Folkmore app 2.0

[overnightoaks]

★ Character Information ★

Character Name: Henry Oak
Character Age: 37
Character Species: 75% human, 25% wood elf
Current Health: healthy
Outfit: Henry is wearing: short sleeve button down shirt, organic cotton undershirt, khaki cargo shorts, leather Birkenstocks, white tube socks. He wears glasses but they're not prescription.

Character Canon: Dungeons & Daddies
Link to History: Wiki link. Henry was born in a hippie commune in the Forgotten Realms, the son of a powerful druid named Barry Oak. Barry's mother was brought into the Forgotten Realms by an eldritch being known as the Doodler that represents randomness & chaos. Barry, being her son, bears a fragment of the Doodler's power. Henry also has that power inside him, though he cannot access it consciously. When Henry was a young man, he inadvertently used the Doodler's power within him to transport himself from the Forgotten Realms to our world through a shard of a magic mirror. The experience was so traumatic that it gave him amnesia, and he forgot all about his life in the Forgotten Realms. He was found by a hiker named Mercedes Garcia, and the two would eventually wed and start a family.

Mercedes gave birth to twins whom they named Lark and Sparrow (the Doodler's power passed on from Henry to his sons, growing ever stronger). By the time the boys were twelve, Henry was working as a geologist at the San Dimas Museum of Natural History, living a pleasant life with no memory of ever being anything but a normal, run-of-the-mill human on Earth. One day, while carpooling with some other dads and kids from Lark and Sparrow's soccer team, the minivan they were driving in drove through a portal and wound up in the Forgotten Realms. The group passed out, and when the dads awoke, their sons were gone. They set out on an epic journey to recover their lost sons, during which Henry regained his lost memories and confronted his father. Barry Oak had partnered with two of the other dads' fathers, Bill Close and Willie Stampler, to kidnap their grandsons and attempt to use them to increase their Daddy Magic and become immortal. Henry and his friends took to calling their dads "the Omega Daddies."

Early on in their journey, the dads learned of a prophecy that foretold the coming of the Doodler, "when the blood of the unsung hero is spilled." They only knew of the Doodler as the mascot of their sons' soccer team, which Sparrow had drawn. Weeks or maybe months later, after the sons had been rescued, the Omega Daddies had been defeated, and everyone had made it back home to Earth, the group all gathered at the Oak-Garcia household for a movie night. Sparrow and Lark came to Henry in the kitchen, and Sparrow told Henry that Lark wanted to apologize and bury the hatchet of a grudge he had been holding against Henry. Feeling happy, Henry hugged his son, at which point Lark slipped a knife into Henry's shoulder, revealing that Willie Stampler had told him that Henry was the unsung hero, and by spilling his blood, they would bring the Doodler into the world.

With the Doodler loose in the world, the dads and their sons founded D.A.D.D.I.E.S, aka The Department for the Acquisition, Destruction, Deployment and Investigation of Extra-Normal Stuff, an organization dedicated to protecting the world from the "Doodlerized" monstrosities which now are spreading like wildfire and threatening to overtake everything.

Canon Point: Season 2, Episode 23 flashback, after the dads/sons visit the Church of the Doodler
Canon Iteration: CRAU from Ryslig & his previous time in Folkmore.

(cw cannibalism, undeath, apocalypse, mass sacrifice, ritual suicide)
Because his Ryslig pull point is earlier in canon than his last Folkmore pull point, he will remember his time in Ryslig as vague memories that happened in between his original time in Folkmore, and when he canon-updated midway through his original Folkmore stay. The timeline goes: End of S1 > Folkmore stay 1-A > Ryslig > S2E23 canon update > Folkmore stay 1-B > back to canon for a bit > Folkmore stay 2.

While in Ryslig, Henry was involuntarily turned into an undead, cannibalistic skeleton creature known as a lich. Liches feed by decaying organic matter (namely, other human beings) and absorbing their life energy. In Ryslig, Henry lived through strange events where he became an alternate universe version of himself for a week, and lived through a nearly-averted apocalypse, which was only prevented when a large group of people volunteered to ritually sacrifice themselves to appease the old gods which were tearing the world apart. Henry volunteered to join the sacrifice, but he didn't know enough about liches to know that he needed to bring his phylactery— aka the external physical object holding his "heart" and keeping him alive— along with him in order to make his death "count."

Henry post-Ryslig is more traumatized, more defeated, and more accepting of violence and monstrous qualities in people. He still strives to be a pacifist when he can, and would prefer to keep to his vegan diet now that organic matter doesn't instantly rot in his mouth, but he's lost a little bit of his hope that there can always be a non-violent solution to every problem.

★ Folkmore Roles & Attributes ★

Skills:

• identifying rocks/general geology knowledge
  
• freestyle rap
  
• basic first aid
  
• vegan cooking
  
• lip reading
  
• beginner-level salsa dancing
  
• fluency in Spanish

Canon Abilities:

• Druidic Magic — Henry can cast a wide variety of magic spells for healing, defense, or offense. He can teleport himself and others, and transform into any animal he's seen before. (He mostly sticks to the animals from the San Diego Zoo.)
  
• Daddy Magic — Through the power of his strong bond with his sons, Henry can cast the powerful spell Animal Shapes, which allows him to transform groups of willing people into animals.
  
• Elven Blood — Henry's elven lineage from his paternal grandfather gives him certain abilities: he can see in the dark up to sixty feet, he is more able to prevent himself from becoming charmed, and he cannot be put to sleep by magic.
  
• Although Henry will be returned to his normal body, I would like to have him keep a fraction of his Lich Transformation/Abilities from Ryslig. On full moons, and whenever the fog is particularly thick, Henry will transform back into his lich form. His body will become more skeletal, and he will have the rotting touch that comes with being a lich. I will NOT be giving him the obligate cannibalism element, because that's not something I want to force onto anyone in game without consent.

Role: Legend
Role Qualities/Attributes: Upon entry to the world, Henry will gain two mismatched wings, one for each of his sons: the left wing of a lark and the right wing of a sparrow. Any animal that Henry transforms into using his Wild Shape ability will also have these wings, appropriately sized to the animal in question. If he transforms into something that already has wings, it will have two additional tiny lark & sparrow wings somewhere on its body, the appropriate size of an actual lark or sparrow. Other physical changes include: the color of his eyes changing with his emotions, and a halo filled with static when he casts any spell higher than first level.
Role Reasoning: Henry is one of the dads' only healers, and he generally sees himself as a good, moral person. He tries very hard to do the right thing at all times, and to make sure he isn't hurting anyone (who doesn't deserve it). This faith in pacifism has been somewhat shaken by his time in Ryslig, but it is still central to Henry's core. When it comes to the prophecy of the ritual that will summon the Doodler, Henry plays the part of the Unsung Hero. Being heroic is in his nature, which comes from a desire to help others, protect the people he loves, and, deep down in a place where he will never admit to it, garner the kind of praise his father would never give him. Henry can also be a very emotional person, and can lose himself to his anger. I'd like to explore the delicate knife's edge Henry is walking with his emotions, between his morality and the dangerous, insidious thing inside of him.

★ Personality ★

OPTION 2 QUESTIONS (PICK 4-5):

What was the most traumatic experience your character endured? How did this change them?

(cw feces/diarrhea mention) After their first confrontation against the Omega Daddies, Henry's friend Darryl Wilson was given a piece of his favorite candy, Charleston Chew, that unbeknownst to him had been cursed by the head Omega Daddy, Willie Stampler. The cursed candy nearly killed Darryl, but through the quick use of magic and healing potions, he was able to shit out the worst of it, suffering only some minor internal bleeding (and some major embarrassment).

When Darryl emerged from the toilet stall at long last, he made the classic dad joke, "Do not go in there!" But Henry was too curious for his own good, and needed to know what foul magic Willie Stampler had used against his friend. He went back into the stall and looked into the soiled toilet bowl. What he saw caused him psychic damage, and placed irreparable cracks in the walls his mind had made to block out all memory of his youth in the Forgotten Realms— blocks he had placed there for his own safety and sanity.

Witnessing the evil poop shook Henry to his very core, and he was unable to recover from the experience until he confronted his father in Oakvale and finally let down the walls keeping his old memories inside.

What is the most important and defining relationship(s) in your character's life and why?

1. Barry Oak — Henry has never lived up to his father's expectations. Whether learning magic or practicing yoga, Henry wasn't good enough for Barry. Henry resented Barry for his lack of affection, but was so driven to please him that he worked tirelessly until finally he succeeded where Barry couldn't, and crossed from Faerûn into our universe. He was so traumatized by the incident (and his father's abuse) that his mind locked all memories of Faerûn away. All Henry could remember was growing up unhappy in a hippie commune, and not getting along with his father.
   
   
2. Lark & Sparrow Oak-Garcia — Due to Henry's overbearing relationship with Barry, Henry took the opposite tack when raising his sons. He calls it "free-range parenting"— treating his boys like equals and letting them make their own decisions, while unconditionally supporting and guiding them. But, the Oak boys became wild, violent tweens who craved violence and power above all else. Henry taught Sparrow the value of love and peace, but couldn't reach Lark. Henry loves his boys fiercely, but the anger that he represses in himself, he sees manifesting in them, and he's terrified of what they might become.
   
   
3. The Dads — At first, Henry only knew Darryl, Glenn, and Ron because their sons played soccer together. However, over the course of their journey through Faerûn, Henry learned not to judge their parenting by their behavior. Glenn, usually carefree, gave up everything so his son Nick wouldn't be an orphan. Although Darryl was stereotypically masculine/conservative, he's still unwavering in supporting his gay son Grant. And Ron's baffling behavior came from a place of real trauma over childhood emotional abuse. Henry's always said, "Don't judge a book by its cover," but by getting to know the other dads, he learned to practice what he preached.

If you could give your character a Taylor Swift playlist, which songs would be on it and what would they represent about your character?

Tell Me Why (Taylor's Version)

I'm sick and tired of your attitude
I'm feeling like I don't know you
You tell me that you love me,
then you cut me down
And I need you like a heartbeat

Henry's abusive relationship with his father.

exile (feat. Bon Iver)

You're not my homeland anymore
So what am I defending now?
You were my town
Now I'm in exile, seein' you out

Putting his life in Oakvale under his father's thumb behind him.

I Forgot That You Existed

I forgot that you existed
And I thought that it would kill me, but it didn't
And it was so nice
So peaceful and quiet

Forgetting about his father, mother, and prior life in Faerûn.

Out Of The Woods

Are we out of the woods yet?
Are we out of the woods yet?
Are we out of the woods?
Are we in the clear yet?
Are we in the clear yet?
In the clear yet, good

Being lost after leaving Faerûn, until he was finally found by Mercedes.

I'm Only Me When I'm With You

And you know everything about me
You say that you can't live without me
I'm only up when you're not down
Don't wanna fly if you're still on the ground

Falling head over heels in love with Mercedes and starting a new, happy life with her.

marjorie

Never be so polite, you forget your power
Never wield such power,
you forget to be polite
And if I didn't know better
I'd think you were listening to me now

Trying to get through to his chaotic boys and teach them to love other people the way they love each other.

It's Nice To Have A Friend

Twenty questions, we tell the truth
You've been stressed out lately? Yeah, me too
Something gave you the nerve
To touch my hand
It's nice to have a friend

Getting to know the other dads and learn to trust and care for them.

this is me trying

I just wanted you to know
That this is me trying
They told me all of my cages were mental
So I got wasted like all my potential
And my words shoot to kill when I'm mad
I have a lot of regrets about that

Returning to Oakvale, remembering his past, and confronting his father.

You Need To Calm Down

And I ain't trying to mess with your self-expression
But I've learned the lesson that stressin'
And obsessin' 'bout somebody else is no fun
And snakes and stones never broke my bones

Living a life that is accepting of others and denouncing violence unless absolutely necessary.

What is your character's moral code? Do they have one? Why or why not?

Henry has a strong sense of moral certitude that comes from his father's teachings. He thinks of himself as a Good Person who does Good Things. He can fall into the trap of lecturing others about behavior he sees as immoral or bad (such as the time he lectured the rest of the dads over why they shouldn't eat meat, and why his vegan diet is superior), but he is a bit of a hypocrite because in his attempts to be Unproblematic and Woke, he inadvertently allowed his sons to grow into little deviants who want nothing more than to prove themselves in tests of violence. He tried so hard to do the opposite of what his dad did to him, that he overcorrected too far in the other direction, and was too lenient when his sons could have used structure and rules to guide their chaotic behavior.

Henry often is the voice of reason in the group, insisting that they return to Neverwinter to face the consequences of their careless actions which led to the deaths of hundreds of people when they accidentally summoned a giant pyramid on top of a tower, which fell and crushed all the people inside the tower instantly. It’s because of examples like this that Anthony Burch, the DM of the podcast, describes Henry as being objectively the best person in the group. He is so consistent in his idealism that he is more willing to answer for his crimes than he is to evade the law and focus on their main mission of finding and rescuing their sons.

Is your character capable of forgiveness or will they hold a grudge until they die? Would anything ever make them change their mind?

Harry would always rather forgive the people who have wronged him. He does his best to look at things from their perspective so he can understand what made them act the way they did, and in doing this he comes to truly care about them. When confronting his father, Henry says, "Dad, I can’t carry hate for you in my heart. What does that teach my boys? I just told them they’ve got to love everybody, which means I have to love you, and I love you, and I don’t… I don’t want to fight."

However, Henry is only willing to forgive if the person he is forgiving is willing to meet him halfway and not only accept that what they did was wrong, but actively take steps to better themselves so it doesn't happen again. Shortly after giving that impassioned speech, Henry finds out that Barry has actually kidnapped Lark and Sparrow and replaced them with homunculi, even going so far as to lie about it to Henry's face. It becomes clear that Barry was not repentant in the slightest, and only cared about himself, not caring at all about the ways he had hurt Henry. Once this becomes clear, Henry rescinds his offer of an olive branch, and engages his father in combat to save his sons.

★ Player Information ★

Player Name: Chris
Pronouns: she/they
Are you over 18?: yes
Contact(s): millennialfalcon + objectpermanence @ discord
Who Invited You?: Xy
Current Characters: N/A
Permissions: Here
Writing Samples: TDM top level