[OOC] Ataraxion app.

[blightphoenix]

P L A Y E R I N F O R M A T I O N
Your Name: Celes
OOC Journal: scoot (never used)
Under 18? If yes, what is your age?: Nope, I am well over 18.
Email + IM: neonlicht [@] gmail + danger
Characters Played at Ataraxion: None!

C H A R A C T E R I N F O R M A T I O N
Name: Maya
Canon: Borderlands 2
Original or Alternate Universe: Original
Canon Point: The end of the main game, before any DLC missions.
Number: Anything available works for me!

Setting: Borderlands 2 takes place on the lovely planet of Pandora.
History: Not a whole lot is known about Maya's past, and what is known is gathered from listening to the ECHO logs found while progressing through the game (or by going out of the way to find them when in the Wildlife Exploitation Preserve). These logs explain that Maya was left in the care of the Order of the Impending Storm on the planet of Athenas when she was but an infant, meaning that for whatever reason her parents could not care for her. The identity of her parents is unknown, unfortunately, and Maya never states at any point anything about them, so it is possible that she doesn't remember them at all.

Also gathered from the ECHO logs is that Maya was held as the one who dealt “justice” to those who committed any sort of crime, no matter how small. Maya most likely never approved of this, but she really felt as if the situation was entirely disgusting and demoralizing when she was ordered to take care of a man who had merely forgotten to pay the Order his dues. Refusing to murder him for something so mundane, Maya turned around and used her Phaselock ability on the leader of the Order, Brother Sophis, and then informed the people of Athenas that their reign of terror was finally over. Not too long after these series of events, Maya was then offered an opportunity to travel to Pandora in search of the elusive Vault, which she decided to take, if only to hopefully find out some sort of information about Sirens, since the monks at the Abbey most likely knew very little about them and couldn't explain to her what she really was. The (assumingly) only monk Maya had really gotten along with, Brother Harker, insisted that she not go, as she would instantly be shot and killed if she did so, however, the young woman was determined to find out more about her heritage and powers, and she recorded a diary entry with her ECHO and went off to begin her journey.

The beginning brought her to a train with three other prospective Vault Hunters: Zer0, Salvador, and Axton. For a while, the train ride was presumably normal, though as if on cue, once it arrived at Pandora, it was hijacked and attacked and the Vault Hunters had to fight their way free. Handsome Jack, the man who offered the opportunity for these Hunters to travel to Pandora, was the one who attacked the train, hoping to kill the Vault Hunters, but to his dismay, they fought their way free and ended up in front of a peculiar little robot by the name of Claptrap. Claptrap gave the Vault Hunters what they needed to start their journey, including a pistol that he had hidden for safe keeping, however, as nothing can be too simple, a giant Bullymong named Knuckledragger seemingly arrived out of nowhere and stole Claptrap's eye.

Upon hunting down Knuckledragger and retrieving Claptrap's eye, Maya traveled forward to Liar's Berg, meeting Sir Hammerlock, who returned Claptrap's eye back into its socket and offered a few quests for the Vault Hunters to take if they so desired. Whether they did or not is of little importance, as they needed to follow Claptrap and make it to Sanctuary, where they could find out more information about Handsome Jack and hopefully get their revenge. At this point in time, they received a mysterious message from a young woman, who appeared to be of Artificial Intelligence, telling them that they needed to follow Claptrap and get to Sanctuary, as it was of dire importance. (She was henceforth referred to as Angel.) Given little choice of the matter, they decide to listen to her and follow the robot, and of course, as stated earlier, since nothing can be too simple, Maya found herself fighting Captain Flynt, who had previously had Claptrap under his control, torturing him whenever he deemed fit. Obligated to assist the robot to move forward on her journey, Maya killed Captain Flynt and traveled upon boat to Sanctuary, courtesy of Claptrap, who knew how to pilot said boat.

Upon arrival to Sanctuary's outer gates, Maya was instructed to meet with Roland, the leader of the Crimson Raiders, a sort of anti-Handsome Jack rebel group that all of the former Vault Hunters just so happened to be a part of. After a few errands that had to be completed before even seeing him, including grabbing a power core from Corporal Reiss, a fellow soldier of Roland's, and inserting it into the defense system of Sanctuary to be allowed inside, Maya was then permitted to enter the city, however, she needed to talk with the local mechanic, Scooter, first. Scooter disclosed that they had needed to perform “Plan B,” which was the option required for when Roland was not around. “Plan B” would allow Sanctuary to fly, theoretically, and be safe from Handsome Jack's bombings. Maya gathered what was needed for Scooter to enable “Plan B,” however, it did not work, and Sanctuary remained on the ground. Maya was then instructed to go and find the Firehawk (aka Lilith), another one of the former Vault Hunters.

After locating Lilith and returning to Sanctuary, Maya was ordered to find Roland, who was missing for quite some time. To reach the hideout of the Bloodshots, the bandits that had presumably captured Roland, she needed to obtain a bandit vehicle. Sidetracking to the desert, where Scooter's sister Ellie, who knew all about bandit vehicles was, Maya completed a few favors and located the parts needed to create a bandit vehicle to use to get inside the hideout. She then fought through the hideout once getting there, and was about to save Roland, when he was literally kidnapped in front of her by one of Handsome Jack's robots. Maya followed the robot and had to fight through yet another plethora of enemies (though this time there were robots to fight!) and eventually located Roland, who assisted her in defeating a Constructor robot, which was what had captured Roland in the first place.

Finally, Maya and Roland returned to Sanctuary and reunited with Lilith. Roland then informed everyone that there was a vault key that would open the Vault on Pandora that was stolen by Handsome Jack, and was probably on a train going to Opportunity, the city Jack ruled/lived in. To derail the train, Maya had to follow Roland's lead and find a friend of his, Tiny Tina, who would provide the bombs needed to blow up the train and derail it. On the way to Tiny Tina, Maya discovered where Mordecai, another of the former Vault Hunters, was residing, and briefly interacted with him. Mordecai used his sniping skills and assisted Maya in defeating Jack's henchman (or henchrobot) named Wilhelm, who appeared once the train was derailed and Maya went near it to locate the key. Of course, even though Wilhelm had dropped a strong power core, the key was not actually in the derailed train, and upon returning to Sanctuary (again) Maya gave the power core to Lieutenant Davis, who was ready to place it inside of the shield generator for Sanctuary, and upon doing so, everyone was in for a big surprise. Angel had taken control of the core and removed all shields from Sanctuary, and immediately upon doing that, Jack returned fire and repeatedly shot missiles at the city. After getting everyone to safety (except for Roland who was trapped under rubble) Maya delivered some Eridium to Lilith, who, with stronger Siren powers than Maya, was able to withstand the side effects of Eridium and use it to the benefit of Sanctuary. Within moments, Lilith was able to lift Sanctuary off of the ground and Jack was obviously pretty pissed.

Unfortunately, Maya was then magically teleported to The Fridge, an icy land full of rat-like bandits and such, and had to find a way to put the new location of Sanctuary on the Outpost so she could teleport back there. After quite a few headaches and lots of fighting, she was able to do this, and she returned to Sanctuary once again.

Maya and the three former Vault Hunters then were told by Angel that the key was actually with her the entire time. Understandably, everyone was irritated by the news (because Angel was totally a traitor!) however, it was still crucial that the crew find the key before Jack did, because if he did then Pandora would have been completely screwed. So, Maya trekked along to find the final former Vault Hunter to get his help in the whole debacle, and once she had fought hundreds of bandits to please him, he traveled back to Sanctuary and everyone was a happy little family again. Except for the whole “needing to find the key before Jack thing.”

With tips and information from Lilith, Mordecai, Roland, and Brick, Maya pressed forward, eventually reaching Opportunity, where Jack presumably was. Angel informed Maya that her voice needed to match Jack's to get into where the vault key was stored, and since she needed to obtain the key before Jack did, she followed the orders given (using Claptrap to generate the power needed for this) and Maya did not approve of the 'new' voice she was obligated to use.

The voice did work, though, and after fooling the security systems, Maya ended up in the room where Angel was contained, and after listening to her pleas for her destruction (and learning more reasons as to why Jack was a terrible human being – he had used his own daughter to charge the vault key, after all), Maya attempted to sever all Eridium ties from her and get the key. Jack was obviously not happy about this and through messages demanded Maya stop, but she did not, and eventually Angel perished, thanks to the assistance of Roland and Lilith who happened to show up while Maya was fighting.

Jack then came into the room almost magically (literally magically, he pretty much teleported in there) and mourned the death of his daughter, all while he yelled at the former and current Vault Hunters about how they were murderers and terrible people, etc etc.

But of course, as an act of revenge, Jack performed the inevitable and murdered one of the crew; specifically, he shot Roland in a place where he could, in no way survive (or use a New-U station) and everyone became even angrier at the antagonist.

Jack unfortunately then captured Lilith for her Siren Powers and used her to charge the vault key and awaken the Warrior, and Maya was then forced to find his location (with the help of Brick and Mordecai) and eventually fight Jack (and many clones of Jack) and the Warrior. Lilith dealt the final blow to Jack, as an act of revenge for his murdering of Roland and capturing her for his selfish purposes, and when the Warrior was finally destroyed, the remaining Vault Hunters deliberated on what to do next. The Vault, as an ironic twist, had information and maps about MORE Vaults inside. Before Maya was able to really contemplate whether she was up to looking for more Vaults (to presumably find information on Sirens) she was whisked off to the Tranquility, and her new story began.

Personality:
The fact that Maya chooses to travel so far in a dangerous and unknown world pretty much assures that she's a dedicated individual. Maya is a bit more bookish than some of the other Vault Hunters, since she later mentions that 'wisdom is strength' when she levels up her abilities, and one of the lines she says when an enemy is defeated is 'so it goes...' which can very well be a throwback to Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five. If that book existed in the worlds of Borderlands, it would probably be one that she'd read. She is also interested in technology, as proven by what she says when her voice is temporarily changed to match Handsome Jack's. She calls the technology 'interesting,' even if it makes her voice sound atrocious.

Due to her experiences at the Abbey, Maya dislikes being talked down to. In the ECHO logs hidden in the Wildlife Exploitation Reserve, there are several instances where Brother Sophis refers to her as 'child.' She repeatedly comments that he needs to stop doing so, however, he never does, and when she finally murders him, she says for the last time: “don't call me child.” The reason for the murder is that upon discovery that her abilities and her well being were being exploited for the sole purpose of scaring the people of Athenas into submission, Maya is understandably disgusted, and the repeated condescending use of 'child' in reference to her finally causes the Siren to snap. This is not to say she is an angry person overall, though, and she even comments later in the game that she does not consider herself to be such.

In terms of being a Siren, Maya overall loves her abilities and has no qualms using them when necessary. Sometimes when Phaselocking an enemy she will actually state that she loves her powers, and sometimes she simply says 'Awesome!' The fact that she also wants to know more about Sirens and their history can further prove that she enjoys being one, or at the very least, has an interest in Sirens in general.

Finally, Maya shows a semblance of compassion for others, as long as they don't attempt to cause her any sort of harm. She obviously holds a grudge against most (if not all) of the Abbey, however, it can be assumed that she has grown close to her fellow Vault Hunters, both current and former, by the end of the game. She probably feels a bit of remorse for those close to the others who have perished at Handsome Jack's hands, which is part of the reason she continues on the journey to get revenge (and open the Vault).

Abilities, Weaknesses and Power Limitations: As a Siren, Maya is capable of several abilities normal humans simply cannot do. All Sirens have an ability unique to them that (seems to) start with 'Phase'. Lilith has Phasewalk, Angel has Phaseshift, and Maya has Phaselock.

Phaselock is an interesting ability, in that it traps an enemy in a spherical burst of energy that lasts around 5 seconds, depending if the player had put points in the Suspension skill of the Motion tree or not. Depending on which skill tree the player chooses (or if they choose to put points in more than one tree) Phaselock can either be a simple trap for the enemy, keeping them still and harmless for the allotted time, or can actually hurt the enemy via elemental damage, while they're trapped.

Much like the other playable Vault Hunters in Borderlands 2, Maya has three skill trees that the player may choose to put skill points into and level up.

The first tree, called 'Motion,' primarily contains skills that buff the player (and teammates, if playing co-op) and perform crowd control. The final skill on the tree, Thoughtlock, brainwashes enemies to fight their own kind and leave the player alone.

The second tree, called 'Harmony,' is a healing-focused tree that has skills that do what healers do best: heal! The final skill on the tree, Scorn, actually has nothing to do with healing and instead continually covers the enemy with slag.

The third and final tree, called 'Cataclysm,' is the tree focused on doing the most damage. The final skill on the tree, Ruin, causes Maya's Phaselock to slag, corrode, and burn enemies continuously. The skill before Ruin, Blight Phoenix, gives Maya wings of flame when she defeats an enemy. These wings damage anything she touches.

For the purposes of backstory for the game, Maya has followed the Cataclysm tree, and though her powers will be (understandably) nuked while she's on the Tranquility, she can have memories of knowing those skills.

Interesting Note: Maya never uses Eridium like Lilith does. The reason for this is unknown, but it can be theorized that she would rather train to increase her abilities than use any sort of substance to do so. (After all, she did train for 27 years...)

Weaknesses: Maya hates being talked down to, and may snap if she is referred to as any sort of demeaning term for too long. The trigger term for her would be 'child,' definitely.

Aside from that, Maya is not particularly physically strong. Sure, she can tote even a rocket launcher with seemingly little difficulty, but she cannot use two at the same time like her fellow Vault Hunter Salvador would. She is of an average build with no real muscle definition, so she probably could not bench press a large weight.

Strengths: Being at least decently literate, Maya has the strength of knowledge on her side. She has also undergone 27 years of (presumably) rigorous training in the use of her Siren abilities and in the ways of the Order (and therefore the ways of a monk, to an extent).

Power Limitations: For the purposes of this game, Maya's Phaselock will last 3 seconds instead of 5, and Blight Phoenix's power will be halved. I'm open to nerfing her powers even more, if need be.

Inventory:

Guns: Mad Moxxi's Good Touch (Incendiary Maliwan SMG – given to Maya for tipping Moxxi enough at her bar), Caustic Animosity (Corrosive Maliwan Pistol), a non-elemental Tediore Home Security Shotgun (Does what the name suggests. Maya would probably not use this much, as it has no elemental effect, but it's a gun, and guns do damage), and an Hyperion Longitudinal Policy Shock Sniper Rifle (Does shock damage and fires slower than most sniper rifles.)
Grenade Mod: Longbow Corrosive Singularity mod. (The longbow component causes the grenade to teleport to the enemy in an arc; the singularity component causes all enemies to be pulled into one small area; the corrosive component simply deals corrosive damage.)
Shield: a Pangolin Turtle Shield (Turtle shields lower HP but drastically increase shield capacity.)
Class Mod: Plague Fox. (Differs from other Fox class mods in that it increases effectiveness of the Blight Phoenix skill.)

She will also have the clothes on her back and some ammunition for the guns.

Appearance:

Maya is of average height and weight for a woman of her age. Her skin tone is very light, which accentuates the plethora of blue tattoos down her entire left side. These tattoos are one of the distinguishing features of a Siren, so it's no surprise that Maya has them. Aside from the tattoos, her distinguishing features are her bright blue hair and matching lipstick, which she always wears.

As far as her default clothing, she wears what appears to be a one-sleeved leotard that has a small opening right under the base of her neck. Her neck is completely covered, though, and aside from her left arm, the small space mentioned previously, and another small space showing off a bit of her left hip, she's pretty modestly covered. Her pants are fairly rugged in appearance, as if she picked them to wear on this adventure on purpose. They have the standard pockets and belt loops available for her to stick grenades, her class mod (which is in a book form) and several guns. Her shoes appear to be similar to tennis shoes, or a small type of boot, which is appropriately similar in function to her pants.

Age: 27. This is evidenced by one of the ECHO recorders about Maya the player can pick up in the game, wherein she states that she had been under the control of the Order of the Impending Storm for 27 years.

AU Clarification: As other Borderlands players have stated, the protagonists in their respective games are a bit of the malleable sort. Maya, being a playable character in Borderlands 2, suffers from this, and her personality and actions in Ataraxion will all be stemmed from her lines and ECHO logs in Borderlands 2.

S A M P L E S
Log Sample:
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. The sound of her boots slamming against the floor as she ran down the corridor was deafening to her ears, moreso than the sound of the Psycho screaming not far behind.

Her ammo was frighteningly low, and she was trying so desperately to run back toward the entrance of the cave where she was certain a crate or two sat, unopened and hopefully full of sweet, sweet ammunition.

If only there were a damned ammo machine around here, she thought, turning her head back just quickly enough to glance at the Psycho, who was now really gaining traction. Soon she'd have to rely on her inherent Siren ability and freeze him in place for just long enough, so she could actually make it to the crates.

“OOOOHWAAAAAA!” The scream was so loud, so close, that the sound of Maya's boots were now completely muffled, and she skidded to a halt and turned around to face her enemy. With not a moment of further hesitation, she shot her arm forward, twisted her wrist just ever so slightly, and thought of the Psycho trapped inside of that reliable bubble she was now pretty much known for conjuring.

And with that thought, the actual bubble of energy appeared in her hand, and she shot it toward the Psycho; watching it envelop the screaming bandit was oddly satisfying, especially since he was chasing her for so long, and she couldn't help but emit out a retort: “Now you're quiet!”

With a nod of satisfaction, she turned back around and rushed toward the cave's entrance, eventually arriving in front of the crates containing ammunition for her sub-machine gun.

Comms Sample:
[It takes a bit of time before Maya discovers that the device in her hands can not only record voice, but video as well, and when she hits the Network button and sees the little light signifying that everything she does from that point forward will be seen by who knows how many people, she immediately straightens her posture and smiles, albeit briefly.]

Uh, hey. I'm new.

To this place. Where ... where exactly am I? I have a strong feeling I'm not on Pandora anymore.

[She looks around, first by looking up, then to her left, then her right. Finally, she returns her attention back toward the comm.]

Nope, I really don't think this is Pandora. Did someone need me for some reason? Not for experimenting, I hope. You try anything like that and you'll immediately regret it.

But anything else? I can discuss anything else with you, and maybe I can help. I just ... I'd really like some information about this place, first.

Oh, yeah, my name's Maya. Nice to meet you, unless you're looking to experiment on me or something.