Lucem
Ten Thousand Club
- SCARLET PHOENIXESRIOTASHLEY HARTLEGAL NAMEAshley "Ash" HartAGE & BIRTH22 (February 14, 2000)ALIASRiotGENDERMaleHEIGHT | WEIGHT5'11" (181 cm) | 170 lb (77 kg)GANG & RANKVeteran of the Scarlet PhoenixesACTIVE SINCE2019REPUTATIONWild, loyal dogHome DistrictSouth DistrictGENERAL DESCRIPTIONJust barely missing the 6ft mark, Ashley stands at 5'11". After joining the Phoenixes, he dyed his hair to have red streaks, being a way to represent his gang and honor an old friend. The crimson limbal rings around his teal irises glow brighter when his Potential activates, giving him an intense look. Each of his ears have four piercings, giving him eight in total. He can usually be seen wearing the bomber jackets that come from his large collection.
PERSONALITY
Ashley is rough around the edges, to say the least. He's an uncouth young man who doesn't care very much for being reserved or tactful, often speaking without thinking. For better or worse, he wears his heart on his sleeve and doesn't care about the result. Naturally, this tends to create conflict with other people, which he will never shy away from.
He loves fighting and always looks forward to throwing punches with tough people, getting excited when he comes across someone that can give him a run for this money. He's not shy and will approach someone just to get into a fight. Brawls are supposed to be a fun way to pass the time and relieve stress, so he doesn't feel bitter about losing, provided that he's not doing a job. Of course, he doesn't only fight when he's looking for entertainment.
Ashley is quick to respond with violence if someone insists on ticking him off, never hesitating to knock them out. However, when angry, he doesn't go red in the face and start screaming. He's the type of person who smiles when enraged, which tends to unnerve the people who find themselves on the receiving end of his energetic wrath.
He's selfish and impulsive, but he's surprisingly loyal to those he considers friends. Instead of being loyal to groups, he's loyal to people. It doesn't matter what gang someone is from or what kind of background they have. If he likes someone, they're his bud and he'll go far for them. He'll put himself on the line and take damage for people, believing that if someone has to get hurt, it might as well be the guy who gets something out of it. However, he acknowledges that there are times when he'll need to choose between the gang and other people.
He isn't always acting wild and ruthless. While sitting around and doing nothing isn't his favorite thing in the world, he can relax just like anyone else. He can be pretty intimidating, but he's usually a pretty friendly guy. He's an energetic young man who's looking to have a good time, and he has a pretty open mind. He also has a soft spot for people with terrible backgrounds, but it's not enough to make him go easy on scumbags.
When tame, a few of his more innocent qualities show. He isn't exactly stupid, but Ashley can be pretty dense at times, failing to pick up on things that should be obvious to everyone. In some ways, he's rather pure-hearted.
Ashley loves freedom and being able to live however he wants. His personality could be considered suitable for a gang like the Sable Serpents, which he won't deny. However, even someone like him has lines he won't cross, and he could never join a gang that peddles drugs. He doesn't want to be part of a group responsible for making people's lives worse and giving those with Potential a bad rep. All gangs have their bad sides, but the snakes have the worst.
Setting aside his issues with the Serpents, Ashley's motivation to join the Phoenixes partly comes from his desire to be accepted by others. Even though he refuses to admit it, he hates how things have turned out with his parents and wants to feel what it's like to have a family again. After losing his friends, he wants to find those coveted bonds in the gang.
Likes:
-Fighting
-Ramen
-Sukajan
-Motorcycles
-Combat sports
-Pro wrestling
-Big dogs
Dislikes:
-Cops
-Drugs
-Being drunk (gets embarrassingly clingy)
HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHY
History: Ashley had it pretty easy as a kid. He lived in a good neighborhood with plenty of friends and cheerful neighbors, never having to worry about a thing. He owed all of that to his father, a police officer that he and everyone else respected. In his eyes, his father was the best thing in the world. He kept people safe, doing his best to put away the bad guys and protect the city. Thanks to his efforts, Ashley was able to live each day to the fullest, not having a care in the world. However, the perfect life his father made for him shattered because of the dumbest thing.
While playing with his friends, Ashley got a little too adventurous and ended up falling from a tree. He got a broken bone for his efforts, but it was far from a serious injury. It was something a lot of kids had experience with, but for the young boy who'd never even gotten so much as a paper cut, that injury was a big deal. It was the first time he'd ever felt pain like that. It hurt like hell and he wanted to cry, hoping his mom and dad would make it all better. However, that urge to bawl his eyes out quickly started to fade away as the pain was accompanied by another sensation. Tears were still in the corner of his eyes and his arm still burned, but something else rushed through his body. He was experiencing the worst thing that had ever happened in his easy life, but he'd never felt better. That's when he got his first taste of his Potential and when his life started to fall apart.
He hated pain. He would've been happy if he never had to experience it again. However, he couldn't forget the other feeling that came along with it. It was as if his body wanted to constantly be in that energized state, craving the strength that was granted by his Potential. He was young and didn't know how to handle all the new things at once, so he was easily overwhelmed by the urge to seek out that rush again.
His parents were of no help. When he first came to them with questions about what was happening to him, a small crack formed in their relationship. The kind expression on his father's face turned grim, and Ashley was told to ignore what was happening and act as if everything was normal. All he had to do was live like an ordinary person. He was scared at that moment, but as soon as he nodded his head, the frightening look on his father's face was gone and he felt relieved.
He tried his best to do what his father said, but resisting his body's demands was impossible. He had to give it what it wanted, but he didn't want to risk upsetting his father and end up on the receiving end of his scary expression again. That's why he decided to act in secret, trying not to disappoint anyone. He started inflicting minor injuries on himself when his parents weren't looking, small enough to hide while still painful enough to satisfy his cravings. Unfortunately, he, like a lot of kids, was terrible at hiding things and was eventually caught by his mom.
After his father heard about what he'd been up to, Ashley felt those cold eyes staring into his soul once again. This time, they were accompanied by harsh words spoken with a chilling tone. His father repeated his words from last time, telling him to ignore what was happening. He then let out a groan, not even trying to hide his irritation as he wondered why he couldn't have had a normal child. Hearing that, Ashley felt his heart break. All the love his father had for him seemed to evaporate.
After that incident, Ashley began to see what kind of person his father really was. Everything the man did was for the sake of maintaining an image. Once something came along and threatened to ruin what he built up, he tried to get rid of it as soon as possible. Unfortunately, Ashley's Potential wasn't something that could be dealt with by just pretending it didn't exist, so he stopped trying to keep up appearances around him. As long as everyone else still saw him as he wanted them to, he was fine with dropping the perfect, loving father act.
As soon as Ashley entered his teenage years, he began acting out as a way to vent his frustrations and get back at his father. He became crude and aggressive, which often got him into trouble with authority and other delinquents. Most of his time was spent getting into fights, and he'd built up a reputation for being tough to beat. The fighting helped him get used to his Potential and he no longer felt addicted to the power it gave him. He found a way to deal with everything on his own, never getting any help from a father who couldn't understand what he was going through. His mother was no better, always agreeing with whatever his father said and leaving him to suffer.
Ashley's relationship with his parents had gotten much worse. They were always arguing, which usually ended with him rushing out of the house. Roaming the streets with a bad attitude attracted all kinds of annoying people that tried to pick fights with him, but he had no problems with that. He enjoyed fighting, and it was a good way to let off steam. Of course, that just created more friction between him and his parents. Eventually, his father's patience reached its limit.
After serving as an officer for many years, his father was making a serious attempt at becoming the commissioner of the police department. The image he'd been trying to maintain his entire life was meant to help him achieve that goal, but Ashley threatened everything. His behavior was problematic, but his Potential was the biggest issue. Because gangs were full of members with strange and dangerous abilities, many people didn't think well of those who possessed power, even if they lived ordinary lives. Everything about Ashley gave his father trouble. If a man couldn't control his own son, how could he control the police?
Like always, his father only cared about his image, and it infuriated him. He hated everything about the man's attitude, and he told him as much during a particularly heated argument. He knew that his father would probably be a lot happier if he wasn't around, as it would make things go a lot smoother if he didn't have someone around to track mud all over his reputation. His father didn't even try to deny that, so he decided to give him what he wanted. Neither of his parents tried to stop him as he stormed out of the house, promising that he'd never come back.
Full of anger, Ashley wandered the streets while looking for a way to relieve his stress. He quickly found what he was looking for after bumping into a stranger who looked just as irritated. It didn't take long for them to start throwing punches, doing their best to knock each other out. Most of Ashley's fights ended pretty quickly, but his new sparring partner turned out to be a lot tougher than he looked. As it turned out, the guy had powers just like him.
The fight was brutal and lasted for what felt like hours, but it ended abruptly when both of them crashed into a bunch of garbage cans, covering them in filth. At that moment, their anger faded away and they laughed at how dumb they looked. They couldn't even remember what they'd been fighting about just a second ago. That's how he became friends with Aaron.
He and Aaron were a lot alike. Both of them had powers and problems that most people couldn't understand. Nobody knew what they were going through. Because of that, they decided to form a group of people like them. They were just a bunch of kids with nothing to their names, but they made a place for themselves in the world and took down anyone who threatened it. Some people in their group even joked about how they'd become the next big gang and take over the city. They just laughed about it, never really aiming for that sort of goal. Nobody wanted to get involved with the dumb stuff that gave other people with Potential a bad reputation. Everyone was content as long as they had each other and the freedom to live however they wanted.
While they tried to avoid getting mixed up with the more troublesome gangs, it was easier said than done. They often ended up getting into fights with people who tried to push them around and take what little they had. Conflicts like that were easily settled, but the real problem came from the police who couldn't distinguish one gang from the other. They gave Ashley and his friends a lot of trouble, trying to make arrests after a case of mistaken identity. It should've been easy to resolve the situation, but things became much worse when a minor gang strolled in, intent on getting revenge for an earlier defeat. As tensions rose, a scared officer accidentally fired their weapon, severely injuring an NP member of Ashley's group. That's when it all went downhill.
It didn't matter if the gunshot was an accident. People retaliated against the cops, which sparked a large conflict between the three sides. As sirens blared in the distance and friends fell to the ground, Ashley couldn't do a thing. Aaron pulled him away, refusing to let him get caught. No matter how much he argued, his friend wouldn't listen, forcing him to leave as he promised to catch up later. Believing in that lie was his greatest mistake.
Getting as far away from the conflict as he could, Ashley kept fighting the urge to turn back and break his promise to Aaron. Before he could give in, a squad car pulled up in front of him, preventing him from going any further. He was prepared to resist, but that wouldn't be necessary. The passenger door opened to reveal his father, and the man he hadn't seen in so long told him to get in. While he had no interest in going anywhere with him, he was backed into a corner and didn't have the luxury of turning down a ride.
There was an awkward silence between them as they rode in the car. Ashley just kept wondering why he had to run into his father at that moment. He wasn't sure if the man was responding to the incident with his friends or some other call, but he kept thinking about the possibility of being taken to the police station. As if his thoughts were being read, his father assured him that he wasn't in any trouble. The man said that he wanted him to come back home, and for a moment, Ashley felt glad. As much as he hated his father, he couldn't help but respond to the thought of being able to live normally with his family again. However, he should've known better than to think his father was capable of changing.
His father did want him home, but he was still only interested in helping himself. He started mentioning a bunch of crazy ideas he had on how to make use of Ashley's status as an HP, asking him to go undercover in one of the four major gangs and collect intel. If that didn't work, he proposed that Ashley be used as some kind of poster boy for a program that would aim to rehabilitate troubled youth with Potential. All of it was for the sake of bettering his image and becoming commissioner.
Ashley couldn't hold in his anger after hearing what his father said. As soon as they parked, he punched his father in the face, knocking him out. He could've done a lot worse, but he didn't want to waste any more energy. After taking his father's baton for himself, he left him passed out in the car and walked off. That was the last time he saw his father.
When he returned to his old stomping grounds, nobody was there waiting for him. Everyone from his group was gone now, either dead or locked up in a cell. The same went for Aaron. He didn't know what became of his friend and nobody else seemed to have the answer. He was alone again, back to roaming the city and getting into fights with strangers. He beat down anyone who ticked him off, including other people with Potential. The only fight worth talking about was one with some older man with a nasty attitude. After putting him in his place, the guy started begging for mercy, saying that he needed to complete a trial. Ashley didn't know what the guy was talking about and he didn't care about his problems, so he just left him passed out in an alley. It wasn't a very memorable fight, but he did take interest in the trial. That interest would eventually lead him to the Scarlet Phoenixes, where he'd complete a trial of his own.RELATIONSHIPSTBA - POTENTIALITY PROFILENO PAIN, NO GAINASHLEY'S POTENTIAL • NO PAIN, NO GAINPRIMARY CLASSPhysikSECONDARY CLASSTBAOTHER NAMESPain EmpowermentPOTENTIALITY DESCRIPTIONWhen Ashley receives damage, his physcial abilties receive a buff. He becomes stronger, faster, and more durable. His body also heals faster when sustaining large amounts of damage, helping him stay in the fight. The effects of his Potential stack, and every injury contributes to his growing strength. The bigger the injuries, the bigger the buff.
STRENGTHS + WEAKNESSESAshely's Potential makes him very dangerous in close combat, especially during longer fights. The more you hurt him, the more he can hurt you. Unfortunately, his enhancements eventually wear off. Just like an adrenaline rush, the effects of his Potential are temporary, only lasting for an hour or two. After cooling down, his "damage counter" resets, and he must start from the beginning.
While he is a tough opponent in a close-range fight, his Potential has no ranged capabilities. He must rely on his enhanced speed and reflexes to close gaps.
If his injuries haven't healed by the time the effects of his Potential run out, he's stuck with them. He still heals faster than an average HP, but it's not always enough to handle the damage his body sustains.
WEAPONS + EQUIPMENTMetal rod
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