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Dec. 16th, 2014 01:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
baalsUser Name/Nick: jo
User DW: calamityjo
AIM/IM: jocalamansi
E-mail: jocalamansi@gmail.com
Other Characters: nick cutter, arkin o'brien
Character Name: Ba'al
Series: Stargate SG-1 + Stargate: Continuum
Age: Unknown. The human host appears to be in his 40s but is likely a few hundred years old at this point. Ba'al himself is anywhere from 3,000-9,000 years old.
From When?: From the events of Stargate: Continuum where he was cut in half by Qetesh.
Inmate/Warden: Inmate. Oh, such an inmate. He's responsible for billions of deaths, destruction of worlds and feels no remorse for it. They were all a means to a end. He sees nothing wrong in torturing and killing. He's done horrific things over thousands of years to gain power and empire.
Item: n/a
Abilities/Powers:
Ba'al released Naquadah(super conductive substance) into the host's blood stream. I don't think it'll come up but the Naquadah is used to control Goa'uld technology. But it's very unlikely he'll ever have any of it on board.
It goes without saying, that as a biological fact, he can enter a human host and control their minds. It's unlikely he'll leave his own host but the possibility is there. I'd guess that something about the Barge will make it difficult for him to take on another host and keep them. Much like how the rules for vampires and werewolves work.
Goa'uld come with healing powers, making them more durable. The show is really sketchy on the extent of these powers, shown to be strong enough to eliminate cancer, regenerate flesh wounds and withstand radiation to a certain point but at the same time they sometimes show Goa'uld dying from being shot multiple times, so who knows? Additionally, the healing powers comes at a cost to the Goa'uld symbiote. The more severe the wound the more energy it takes them to heal it and it is possible for the symbiote to die in their efforts to heal their hosts.
It comes with the healing, but they give their host increased strength. It's not Superman levels but it's enough to lift a full grown man off the ground with one arm. Naturally, I expect that he'll lose this ability on the Barge.
Now for the two silliest powers: he can make his eyes glow and make his voice go super bass. These are entirely harmless abilities he doesn't use too much anyway.
Lastly, his intelligence is exceptional. Goa'uld have genetic memory so he has the knowledge of the Queen that spawned him and so on, of only the material line. Then on top of that he's a brilliant tactician, holds a keen understanding of the motivations of others and is always, always planning.
Personality:
Before I delve to far into his personality, it's necessary to address the relationship between Goa'uld and host. There is no canon information on Ba'al's host, not even his real name but Ba'al seems to have some sort of affinity for him. The reason I say that is when Ba'al cloned himself, he cloned his host as well. Even if that affinity may be as shallow as liking his physical appearance.
As for the host, as I said, there is no canon information but I can surmise that he may have been a willing host. I base this on one of Ba'al's human slaves(lo'taur) referring to possibility implantation with a goa'uld symbiote as being a great honor and pleasure. Whatever the case, he's been Ba'al's host for at least 200 years and at most one thousand. With other goa'uld in canon, it's been shown that symbiote and host personalities have a way of rubbing off on each other. So the longer the two are blended the more likely they'll retain memories and personality of the other. That being said, if Ba'al were to be removed from his host, his host will likely have gained similar personality traits as Ba'al. That's if Ba'al didn't lock his host's conscious away and cut him off completely but I find that unlikely considering the positive light his slave viewed implantation as.
Now on to Ba'al himself. He's hardly the typical Goa'uld and has proven to be more adaptable than most. He is also one of the few that acknowledges he's not really a god and almost treats it as a joke when he's around others who are aware of what he is.
Ba'al started out, thousands of years ago, just like many other Goa'uld. He held similar views toward humanity as them being a resource rather than individuals. The Goa'uld social structure is very primal at its heart, only the strongest can be on top until a new challenger knocks them down. Showing weakness is an invitation to be destroyed or made subservient. In order to survive, Ba'al learned to work the system and take more indirect routes to power such as pitting his enemies against each other or his most well known tactic: gifts. He'll put on the show of becoming subservient only to have his gifts and tributes be rigged with massive explosives.
Which brings me to his possessive nature, it's something shared among Goa'uld, but his drive seems particularity strong. As he gained more contact with modern Earth, he began to feel a renewed interest in humanity. When he had to hide on Earth from his enemies he quickly took to Capitalism becoming a businessman(and head of an areo-space company) under a human alias. He later said modern Earth “has it's charms.” He apparently liked it a lot more than he let on. As later on, when he messed with the time-line in order to gain control of the entire Goa'uld empire, he returned to Earth. Instead of simply destroying it, he laid claim to it. Telling Earth governments that they can continue as they are but he would be in final control of the planet.
It's here that Ba'al truly splits from other Goa'uld. His plan to keep Earth as it is but under his control was thwarted by other Goa'uld. They thought Ba'al was both insane and weak for his tactics. This led to his death at the hands of his Queen, Qetesh.
So, let's go back, Ba'al's greatest strength and downfall is his ability to adapt and take advantage of a situation for his own needs. During the original timeline, when the rest of the Goa'uld had fallen, he remained. During that time he gradually stopped using his Goa'uld voice and presented a very human appearance. This may have been a ploy to make himself more relatable but it's more likely he felt he didn't need it. He had no Goa'uld competition to deal with. It's during that time that more and more of his personality shows through. He's shown to be cunning and someone who enjoys an intellectual challenge. Even in times where he loses, at least in the case of humans from Earth, he takes it with surprising good humor.
He has the ability recognize universal threats and then work with enemies for mutual survival. In fact, he even seems to enjoy the times he's worked with humanity toward a common goal on more than one occasion. Even before his reintroduction to Earth, he acted as a first among equals(directing the proceedings) at a Goa'uld System Lord summit, where they discussed universal threats and whether it was worthy to work together on. He also showed that he is very much of the mind of keeping your enemies close, as he voted for the return of Anubis as a System Lord, despite Anubis being only Goa'uld to be kicked out of their ranks for being too destructive. Ba'al later worked for Anubis as a method to gain further power but he worked behind his back... finding a more logical way to defeat a common threat with less damage. He turned completely on Anubis shortly after and lent his help to Earth to stop Anubis.
Additionally, Ba'al has a very large ego. He's very eager to take credit for things he's done, to the point of interjecting with comments about how he was instrumental in the defeat of Anubis or that a certain technology was his creation.
Now to the heart of who Ba'al is. With the nature of Goa'uld society, he longs for recognition and feeling important but at the same time he hides those desires as they could be considered weaknesses. He's also incredibly lonely. When he was one of the last surviving Goa'uld he took to cloning himself. In part, to get more done, but also to have company of his own kind. The problem of that is he's changed so much from his own kind, none of them truly share his views. He hoped to relieve his loneliness by changing the timeline to suit him but this backfired. Other Goa'uld simply could understand him and thought he lost his mind.
Ba'al's outside appearance is carefully crafted, to present a confident exterior even when things aren't going his way. For example, when Teal'c told Ba'al he knew Ba'al was frightened, Ba'al tried to shrug it off as nonsense. He's someone who feels safest in control and is shown desperately trying to regain power, even just a little, even through waves of compromise, just so he can feel secure in his place.
He wants to survive, and when it comes down to it, he'll do anything to ensure that he will. To ensure that he will have power so no one can take advantage of him or make him subservient to them.
Which brings me back to his affinity for Earth. He saw how allowing people freedom was not only useful but an ideal way to gain his own security. He saw that if you could get people to willingly follow or submit to rule, your spot was more secure. All you had to do was keep supporters happy and survival was ensured.
Now, all of this almost makes him sound like a good guy. He certainly would like to pretend that he is. But the reality is, under all that is brutality. He has killed millions. He's tortured people to death just to revive them and do it again. Working millions to death in mines. It has all been in the goal of securing his own place in universe. His own insecurities have led him to mercilessly commit atrocities under the urge to protect what he believes is his.
Barge Reactions:
Ba'al will react favorably to the Barge. While he won't be particularly happy to be a prisoner, he'll see too much opportunity to be terribly upset. He's familiar with time-travel and alternate universes, being that he created one. So the idea of a ship that flies through realities isn't that far fetched to him.
Not much will shock him due to his age but he will find different people and things interesting. He'll spend a lot of time learning about various aspects of the Barge both for curiosity and to learn how to better manipulate things in his favor. This will include being on his best behavior in public spaces.
He'll also try hide the fact he's an alien for as long as possible. Being in a new and strange place he'll want to be underestimated.
As for floods, they will catch him off guard at first. Once he understands how they work, he'll be more annoyed by them than anything. He'll view them as unhelpful obstacles. His goal will be getting off the Barge or gaining power on it.
Path to Redemption:
The easiest in-roads to change for him is his adaptability. If he can be convinced he needs to adapt in the first place. He generally doesn't think he needs to change unless he sees a benefit in it for him.
The biggest issue that needs to be addressed is his lack of remorse over lives he's taken. He's not incapable of feeling remorse he's just so entrenched in the idea that remorse is a weakness. So even when he feels remorse, he pushes it down and out of mind. With that, he simply doesn't see what did as wrong because while horrible, it served a purpose.
Getting him to admit to liking humanity, will be a big step. He hasn't quite realized he prefers the company of humans over his own kind and he has to learn that is okay.
Something that will aid in change is appealing to his ego. He likes being adored and recognized for his accomplishments and if he's recognized for the times he has legitimately done something good; he'll start to warm up to the idea of changing. Positive feedback will be an extremely effective tool but at the same time, he will attempt to take advantage of it for personal gain.
One advantage in dealing with Ba'al is he rarely does anything without a reason. This includes violence. What this means is a warden can get a good idea what's going on in his head by examining his actions.
The most difficult thing a warden will face is his pension for deception. He'll need a warden who can read between the lines. Ideally it will be someone who can match wits with him and see through his defenses. But a good stubborn warden would work too.
But the key to success is letting him come around to change at his own pace. He will not respond well otherwise.
Deal: N/A
History: http://stargate.wikia.com/wiki/Ba%27al
Sample Journal Entry: http://tlvgreatesthitsdw.dreamwidth.org/64517.html?thread=10249221#cmt10249221
Sample RP: [3-5 paragraphs, 3rd Person POV. Must be Barge setting specific.]
It's not the first time he's died only to find himself alive once again but it is the first time he's been absolutely certain his revival shouldn't have been possible. At least, not possible with any of the methods known to him. He doesn't feel the familiar warmth left in the wake of using a Sarcophagus and it is surprisingly unsettling.
Where he awakens is likewise unsettling. It's a bedroom he recognizes from his time on Earth. Almost a perfect reproduction, it has to be a reproduction, he thinks, because it was destroyed. The clothes in the closet are even his old clothes and they still fit perfectly.
Most odd.
The lack of weapons in the room is not lost on him. He searches the room, finding the differences from the original more unsettling than the otherwise perfect reproduction.
Thinking it through, he concludes, he's been brought here for a purpose and whoever orchestrated it rather wisely removed all forms of weapons. He briefly considers this the work of another Goa'uld but dismisses that quickly. No, Qetesh got what she wanted of him and would not release his body willingly.
The Asgard, perhaps?
He glances around the room once more. No, they would not cage him in this manner. Nor would the people of Earth, at least, not in the timeline he was in when he died.
So, a new foe would be the cause of this.
All right then, he'll play along. He changes his clothes to far more human attire. It feels completely wrong not to have some hidden weapon on him somewhere but he pushes that aside. Best not to appear bothered by any of it.
With a sigh, he opens the door and steps out into the Barge.
Special Notes:
User DW: calamityjo
AIM/IM: jocalamansi
E-mail: jocalamansi@gmail.com
Other Characters: nick cutter, arkin o'brien
Character Name: Ba'al
Series: Stargate SG-1 + Stargate: Continuum
Age: Unknown. The human host appears to be in his 40s but is likely a few hundred years old at this point. Ba'al himself is anywhere from 3,000-9,000 years old.
From When?: From the events of Stargate: Continuum where he was cut in half by Qetesh.
Inmate/Warden: Inmate. Oh, such an inmate. He's responsible for billions of deaths, destruction of worlds and feels no remorse for it. They were all a means to a end. He sees nothing wrong in torturing and killing. He's done horrific things over thousands of years to gain power and empire.
Item: n/a
Abilities/Powers:
Ba'al released Naquadah(super conductive substance) into the host's blood stream. I don't think it'll come up but the Naquadah is used to control Goa'uld technology. But it's very unlikely he'll ever have any of it on board.
It goes without saying, that as a biological fact, he can enter a human host and control their minds. It's unlikely he'll leave his own host but the possibility is there. I'd guess that something about the Barge will make it difficult for him to take on another host and keep them. Much like how the rules for vampires and werewolves work.
Goa'uld come with healing powers, making them more durable. The show is really sketchy on the extent of these powers, shown to be strong enough to eliminate cancer, regenerate flesh wounds and withstand radiation to a certain point but at the same time they sometimes show Goa'uld dying from being shot multiple times, so who knows? Additionally, the healing powers comes at a cost to the Goa'uld symbiote. The more severe the wound the more energy it takes them to heal it and it is possible for the symbiote to die in their efforts to heal their hosts.
It comes with the healing, but they give their host increased strength. It's not Superman levels but it's enough to lift a full grown man off the ground with one arm. Naturally, I expect that he'll lose this ability on the Barge.
Now for the two silliest powers: he can make his eyes glow and make his voice go super bass. These are entirely harmless abilities he doesn't use too much anyway.
Lastly, his intelligence is exceptional. Goa'uld have genetic memory so he has the knowledge of the Queen that spawned him and so on, of only the material line. Then on top of that he's a brilliant tactician, holds a keen understanding of the motivations of others and is always, always planning.
Personality:
Before I delve to far into his personality, it's necessary to address the relationship between Goa'uld and host. There is no canon information on Ba'al's host, not even his real name but Ba'al seems to have some sort of affinity for him. The reason I say that is when Ba'al cloned himself, he cloned his host as well. Even if that affinity may be as shallow as liking his physical appearance.
As for the host, as I said, there is no canon information but I can surmise that he may have been a willing host. I base this on one of Ba'al's human slaves(lo'taur) referring to possibility implantation with a goa'uld symbiote as being a great honor and pleasure. Whatever the case, he's been Ba'al's host for at least 200 years and at most one thousand. With other goa'uld in canon, it's been shown that symbiote and host personalities have a way of rubbing off on each other. So the longer the two are blended the more likely they'll retain memories and personality of the other. That being said, if Ba'al were to be removed from his host, his host will likely have gained similar personality traits as Ba'al. That's if Ba'al didn't lock his host's conscious away and cut him off completely but I find that unlikely considering the positive light his slave viewed implantation as.
Now on to Ba'al himself. He's hardly the typical Goa'uld and has proven to be more adaptable than most. He is also one of the few that acknowledges he's not really a god and almost treats it as a joke when he's around others who are aware of what he is.
Ba'al started out, thousands of years ago, just like many other Goa'uld. He held similar views toward humanity as them being a resource rather than individuals. The Goa'uld social structure is very primal at its heart, only the strongest can be on top until a new challenger knocks them down. Showing weakness is an invitation to be destroyed or made subservient. In order to survive, Ba'al learned to work the system and take more indirect routes to power such as pitting his enemies against each other or his most well known tactic: gifts. He'll put on the show of becoming subservient only to have his gifts and tributes be rigged with massive explosives.
"Do not accept gifts from Ba'al.” - “They have a habit of exploding, especially when he feels he has been slighted. He wiped out the inhabitants of two star systems, sixty million lives, rather than lose them to Sokar in a territorial dispute.”
Which brings me to his possessive nature, it's something shared among Goa'uld, but his drive seems particularity strong. As he gained more contact with modern Earth, he began to feel a renewed interest in humanity. When he had to hide on Earth from his enemies he quickly took to Capitalism becoming a businessman(and head of an areo-space company) under a human alias. He later said modern Earth “has it's charms.” He apparently liked it a lot more than he let on. As later on, when he messed with the time-line in order to gain control of the entire Goa'uld empire, he returned to Earth. Instead of simply destroying it, he laid claim to it. Telling Earth governments that they can continue as they are but he would be in final control of the planet.
It's here that Ba'al truly splits from other Goa'uld. His plan to keep Earth as it is but under his control was thwarted by other Goa'uld. They thought Ba'al was both insane and weak for his tactics. This led to his death at the hands of his Queen, Qetesh.
So, let's go back, Ba'al's greatest strength and downfall is his ability to adapt and take advantage of a situation for his own needs. During the original timeline, when the rest of the Goa'uld had fallen, he remained. During that time he gradually stopped using his Goa'uld voice and presented a very human appearance. This may have been a ploy to make himself more relatable but it's more likely he felt he didn't need it. He had no Goa'uld competition to deal with. It's during that time that more and more of his personality shows through. He's shown to be cunning and someone who enjoys an intellectual challenge. Even in times where he loses, at least in the case of humans from Earth, he takes it with surprising good humor.
He has the ability recognize universal threats and then work with enemies for mutual survival. In fact, he even seems to enjoy the times he's worked with humanity toward a common goal on more than one occasion. Even before his reintroduction to Earth, he acted as a first among equals(directing the proceedings) at a Goa'uld System Lord summit, where they discussed universal threats and whether it was worthy to work together on. He also showed that he is very much of the mind of keeping your enemies close, as he voted for the return of Anubis as a System Lord, despite Anubis being only Goa'uld to be kicked out of their ranks for being too destructive. Ba'al later worked for Anubis as a method to gain further power but he worked behind his back... finding a more logical way to defeat a common threat with less damage. He turned completely on Anubis shortly after and lent his help to Earth to stop Anubis.
Additionally, Ba'al has a very large ego. He's very eager to take credit for things he's done, to the point of interjecting with comments about how he was instrumental in the defeat of Anubis or that a certain technology was his creation.
Now to the heart of who Ba'al is. With the nature of Goa'uld society, he longs for recognition and feeling important but at the same time he hides those desires as they could be considered weaknesses. He's also incredibly lonely. When he was one of the last surviving Goa'uld he took to cloning himself. In part, to get more done, but also to have company of his own kind. The problem of that is he's changed so much from his own kind, none of them truly share his views. He hoped to relieve his loneliness by changing the timeline to suit him but this backfired. Other Goa'uld simply could understand him and thought he lost his mind.
Ba'al's outside appearance is carefully crafted, to present a confident exterior even when things aren't going his way. For example, when Teal'c told Ba'al he knew Ba'al was frightened, Ba'al tried to shrug it off as nonsense. He's someone who feels safest in control and is shown desperately trying to regain power, even just a little, even through waves of compromise, just so he can feel secure in his place.
He wants to survive, and when it comes down to it, he'll do anything to ensure that he will. To ensure that he will have power so no one can take advantage of him or make him subservient to them.
Which brings me back to his affinity for Earth. He saw how allowing people freedom was not only useful but an ideal way to gain his own security. He saw that if you could get people to willingly follow or submit to rule, your spot was more secure. All you had to do was keep supporters happy and survival was ensured.
Now, all of this almost makes him sound like a good guy. He certainly would like to pretend that he is. But the reality is, under all that is brutality. He has killed millions. He's tortured people to death just to revive them and do it again. Working millions to death in mines. It has all been in the goal of securing his own place in universe. His own insecurities have led him to mercilessly commit atrocities under the urge to protect what he believes is his.
Barge Reactions:
Ba'al will react favorably to the Barge. While he won't be particularly happy to be a prisoner, he'll see too much opportunity to be terribly upset. He's familiar with time-travel and alternate universes, being that he created one. So the idea of a ship that flies through realities isn't that far fetched to him.
Not much will shock him due to his age but he will find different people and things interesting. He'll spend a lot of time learning about various aspects of the Barge both for curiosity and to learn how to better manipulate things in his favor. This will include being on his best behavior in public spaces.
He'll also try hide the fact he's an alien for as long as possible. Being in a new and strange place he'll want to be underestimated.
As for floods, they will catch him off guard at first. Once he understands how they work, he'll be more annoyed by them than anything. He'll view them as unhelpful obstacles. His goal will be getting off the Barge or gaining power on it.
Path to Redemption:
The easiest in-roads to change for him is his adaptability. If he can be convinced he needs to adapt in the first place. He generally doesn't think he needs to change unless he sees a benefit in it for him.
The biggest issue that needs to be addressed is his lack of remorse over lives he's taken. He's not incapable of feeling remorse he's just so entrenched in the idea that remorse is a weakness. So even when he feels remorse, he pushes it down and out of mind. With that, he simply doesn't see what did as wrong because while horrible, it served a purpose.
Getting him to admit to liking humanity, will be a big step. He hasn't quite realized he prefers the company of humans over his own kind and he has to learn that is okay.
Something that will aid in change is appealing to his ego. He likes being adored and recognized for his accomplishments and if he's recognized for the times he has legitimately done something good; he'll start to warm up to the idea of changing. Positive feedback will be an extremely effective tool but at the same time, he will attempt to take advantage of it for personal gain.
One advantage in dealing with Ba'al is he rarely does anything without a reason. This includes violence. What this means is a warden can get a good idea what's going on in his head by examining his actions.
The most difficult thing a warden will face is his pension for deception. He'll need a warden who can read between the lines. Ideally it will be someone who can match wits with him and see through his defenses. But a good stubborn warden would work too.
But the key to success is letting him come around to change at his own pace. He will not respond well otherwise.
Deal: N/A
History: http://stargate.wikia.com/wiki/Ba%27al
Sample Journal Entry: http://tlvgreatesthitsdw.dreamwidth.org/64517.html?thread=10249221#cmt10249221
Sample RP: [3-5 paragraphs, 3rd Person POV. Must be Barge setting specific.]
It's not the first time he's died only to find himself alive once again but it is the first time he's been absolutely certain his revival shouldn't have been possible. At least, not possible with any of the methods known to him. He doesn't feel the familiar warmth left in the wake of using a Sarcophagus and it is surprisingly unsettling.
Where he awakens is likewise unsettling. It's a bedroom he recognizes from his time on Earth. Almost a perfect reproduction, it has to be a reproduction, he thinks, because it was destroyed. The clothes in the closet are even his old clothes and they still fit perfectly.
Most odd.
The lack of weapons in the room is not lost on him. He searches the room, finding the differences from the original more unsettling than the otherwise perfect reproduction.
Thinking it through, he concludes, he's been brought here for a purpose and whoever orchestrated it rather wisely removed all forms of weapons. He briefly considers this the work of another Goa'uld but dismisses that quickly. No, Qetesh got what she wanted of him and would not release his body willingly.
The Asgard, perhaps?
He glances around the room once more. No, they would not cage him in this manner. Nor would the people of Earth, at least, not in the timeline he was in when he died.
So, a new foe would be the cause of this.
All right then, he'll play along. He changes his clothes to far more human attire. It feels completely wrong not to have some hidden weapon on him somewhere but he pushes that aside. Best not to appear bothered by any of it.
With a sigh, he opens the door and steps out into the Barge.
Special Notes:
