Ernest Mars

16

5'9" (175cm)

134 lbs

Wavy, dark hair that gets tied up into a tight ponytail when he studies. Washes his hair frequently so it usually looks quite silky. Sharp, brown eyes and a perpetual, friendly grin on his face. Quite a skinny frame.

For the most part, Ernie is a polite and easy-going individual. His enthusiastic grin never leaves his face, whether he’s breezing through the USARILN hallways, chatting with his peers, or grinding a poor sap’s face into a wall. Always willing to crack a joke or help a buddy out, he is quite the affable pal for those fortunate enough to get on his good side (not that it’s hard to do). He’s quick to laugh heartily and even quicker to lighten the mood, no matter how dim it is. Though he is incredibly lacking in his studies, his general and practical knowledge is sufficient enough for him to take care of himself and others. He'll likely never understand calculus, but if you need to know five different ways of cleaning off bloodstains or how to cheat in Blackjack, then he's your guy.

His hobby of choice is household chores, particularly vacuuming and floor scrubbing. It’s a habit that he failed to outgrow after his stint with the Senators. Most people view him as the resident clean freak, and they wouldn’t be entirely wrong. Ernie would definitely prefer it if most things were spick and span. His mindset during his residence with the Senators could be boiled down to “Dirty = Bad”, a principle that still compels him to this day. He doesn’t really have any other pastimes besides cleaning, studying and frequenting the designated Violent Release Zone. Never really had the time to develop any new hobbies. Don’t let that discourage you from asking him to shoot some hoops with you or whatever. He’s always open to spending time with people his age.

Ernie strives to meet his own needs as quickly and efficiently as possible, whether it be hunger, homework, or, unfortunately for others, his stigma. Ernie sates his stigma quite a lot more frequently than most Aberrations, as his emotional weakness prevents him from being able to tolerate even the smallest hints of negative thoughts from his Stigma. His time in the Senators inspired a “concentrated violence” sort of mindset in him. He generally chooses a few targets to lash out at constantly, allowing him to spend the rest of his day in general bliss. His desensitised approach to violence and bullying displays an unnerving apathy bordering on sadism. Being somewhat perceptive, his methods of torment also include verbal taunts and insults.

Despite his jovial surface, it is an undeniable fact that Ernest is a bad person. His stunted empathy and utilitarian views on relationships beyond friendly acquaintances make him a cold-hearted person. When worse comes to worst, he will always value himself above others. This applies to both stigma sating and combat situations. When “forced” to perform destructive actions, he reassures himself by saying that it’s nothing personal to his victims. To an extent, that’s true. If it’s for his own wellbeing then he won’t give a damn about how anyone else feels.

Though Ernie may spin many a yarn about his time in the Senators, in reality he wasn’t much more than a glorified errand boy. A small group found him rummaging through the dumpster behind a bar frequented by the Senators. Who knows what would have happened if they didn’t see his black X. He was nine years old at the time, still reeling from a destroyed home from one of the recent monster attacks.

They took him in and let him sleep in one of the supply closets at a minor hideout, initially as a joke. When they saw his desperate need to please them and earn his residency, they declared him as the resident boy butler and occasional bouncer. It wasn't ideal but he had everything he needed; a roof over his head, an outlet for releasing his Stigma, and even a few people he could call friends. Well, maybe not that last part. He probably could have, if he didn’t get arrested during a night out with the boys. As soon as the officers saw the black X on his throat, he was shipped off to the closest USARILN facility.

Life at USARILN West was definitely a few steps up from the supply closet but it lacked something crucial for Ernie. While it still provided opportunities to feed his stigma, it was nowhere near as much as he did during his time before getting captured. It was the unruly behaviour following this realisation and his reluctance to participate fully in combat situations that landed his place on the USARILN East transfer.

Ernie can fasten magical elastic "ropes" around targets and "leash" them to within a certain range of himself. They have to attack him to remove the effect, but the more damage he absorbs, the tighter the ropes get. The maximum length of the rope at current is about 5 metres. If a large enough force is put on the rope then it can break apart, though it can't be cut by conventional methods. The rope has a lifespan of 10 minutes and a cooldown time of 3 minutes between each use.

As a secondary ability, Ernie can “set" a glowing, golden sigil on a relatively flat surface. He can place his sigil on any surface as long as it is flat and has the necessary surface area for the circular rune (which has approximately the radius of a standard mack truck tire). As of now, Ernie can bind only one target at a time for 5 minutes with the secondary ability. He has a cooldown time of 3 minutes after each sigil. He needs to be within a 10 metre radius of the active sigils for them to continue binding their targets. He cannot use the sigil while the rope is active and like with the rope, with enough force the target can break free.

There was a field, eternally sunny and bright. Friends and family, people he knew and people he was yet to meet were here to picnic with him. They played games and sang songs while he smiled and ate on the checkered blue blanket. Sometimes he’d get up and join them. But he would always return to the blanket. He’d eat his fill then fall asleep with the gentle sunlight warming his content face. Then he would wake and eat and play again. He would never tire of it. Some of his companions would run into the forest. It was dark, unknown territory. They’d disappear for hours but Ernest never worried. He knew that no matter how long they went away, they would always return, to the blanket. To him. They would never leave him.

He was in a house. Solid, concrete walls. Monochromatic. Modern but stifling. He was sitting with his nuclear family on the living room couch, watching the television as canned laughter filled the room. There was a fire coming from somewhere in the house. Ernie kept watching the TV, laughing along to the one-liners. He seemed completely unaware of the dangerous situation consuming the building. The heat was getting stronger. It was becoming almost unbearable. One of the faceless family members on the couch shifted anxiously, side-eyeing the flames that were starting to engulf the wall closest to the couch. Another member tried to scramble to her feet, but was immediately slammed back down by an invisible force. Ernie watched on, oblivious to the anxiety of the gathering on his couch. He didn’t need to care. They would never leave him. Ever.

Aberration

xxx

You have none, yet. You will get some as the story progresses. Keep track of them here. Some of them might be really important or something, I don't know.

Sophia Lemane

13

5' 3"

116 lbs.

Sophia is a slim young teenager, but with broad shoulders and wide hips. She has very dark brown eyes that, depending on the light, can sometimes pass off as black. They seem to hold great depth and tend to make people feel uncomfortable if she stares at them for too long. Her hair that reaches down to her mid-back too is a dark brown color, thick and coarse. She prefers to keep it down, but if she is to be doing something more active, will tie it into two low pigtails at the back.

"I know you know the answer. Just say it."
"Do you really not know, or are you just being stubborn?"
"You're just hopeless."
"Just give me an answer, already!"
Those are some of the words that have been spoken to her as the years passed. Her greatest fault is that she finds it extremely hard to talk, extremely hard to force the words she wants to say out of her mouth. It isn't that she doesn't wish to say anything or that she doesn't see the point in saying anything. She just can't talk to others, especially those in her family. Whenever she wants to say something, she will formulate the sentence in her head perfectly, run it over and over in her mind to make sure there are no flaws. But when the time comes to open her mouth, she just can't begin to talk. She hates the way attention is focused on her when people want a response, and she always feels like they are going to judge every word that she speaks. It's like there's a gate blocking the words from coming out, and she hasn't been able to find the key. So the words just go around and around in her head until people give up on her.

There are approximately three groups of people in her mind. People that she has never met before and probably will never meet again form one group. For those people she can usually get some sentences out, comforted by the fact that she may never see them again. The second group are those that she sees on a regular basis, and her mother and father fall into this group. For these people it is the hardest to speak, for they know her well and in her mind will always be judging her. She won't be able to forget what she says to these people. The last group are of those rare people that have managed to get into her comfort zone. Only two people have been able to get into this group, her two sisters. Even with them, however, she still will not say everything to. There must be another group that she can spill her deepest thoughts to, but she has never found anyone that would be able to make it there.

"You're brilliant."
"Yeah, I'm totally going to do that."
Sarcasm is part of more than half of what she says when she speaks. The closer you get to her, the more sarcastic she becomes. Sarcasm has become part of her, and she herself does not totally understand why. Perhaps it is because she does not have to directly say what she thinks, her words can be interpreted as truth by some and by some others, as something she does not mean.

"It's two against one anyway, why don't you just do it?"
"Sophia, you're being unfair. Can't we just do it like this?"
Stubbornness. Another thing she wishes she could overcome. Part of her hates to be ordered around to do things, while the other part loves not having to make and voice her decisions. Most of the time she'll just follow along and do what she is told, but once in a while she stops and won't budge. Normally, it's for the simple things, like when a sister asks her to get down from her bed to sit on the floor so that she isn't sitting above them. She won't get down because she doesn't want to give in. At the same time, part of her wishes that she could just make her legs move so that everything could be over and solved. But it's already too late and she can't make herself give in.

"How about we do it this way?"
As strange as it might seem because of her occasional stubbornness, she's good at helping other people make compromises. She dislikes loud noises and especially hearing people yell and argue. So she'll lend an ear to each opponent, think about it and suggest a different way of doing things. That's the peacekeeper part of her.

"Are you alright? Need help?"
Sophia hates to see others cry or be upset, so if she can summon up the words she'll try and ask them what is wrong. Most of the time she is kind and relatively patient, and this attitude often instills in children a liking towards her. It is easiest for her to solve the troubles and woes of little kids because she finds it easier to talk to them. Maybe it's something about their innocence and youth that she feels she lost when she was ten.

The morning after experiencing the Awakening, she knew something was not right the moment she looked in the mirror. Her older and younger sisters were the next people to notice as they trooped into the bathroom, leaving her no time to sort out her thoughts. The looks on their faces before they rushed back out were unforgettable, the horror, awe, and uncertainty. If only they would have seen that the same expression was mirrored on Sophia's face. As she remained standing frozen in front of that mirror, voices echoed through the house before all was silent. No part of her moved for a long time, save for the hand that kept tracing that white mark on her face over and over.

About an hour later when they finally came to take her away with their guns in hand, they found her curled up on top of her bed still in her pajamas. When given a few minutes to get dressed and gather a few things to bring, she picked up a black cloak (a present from her older sister), a thick journal and pencil-case, and her knitting bag. Her family came to see her off and say goodbye, but none save her older sister dared to touch her. Then she was led away. She had not uttered a single word that day.

A Scanner Darkly
When she uses her power she is no longer restricted to seeing just what is in front of her or just what is in the area. She is able to see through light and transparent things that normally cannot be seen through, and identify objects on the other side that other people might not have known were there. With it, she also acquires 360-degree vision, as well as night vision. However, when it is on she is unable to see any living creatures. This power can only be used for a short amount of time, around 10 minutes, before she tires. When her power is on her eyes seem to become unfocused, and they emit a very subtle white glow almost like headlights.

She was in a boat, and with her sat a family. A father and a mother, along with two young children that could not have been over seven years old. The sun was shining as the boatman rowed along, but slowly a thick fog began to roll in. As it thickened, worried creases formed on the foreheads of the passengers, but she remained calm. Once the fog was too thick to penetrate with the naked eye, she stood and made her way cautiously to the front of the boat. Tapping the boatman on the shoulder, she turned on her power before beginning to whisper instructions to the man. Guiding them from sand dunes, rocks, and from a collision with another boat. A while later the boat bumped gently into the dock and climbing out, the family thanked her. Clasping her hands in theirs, eyes shining and mouths smiling. She accepted their thanks graciously, and soon the fog disappeared once more and the sun shone bright, revealing a small town and grassy slopes.

From her vantage point at the top of a steep hill, she looked down at the many gray buildings that surrounded her. Around her were clustered five attendants, waiting for an order so that they could obey without hesitation. Yes, they would not hesitate to obey, for they knew her power. They listened to her, they waited until she was ready to speak. They understood why she did what she did. With a wave of her hand, they backed off a little, giving her room to stand. Her gaze traveled from one place to the next until she settled on a spot, and scanned. A cluster of people came into view, all gathered and gesturing around a table. Those people were obviously discussing something, and she had not been informed of that. That group had tried to leave her out. With a smirk, she pointed to the area and issued an order. "Summon a few others, and bring all the people gathered in that building to me. There are four, and I want every one of them."

Arbiter

None so far

Sophia Lemane

13

5' 3"

116 lbs.

Sophia is a slim young teenager, but with broad shoulders and wide hips. She has very dark brown eyes that, depending on the light, can sometimes pass off as black. They seem to hold great depth and tend to make people feel uncomfortable if she stares at them for too long. Her hair that reaches down to her mid-back too is a dark brown color, thick and coarse. She prefers to keep it down, but if she is to be doing something more active, will tie it into two low pigtails at the back.

"I know you know the answer. Just say it."
"Do you really not know, or are you just being stubborn?"
"You're just hopeless."
"Just give me an answer, already!"
Those are some of the words that have been spoken to her as the years passed. Her greatest fault is that she finds it extremely hard to talk, extremely hard to force the words she wants to say out of her mouth. It isn't that she doesn't wish to say anything or that she doesn't see the point in saying anything. She just can't talk to others, especially those in her family. Whenever she wants to say something, she will formulate the sentence in her head perfectly, run it over and over in her mind to make sure there are no flaws. But when the time comes to open her mouth, she just can't begin to talk. She hates the way attention is focused on her when people want a response, and she always feels like they are going to judge every word that she speaks. It's like there's a gate blocking the words from coming out, and she hasn't been able to find the key. So the words just go around and around in her head until people give up on her.

There are approximately three groups of people in her mind. People that she has never met before and probably will never meet again form one group. For those people she can usually get some sentences out, comforted by the fact that she may never see them again. The second group are those that she sees on a regular basis, and her mother and father fall into this group. For these people it is the hardest to speak, for they know her well and in her mind will always be judging her. She won't be able to forget what she says to these people. The last group are of those rare people that have managed to get into her comfort zone. Only two people have been able to get into this group, her two sisters. Even with them, however, she still will not say everything to. There must be another group that she can spill her deepest thoughts to, but she has never found anyone that would be able to make it there.

"You're brilliant."
"Yeah, I'm totally going to do that."
Sarcasm is part of more than half of what she says when she speaks. The closer you get to her, the more sarcastic she becomes. Sarcasm has become part of her, and she herself does not totally understand why. Perhaps it is because she does not have to directly say what she thinks, her words can be interpreted as truth by some and by some others, as something she does not mean.

"It's two against one anyway, why don't you just do it?"
"Sophia, you're being unfair. Can't we just do it like this?"
Stubbornness. Another thing she wishes she could overcome. Part of her hates to be ordered around to do things, while the other part loves not having to make and voice her decisions. Most of the time she'll just follow along and do what she is told, but once in a while she stops and won't budge. Normally, it's for the simple things, like when a sister asks her to get down from her bed to sit on the floor so that she isn't sitting above them. She won't get down because she doesn't want to give in. At the same time, part of her wishes that she could just make her legs move so that everything could be over and solved. But it's already too late and she can't make herself give in.

"How about we do it this way?"
As strange as it might seem because of her occasional stubbornness, she's good at helping other people make compromises. She dislikes loud noises and especially hearing people yell and argue. So she'll lend an ear to each opponent, think about it and suggest a different way of doing things. That's the peacekeeper part of her.

"Are you alright? Need help?"
Sophia hates to see others cry or be upset, so if she can summon up the words she'll try and ask them what is wrong. Most of the time she is kind and relatively patient, and this attitude often instills in children a liking towards her. It is easiest for her to solve the troubles and woes of little kids because she finds it easier to talk to them. Maybe it's something about their innocence and youth that she feels she lost when she was ten.

The morning after experiencing the Awakening, she knew something was not right the moment she looked in the mirror. Her older and younger sisters were the next people to notice as they trooped into the bathroom, leaving her no time to sort out her thoughts. The looks on their faces before they rushed back out were unforgettable, the horror, awe, and uncertainty. If only they would have seen that the same expression was mirrored on Sophia's face. As she remained standing frozen in front of that mirror, voices echoed through the house before all was silent. No part of her moved for a long time, save for the hand that kept tracing that white mark on her face over and over.

About an hour later when they finally came to take her away with their guns in hand, they found her curled up on top of her bed still in her pajamas. When given a few minutes to get dressed and gather a few things to bring, she picked up a black cloak (a present from her older sister), a thick journal and pencil-case, and her knitting bag. Her family came to see her off and say goodbye, but none save her older sister dared to touch her. Then she was led away. She had not uttered a single word that day.

A Scanner Darkly
When she uses her power she is no longer restricted to seeing just what is in front of her or just what is in the area. She is able to see through light and transparent things within 30 meters that normally cannot be seen through, and identify objects on the other side that other people might not have known were there. With it, she also acquires 360-degree vision, as well as night vision. However, when it is on she is unable to see any living creatures. This power can only be used for a short amount of time, around 10 minutes, before she tires. When her power is on her eyes seem to become unfocused, and they emit a very subtle white glow almost like headlights.

She was in a boat, and with her sat a family. A father and a mother, along with two young children that could not have been over seven years old. The sun was shining as the boatman rowed along, but slowly a thick fog began to roll in. As it thickened, worried creases formed on the foreheads of the passengers, but she remained calm. Once the fog was too thick to penetrate with the naked eye, she stood and made her way cautiously to the front of the boat. Tapping the boatman on the shoulder, she turned on her power before beginning to whisper instructions to the man. Guiding them from sand dunes, rocks, and from a collision with another boat. A while later the boat bumped gently into the dock and climbing out, the family thanked her. Clasping her hands in theirs, eyes shining and mouths smiling. She accepted their thanks graciously, and soon the fog disappeared once more and the sun shone bright, revealing a small town and grassy slopes.

From her vantage point at the top of a steep hill, she looked down at the many gray buildings that surrounded her. Around her were clustered five attendants, waiting for an order so that they could obey without hesitation. Yes, they would not hesitate to obey, for they knew her power. They listened to her, they waited until she was ready to speak. They understood why she did what she did. With a wave of her hand, they backed off a little, giving her room to stand. Her gaze traveled from one place to the next until she settled on a spot, and scanned. A cluster of people came into view, all gathered and gesturing around a table. Those people were obviously discussing something, and she had not been informed of that. That group had tried to leave her out. With a smirk, she pointed to the area and issued an order. "Summon a few others, and bring all the people gathered in that building to me. There are four, and I want every one of them."

Arbiter

None so far