⫸ B A S I C I N F O R M A T I O N ⫷
▼ | S T A T S : | ▸ B I R T H N A M E : | Abraham Gene
▸ N I C K N A M E / A L I A S : | Golem
▸ G E N D E R : | Male
▸ A G E : | 21
▸ H E I G H T : | 6'4"
▸ W E I G H T : | 190 lbs.
▸ E T H N I C I T Y : | 80% African American, 20% Caucasion
▸ Y E A R : | 1st Year
▼
| P H Y S I C A L D E S C R I P T I O N : | First impressions presents you with an imposing and almost brutish figure; he stands a few inches above six feet, an athletically fit body from years of working out, he is muscular everywhere you look, and is surmounted by broad shoulders. He is a man who carries himself with such esteem that you would think he believes nothing could touch him. Then it's broken down by a sly and socially savvy devil who, honestly, can be quite difficult to figure out. African-American mix, his skin is a brown soil color, and is far enough into his years to not worry about acne, and his complexion is good, for he has no natural blemishes but the scars and scrapes from his rough and tumble life. Among his collection includes a bright, whitened stripe across his thumb - and if you hadn't known better, you would've thought it was cut off at some point or another. Others include scrapes and burn scars all over his hands and a couple on his arms and legs, which appear to be nothing more than rough housing mementos. A notable one, however, is one that stretches across the right side of his abdomen over to his left. That one he laughs about and claims it had occurred during a knife fight.
The structure of his face is mostly angular, but as we go down towards his lower face, his jaw squares off slightly at his chin, where he wears a thin and well-maintained goatee. He has thick eyebrows and lashes which frames intense amber eyes, and his black hair is dreaded all the way down to an inch below his shoulder blades. His hair, though, is most of the time held back in a loose ponytail gently tied back by two other dreadlocks. Otherwise, his hair would've been left to frame his oval face and drape over his shoulders. It is safe to say he has been blessed with good genes. He walks and talks with such charming demeanor, holding himself in such a way that exudes confidence and invokes envy, and he knows it! So charmed a life, that his exuberance infects all of his conversations and has a sort of charismatic disposition that just attracts people. So predictably, he likes to utilize that to his advantage as a reliable asset. He has a strong, projecting voice that bears a slight Boston accent whenever he speaks.
There isn't any one particular outfit that he leans to - he has many of them. The style may change from a punk vibe, to relaxed, sometimes classy, sporty, whatever. He generally has a jacket though, usually a denim jacket or a leather one, or a black pea coat if he's feeling particularly chilly that day. He usually avoids shorts. What kind of jeans or pants doesn’t really matter to him, but he tends to shoot for jeans that are baggy around legs but tends to tighten around his waist, providing comfort and a secure fit. His shoes are boots, almost always boots. Though it may change according to the situation - sports often call for sneakers, and a fancy outing requires more refined dress shoes. These he has, which were custom made for his feet. But mostly, Abraham goes for clothing that is relaxed and easy to move in – it is worth noting that, having come from a wealthy family, he is more accustomed to a costly wardrobe. Flannels and casually worn dress shirts are a common occurrence in his wardrobe, shirts without sleeves are too. A fabric belt is always seen around his waist, and he never seems to wear gloves as he prefers to work with his hands directly. His ears have closed up piercing holes, indicated by distinct scars, suggesting he used to wear jewelry, but no such adornments can be found on his person - neither do there seem to be tattoos.
▼ | P E R S O N A L I T Y : | Outwardly, Abraham is charming, forward, and proud. A peculiar mixture of relaxed and energetic are what makes up his disposition. He's talkative in the right crowd and has very many stories to share regarding his hijinks, adventures, and mishappens he has experienced throughout the extent of his life. He is exceptionally charismatic in that he can put a smile on your face or instill fear in your mind when he wants to, and he knows how to sweet talk his way out of different situations. However, Abraham is also incredibly arrogant , overconfident to a fault, and borderline narcissistic. He is the type of person to view another as far beneath him and rarely sees another at his own level. This is a given, considering the fashion in which he was raised and expectations of others he has been accustomed to. He expects others to listen to him or he sees it as some sort of challenge. He has a large presence and a forceful voice, coupled with charm, people tend to see him as a leader, and further, he isn't stingy. He can pay you back rather handsomely if you do him a favor or if you get on his good side. This being said, he isn't very frequently refused and so his ugly side isn't seen as often one might expect - and while he has had a history with aggression, he isn't actually too prone to being aggressive in his interactions with others.
See, while he could certainly resort to such measures if he feels them necessary, he also considers himself above such trite nonsense most of the time, but on that same note, he can also be very petty. He knows he's better, he knows he's capable of muscling through obstacles, so he doesn't try to go so far out of his way to try and dominate everyone. That's just over-compensating and, quite frankly, would do more to present all of a man's insecurities out in the open for all to gawk at. So instead, he'd rather try his hand at maneuvering social or political blockades through his own wit, whether it be dogmatically assertive to intimidate a weaker-willed adversary through presence alone, social or emotional manipulation, or simply just playing his cards right. For this reason, people tend to acknowledge that he's kind of an asshole, but still try to befriend him regardless, because he at least comes across as a pretty chill person - and that's his confidence in play.
His allegiances often align with those that provide him the greatest benefit for himself, or is of greater influence than, say, a person with little control over the great machine. So, clearly, he can be selfish, preferring to think of himself before others. This is obvious in politics. He doesn't consider himself conservative or liberal. Moral values don't mean terribly much to him. But being in the high upper class with his father, Abraham is more likely to vote for a candidate that benefits him. Those candidates, in result, usually tend to be in favor of capitalism and of the elite class. He doesn't give a damn about religion, and immigration is a mixed bag, as it can prove both beneficial and detrimental to some aspects of economy; mostly good, so he doesn't really care about your ethnicity. Any other moral issue that the rest of the country struggles with doesn't bother him, save for the topic of racial prejudice. Otherwise he considers himself above another according to social hierarchy, so unless you have a lot of money, friends, and/or popularity, he'll probably overlook you much like a elephant that overlooks an ant.
But back to violence: the only reason for a hands-on man like himself to resort to such matters is because losing isn't an option in his book. Remember how I've mentioned his pettiness earlier? He goes by the nuclear effect: if insulted, attacked, or provoked, he will retaliate in turn with ten times the severity. This is one of the prime reasons nobody likes to mess with him. Abraham is simply far too much trouble than he is worth. He's always up for a scuffle and he isn't held back by any rules when he does. While his go-to solution to solving problems isn't by way of aggression, he's still got a penchant for fisticuffs, and he doesn't shy away from it if that's what the conflicts comes to. A "tongue of a politician, heart of a pugilist" kind of thing.
The ladies are an entirely different story with him though. He is remarkably flirtatious. If you are a woman, and whether you express an interest in him or not, you will be assaulted with the most fervent case of wanton promiscuity your unsullied virginity (or otherwise) had ever endured. In any other case, his flirtatiousness spares not a single bosom as long as it meets Abraham's qualifications of "hot diggity damn". This take-no-prisoners disposition also gives him a confident "bad boy" vibe that, hell, some people are into. Though not always are his advances accepted, he sometimes takes it in stride should he not be interested in taking part in "the hunt", but there are times when a different sect of his ugly side appears. Should those advances be neglected, it's almost as if his eyes are trained on that one person. He needs what he can't have, you know? It's a running problem with rich people. However, should the neglect continue, there's another side of him that can be seen: reprehensible casual sexism. As if the subtle objectification of women he appears to portray wasn't as clear an indicator, consistent refusal will prompt him to apply the label of "prude" to said female. Subtle hints of his sexism can be seen in casual conversations where he seems to imply some extent of inferiority, however, this aspect of his personality is only shown in very specific turns of the conversation and isn't always identifiable. Abe is nothing if not adept at turning the current of the conversation to highlight his qualities, rather than underscoring his shortcomings.
Innately, Abraham is a very angry and lost individual. He doesn't care what the world wants, he's just out here trying to make his own way and survive. To climb and scratch his way to the top. Perhaps that's better achieved if he hadn't left the roost, but he's lost. He cares solely for himself and, if possible, he'd take out his anger on those around him. He has a lot of pent up rage and frustration. Of course his relationship for his family is less than ideal, and he holds contempt for his father in many regards (though mingled in is some respect). The death of his little brother has deeply affected him and his ability to trust people, and when he looks around him, all he sees are two faced liars who'd be eager to backstab him over whatever meager lump of cash they can get their hands on. What real aspirations that remain is to find a light in this hole he dug himself so he can see the way out, get back on good terms with his father, and earn back the right of inheritance of his father's fortune and the Gene family name. Go into business with his own enterprise instead of being at the whim of another boss. All of these feelings are deep, deep inside him, and it is those hard, bitter emotions where he is able to channel his ferocity in a fight. But on top of all his buried thoughts and feelings are layers upon layers of a persona he has chosen to portray himself as. A mask that is so esoterically weaved and layered over them, that he can hide it from even himself at times. It became a persona that he actually connects to and feels everything it is supposed to feel, and this persona runs so deep he may as well have created a new person.
▼ | B A C K S T O R Y : | Abraham was born to a very wealthy family. His father is a director of a clean energy company, converting corn and oil into a ethanol blend, so that said, they were extremely well off. The mother left early in his childhood, leaving him with not much of a mother figure aside from the maids that were paid to service the family. Aside from that, there isn't much to be said about his early youth. He was provided with an extensive above-average education, regularly encouraged to do well in the private school for the upper class in which he was enrolled in, so that he may excel much like his father – his father, speaking of which, never really had the time to behave as a proper parent or role model to the boy, so Abe was mostly raised by the servants (who ran the risk of losing their jobs if they did anything the family thought was crossing boundaries). This, predictably, can lead to some peculiar growing up patterns.
When Abe was five, he got a little brother. A half-brother, in all honesty, but they were brothers nonetheless. They grew up together from then on. As soon as Abe was old enough to get into sports, he did, and he found it exhilarating. The adrenaline and competition meant everything to him - he wanted to win, to be the best, and feel magnificent while doing so, as though he were on top of the world. He didn't receive much support from his father, who tended to just look at him and expected improvement the next time around - that's how the world in economics worked, after all. Unfortunately, it was twisted into a vicious cycle and it eventually developed a sense of self-frustration within Abraham. That he had to be better, otherwise he wasn't good enough. Him and his brother, as they got older, always wrestled. He got into track, played on teams in sports, which was generally football, basketball, and soccer.
Of course, some of these routines couldn't continue when it rained or if he got sick or even grounded. There weren’t many extra-curricular activities he thought he could do if those options weren't available to him. So when he was forced to stay home, he managed to pick up a different hobby: guitar lessons. It started simple at first, but when the lessons became more complex, he grew angry with the practice and ditched it entirely. On the bright side, Abe did learn that keeping a beat came easier to him than maintaining a rhythm, so he found himself drawn to drumming. It suited him! The faster paced full-body action of the instrument was appealing to Abe, and it was another outlet for his aggression, and he started taking lessons in it.
That continued on for a while; sports and music, that is. Eventually, his father found that he wasn't fond of his son's aggressive temperament, and perhaps a top of the line martial arts instructor could help calm him down with some discipline, while providing his son with the means to protect himself should something ever happen. He received these "krav maga" classes when he was fourteen, and at first, they didn't seem to do much good at keeping him down. But as time progressed, he seemed better at keeping control of that temper. He was disciplined. However, when it came to sparring, he was ferocious and aggressive and sometimes had to be restrained. His father thought, “Perhaps other activities are necessary?” Among the various solutions were, firstly, outlets where he can learn to socialize properly with others. Here, Abe learned that he had quite the fondness for girls, and how he learned to be the charming devil he was always meant to be (interpret that as you will, sarcastic or not) - and secondly, a way to expend his energy without directing it at another person. So for a very short period of time, Abe was forced to enter gymnastics. While all the acrobatics were cool and fun, Abraham figured he could learn that on his own via free-running without wearing an uncomfortably tight unitard.
His powers began to develop when he was 15. It was an incredibly scary experience for him, seeing how he reacted with stone and all that. He was kept as a dirty little secret for a while before Abe could control it, and it was a secret that stayed strictly between father and son. Apparently, the father knew something about meta-humans, though didn't quite drop the bomb on Abe about it... and although surprised, he wasn't traumatically shocked by the knowledge of his son being one. It took a while, perhaps a week or two, of constant tinkering to learn how to mess with the power, to at least keep it from activating by accident. Enough so that Abe can continue his regular life. He continued his active life as he would, but now with something else to practice on the sideline. He had a double life: a normal one, and then one as a meta-human, where he would practice his abilities when he wasn't doing anything else.
Soon, he began to realize that it was actually a pretty god damn awesome thing that he could do. Something that made him unique and set him apart! It was something that could also be used to assert the kind of dominance and victories he wanted, and could probably make his dad proud. This pride and cocky attitude got a pretty secure hold on his life, and his confidence affected him in somewhat unpredictable ways. His sparring in martial arts was once again aggressive, and he got kicked out of the dojo when he was 17 for breaking the sternum of another student with a single punch, as well as knocking them ten feet back (it was at that point he learned how to solidify the bones inside his arm for a more powerful blow). This of course pissed off his father.
Life drastically changed when Abe was 18, and they learned when a shooting occurred at a theater killed Abraham's brother. One of the security guards, hired by the father himself, apparently went rogue and held the child for ransom while Abe was at school. The rogue got the money, but the moment cops started moving in, killed the child anyway out of panic. The family reacted to the tragedy differently. Abe’s father drank until one of his kidneys went bad, and Abe, well... Abe essentially lost control of himself. He was consumed with rage and distrust and he began losing control of his temper and pent up anger. He spent his time in the bad parts of town, unbeknownst to his father, learning how to use his ability, and then beating the daylights out of people with it. Of course, these people were thugs and other crooks of that nature, making Abe a guy something of a vigilante – the major difference being that his core motivation was not to help people, but because it was easier to rationalize and get away with assaulting criminals. It was an unhealthy outlet for his rage, helplessness, and frustration. In addition, Abe discovered those street fight circles you can win and get paid for, much like underground boxing with no rules. Naturally, Abe didn't care about the money out of it, it was another outlet. Ghettos being no strangers to superhumans, he was allowed to use his power. They didn't quite expect Abe's power to basically be made for close fighting. Among the circles, he came to be known as the Golem.
The spree of delinquency hit the fan when Abe got involved in some "terrible" incident resulting in a death of a rapist, and all of the commotion grabbed the attention of Abe's father, who was unaware of all of Abraham's behavior meanwhile, and bailed Abe out of prison (he was 19 then), and gave him the loudest lecture of a lifetime. This of course brought to much attention to the family on the press, and he sent his son away to live on his own for a while (with a fair amount of money to live on should he be out of work), so that the director could live in what peace remained. A good place to go was a different busy city swarming with activity and police, in Chicago. Abe went to live there, hoping maybe life there away from home would help to temper his son's behavior, as well as discipline him so that he isn't so willing to resort to his abilities so easily (greater police presence). Though honestly, Abe earnestly disagrees, and believes that his power is a part of who he is and that he should embrace it and not hide it. That being said, he's still going around town performing vigilante work. After a brief lapse of time, an officer caught him about to start a fight with a similarly shady man and Abe was thrown in the Chicago prison for a short night.
It was about a week after that he received mail from his father expressing his dissatisfaction with Abraham, and included in the mail was a letter concerning the Promise: a scientific marvel, a place in space for people with powers like his, to learn control and restraint. Also a place where, his father had at least hoped, would aid in disciplining him. He is to stay there for a few years, where the instructors will teach him how to better control his powers and himself. It was a growing experience, and while he wasn't able to forget about what happened, he could learn from it. Still, he was never really able to accept it. All he expected from the academy was to give him better control over his power than he already had, and that it would teach him how to better hide all of the turmoil he felt. They'll just help him learn how to blend in better. Or brainwashing. Getting brainwashed in the vacuum of space was always a possibility.
⫸ P O W E R I N F O R M A T I O N ⫷
▼ | P O W E R C L A S S I F I C A T I O N : | Elemental (Mimicry)
▼ | P O W E R D E S C R I P T I O N : | The core feature of Abraham's ability is terrakinesis. He has the capability to manipulate rock and earth and many of its variations to his will, and by extension, anything that is carried by or contained inside it. The possibilities go on for miles: he could form it as he desires, to building structures, or destroying and wreaking havoc with it as he pleases. His range, in theory, is as far as the eye can discern and the power is as strong as his ferocity with it. He could erect giant pillars and spires from the ground as long as there is enough stone in the vicinity to fuel it, as well as rectangular walls and shields - even domes. It’s possible to disconnect these from the ground and send it flying through the air or skidding across the ground and crush the target behind the thousands of pounds of force its impact generates. As Abraham is able to mold stone, he can, if he so chooses, reconstruct damaged structures or sculpt a brand new structure entirely.
There is just one problem with doing all of that:
Abraham is a very introspective person. The meta-human energy is often considered to be the soul of an individual given form, and how that person views the world through their perception can have a massive influence on what parts of their reality they can control. While Abe acknowledges the world around him, he’s very self-concerned and self-absorbed, so he doesn’t often look more than two steps in front of him (figuratively speaking). This mindset limits the sort of control he can have over the world around him. Outside-terrakinesis is available to him, but only to a degree. His control over rock and the earth falls off dramatically when it’s outside just a few feet, maybe fifteen feet – max – away. He’ll be lucky to create a tripping hazard outside of that range, whereas if he were a self-mastered monk from the mountains of Nepal, there'd be nearly nothing he couldn't accomplish with it. However, there are additional features of his power that does keep him from being totally useless...
Stone Embodiment: Abraham can morph his whole body into cold, hard stone - or selectively morph different parts of his body. This also causes his body to become much denser, heavier, and durable, allowing him to pack more power at the trade-off of speed. Given his power of stone manipulation, he still retains enough mobility to keep himself moving, though his speed is severely hampered and he lacks the kind of agility he'd usually have. On top of packing a lot of weight behind his punches, the ability to manipulate stone – and thereby even himself, helps him packs tons more power behind his monster hay-makers and grants him super-strength that can compete even with the strongest of superheroes. Abe's wit has helped him think through the different aspects of his power, and so he recognized that, when stone, his own body can be altered as he pleases. He is capable of changing the shape of his own body to serve his purpose - whether it be changing his hands to hammers or blades - the latter being particularly frightful, given how a pointy thing being made of stone and the size of a grown man's arm is being lunged straight through your body, and if you survive that, congratulations asshole! You now have stone sediments coursing through your bloodstream.
Like many superhumans, Abe has a couple of secret weapons, none he'd use lightly. But should the situation ever call for such a measure, he can go stone form. Which is cool in itself, right? Well, from there, Abe can begin an exhaustive process where he takes in the stone from his environment into his own body before his size and mass proliferates into that of a massive golem - easily as tall as telephone poles and weight comparable to mountains. While his standard stone embodiment stands as it is as being extraordinarily durable, turning into the Golem leaves him impervious to almost all physical attacks, attacks on his biological system, and allow him to deal devastating strikes to his foes at the tradeoff of being utterly slow and easy to read. Like, if you get punched by him, it better be because you're tied to a railroad. The process is exhaustive, but should he ever be able to keep going, he can take in as much as stone as is provided to him and reach colossal levels... though this is, to the fortune of his enemies, restricted by his stamina. The most he would be able to bring himself to do is to be as tall as telephone poles - and, of course, the girth of modern homes. It is in his Golem form that his power is nearly boundless. Strikes he can launch with such power that it can utterly shatter a person's body were they not the most enduring superhuman! However, as a golem, he would lack mobility. He could make huge, massive steps, but at a super slow pace. Everything about him would be slower and predictable, but should he hit somebody, they'd be in for a world of hurt. Granted, his mobility could be compensated for if he could morph his golem form so that his back was smoothed out so that he could theoretically roll downhill. Stopping is a different story.
He has a unique ability he has only recently been able to work out - regeneration. If he gets a cut, chops off his thumb, he can turn part of his body to stone - or his whole body, if he wishes - and manipulates stone to reform his original body, and have his body turn back to normal, so that the stone thumb that replaced the prior one becomes a fleshy part of his body. Quite literally, he can make replacements. However, there is still the case of the utter soul-wrenching pain that comes with dismemberment. Regeneration isn't an easy process when you're under such a large amount of pain and stress, and it is a somewhat slow process given how what stamina Abraham has left is being put into regrowing a limb whilst under agony - there needs to be stone around that he can take into his body and replace the limb, otherwise, he needs the limb itself. In the middle of a firefight, there is no time for such a process. Even if he succeeds in making the replacement, the phantom pain would linger on and haunt him for as long as a month. It is an ability that took a great amount of time to get working properly, and it takes a great deal of body memory, as well as contorting his limbs into different shapes. So these are not abilities he did little work to earn. He practiced extensively with his power to fully understand the ins and outs of it. It still bears repeating that he is most effective in his standard stone embodiment form, where he's incredibly difficult to shatter, slow him down, and withstand the onslaught he has planned for you.
▼ | L I M I T S | W E A K N E S S E S : | His powers do have limits and drawbacks. Whilst in stone form, Abraham's control over the stone around him is less refined. Large-scale manipulation requires him to be in his more vulnerable and fleshy state. In this stone form, he is also restricted to contact. In order to bend the rocks and earth around him, he must remain on the ground and keeping himself firmly on the ground. Stone embodiment is much slower than his standard body, and his speed is cut down by at least half. So to be more efficient at fighting in a fast-paced match, he has to combine his regular body and stone embodiment, leaving him vulnerable in some areas to make up for speed so he can properly defend himself. His stone body, while incredibly durable, doesn't flex. Not like metal or flesh does, and that is why rock, under enough pressure at the right angle, can break easier than metal. However, his body is still dense and solid and would take tremendous force with the right material to actually break him. Part of what he does to circumvent the earthbending limitations is to petrify only his arms or parts of his body as he needs it, so that his earthbending isn't totally nerfed. He also changed his style of bending when in his form, so that he only uses it to trip, accelerate himself, or inconvenience his foe.
Before we start discussing what already hasn’t been discussed above, let's underscore this one more time: Abraham is a physical juggernaut locked down tighter than a nun's chastity belt. If your aim is to physically dominate him, you're in for a bad time. Now that's out of way, lets boil his power's shortcomings down. Though his defense is awe-inspiring and his power terrifying, he operates rather simply. In a fight, he generally runs off of instinct and his training, and krav maga was made for street fighting - cheap, dirty tricks, but you gotta be quick. In stone form, he isn't quick. He can be easy to respond to if you're on your toes. Don't take your eyes off him, keep your distance, and he simply can't get you. A particularly clever opponent may outsmart him in a fight, or perhaps your power is psychic in nature. In fights, his mind is a flurry, and his life so far has been nothing short of a struggle. If a power allows someone to mess with his mind, he'll go nuts or shut down. He has very little defenses against mental attacks beyond his own conviction. If you're another terrakinetic... well... I'll let you figure that one out. You're gonna slow him down a lot. And speaking of slow, the Golem form? So much of his energy and focus is being spent maintaining and controlling his form, that he is incapable of bending the environment.
- Abraham is being presented to you as a mix between a character and a plot device. The goal here is to mix things up, and introduce someone to shake up the dynamic a little bit. Somewhat both an anti-hero and minor antagonist. You can befriend him if you want your character to do so, but he's still an opposing force that is meant to create some struggle or confusion for our heroes of the story, and isn't easily trumped - and for all we know, his path might just take him on that route, his archetype is dynamic. Form relationships with other characters hinging on Abe being a mutual enemy, attempt to befriend him and uncover some interesting tidbits of lore - really, and this goes for any character at all, the affects he can have are countless, and that can only serve to enrich the story more. Just know that Abe wasn't written the way he is because I like to "win at roleplaying." God, whatever that means.
Abraham is also a long-time favorite of many, a veteran in the roleplaying scene. What did others have to say about Abe? Well, to start:
- @He Who Walks Behind: "Abe was a refreshing strain of douchebaggery that I hope to see again in either writing or in real life."
- @Dragonbud: "I love that asshole. I love him. Such an ass."
- @Maxx: "Abe can punch me into the sun."
- @JunkMail: "Abe already has punched me into the sun."
- @Mr Allen J: "I'm thinking of ways to kill him off already."
