Dawn of a New Age: Oldport Blues - Signup Thread

Bump, as we're now open to new players.

With the good graces of the wonderful GM, I am back for more! And don't worry, I'm gonna be like glue this time.

• Name: Rhys Sinclair
  • Do you like your name? "It feels pretentious to me. 'Rhys' instead of 'Reese'. I guess I hate it if only because I'm sick of people asking how it's pronounced."
• Age: 16
  • What do you wanna be when you grow up? "Writer for the New York Times. I would say manager, but I'm not one for sitting behind a desk."
• Appearance: 5'7" tall.◊ Tends to wear layers.◊
  • Do you have a crush or are you not even thinking about these things yet? "No, I'm not. Highschool romances never work."
• Personality: Rhys thinks he's better than you. You wouldn't know it from him, though. An incredibly quiet and withdrawn kid for years, hardly any of his classmates heard him say anything outside of answering questions. He judges everyone around him in perpetual silence, not caring to try and connect, make friends, have small talk - really, he's not one for any sort of interaction. This is, of course, because he thinks he's better than everyone. Taking in so much awfulness of the world around him from a young age, Rhys lacks any hope for people to be able to do the right thing, and holds the belief that he's the only person who can do "right". He's rarely done much to prove otherwise, his few achievements inflated in his head into proof. But his moral compass is in line, so he can't be that bad, can he?
  • It's Saturday night and your parents are out of town. What do you do? "Nothing I don't already do. Writing practice, blogging, late night television."
• Backstory: Son to one of Oldport's finest defense lawyers, Rhys' childhood was was filled with legal jargon and high expectations. His parents, as any good parents should, wanted him to succeed in life, and essentially had plans for him to follow in his father's footsteps as a lawyer from the moment Rhys took his first step. He was interested in law for a while, enthusiastic in the idea of being an attorney up until middle school, where he realized his passion for writing. The resulting clash in identity, what his parents wanted vs what he wanted, mixed with the general discomfort that came with the adolescent-laden hellscape that is grades 5-8 (and the constant stories of his father's work) disillusioned Rhys to the world around him. The rest of his school life was friendless and devoid of social activities. His newfound gift for writing didn't help, deepening his distance from everyone else as he dug his nose into books and papers. Come high school, Rhys was officially an outcast, looking out and never within. He joined the newspaper club the moment it was opened, and while the entire school soon knew his name, nobody knew him. Not that he minded.
  • What do your parents do for a living? Do you live with both of them? "You know my dad, Matthew Sinclair. His face is on every bench in Main Street. My mom's a stay-at-home, never really knew why."
• Powers: Notepad. Rhys has the power to turn anything he writes into a reality. Specifically, he can manifest things from what he writes on his skin. It's a two-step process: Rhys has to Prime the word by writing it down before he can Trigger it at any point by then saying the word aloud. The effect the word produces is dependent on Rhys; for example, creating a SWORD could mean that he summons one, or that the part of his body he wrote SWORD on turns into one. The size of the word also changes its effectiveness, with larger words being stronger (or bigger in some cases) than smaller ones. ^note Perhaps as he gains experience with his powers, Rhys is able to form words on other surfaces then himself, as well as being able to trigger them without being vocal.
  • What kind of music do you listen to? "Podcasts."

Accepted.

Now that I've sorted out my RPs, I'm considering joining this again at some point if there's room. Hopefully with a character I can better stick with.

bork

Always open, people! We're coming up on a good jumping on point too.

Edited by Enirboreh on Jun 16th 2019 at 12:00:17 PM

bork

Cleaned up player list. If you're interested, feel free to sign up.

Hi folks! We've added a recap to the main page and are super open to new players.

This is the absolute perfect time to join if you're looking for superpowered kids dealing with superpowered troubles and an emphasis on characters and relationships!

Attempt 5,458 or whatever. AKA my attempted embodiment of ^-^

---

• Name: Izzy Emerson
  • Do you like your name?
    • “Mhm! It's got a good ring to it! It's kinda stylish, actually...”
• Age: 17
  • What do you wanna be when you grow up?
    • “Hmm... some kind of counselor, maybe? Ooh, maybe a PI... nah, that could go wrong... agh, I dunno! Still thinking about all that stuff! Probably something to do with lots of people, though...”
• Appearance: 5'8"◊. Lanky build, mostly casual dress sense. Seems to emanate a nigh-perpetual sunny aura, which contrasts with her otherwise average appearance. Has a constant habit of smiling with her eyes squeezed shut, and a penchant for wearing cheap yet colourful plastic bangles and other such jewelry.
  • Do you have a crush or are you not even thinking about these things yet?
    • “Ooh, uhhh... no, not really! Not anyone... yet, I don't think. We'll see! I'm not really bothered anyways... I have a lot of other stuff I wanna do, so...!”
• Personality: Izzy presents herself as being as sunny and energetic as possible, with her ultimate goal being to make everyone she meets feel just that teensy little bit better about everything going horrendously wrong around them. Though insistent in her efforts to put people in a good mood, she's by no means unintelligent in any regard—and recognizes when to back down and shift herself into a more caring and empathetic gear instead. Izzy seems to have a remarkable mastery over her own emotions for her age, and actively harnesses it for the benefit of other people—especially her classmates, given their own unique circumstances compared to hers. Even so, once she's hit her breaking point she doesn't seem to know how to deal with it—often hiding herself away in shame out of fear of depressing or concerning the very people she's trying to make happy. With her powers further bolstering this more negative tendency to wear her heart on her sleeve, it can make her tremendously frightening when angered—and due to her determination to make things right she rarely lets up until the person she is focused on relents in whatever way she wants them to. In some regards she can be perceived as manipulative, but this is by no means intentional on her part—more of a potent fear of losing control of the situation and becoming unable to help people.
  • It's Saturday night and your parents are out of town. What do you do?
    • “Ooh! Uhhh... oh crap, I hadn't thought of anyth– oh right! I'd probably get some of the guys over; hang out and stuff! Or I'd go out for a walk someplace... ooh, especially at night– oh right. Yeah. Party, probably.”
• Backstory: Constantly having moved from state to state and city to city has ended up making the few odd friendships Izzy has made over the years mostly long-distance, but now that her family seem to be mostly settled in Oldport she's more than ready to take the place and its people by storm. Growing up in a religious household taught her a variety of principles to live by, and while she's mostly foregone (read: forgotten) most of the other stuff the basic instructions to be loving and righteous have managed to stick with her. Though always having been open and empathetic towards others, the empowerment event ended up making these traits of her even more obvious—to the point where they're effectively made mandatory in the supernatural sense. Even though she's confused and severely upset by the chaotic events that followed shortly after this initial occurrence, Izzy has elected to make a firm pact not to make her newfound ‘quirks’ obstructive to her own personal goals—namely in assisting other people in their daily walks of life and instead actively harnessing her abilities to further help her ends. And though distraught over the apparent deaths of several students, Izzy isn't about to let it stop her from acting as what she feels to be a necessary support—her own horror over the situation be damned if it means helping everyone else cope.
  • What do your parents do for a living? Do you live with both of them?
    • “Yup! Dad's a painter, Mom's a nurse. Both are around, just... well, obviously when they're not at work, but... yeah. I mean, I ain't going anywhere...!”
• Powers:
  • Empathic Aura: In an encompassing area ranging from 2-7 metres (depending on the intensity) Izzy can effectively ‘project’ emotions she's feeling out into the open, which can affect the general ‘mood’ of an area if not the mood of those around her. Though easily resistable to those who refuse to be influenced, Izzy's aura can regardless be felt at nearly all times as a warm buzzing over people's entire forms—and at its highest intensities it can practically be tasted by those standing next to her. Izzy can pick and choose specific emotions she's feeling at to draw out into her aura, however the most prevalent within her are obviously going to be the strongest—and it all falls apart if she's not feeling the emotion she wants at all. While Izzy primarily uses this power to project an encouraging and sunny feeling of happiness into her general area, her aura can quickly grow sour if she ends up becoming overwhelmed with negative emotions—with her sadness putting an active dampener on the general atmosphere, her fear promoting potent unease, and her anger causing her aura to flare into a horrific and animalistic projection of rage. Though she can sometimes suppress it, Izzy's habitual tendency to express often makes this difficult for her to do so for long, and hidden emotions can end up ‘leaking’ anyway if she tries keeping them locked up for too long.
  • What kind of music do you listen to?
    • “Hmm... feel-good stuff, hip hop... you know, like that lo-fi stuff, that's cool... uhhh, punk, I like punk... lots of modern stuff, y'know? I mean, classic stuff's nice too, but... c'mon.”

Edited by Enirboreh on Apr 26th 2020 at 5:08:29 PM

bork

• Name: Michael Babayev
  • Do you like your name? "Dunno. My folks said I was named after my dad's grandpa, uvo's dad, Russian guy who moved up there in the thirties for the mining. Toughest old bastard he ever met, he said. So yeah, I guess I kinda do. Got some history to it, you know?"
• Age: 18; born September the 23rd.
  • What do you wanna be when you grow up? "A boxer. I wanna go pro."
• Appearance: Broad-shouldered and well-muscled - built by fortunate genetics and relentless excercise into a brick shithouse. Keeps his hair cropped short and maintains a beard which is, while unfortunately pubic, very well-kept. Strong chin, round cheeks, whispy moustache.
  • Do you have a crush or are you not even thinking about these things yet? "Nah. No time."
• Personality: Michael is responsible, mature, and in general projects the impression of a young man with his shit prematurely together - this is due to spending the last three years compressing it, prior to which it was absolutely everywhere. Privately he still sometimes struggles with lingering depression and anxiety, medicating the latter with a minor cannabis habit and the former with his real passion in life - boxing. Michael enjoys the thrill of combat and the endorphins of a fair-won contest, the cameradie of a friendly handshake between winner and loser, and above all idealizes his own particular path to self-improvement. In his mind boxing is the ladder by which he can escape the dead end he was born into, and help others like him do the same. Although he still wrestles with an unclear cultural identity and maintains a casual interest in the histories of Russia and Mongolia, he's largely found peace in the fact its a tension he's under no obligation to resolve.
  • It's Saturday night and your parents are out of town. What do you do? "Mine... aren't, and if they are I'm in a checkout until seven thirty, but whatever. I get a teenth and take the night off, I guess. Heh. Netflix and chill."
• Backstory: Michael was born to Mongolian immigrants who hoped to start a new life in America following the slow, peaceful death of the People's Republic over the course of 1990. This dream did not survive contact with reality. The family business, such as it is, consists of two parts; a small supermarket in Oldport's anemic Chinatown, and payments to the local protection racket. As the eldest of three siblings, Michael stands to inherit both.
  • Michael was pulled out of high school early into his enrollment to help out, freeing up his mother's time to care for his increasingly-senile grandfather. Like most American dreamers of nonexistent means, Michael fell into a heady mixture of depression and rebellious nihilism, and with them several wrong crowds. His mid-teens were marked by petty burglaries, clumsy street fights, and adolescent vandalism.
  • At the age of fifteen he was caught breaking a window at the local community boxing gym by its owner, retired Japanese heavyweight Eiji Imouto. In return, Eiji broke his delusions of grandeur with a skillful feint and a devastating uppercut. Michael's parents agreed he'd work at the gym unpaid to help cover the damages, remuneration far beyond their means, and over the next few months he fell slowly and reluctantly in love with the sport. At the end of his informal sentence, Mr Imouto made him an offer; he'd continue to help him out part-time at the gym, and in return he'd allow him to train. Michael accepted on the spot.
  • What do your parents do for a living? Do you live with both of them? "We sell cabbages to Mr Cheung, mostly. Loves himself a cabbage. Other than that we sell keychains to white people and veggies to everyone else. I'm being an ass, sorry. They get by, I get fed. It's not too bad a deal."
• Powers:
  • And I Get a Little Bit Genghis Khangis: As far as he's been able to work out, Michael has the ability to act as a conduit for the memories and personality of notable members of his ancestral line. This process was not triggered willingly, and so far had yet to be reversed. As far as Kublai Khan, fifth Khagan of the Mongol Empire and founder of the Yuan Dynasty has been able to infer, he must have at some point sired a bastard in this boy's family tree.
  • Don't Want You to Get It Ongis: Kublai Khan is at once a neural but retrained and thoughtful man, capable over the course of his life of both punitive genocide and skilful displays of diplomatic pragmatism, wholesale butchery and delicate poetry. He possesses a bold charisma enhanced by a mercurial temperament, the sheer abiding strength of his belief in Genghis' inherited dream of a worldwide khanate, and his willingness to take counsel from those close to him. He is slow to anger, but unrelenting once roused, and holds treachery in contempt above all other crimes. He can remember when he was still Michael, and though much of the modern world remains strange and confusing he's been able to piece together the circumstances of his existence within it and narrowly a avoid total and paralyzing culture shock. Keenly remembering Michael's love for his family and approving of the boy's temperament, he's decided to impersonate him for the time being as he works out exactly what whim of heaven brought him to Oldport, of all places, and for what purpose.
  • With Nobody Else But Mingus (Ooh Ooh) Michael is a promising amateur boxer, an infighter with a strong chin and explosive right straight with an intuitive understanding of footwork. He lacks experience, however, and in a real fight is hampered by his reliance on technique and hesitance to really hurt someone.
  • Nobody Else But Mingus Kingus: Kublai Khan, as might be expected, is an expert horserider and experienced swordsman, archer, and wrestler. He is assisted immeasurably by the will and knowledge necessary to maim or kill without hesitation. He is also a skilled poet, persuasive orator, and noted tactician and strategist.

  • What kind of music do you listen to? "The echoing din of battle. The wind through the leaves of a weeping willow. The sweet voices of my concubines, the screaming of my enemies, and the cheers of my victorious armies. Begone. This song is mine."

Edited by OG-Sama on Apr 24th 2020 at 4:16:05 PM

May I reserve a spot? I should be free(er) to write starting tuesday

You may post your sheet whenever you're ready, I think.

Timers to measure time, thermometers to measure thermomets, mometers to measure mom, and measuring containers to measure measurements.

Darkness Awaits, feel free to post your sheet whenever. No need to reserve spots.

OG-Sama, you're accepted, with the changes we talked about in private.

Enirboreh, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to reject you on the basis of your powerset. You are essentially asking for the ability to no-sell emotions, and your character's personality indicates they will not stop until something goes their way. That, to me, is the prelude to many uninteresting and unfulfilling reactions.

Understood. Worth an attempt anyways.

bork

Declaring interest, may I reserve a spot?

Edited by JumpingFruit on Apr 27th 2020 at 9:04:56 AM

I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.

No need for reservations, JF, just post yer signup whenever. We'll be glad to have you.

What Lizard said.

• Name: Wilmarina "Mina" Printer
  • Do you like your name?: "It—it certainly is very long—I mean, pretty. Y-yes."
• Age: 15
  • What do you wanna be when you grow up?: "I-I haven't given these things much thought. Something to do with books, most likely..."
• Appearance: Wilmarina is a short and stocky girl who wears rectangular wire-rimmed glasses. She has amber eyes and waist-length hair, which she gathers into two low pigtails, but her bangs still cover her eyes most of the time. She usually wears extremely loose, mundane-looking school uniform outfits from previous private schools she's attended and an extremely jarring pair of practical-looking leather boots. The boots just do not jive with her nerdy schoolgirl shtick.
  • Do you have a crush or are you not even thinking about these things yet?: "Absolutely not. Don't ask me again!"
• Personality: Quiet and reserved, probably because she feels more like listening than speaking. On the rare occasion that she speaks, it's in a stuttering murmur. However, she has a kind disposition wrapped under all that shyness, and will often try to help people when they're not looking. She has come to care very deeply for Huginn & Muninn and will get very angry if they're hurt. She has a reputation as being a doormat, but that is changing quickly.
  • It's Saturday night and your parents are out of town. What do you do?: "C-curl up by the fireplace, get some snacks, read a book or watch a swashbuckler movie, I s-suppose... Or just nap 'til they get back..."
• Backstory: Wilmarina has always been a shy, stuttering girl with a love of books, but she liked attending public school until her parents came into some fortune and sent her to various private schools trying to give her a better education. Eventually, they caved to her pleas to put her back in public school, and moved to Oldport. The first few months went fine and dandy, but then came the debacle with the bomb threat, where Wilmarina was a powerless bystander. Now that she's discovered her own powers, she plans to swallow her own fears and find out the truth about the situation, since what was reported on the news was so blatantly wrong compared to what she witnessed on that fateful day.
  • What do your parents do for a living? Do you live with both of them?: "They're librarians, and I live with them in a c-cozy little townhouse. I r-really love my parents. They honestly do their best to provide for me. I volunteer a l-lot for charity at their request too... Never mind. I-I'm rambling..."
• Powers:
  • Huginn & Muninn: Wilmarina can turn her eyes into a pair of odd creatures, in addition to having the ability to rotate her eyes 360 degrees in every direction inside her eye sockets. They look just like her eyes, each bearing a pair of large crow-like wings and legs, and each possess a small mouth with sharp teeth. Wilmarina can see (and hear, though to a limited extent) through her two "familiars," and can also toggle on the abilities to see through solid objects or see "hidden" things (like lies and a person's "aura") one at a time, with a steady stamina drain. Finally, they are able to fire off powerful laser blasts from themselves, which also eats away at Wilmarina's stamina. Strangely though, their wings are powerful enough to let them lift a human being, and their claws and teeth are also supernaturally sharp and deadly. They can also turn their normally soft and downy wings into an anomalous kind of metal to shield themselves if necessary. A psychic link connects them to Wilmarina. If one of them is destroyed, then Wilmarina can regenerate them within 3-7 days, though she has to eat more to help replenish their lost biomass.
  • Foresight: Wilmarina's most powerful ability is a sort of precognition, which lets her know what will happen in the future if she and the people around her continue on their current paths. Some of her predictions never come to pass, but some do because of a series of freak occurrences. She cannot control this ability, her visions coming and going as they please with no way to tell if they are accurate or not. This power may be at the mercy of the GM, who can choose to give Wilmarina visions as they so please.
  • What kind of music do you listen to?: "C-classical, ballet, opera... Rap and hip-hop are c-cool too... W-what? That's strange? S-sorry..."

Edited by JumpingFruit on Sep 19th 2020 at 8:22:09 AM

I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.

Accepted.

May I already join the discord? Figured it might be useful to discuss some ideas I have, so I don't write a character sheet only to find out I gotta do it all over again

• Name: David Virgilius Bertholoson
  • Do you like your name? Like the first name. Hate the middle name. It just sounds off. Too pompous, y'know? My last name is fine, I've got no problem with my family. Maybe a bit too long for my tastes, but eh.
• Age: 17
  • What do you wanna be when you grow up? ...An architect. Yeah. That's what I want to do.
• Appearance:

David's face has three main characteristics: one, his black, straight hair reaching down to a bit below his shoulders. He likes them that way and doesn't care much for what people think. Two, his chin is covered in a stubble, a sign of his age. He does try to shave it regularly. Letting it grow too long results in it stinging a bit. And three, another sign of his age and of his hormones, of course: acne. Much as he hates it, and as much as he might even be lucky it took so long, it's starting to show up on his face too. His eyes, I should mention, are green. His physical shape is nothing to be awed by, but he is nonetheless fit, and his upper body especially is rather muscled. He is tall enough, a bit higher than average, at that. As for his normal attire, it is quite simple: white (if a bit stained) sport shoes, blue jeans, a white shirt with a blue jacket over it, and on his right wrist a silver, kinda beat-up watch. Not a fancy one or anything, just a watch. He also notably carries around a pair of work gloves, usually.

• Do you have a crush or are you not even thinking about these things yet? There was this one girl, but… things kinda fell through. Nothing serious, so no big deal. She just had to move away.

• Personality:

David is a calm, collected, and overall very reserved kind of guy. Passive, you might say, even. He is not the kind of person to look for trouble, nor is he the kind to try and pick a fight just because. You will not hear him boast in loud voices, nor yell in sadness or shout in anger; he keeps that to himself if possible. There is no real reason to why, either. He just does that naturally. He does not mind it. Perhaps a bit too much, at that- the passiveness as mentioned is kind of an issue for him, as he usually just tends to let things happen without really fighting back much. You might call it sloth, even. He will aim for the most peaceful and easy resolution if possible. He will try to compromise and find the solution that will let the most people be at least a bit happy.

Now that is not to say he'll let people trample over him or that he has no morals, not at all. He believes in hard work, and that anything can be accomplished if one tries. He believes one should trust others, but not be an idiot. He usually gives the famous 'three chances'. The first is in good faith. The second is a warning. If you waste the third one too, that's it. And something that does make him very pissed is hypocrites and people who abuse others' trust. That is one of the rare chances he won't try to compromise but instead swing at your face. It bears mentioning also that he is very passionate about his hobby of repairing/building things, a craft he hopes to pursue and evolve further into architecture.

From a social standpoint, he's quite average, really. He will go out if he's invited, but he's not the guy you count on to organize stuff. He will help if you ask him to, naturally, but imagination isn't his strong suit. Which also has the amusing side effect of him not understanding metaphors most of the time. ...Though he'd usually nod and go along with it to save himself the embarassment. That being said, something he can be proud of is how he is actually pretty quick-witted. Sure, lateral thinking may not be something he excels at, but he can still make some good deductions. Something he is less proud and is trying to change is how he is usually never on time. He's either too early or slightly late. He can't really say why.

And aside from this, he's a pretty simple man. He likes eating, he likes lying down under the sun and resting, and he likes building things. He is actually very good with his hands, and is very precise. When he's working however he has this habit of over-focusing, meaning he becomes disconnected from everything else. So if he does start fixing or building stuff, and you need to get his attention, multiple attempts will be necessary. He also likes sports- he used to have quite the fondness for martial arts, but he sort of grew out of it. Now, he enjoys swimming in the local swimming pool, or playing tennis. He's not that good at it, but he has fun. He's not aiming to be the best, so it's fine by him. Over-competitiveness can get on his nerves at times. As for other miscellaneous trivia: he is a very light sleeper. He prefers milk over tea. Pineapple does not go on pizza, no compromises. Best ice cream flavor is strawberry. He's not an avid reader nor does he follow any tv series or anime, but he's watched a few of each category. He does have a surprising knowledge of video games though.

As a bit of a further note on how he approaches his hobby and in general new things he has to learn: he tries to set himself goals and 'projects', as well as some sort of deadline to meet them. He finds it keeps himself motivated to continue. Finally, as for his relationship with the supernatural and similar things: so long as it can be explained otherwise, fine, but if it's there in front of him and obviously supernatural, what can he do but accept it? It'd be dumb to do otherwise. He keeps this approach on most things he doesn't understand. Open-minded, without jumping to conclusions- but if something is clearly in front of him he can't really ignore it and pretend it's not.

• It's Saturday night and your parents are out of town. What do you do? Hmm... depends, really. If any of my friends calls me, I'll go with them. Otherwise I'll probably be home, fixing stuff. ...I got a project to finish.

• Backstory:

David is born of Jacob Bertholoson and Gretha Vanaamer, in a city not far from Oldport, where they would move soon after he was born. They were good parents, and while they often had to stay at work until late, they made an effort to be home with David as much as they could. Jacob worked as a shop manager for a supermarket, and Gretha was a nurse. They had actually met one time Jacob was injured by a really angry customer having an outburst and shoving him into about five kilograms worth of canned food, back when Jacob was not yet experienced- it was in fact only his third week as manager. That accident was really nothing life-threatening: most of the canned food didn't even hit him. But he had fallen badly, and so his left foot had gotten quite messed up. A microfracture, it seemed. He recovered just fine, but that would give him a small limp for the rest of his life. And the nurse assigned to him had naturally been Gretha herself. The rest is history, as they say.

A bunch of years later, thus, David would be born. His early life was normal and devoid of many outstanding events. Her mother was usually pretty lax and even spoiled him to an extent, and his dad was more stern but still liked to play around with him. Particularly, his dad was really into running, and he and David would often go running. David went to elementary, then middle school, and finally through the first years of high school, his life not really that eventful. He had some friends, but then again none he could call ‘best friends'. He went out with them and played and stuff, but just as easily he would move on to another friend group. His grades were average, but not exceptional. He put in effort enough to succeed, and then never felt like doing more. There were a few girls he flirted with, but nothing serious ever came of it- just a few fleeting relationships that would eventually break off, without fail.

...Yes, that was the problem, wasn't it? He realized this, one day. He had been talking with some friends about what they'd do after school. It was the age people start really thinking about such things, and he realized something that left him at a true loss for words.

—He had nothing to say. He had no goals. No ambitions. Nothing planned for his future. It was as though he had been only half-living, going along with the flow but without ever becoming an active agent of his own life.

Change was in order; he felt this and knew this. He felt like he needed a passion, something to look forward to. But where could it be found? At first he tried to find this passion within martial arts. It was the time of his life- a moment many go through- when martial arts and the crazy awesome feats seen in those movies were etched into his mind as the coolest thing. So naturally, his mind went to that first thing. It was a simple thought, really. His parents had nothing against him trying that- before, he'd just go running to keep himself fit, and both Gretha and Jacob were relieved to see him finally try something out of his own free will. And try he did. He started out with Taekwondo, as he'd heard tall people usually performed better in it (due to having longer legs and thus better reach). When he found he didn't enjoy it as much as he'd thought, he switched over to karate. That was the most popular one, right? And after some months, he decided that karate wasn't his thing either, and he started pondering if the problem might have been with the whole ‘martial arts' setup. Maybe that just wasn't his thing. So he tried boxing.

And he actually did find it quite enjoyable... for about a year. But when the time came that he would have to put in more and more effort yet find he improved less, he decided to quit. He just… didn't feel like it was something he could be that invested in.

It happened almost by chance, a few weeks after he'd quit boxing. He was at a friend's place, and the conversation shifted to how the guy's bike had broken down. David, out of boredom more than anything, suggested that they might try to fix it. Worst case scenario, they'd still have to take it in to be repaired, so they might as well give it a shot. After an afternoon of work using whatever tools they could find in the garage the bike'd been stored in, they actually didn't do that shoddy a job. Sure, the bike would go on to break again after another month or so, but that wasn't the point.

The point was, when he saw the finished product, David felt a sense of accomplishment he'd really never felt before. He, with his own two hands, had been able to repair something. His interest in repairing, and eventually building, things only grew with time, after that fact. He would get into the garage and work on stuff- from repairing small objects he found that were broken, to making simple constructions: he still remembers how proud he was when he managed to make a pencil holder out of a block of wood. And so, finally, he could see a dream for himself. He would take building things to the next level. He would become an architect. And here is where we draw the curtains for now, on the tale of his life. He was sixteen when this happened. A year and a half later, when his powers start manifesting, just what sort of fate will befall him? That tale is going to be written from now.

• What do your parents do for a living? Do you live with both of them? ...Dad's a store manager. Mom's a nurse. ...I still live with them, yeah, but I'll probably move out for university when that time comes.

• Powers:

  • Power Surge: Unfittingly for his personality and quite to his chagrin, his power is the ability to release energy in bursts: more or less, it will manifest as an action being greatly empowered. A punch will be thrown with superhuman strength, a jump will become a leap into the air, a dash forward will let him sprint at great speeds. Because his body's metabolism cannot handle this kind of surge for long, it only manifests as small bursts. Still, because of that, his body can recover pretty quickly from it. So far he's only used this ability subconsciously, not even realizing he was doing so. It has mostly led to him breaking a few things and/or gripping things too tightly. Interestingly enough, this kind of power also provides some protection for whatever part of his body he empowers, as he feels no pain even when by all accounts he should. Perhaps the excess energy also speeds up regenerative processes in his body, and blocks pain receptors.

...He has no idea he has this power, much less than he can control it, but if he did, there might be yet another application for it. Manifesting the energy outside of him to act as either a projectile or a barrier; or perhaps yet something else. It won't be easy for him to reach this application, if he ever will. It requires a mastery of his power far beyond what he will reach at first. —But maybe, he might yet get there.

• What kind of music do you listen to? Whatever Spotify decides it wants to play next usually. If I had to choose a genre, it'd probably be rock, honestly.

Accepted.

Well, I'm willing to take a shot here. Just DM me if it turns out the signups were closed after all or if it's garbo or too dark or something.

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Name: Ryan Thomas

• Do you like your name? - "Hm? I... I guess? I don't know, I never really thought about it. It's a fine name, let's go with that. Sure does exist."

Age: Seventeen

• What do you wanna be when you grow up? - "Ahahaha. Oh, what a dumb question. I'm gonna be a union laborer like the damn rest of my family. Yeah-hah-hah, Union #66, baby. Ugh, I hate the idea. You done asking questions?"

Appearance: Looks something like this◊. Pretty exclusively wears black to the chagrin of everyone around him, and is often seen wearing the same set of clothes multiple days in a row due to not caring. Eye color is brown. Hair is a dark brown, but due to the Empowerment is malleable in color and length (see Powers), though he does try to keep it to what it was prior to the Empowerment in order to go under the radar. Always makes an attempt to wear the hat in the picture if he can, even if it would be useless or otherwise problematic. That he has to take it off to properly use his Power gives him no end of agitation.

• Height - 5'3" (162 cm)
• Weight - 137 lbs (62 kg)
• Physique - Working on getting muscle. It's not going so hot.

• Do you have a crush or are you not even thinking about these things yet? - "Hrm. Well, there's definitely a few... and there's one girl in particular, but... If I answer this, I get the feeling they'll hear about it and I'll never hear the end of it from anyone. So do me a favor: Keep that quiet and I don't introduce you to the dirt. Deal?"

Personality: Honestly, he could be a good person if he bothered to try. However, Ryan is the sort of person who doesn't want to try for any reason. If he put his mind to things he could do great things in Oldport, but as it stands he's simply an overly aggressive bully with extreme anti-social tendencies, at least at first glance. Being told to apply himself is the greatest way to set off his temper. Highly aggressive in all mannerisms, physical and vocal alike. Has absolutely no qualms about picking verbal fights and insulting anyone he interacts him. Ryan's preferred method of bullying is extreme verbal abuse, shouted not unlike a drill sergeant to the recruits at Basic, until the confrontation devolves into a fistfight, someone else steps in and defuses the situation, or the target has cracked and fallen apart. His temper is extremely dangerous because it's often unclear what exactly will set him off, if anything does at all. Not nearly as subtle as he thinks he is; if he's making an effort to be relatively civil, it means he probably wants something from you. Seems to get his kicks off of being an unholy terror to some people. Very few people would describe him positively, and even those who would have to admit that he's "kind of a jerk, really". Surprisingly jumpy, and is easily startled, especially at night.

In truth, he would like to hang out with people and do things. Unfortunately, he never really learned manners and doesn't seem to get why people don't want to be friends with someone whose first instinct is to insult them to their face. He lives in a vicious cycle of trying to talk to someone, invariably devolving into a crude bully, and then getting mad when they get upset. Afterwards, he trends towards self-loathing, but then he takes a nap and wakes up the next day like nothing had happened. It's an extremely self-destructive cycle. Despite looking and acting like he breaks kneecaps for a living, though, he's really not (trying) to be like this. He has his virtues - he abhors lying, and will gladly defend the weaker party in a scuffle (though he just as likely does the same thing to the poor bullied one when/if the aggressor leaves). He's got a surprisingly wide breadth of knowledges, and is more erudite and literate than he comes off as. Extremely diligent and will get tasks done, even if he complains the whole time. Probably the best thing that can be said about him is that he'll do the right thing... eventually, and probably after he's messed the whole thing up for a giggle.

Sews plush dolls of animals in his spare time. The rumour is that if you say you want one off-handedly when he's around, a plush animal appears in your backpack when you're not looking approximately three to five business days later. It's a secret to everyone, though, so don't blab.

• Likes: Fairy Tales, Raspberries, Sewing Plush Dolls, Long Naps, Hats
• Dislikes: Cigarettes, Vehicles, Mobile Phones, Hot Weather, Self-care
• Fears: Dogs of all stripes, Thunderstorms and Heavy Rain, Gore-heavy movies

• It's Saturday night and your parents are out of town. What do you do? - "Hrm. Well, the punching thing had to be tabled so that's out... Outta stuff to make a raptor... I dunno, let's just take a nap or something. I'm aiming for five hours this nap, I think that'll be a good time."

Backstory: Born to a prominent member of the Local Oldport Electrician's Union and a freelance clothier, there was never really any question what Ryan Thomas was going to be doing in the future. As his father's father was a laborer and union worker before him, he too would enter the Union as an Electrician. Since his path in life was decided extremely quickly and without his general consent, however, Ryan saw very little point in making a lot of effort to discover new things that might break him out of that metaphorical cage. He ended up living blithely in the now.

To make it worse, his bad attitude surfaced pretty early in life. He would make a stink about something, get beaten up for it, and then complain that he was the victim. The only thing he really seemed to like doing involved being a terror for anyone involved, and he was extremely terrible to deal with in any capacity during the elementary school years. Thankfully, he mostly mellowed out (well, relatively speaking) during middle school and the current timeframe. He still had a reputation for causing incidents, though they were lesser both in frequency and intensity.

That aside, however, the antics need to stop real quick. No, there's a much more pressing issue at hand now - the empowerment of various teenaged individuals of Oldport. He's mostly kept his nose clean outside of his own powers, but at this point it's basically willful ignorance, especially considering recent events have shifted the paradigm. Now that things have gone this far (true) and his hand has been forced (false) it's time to step up to the plate. Unfortunately, his track record means someone who has a legitimate understanding of what's going on needs to get to him quick, and preferably before he does something stupid and ruins everything for the Empowered Ones as a whole.

• What do your parents do for a living? Do you live with both of them? - "Dad's an electrician with the union and Mom works as a sewing person who makes hats and stuff, usually for the aforementioned workers. I'm not fond of them, but they're still together and relatively happy, so I guess it's all working out."

Powers: HAIR WARFARE

• Subject's hair is controllable and acts according to the owner's wishes. It appears to be restricted solely to the hair on top of his head. It is capable of lengthening and shortening as necessary, and a maximum length of fifty feet has currently been recorded. In practice, it becomes extremely unruly beyond thirty feet, so he usually restricts himself to that. The hair is capable of hardening itself to be akin to steel as well as becoming extremely soft and fluffy or anything inbetween that spectrum, and will shape itself into various implements (i.e. corkscrews, drill bits, blades, etc.) if necessary. Complex shapes are possible, too, and he usually defaults to a sledgehammer-like implement or various other power tools due to his upbringing. Extremely versatile and useful, as it allows him a vast and wide-reaching array of tools for just about any situation at hand. It seems as if the individual strands attach themselves together, not unlike magnets, to form bigger locks of hair with which to form objects from.
• Its flaws as a power are threefold. Firstly, utilising large amounts of hair, particularly if it has to be cut for whatever reason (i.e. someone has grappled it and is trying to pull the owner towards them), means that things get extremely messy extremely quickly. Second, while hair is strong the body was not meant to support it; heavier objects generally need him to brace himself so the force doesn't snap his neck, and pulling himself around using only his hair would be impossible as it would cause his neck to break from the force, provided it wasn't tethered to something else. Finally... it appears that the Empowerment had another effect - his hair no longer moves naturally (i.e. due to wind) and stays stock still in anything short of extreme winds. He has to manually remember to move it in accordance with gravity and wind; someone who notices this will easily pick up on the fact that something isn't entirely right.
  • As an aside, this power allows his hair to change color and general style on a whim, as well as untangle its individual strands of knots and clean out foreign contaminants that get stuck in his hair. This is mostly useless outside of style purposes, but it IS pretty sweet. Wearing a hat over his head doesn't strictly cripple this power, but it does make it harder to control the individual strands and tendrils of hair, so it works best if he's bare-headed.
    TL;DR - He's Medusa of the Inhumans.
    
• What kind of music do you listen to? - "Oh, jeez. Yeah, uh, it's all European metal crap. You know... Power Metal, Symphonic and Orchestral Metal, that kinda thing?"

Accepted. D Med you a Discord invite.

For those wondering: yes, we are still accepting new players! And Strat keeps alluding to some big event happening soon, so right after that may be a great time to jump in!

GM of AGOG S4: Frontiers RP; Sub-GM of TABA, SOTR, & UUA RPs