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vibracionOUT of CHARACTER
Name: Gemi
Other characters: First time!
IN CHARACTER
Name: Rictor a.k.a. Julio Esteban Richter. The number of people who call him by his real name can be counted on one hand; to everyone else he is Rictor, sometimes Ric.
Fandom: X-Factor (Marvel Comics, Earth-616)
Canon point/AU: Sometime after issue #245, before everything leading up to the "Hell on Earth" plotline. The linked wiki entry covers up to that point.
History: Marvel Wiki
Presentation:
Motivations:
SAMPLES
Thread: Rictor and Shatterstar in the test drive arena.
Prose:
What is your character scored:
Name: Gemi
Other characters: First time!
IN CHARACTER
Name: Rictor a.k.a. Julio Esteban Richter. The number of people who call him by his real name can be counted on one hand; to everyone else he is Rictor, sometimes Ric.
Fandom: X-Factor (Marvel Comics, Earth-616)
Canon point/AU: Sometime after issue #245, before everything leading up to the "Hell on Earth" plotline. The linked wiki entry covers up to that point.
History: Marvel Wiki
Presentation:
For a member of a sexy superhero team, Rictor is rather unassuming. He's been noted to be fairly good-looking, but conceals it behind unkempt shaggy hair and perpetual two-day stubble. Instead of a stylish costume, Rictor's usual outfit is a T-shirt, jeans and a leather jacket. (His jacket and belt do fit the X-Factor "theme", which gives one the impression that Rictor consented to that much for his costume, but drew the line at the shiny, body-hugging clothes everyone else wears.) It's maybe a holdover from the time he was the only ordinary guy on a team of extraordinary mutants, or maybe just a sign of maturity. As a teenager, Rictor was pretty vain and flashy; these days, you'd have the impression of a regular guy, Mexican, in his early 20's, with a tendency to be argumentative but mostly keeps to himself. Not a superhero, not a mutant, not even probably a detective.
How does a person go from vain and flashy to scruffy and ordinary? Having once been associated with mutant X-Teams since the age of 13, Rictor lost his powers on M-Day, and with them, an intimate empathic connection to the Earth which made him (in his words) "the one-eyed man in the kingdom of the freakin' blind." To him, the loss of his powers was like being blinded, deafened and stranded all at once. It left him severely depressed and literally suicidal, and while he pulled it together enough to work for X-Factor Investigations, his depression could be clearly felt in both in his appearance and attitude. Rictor only became markedly happier after having his powers restored, although a year-plus of depression is not something you just get over.
The suicide attempt after he'd lost his powers was neither the first nor last attempt in his life, but as a teen, Rictor mostly covered up his fears and insecurities by acting brash, cocky and belligerent. Although he seems to have mellowed out since then (for instance, he's secure enough now to be openly gay to his teammates when before he was deeply, cripplingly closeted for years), Rictor by default still has a rather prickly, hot-tempered personality. He's antagonized teenage girls, yelled at cab drivers and punched a government agent in the face. So... "mellowed out" in a relative sense. The difference really is that when Rictor acts how he does now, it's who he is, as opposed to a macho tough guy act he put on to keep people to from figuring him out.
He's not an easy person to get close to. There are arguably only two people Rictor would profess to like, without reservations: Shatterstar, his boyfriend, and Rahne Sinclair, his friend and sort-of ex; although it's obvious that Rictor regards the other members of X-Factor with some sort of comradely affection. He's just not much when it comes to talking about feelings — positive feelings, anyway. Rictor is honest as hell when he's not happy. If he doesn't like you, you'll know it, and know the reasons for it too. And he can take it as well as he can dish it out, but don't count on Rictor to be the bigger man and walk away from a fight.
How does a person go from vain and flashy to scruffy and ordinary? Having once been associated with mutant X-Teams since the age of 13, Rictor lost his powers on M-Day, and with them, an intimate empathic connection to the Earth which made him (in his words) "the one-eyed man in the kingdom of the freakin' blind." To him, the loss of his powers was like being blinded, deafened and stranded all at once. It left him severely depressed and literally suicidal, and while he pulled it together enough to work for X-Factor Investigations, his depression could be clearly felt in both in his appearance and attitude. Rictor only became markedly happier after having his powers restored, although a year-plus of depression is not something you just get over.
The suicide attempt after he'd lost his powers was neither the first nor last attempt in his life, but as a teen, Rictor mostly covered up his fears and insecurities by acting brash, cocky and belligerent. Although he seems to have mellowed out since then (for instance, he's secure enough now to be openly gay to his teammates when before he was deeply, cripplingly closeted for years), Rictor by default still has a rather prickly, hot-tempered personality. He's antagonized teenage girls, yelled at cab drivers and punched a government agent in the face. So... "mellowed out" in a relative sense. The difference really is that when Rictor acts how he does now, it's who he is, as opposed to a macho tough guy act he put on to keep people to from figuring him out.
He's not an easy person to get close to. There are arguably only two people Rictor would profess to like, without reservations: Shatterstar, his boyfriend, and Rahne Sinclair, his friend and sort-of ex; although it's obvious that Rictor regards the other members of X-Factor with some sort of comradely affection. He's just not much when it comes to talking about feelings — positive feelings, anyway. Rictor is honest as hell when he's not happy. If he doesn't like you, you'll know it, and know the reasons for it too. And he can take it as well as he can dish it out, but don't count on Rictor to be the bigger man and walk away from a fight.
Motivations:
The loss of powers is important to talk about, because it marked so much of his motivations for the past few years and will become an issue again in the Arena. As Rictor describes it: "I was born with the power to move mountains. Literally. My connection to the Earth was like breathing... and I've been holding my breath for a very long time." He has been willing to risk death and listen to evil mutants for the chance to get his powers back, although he is suspicious and moral and unlikely to sacrifice innocent people to get what he wants. (People who aren't innocent, though... that's more of a grey area.) The most profound side effect is how lonely Rictor feels without his connection to the Earth — and for a person who has been abandoned time and again by family and loved ones, it's not hard to see why he might be depressed.
Usually his depression is expressed as anger and cutting remarks, sometimes a sense of inadequacy. It's not fun to know you were once capable of shaking a building down to its foundations, and now you have to stick on the sidelines when your team gets into a fight. But even without his powers, Rictor is determined, resourceful and often underestimated. He became excellent at using computers and hacking information to fill that gap in X-Factor Investigations, and when he was once kidnapped and shackled a torture device, but he still found ways to hold out until help came, to the surprise of his captors. He's realistic about his limitations, arguably pessimistic. Rictor might be proud but he's not an idiot; he has insisted on taking the backseat role when he knew his teammates were more suited to the front line. Not is he a coward — Rictor has stepped in several times when someone else was in danger, be it a friend or stranger. He's more than willing to pitch in and fight; it's just that he can't help but reminded of his lack every time he makes the effort.
In regaining his powers, Rictor became a good deal more confident and enthusiastic. He brags more, makes more jokes, shows a greater eagerness to get involved in the action. He can be a bit more selfish and self-absorbed — losing his powers meant he wasn't able to be as reckless as he normally is, which meant he had to be more thoughtful of what he did and how to work with others. His depression and crappy self-esteem has not magically gone away. He shows himself to still feel insecurity in his relationship with Shatterstar, and remarks once that he disliked doing computer work again because it reminded him of a time when he couldn't do anything else. Losing his powers in the Arena again may make Rictor regress somewhat, but he will still be in a contender in the games.
Rictor is relatively unfazed by violence — his family were powerful gunrunners in Mexico; he witnessed his father's murder up-close and personal when he was six years old; he was tortured extensively by anti-mutant terrorists at age thirteen. Years later, he was part of X-Force, a mutant strike team whose leader, Cable, treated his teenaged members more like soldiers than students. He's seen his share of shit, but he has been, for the most part, on the side of the good guys. Rictor has a very strong, often reckless moral code. Once he joined a highly questionable organization bent on killing Cable because he believed Cable had killed his father — once he realized their methods were wrong, he immediately turned on them. On another occasion, Rictor spent months dismantling his family's crime operations, up to and including putting family members in jail. When depowered, he stepped in to defend people from attackers wielding guns or who outnumbered him four-to-one. When his best friend (and now boyfriend) showed up brainwashed and trying to kill him, Rictor only hesitated a little before shooting him with a gun. In short, he's more than able to mentally handle The Hunger Games, although his moral streak will make him very reluctant to play to win.
He's a very private person. He hates having people comment on his personal life (only his closest friends can do it without getting automatically snapped at; innocent passersby will be outright yelled at for the misfortune of overhearing one of his personal conversations), and he hates even more having other people get involved. He's treated Layla Miller with intense hostility since she was a 13-year-old girl, because Layla had the ability to foresee future timelines and would manipulate members of X-Factor bring about the most favorable outcomes. Rictor will thus absolutely loathe the voyeuristic aspect of the Games, and will probably refuse to play to the audience at all unless given an extremely pressing reason. When it comes down to it, Rictor's not a terrible actor — he once infiltrated and earned the trust of a terrorist organization — but he would despise giving up anything too genuine about himself just for someone else's entertainment.
Usually his depression is expressed as anger and cutting remarks, sometimes a sense of inadequacy. It's not fun to know you were once capable of shaking a building down to its foundations, and now you have to stick on the sidelines when your team gets into a fight. But even without his powers, Rictor is determined, resourceful and often underestimated. He became excellent at using computers and hacking information to fill that gap in X-Factor Investigations, and when he was once kidnapped and shackled a torture device, but he still found ways to hold out until help came, to the surprise of his captors. He's realistic about his limitations, arguably pessimistic. Rictor might be proud but he's not an idiot; he has insisted on taking the backseat role when he knew his teammates were more suited to the front line. Not is he a coward — Rictor has stepped in several times when someone else was in danger, be it a friend or stranger. He's more than willing to pitch in and fight; it's just that he can't help but reminded of his lack every time he makes the effort.
In regaining his powers, Rictor became a good deal more confident and enthusiastic. He brags more, makes more jokes, shows a greater eagerness to get involved in the action. He can be a bit more selfish and self-absorbed — losing his powers meant he wasn't able to be as reckless as he normally is, which meant he had to be more thoughtful of what he did and how to work with others. His depression and crappy self-esteem has not magically gone away. He shows himself to still feel insecurity in his relationship with Shatterstar, and remarks once that he disliked doing computer work again because it reminded him of a time when he couldn't do anything else. Losing his powers in the Arena again may make Rictor regress somewhat, but he will still be in a contender in the games.
Rictor is relatively unfazed by violence — his family were powerful gunrunners in Mexico; he witnessed his father's murder up-close and personal when he was six years old; he was tortured extensively by anti-mutant terrorists at age thirteen. Years later, he was part of X-Force, a mutant strike team whose leader, Cable, treated his teenaged members more like soldiers than students. He's seen his share of shit, but he has been, for the most part, on the side of the good guys. Rictor has a very strong, often reckless moral code. Once he joined a highly questionable organization bent on killing Cable because he believed Cable had killed his father — once he realized their methods were wrong, he immediately turned on them. On another occasion, Rictor spent months dismantling his family's crime operations, up to and including putting family members in jail. When depowered, he stepped in to defend people from attackers wielding guns or who outnumbered him four-to-one. When his best friend (and now boyfriend) showed up brainwashed and trying to kill him, Rictor only hesitated a little before shooting him with a gun. In short, he's more than able to mentally handle The Hunger Games, although his moral streak will make him very reluctant to play to win.
He's a very private person. He hates having people comment on his personal life (only his closest friends can do it without getting automatically snapped at; innocent passersby will be outright yelled at for the misfortune of overhearing one of his personal conversations), and he hates even more having other people get involved. He's treated Layla Miller with intense hostility since she was a 13-year-old girl, because Layla had the ability to foresee future timelines and would manipulate members of X-Factor bring about the most favorable outcomes. Rictor will thus absolutely loathe the voyeuristic aspect of the Games, and will probably refuse to play to the audience at all unless given an extremely pressing reason. When it comes down to it, Rictor's not a terrible actor — he once infiltrated and earned the trust of a terrorist organization — but he would despise giving up anything too genuine about himself just for someone else's entertainment.
SAMPLES
Thread: Rictor and Shatterstar in the test drive arena.
Prose:
Rictor had expected, what, gleaming chrome and sensors behind opaque glass, futuristic minimalism by way of the X-Men's Danger Room. He'd seen enough technologically advanced training halls to know everyone seemed to pick the same architect. This was... different. Darker. More low-key. On the other end of the room sat a bunch of people, powdered and dyed in every shade of the rainbow. A few looked up when he entered, most seemed bored or distracted.
These were the people who wanted him to dance for them like a trained monkey. Hatred rose within him like a white-hot flame, and he considered trying to storm back out, or just standing there under the spotlight and refusing to do or say anything. He was no one's puppet. Not even that shrink Madrox had brought in to talk to them had been able to make Rictor do anything.
His fists clenched by his sides, and he slowly loosened them, one finger at a time.
Impress the judges, his 'mentor' had said, in the sort of bitter, bone-dry tone which made him wonder if she really wasn't his enemy after all. Appealing to the audience is the only way you're going to get what you need in the arena.
Weapons of all shapes and sizes were arranged against the wall. A pair of large swords, blades shining as bright as the sun, made the corner of Rictor's lip twitch despite himself. He imagined his X-teammates, old and new, would could make a killing arsenal out of this array, but Rictor had always preferred to keep it simple. Weapons just got in the way.
I don't like guns, Rictor. In fact, you used to not like them, either.
Yeah, well... I used to be able to make the ground shake. You gotta learn to change with the times.
Rictor picked up the pistol set out on a table, the weight of it cold and unfamiliar in his hands, and loaded the provided clip. It was tempting to aim it at the panel of judges, but he doubted he was the first one to think of trying that and he wasn't quite looking to die just yet.
Targets had been set up around the room, from practice dummies to good old bull's-eyes. He gripped the gun with both hands, getting a feel for it, and put his feet apart, breathing slow. The world narrowed to a point.
He fired. Six shots, in quick, deafening succession. When he lowered his hands again, the furthest practice dummy was riddled with holes, two in the head, four in the upper chest.
Child's play. Rictor smiled, no satisfaction in it.
These were the people who wanted him to dance for them like a trained monkey. Hatred rose within him like a white-hot flame, and he considered trying to storm back out, or just standing there under the spotlight and refusing to do or say anything. He was no one's puppet. Not even that shrink Madrox had brought in to talk to them had been able to make Rictor do anything.
His fists clenched by his sides, and he slowly loosened them, one finger at a time.
Impress the judges, his 'mentor' had said, in the sort of bitter, bone-dry tone which made him wonder if she really wasn't his enemy after all. Appealing to the audience is the only way you're going to get what you need in the arena.
Weapons of all shapes and sizes were arranged against the wall. A pair of large swords, blades shining as bright as the sun, made the corner of Rictor's lip twitch despite himself. He imagined his X-teammates, old and new, would could make a killing arsenal out of this array, but Rictor had always preferred to keep it simple. Weapons just got in the way.
I don't like guns, Rictor. In fact, you used to not like them, either.
Yeah, well... I used to be able to make the ground shake. You gotta learn to change with the times.
Rictor picked up the pistol set out on a table, the weight of it cold and unfamiliar in his hands, and loaded the provided clip. It was tempting to aim it at the panel of judges, but he doubted he was the first one to think of trying that and he wasn't quite looking to die just yet.
Targets had been set up around the room, from practice dummies to good old bull's-eyes. He gripped the gun with both hands, getting a feel for it, and put his feet apart, breathing slow. The world narrowed to a point.
He fired. Six shots, in quick, deafening succession. When he lowered his hands again, the furthest practice dummy was riddled with holes, two in the head, four in the upper chest.
Child's play. Rictor smiled, no satisfaction in it.
What is your character scored:
7-8 without powers, 9 or more with. Rictor has experience fighting for his life from since he was a child, and spent years in X-Force trained in Cable's intense mutant boot camp regimen. He's in good shape, can handle himself in a knock-down drag-out fistfight, and an excellent shot with a gun. He's also smart, resourceful and quick on his feet, and has a bit of a leg-up on other mutants in that he's had long experience being depowered. Where relevant, he's very skilled with computers and hacking.
On the other hand, without his powers, he is a baseline human, and scaled against certain Badass Normals, Rictor is not that impressive. He's intelligent and highly competent, but he's not a martial master with even one black belt, nor is he a terrifying technological super-genius. And he will be horrible at appealing to the audience — even beyond his natural reluctance to "perform," Rictor's day-to-day personality is not especially charming. He will be reluctant to play the game as it's intended to be played, but will fight for his life if he's in danger.
Rictor is a mutant, and capable of generating and releasing seismic energy and tremendously powerful waves of vibrations. He makes the distinction that his powers are vibratory, not earth-shaking, thus he is able to apply his powers to any nearby object, be they organic or inorganic. When applied to the ground or a building, the effect is very much like an earthquake; when applied to an organic being, he has been able to make them explode. The target can be shattered or merely vibrated, and the effects can be subtle or catastrophic, depending on Rictor's intent. (As far as "catastrophic" goes, his powers when they first manifested caused the destruction of three city blocks. He is a lot more powerful and skilled now.) Rictor is not limited to physical contact in order to use his powers; he's able to project vibrations through his hands as shockwaves through the air. Rictor is immune to the harmful effects of the vibrations he creates.
Additionally, he has a special affinity for the Earth, a special awareness of and connection to the planet. (x) I would like for Rictor to maintain this power, with caveats. His connection will be much fainter than before, and while he will be able to tell he's still on Earth, the feeling will be off enough for him to know this isn't the Earth he's familiar with. The difference between this and losing it altogether is how suicidal Rictor gets, and I think this will allow him to focus on the game while still having a strong negative effect. His affinity to the Earth is really not useful for anything except being able to detect tectonic plates, and that knowledge is pointless without his vibratory powers.
On the other hand, without his powers, he is a baseline human, and scaled against certain Badass Normals, Rictor is not that impressive. He's intelligent and highly competent, but he's not a martial master with even one black belt, nor is he a terrifying technological super-genius. And he will be horrible at appealing to the audience — even beyond his natural reluctance to "perform," Rictor's day-to-day personality is not especially charming. He will be reluctant to play the game as it's intended to be played, but will fight for his life if he's in danger.
Rictor is a mutant, and capable of generating and releasing seismic energy and tremendously powerful waves of vibrations. He makes the distinction that his powers are vibratory, not earth-shaking, thus he is able to apply his powers to any nearby object, be they organic or inorganic. When applied to the ground or a building, the effect is very much like an earthquake; when applied to an organic being, he has been able to make them explode. The target can be shattered or merely vibrated, and the effects can be subtle or catastrophic, depending on Rictor's intent. (As far as "catastrophic" goes, his powers when they first manifested caused the destruction of three city blocks. He is a lot more powerful and skilled now.) Rictor is not limited to physical contact in order to use his powers; he's able to project vibrations through his hands as shockwaves through the air. Rictor is immune to the harmful effects of the vibrations he creates.
Additionally, he has a special affinity for the Earth, a special awareness of and connection to the planet. (x) I would like for Rictor to maintain this power, with caveats. His connection will be much fainter than before, and while he will be able to tell he's still on Earth, the feeling will be off enough for him to know this isn't the Earth he's familiar with. The difference between this and losing it altogether is how suicidal Rictor gets, and I think this will allow him to focus on the game while still having a strong negative effect. His affinity to the Earth is really not useful for anything except being able to detect tectonic plates, and that knowledge is pointless without his vibratory powers.
