A Reaper Walkin'

Player: Cat
Age: Murfle
Method of Contact: errantwritings
Characters Played Here: Brigid Finn

Invitation: Kristi and Alex
( Rest under here )

I can be reached here, by AIM at LadyFostone, or on Plurk at errantwritings

Your name or online alias: Cat
Your email: catrood ~ AT ~ gmail *DOT* com
Another preferred means of contact: errantwritings
Character's Full Name: Kevin Ford
Character's Canon: Marvel 616
Character's Canon Point: Shortly after being arrested by the FBI.
Character's Journal Name: southernreaper
What would you like your character's tag to be?: marvel: wither

Answer the following questions in no less than 300 words but no greater than 1000 words put together...

Character's background (their past and present):

Kevin was born to a middleclass set of parents in Atlanta, Georgia. At age fourteen, his powers manifested and he killed his father, accidentally. After spending some time on the Atlanta streets, Kevin was brought to the Xavier Institute where he was placed on a squad with other kids with mutant powers. When he was shown his worst fear by a teacher’s power, he ran away, living in a scrap yard.

He was convinced to go back by another teacher. Shortly after returning and being given his code name “Wither”, Kevin was arrested by the FBI for the murder of his father.

Character's personality:

A lot of his personality is wrapped up in his power. Before he manifested, Kevin had a few close friends, and was well liked by his teachers. With the manifestation of his powers, even his faith in God - something he got from his parents (Southern Baptist) - left.

Kevin is a bitter, destroyed young man who is barely keeping sane. His power is utterly devastating and he’s constantly aware of it and what it can do. If he forgets for even a moment, someone could die. But he tries. He wants nothing more than to be normal. Not normal in the sense of other teenagers, but normal in the sense of even mutant teenagers. To himself, he's a bigger freak among mutants than any physical mutant is.

He tries to be a good man, just like his parents taught him to be. He became known as a gentleman because he treats all women like ladies, can be trusted to never push personal boundaries. He truly, truly respects physical space.

Kevin's powers push him into reclusion. He shies away from people, lest they get hurt. He doesn’t trust easily, because he has done that before and it’s blown up in his face. He trusts other kids with powers marginally more than he does adults, but that’s not saying much. Always, though, there's an undertone of jealousy, especially if they can control their power. Even if they can't, he's jealous because they won't kill with a touch.

Even after he’s seemingly befriended someone, one wrong word or action and Kevin will run. He runs so as not to have to face the hurt that they caused, even if it was unintentional. He also almost never trusts them again, having learned some harsh lessons from those that claimed to want to care for him.

He’s a very private person, especially when in new situations. He doesn’t immediately open up to people about, well, anything. He much prefers people not knowing who or what he is and will take pains to hide it.

When it comes to his powers, he is gullible. Offer him a chance to control them and he’ll jump at it, and jump through hoops to get it. Unless it pushes at the base moral core he has, which he clings to ever so desperately, he’ll do just about anything to control his powers. Just about anything.

Except kill. Because killing is giving in to his power, and that... is wrong. No matter what his power wants him to do.

Also, Kevin is rather defeatist and can be angry to the point of cruelty. He believes he’ll never gain control of his powers, and will push people away – if they don’t take the hint, he will be cruel about it, not only in calling people names, but also threatening to use his powers (even if he’d never truly do it).

However, offer him pity and he will hate the person. He doesn’t deserve pity in his mind and will lash out at the person who offers it.

He hates his power. He thinks it a curse.

Character's skills/abilities/powers:

Death Touch: Kevin’s skin, with a touch, will break down the bonds between organic molecules. If he holds on long enough, eventually, the material is reduced to ashes. The power is completely involuntary and forces Kevin to wear inorganic materials at all times.

This power covers the entirety of his skin, making it difficult to eat, or even sleep without carefully learned movements or inorganic material. He is constantly covered, even in the hottest of weather, unless he’s alone.

There is a psychological backlash due to this ability. His power is addictive. Kevin describes it as a whispering voice that begs him to do as any other person and reach out and touch. He becomes distracted and easily angered. The problem is if he gives in to it someone can and will die.

The drive to use his powers can be mitigated. Usually by plant matter, or by isolating himself away from others. The second isn’t always feasible, but he tries.

The addiction to use his powers manifests in another way. He will see things as skeletal and decayed, depending on how heavy the press of the addiction is. However, he knows that it’s his powers and will not react, except to withdraw and refuse to socialize until such time as he can regain his equilibrium.

X-Men Training: This includes mechanical training (basic car/small engine repairs) and some hand to hand. While he can hold himself in a few situations, Kevin is, by no means, a martial artist. He depends on his powers, since they are so dangerous.

Education: Kevin has a basic sophomore high school education. He speaks high school Spanish, but he generally forgets that he can.

Artistic/Welding Ability: In Georgia, Kevin was taught how to weld and used that ability to create art. He even spent time living in a couple of junkyards, where he used the scrap metal to create art. He cannot arc weld, but instead uses oxyacetylene techniques to create.

He does know how to use the welding to work on cars and pipes, but isn’t an expert by any stretch of the imagination. Kevin enjoys the welding and the creating of art far more than he likes human interaction.

Any special equipment your character is bringing along? This includes weaponry, magic items, etc.:

One (1) suit of unstable molecules

Are you bringing your character to ten_fwd from another game? If you are, which game?: N/A

If you answered yes above, briefly summarize how they were changed by and what challenges they faced in the climate of their previous game(s):

Why do you want to play this character in Ten Forward, and what do you plan to do with them?

I think Kevin would flourish under the chance to be away from everything that happened to him on Earth. He never got the experience of being a normal teen, even in his extraordinary circumstances. He needs the chance to explore and learn about life beyond what the Institute can teach him without the danger of being put back in jail for a mistake that took place when he didn’t even know he was a mutant.

Writing Sample #1:

“DON’T TOUCH ME!” The scream echoes down the hallway, shrill in the way that only a teenage boy can reach. One who is terrified. He’s not sure what is going on, but he wants to not be touched. There are too many people, too close to him.

Kevin tries the calming techniques that Miss Frost had taught him. Nothing is working. His mind swirls around a morass of terror and the need to strike out. But if he strikes out, if he reaches, then his power wins and he’s going to be lost again.

His most recent home has been an FBI holding cell. Now, he’s… he doesn’t know where he is. There’s a starfield outside the windows opposite him. To either side, cool grey hallways go on to infinity. Or maybe that’s the panic talking.

He stares at the people surrounding him. Some are wearing uniforms that he doesn’t understand and doesn’t recognize. Others are wearing clothes that he doesn’t know either. Had the Shi’ar captured him? Skrulls? Who else is supposed to be their extraterrestrial allies and foes? He’d missed that class, probably. What with being arrested by the FBI.

His hand creaks inside of his glove. “Stay back. Don’t touch me.” He orders, much less shrill, but no less panicked. If they touch him… he doesn’t want to think of the consequences. He’s seen them too much already.

Kevin has many questions. Like where is he? Who are these people? But he can’t ask. He wants them to stay back, because his power… his touch… it’ll all go wrong. “Please, just stay back.” The last is almost pleading. The roaring inside his mind is getting worse. He wants to touch. All it would take is an inch of skin showing at the edge of his glove. It’d be so simple.

“I said stay back. Can’t you listen?” He knows that this will probably get very bad, very quickly. Kevin raises scared green eyes to the person approaching him. “What’s going on?” The panic is receding, the coldness of the want of his power beginning to take its place.

Writing Sample #2 (optional):

At the test drive meme

Kevin sits in the chair, his eyes anywhere but on the man across the desk from him. One eye studies him, the other covered by a patch with three slash marks peeking out on either side.

"Son."

He flinches, because his father is dead, and that's why he's here. Dani Moonstar had turned him over to the FBI for murder. SHIELD had taken it upon themselves to "rescue" him.

"Son, you can't stay here."

He knows that. He knows he can't stay in SHIELD. If nothing else, his powers are such that staying anywhere is a bad idea. Why can't he go back to the junkyards? He'd been happy there.

"There has to be somewhere you can -" Director Fury stops and considers him with one cool eye for a moment longer.

There isn't anywhere he can go. Fury can't - or won't - just chuck him into the streets. The X-Mansion he refuses to go back to. And SHIELD won't keep him, because he's still only fifteen.

It's something he's known for a long time. There's nowhere for a reaper like him. The X-Men didn't want him and they were supposed to be the last resort for mutant kids. Where is there to go after that?

"Captain, this is Director Fury. I need you to make a call and pave the way for me."

Kevin glances away from the commendations and maps on the walls to look at Fury finally. There's only one Captain he can think of for the man to call and that's a little extreme. He can't live with the Avengers, any more than he can stay with the X-Men.

"Thank you." The Director says. "Son, there's very few options open to us. I'd prefer sending you back to the X-Men."

"Sir, ya send me back there an' I'll promise you bodies." Somewhere, he knows that threatening the X-Men isn't the best plan, but he will not go back there. He won't, and no one can make him. Not even all of SHIELD.

Fury doesn't flinch at the threat, though. His eye looks almost... vindicated. "Go get something to eat with Agent Sitwell. I'll have something for you in a little while."

Kevin follows Sitwell out of the office leaving the director behind.

Fury picks up his phone and makes a call that he will deny until the end of the world - or his life, whichever comes last (The latter, probably, with the way the last few years has been going.).

"Magneto. I need a favor."