ooc: application

[hlif]

PLAYER

Name: Mhairi
Age: 26
Contact: deathwailart
Other Characters:
Araceli Bonaventura | Original (rifter)
Morrigan | Dragon Age

Interests: Asher's motives for the Inquisition are as selfish as they are honest; he wants the bragging rights one day about how he helped to save the world by punching lots of demons and probably because he'll be expecting to get paid at the end of the day. He likes to solve problems with charm or punching if and when the charm fails and that's likely to have him butting heads with people. He gives zero shits about politics and he's wary of pretty much everyone until they've paid him or earned his trust.

CHARACTER

Name: Asher Hardie; nicknamed the Bloody Butcher or the Smiling Butcher too
Canon/OC: Native OC
Journal: hlif
Race: Human
Nationality: Fereldan/Avvar
Occupation: Mercenary or 'soldier of fortune' as he prefers to be known
Age: 27

History

• Born close to the Hinterlands to Stafford and Eleanor Hardie, the eldest of five (two younger brothers, two younger sisters) he was kicked out of the family home at age fifteen due to his nature as a brawler. The family ran a farm - Eleanor ran the farm itself, Stafford managed the accounts and selling of wares.
• His parents hail from Ferelden; his father came from Denerim originally and his mother was always native to the countryside, hotly denying that she has more recent than she would like Avvar ancestry on her mother's side; that Asher favours the Avvar is a big bone of contention with them.
• During the Fifth Blight he was off in the Free Marches as part of the first mercenary crew who would take an angry young lad. At this point in time they went past a rather unsavoury spot where people indulged in blood sports including bear baiting and this was where Asher rescued a mabari hound named Bronson.
• By the age of twenty he struck out on his own with another member of the crew to form the Boneflayers, specialising in collecting bounties though they'd take any job they came across, ranging pretty much everywhere bar Tevinter thanks to Asher being a bit squeamish about getting locked in a Tevinter prison for any tavern brawls.
• The crew spent a few years in Kirkwall after the Blight hit (even though his family stuck it out back home) before leaving during the Qunari invasion. Here they picked up two ex-Carta 'siblings' and a former Coterie member who hired the Boneflayers to get rid of a few other members out to sabotage her.
• Asher likes to joke that he's probably left at least one bastard in every major city they've been to and due to his reputation as a cocky charmer (when in a good mood) he freely admits he will never be a settling down sort of man.
• The Boneflayers have a reputation due to Asher being something of a blood knight where his temper has gotten the best of him in a tavern brawl that's resulted in serious injury and in some cases, street brawls or jobs that might have been resolved with words have ended in someone dying when the red mist descended.
• He's been banned from several small Chantries; one for streaking through it naked, another for 'indiscretions' with young ladies who hadn't taken their vows.
• If you know one story about Asher it will be about that time he got drunk, ripped off his shirt then wrestled a bear.
• One time Asher got in a drinking contest, passed out for two days and woke up a Reaver. (If allowed by the mods.)

And for reference: Asher's squad

Personality

Big, dumb and full of fun is how Asher would happily describe himself if given the chance but his reputation has had a tendency to precede him. When you're on Asher's good side you'll find him charming, if cocky, though he has earned his bragging rights, but Maker help you if you're on his bad side. Asher's temper is something of a sight to behold and when the red mist descends then he doesn't stop until he's stopped by someone or something, or until whoever pissed him off is a smear on the floor. Sometimes the crew can calm him down and make him walk away but it's always a gamble if he'll listen. The quickest way to hit the berserk button is insulting or hurting his crew who are family to him.

Cocky but charming, Asher knows how to rely on his wits and his famous grin when the going gets tough and it's managed to pull them out of a few sticky situations when it comes down to it. He doesn't care if it makes him look arrogant because he knows how a crew lives and dies by their reputation and it often means he's been underestimated as a complete idiot though he does leave the financial stuff to other members of the team.

When it comes to the wider concerns, Asher only thinks as far as himself, his family and his crew. He thinks that Chantry is an absolute scam only out for themselves and that they're no better, possibly worse even, than the nobility. He has few real issues with Templars but he does think they're idiots for not challenging the Chantry sooner and that they should all remove the sticks from their arses. As far as Mages go, they're not even really on his radar though he doesn't trust ex-Circle mages turned apostates because they've been nasty jobs when he's had to deal with them. Other crews have apostates, there are plenty of Mages who have never been part of the Circles but he was part of a bad job involving a former Circle Mage that went abomination on him and it still freaks him out.

Even before he repaired his relationship with his parents, he still sent money home to his siblings and they get on well when Asher actually goes home to visit. He's loved by his nieces and nephews and at heart, he can be a big kid, often stopping to play with village kids and threaten their bullies. And he adores animals and he hates anyone who would ever abuse an animal, especially for entertainment.


Strengths & Weaknesses
+ Comfortable with both two-handed weapons or one-handed weapon and shield though he can use whatever happens to be at hand, including his fists and his head
+ Willing to use charm and sheer force of personality to get the job done
+ Can take a great deal of punishment in battle and still keep going because he's a stubborn bastard
+ Heavy armour doesn't really slow him down at all though he prefers anything with mail to plate for freedom of movement
+ A lover of animals and small children, he gets on very well with them and will defend them to the end
+ Actually smarter than he looks; he was being groomed to run the farm before he was kicked out and he still knows plenty about farm life and living off the land and it's helped out
+ If you're considered part of his family then he will defend you to the bitter end
+ Maintains his connections throughout Thedas with employers or other groups he enjoyed working with
+ Knows a decent bit about Avvar culture thanks to his grandmother, glad that at least one family member isn't ashamed of that heritage
+/- Literally could not care less about any sort of politics and will treat you the way you are as a person meaning he can come off as hugely dismissive and even offensive when discussing the Chantry, showing it very little regard for it at all
+/- Seeking glory is a big deal for him and it tends to be his primary motivation for doing things beyond any sort of noble intention; he's in it for the big fights, the money and the bragging rights
- Impulsive with a nasty temper that can blind his decision making skills and he does have a bit of a reputation as the Bloody Butcher/the Smiling Butcher
- He has a tendency to downplay injuries so that they end up far worse than they should have been because he didn't want to back down
- When it comes to loved ones, Asher's lust for vengeance is a scary and over the top thing - he's caused serious injuries to people just over verbal insults and in some cases, if the crew or an innocent has been put in danger, he's killed when he could have spared a life
- Bad at leadership outside of fighting; he's a great strategist and good at getting jobs but he leaves the business side of the Boneflayers to the other members of the crew, mainly his second
- Too arrogant to really care what people think of him and it's caused plenty of problems when someone decides to try to put him in his place

If I had to pick a canon fighting style for him, it'd be the Reaver spec if that's allowed.

Inventory

1 x grizzled old mabari hound by the name of Bronson
1 x two-handed ax
1 x sword and shield
1 x heavy armour set, chainmail
Assorted letters from home and drawings from his nephews and nieces
1 x pack with bedroll, changes of clothes, a few amulets, potions so old they're likely lethal, kaddis, whetstone and smutty books
1 x murder knife that's used for whittling toy soldiers when he's bored

As a gesture of support for the Inquisition, his family would have entrusted him to escort a wagon of supplies including meat, vegetables, leather and wool and other farm-related sundries.

His company would likely join him but head off to take care of other jobs, they're available as Inqusition npcs if required.

Motivation

Asher would join the Inquisition not to save the world but to lend his fighting skills and that of his crew so he can get a good paycheck when it's all over, earn major bragging rights too so he bolsters his company name for the future and to fight the sort of things he wouldn't get a chance to fight out on his own. It's that simple.

SAMPLES

sample one;
Asher meets up with an old merc friend and is watched by a mysterious young lady

sample two;
The bronto grunted when he prodded it in the side, accompanied by a groan from the wagon as they finally got going again. Somehow he was sweating despite the chill in the air, wiping the sweat from his brow as he moved as quickly as he could through the snow drift to continue leading the beast. Bronson barked and howled, startling a ram that bounded off at speed as if mocking them.

"Only your mother would think this was a good idea," Melisende muttered from beneath her thick furs, and he didn't need to turn to know she was glaring at his back, same as Liadan. "Nasir warned us."

"Do you fancy saying no to my mother when she's brandishing a ladle?" He waited, counting out one breath, two, three, then finally he shook his head and gave the bronto a pat. "See, we keep her sweet and then we won't need to do this again."

A snort came, likely Amalia, smugly enjoying her flames and sharing them with whoever lagged behind with her when she didn't have to carefully melt the frost and snow that built up on the wagon when he, Gunnar and Yngvi strained and held it to stop it from crashing down the mountainside, probably taking all of them and the bronto with it.

"I said if anyone wanted to go ahead with Nasir then they were welcome to do so, you all agreed we'd go together and meet him at the top. Not my fault you're all too soft for this kind of climb; Melisende we've both been in worse places, remember that time that-"

"If he tells the story about that bugger who lost a foot, I'm going to cut off one of his," Yngvi vowed and the answering grunt of his Carta brother didn't fill Asher with hope for quick forgiveness.

"How about this then - I'll buy all the drinks tonight and the dinner," he offered because they had the coin to spare, with more to come even with Asher hopefully picking up jobs for them here and them moving as needed.

"Just for that Asher, I won't freeze you to the mountain," Amalia said at last followed by laughter and shouts the echoed about the mountains as they finally made their way up the worst of the rise, the wagon protesting mightily and he had no hope of actually managing to return it to the farm unless he sent the bronto back with coin for a new one.

Then again, with the cold biting at them the way it had been the whole way up? They'd likely be just as glad of the extra kindling as they would the supplies in the wagon itself.