Character you have created: Aberdeen Betsy Cross
Alias: The Grifter, LSD, Fantasy.
Dee, DeeDee, Deen, Bets.
Alice Cooper, Danni Driver, Elizabeth MacGweer, Jenna Jupiter, Unida Ligma-Ast, Kel C. Grammar
Speech Color:DarkSeaGreenCharacter Alignment: Wibbly, Wobbly, Walking all over that line
Identity:Secret - in a sense
Character Personality:She is a woman used to getting the things she wants in life for very little work. On that same note, she is the type to help those she likes get (or at least perceive that they are) the things that they want in life. Tit for tat as it were. Give and take. The balance of the world. She never takes more than she needs though. That would be just plain selfish! And of course, she helps out whenever she can. Dee gets a kick out of bringing joy to others, especially children. They are the innocent and pure of the world.
Dee knows she is not a good sort of person though and would not pretend to be otherwise. She can be self-centered - looking out for number one on most fronts. Flirty, compulsive, and dishonest. She can lie as easily as she breathes and a truth from this woman is hard to come by. She is not above ruining lives, marriages, and friendships for the sake of getting what she wants. She has not worked an honest day in her life and has no plans to do so.
This is where we come back to that balance. Stealing from the rich means one must then give to the poor. That is as long as its not something she really, really likes. A girls got to be rewarded for her efforts after all! Charities have received large donations from the powerful and mighty men of the world. They can hardly take it back, after all. They signed the documents. How silly would that look? Banks have written off foreclosures and given loans they may have otherwise denied. All thanks to Dee's gentle persuasion. If Dee wants the Mona Lisa you can bet that some collector somewhere is going to make a large donation to the museum.
She can be a bit of a tough cookie, especially when it comes to her work. She is not easily swayed from a decision once she has made it. She prefers things be neaty and tidy, disgusted with dirt and nature and the great outdoors. She's a city girl. To those she likes she can be an absolute peach, fun, adventurous and chatty. Toward those who get in her way, she can be cold, unrelenting, and sadistic.
Uniform/costume: No need for a uniform, unless the details call for it. She wears plain clothes which fit the situation she is going into. Typically she can be found in brand name suits, high-end dresses, shoes that cost more than a car and priceless jewelry. Never gaudy though. One should never show off. Just subtly hint at wealth.
Origin Info/Details:(For best understanding the history, please read Powers first)
She was born quite normally. She was the seventh child to a hairdresser and a mechanic. They lived in an apartment in Dublin and she shared a room with her three sisters growing up. Her father was a severe alcoholic, often passing out in front of the television with a bottle of beer. He was never abusive or cruel though. A gentle giant he could be described as. He often taught his kids how to fix up cars or built little wooden cars with them. Whatever they wanted to do he was fully supportive and tried to make their dreams come true. Her mother, on the other hand, was somewhat absent. She would rather be out partying than taking care of her own children. There are rumors in the building that some of the kids might not be her husbands. If that is true, he never seemed to mind and took care of each and everyone the same.
Despite their low income and many mouths to feed, they always had what the needed. Yes it came from the food pantry or clothes outgrown my neighbors but they never went without. As the kids grew older they got jobs and worked hard to support their family. All were surprisingly close, considering the number of children. One of her siblings passed away due to a drug overdose and another from being in the wrong place at the wrong time. A robbery at a petrol station gone wrong. Their mother then disappeared from their lives - taking nothing with her.
It was when Dee was 9 years old that she began to realize she was different. She had started puberty early which in turn kick-started some sort of strangeness inside of her. People would act oddly around her. Not so much her own family but others in the outside world. She would notice they would enter a euphoric state and sometimes even begin to see things that didn't exist. It became confusing when the kids would play games with her and they would all be convinced the dragon was really there. She couldn't see it!
The effects increased with age. Starting subtly until prolonged exposure to her caused full-on hallucinatory states. She would be sitting in a classroom only to have people around her freaking out about the cannonballs coming through the window. This distressed the poor young woman until she realized that her own voice had the power to direct these hallucinations. It was somewhat accidental, this discovery. She had received an essay back with poorer marks than she thought she deserved. She brought it up to the teacher after class who seemed confused. "There is an O1 on your paper, what are you talking about?" Clearly, it was an O4. The computer said it was an O4. He rectified the 'mistake'.
Dee began to test this out, using fake money to purchase goods and convince the homeless they lived in mansions. When people were around her they were happy and she relished in this. She kept out of trouble with her silver tongue and made friends in high and low places. Her powers did not seem to work on her family though. The exposure to her from the very beginning had caused them some resilience to her particular brand of strangeness.
Dee dropped out of high school, tired of dealing with people and taking tests. She found her way underground, working alongside the dregs of society. She hired herself out, committing crimes without batting an eye. She collected goods and money, accumulating wealth she didn't have growing up. She has lived her life a free woman, returning home once a year at Christmas to shower her family with presents. She makes sure her father lives a good life. He is too old and too tired to work. The effects of his alcoholism having caught up with him. They think she is the CEO of some big corporation. Whenever she comes back home it does take some time but the effects of her abilities wear off much more quickly upon those she grew up around.
Hero Type:Other - a curator of phantasms
Power Level:World - In a sense. She does not confine herself to one place. No true home. All are targets.
Powers:-
LSD, Mescaline, and Magic Mushrooms: Her body produces a chemical similar to these psychotropic drugs. It is released in a fog around her body, can be transferred through touch, and fluids are particularly potent. She can cause hallucinations with her mere presence, the effects of which increase through proximity or touch. Her voice offers direction for the way the hallucinations take shape, her words twisting the world her body has created.
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The Power of Suggestion: Standing near her will produce a happy, euphoric feeling. Mood lifted and general positive outlook on things. Because of this people tend to be friendly toward her and that makes it easier to offer the suggestions. This is my passport. Heres a twenty-dollar bill. Doesn't that park bench look comfy? Her voice and the fog work in tandem to get others to adhere to her suggestion. Prolonged closeness and enclosed spaces can increase the effects of the pheromone. Within three hours of being in an average-sized, enclosed room, people would begin to display noticeable hallucinatory effects along with increased body temperature and jaw clenching.
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Take my Hand: Her touch can bring the hallucinations to a peek or solidify those beginning to doubt a hallucination. Larger objects and more fantastical dreams brought to life. Make you think you are flying or falling. You are being attacked by an animal. Your dead relative is brought back from the dead. Is the wall moving? More dramatic things can be made believable in their mind through physical contact. Within moments of touching the effects take hold. Touch does not have to be continuous. Prolonged touching can deepen the effects of the drug-like reaction until a disassociative state is reached.
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Kiss Kiss, Take a Hit: Saliva, blood, sweat, and tears are all concentrated forms what her body creates. It is part of what causes the touch to be so effective. However, once any of these things are ingested it would be similar to taking FAR too much acid. Effects are almost immediate and last for the longest about of time - up to twelve hours after ingestion. A person is more susceptible to her persuasion. If too much is given they can become hard to control with even her voice as the hallucinations can become extremely euphoric or terrifying.
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Disguises: No one person can quite agree on what she looks like. They would each see her slightly differently depending on what they think she should look like. She can change her appearance through vocal manipulation to the person looking at her.
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Side effects: Laughter, euphoria, dream-like states, hallucinations, increased body temperature/dehydration, synesthesia. If a long period of time is spent in her company a person can expect to have the following happen hours after experiencing the high from being around her, some may then experience a few hours of an extreme and depressive low and/or suicidal thoughts. Anxiety, paranoia, dizziness, nausea/vomiting, headache, and excessive sweating. Short term exposure usually only results in a very light, hangover-like symptoms if any.
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Drawback: Her abilities do not work on technology, computers, or cameras. She would be seen as hazy with no definitive features. An overcast - like a heat haze would hover around her. She cannot make a computer see her fingerprint any differently nor a card reader nor retinal scan. Prolonged touch causing hallucinatory states means she has never had an actual relationship with anyone beyond her own family. She does have a few friends but they cannot spend much time together. If a hallucination became too grand it becomes difficult to control the person leading to unintended consequences. Attempting to control larger groups of people can be difficult as well. She cannot account for every difference in the psyche and more people means more divided attention.
Attributes:Height: 5'2"
Weight: 128lbs
Strength Level: Normal Human
Speed/Reaction Timing Level: Normal Human
Endurance at MAXIMUM Effort: Normal Human
Agility: Normal Human
Intelligence: Average
Fighting Skill: Untrained
Resources: Extreme
Weaknesses: The usual human things - you know knives, poisons, guns and the like. A well-ventilated area or being outside means that the effects of her power are lessened. Bio-hazard suits would keep a person safe from her as well. Chocolate, it'll get a gal to forgive just about anything.
Supporting Characters:Will mostly just be mentioned here and there but are not an intrinsic part of the story for now.
Father: Dean Ryan Cross - ailing and in hospice, ex-mechanic
Mother: Laura Denise Cross - Hairdresser - whereabouts unknown
First Child: Oliver Reed Cross - Mechanic
Second Child: January Lillian Kemp - Housewife - takes care of Dean
Third Child: Marcy October Green - Photographer
Fourth Child: Kennedy Marcus Cross - Deceased
Fifth Child: Robert Gregory Cross - Airline Pilot
Sixth Child: Anna Kelly Cross - Deceased
Hospice Nurse: Cole Mender - Housecall Nurse - May be having an affair with January.
Do you know how to post pictures on RPG boards?:Sample Post:Dee sat with one of her stocking clad legs crossed over the other. Her heel hung from her toes as she clicked away at a phone furiously. A groan from across the way caused her to pause and lookup. Two feet in front of her was a young man with a puffy eye and bleeding lip. Bruises mottled his features and his clothes were ripped and disheveled. She glanced back at her phone and cursed.
"Uhg, yeh made me lose," she said haughtily. She tossed the phone aside with little care what happened to it. It hit the ground with a crack, the screen a spiderweb of lines. Dee replaced her shoe properly on her foot and leaned forward.
"What do you think ducky?" she inquired of the man with a soft Irish accent.
"Ready to squeal?" She could already seen the sheen of sweat on his body and the way his jaw worked. Was that the cracking sound of teeth grinding together too hard?
She placed her foot on the ground, disturbing a layer of dust upon the concrete floor. They were standing in an old factory, windows shattered and letting in the late day sun. She had been here for about twenty minutes. The poor man looked as if he had been here for hours. Two men in fine suits stood at the far end of the room, wearing facial masks as if it would help. Dee approached the lad and gently ran a hand across his cheek and down his neck. He smiled at the touch. Probably felt nice comparative to the pummelling he had received.
"I don't know anything, I-I s-swear," he managed and spit out a glob of bloodied saliva on the floor. Dee hissed, sidestepping so that the offending fluid would not touch her.
"Did your mother never teach yeh manners?" She crossed her arms and leaned down to look at the boy's face. He averted his gaze.
"No, I suppose she didna." She clicked her tongue and moved around to the back of the chair the boy sat on. Struggling somewhat she dragged the chair over to a chain which hung from the ceiling. She wrapped it around him and hooked the end through one of the links before coming to stand before him again.
"Now lad, why doncha come clean so we can be done and over with this mess?" He shook his head and she sighed.
"Look down at the floor, ya fool. Didya not see the opening?" She gestured with a toe toward a metal door on the ground. He whimpered.
"Yeh see, that's where they keep the dippin' acid. Ya know, to clean the metals."Dee walked closer to the doors and pressed a button on the floor. The doors dropped open, revealing bubbling, acrid liquid below. It was yellowish in color and the sulfuric scent of it caused the boy to gag. Dee moved across to a control panel and pressed a button which lifted the chair and boy off the ground. The press of another button had him hanging over the pit.
"Now. Yeh be wanting to come clean, I should think. Just tell the boss man where yeh hid the damn USB." THe boy trembled and cried out that he knew nothing. He knew nothing! She pressed a button and the chair dropped an inch toward the ground. The boy just sobbed and begged and repeated he knew nothing at all.
"Yeh ever felt acid on the skin lad?" she inquired and approached him. In her hands, she held a bottle.
"It burns and eats the skin away. Slowly." She tossed the acid at him and it splashed over his form. He screamed and writhed in pain as his wounds and clothes smoked.
"My boss... Andrew... He knows... I just run the books," the boy sobbed out. Dee smiled, satisfied. She went back to the control panel and hit the button. The chair dropped onto the ground. The boy screamed, drowning in the acid. From Dee's point of view, the metal doors on the ground had never opened. And she had splashed a bottle of water over him. When he fell it was merely onto the floor. No acid. Just this dirty, dust-filled factory and a tortured boy. She looked at the two men.
"Alright, yeh got yer answers. Now get me out of here, this damn place smells like a pig trough. And I've got dirt on my shoes." She approached them and both men stepped back before one followed her out of the building. The other was left to deal with the young man and his bad trip.