That bastard Zarathustra, who took control of this thread after slaying Dionysus, who slew IcyMonkey, wrote:
This world is quite different than either RT-Earth or our Earth. It follows an alternate history diverging around 1975 or so. By 2005, which is when this RP begins, Earth is at war with a mysterious alien force. The war itself is being fought on the Earth colonies on Mars. The emergence of talents seems to be linked to these aliens somehow, since all paranormals* were born at or after the first and only alien visit to Earth (before the war).
*With one very special exception.
õ.Õ Intedestink... veddy intedestink. I look forward to reading the more detailed description.
Is the "very special exception" widely-known, or is that gonna be one of the Secrets That May Or May Not Be Unearthed?
Zarathustra (feh) wrote:
One last thing to note: there is no known way to nullify a para's talents, via technology or other paras. Thus, when thinking up your charcter, it would be helpful if you also devised some way that the Sanitarium would be able to prevent the use of their powers. For example, Apotheosis is locked in a soundproof chamber without exposure to anything vaguely musical; his vocal chords have even been removed so that he cannot even hum.
Crikey. Ó.Ò Hardcore....
Oh, and props to
madadric, who wrote:
I think i'll pick a mental ilness and build tyhe power up around that.
Very cool idea. Broke through my inspiration block when I turned it around and started thinking that since I already knew what power I wanted, I might instead try to build the mental illness up around that. I'm quite happy with the results; many thanks!
Alright, here goes nothing.
::cracks knuckles:
Name: Lati (pronounced "lah-TIH" [
latrine +
Timothy])
Age: ??? (Likewise for height, eye/hair color, and
[yes, you guessed it] gender.
[Who, me predictable? Surely you jest! ] )
Weight: 186 lbs
Lati is a particularly odd duck, even among the residents of the BFSMS. Ve was discovered eight months ago
[circumstances of this discovery to be determined] and <strike>experiments</strike> treatment procedures since then have revealed the following.
While ve lacked any ID and they have had no success discovering any leads on vis origin or history, this entity responds best to the name “Lati.”
Lati is capable of dissolving into a viscous amber liquid and reforming into just about any shape and/or material, with the following constraints: vis mass is conserved, ve cannot turn into energy, and ve can only alter vis density within a certain range (between that of a feather and most iron/steel). However, just about any substance can be duplicated, be it animal, vegetable, or mineral in nature, and ve is capable of a ridiculously precise level of detail (ve has perfectly duplicated the fingerprints of lab technicians after shaking their hands).
(NOTE: I know there was that one episode of ST:DS9 in which Laas turns into fog and a flame. Maybe Lati can do this, maybe ve can’t, but ve hasn’t thus far.)
Though presumably born human, today Lati does not seem to have any one natural form, or at least does not usually show any strong preference for one over another. [This will change as the story progresses, most likely.]
While Lati is sentient and has conscious control over vis shapeshifting abilities, vis mental state seems just as fluid as vis corporeal one, and the two are tightly linked. As one wise-ass put it, “This is the most mercurial patient I’ve ever had to deal with, in every sense of the word.”
When agitated, amused, or otherwise aroused to some strong emotion, Lati tends to change shape to one better able to express said emotion. Since ve is highly empathetic and suggestible (though not paranormally so), the emotional states of those around vim often set off what can appear to be wild mood swings.
Lati was contained within a seamless, airtight titanium globe between treatments. (As ve apparently does not metabolize oxygen [despite going through the motions of breathing], they were mercifully spared the headache of designing an escape-proof ventilation system.) Once they realized how easily vis moods could be manipulated, the Sanitarium’s staff simply arranged to have an exceptionally cheerful nurse present whenever they needed to feed vim or conduct further studies, and have thereby avoided a great deal of unpleasantness.
Now, when it comes to this character’s history and future playability, I’m going to ask for a little help from someone. Specifically, I feel like it would help to have another character who Lati has some kind of bond with in order to both
A) provide vim with a good motivation to stick with the escapees (since ve’s so easily distracted that otherwise ve might just wander off) and
B) ground vim with some sense of ‘self,’ which is otherwise sorely lacking.
I have a vision of some paranormal whose abilities are oriented around telepathy or some other form of mental influence which allows them to help stabilize Lati's otherwise too-mutable personality. Presumably they would have met and bonded with Lati prior to their incarceration, and both were captured at the same time. Since their separation, Lati has drifted off and forgotten much of who ve once was. However, since this other para has a vested interest in Lati (be it benevolently friendly or connivingly selfish) they will make a point of busting vim out of the BFSMS with them when they go. Upon being reunited with this person, Lati is reminded of who ve once was, and begins to develop a cohesive personality once again. Where we go from there remains to be seen.
If this is an idea that fires anyone else's imaginations, I'd be happy to work out their mutual backstories together and perhaps sketch out some possibilities for the future. If nobody's interested, I may just go ahead and play them both myself, but I'd rather have some actual interaction with an external voice since all of the ones inside my head already know each other far too well.