IDEAS!
- Experienced and Respected
Lao's been at it long before he joined high school, and has plenty of experience and knowledge to share. He may already be an upper-classman. Learn from him! Or stand by his side as his equal.
- The New Underdog
With a seemingly lame and unassuming aspect, Lao doesn't get much of a chance to let his true abilities shine. He may target spirits seemingly much stronger than himself or challenge manipulators seemingly way above his level to prove his ability. Be his mentor, friend, or rival!
Lao Lambaoski
They have many different nicknames given by the populace. Demon Children. Devils. Children of God. Special Children. Curiosities. Holy and Unholy. Anomolies. But despite the varying viewpoints, they have an official term to describe their condition. Manipulators.
Manipulators are people, specificially children and teenagers, who have abilities that are best described as supernatural. These abilities are called the 'aspects' of the manipulator, often just called their 'aspect'. Anyone older than six didn't develop any abilites or aspects. What an aspect is and what it does, however, appears to be largely dependent of th manipulator's personality. It's hypothesized that aspects can change and evolve because of this. Yes, aspects can indeed change, usually in minor ways, but sometimes they change drastically.
The event that brought all these entities into the world was later named 'The Melding', since it seemed like creatures from another world had joined us.
These children came about around the same time as the other supernatural entities appeared. Monsters and legends of yore seemed to just appear suddently in the world. Monsters, yokai, legendary creatures, anything found in lore of the past seemed to suddenly appear. Of course these monsters were regional. Yokai appeared in Japan, dragons in their respective parts of the world.
While normally peaceful, these 'spirits' as they came to be called, could at times be aggitated into attacking, or worse, they were malicous to begin with. Most modern technology was inneffective against them. However, it seemed that most manipulator abilities were capable of combating these spirits. That isn't always nessecary though, since some spirits are actually quite friendly.
So naturally, the first thing the general public did was completely rework schools to be able to support and teach manipulators about their powers, as well as make use of them. Clubs at schools were formed, each assigned an adult to supervise and teach the students about their abilities. In those clubs, teams were formed.
These teams were often sent to take care of 'spirit incidents' or problems that have arisen because of spirit involvement. The students are actually paid to do this, the reward differing from case-to-case. They aren't always rewarded with cash either. The type of reward given is dependent on what the manipulater requests.
It's in one of these clubs, where our young man's story unfolds.
The World
Lao's Story
Lao was born four years after The Melding, long after people had gotten used to how things worked and well into where all schools had manipulator-oriented clubs. Manipulators and spirits alike were a normal and common part of daily life.
His childhood was as normal as it really could be in the new world, and he was more often than not just a happy child, surrounded by family. There were no major problems to speak of as he developed. It was a smooth ride for him, up until he hit high school, which is when he had the opportuity to finally hone his abilities as a manipulator.
In high school, his life became far more interesting. It was a school that had decided to focus more on manipulators than other schools. They focused more on the students than on the research OF the students. Despite this shift in focus, by developing the students more, they could collect more data on manipulators in general. So they were actually ahead of most other schools.
Not only that, but the school had a ranking system for the students, their aspects, and in comparison to each other. The students had 'grades' based on their physical capability, and a similar 'grade' on their aspect. The students were also all registered on a leaderboard, where they could view how they stacked up against the rest of the school.
Lao was ranked B in physical capability while his aspect was ranked F. Why? Because his aspect was unlike any seen before. Nobody had seen such a... lame... aspect before. Lao's aspect was a pair of biker gloves with reinforced knuckles.... and that was it. At least, on a surface level. Lao assumed it was just because of his straightforward personality and tendancy to solve problems with his fists.
The reality of the situation is that Lao's aspect has an apperance that belies it's true capability. Even he doesn't know what it can do... anything can happen. Though it IS clear that he does gain immense strength when wielding his gloves... though that may not be all it does.
Despite his ranking though, Lao was unfazed. If anything, he welcomed the low rank, it'd make him seem all the stronger as he won battles against his fellow manipulators.
So with his new status as one of the lowest fighters in the school, the young male joined a small but very friendly club called "Six Stars". Though, there were only five members, including Lao. Despite their size, Six Stars was incredibly infamous that despite having so few members, they were incredibly good manipulators, and they only recruited people with talent, latent or no. And everyone knows that they could be the top club if they wanted. It was in this club that his quest to the top of the leaderboard, and gain a reputation of being able to take on any spirit, began.
The Club
The members of Six Stars
Click on the image to read more.
(There are also links for a larger image there.)
A particularly powerful manipulator. She'd be ranked higher on the leaderboard, if she cared to be. Quite lighthearted, she isn't above helping novice manipulators. The founder and current president of Six Stars. Her aspect is everything you see there, her clothes and her sword. It's a rare full-body aspect that most people don't have. Rank: 107 Physical Grade: A Aspect Grade: S
A young man who made fast friends with Lao. Actually the one who recruited him into Six Stars. A good friend, who supports the people he cares about with 110% His aspect is a pair of guns. That's it. Despite how simple it is though, he knows how to use them quite well, and is on par with people with more powerful and extravagant aspects. Rank: 124 Physical Grade: A Aspect Grade: C
A somewhat eccentric but capable member of Six Stars, Richard's aspect and personality both have their unique quirks. Loyal to his friends, and can be quite scary when angered. His aspect is his katana, but don't let that fool you. It has been shown to be able to cut through most anything, and can even extend and contract, much like rubber. Rank: 108 Physical Grade: A Aspect Grade: B
The walking, talking, breathing encyclopedia of Six Stars, Marcus is very studious, and quite intelligent. Naturally. Vice president of Six Stars, of course. His aspect is a book, and with it he can use a variety of attacks that look remarkably like magic. Flaming pages, sharpened spikes that home in on their targets, lasers, you name it, Marcus can probably do it. Versatile and powerful, even if he is weak. Rank: 112 Physical Grade: D Aspect Grade: S
The young man with the punk-ish appearance himself. Prideful, but with a level head, Lao's combat potential is quite high, even if his aspect is lackluster. Or at least appears to be. Rank: 932 Physical Grade: A+ Aspect Grade: F