MidwayLives
"What's your favorite scary movie...?"
HEEEEEEEEEEEY!!!!! ALL YOU COOL CATS OUT THERE READY TO GET YOUR RP ON?
GIVE ME A HELL YEAH?
No?
Well, that's okay!
Sorry for the long-winded introduction! Just felt it was a touch necessary!
Here is the CS format!
Each player can have up to TWO PCs for the time being but you'll have to decide if you want em to be in the same faction or if they're just some poor schmuck just trying to live their life under the radar. Trying to keep to a decent-sized cast here/not let things balloon too far out of control lol
Name: Joe Mama
Age: Nunya
Description: Use a faceclaim if you'd like! Or if you wanna be more descriptive then go for that too!
Gift name: [PICK A FITTING SONG NAME IF YOU'D LIKE OR HAVE IT BE COMPLETELY RANDOM! THAT'S OKAY TOO!]
Gift Type: (i'll explain this more in a bit!) ELEMENTAL
Gift abilities! N/A ; )
Race: Whateva
Bio: If you have ANY questions, please don't hesitate to ask! I'd be more than happy to brainstorm with any potential players! I'm sure y'all are super creative!
Personal weaknesses: faults, weaknesses, quirks that could mess them up in the heat of battle?
FACTION: You workin for the feds(you gotta be at least 18 to apply, at least on the record, if you're younger? Well, it's not like Gifted have any rights)or are you taking a stand against the injustice that's been perpetuated on your people for centuries? Or....maybe you're just a highschooler trying to stay out of trouble/keeping your Gift on the downlow?
~~~
GIFT TYPES
-Elemental(Thomas for example is an Elemental Gifted.) The individual's body takes on an appearance similar to the element that they control. But they always have distinct features like glowing yellow eyes that lack pupils, no mouths, speak through telepathy unless wearing a glamour, and no visible ears. But a key fact to note is that they are not actually MADE out of said element. If one were to shoot Thomas with a regular handgun, the bullets would just splish-splash through his body as though you were shooting at a water fountain or a waterfall. He CAN patch himself up with powers/his skin does grow over his wounds like skin spreading over a human-shaped bag of water, but he's still flesh and blood behind it all. It just takes meeting some terms to be able to actually do damage to him. That's what's called as 'Meeting a Condition.' If you were to blast Thomas with a hot enough weapon, it'd 'steam' his body and allow brief access to his 'real' body for a few moments, allowing him to be shot and punched like any other person. The same would go with an Ice elemental. If you were to blast him/her with a fire blast for example, it'd do actual damage to them, open them up for other attacks. Fair warning however in that Elementals can train themselves to endure the terms of their condition. Thomas is one such example in that say throwing a burning piece of debris at him won't be enough to activate the condition. Something more along the lines of slashing or attempting to stab him with a burning implement is likely to be more sufficient.
That said they don't need to be around their element of choice 24/7 in order to utilize it. Thomas can conjure up his own water at will. For some of those who are born with viscous bodies(think being an oil/tar/water elemental) they still have solid bodies but as explained earlier, certain 'conditions' need to be met before they can be struck (an oil elemental needs to be burned, a tar man needs to be splashed with water to give him a solid state to punch/shoot, and a water man would need to be frozen or 'steamed') Their internal organs still do exist, they're just not easily accessible through normal means. Elementals are considered some of the most powerful Gifted and this is partially why Thomas was sought after by the US Govt/trusted with the position as a leading agent of the A.F.U.P. They are also the most feared as numerous contingency plans have been put into place to ever keep Thomas under the govt's leash....or so some people suspect.
-Physical (Think along the lines of someone like say Luke Cage who's super strong and has tough skin) Gifted who fit into this class rely more on buffing up their physical stats. Think along the lines of Luke Cage or Younger Toguro from YYH as both have abilities which supplement or enhance their physical stature/strength. Most of those who fit in this category don't tend to be long distance fighters by nature.
-Mental (Think Professor X) These are Gifted who might not have super strength or in some very rare cases be absolutely debilitated/bedbound by the strength of their gift draining most of their physical faculties. It might also just be very mundane abilities and nothing to write home about. In another story I'm writing set in the same universe, there's a doctor of a certain morality named William Nocturne who possesses a Gift called [I WALK TO MY OWN SONG] that allows him to understand information at a faster rate than 'normal' people. Learning languages can be immensely difficult for the average person but for someone like Nocturne it's a task that he could spend a week or so at and get the hang of in no time.
This type also includes giving them greatly enhanced telepathic prowess. Whether this comes in the form of greater intelligence or in Odd from the Modern Crusaders's [AUX] allows him to compensate for his blindness by printing a mental play by play of what audibly happens in the next 15 or so seconds. When given time to further evolve his gift it's changed to [AUXILARY] and he now has very limited TK powers with being able to project telekinetic shields/blasts or to try and bind somebody in place. But this takes a great deal of energy out of Odd and is really only used on a regular basis to better line up his bullets by manipulating their trajectory. While Physical!Gifted need to activate their powers, those who possess mental gifts are constantly 'on' with [AUX] only deactivating if Odd is knocked out or killed.
-Mutation (Think like Tokoyami from MHA or The Lizard from Spider-Man) These are Gifted whose powers either greatly alter their physical constitution or give them something that one might consider outright 'unnatural'(a man growing claws/a tongue that can be used like a whip/a lizard man etc) and [MR BRIGHTSIDE] is like this for Jean Pajaro(another 'Modern Crusader') with it normally manifesting as just angel wings when she calls out her gift's name. But after being fatally wounded, Jean can 'return' with her corpse shifting into a gigantic, distorted version of herself with burning skin and razor-sharp teeth. Along the lines of a phoenix resurrecting. Overtime the energy will fade and Jean will return back to normal but with a scar of whatever originally killed her still present on her person.
Now that I've explained what Gifts are, I'll state the obvious in that many major powers were looking to capitalize on the war-making potential. After a few nasty wars here and there however, it eventually became an unsaid agreement between the major powers that it'd perhaps be better to try and quash any signs of Gifted causing a general ruckus among society. If they just let the Gifted live like anyone else and openly flaunt their powers who's to say that a group of them wouldn't feel so inclined to march up to the White House and overthrow the president? Or blow up the Kremlin and take over?
Who's to say...?
He intentionally based his Glamour off a younger Jack Nicholson (who'd only be around 44 by the time the RP starts with Reagan's inauguration) since he kind of appreciated just how much of a damn good actor Jack was. If you were to ask Tom how many times he'd seen 'The Shining', he'd say
Gift name: [HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE RAIN?]
Gift Type: (i'll explain this more in a bit!) ELEMENTAL
Gift abilities: [HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE RAIN?] is the reason Tom looks the way he does. It's an elemental Gift that lets Tom control water (but only in liquid form. He's unable to control ice or snow, those would fall under those specific elemental's gifts/ability to control) and due it's extreme versatility, it's allowed him to scale the ranks upon being adopted by the government as a child to being given a highly established and front-facing position as the outwardly friendly leader of the U.F.U.P! Tom can produce a seemingly limitless amount of water and can intensify the pressure at which he manifests/manipulates it to create razor sharp 'High-Pressure Water Discs' that can even cleave through concrete and can be controlled telepathically by Tom. He can also just fire streams of highly pressurized water jets from his hands (or his mouth when in his Glamour) to punch/burrow through an enemy's defenses. He can also simply cup his hands over a person's mouth/nose and create a 'water mask' over said breathing venues and suffocate them/'drown' them on land.
In Tom's hands, water can even be used for projectile attacks. If he holds his hand or hands out like guns, he can focus droplets of water at the end of his extended digit and fire it with such force that it has the same weight behind it as a high caliber rifle round. He can also just 'splash' an enemy with droplets by merely flicking his wrist/waving his hand at them and those droplets can carry enough punch behind them to throw a fully grown man back on his ass or throw them across a room. The scariest aspect that [HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE RAIN?] offers Tom though is likely access to the pocket dimension that he can enter through any means of contact with any sized body of water. Say if he were to turn himself into liquid form and flow down into a puddle in the sink or into someone's open water bottle, he'll enter a pitch-black void that's full of water and resembles the darkest depths of the world's oceans. Tom, being a water elemental, doesn't need to breathe while in the void but anyone that he drags in with him likely will and so it's no wonder why that if someone were to bring a flashlight with them and scan it around, they'd see hundreds if not thousands of corpses in various stages of decomposition just floating around. All victims of Tom's career in one way or another. If you're dragged into the 'Ocean Room' as Tom calls it by force, you only have two chances at escaping. Killing Tom and destroying the miniature universe or swimming towards the glistening rays of lights piercing down into the 'water' from above. These are the 'openings' that Tom uses to hop around as instantly as he does. One example of an opening is if say someone in the next town over has their sink running while they're cleaning dishes, Tom can 'climb' through the opening and manifest in the person's sinkwater and just appear there, a grown ass and highly dangerous man sitting in your sink, capable of controlling your lukewarm sink water to kill you in a variety of ways. If a regular person were to go through the opening, they'd appear suddenly in said person's sink as well. But, a word of caution, however.
These same openings can apply to avenues that are extremely restrictive by design like someone opening up their water bottle/canteen/jug. Tom can simply appear inside the device as a liquid and then burst the water bottle apart as he reforms himself. Same with if someone tried to drink him before he could escape the bottle. Simply reform inside the person. This usually kills said person in a highly spectacular gory fashion 99% of the time. A regular person or a non-elemental can't likely do this so you'd end up uncomfortably wedged inside a person's water bottle and suffocating in horrible agony. So, make sure to look before you leap!
Conventional weaponry has little to no effect on Tom. If you were to cut his head off, he'd simply place it back on with bubbles popping around his neckline where he'd been chopped. Bullets would go right through him and come out soaked in water. But like every Elemental, he has a 'Condition' which if meant, temporarily removes the Gifted's invulnerability and allows them to be harmed by other means. Tom for example, if you were to say heat up a kitchen knife and shank him with it, you're likely to draw blood/leave a burn, whereas if you simply stabbed him, you'd just be splashing water around and he'd knock the knife away. Realizing that his Condition was likely to hold him back if he didn't train it, it'll likely take an extremely hot blade or an overheating machine gun to do any damage to Tom. Simply trying to burn him with your lighter won't work nor will throwing spill powder on him. Heat hot enough to cause his water-like body to dissipate into steam is what leaves him vulnerable, even if he's been working on it!
Race: Gifted, duh!
Bio: I'd rather keep Tom's backstory on the downlow for the time being! Feel it might be better to just sorta let that come out naturally even if I have a good idea of it myself. : )
Personal weaknesses: Patriotic to a fault, admires the president perhaps a bit too much to the point of near obsession, sees himself as something of a man's man and 'that he's telling it like it is.'
FACTION: Leader of U.F.U.P Team #81
~~~
Name: Jeremy “The Rookie' Jameson
Age: 18
Nooot the biggest fan of using faceclaims unless I really have to but I dig the smug energy this picture gives off.
Feels very apt for Jeremy! Right before he gets a glimpse of the new reality he's walking into.
Description: When designing Jeremy, I wanted to sort of give him an 'every-man' type vibe. He's the type of guy who if he heard that the USSR and it's communist allies were finally declaring open war on the US, he'd be one of the first people at the enlisting stations. He'd lay everything on the line for his country. But the difference between himself and someone who also fashions their personality as a 'patriot' like Tom is that Jeremy still has room in his life to care about people, like his ma and his dad and his little sister and even his old neighbor Mr. Dodger, even if he can be a cranky son of a gun sometimes. Fact is that if America really is the 'Land of the Free and the home of opportunity', he'd only be doing a disservice to those who came before him to be rude and discriminatory. Something that his peers at school tend to tease him about but he paid none of it anymind. He had his beliefs and they theirs. Even when pulled into Tom's unit, he tries his best to be respectful!
Short brown hair, a winning smile, brown eyes, a decently toned frame, he tries his best to stay in shape! It isn't always easy but the results are worth it!
....Now if only he could survive living with his new 'teammates.'
Gift name: None....?
Gift Type: N/A
Gift abilities:
None....For now.
Race: Human (As American as they come, southern accent and all)
Bio: Jeremy's story wasn't anything particularly special. If anything, you might be as surprised as Tom was that he was even allowed access to the 'true' existence of A.F.U.P and wasn't outright killed or disappeared. Grew up with a decently middle-class family. His father had served in Vietnam during a good chunk of Jeremy's childhood years, leaving his maternal grandparents (his grandfather who had served in Korea!) to support his mother who took on a mentally exhausting job at a local department store to try and afford a living for her two children. It was a combination of respect for his father and grandfather's service in the country's armed forces and his mother's blatant perseverance to keep a roof over her children's heads that may have inspired Jeremy's future outlook on life.
To be respectful of others and that if you really want anything in this life? It won't be handed to you on a silver platter. You'd have to work for it! In his family's eyes, someone like Jimmy Carter just couldn't understand that. 'He'd rather blame his own country' 'Talk to us like we're sulking children' and so on. So, it was with a degree of pride in both himself and his country that he cast his first vote upon turning eighteen for Ronald Reagan. His family were a bit less supportive when Jeremy then voiced his eagerness to enroll in the country's army like his forefathers had. The discussion actually had been one of the few times in his life that Jeremy had ever seen his father raise his voice.
Needless to say, just because they'd been willing to lay down their lives for their country, that didn't immediately spur them to believe that their son/grandson should do as they'd done. Jeremy was distraught. He'd only wanted to do what had inspired him to try and do good! He didn't talk to his father for days and stayed in his room when he wasn't at work or doing his homework. His mother had been worried about her boy and so, it was a relief for both parties when they received a strange but oddly patriotic and chest-thumping pamphlet in the mail! Something, something, an organization called the A.F.U.P was looking for volunteers to sign up! Eager young Americans willing to provide a service for the government that kept them all safe and helped lead the free world! His father was a touch skeptical but not wanting his son to bare any animosity towards him, he gave his half-hearted support. Jeremy called the number provided on the pamphlet, got a meeting set up, and was so excited!
He arrived at the meeting place and it was a bit grimier than he'd expected a government funded facility to look. The organization appeared to be based out of a rather trashy looking building with paint chipping off the walls, dim lights flickering overhead and barely doing their job in illuminating the room. Having come in his sunday best, Jeremy had honestly felt like he was maybe a bit TOO overdressed....
Situated in the center of the room was a creaky looking brown table. The legs look worn, and flakes of wood littered the linoleum floor under it. Two chairs were positioned on either side of the table.
But Jeremy didn't see anyone else in the room-
<"Hey. You gonna take a seat, kid? Or are you gonna expect me to talk at you from across the room?" >
W-What had just happened? He'd heard a voice but seen no one and the voice sounded so close, intimately close. As though their words were brushing past the hair on his neck. He'd been so taken aback that he'd failed to realize just how much he was sweating. He was practically leaving a wet trail on the floor. "W-Who's there?" Jeremy called out only to hear that strange voice again. It carried the faint hint of irritation as if there was something obvious that Jeremy just wasn't getting.
<"Eh? You deaf or somethin, kid? I told you to take a seat. Now are you gonna or will I have to make ya?">
"W-WHO ARE YOU?? I can hear someone but I can't see nobody! J-Just come on out and show yourselves, already!"
"Alright."
Jeremy turned around and looked up at a man who appeared old enough to be his dad. If Jeremy had to take a wild stab at the man's age anyhow. Not that Jeremy would have voiced that opinion aloud anyway. He didn't know where this man had come from. The door hadn't opened or even budged since he'd walked in and locked it behind him. "What? You look like you've seen a ghost, kid. C'mon, I ain't that hard on the eyes am I? Am I?" The man asked, sneering, as he closed the distance between him and Jeremy. "N...No, sir. I....I....where did you come from?"
The man stared at Jeremy. Quietly. Intently.
"My ma's cooch. You?"
Jeremy didn't laugh.
"Christ alive, kid. Crack a smile, bust a gut, smile. Something. Just let me know you still got a pulse, huh?"
"I'm...um...Jeremy Jameson. I'm here to join up."
"Join up, huh? Well, that's good. I mean, if you were just some rando wandering up in federal property, well then as a federal agent, I'd probably have to do something about it. If you made too much of a fuss, hell, I may have even had to use lethal force. Lethal. Force. Leeeeethaaaaaalllllllllll. Foooooooooorce." Jeremy gulped and took a step back, reaching towards the back of one of the chairs. "A...Are you gonna hurt me, sir?'
"Me? No."
Then the man smiled. Jeremy would later compare it to looking like the sneer of a hyena.
"You though? Yeah."
Jeremy couldn't help but be confused as Jeremy tripped back and conked his head on a corner of the table. "Ohhhh...." He groaned as he clutched at the back of his head and winced while rolling around on the floor. The man who'd claimed to be a fed didn't seem too impressed. "Christ." He rolled his eyes and stepped through the trail of water, that assuredly hadn't been there just seconds ago, and stopped at Jeremy's side. "You're killing me here, kid. Or maybe I should say it's you killing you, huh? What's with the reluctance? Show me your gift already." The man knelt down with his elbows resting against his knees. "Name's Thomas Gorman. Agent Thomas Gorman, leader of U.F.U.P Unit #69. But, just call me Tom. Just. Tom." Jeremy however was too focused on the blood oozing out of the gash on the back of his head from the table clonk. "Oh...Ohnonono. I'm bleeding. I'm bleeding! M-Mister, what happened??? Call an ambulance or something, please!"
As Jeremy continued to wail for help and medical attention, it was slowly starting to dawn on Tom. That this kid wasn't just scared (well, okay, he was. Tom was surprised the kid didn't piss his pants or empty his bowels) to show off his Gift. Guy seemed just completely 100% out of it.
"You're not a Gifted, are you?"
"HELP ME! SOMEONE HELP!!!! SOMEONE!!! OH LORD....."
Tom looked from side to side and huffed in exasperation.
"Fuck."
Personal Weaknesses:
Naivety
GIVE ME A HELL YEAH?
No?
Well, that's okay!
IF YOU'RE NEW TO THIS THREAD THEN CHECK THE INTREST/RECRUITING THREAD FIRST: Realistic or Modern - Return To Sender
If you already know why you're here then, welcome aboard!
nocchi
BuggaBoo
TheHistorian
DoctorDunno
BFabulous
rakshasa
PlusUltra
OK!If you already know why you're here then, welcome aboard!
nocchi
BuggaBoo
TheHistorian
DoctorDunno
BFabulous
rakshasa
PlusUltra
Sorry for the long-winded introduction! Just felt it was a touch necessary!
Here is the CS format!
Each player can have up to TWO PCs for the time being but you'll have to decide if you want em to be in the same faction or if they're just some poor schmuck just trying to live their life under the radar. Trying to keep to a decent-sized cast here/not let things balloon too far out of control lol
Name: Joe Mama
Age: Nunya
Description: Use a faceclaim if you'd like! Or if you wanna be more descriptive then go for that too!
Gift name: [PICK A FITTING SONG NAME IF YOU'D LIKE OR HAVE IT BE COMPLETELY RANDOM! THAT'S OKAY TOO!]
Gift Type: (i'll explain this more in a bit!) ELEMENTAL
Gift abilities! N/A ; )
Race: Whateva
Bio: If you have ANY questions, please don't hesitate to ask! I'd be more than happy to brainstorm with any potential players! I'm sure y'all are super creative!
Personal weaknesses: faults, weaknesses, quirks that could mess them up in the heat of battle?
FACTION: You workin for the feds(you gotta be at least 18 to apply, at least on the record, if you're younger? Well, it's not like Gifted have any rights)or are you taking a stand against the injustice that's been perpetuated on your people for centuries? Or....maybe you're just a highschooler trying to stay out of trouble/keeping your Gift on the downlow?
~~~
GIFT TYPES
-Elemental(Thomas for example is an Elemental Gifted.) The individual's body takes on an appearance similar to the element that they control. But they always have distinct features like glowing yellow eyes that lack pupils, no mouths, speak through telepathy unless wearing a glamour, and no visible ears. But a key fact to note is that they are not actually MADE out of said element. If one were to shoot Thomas with a regular handgun, the bullets would just splish-splash through his body as though you were shooting at a water fountain or a waterfall. He CAN patch himself up with powers/his skin does grow over his wounds like skin spreading over a human-shaped bag of water, but he's still flesh and blood behind it all. It just takes meeting some terms to be able to actually do damage to him. That's what's called as 'Meeting a Condition.' If you were to blast Thomas with a hot enough weapon, it'd 'steam' his body and allow brief access to his 'real' body for a few moments, allowing him to be shot and punched like any other person. The same would go with an Ice elemental. If you were to blast him/her with a fire blast for example, it'd do actual damage to them, open them up for other attacks. Fair warning however in that Elementals can train themselves to endure the terms of their condition. Thomas is one such example in that say throwing a burning piece of debris at him won't be enough to activate the condition. Something more along the lines of slashing or attempting to stab him with a burning implement is likely to be more sufficient.
That said they don't need to be around their element of choice 24/7 in order to utilize it. Thomas can conjure up his own water at will. For some of those who are born with viscous bodies(think being an oil/tar/water elemental) they still have solid bodies but as explained earlier, certain 'conditions' need to be met before they can be struck (an oil elemental needs to be burned, a tar man needs to be splashed with water to give him a solid state to punch/shoot, and a water man would need to be frozen or 'steamed') Their internal organs still do exist, they're just not easily accessible through normal means. Elementals are considered some of the most powerful Gifted and this is partially why Thomas was sought after by the US Govt/trusted with the position as a leading agent of the A.F.U.P. They are also the most feared as numerous contingency plans have been put into place to ever keep Thomas under the govt's leash....or so some people suspect.
-Physical (Think along the lines of someone like say Luke Cage who's super strong and has tough skin) Gifted who fit into this class rely more on buffing up their physical stats. Think along the lines of Luke Cage or Younger Toguro from YYH as both have abilities which supplement or enhance their physical stature/strength. Most of those who fit in this category don't tend to be long distance fighters by nature.
-Mental (Think Professor X) These are Gifted who might not have super strength or in some very rare cases be absolutely debilitated/bedbound by the strength of their gift draining most of their physical faculties. It might also just be very mundane abilities and nothing to write home about. In another story I'm writing set in the same universe, there's a doctor of a certain morality named William Nocturne who possesses a Gift called [I WALK TO MY OWN SONG] that allows him to understand information at a faster rate than 'normal' people. Learning languages can be immensely difficult for the average person but for someone like Nocturne it's a task that he could spend a week or so at and get the hang of in no time.
This type also includes giving them greatly enhanced telepathic prowess. Whether this comes in the form of greater intelligence or in Odd from the Modern Crusaders's [AUX] allows him to compensate for his blindness by printing a mental play by play of what audibly happens in the next 15 or so seconds. When given time to further evolve his gift it's changed to [AUXILARY] and he now has very limited TK powers with being able to project telekinetic shields/blasts or to try and bind somebody in place. But this takes a great deal of energy out of Odd and is really only used on a regular basis to better line up his bullets by manipulating their trajectory. While Physical!Gifted need to activate their powers, those who possess mental gifts are constantly 'on' with [AUX] only deactivating if Odd is knocked out or killed.
-Mutation (Think like Tokoyami from MHA or The Lizard from Spider-Man) These are Gifted whose powers either greatly alter their physical constitution or give them something that one might consider outright 'unnatural'(a man growing claws/a tongue that can be used like a whip/a lizard man etc) and [MR BRIGHTSIDE] is like this for Jean Pajaro(another 'Modern Crusader') with it normally manifesting as just angel wings when she calls out her gift's name. But after being fatally wounded, Jean can 'return' with her corpse shifting into a gigantic, distorted version of herself with burning skin and razor-sharp teeth. Along the lines of a phoenix resurrecting. Overtime the energy will fade and Jean will return back to normal but with a scar of whatever originally killed her still present on her person.
Now that I've explained what Gifts are, I'll state the obvious in that many major powers were looking to capitalize on the war-making potential. After a few nasty wars here and there however, it eventually became an unsaid agreement between the major powers that it'd perhaps be better to try and quash any signs of Gifted causing a general ruckus among society. If they just let the Gifted live like anyone else and openly flaunt their powers who's to say that a group of them wouldn't feel so inclined to march up to the White House and overthrow the president? Or blow up the Kremlin and take over?
Who's to say...?
GOVT PCs
Name: Thomas Gorman. Strongly prefers being just called 'Tom.'
Age: Late 30s-early 40s
Description: When creating Tom, I envisioned him as something of a loathsome looking fella. Just somebody you'd take one look at and want absolutely nothing to do with unless you really had to. Extremely bad vibes radiating off the guy's mere presence. Has no shame about walking around the apartment he lives in with his team in his boxers/shirtless. Doesn't outwardly seem even close to resembling any kind of professional status that earned him a position as a leader of the division of UFUP that Return to Sender's cast follows. Jokingly refers to it as 'YOU FUCKED UP, PLENTY!" But when push comes to shove, he can and will show why he's the guy that the Department of Defense put in charge of this specific team.
Name: Thomas Gorman. Strongly prefers being just called 'Tom.'
Age: Late 30s-early 40s
Description: When creating Tom, I envisioned him as something of a loathsome looking fella. Just somebody you'd take one look at and want absolutely nothing to do with unless you really had to. Extremely bad vibes radiating off the guy's mere presence. Has no shame about walking around the apartment he lives in with his team in his boxers/shirtless. Doesn't outwardly seem even close to resembling any kind of professional status that earned him a position as a leader of the division of UFUP that Return to Sender's cast follows. Jokingly refers to it as 'YOU FUCKED UP, PLENTY!" But when push comes to shove, he can and will show why he's the guy that the Department of Defense put in charge of this specific team.
He intentionally based his Glamour off a younger Jack Nicholson (who'd only be around 44 by the time the RP starts with Reagan's inauguration) since he kind of appreciated just how much of a damn good actor Jack was. If you were to ask Tom how many times he'd seen 'The Shining', he'd say
probably around five or six. In his elemental form, he of course, lacks a mouth/any visible nose or ears and speaks through telepathy. He still retains a humanoid form as all elementals do but his body looks as though it's made out of water with his body being nearly translucent. Also, like every Elemental Gifted, he has two glowing yellow eyes. Gift name: [HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE RAIN?]
Gift Type: (i'll explain this more in a bit!) ELEMENTAL
Gift abilities: [HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE RAIN?] is the reason Tom looks the way he does. It's an elemental Gift that lets Tom control water (but only in liquid form. He's unable to control ice or snow, those would fall under those specific elemental's gifts/ability to control) and due it's extreme versatility, it's allowed him to scale the ranks upon being adopted by the government as a child to being given a highly established and front-facing position as the outwardly friendly leader of the U.F.U.P! Tom can produce a seemingly limitless amount of water and can intensify the pressure at which he manifests/manipulates it to create razor sharp 'High-Pressure Water Discs' that can even cleave through concrete and can be controlled telepathically by Tom. He can also just fire streams of highly pressurized water jets from his hands (or his mouth when in his Glamour) to punch/burrow through an enemy's defenses. He can also simply cup his hands over a person's mouth/nose and create a 'water mask' over said breathing venues and suffocate them/'drown' them on land.
In Tom's hands, water can even be used for projectile attacks. If he holds his hand or hands out like guns, he can focus droplets of water at the end of his extended digit and fire it with such force that it has the same weight behind it as a high caliber rifle round. He can also just 'splash' an enemy with droplets by merely flicking his wrist/waving his hand at them and those droplets can carry enough punch behind them to throw a fully grown man back on his ass or throw them across a room. The scariest aspect that [HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE RAIN?] offers Tom though is likely access to the pocket dimension that he can enter through any means of contact with any sized body of water. Say if he were to turn himself into liquid form and flow down into a puddle in the sink or into someone's open water bottle, he'll enter a pitch-black void that's full of water and resembles the darkest depths of the world's oceans. Tom, being a water elemental, doesn't need to breathe while in the void but anyone that he drags in with him likely will and so it's no wonder why that if someone were to bring a flashlight with them and scan it around, they'd see hundreds if not thousands of corpses in various stages of decomposition just floating around. All victims of Tom's career in one way or another. If you're dragged into the 'Ocean Room' as Tom calls it by force, you only have two chances at escaping. Killing Tom and destroying the miniature universe or swimming towards the glistening rays of lights piercing down into the 'water' from above. These are the 'openings' that Tom uses to hop around as instantly as he does. One example of an opening is if say someone in the next town over has their sink running while they're cleaning dishes, Tom can 'climb' through the opening and manifest in the person's sinkwater and just appear there, a grown ass and highly dangerous man sitting in your sink, capable of controlling your lukewarm sink water to kill you in a variety of ways. If a regular person were to go through the opening, they'd appear suddenly in said person's sink as well. But, a word of caution, however.
These same openings can apply to avenues that are extremely restrictive by design like someone opening up their water bottle/canteen/jug. Tom can simply appear inside the device as a liquid and then burst the water bottle apart as he reforms himself. Same with if someone tried to drink him before he could escape the bottle. Simply reform inside the person. This usually kills said person in a highly spectacular gory fashion 99% of the time. A regular person or a non-elemental can't likely do this so you'd end up uncomfortably wedged inside a person's water bottle and suffocating in horrible agony. So, make sure to look before you leap!
Conventional weaponry has little to no effect on Tom. If you were to cut his head off, he'd simply place it back on with bubbles popping around his neckline where he'd been chopped. Bullets would go right through him and come out soaked in water. But like every Elemental, he has a 'Condition' which if meant, temporarily removes the Gifted's invulnerability and allows them to be harmed by other means. Tom for example, if you were to say heat up a kitchen knife and shank him with it, you're likely to draw blood/leave a burn, whereas if you simply stabbed him, you'd just be splashing water around and he'd knock the knife away. Realizing that his Condition was likely to hold him back if he didn't train it, it'll likely take an extremely hot blade or an overheating machine gun to do any damage to Tom. Simply trying to burn him with your lighter won't work nor will throwing spill powder on him. Heat hot enough to cause his water-like body to dissipate into steam is what leaves him vulnerable, even if he's been working on it!
Race: Gifted, duh!
Bio: I'd rather keep Tom's backstory on the downlow for the time being! Feel it might be better to just sorta let that come out naturally even if I have a good idea of it myself. : )
Personal weaknesses: Patriotic to a fault, admires the president perhaps a bit too much to the point of near obsession, sees himself as something of a man's man and 'that he's telling it like it is.'
FACTION: Leader of U.F.U.P Team #81
~~~
Name: Jeremy “The Rookie' Jameson
Age: 18
Nooot the biggest fan of using faceclaims unless I really have to but I dig the smug energy this picture gives off.
Feels very apt for Jeremy! Right before he gets a glimpse of the new reality he's walking into.
Description: When designing Jeremy, I wanted to sort of give him an 'every-man' type vibe. He's the type of guy who if he heard that the USSR and it's communist allies were finally declaring open war on the US, he'd be one of the first people at the enlisting stations. He'd lay everything on the line for his country. But the difference between himself and someone who also fashions their personality as a 'patriot' like Tom is that Jeremy still has room in his life to care about people, like his ma and his dad and his little sister and even his old neighbor Mr. Dodger, even if he can be a cranky son of a gun sometimes. Fact is that if America really is the 'Land of the Free and the home of opportunity', he'd only be doing a disservice to those who came before him to be rude and discriminatory. Something that his peers at school tend to tease him about but he paid none of it anymind. He had his beliefs and they theirs. Even when pulled into Tom's unit, he tries his best to be respectful!
Short brown hair, a winning smile, brown eyes, a decently toned frame, he tries his best to stay in shape! It isn't always easy but the results are worth it!
....Now if only he could survive living with his new 'teammates.'
Gift name: None....?
Gift Type: N/A
Gift abilities:
None....For now.
Race: Human (As American as they come, southern accent and all)
Bio: Jeremy's story wasn't anything particularly special. If anything, you might be as surprised as Tom was that he was even allowed access to the 'true' existence of A.F.U.P and wasn't outright killed or disappeared. Grew up with a decently middle-class family. His father had served in Vietnam during a good chunk of Jeremy's childhood years, leaving his maternal grandparents (his grandfather who had served in Korea!) to support his mother who took on a mentally exhausting job at a local department store to try and afford a living for her two children. It was a combination of respect for his father and grandfather's service in the country's armed forces and his mother's blatant perseverance to keep a roof over her children's heads that may have inspired Jeremy's future outlook on life.
To be respectful of others and that if you really want anything in this life? It won't be handed to you on a silver platter. You'd have to work for it! In his family's eyes, someone like Jimmy Carter just couldn't understand that. 'He'd rather blame his own country' 'Talk to us like we're sulking children' and so on. So, it was with a degree of pride in both himself and his country that he cast his first vote upon turning eighteen for Ronald Reagan. His family were a bit less supportive when Jeremy then voiced his eagerness to enroll in the country's army like his forefathers had. The discussion actually had been one of the few times in his life that Jeremy had ever seen his father raise his voice.
Needless to say, just because they'd been willing to lay down their lives for their country, that didn't immediately spur them to believe that their son/grandson should do as they'd done. Jeremy was distraught. He'd only wanted to do what had inspired him to try and do good! He didn't talk to his father for days and stayed in his room when he wasn't at work or doing his homework. His mother had been worried about her boy and so, it was a relief for both parties when they received a strange but oddly patriotic and chest-thumping pamphlet in the mail! Something, something, an organization called the A.F.U.P was looking for volunteers to sign up! Eager young Americans willing to provide a service for the government that kept them all safe and helped lead the free world! His father was a touch skeptical but not wanting his son to bare any animosity towards him, he gave his half-hearted support. Jeremy called the number provided on the pamphlet, got a meeting set up, and was so excited!
He arrived at the meeting place and it was a bit grimier than he'd expected a government funded facility to look. The organization appeared to be based out of a rather trashy looking building with paint chipping off the walls, dim lights flickering overhead and barely doing their job in illuminating the room. Having come in his sunday best, Jeremy had honestly felt like he was maybe a bit TOO overdressed....
Situated in the center of the room was a creaky looking brown table. The legs look worn, and flakes of wood littered the linoleum floor under it. Two chairs were positioned on either side of the table.
But Jeremy didn't see anyone else in the room-
<"Hey. You gonna take a seat, kid? Or are you gonna expect me to talk at you from across the room?" >
W-What had just happened? He'd heard a voice but seen no one and the voice sounded so close, intimately close. As though their words were brushing past the hair on his neck. He'd been so taken aback that he'd failed to realize just how much he was sweating. He was practically leaving a wet trail on the floor. "W-Who's there?" Jeremy called out only to hear that strange voice again. It carried the faint hint of irritation as if there was something obvious that Jeremy just wasn't getting.
<"Eh? You deaf or somethin, kid? I told you to take a seat. Now are you gonna or will I have to make ya?">
"W-WHO ARE YOU?? I can hear someone but I can't see nobody! J-Just come on out and show yourselves, already!"
"Alright."
Jeremy turned around and looked up at a man who appeared old enough to be his dad. If Jeremy had to take a wild stab at the man's age anyhow. Not that Jeremy would have voiced that opinion aloud anyway. He didn't know where this man had come from. The door hadn't opened or even budged since he'd walked in and locked it behind him. "What? You look like you've seen a ghost, kid. C'mon, I ain't that hard on the eyes am I? Am I?" The man asked, sneering, as he closed the distance between him and Jeremy. "N...No, sir. I....I....where did you come from?"
The man stared at Jeremy. Quietly. Intently.
"My ma's cooch. You?"
Jeremy didn't laugh.
"Christ alive, kid. Crack a smile, bust a gut, smile. Something. Just let me know you still got a pulse, huh?"
"I'm...um...Jeremy Jameson. I'm here to join up."
"Join up, huh? Well, that's good. I mean, if you were just some rando wandering up in federal property, well then as a federal agent, I'd probably have to do something about it. If you made too much of a fuss, hell, I may have even had to use lethal force. Lethal. Force. Leeeeethaaaaaalllllllllll. Foooooooooorce." Jeremy gulped and took a step back, reaching towards the back of one of the chairs. "A...Are you gonna hurt me, sir?'
"Me? No."
Then the man smiled. Jeremy would later compare it to looking like the sneer of a hyena.
"You though? Yeah."
Jeremy couldn't help but be confused as Jeremy tripped back and conked his head on a corner of the table. "Ohhhh...." He groaned as he clutched at the back of his head and winced while rolling around on the floor. The man who'd claimed to be a fed didn't seem too impressed. "Christ." He rolled his eyes and stepped through the trail of water, that assuredly hadn't been there just seconds ago, and stopped at Jeremy's side. "You're killing me here, kid. Or maybe I should say it's you killing you, huh? What's with the reluctance? Show me your gift already." The man knelt down with his elbows resting against his knees. "Name's Thomas Gorman. Agent Thomas Gorman, leader of U.F.U.P Unit #69. But, just call me Tom. Just. Tom." Jeremy however was too focused on the blood oozing out of the gash on the back of his head from the table clonk. "Oh...Ohnonono. I'm bleeding. I'm bleeding! M-Mister, what happened??? Call an ambulance or something, please!"
As Jeremy continued to wail for help and medical attention, it was slowly starting to dawn on Tom. That this kid wasn't just scared (well, okay, he was. Tom was surprised the kid didn't piss his pants or empty his bowels) to show off his Gift. Guy seemed just completely 100% out of it.
"You're not a Gifted, are you?"
"HELP ME! SOMEONE HELP!!!! SOMEONE!!! OH LORD....."
Tom looked from side to side and huffed in exasperation.
"Fuck."
Personal Weaknesses:
Naivety
- Jeremy tries his best to deal with the surreal and often mind-breaking situation he's found himself in. This still hasn't dissuaded him from not trying to see the best in people he meets. Whether they're Gifted who need to be convinced to back down before they have to be restrained or put down or a civillian that Jeremy desperately wants to try and persuade to leave an active battlefield before they're killed for having seen too much. He'll buy a sob story easy and often won't think to question it until it's too late.
Lack of a Gift-Tom's still busy trying to figure out just why Jeremy had bothered responding to the pamphlet/why he'd even been allowed to get as far as approaching the actual building without having any signs of a Gift whatsoever. Jeremy through his short time with the team has managed to try and scope out some understanding of his Gifted teammates and does his best not to get in their way. But there's only so much being a crack shot with a hunting rifle or a mundane sidearm will do if your opponent is a hulking crocodilian-humanoid or can breath streams of fire or reverse time.
~~~
Name: Acela Perez
Age: 42
Description: The barest idea behind Acela's character has always been jutting around in my head in some form or another. The idea of a beautiful woman who although she may look outwardly 'perfect' and 'without flaws' to the casual observer, she carries a great pain within that in her own mind makes her as hideous as any witch you might in a fairytale or fable. Beauty is only in the eye of the beholder and such. I picked out the pic that I did for her because I felt it just tied so well into who I feel Acela is as a character. Even torn away from the ones she's loved with all her heart, she dresses flashily, uncaring of any and all looks that it may garner. She does it simply for herself and that's all that matters. Then when you get into how the background of said drawing resembles a raging inferno blazing out of control behind the beautiful woman, it ties Acela's vibes in a big bloody bow!~
Gift name: [HABANERA]
Gift Type: Elemental
Gift abilities: As with every elemental with a specific outlier, in her 'natural' state, Acela lacks many of the features that most un-Gifted men alike might flock to and fawn over. Her glowing yellow eyes, the soft almost rhythmic rumbling and sway of the blood reddish flames that seem to make up her body's composition. No visible ears or mouth present on the sides of her head or under the two small slits where an otherwise normal nose might be. Acela's brand of Fire Elemental allows her to manipulate and control red flames, out of the specific color spectrum that fire can manifest in. They're cool to the touch, at least initially, and much like Acela's glamour and lovely personality, lull you into something of a false sense of security. Until you begin to realize the damage, she's capable of until it's too late as the flames have already spread across your body and if not quelled through either water or taking Acela herself out of the equation, are likely to leave you a chilled burning husk of the man or woman that you used to be.
In an effort to try and stand out from other Fire Elementals much like how Tom has made his own fighting style unique to stand out from elementals that have some degree of control over ice, snow, or the rain, Acela has developed a heavily close quarters style of utilizing [HABANERA] by heating up the palms of her hands and then lashing out in either the form of a hefty slap/smack or a forceful grip to keep her desired target still while she burns away at their flesh, the coolness of the flames dulling their nerves' reaction over time while still singing their flesh. She's also something of a dancer in her free time and often invites some of her younger peers in Unit #69 to join her and has had no trouble incorporating this into her fighting style. Using her dancing movements, she can spread her fire across the ground or air with each step, and eventually try to encircle her enemy in a field of fireballs all poised to rain down upon Acela's instruction.
Much like how any conventional attacks will simply phase through Tom's body as though he really were made of water, the same can be said for Acela's own body. It's also one of the ways that she's killed desired targets of the government before. Seduce them to bed, allow them to feel around where they wished while consummating their love, and then lower the glamour and hold them close to her. Her body burning them alive in a gruesome display and abuse of a pervert's lust. Any bullets shot at her will simply ricochet in a wild direction due to her fiery composition reacting badly with the gunpowder. However, if one were to douse her with a sufficient amount of water or muster up strong enough winds to temporarily 'put out' her flames, you run both the risk of actually hitting her 'real' body or outright leaving her in a flameless induced coughing/choking fit though this tends to go for most fire elementals. In that if their 'flames' are put out upon their condition being met, unless they've trained themselves up to endure the aftereffects of their condition better than most, it'll result in a vicious coughing fit and if not given enough time to recuperate, possibly even suffocation.
Personal weaknesses: Acela loves children to a fault. Perhaps it stems from her own lack of a decent upbringing as a result of her family being caught up in world-wide conflicts like the Spanish Civil War (with foreign countries siding with either faction) and the Second World War which claimed the life of her biological father. It was partially due to her unbridled love of her stepfather and mother that she willingly agreed to go with the US government after her mother married an American serviceman stationed in occupied Germany. She couldn't stand even the slightest possibility of seeing them hurt. The same could well be said for Black Ink. Young as her fellow Gifted is, seeing any signs of him being mistreated has often brought Acele to blows with Tom on more on than one occasion.
Only time will tell if she'll ever fully combust.
FACTION: The government, much to her displeasure.
Bio: [REDACTED] I'd rather try to just and keep some stuff on the downlow/let it flow out naturally through interactions with the characters y'know? If I were to lay out every single person's backstory, we'd never get to the actual RP lol
~~~
Name: Gregory 'G' Samms
Age: ???
Description: Tom and Mu are reportedly the only ones who've been able to see what G looks like. In fact, the two of them plus The Shade are the only ones that he'll even allow into his room. Tom, because of his role as the unit's leader. Mu because G simply doesn't feel put off by his presence, for a reason he's yet to be able to properly discern himself. The Shade simply can't be denied access due to the way his own Gift [I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW] works. Those new to the unit like Jeremy have only seen glimpses here and there like seeing a glowing eye peering at them through the doorhole on the center of G's bedroom door. Or the sleeve of a black blazer reaching out through the slightly creaked door to grab a bag of food from Tom.
Jeremy couldn't be one hundred percent certain but from the bit of skin he'd seen at the wrist. It didn't look like a glamour like Acela and Tom wore. In fact he'd almost say it downright looked like the exoskeleton of an insect, brown and segmented. There was a part of him that wanted to learn for sure but he didn't know how G would take upon somebody like him waltzing into his room.
So, there you have it.
If you're curious enough? Feel free to come on inside.
But, consider this before traipsing around in a room not your own.
You were warned.
GIFT name: [ALMOST HUMAN]
Gift Type: Mutation
Gift Abilities: Why not try taking a look in his room and find out for yourself...?
Personal Weaknesses:
-He absolutely DETESTS bright lights and often keeps the lights low to dim in his room. Typically, the only lights that may be on would be his various monitors and computers. Taking advantage of his heavy reluctance to leave his quarters unless absolutely necessary, he acts as something of the technical expert for Tom's Unit. Please be cautious when aiming a flashlight or anything bright in his general direction.
Bio: [redacted]
~~~
Name: John 'The Living Dead' Romero
Age: Supposedly 80 years old. Most of his teammates don't buy it.
Description: John is obviously an expy of the title character from the late George Romero's 'Martin!' horror film. Subsequently, John claims or believes that due to his Gift [LOVE BITES] he's been able to live for well over eighty years and still not look any older than a young man in his 20s. Tom humors him but others like Acela and G simply believe him to utterly delusional and only kept on by the government so that they can keep tabs on him/prevent him from trying to spread his insane rantings to the public and potentially opening up a whole can of worms in the process.
Tom chalks it up to just outright insanity.
Acela believes that John may have had some kind of abusive upbringing. One where his family constantly pressured him over his Gift/claimed that it made him abnormal, no better than a freak in their eyes!
The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.
Gift Name: [LOVE BITES]
Gift Type: He's a Surprise like Black Ink. His mother was a mental and his father was a physical. The resulting hybrid disgusted his parents and they were horrified to the point of mentally abusing their son into believing he was a revolting freak of nature.
Gift Abilities:
-He claims that it's granted him eternal youth. Only Tom and those with access to governmental records could confirm it for real but Tom sees it easier to just play along. Whether or not it's actually real doesn't enter into the equation. Jeremy thinks that trying to figure out or replicate the secret to John's youthful glow is probably why the government assigned him to Tom's unit so that Tom would be obligated to keep him safe. So as not to get his own reputation pissed on by looking incompetent and letting his men get slaughtered.
-He claims to get stronger off drinking blood. Whether it's through cutting his opponent's skin open and drinking it from their arm or clinging to them like some kind of feral animal, he can't get enough of the red stuff. Everyone thinks it's a bit freaky. Except Tom of course, he finds it hilarious.
-One of the few things that seem to be an actual physical manifestation of his Gift comes in the form of him being able to emit smoke/fog from his person. Disorient his enemies and allow his allies to get the drop on them. Jeremy thinks that he might be carrying a mini smoke machine with him at all times or something though.
Personal Weaknesses:
-He might play down SOME of the aspects in regard to how 'much of a freak he is' and often gives the impression of lying or just maybe outright being Giftless like Jeremy, given that in some cases he resorts to hidden razor blades on his person, a switchblade, or syringes filled with god knows what rather than whatever physical strength he claims [LOVE BITES] grants him.
Bio: [redacted]
~~~
Name: Crystal 'In Death' Gorman
Age: 21
Description: Crystal is the 'prodigal daughter' in Tom's eyes. An extremely destructive Gift that the government(and by proxy, Tom) can point at a target and utterly eradicate it. Crystal in turn hates all the killing she's had to do since she was around Black Ink's age(2) and would love nothing more than to run away and leave this entire life behind. But in her heart of hearts she knows that Tom, monster as he is and dirtbag as he admits to be, he's the closest thing she has to a father. He'd even given her the same last name that the government had given him.
She had no idea what her original last name was.
Or even who her original parents were. She often wondered what kind of people they were. If they'd be disappointed in her at all or not.
But she'd likely never know. Her Gift did a lot of things but going back in time wasn't one of them, sadly.
She also has IN DEATH tattooed across her chest. Something she's understandably very shy about letting people see.
Gift Name: [WE BELONG TOGETHER]
Gift Type: Mental
Gift Abilities:
-[WE BELONG TOGETHER] essentially combines both Kizaru(from One Piece)'s lasers and DBZ style energy blasts. Think of it as Crystal being able to manipulate light to the point, she can focus it into explosive bursts of concentrated energy. Even putting out both her index finger and ring finger next to eachother, she can focus enough light energy at the edges of her fingertips to blow up an entire makeshift warehouse that a group of Pro-Gifted activists had taken to hiding in. Something along the lines of this:
-Much like how G prefers staying in the dark, Crystal prefers things, big, bright, and dazzling. Much to her own great annoyance as it sharply contrasts with her own personality which would much rather fade away into the shadows than ever be the center of attention. If angered, Crystal can drain the energy from any nearby light sources to the point of shattering lightbulbs or fracturing TVs, to strengthen herself up.
-Although she can't fly in the traditional sense, Crystal can create energy constructs for her to walk on, though if only due to her admitted current lack of creativity, the constructs are relatively rudimentary like rectangular platforms to get to the air/sky or a circular dome to protect from incoming attacks at the light.
Personal Weaknesses:
-Although she'd probably deny it up and down, Crystal cares too much about people to ever think about betraying Tom and the government. She knows too well people would be killed in the process and the government would stop at nothing to have her back under their thumb. [WE BELONG TOGETHER] was simply too powerful to let run unchecked or even have the slightest chance of being influenced by outside forces, like say the Soviets or the Chinese. It's a much smaller factor but she also knows in her heart of hearts that if she were to be killed or succesfully flee, Tom would be severely punished.
Something that, despite the numerous amounts of murder and scum work he'd been a part of, he was still....her dad.
Or as close to it as she'd get anyway.
Bio: [redacted]
FACTION: The government, duh.
~~~
Name: The Shade
Age: 50
Description: The Shade is one of the few characters along with Black Ink that'll spoilers I guess, survive the events of Return to Sender, and live on through the other stories I have set in this universe. He's only 41 here but he'd be at least in his early 80s by the time of 'The Modern Crusaders' and part of the reason he's so old and working with the government is because he's essentially been there since Uncle Sam started nabbing up Gifted post WW2. Brought in as a kid, for one reason or another, he always got passed over for actually 'graduating' and becoming a member of the US Army's secret Gifted Unit. So, he's been reluctantly resigned to acting as the usual liason between the Feds and the U.F.U.P units under their thumb.
Appearing before them at inoppertune times, giving them good or bad(mostly bad) news, and even new orders/missions.
He'll get his hands dirty if he has to, he used to be a kid from Brooklyn after all, but he'd much rather stay where he's comfortable: in the sahdows.
Gift Name: [I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW]
Gift Type: Mental
Gift Abilities
-Think of [I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW] as something of a combination between Tokyomi from MHA's shadow ability in that The Shade can effectively wield his own shadow like a weapon/manipulate it as though it were a puppet on strings rather than just an uncontrollable extension of himself. This also allows him to change on a dime whether or not his shadow can be struck or attacks will simply phase through. If he wants to try and capture an opponent, he'll let the Shadow absorb any firearm shots until he can move in to disarm them or until they run ot of ammo. Whichever happens to come first. Same with bladed weapons. They can cut into his shadow as much as they'd like but it'll simply reconstitute itself and go back on the attack.
-[I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW] also allows The Shade to pretty much teleport. The Shadow lays itself flat on the ground and the Shade(and others as the shadow can pull others in if they step upon it) can 'step into it' as though one were stepping into a puddle or walking straight into a portal. They'll then reappear through the nearest shadow. Whether it be a tree's shadow or a cat's or even a bench's. The opportunities are always there.
-It's somewhat draining on Shade's energy but he can also 'pull over' the shadow on himself or others if he spreads out his AOE to act as something of a ghostly security blanket. Attacks will tear through the shadow but for as long as the Shade is conscious/has enough energy to keep his Gift active, whatever the shadow is covering will likely be rattled but mostly safe.
Personal Weaknesses:
-His gift is extremely versatile and it's implied that he's only been 'held back' for so many years because of his own preference. Getting into a role similar to Tom's seemed like hell and from how much of an asshole he personally knew Tom to be, accepting any role in a unit with that man able to breathe down his neck just couldn't be done. So, he's taken something of an easy way out but despite the power of [I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW], if the opponent is quick enough on the draw that they can shoot/attack him before his shadow can defend him, he lacks any kind of healing factor.
He'll die if he's shot unlike Tom or Acela, unless their conditions are met of course.
Bio: [redacted]~
Faction: Uncle Sam, through blood shed, through tears lost. It's all he's got.
~~~
Name: Damien 'Black Ink' Cruz
Age: 5
True face:
Description: From first glance you might, obviously so, suspect something to be a bit off with the child. Most children usually keep wearing costumes restricted to birthday parties or Halloween. But for as long as he's around his fellow Gifted, and especially around Tom who can't stand to look at him otherwise, Black Ink wears a custom-made 'ghost costume'. So custom in fact that Tom made it for Black Ink himself by ripping the sheet off a twin sized mattress, cutting it up to small enough chunks and then cutting out some room for eyeholes. Black Ink could handle the rest.
Black Ink along with The Shade show up in later stories of mine set in this same universe. Which, y'know, means that whatever the events of this RP may be, Black Ink and the Shade come out of it pretty okay. Though if one were to look at teenaged Black Ink/adult Black Ink and what eventually becomes of him, I think 'okay' is about as far removed as you can get. Under the bedsheet and his clothes, Black Ink's entire body looks to be covered in some sort of tar/oil, an underbite like a female anglerfish, razor sharp shark-like teeth, and much like every other elemental: glowing yellow eyes. He also has long black hair but it's so matted down by his tar that it may as well poke out in tufts. He also has two long elf-like ears on either side of his head.
Gift Name: [PAINT IT BLACK]
Gift Type: Elemental. Black Ink is actually a Surprise: a hybrid of two different types of Gifted creating an offspring. The practice is highly looked down upon due to potential complications that can arise from it. Black Ink's mouth and seeming inability to conjure up a glamour like Tom and Acela may be tied into it at all.
Gift abilities: Black Ink can negate most physical damage done onto him. Bullets, even those of a high caliber, will simply get caught up in his gooey body texture and be expelled at his leisure. Even attempting to blow him apart will yield no results beyond his body simply pulling itself together. He can elongate his limbs and body in general, being capable of devouring an entire fully grown human adult if necessary. He also possesses remarkable strength for his age, being able to throw a man of Tom's size across the room with minimal effort on his part.
Although it rarely comes out due to how blatantly destructive it is, [PAINT IT BLACK] has a sub-ability known as [FADE TO BLACK] which allows Black Ink to 'spread' his tar across the area, growing bigger and bigger with the more mass it consumes as it spreads like a voracious blob. The biggest that he's ever been observed to get in his few years of life were about to the size of a full grown African Elephant. Not something you'd want staring you down in the worst of times.
Personal Weaknesses:
-Immaturity. Kind of comes with the territory of having no parents and having only strangers, some of whom couldn't care less about you, looking after your well-being. Also, being five years old probably doesn't help either.
-Water, or well, most liquids but water most of all. Water soldifies Black Ink and meets his 'Condition'-the terms needed for an elemental to actually be harmed. Electricity or extreme levels of heat(note, not fire, heat itself) for Tom, water or wind for Acela, and water for Black Ink. He can absorb the moisture however and negate the effects of his condition but for the time in between, he's as vulnerable to getting shot as say, someone like Jeremy.
Bio:
The world had never given too much thought to those that were deemed to 'rock the boat' too much. Least of all those who simply stood out from an average joe from birth. Such was the case for the infant who was born in an undisclosed military hospital. The child's skin was covered from head to toe in a strange tar-like substance. It had the consistency of tar and smelled like rotten meat. The child's eyes lacked pupils and glowed so brightly someone may have mistaken them for headlights. While a normal child was born with no teeth, there was already a fine set of teeth inside this one's mouth. Razor sharp ones that looked as though they belonged more on a shark or feral animal than a human being.
The mother immediately gave up her child to the government. She wanted nothing to do with anything that looked like that. It didn't even sound human. Thankfully, though he was abandoned by his parents, the child found a new lease on life as a member of the government's top secret unit. The United States Gifted Unit. Where children with so called 'Gifts' like this child were, for a lack of a better term, bought by the government and raised to be perfect soldiers. While the primary task was to keep the general public in the dark about the existence of Gifted and stifle any rebellions wherever or whenever they may have popped up, the child was given a different task.
Given the moniker of 'Black Ink', he was raised instead to act as a sort of cleaner.
Faction: The government. It's literally the only family he's ever really known so far.
OK! ALL DONE! IC THREAD COMIN UPPPPP
Again! Please any questions feel free to DM me!
Lack of a Gift-Tom's still busy trying to figure out just why Jeremy had bothered responding to the pamphlet/why he'd even been allowed to get as far as approaching the actual building without having any signs of a Gift whatsoever. Jeremy through his short time with the team has managed to try and scope out some understanding of his Gifted teammates and does his best not to get in their way. But there's only so much being a crack shot with a hunting rifle or a mundane sidearm will do if your opponent is a hulking crocodilian-humanoid or can breath streams of fire or reverse time.
~~~
Name: Acela Perez
Age: 42
Description: The barest idea behind Acela's character has always been jutting around in my head in some form or another. The idea of a beautiful woman who although she may look outwardly 'perfect' and 'without flaws' to the casual observer, she carries a great pain within that in her own mind makes her as hideous as any witch you might in a fairytale or fable. Beauty is only in the eye of the beholder and such. I picked out the pic that I did for her because I felt it just tied so well into who I feel Acela is as a character. Even torn away from the ones she's loved with all her heart, she dresses flashily, uncaring of any and all looks that it may garner. She does it simply for herself and that's all that matters. Then when you get into how the background of said drawing resembles a raging inferno blazing out of control behind the beautiful woman, it ties Acela's vibes in a big bloody bow!~
Gift name: [HABANERA]
Gift Type: Elemental
Gift abilities: As with every elemental with a specific outlier, in her 'natural' state, Acela lacks many of the features that most un-Gifted men alike might flock to and fawn over. Her glowing yellow eyes, the soft almost rhythmic rumbling and sway of the blood reddish flames that seem to make up her body's composition. No visible ears or mouth present on the sides of her head or under the two small slits where an otherwise normal nose might be. Acela's brand of Fire Elemental allows her to manipulate and control red flames, out of the specific color spectrum that fire can manifest in. They're cool to the touch, at least initially, and much like Acela's glamour and lovely personality, lull you into something of a false sense of security. Until you begin to realize the damage, she's capable of until it's too late as the flames have already spread across your body and if not quelled through either water or taking Acela herself out of the equation, are likely to leave you a chilled burning husk of the man or woman that you used to be.
In an effort to try and stand out from other Fire Elementals much like how Tom has made his own fighting style unique to stand out from elementals that have some degree of control over ice, snow, or the rain, Acela has developed a heavily close quarters style of utilizing [HABANERA] by heating up the palms of her hands and then lashing out in either the form of a hefty slap/smack or a forceful grip to keep her desired target still while she burns away at their flesh, the coolness of the flames dulling their nerves' reaction over time while still singing their flesh. She's also something of a dancer in her free time and often invites some of her younger peers in Unit #69 to join her and has had no trouble incorporating this into her fighting style. Using her dancing movements, she can spread her fire across the ground or air with each step, and eventually try to encircle her enemy in a field of fireballs all poised to rain down upon Acela's instruction.
Much like how any conventional attacks will simply phase through Tom's body as though he really were made of water, the same can be said for Acela's own body. It's also one of the ways that she's killed desired targets of the government before. Seduce them to bed, allow them to feel around where they wished while consummating their love, and then lower the glamour and hold them close to her. Her body burning them alive in a gruesome display and abuse of a pervert's lust. Any bullets shot at her will simply ricochet in a wild direction due to her fiery composition reacting badly with the gunpowder. However, if one were to douse her with a sufficient amount of water or muster up strong enough winds to temporarily 'put out' her flames, you run both the risk of actually hitting her 'real' body or outright leaving her in a flameless induced coughing/choking fit though this tends to go for most fire elementals. In that if their 'flames' are put out upon their condition being met, unless they've trained themselves up to endure the aftereffects of their condition better than most, it'll result in a vicious coughing fit and if not given enough time to recuperate, possibly even suffocation.
Personal weaknesses: Acela loves children to a fault. Perhaps it stems from her own lack of a decent upbringing as a result of her family being caught up in world-wide conflicts like the Spanish Civil War (with foreign countries siding with either faction) and the Second World War which claimed the life of her biological father. It was partially due to her unbridled love of her stepfather and mother that she willingly agreed to go with the US government after her mother married an American serviceman stationed in occupied Germany. She couldn't stand even the slightest possibility of seeing them hurt. The same could well be said for Black Ink. Young as her fellow Gifted is, seeing any signs of him being mistreated has often brought Acele to blows with Tom on more on than one occasion.
Only time will tell if she'll ever fully combust.
FACTION: The government, much to her displeasure.
Bio: [REDACTED] I'd rather try to just and keep some stuff on the downlow/let it flow out naturally through interactions with the characters y'know? If I were to lay out every single person's backstory, we'd never get to the actual RP lol
~~~
Name: Gregory 'G' Samms
Age: ???
Description: Tom and Mu are reportedly the only ones who've been able to see what G looks like. In fact, the two of them plus The Shade are the only ones that he'll even allow into his room. Tom, because of his role as the unit's leader. Mu because G simply doesn't feel put off by his presence, for a reason he's yet to be able to properly discern himself. The Shade simply can't be denied access due to the way his own Gift [I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW] works. Those new to the unit like Jeremy have only seen glimpses here and there like seeing a glowing eye peering at them through the doorhole on the center of G's bedroom door. Or the sleeve of a black blazer reaching out through the slightly creaked door to grab a bag of food from Tom.
Jeremy couldn't be one hundred percent certain but from the bit of skin he'd seen at the wrist. It didn't look like a glamour like Acela and Tom wore. In fact he'd almost say it downright looked like the exoskeleton of an insect, brown and segmented. There was a part of him that wanted to learn for sure but he didn't know how G would take upon somebody like him waltzing into his room.
So, there you have it.
If you're curious enough? Feel free to come on inside.
But, consider this before traipsing around in a room not your own.
You were warned.
GIFT name: [ALMOST HUMAN]
Gift Type: Mutation
Gift Abilities: Why not try taking a look in his room and find out for yourself...?
Personal Weaknesses:
-He absolutely DETESTS bright lights and often keeps the lights low to dim in his room. Typically, the only lights that may be on would be his various monitors and computers. Taking advantage of his heavy reluctance to leave his quarters unless absolutely necessary, he acts as something of the technical expert for Tom's Unit. Please be cautious when aiming a flashlight or anything bright in his general direction.
Bio: [redacted]
~~~
Name: John 'The Living Dead' Romero
Age: Supposedly 80 years old. Most of his teammates don't buy it.
Description: John is obviously an expy of the title character from the late George Romero's 'Martin!' horror film. Subsequently, John claims or believes that due to his Gift [LOVE BITES] he's been able to live for well over eighty years and still not look any older than a young man in his 20s. Tom humors him but others like Acela and G simply believe him to utterly delusional and only kept on by the government so that they can keep tabs on him/prevent him from trying to spread his insane rantings to the public and potentially opening up a whole can of worms in the process.
Tom chalks it up to just outright insanity.
Acela believes that John may have had some kind of abusive upbringing. One where his family constantly pressured him over his Gift/claimed that it made him abnormal, no better than a freak in their eyes!
The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.
Gift Name: [LOVE BITES]
Gift Type: He's a Surprise like Black Ink. His mother was a mental and his father was a physical. The resulting hybrid disgusted his parents and they were horrified to the point of mentally abusing their son into believing he was a revolting freak of nature.
Gift Abilities:
-He claims that it's granted him eternal youth. Only Tom and those with access to governmental records could confirm it for real but Tom sees it easier to just play along. Whether or not it's actually real doesn't enter into the equation. Jeremy thinks that trying to figure out or replicate the secret to John's youthful glow is probably why the government assigned him to Tom's unit so that Tom would be obligated to keep him safe. So as not to get his own reputation pissed on by looking incompetent and letting his men get slaughtered.
-He claims to get stronger off drinking blood. Whether it's through cutting his opponent's skin open and drinking it from their arm or clinging to them like some kind of feral animal, he can't get enough of the red stuff. Everyone thinks it's a bit freaky. Except Tom of course, he finds it hilarious.
-One of the few things that seem to be an actual physical manifestation of his Gift comes in the form of him being able to emit smoke/fog from his person. Disorient his enemies and allow his allies to get the drop on them. Jeremy thinks that he might be carrying a mini smoke machine with him at all times or something though.
Personal Weaknesses:
-He might play down SOME of the aspects in regard to how 'much of a freak he is' and often gives the impression of lying or just maybe outright being Giftless like Jeremy, given that in some cases he resorts to hidden razor blades on his person, a switchblade, or syringes filled with god knows what rather than whatever physical strength he claims [LOVE BITES] grants him.
Bio: [redacted]
~~~
Name: Crystal 'In Death' Gorman
Age: 21
Description: Crystal is the 'prodigal daughter' in Tom's eyes. An extremely destructive Gift that the government(and by proxy, Tom) can point at a target and utterly eradicate it. Crystal in turn hates all the killing she's had to do since she was around Black Ink's age(2) and would love nothing more than to run away and leave this entire life behind. But in her heart of hearts she knows that Tom, monster as he is and dirtbag as he admits to be, he's the closest thing she has to a father. He'd even given her the same last name that the government had given him.
She had no idea what her original last name was.
Or even who her original parents were. She often wondered what kind of people they were. If they'd be disappointed in her at all or not.
But she'd likely never know. Her Gift did a lot of things but going back in time wasn't one of them, sadly.
She also has IN DEATH tattooed across her chest. Something she's understandably very shy about letting people see.
Gift Name: [WE BELONG TOGETHER]
Gift Type: Mental
Gift Abilities:
-[WE BELONG TOGETHER] essentially combines both Kizaru(from One Piece)'s lasers and DBZ style energy blasts. Think of it as Crystal being able to manipulate light to the point, she can focus it into explosive bursts of concentrated energy. Even putting out both her index finger and ring finger next to eachother, she can focus enough light energy at the edges of her fingertips to blow up an entire makeshift warehouse that a group of Pro-Gifted activists had taken to hiding in. Something along the lines of this:
-Much like how G prefers staying in the dark, Crystal prefers things, big, bright, and dazzling. Much to her own great annoyance as it sharply contrasts with her own personality which would much rather fade away into the shadows than ever be the center of attention. If angered, Crystal can drain the energy from any nearby light sources to the point of shattering lightbulbs or fracturing TVs, to strengthen herself up.
-Although she can't fly in the traditional sense, Crystal can create energy constructs for her to walk on, though if only due to her admitted current lack of creativity, the constructs are relatively rudimentary like rectangular platforms to get to the air/sky or a circular dome to protect from incoming attacks at the light.
Personal Weaknesses:
-Although she'd probably deny it up and down, Crystal cares too much about people to ever think about betraying Tom and the government. She knows too well people would be killed in the process and the government would stop at nothing to have her back under their thumb. [WE BELONG TOGETHER] was simply too powerful to let run unchecked or even have the slightest chance of being influenced by outside forces, like say the Soviets or the Chinese. It's a much smaller factor but she also knows in her heart of hearts that if she were to be killed or succesfully flee, Tom would be severely punished.
Something that, despite the numerous amounts of murder and scum work he'd been a part of, he was still....her dad.
Or as close to it as she'd get anyway.
Bio: [redacted]
FACTION: The government, duh.
~~~
Name: The Shade
Age: 50
Description: The Shade is one of the few characters along with Black Ink that'll spoilers I guess, survive the events of Return to Sender, and live on through the other stories I have set in this universe. He's only 41 here but he'd be at least in his early 80s by the time of 'The Modern Crusaders' and part of the reason he's so old and working with the government is because he's essentially been there since Uncle Sam started nabbing up Gifted post WW2. Brought in as a kid, for one reason or another, he always got passed over for actually 'graduating' and becoming a member of the US Army's secret Gifted Unit. So, he's been reluctantly resigned to acting as the usual liason between the Feds and the U.F.U.P units under their thumb.
Appearing before them at inoppertune times, giving them good or bad(mostly bad) news, and even new orders/missions.
He'll get his hands dirty if he has to, he used to be a kid from Brooklyn after all, but he'd much rather stay where he's comfortable: in the sahdows.
Gift Name: [I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW]
Gift Type: Mental
Gift Abilities
-Think of [I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW] as something of a combination between Tokyomi from MHA's shadow ability in that The Shade can effectively wield his own shadow like a weapon/manipulate it as though it were a puppet on strings rather than just an uncontrollable extension of himself. This also allows him to change on a dime whether or not his shadow can be struck or attacks will simply phase through. If he wants to try and capture an opponent, he'll let the Shadow absorb any firearm shots until he can move in to disarm them or until they run ot of ammo. Whichever happens to come first. Same with bladed weapons. They can cut into his shadow as much as they'd like but it'll simply reconstitute itself and go back on the attack.
-[I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW] also allows The Shade to pretty much teleport. The Shadow lays itself flat on the ground and the Shade(and others as the shadow can pull others in if they step upon it) can 'step into it' as though one were stepping into a puddle or walking straight into a portal. They'll then reappear through the nearest shadow. Whether it be a tree's shadow or a cat's or even a bench's. The opportunities are always there.
-It's somewhat draining on Shade's energy but he can also 'pull over' the shadow on himself or others if he spreads out his AOE to act as something of a ghostly security blanket. Attacks will tear through the shadow but for as long as the Shade is conscious/has enough energy to keep his Gift active, whatever the shadow is covering will likely be rattled but mostly safe.
Personal Weaknesses:
-His gift is extremely versatile and it's implied that he's only been 'held back' for so many years because of his own preference. Getting into a role similar to Tom's seemed like hell and from how much of an asshole he personally knew Tom to be, accepting any role in a unit with that man able to breathe down his neck just couldn't be done. So, he's taken something of an easy way out but despite the power of [I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW], if the opponent is quick enough on the draw that they can shoot/attack him before his shadow can defend him, he lacks any kind of healing factor.
He'll die if he's shot unlike Tom or Acela, unless their conditions are met of course.
Bio: [redacted]~
Faction: Uncle Sam, through blood shed, through tears lost. It's all he's got.
~~~
Name: Damien 'Black Ink' Cruz
Age: 5
True face:
Description: From first glance you might, obviously so, suspect something to be a bit off with the child. Most children usually keep wearing costumes restricted to birthday parties or Halloween. But for as long as he's around his fellow Gifted, and especially around Tom who can't stand to look at him otherwise, Black Ink wears a custom-made 'ghost costume'. So custom in fact that Tom made it for Black Ink himself by ripping the sheet off a twin sized mattress, cutting it up to small enough chunks and then cutting out some room for eyeholes. Black Ink could handle the rest.
Black Ink along with The Shade show up in later stories of mine set in this same universe. Which, y'know, means that whatever the events of this RP may be, Black Ink and the Shade come out of it pretty okay. Though if one were to look at teenaged Black Ink/adult Black Ink and what eventually becomes of him, I think 'okay' is about as far removed as you can get. Under the bedsheet and his clothes, Black Ink's entire body looks to be covered in some sort of tar/oil, an underbite like a female anglerfish, razor sharp shark-like teeth, and much like every other elemental: glowing yellow eyes. He also has long black hair but it's so matted down by his tar that it may as well poke out in tufts. He also has two long elf-like ears on either side of his head.
Gift Name: [PAINT IT BLACK]
Gift Type: Elemental. Black Ink is actually a Surprise: a hybrid of two different types of Gifted creating an offspring. The practice is highly looked down upon due to potential complications that can arise from it. Black Ink's mouth and seeming inability to conjure up a glamour like Tom and Acela may be tied into it at all.
Gift abilities: Black Ink can negate most physical damage done onto him. Bullets, even those of a high caliber, will simply get caught up in his gooey body texture and be expelled at his leisure. Even attempting to blow him apart will yield no results beyond his body simply pulling itself together. He can elongate his limbs and body in general, being capable of devouring an entire fully grown human adult if necessary. He also possesses remarkable strength for his age, being able to throw a man of Tom's size across the room with minimal effort on his part.
Although it rarely comes out due to how blatantly destructive it is, [PAINT IT BLACK] has a sub-ability known as [FADE TO BLACK] which allows Black Ink to 'spread' his tar across the area, growing bigger and bigger with the more mass it consumes as it spreads like a voracious blob. The biggest that he's ever been observed to get in his few years of life were about to the size of a full grown African Elephant. Not something you'd want staring you down in the worst of times.
Personal Weaknesses:
-Immaturity. Kind of comes with the territory of having no parents and having only strangers, some of whom couldn't care less about you, looking after your well-being. Also, being five years old probably doesn't help either.
-Water, or well, most liquids but water most of all. Water soldifies Black Ink and meets his 'Condition'-the terms needed for an elemental to actually be harmed. Electricity or extreme levels of heat(note, not fire, heat itself) for Tom, water or wind for Acela, and water for Black Ink. He can absorb the moisture however and negate the effects of his condition but for the time in between, he's as vulnerable to getting shot as say, someone like Jeremy.
Bio:
The world had never given too much thought to those that were deemed to 'rock the boat' too much. Least of all those who simply stood out from an average joe from birth. Such was the case for the infant who was born in an undisclosed military hospital. The child's skin was covered from head to toe in a strange tar-like substance. It had the consistency of tar and smelled like rotten meat. The child's eyes lacked pupils and glowed so brightly someone may have mistaken them for headlights. While a normal child was born with no teeth, there was already a fine set of teeth inside this one's mouth. Razor sharp ones that looked as though they belonged more on a shark or feral animal than a human being.
The mother immediately gave up her child to the government. She wanted nothing to do with anything that looked like that. It didn't even sound human. Thankfully, though he was abandoned by his parents, the child found a new lease on life as a member of the government's top secret unit. The United States Gifted Unit. Where children with so called 'Gifts' like this child were, for a lack of a better term, bought by the government and raised to be perfect soldiers. While the primary task was to keep the general public in the dark about the existence of Gifted and stifle any rebellions wherever or whenever they may have popped up, the child was given a different task.
Given the moniker of 'Black Ink', he was raised instead to act as a sort of cleaner.
Faction: The government. It's literally the only family he's ever really known so far.
OK! ALL DONE! IC THREAD COMIN UPPPPP
Again! Please any questions feel free to DM me!
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