Post by Ryan D'Alteau on Jun 26, 2009 9:54:17 GMT -5
<Ryan Alcroft>
Full Name- Ryan Alcroft (aka "The Wraith")
Gender- Male
Age- 22
Date of Birth- March 15th, 1989
Sexual Orientation- Heterosexual
Location- South Padre Island, TX
Celebrity Claim- Gallagher, David
What should we call you?- CO
Play anyone else?- Devon Ridgeman
Have You Read the Rules?- You know nothing, Jon Snow. Nothing!!
Personality-
Sociable, friendly and (for the most part) optimistic. A decade ago, these were qualities that would never have been associated with Ryan Alcroft but, after Ryan's older brother left home, his personality showed a marked improvement. While he has been known to slip into short-lived phases of pessimistic depression when things start to get him down, Ryan is more often than not a young man happy with the way things are going in life. He has friends and, compared to his past, a hectic and fast-moving social life.
When encountering people for the first time, Ryan's first instinct is to be a man of relatively few words, viewing unfamiliar people with slight suspicion and a degree of paranoia until he's able to determine their intentions. His attitude towards people (especially friends) generally improves as he gets to know them better, though with people with whom he shares a mutual dislike, he is generally unwilling to try and rectify it, preferring instead to wait for them to make the first move... if, indeed, they ever choose to.
While he does have a sense of humour, he has been known to use it as defence mechanism of sorts, either to hide any shortcomings in his social experience or to hide his fear. Despite having things that scare him; the threat of his own mortality being one, Ryan generally doesn't like to back down from situations, a course of action that could be viewed as reckless.
Likes-
- Most types of metal and rock music. For example: classical music = boring. Images And Words = awesome!
- Videogames. If it comes on a disc and requires a controller in order to extract the fun, Ryan'll probably enjoy it.
- Sci-fi and action movies. Pretty self-explanatory, really.
- Alcoholic drinks. Who doesn't enjoy getting drunk once in a while?
- Partying. He may be engaged, but he likes having fun.
Dislikes-
- The side-effects experienced due to the (over)use of his ability.
- Extreme temperatures. Ryan prefers climates that aren't deserts or arctic mountains.
- Hangovers. Who doesn't?
- Defeats which Ryan knows he could affected the outcome of.
- Large crowds. While not a demophobe by any stretch, there's just something about being surrounded by hundreds of people that slightly unsettles him.
Strengths-
- Above-average reaction speed.
- Dedication to a task which warrants/is deserving of his focus.
- Isn't afraid to defend himself, whether by words or combat.
- Very good at remaining calm and rational when faced with situations that would anger others.
- Can be considered mature for his age, both physically and in attitude.
Weaknesses-
- Limited combat skills. With the only combat training he has ever received being the mandatory Company field training, his combat ability is somewhat lacking when compared to his peers.
- Isn't very athletic, despite not being overweight.
- Somewhat prone to descending into a pessimistic attiude, especially when things are getting him down.
- Hard to control his anger when he is (eventually) pushed over the edge.
- While he has trained his body to resist the side-effects of his ability to some extent, Ryan still finds it hard to stay awake if his "energy" reserves have been completely drained out from using his ability.
Skills-
- Whenever he finds himself in an uncomfortable situation, Ryan is often quite good at hiding the fact that he's feeling uncomfortable in the first place.
- Somewhat adept at remaining inconspicuous.
- Has a talent for diverting the subject of a conversation, especially away from subjects he doesn't feel like discussing.
Flaws-
- Can be viewed as slightly anti-social to people he doesn't know, despite having opened up significantly during his teens.
- Doesn't trust others easily and, if those "others" are in a position of authority, he'll be reluctant to conform to it.
- Ryan is something of a loner and, if he feels that he doesn't need help with something, he won't bother to ask for it. If he receives help regardless, he won't be completely appreciative of the assistance.
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Abilities/Powers/Skills-
When Ryan's ability first emerged - taking on the form of what he assumed were "migraines with a side-order of blackouts and weird dreams" - its relative infancy was quick to make him believe Astral Projection was the only extraordinary thing that he was capable of doing.
As the months and years passed, Ryan discovered - thanks in no small part to his time with Adele - that he was capable of far more than he initially gave himself credit for; so much, in fact, that - as time has gone on - the term "Astral Projection" has gradually become less of an applicable way to describe what he can do.i. Astral Projection
Often likened to an out-of-body experience, astral projection is the process of detaching one's consciousness from the physical body in which it usually resides. People who believe in the metaphysical or the paranormal would decree that such an act is usually impossible due to the barriers seperating the various planes of existence. However, Ryan is able to temporarily forego such restrictions and pass through these barriers as though they simply didn't exist.
Because his projection is a technically massless, intangible entity, he is not as bound to the worldly laws of physical matter as he would otherwise have been. This is by far the most evident when he attempts to move. While he isn't capable of self-propelled flight or breaching the sound barrier on foot, he does still possess agility far in excess of a normal human being, allowing him to leap significantly higher/further before gravity begins to act upon him as well as run at speeds that would put Usain Bolt (and even some small cars from a few decades ago) to shame.ii. Astral Possession
When Ryan concentrates on returning to the physical plane, his ability's "default" practice is to return him to his own body. However, through accidental experimentation, he discovered that, if his projection is making contact with a foriegn body at the moment he attempts to do this, Ryan is able to trick the normal workings of his ability, allowing him to forcefully invade the mind and body of another individual instead of returning to his own body where he should be.
Because this form of possession is more invasive than simply intercepting the cerebral signals reserved for movement and repurposing them for his own ends, Ryan is able to gaze upon the various facets of the mind he is controlling - memories, mannerisms, emotional responses and so on - as though they were his own. This degree of "mental interlocking", however, can be both a blessing and a curse.iii. Memory Repression
Because Ryan is able to exert so much power over the minds and bodies of his possessed victims, it was only a matter of time before he was able to inflict some sort of adverse effect upon them as opposed to merely being at risk of them himself. While he isn't able to erase memories completely from a person's mind, he has discovered a way to tap into the web of psychological defense mechanisms which every person possesses as a result of millions of years of evolution. By forcing a person's mind to fall under the delusion that a certain moment in time was a significant emotional trauma, he is able to make his victims repress memories instead.
By reversing this process, Ryan is able to undo his own work - uncovering the memories he forced his possessed victim to repress - or, albeit with more difficulty, undo repression performed by someone else (or achieved through "natural" means).
iv. Astral Shielding
While the power at Ryan's disposal due to his intricate connection to the astral plane cannot be brought to bear in any form of tangible attack, he is able to use it to defend himself against the intangible attacks of others. By producing what is essentially an incomplete projection - a shapeless, astral entity - he can form it instead into a heavily reinforced barrier around himself, cutting it off from external interference, be it telepathy, mind control or anything else without a physical presence.
v. Astral Attunement
Attunement; n. - Being or bringing into harmony, the feeling of being "at one" with another entity.
Despite having extended the effective range of his projection exponentially since he had first been able to craft one, Ryan has - until now - resorted to his elevated agility in his projected state to travel from place to place. By leaving a fragment of the energy required to maintain his projection in a certain location - or embedding it within the "aura" of an individual - Ryan is able to attune himself with both places and people and, through some concentration, is able to teleport his projection to and from these locations at will.
vi. Astral Puppetry
Normally, in order to control the actions of others, Ryan is required to project himself and possess their minds and bodies directly. However, by attuning himself to a person beforehand, Ryan is able to use the fragment of energy he left behind - which is essentially a tiny piece of his own consciousness - as a beacon; a "representative" of himself left in the astral plane through which he can seize control of a person's body without projecting himself.
Essentially, Astral Puppetry is a lesser equivalent of Astral Possession and, while this form of bodily control can potentially take less time to accomplish, it is also far less powerful, due to Ryan's lack of presence in the victim's mind.
Limits-
i. Astral Projection
As a projection, Ryan's physical capabilities may be vastly enhanced, but they are still subject to worldly, mortal law. He can't break the sound barrier on foot (in fact, he struggles to break the freeway speed limit), nor is he able to take to the skies and fly. While travelling as a projection has become rather easy for Ryan, traversing between the two planes poses its own set of problems. With his consciousness out of his body, his physical form is little more than a vacant, empty shell (which slips into a coma-like state) until he decides to return, making him rather vulnerable to attack or discovery by his adversaries.
From the first days of coping with his ability, the act of returning to his body has always been a rather jarring experience, due to it happening so quickly. A physical equivalent which Ryan has often used to explain his ability has been to imagine that his projection was strapped to a bungee cord, likening his trip back to his body as simply halting his resistance to the strand of elastic trying to pull him back. Factors which influence just how uncomfortable the "ride" can be include the time he has spent in his projected state and the distance between his body and his projection. Put simply, Ryan prefers brief, close-range jaunts into the astral plane over lengthy, distant ones.
ii. Astral Possession
The foremost limitation on his ability to take possession of people is that Ryan is required to be in a projected state in order for him to be able to do it. His enhanced agility on the astral plane may allow him to get to his victims quickly, but the process of extricating himself from his own body and invading that of someone else still takes a few seconds to accomplish. While Ryan is able to take measures to alter the levels of "awareness" his victims have, actually doing so runs the risk of them being granted enough free will to break free of his control and force him out of their body.
As well as this, there are people out there who Ryan simply cannot possess, no matter how much he would like to. A few of these exceptional individuals are just regular people blessed with above-average mental fortitude and are capable of simply shrugging off such intrusions. However, most of the people capable of resisting Ryan are specials like him with certain abilities which are "incompatible".
With Ryan's tendency to involuntarily assimilate a memetic souvenir from his victims (temporary fluency in Danish from Thomas Kroner, for example), people with an eidetic memory - be it an ability or otherwise - are one example of these "incompatible" individuals, purely due to the sheer number of memories they have.
iii. Memory Repression
[/size][/center]While Ryan is capable of forcing his victims to repress memories, he cannot make them forget something entirely. This means that - regardless of it taking two hours or two decades - anything he does to make people "forget" something is inherently temporary. Whether his victims actually remember something Ryan has made them repress is purely down to them.
iv. Astral Shielding
Because the augmentation to Ryan's defences are completely drawn from the astral plane, they can only defend against assault from equally intangible sources. For example, telepathy (mind reading, vocal suggestion, etc.), mind control, possession and some forms of draining effects all fall under this purview, but attacks which have any sort of tangible presence - ranging from punches all the way through to electricity, flames and gunfire - do not.
The barrier which Ryan can erect is by no means impenetrable. Even if he is afforded ample opportunity to reinforce it as much as possible, it will still falter and fail completely if placed under enough pressure. With perseverence, attackers can simply utilise brute force and break their way through. Given that Ryan is somewhat abusing his gift in order to create the barrier in the first place - staying in the physical plane while using power drawn from the astral plane - it is a significant drain on his body as a whole and, as one would expect, maintaining it is very taxing; something which is only exacerbated if the barrier is being constantly assaulted.
v. Astral Attunement
While it would be incredibly advantageous for him to do so, Ryan is not capable of attuning himself to anything and anyone he pleases. In the case of locations, the general rule of thumb is the nature of the emotional connection he shares with the place in question. For instance, he would easily be able to attune himself to his parents' house in New York, his brother's apartment in London or the Maigny villa in Saint-Tropez, but it would be next to impossible for him to attune himself to the Company's Level Five facility.
For people, however, the restrictions are a lot more lenient. While he doesn't need to have a strong emotional connection with a person to attune himself to them, it certainly helps. But, like his ability to possess people, there are certain types of people to whom attunement is impossible. More often than not, these people tend to be specials with some sort of mind-related power, such as telepathy. Regardless, Ryan's attunements to people are not permanent and last either for six hours (usually, but the time does vary from person to person) or until he utilises a more invasive facet of his ability on them, whichever occurs first.
vi. Astral Puppetry
Because Ryan isn't directly possessing a victim when he is puppeteering their limbs, he isn't able to exert as much control over that person as he would otherwise be able to. The person, while their bodies may not respond to their own commands, would continue to be completely alert and aware of what Ryan was doing and, because of their mental autonomy, it is still possible (and quite a lot easier, compared to full-on possession) for them to fight against Ryan's control and eradicate his influence over them.
Due to this facet of his ability relying entirely on his ability to attune himself to them, a lot of the restrictions which apply to both Astral Attunement and Astral Possession also apply to this, preventing him from making temporary puppets out of simply anyone he pleases. Also, as with many intricate facets of his ability, Ryan is prone to experiencing a rather unpleasant backlash if he gets it wrong or his victim manages to fight their way free.
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Appearance-
Standing a couple of inches above six feet tall and with short, dark-blonde hair sprouting from the top of his head, Ryan Alcroft, to the casual observer, looks like any other young man. His brown eyes give him a calm and unassuming quality, while giving him a piercing glare. While far from fashion-conscious, Ryan keeps himself clean-shaven and his hair short, rarely allowing it to grow further than his neck.
Concealed beneath his clothing, and mostly centred around his torso, are a series of scars which seem to have been deliberately carved into his skin to resemble various shapes. The scars range from the intricate (a fleur-de-lis and Adele's first name on his chest) to the simplistic (a simple, vertical line along a section of his forearm) and the "freshest" of them is still a number of months old.
Nearly always seen wearing casual clothes - a pair of jeans and a shirt being the norm for him - Ryan is one of those people who would look out-of-place or strange in formal attire. Not one to wear necklaces or any sort of adornment, the extent of anything that could be considered even remotely close to "jewellry" that he wears is a watch and even that isn't on all the time.
Faction- GEIST
Birthplace- London, England
Mother- Rhiannon Alcroft / 40 / Part-time sales assistant / Civilian (gained the power of Ethereal Vision during April 4th)
Father- Leo Alcroft / 45 / Financial advisor / Civilian (gained the power of Duplication during April 4th)
Siblings- Darron Leo Alcroft / 27 / Trainee lawyer / Civilian (gained the power of Telepathy during April 4th)
Spouse / Partner- Adele Couteau / 35 / Clinician, former Company agent / Special (Nervous System Manipulation/Blood Manipulation)
Children- N/A
History-
Born in 1989, Ryan Alcroft's early life was like the early life of any other inner-city child. A roof over his head, loving parents, more toys than he could count - not that he actually could count back in 1989 - and an older brother who loved to play with him. As he grew up and started to attend school, the rifts so common between two brothers began to show. What were once playful battles over a toy had become sometimes violent fights between Ryan and his brother Darron, followed by vitriolic insults between them after their parents had prised them apart. Despite the fact that Darron was six years his senior, Ryan never found himself backing down and often found himself, with his mother, nursing bruises or taking a tissue to his bloodied nose.
The fights with his brother quickly developed a profound effect on Ryan's social upbringing. Deep in his mind, he often asked questions about himself and his situation; questions that only served to drive his self-esteem into the ground. His early school reports reflected his emotional state. He was often top of the class in many academic subjects, yet was far from it in more socially-oriented or physical lessons. As he grew up, however, advancing through the years of his junior school, Ryan soon noticed a pattern between his company and his mood. He was always happier when Darron wasn't there.
His theory was proven to be true on the first August of the new millennium, a week before Ryan was due to start his days in high school. He had been called into the dining area to listen to an announcement from his brother. The fights between them had decreased quite a lot over the past year and they had even had conversations that hadn't descended into a fight; something which was once a near-impossibility... and Darron's announcement was the reason why.
He was leaving home to attend university.
Life without his brother's overbearing presence was refreshing and, as Ryan started his first days in high school, he vowed to himself that he would claw himself out of his depression, rebuild his self-esteem and finally experience the good side of school life. Progress was slow at first as Ryan learned the differences between high school life and what had come before but, once he had got the hang of it, the change in his attitude and general mood was dramatic to say the least and, by the time he started college five years later at the age of 16, he was completely different. He had a multitude of friends and had attended a birthday party for all of them at least once during high school. While not a member of a sports team, he did enjoy some degree of popularity.
With a timetable filled with lessons for two courses, Ryan threw himself into the less strict experience of college life. He could wear what he liked, listen to music when he liked (as long as the tutors didn't see him) - there was even a group of people who turned a lecture hall into a room where, for an hour a week, Ryan could feed his ever-growing videogames addiction. In college, of all places! When he saw the posters around campus for a year-long exchange visit to America at the end of his first year, Ryan jumped at the chance. At least, he did after his parents persuaded him.
The town of Odessa in Texas was vastly different to London and not just because of the weather. The time he spent as a senior-year student at an American high school was, if anything, the best time of his life. Helped by the fact that he was likely the only student in the class not from anywhere close to the state of Texas, he quickly made a few friends and, after starting a part-time job in Odessa working in a diner (which, amazingly, the terms of his exchange visit allowed him to do), fell in love with one of the school's cheerleaders; Michelle "Shelly" Flynn and spent the rest of the school year in a relationship with her.
After graduation, Ryan knew that his time in Odessa was over and, after packing all his belongings and saying his goodbyes, made the short journey to the airport in Midland. Though, as he walked through the main entrance, he wasn't expecting to find his parents waiting for him. With very little keeping them in London, and their eldest son having already left home, they had spent the last ten months making arrangements for and eventually moving to New York, making a stop in Midland to collect Ryan and tell him the news.
Despite not heading back to London, Ryan and Michelle, after a month of trying to make their long-distance relationship work, they made a mutual decision to split up and remain good friends. Even now, almost three years later, the two of them remain in near-constant contact. Since arriving in New York, Ryan has shifted from being a party animal into a mature, young man and, after discovering his ability, has been fixed on a path which has seen him - among other things - move out of his parents' house, get engaged (to Adele Couteau) and join up with the Company.
Anything else?- "Astral Planar Manipulation" is the umbrella term for everything Ryan's learned to do (and will learn to do) with his ability over the past couple of years. All the other bolded stuff are just referential sub-headings to make reading the wall of text easier.
Sample RP-(An excerpt from the jointfic "Trials Of The Ethereal")
Unlike the guard, whose incomprehensible dialect had been lost on Ryan, the words which left the mouth of the ram-headed being were ones which he could understand perfectly. Even though the language they spoke was exactly the same, their meanings reverberated around Ryan's head instantly, almost as if his proximity had granted him temporary fluency in the strange tongue. Sensing his hesitation, the being spoke again. "Worry not. Reassurance from a figure from Ancient Egyptian mythology. Even if Ryan had no idea who it was, the prospect was decidedly unusual. "Your native tongue shall suffice in this place."
"Good," Ryan finally responded, a slight frown on his face. "I'm 'ere lookin f'someone."
"As are many who find themselves here." With a dismissive wave of a huge hand, the ram-headed man commanded the guard to rise once more and go about his duty; a command which was immediately followed. With the rest of the hall's denizens going about their business, the pleasantries could begin. "I am known as Kherty, servant of Osiris, the Lord of Silence. I am he who commands Mesektet on its journeys across the underworld." Now Osiris was someone Ryan had actually heard of, if only as a character in Stargate. "However, I fear that your journey will never come to pass."
His journey would never come to pass. It was hardly the best thing for anyone - even an ancient deity - to say to him. "If you serve Osiris..." Ryan began, forcing himself to conceal all signs of his anger. He was in this place for one reason and, annoyingly, he was being kept from her. "...then y'know why I'm here."
"The Lady of Blades." It took Ryan a moment to realise to just whom Kherty was referring. While it was a little strange for an Ancient Egyptian deity to construct a title using a word from a language which, to the ferryman's mind, wasn't to be invented for the better part of another three millenia, there was the fact that he had entered into a French woman's mind to consider. Anything she knew, they knew. "She has passed through these halls on more than a single occasion. Her transgressions would have otherwise condemned her, were it not for the Mistress."
Of course, Ryan was confused. Once again seeing the mortal's hesitation, Kherty seized the initiative. "Sekhmet," he clarified. "The Mistress of Dread. The one before whom evil trembles. It is rare that she finds a soul worthy of her attention." Ryan wasn't impressed. If a goddess had taken a shine to Adele, then getting her out of this place was going to be a lot more difficult than he had originally envisioned. "However... you are not as fortunate. You are devoid of the respect your royal name demands."
"I don't care about your respect." Ryan had looked up his name on the internet years ago and, while it was interesting, learning that his name meant "little King" failed to impress him anymore. It was just a fragment of trivia that littered his head. Glaring at the ram-headed deity, the deceptively serene oily blue began to cloud over his sclera again. While his appearance - and the solidity of his body in this place - spoke to the contrary, Ryan knew that he had arrived here as a projection. And projections were not governed by the same rules that governed those on the physical plane. He was just hoping that his assumptions about his capabilities would turn out to be true. "I'm here for Adele. That's all. Now get outta my way."
"I cannot.""Why?""Because you are subject to the rituals that all who come here must overcome."
While Kherty was only responsible for ferrying the dead across the underworld - the Ancient Egyptian equivalent of figures such as Charon - he was still a deity like his more prominent brethren, which meant he was still far above any mortal. Extending his arm forward, he calmly - and painlessly - reached into Ryan's chest, his colossal fingertips and palm shimmering away as he surveyed the state of the young man before him. On the outside, he was just like any other man who had graced the Hall of Two Truths over the countless millenia. But, as Kherty's cursory search neared its end, he discovered something which even gave the powerful deity pause.
A heartbeat.
Now filled with a mixture of surprise, offence and anger, the ferryman glared at Ryan. "What sorcery is this?", he growled. Frankly, Ryan was surprised it had taken him this long to figure it out. With a rather cocky smirk appearing on his face, Ryan locked his shrouded eyes with the head of the ram before him. "Oh, that? I forgot t'mention." Ryan's own arm stretched forward, planting itself on Kherty's chest. "There's gonna be a little problem with y'rituals."
"What problem?""...I ain't dead yet."
