don't wish to focus on this time? Let people know here!

Trial information
Trial Reactions & Goals: How do you want your character to learn about the trials? What does your character think of them—what do they think Thirteen's goals are, what are their goals, and how do those differ? How does this affect their thoughts/feelings on Thirteen, Folkmore, their role, etc?


Trial Accomplishments: What are you interested in your character accomplishing in these trials? What are their successes/wins? How does this affect their potential as their role or their arcs? How might they help others?


Trial Failures: What/how are you interested in your character failing in these trials? A part of the trial(s)? Goal(s) they set for themselves? What bad consequences do you want them to suffer? What help might they need from other people?


Timeline of Trials: Let people know whether you are following a certain timeline or you're free gaming it.

Heya! Esteban here! Uuuuum. Leave a message an' I'll get back t' it?

A collection of the stories Esteban will readily tell whenever prompted.

"Listen to the wind. Listen to the stars.

They have stories to tell."

[A leather-bound notebook with "Esteban" penned multiple times at the upper right on the first page. The rest of the page is covered with carefully spaced letters, in three very different scripts, as well as numbers, and line breaks between each. Further prodding in the book reveals names and various alphabets, listed in order below.

Esteban's handwriting is surprisingly lovely in all three languages. Draconic letters are slanted lightly forwards even in their rounded shapes. Elvish is penned in long, smooth strokes twisting on themselves, and Common are the simplest letters, but still applied and cheerful in their shape.]

Esteban Drake (OC) - Draconic, Elvish, Common
General Amaya (The Dragon Prince) - Katolian (cursive), Katolian (casual)
Inigo (Fire Emblem: Awakening) - Ylissean
Tidus (Final Fantasy X, X-2) - Spiran
Najaran (Culdcept) - Common
Guri (Star Wars (Expanded Universe/Legends)) - Galactic Basic Aurebesh, Huttese, Bocce
Seto Kaiba (Yu-Gi-Oh!) - Japanese, English
Allen (D.Gray-man) - English
Kitty (X-men) - English
Daia (Daia Game) - English, Japanese
Lioriley (OC) - Runic, Common
Rezo (Slayers) - Runic, Braille (drawn, not embossed)

Player Information

Name: Ley
Age: Nearly 30
Contact details: PM, LaureLey#5044 on Discord
Other characters: None yet

Permissions: here

Character Information

Name: Esteban Drake
Canon: Original World
Canon Point: Not Applicable
OU/AU/CRAU/OC: OC
Age: 88 years old

World Information:
General D&D/Fantasy setting, with more personal touches here and there. I've never put down his world in writing per say, but I've started compiling some sort of common terms list.

Esteban's story isn't even about him. Not really. It's about time and flow and what we can't control.

His mother is a dragon, see? Wings, tail, breathes fire, the whole thing. Her name is Amarantha, and truly, the story is more about her than about her son.

Once upon a time, there lived many races of immortals. They were the first to be born in the world, and many of them thought they would be the last ones to see its dying breaths. It's a silly thought, because change is inevitable, but they were unchanging, and so, thought little of what tomorrow could bring.

Millennias came and went, and the mortal races crawled through their first steps before the immortals even noticed them at all. It would be easy to blame it on a war, it would be simple to say that the rise of one was the downfall of the other. But truth be told, immortals were never meant to last. Not forever.

Their lives stretched on, and few decided to procreate, for they had no reason to. Fewer still wished for the endlessness to last as long as it did, and their breaths stretched to whispers, then to silence as one became a hill, another became a tree-- gentle embraces of death for those who wished for a different tomorrow.

Of the dragons, only a handful ever had heirs, single children that had been born when the world had already spun many centuries, and cracked their shells to the dawn of mortal kin. Among them, Amarantha was born, a wild and rambunctious child with as many dreams as there were stars in the sky.

She grew up willful, she grew up beloved, but she grew up lonely, for there were never any other children to play with her. Perhaps Amarantha was always meant to be the agent of change, in a race that was dying from its own perpetuity.

And dying they were; not through age, because they did not know age, but thought the endless cycles that never ended. Of course, they had their hoards, hoards of treasure for the vain, hoards of knowledge for the experimental. Some even hoarded mortals, and that was a pity, for they did not stand the times as dragons did, and their sweet, gentle butterflies were often the poison that smothered them softly.

Amarantha had grown up knowing this, experiencing this first hand. Her people were dying, and would not last much longer, and the young dragon was determined to perpetuate their kind. But few dragons remained themselves, and little of them that had any desire to sire any child; their constant, unchanging lives were enough, after an eternity already settling within it.

Decision made, Amarantha went about finding a mate. Romance was never really part of her equation, as this was not what she wanted-- she wanted children, while the husband was optional (at best). She was young, and a little self-centered, but she knew what she wanted, and she was going to get it, come hell or high water.

(Esteban himself isn't too sure what his mother's and father's relationship is like. While they both loved him dearly --and in their own very different way-- their interactions were shallow at best when he was around, and they lived apart all of his life, or at least as far as he can remember.)

Here's the thing though; genetics are a strange thing.

Here's the thing though; time does not stop for anyone.

Here's the thing though; life is a constant gamble, and not everyone can be dealt a winning hand.

Amarantha was young, and a little self-centered. But she knew what she wanted, and she was going to get it, come hell or high water.

Her baby boy was born safely, cradled in her arms, and Amarantha swore that she would keep him safe; her treasure, her hoard, the first of her children. She was going to keep dragonkin alive, and she was going to love her child all of her life, raising him safe from harm and experiencing all that the world had to offer their immortal kin.

But time does not stop. Not even for immortals.

It slows down, of course. Centuries are nothing but a drop for them, who see so many years they do not count them. It lingers; seasons blurring into one another; but it isn't noticeable, it isn't a shackle.

And here's the thing, though.

Her baby boy was growing up too fast.

She was young; a young mother with little experience with children. She was a little self-centered; not able to see more than what she wanted to see. Her logic was sound after all; child of two immortals, living an immortal life.

She was too young when he lost his baby teeth; too young when his wings doubled in size. So young, she was too young. And her son was growing up so fast.

And she couldn't keep up.

Growth is a strange thing onto people; there is no measured beat where their steps move forwards, no time or year where someone's growth must reach a certain line. And; to an immortal, growth was of little consequence. Hundreds of years may pass between their changes, thousands before they looked any different.

And Esteban was growing up in the span of a single century.

Amarantha dropped everything to care for her son, terrified to see the rate of his growth, horror-filled to think that her child was not permanent, would not be with her for the years to come.

It's difficult to put into words Esteban's childhood, not because it was complicated, but rather because it was so simple. He grew up slowly, by mortal standards; moving every few years, his mother keeping him safe. He was a mischievous child, and a rambunctious child, and his energy often betrayed him, getting up to all sorts of innocent childhood troubles.

It would be easy to say that his personal growth was qualified by traumatic events. It would be easy to say that shards of time shaped him into who he is today. But the truth of the matter is that Esteban just grew up as best he could; coddled by a mother who loved him so much, and yet could only see the blade of his mortality, dangling by a thread over their heads. She hovered over him-- so young, too young-- constantly pushing any danger away, tugging him to safety, cradling, stifling him into the fragile shelter of her dreams.

It would be easy to say that this scarred him. That this hurt him. That in her hopes to keep him safe, Amarantha sheltered him into obliviousness, into a perpetual childhood. Perhaps death could have become a sickness her child might try to flee from.

But, perhaps Esteban was always meant to be the agent of change, in a race that was dying from its own perpetuity.

Personal History:
Esteban's early years were full of questions. He was always exploring, seeing the world, understanding a bit more of it through it, while his mother, or more rarely his father watched over him. He was a curious and vivacious child, prone to getting mud and grass stains and to ask all the "whys" and "hows" that ever crossed his mind.

He's forgotten most of these by now, but he still enjoys asking. He likes see how people talk; how they give little shards of their own worlds of their understanding of it.

It took him years to realize why his mother moved them so often; blind to the world outside of his sphere. She took him to the seas, the forests, to mountain ranges as far as their eyes could stretch and to arid lands that barely ever saw rain. And at first, it was more than enough for him.

But there are always years where a child wishes to strive for independence.

To say that this did not go well is putting it mildly at best. Amarantha had spent years gathering her baby closer, closer still so that he would not harm himself, would not get hurt, get sick, get dead, and in the process, built up tension wherever it was mentioned that he might get hurt.

They clashed.

Esteban was very young when he walked away; not quite an adult yet, but close enough that he could manage regardless. He spent a few years on the road, simply walking, learning to breathe, creating a peace within himself that would help his growth. Introspection does not come to him easy, and the matters his thoughts lingered on were not simple either.

So he walked, and he worked on himself, and he managed as best as he could; often times, he worked for farmlands in exchange for shelter and a warm meal, slowly taking to their skills as he traveled. He met people, and parted from them, and learned, step by step, how to survive between the two circles. Not quite mortal. Not yet immortal. Not ever immortal.

He made friends, and learned, always with his questions, his nosing about, traveling the world; sometimes with others, sometimes not. He learned his drum skills from a gnomish oracle that talked too fast and in too many riddles for him to keep up, learned his fire spinning from a caravan of people who claimed they had descended from fire elementals. (Esteban had loved them dearly, but there had come to a crossroad, and Esteban let them go.)

He... patched things up with his mother. Slowly, carefully. She is still self-centered, latches onto him just as much as she pushes him, nowadays, and he knows it's because she'll never be able to let him go. So they write, but rarely see each other face to face, and he's made his peace with that.

Now he wanders the world, a little more settled into his own skin, having enough experience overall that he does not risk frostbite, or starvation, and can sell out his skills as an entertainer where they are appreciated.

Personality:
Esteban is the living embodiment of "You only live once" and "No regrets." He is an arrow-- honest, caring, and determined to enjoy the moment. To him, that's all there is to life; making the best of it, that the good days should outweigh the bad, and that thinking too hard and deep about things is just going to make someone suffer with no true results.

That's not to mean that he doesn't have some depth to him; it's surprising how wise he is about the passage of time, or death, or separations. To him, it's inevitable. He'll outlive almost everyone he meets, but still die, and very likely die before his mother accepts his mortality; he knows the pain denial causes.

He cannot help being mortal, just as his friends cannot live as long as he can; accepting this is the only way he can truly keep hoping. For the world. For himself. So he meets people and loves them fiercely, carelessly, recklessly, and then... he gracefully lets them go.

He lives in the moment. All the time. He might get mad at someone, even mad enough to fight them, but if they stop, if there is a resolution to the conflict, Esteban will absolutely not hold it against them. Worst enemy turned best friend? Surething! In the space of a few days? Not a problem! Obviously, if they have a conflict of Values, Esteban might not be so casual, but he is generally of the school of thoughts of "live and let live" overall.

He is admittedly a bit reckless with his own life, but not stupidly so. He might try extreme sports or dangerous work positions, but if there is a major risk to his life, he wouldn't attempt it at all; not on a dare, or a bet or anything. If someone he loves is in danger though, well, that all goes out the window.

Esteban is very protective of his people. This doesn't mean his date only or anything; if he's claimed this person is a friend, he will likely spend a lot of time around them, protect them from danger, and overall make himself as clingy and annoying as he is allowed to be. It's all about gathering the best memories while he can. Remember the better times once they'll be gone.

Esteban doesn't mind talking about his past, will even willingly mention that he's a half-dragon, half-elf, and that growing up was a bit Special in his case. He will pull up the best memories, but rarely mentions his mother's expectations-- the pressure and worries that he went through; the good must outweigh the bad, after all. Besides; he let a lot of it go when he accepted his own philosophies.

Where he does get touchy is about his half-dragon appearance. He doesn't lie-- he doesn't like to lie-- so he might be upfront about being a shapeshifter, but get rather upset when asked about his other form. It's not important, or there's not much use to it.

Truth is, he's been rejected for it a fair few times. Protected a child from a flame, and the village banished him with sticks and stones. Kept himself warm at night by wrapping his wings about him and woke up to people screaming at him. Things like that. He doesn't hold it against them; he knows there's too much baggage to his form, even if it's just a coincidence. But he won't willingly show himself off to the nearest person just because they asked.

This is mostly fear to the initial reaction. He can be eased into using his dragon form around people he is comfortable with, who already know what he looks like, but he doesn't want to risk someone freaking out over seeing him. He might, however, feel inclined to reveal himself in a show of solidarity with other people who might have a more "monstrous" form who might be struggling with it.

Key themes:
Live to the fullest and without regrets.
Silver linings and seeing the best in everything.
(Found family?)

Main Motivation:
Esteban doesn't consider himself as someone with a lot of ambition. He's just a wanderer, he just wants to travel. He doesn't quite realize that this is his own form of avoidance; it's easier for him to live through life on his own because he doesn't belong in either the mortal circles, nor the immortal circles.

Truth is, he's just searching for a place to belong. But he doesn't really realize that.

Skills:
Esteban can shapeshift between two forms; that of an "elf" and that of a "dragon". While he generally remains in his Elven form, the shapeshifting is at will, and only takes a few seconds to occur. This carries a certain stigma, though, as his world views his draconic form as being that of a devil, out to curse and murder them, and he is often chased away if he dares show it.

His draconic form gives the best hugs, as he has three extra limbs (wings and a tail) to wrap around the recipient, and he is perpetually warm. It also grows his height to brush 7ft tall, and his feet morph into a digitigrade stride, which gives him greater running speed and stamina, at the cost of lifting strength (it is still good; just less good).

The wings do give him a gliding ability, but he does not have powered flight-- his wings are too small to support it. He can carry one person of a slight build with him, if the conditions are favourable (calm to gentle wind, no sudden gusts).

As a fire dragon descendant, Esteban has fairly good fire resistance in both his shapeshift forms; with the Elven form being decent at it, and the Dragon form maximizing it. He cannot absorb fire, but it does not affect him as much as most. This is a Resistance, not an Immunity.

As a note; Esteban's Dragon heritage also has him running warmer than most people, almost as if he is permanently feverish, but it's just his normal body temperature. He does not get cold easily, and he does not get many infections because of it. He does not control this.

His main resource to make money on the road is the skill of a fire spinner, also known as a fire dancer. His favourite tools are the sparkle poi, though he can also use the staff and the rope dart. He absolutely uses his draconic resistance during his shows, but noone needs to know that.

Esteban can also do the fire breath and fire swallow, but both techniques do not rely on his heritage, as he does not have the double set of lungs that dragons have. (It does help to have the resistance though).

As other skill sets, Esteban also has a fairly deft hand with animals in general, with wyverns being a particular favourite (yes, it's absolutely a dragon thing; no, dragons and wyverns are not the same thing). Horses and different variants (pegasi, unicorns and nightmares) are familiar to him, as all these were fairly commonly bred in with horses for docile mounts in his world. He does manage sometimes as a stable hand when his fire skill sets are not truly wanted, and so he has some experience as well with livestock and cattle of different origins.

Esteban can play a few drum sets (he likes the very deep ones that sound like they rattle in the ribcage), but as he does not carry one around with him, the most he could do is kind of follow along another's performance or freestyle; he's fairly out of practice.

As a fighter, Esteban does practice some martial moves, which puts emphasis on high kicks, but is otherwise somewhat of a brawler. He is not a prodigy at it, but it serves when he needs to fight. If the danger exceeds his need for secrecy, and he shapeshift into dragon form, his tail will also become an extra attacking limb, sweeping at feet if he can.

Item:
One set of practice poi.

Sample:
here and here

Notes:
I'm Very New to DWRP, so I might be lacking "common sense". I do have references, but if I make a social faux-pas, please let me know!

How's my driving? Let me know if there is anything you think I could improve on!