Sandbox / Kochi Taeyang

Taeyang-ui Adeul (Silyang)

A Human Light Domain Cleric and Noble from the kingdom of Jikyeo-ui. As circumstances reveal, he is not merely a noble, but in fact the heir to the kingdom itself.

• Battle Couple: With Kochi, having trained together to the point where he can comfortably throw fireballs directly over her head.
• Childhood Friend Romance: He met Kochi when they were quite young and even helped to give her the only name she knows. Needless to say, they became inseparable from that point on, despite the complications of a noble fraternizing with an orphan from off the streets.
• Defector from Decadence: Left Jikyeo-ui, where he had enjoyed twenty-plus years of access to every comfort, due to his disillusionment with the country's and his family's path towards pointless warmongering for the sake of gaining more land and resources, which he knew would only be claimed by the nobles who already had enough room, anyway.
• Designated Parents: With Kochi. Though Calhun is older, the two typically take the most "middle ground" approach to circumstances, given Sapine and Relic's troubles with social scenarios and Calhun's occasional Blood Knight tendencies. Taeyang, for the most part, offers a bit of Team Mom support, trying to keep everyone motivated, appreciated, and emotionally stable.
• Dismissing a Compliment: Tends to be his go-to when anyone has kinds words for him. To a certain extent, he has heard that he is a disappointment enough that he believes it and is, for the most part, okay with it as long as he feels like he's trying to do the right thing.
• Divine Right of Kings: What he and those in his family line possess, given that they all become clerics of the four goddesses considered at the head of Jikyeo-ui's pantheon. This is sealed through a ceremony when they are infants.
• Familiar: His Celestial usually-a-ferret-but-sometimes-other-creatures, Jogjebi. Taeyang bothered to crack open books on magic use just so he could find out how to summon Jogjebi, and he often not-so-jokingly lauds the creature as the party's most valuable member.
• Fireballs: Naturally, when the party is harried by multiple enemies.
• Flirtatious Smack on the Ass: Frequently shared with Kochi, when one or the other of them does something impressive.
• Foil: To party member Calhun Blackstone. Whereas Calhun alludes to an incident where his leadership got those following him killed, Taeyang's biggest fear is taking the reins of leadership only to orchestrate such an incident himself. In the same vein, Calhun seeks to assemble an army to get revenge for his slaughtered clan, whereas Taeyang wants to solve Jikyeo's problems with anything but military might.
• Forbidden Love: Not so much forbidden, but arranged marriages for nobles are the expectation in Jikyeo-ui. Those few nobles who do not have their marriages arranged are expected to at least maintain family prestige by marrying into families with strong titles or notable family names. Taeyang, part of the royal family, would be breaking both rules by following his desires and marrying Kochi and has kept the more romantic details of their relationship a "secret" among the nobility (from most, anyway) for half a decade.
• Hand Gagging: Playfully done to Kochi when they were younger and quickly became an entirely different kind of playful as it was necessary for her to stay quiet when they... snuck off together.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: Downplayed. He often outwardly questions his own decisions, skills, and knowledge, but rarely does he let any of his doubts slow him down, as long as he has the support of others.
• The Insomniac: Downplayed. Just prefers to have some wine before bed when he's stressed, or sleep comes a bit slowly.
• Jock Dad, Nerd Son: A variation. Taeyang has explained in brief the situation between him and his father. His father is the greatest fighter in several generations of rulers. Taeyang is... a comparative pacifist who has mostly used his powers for healing before setting out into the world. Some among the advisers and nobility obviously were not impressed by Taeyang's traits.
• Kill It with Fire: As a Light Domain Cleric, this is Taeyang's preferred method for dealing with his enemies. Most often this manifests in the form of the not-quite-fire Cantrip Sacred Flame, but when forced, he unleashes the might of fireballs upon the party's enemies. Which often leads to his patting out flames from his Cloak of Void.
• Long-Haired Pretty Boy: A thin, long-haired man from a Wutai-styled kingdom who makes sure to stay clean-shaven and maintain his hygiene, even on the road.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: A shield is about the only combat-oriented gear that Taeyang takes into battle with him, aside from a protective chain shirt beneath his robe.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: Downplayed. Taeyang often lampshades how he didn't actually pay attention to many of his studies. While he's not as dumb as he claims, he truly did slack off when it came to many of his studies and has several gaps in his knowledge, including some of the finer details of the religion to which he is an acolyte. He doesn't show much interest in filling in these gaps, either.
• Modest Royalty: Considered this by most of the people who actually met him in Jikyeo. Really, Taeyang doesn't care that he's royalty and will fraternize with anyone and everyone
• Nice Guy: Often opts for courtesy in social situations and generally works to keep the mood light-hearted if the situation calls for it. He is also the least likely to outright threaten an enemy. In Jikyeo-ui, the more common folk, especially those in the merchant class, would enjoy his visits, citing his more down-to-earth generosity as compared to many other nobles.
• Properly Paranoid: Aside from his robes, which mark him as nothing more than being a well-off man from Jikyeo and typically stay hidden beneath his Cloak of Void, anyway, Taeyang takes minor, necessary precautions to ensure he is not recognized, including his fake name (a common one in Jikyeo-ui), his avoidance of using his native tongue, and his awareness of how certain gestures might make him stand out in a crowd.
• Really Royalty Reveal: When it seems like diplomatic sway is the only moral way to try and break Sapine's sister out of prison left as an option, Taeyang finally breaks to the party that he is the prince of Jikyeo-ui, rather than a simple merchant noble, since they may need him to apply some political sway.
• Rebel Prince: Downplayed. As he explains to the party, he is willing to lead (kind of) even though he doesn't want anyone mistaking him for qualified, but he does not want to lead in the warmongering way he would be expected to by many of his advisers-to-be and certainly not in the way his brother would promote. Knowing he had no way to change this system by his own ability or knowledge, he chose to leave and remove himself from the rulership equation for the time being.
• Solar and Lunar: The Cycle, the name of the group of goddesses that have given Taeyang's family its divine right, represent aspects of day and night in relation to the various stages of life. As a Light Cleric, Taeyang leans towards the solar aspects.
• Walking the Earth: Taeyang's plan upon leaving Jikyeo-ui, with emphasis on getting into adventures and learning from and about other people. Has good reason, as he wants to actually be among the people, changing lives, and also wants to learn how to be a better leader.
• Warrior Prince: Zig-Zagging Trope. Though he has been raised and trained as a cleric meant to fight with weapons and magic, as are many nobles in Jikyeo, Taeyang has never shown any interest in wielding weapons and only used his magic for healing and practicing with the fire he can create. Now that he has started adventuring, however, Taeyang casts magic in battle with the best of them... though he still keeps his daggers on his belt, if he can help it.

Kochi

A Devoted Paladin and Courtier from the petty kingdom of Jikyeo-ui in the service of Taeyang. Has a Fey ancestry that she has tried, but failed, to keep secret.

• Action Girl: A beautiful half-elf who can often be found on the front line of a fight, blocking with her shield, dodging blows in her fitted light armors, and prodding her way through enemies with her rapier.
• Adorkable: Kochi is especially cute due to her youth and half-elf nature, and when not jabbing and slicing with her rapier to strike down foes with divine radiance... she might be found chattering about how she will totally stick the landing next time she jumps off of party Druid, Sapine's, octopus form or charming strangers with sly, corny jokes.
• Amazonian Beauty: Not so much Amazonian in stature, though she is a Statuesque Stunner, but Kochi is a certified Action Girl who often tries to draw the attention of enemies away from her teammates and harries her foes with a rapier and shield while long, dark hair falls around her lovely, partially-Elven features.
• Badass Cape: A long red one.
• Bathtub Bonding: It was in a bath after nearly being killed by a fireball that Kochi swore her Oath of Devotion to Taeyang, promising that she would continue to follow him into danger for the greater good.
• Battle Couple: With Taeyang, to the point that she doesn't flinch (aside from raising her shield) when he is throwing fireballs over and around her.
• Childhood Friend Romance: She became attached to Taeyang as a child when he found her and convinced his family (or more accurately, royal retainers Wihan and Anae) to take her in. Their companionship promptly blossomed into a romance once they were teens.
• Designated Parents: With Taeyang. They are frequently the most even-keel members of the party, at least when it comes to social situations or choosing how to solve problems.
• Devoted to You: A Paladin who has sworn an Oath of Devotion as much to Taeyang as to an ideal, alongside her devotion to him as a woman.
• First Kiss: A unique and meaningful one. After years together and teasing romance, Kochi and Taeyang come to the end of an especially flirtatious training session, and to deal with their nerves about acting, Taeyang casts a spell on her. That spell was Command, and that Command was "Kiss." Needless to say, she didn't try to resist.
• Flirtatious Smack on the Ass: Frequently shared with Taeyang, when one or the other of them does something impressive.
• Instant Costume Change: Per her set of magical armor, which can change its appearance to anything from a potato sack to a flowing dress to a midriff-and-leg-revealing Jikyeo dancing outfit when she speaks a command word.
• Kinky Cuffs: Appears to be one of Kochi's favored ways to "pass the time" with Taeyang at night with their newfound freedom to be intimate with each other.
• Lady of War: Though mostly a more intense Action Girl, Kochi did learn a highly graceful fighting style from a highly graceful woman in Anae and moves fluidly in battle with a set of Instant Costume Change armor that can look as fancy and attractive as she pleases.
• Ley Line: Of the magical variety. These are somehow involved in her past, but how and why, Kochi does not know.
• Mad Oracle: Possibly. Wihan explains that during a time in her youth that she cannot recall, she would babble and draw the ley line runes that seem to be connected to her origins. Whether there was any significance to the babble is unknown.
• Mysterious Past: Knows nothing about her life before finding herself on the streets of Jikyeo save for what she has stumbled across during her recent adventures, and even then, she can only recall meaningless images about runes described as parts of "ley lines" that tie magic to the world.
• The Paladin: Of the two Paladins in the party, she holds truest to the traditional ideals of decency and justice. However, she is not a member of The Order, nor does she act like a Church Militant. She merely acts on a general concept of what is good.
• Parental Substitute: Two, in the form of royal retainers Wihan and Anae, a married couple with no children of their own. She simply refers to them as her parents, since she does not know hers at all.
• Red Is Heroic: She is arguably the most traditionally heroic member of the party, and she prefers to wear a red cape, red lipstick, and red decorations in her headpiece and armor.
• Royal Rapier: Her weapon of choice, given her preference to outmaneuver threats, and fits with her role as a retainer of the Jikyeo royal family.
• Statuesque Stunner: Qualifies at 5'9" and is very beautiful.
• Undying Loyalty: To Taeyang. Kochi has been his closest companion while both of them have grown up, and she has seen in him a kindness that doesn't seem to be present in the other royals.
• Violently Protective Girlfriend: Kochi does not want anyone touching Taeyang, and she will cast herself into combat to ensure enemies think twice before bypassing her and attacking him.