Ryan Brant

[Ryan Brant]

HEAR US NOW - - -

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LET THE WHOLE THING BLOW

B A S I C I N F O
★ NAME: Ryan Brant
★ NICKNAME: Brant
★ MEMBER GROUP: Epispect
★ POKEMON: Staraptor
★ STATUS Legal
★ AGE: 20
★ HEIGHT: 6'5"
★ WEIGHT: 176 lbs
★ FACE CLAIM: Jim Cook from Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
★ APPEARANCE:

Ryan is the type of person who can easily turn heads to look at him. Just a glance at this former ranch hand is usually enough to ensure that he won't be forgotten by those he meets. He tends to tower over almost everyone he meets with his whole six foot five inch frame. Ryan's frame is built more for height than for strength, lanky and tall, and his muscles are mostly lean cording, tough as steel and not likely to give out after all his years on the ranch even if he hasn't worked there in almost two years. He has the callouses on his hands to prove how hard he worked in his youth, though there are also more permanent signs of his prior calling than just his mannerisms. Remove his shirt and the thing that usually makes itself apparent in the first glance is the large patch of discolored skin along his left side where the horn of a Bouffalant - likely his own, a strong female - caught him one night during a storm where he was trying to stop a stampede. In that same night, he had also received a strong blow to the head from a stray hoof, and while the scar to that injury is a single white line hidden by his hair, it left a tangible sign of its impact by ruining the vision in his right eye. He can still see out of it, but between the slight blurriness of it from the actual damage and the lack of prolonged usage since the accident, his vision is quite bad in that eye, to the point that he prefers to keep it wrapped up in bandages since his other eye is perfectly fine and has since adjusted to the strain, and should he ever use them both, he actually suffers from headaches due to the difference in the strength of his two eyes. The color of the orbs is a handsomely deep cobalt blue, while his wild black hair is usually untamable and spikes all over the place.

A country boy at heart, Ryan rarely leaves home without his trademark dusty brown cowboy hat that's been with him since his days ranching and now serves to keep his hair at least into a more manageable state. He usually wears brown cowboy boots underneath a pair of tight black leather pants well-worn from days spent in the saddle and held up by a pair of studded brown belts. In fact, the pants still hold a hint of the sawdust and sweat that was such an integral part of his life back on the ranch. When walking around his home, he prefers to wear just a white long-sleeve button-up shirt, a simple cotton thing that used to be standard issue at the ranch and still serves as his clothing choice after he replaced the old ones he used to have. When he goes out, he'll put on a black leather vest, another article of clothing with the scent of the ranch about it even two years after he's moved, and the final touch he puts on is a bandanna, usually the faded old orange one he's kept since his days around the ranch - in fact, that one originally belonged to his mother, and he's held onto it for sentimental reasons.

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P E R S O N A L I T Y
★ POSITIVE:

• Dependable;; If someone gives Ryan a task to complete, then that person can rest assured that Ryan will take care of it, the Staraptor Gijinka willing to go to any lengths to get the job done, even if it means working long hours and exhausting himself to ensure that not only is it done right, but it's also done well.
  
• Easy-going;; Even if Ryan is tough on himself and holds himself to high standards, he is quite lax about his opinions as far as others go, and while judging someone is human nature and unavoidable, he tries to put aside any feelings he might have in order to do his job better, especially if it means he can gain a new comrade in arms to help while away the time.
  
• Light-hearted;; The kind of person who always has some kind words or a smile for the people in his life who need it, Ryan tries to be a pillar of strength for those who need something good to turn to, there to lend a hand to those who might need some help or to help a worried friend laugh off their troubles.
  
• Honorable;; Ryan prides himself on his sense of morals, and while he feels bad for some of the laws of society, he also reasons that the regulations were put in place for a good reason, and predictably, the Staraptor Gijinka adheres closely to both his own ideals and the law, which is part of the reason why he joined up with Epispect in the first place.
  
• Chivalrous;; The kind of guy who holds open doors for women and offers to carry heavy objects for people, Ryan has a certain air to him that, although rather old-fashioned and outdated in the recent harsh times that have driven people to such extremes of behavior, only seems natural and right for him to carry out.
  
• Determined;; Ryan, as he says in his own words, "ain't gonna back down without a fight", having been brought up never to do things halfway, and when he got the transfusion of Staraptor DNA and took a job with Epispect, that trait in him only grew stronger, driving home that he couldn't let go of something just because the going got rough.
  

★ NEGATIVE:

• Pessimist;; In spite of his usual easy smiles and his quick words of comfort, Ryan actually tends to look more on the darker side of life, focusing on the bad parts of any situation he might get himself in, and he's sent himself into a panic on more than one occasion since he's thought the worst out of a sudden change in his life.
  
• Strong-willed;; Ryan has a mind of his own, and while he knows not to back-talk his superiors, that certainly doesn't stop the Staraptor Gijinka from having his own opinions, and when he's given his head (or forcibly takes it), he sets his jaw and won't back down, even if the consequences of his actions are more likely to backfire on him than not.
  
• Arrogant;; Ryan is the type of guy who believes that he can do almost anything he sets out to do, regardless of how big or tough his opponent might be, all because he has high pride in himself and his abilities, which can get him into more than a few bad situations as he bites off more than he can chew to defend his pride.
  
• Reckless;; Ryan tends to act rashly when he's been riled up, particularly if his pride is at risk, and in such a situation, it's more likely than not to get him to act in a manner that would not be the smartest choice and more likely than not backfire on him because he can't just let something go even if it would be in his better interests to.
  
• Narrow-minded;; One of Ryan's greatest faults would have to be his lack of an ability to think outside the box when he doesn't feel the need to and that he will refuse ways of thinking that go against his morals and accepted lines of reasoning, and it takes a lot to make him change his mind once he's made a decision about something.
  
• Vengeful;; A trait that has really been amplified in himself with the addition of the Staraptor DNA, Ryan will take stock of every single little wrong that he perceives done to him, and he will ensure that it is repaid in kind, sometimes waiting for however long it might take in order to take his revenge, because, as the old saying goes, "an eye for an eye" is his preferred method of settling the score.
  
• Cruel;; Another part of himself that really only came to light once he became a Staraptor Gijinka, Ryan tends to not draw the line when he sets out on a mission, willing to do anything and everything it may take to get his target regardless of how unethical it might be or how much it might hurt others.
  

★ HABITS, QUIRKS:

• Ryan likes to sleep in a hammock, and while that was a habit he initially collected back during his days as a herder with his family, since he gained the transfusion of Staraptor DNA, he has found himself setting up his hammock in higher places, feeling comfortable farther off the ground in his own portable pseudo-nest.
  
• Ryan has a fascination with revolvers, much like the gunslingers of old, and while he may not keep all too many close at hand, he still likes to practice his marksmanship not by shooting at a gun range like most Epispect members would but instead by setting up some old cans along a log and then knocking them down one by one.
  
• Ryan isn't lazy, per se, but he loves to sleep, so when he's done all his work, it's a common sight to find him sprawled across a couch or in a chair with his hat tipped over his eyes and dozing, though thankfully he's not a snorer or a one to thrash around in his sleep, so there's little danger of him bringing attention to this habit.
  
• Having grown up as a herder and a farmhand for Bouffalant at the small ranch where he spent his older childhood, Ryan has a certain soft spot for his first Pokemon, a Bouffalant named Nora, and often lets her out of her Pokeball to roam at his side on missions, so he prefers to ones that take him out of the city proper so that she has enough room to move around with little trouble.
  

★ OVERALL PERSONALITY:

At first glance, it would be a hard thing to believe that Ryan could possibly be a Staraptor Gijinka; unless you really got to know him, in fact, that fact can be a difficult thing to discern. Unless, of course, you see him when he's working the one job that seems even less likely to describe the easy-going ranch hand: a hunter for Epispect. He doesn't mind going up to random strangers on the street to chat with them, an easy grin on his face and a hand shoved into the pocket of his vest. Ryan is a good friend to make, the kind of person who can provide a good crutch when he needs to and who will do anything and everything he needs to help a troubled friend have a lighter load to bear. Sure, he's rather stubborn when he gets an idea into his head, and he'll go to any lengths to protect his pride, he also will stick like glue to someone he's given his loyalty to. His morals are set quite high for himself, driving him to always strive towards acting like a gentleman to women and to obey the law whenever he can. He's quite the country boy at heart, which is part of the reason why he loves to sleep in hammocks, though that also has to do with the infusion of Staraptor DNA into his system to make him yearn for the sky rather than just open space where he and his partner Nora can roam. When he's not out on a mission or trying to get some work done, you can usually find him kicked back somewhere with his cowboy hat pulled over his eyes as he catches up on some sleep since he tends to push himself until he's about ready to drop just because he can.

Peel back the layers, however, and Ryan becomes far more complex. He will never forget a wrong someone has given him or a friend, and he will go as far or long as it may take to get his revenge on someone, usually in quite a cruel manner. He won't pull his punches when he's fighting, acting rashly in order to get his man. Sure, he's determined that he's not going to back down no matter what, and with his dependability, he's not a bad partner to have, but there is a darker side to him. He's rather narrow-minded about some things, particularly in the matters of right and wrong, and since he's a stickler for the rules, as much as it might pain him, he will turn someone in if they break the law; hell, he'll even drag their asses in himself, viewing it as his duty to! He tends to think the worst about a situation, an eternal pessimist, and even if he tries to hide it behind an easy smile, you can rest assured that most of the time when he goes quiet, he's usually plotting out elaborate - and maybe even a little irrational - worst case scenarios, most of the time needing a nudge from his Bouffalant, Nora, to stir him out of them. He knows his way around Ponyta, even though that's not really his thing and he's much better with Bouffalant, but his accent and his mannerisms aren't the only lingering signs of his country origins. He's also developed a fascination with revolvers, often carrying one in a holster on his hip when he's out on missions, and to practice marksmanship, he likes to set up some targets on a log and shoot them down one by one.

So maybe Ryan's a little out of his element here in the city even two years after he's left the ranch. So maybe he's out of touch with the reality of the situation here in Aether. Fact of the matter is, though, he's an asset to anyone willing to count him friend and a real terror to those who make him an enemy.

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H I S T O R Y

• Ryan was born the youngest of five siblings to a woman who was part of a small, tightly-knit group of nomadic herders. Ryan's mother, Nora, was unmarried, a common practice among their small numbers since the group was too few for many to marry inside of it and the constant fear of relocation prevented most from feeling the urge to lay down permanent roots to anyone through marriage. As a result, all of Ryan's siblings were actually from different fathers with the sole exception of the two eldest, who were twins. The group would migrate about the area around Aether, going wherever they could get work and find Pokemon suitable to their professions, but their numbers were dwindling.
  
• When Ryan was five, the virus came through the little clan of nomadic ranch hands, absolutely decimating their small number. Ryan's family was lucky in that Nora had been lucky enough to find quarters for her and her children at her employer's Ponyta ranch, thus sparing them from the massacre, but this completely changed the remaining group. They could no longer roam about as they once had, instead having to split up and take jobs where they could take them.
  
• As Ryan grew, the need for schooling became apparent. However, Nora could not afford to send her children to a place for formal schooling, and since she spent her days trying to keep up with her job on the big ranch she had taken a job with, Ryan had to be homeschooled by his older siblings. As a result, his education was rather uneven and spotty in places, but he received more of a practical type of knowledge than a scholarly one. A common sight in the family was for Ryan to be sitting in a chair in the small quarters the family shared and clean off the equipment Nora and then his siblings would use during their days at work.
  
• One day, when Ryan was ten years old, he woke up to find his mother gone. There was no note, no notice, no nothing: it was simply as if the woman had never even existed in the first place. His siblings didn't bat an eye about it, instead turning right to going about their lives and raising each other. At first, he was worried - his mother had just walked out on him, after all, and she wasn't the type to do that without letting him and his siblings know where she was - but since no one else seemed to be worried, he too became less concerned. He got on with his life, and as his older siblings began to come of age and leave themselves, he settled in and accepted it with surprising ease.
  
• In three years' time, Ryan's only remaining caretaker was his next oldest sibling, and he also finally looked old enough to pass as someone who could work. He went a few ranches down with his half-sibling and began working there as a farmhand, borrowing a Ponyta from the owner so that he could help keep an eye on the Bouffalant herd kept on the property. Ryan was in charge of making sure the herd didn't bolt to the fence that enclosed the large roaming area, the male serving a backup drag rider who rarely, if ever, saw a Pokemon, but he was good at what he did and he was earning money, which was the important thing.
  
• When he was fifteen, he was out watching the fence during a thunderstorm when the Bouffalant herd grew skittish. The herd began stampeding towards the fence, and Ryan, and he had to work hard to try to stop the herd by spooking them the other way. Unfortunately, right when he was preparing to have his Ponyta use an attack to frighten them, a large lightning bolt struck a nearby tree, which frightened his Ponyta into dumping him on the ground and bolting. He barely had time to get to his feet before the herd was on him, most of them parting around him like a river. But not all of them. A single large Bouffalant managed to gore his left side with a horn, and he ended up passing out.
  
• All things considered, Ryan got out lucky with only the horn injury and a handful of broken bones, though a blow to his head from a hoof had screwed up his vision in his right eye and left him with little choice but to bind it up with bandaging so that it wouldn't affect his work. He needed a whole year to recover from the incident, but as soon as he did, he returned right back to work with the Bouffalant herd. As soon as he did, the Bouffalant all parted to reveal a single female who slowly ambled forward towards him. She whuffed softly at him, and when he offered her a hand, she put her muzzle into it and gently nudged against his chest. Impulsively, he named the Bouffalant Nora, after his mother, and Nora quickly became an asset to him when he was promoted to an actual drag rider, the Bouffalant lagging behind her peers in order to help him chase any other stragglers back to the main herd.
  
• By the time he had turned eighteen, Ryan had had his fill of ranch life. He had some money, enough to purchase Nora from the ranch owner and to move to the city. Before long, after spending time in the slums, he realized that he was homesick. He didn't miss the openness of the ranches, the fact that he could see the stars, or even any of the people; no, what he missed was the order that had pervaded the ranch. If someone did anything wrong back on the ranch, the foreman would ensure justice was meted out, but here in the city, particularly in the slums, crime was common and it seemed like nothing could be done about it.
  
• Finally, almost six months after he'd moved to the city, he had enough of watching justice be abused. He got his act together and joined Epispect, his dependability and his drive helping him earn enough money to be able to afford moving from the canopy into the city proper. He and Nora were charming and they were efficient, the powerful Bouffalant protecting her Trainer whenever he went on a mission and they were a valuable asset to whatever partner they were paired with.
  
• About a year and a half after he joined Epispect, he had enough money and standing in the company to finally get a transfusion for himself. He became a Staraptor Gijinka in time for his twentieth birthday. Soon after he obtained the transfusion, he began to be sent on more dangerous missions, missions for more of a hunter rather than an undercover agent, as befitting of a Gijinka, and he was okay with that. Nora was strong enough to watch his back, and so when his partner was injured badly enough to end up in a hospital, he instead said that he didn't need another partner right away, and so he hasn't received another one in the time since.
  

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P L A Y E R I N F O
★ OOC NAME: Kuroya
★ AGE: Too old.
★ OTHER CHARACTERS: Terra, Lydi, Noah, Alexi, Ghost, Izzy, Gabe, Nat, Aryl, Ash, Tobi, Kiyo, Ever, and Charon. Yep. I have other derps.
★ RP SAMPLE:

Pshhhhh, no.

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★ template was made for wretches and kings, do not steal ★

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