Chaka was born in February 1992 as Anthony 'Tony' Marc Chandler.[1] After her Exemplar-induced gender change she switched her name to Antonia, or more commonly, Toni. The only member of Team Kimba that was actively excited about her gender change, she is likely destined to become the Soke-no-Do, the founder of the most perfect martial arts possible for humans.[2] The Monkey King even addressed her as such, and some teachers such as Ito-sensei hope that she's up to the challenge.
Appearance[]
Like her namesake, gives the impression of a leopard. Skin tone is “dark chocolate”. Sleek and lithe, but undeniably feminine, with a 32B bust, 20” waist, and about 32” at hips. Long graceful legs, small hands with long graceful fingers and well manicured nails. She usually wears her hair in a mini afro.
She is 5'5, as said by a post-experiment Phase.[3]
- Toni was a lithe 5’5”. And I was now the same height as Toni. In one night, I had grown taller than Lily and Billie and Nikki. That had to mean that I was now nearly as tall as Jinn and Hank. I was no longer second-shortest on the team. I was now tied for third-tallest.
History[]
When she was nine, she had a watershed moment during the Gloria Conrack affair, when she saw Right Reverend Doctor Gabriel Thorne, using the affair to make "affluent White folks feel guilty about being White, and affluent Black people guilty about being affluent." to "hit them up for Guilt Money".
- ‘Cause, y’see, I’d seen my brother Vince-who, by the way, is an idiot who makes your damn fool kid brother look like King Solomon! - pulling exactly the same stuff! It was all ‘I say that you’re a loser, and you have to do as _I_ say, or you’ll STAY a loser’! People do this All The Time! They set themselves up as your betters, and make you jump through hoops to get their approval. My brother Vince, Reverend Gabe, this yoyo Montana - they all want to make everything wrong YOUR FAULT. But y’see, the thing is, you can never be good enough for them. Not ever. ‘Cause if you somehow prove that you ARE good enough, in any way, then they lose their hold over you. As long as they can make you feel bad about something, about being White or Black, about being rich or poor, about being pretty or not being pretty, about being strong or weak, or not cool enough or whatever, then they can make you do what they want. Whether they want you to buy something, or vote the way that they want, or live in a certain area, or even if they just want you to look at them like they’re the cool one and you’re not, it’s all the same. As long as you keep doing what they want you to do, then they’ll keep making you feel bad, so that you’ll keep doin’ it."[4]
Powers[]
Energizer 1/Wizard 2 (Ki)[]
Toni has the Energizer ability to tap into the Earth’s geomagnetic field and use that power to augment her Ki as well as having the ability to manipulate her natural Ki to achieve various effects, including but not limited to the ability to leap great distances, run at speeds up to 50 mph for short distances (her ‘cruising speed’ is about 35 mph), have remarkable accuracy with thrown objects, and focus Ki into her hands for remarkably powerful punches and strikes (she can adjust these strikes so that she can do things like penetrate armor, strike intangible targets, knock people back further than normal, or execute rapid-fire attacks). With some preparation, she can emit a powerful ‘roar’ (a variation on the ‘Kiai’ ability practiced in the Far East) that can do physical damage at a range, and often has an overwhelming psychological effect. Toni can also affect the flow of Ki in others by touch, but doesn’t yet have the skill to achieve complex effects. Still, if she has the chance to analyze the flow of Ki in an opponent, she can temporarily paralyze a limb with a touch. The ease with which she achieves a remarkable range of effects with Ki manipulation puts her beyond the mere Energizer trait and into the Wizard classification. The ability to see the flow of Ki in others also means that she can usually learn, copy and adapt a complex Ki discipline from seeing it used just once.
Exemplar 2[]
As a level 2 Exemplar, Toni is at the upper reaches of human physical and mental ability, and is able to use her Ki to energize her physique up to Level 3 for short periods. This gives her enhanced learning capability, both mentally and physically, as well as increased strength, speed and agility with comparatively little effort, though still not above what a baseline can achieve with sufficient training. Like many ‘Exemplars’, Chaka has a grab-bag of talents that are a result of her heightened integration of body and mind. She has an uncanny sense of the passage of time, her short-term memory is remarkable, she is very aware of encroaching danger, she can manage multiple targets at once, she can memorize things with ease, she can manage numbers in her head, and she can read at phenomenal speeds, she is ambidextrous and she has an innate sense of North. Her BIT also acts to transform her into her 'ideal form', which in Toni's case happened to be that of a lithe, attractive member of the opposite gender. These traits, associated with her Ki affinity, give her an incredible control of her body and the ability to learn in very short time complex physical disciplines that ordinarily take years to master.
Faux Regenerator[]
Through a combination of her Exemplar state and the careful manipulation of her own Ki, Chaka is able to speed up the regeneration of non-amputative wounds, healing from major bruising in a couple of days and broken bones within a few weeks.
Other[]
Toni has the ability to sense the flow of Ki in others and in the world around her, related to her Wiz ability and baseline martial arts training. By paying attention, Toni can make several guesses about a person, including their emotional state, their emotions in regards to others, and she can make an educated guess as to whether or not the person is lying.
Skills[]
With her Ki skills, Toni is a natural martial artist wizard. She unconsciously uses her skills regarding nearly anything that involves movement, whether twirling chairs on a finger or swinging like a monkey while studying. However, although she can perform feats that would drive martial artist masters insane with jealousy, she has to learn "backwards" from those feats to basic martial artist forms.
One of her notable Ki skills is her ability to close off her brow chakra to block mental psychic attacks (not exactly a mutant power, since this is a Ki technique).
Aided with her Ki, she can improvise a weapon out of practically anything, whether for melee or ranged attacks. Her aim is phenomenal—she can shelve a book from the other side of the room, and her practice "dartboard" is about the size of a coin.
She is a brilliant tactician, which has been demonstrated repeatedly. However, she can tend to lose sight of the big picture, in her eagerness to "get on with the show."
Holdouts[]
Mithril gear[]
Through various escapades involving Silver, Chaka has amassed a nice collection of mithril equipment, including:
- Bracelet, which entranced Fey at first sight. It also affected Carmilla, but not for the same reason (She wanted to eat it). Both learned to control their impulses, though.[5]
- Ring, which she gave to Jade, as it was now too small for her.[5]
- Kukri, Perfectly formed by sheerest chance when Silver plunged a blade of mithril into the back of the Arch-Fiend, handle shaped as it was wrenched away, freed when Chaka broke the bonds it had forged with his blood with a dose of ki.[6]
Bow[]
She has a collapsible bow that Fey stores for her.
Manriki-gusari[]
This is a chain with a weight on either end. She used it in Reflections in an Evil Eye.
Throwing stuff[]
She's got a lot of different things she can throw, from shuriken to decks of cards to sewing needles, and she's varying them all the time. She's amazingly accurate.
Power Glove[]
A glove given to her by Bladedancer for Christmas 2007 which increases the power of her punches by four times, twice in any one day. She has to use a key phrase to trigger it. The one she chose is "It's Clobbering Time!"[7]
Personality[]
Bek conceptualized Toni as being ‘The Anti-Angst Girl’. She occasionally comes across as insensitive or superficial (and well, she’s only 14!), but actually it’s a philosophical stance. She genuinely believes that the vast majority of the world’s pain comes from people either creating problems out of nothing or foisting their own pain and fear off on others, and she ain’t buying into it. She’s one of the lucky ones, she knows it, and she’ll be damned if she feels guilty about it! She has a lot of experience in dealing with mind-fuck artists, and is very good at not letting them get to her. BUT, she doesn’t have a cast iron ego- she can be hurt. Even so, she’s gonna rub a lot of people the wrong way.
She loves fighting — to her, it's not about defeating enemies, is about the challenge. The more formidable the challenge, even if dangerously so, the more fascinating. When trouble is around the corner, she may be the only Team Kimba member that is never-without-fail eagerly anticipating it.
She's also quite the fast-talking wise-ass, but she can't beat the fortune cookie-ness of Bladedancer.
Weaknesses[]
Her mouth. She tends to get way too many enemies this way (like Tempest). Her insensitivity at times also doesn't help, like pissing off Riptide by getting a boyfriend. She also can't eat any processed sugar, or she becomes extremely hyper—and chocolate makes her horny.
Classes[]
Fall 2006[]
- Powers Theory Second Period[5]
- Tennis Third Period[5][8]
- Introduction to Basic Mystic Concepts Fourth Period[5]
- Introduction to Criminology and Police Procedures Fifth Period,[5] Third Period[1]
- Basic Martial Arts First Period[1] Free afterwards for scrubbing the dojo floors.[4] Sixth Period[9][10]
- Freshman English[4][11] Sixth Period[5]
- Spanish I Thursday Second Period on Thursday, September 07, 2006 [12]
- Kendo[13]
- Math[4]
Winter 2007[]
- Team Tactics I First & Second Periods[14]
- Dyffud Harraz' tutoring, Fourth Period[15]
- Special Topics - Martial Arts Sixth Period[14]
Spring 2007[]
Story Appearances[]
There are lots of story appearances that aren't here. Chaka is one busy lady!
Chaka spars against Phase in Martial Arts. Surprisingly, Phase manages to hold her own, at least to an extent.[17]
Associations[]
Whateley[]
- Class of 2010
Residence[]
- Poe Cottage (room 215)[18]
- Roommate: Fey
- Baltimore, Maryland, USA (see family)
Group Affiliations[]
- Team Kimba
- Boston PD SWAT (Deputized auxiliary)
Romantic Relationships[]
Personal Enemies[]
- Tempest: it's more "Tempest hates Chaka" than vice versa
- Don Sebastiano: although he's an enemy of all of Team Kimba, the Don hates Chaka the most
Family[]
- Main article: Chandler family
Chaka comes from a large family. Both parents work at good careers, but with five children, money is still tight.
- Joel: father
- Valerie: mother
- Cindy: older sister, little miss perfect
- Vincent: older brother, gangsta wannabe. Chaka has gotten a severe distaste for hip-hop and gangsta rap from him.
- Lucy: younger sister, 12 years old at time of story start.
- Matt: younger brother, 9 years old at time of story start.
- Evadne: grandmother, took part in the Selma March back during the Civil Rights movement.
- Carlton Morris Chandler: paternal uncle.
Codename[]
"Chaka" means "leopard" in the Maasai language. On the first day Toni got to campus, Riptide suggested the name.
- The one source I could find gives Olowaru keri for leopard in Maa.
Generation 2[]
By Summer of 2016, Toni Chandler is a world-renowned martial arts master, having 9th and 10th Dan rankings in some unspecified disciplines, and apparently a website where she talks about martial arts and awakening one's Ki.[19]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Reflections in an Evil Eye
- ↑ Tea and Synergy
- ↑ Ayla and the Mad Scientist: Chapter 22 - Les Trois Mousquetaires
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Chaka - Duel Damsel
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Toni and the Tiger
- ↑ The Boston Brawl II - This Time It's Personal!
- ↑ Have Yourself a Monkey Little Christmas - Or - The Uncanny X-Mas
- ↑ Ayla and the Birthday Brawl: Chapter 7 - The Legend of Mutability, or of Change
- ↑ Jade 3 - Being a Girl
- ↑ Ayla and the Tests: Chapter 1 - The Lernean Hydra
- ↑ The Turks or the Geek
- ↑ Ayla and the New School
- ↑ The Clue of the Unseen Switch
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Ayla and the Great Shoulder Angel Conspiracy: Chapter 1 - Ishim
- ↑ Five Elements Dancing: Book of the Water
- ↑ Ayla and the Mad Scientist: Chapter 2 - L'Etranger
- ↑ Ayla and the Birthday Brawl: Chapter 9 - The Legend of Arthur, or of Magnificence
- ↑ Tennyo: It's Nice to Have Friends
- ↑ The Road to Whateley: Part 1