Okay, got in a first post. It's kind of lame, length-wise and detail-wise, but I needed a point to jump in. I'm just going to say my characters were quietly standing aside, and perhaps keeping to themselves for much of the time that passed in the RP, until recently.
Also, Allen, I noticed that Codi doesn't have a room-mate in the girl's dorms. Is that because there isn't another girl for her to room with?
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Atticus Fowler
Atticus had taken much longer than everyone else to put on his protective suit, so when he showed up, he was unaware of what everyone was talking about, and for most of the past events, he had been trying to merely familiarize himself with his surroundings. He hadn’t spoken to anyone yet, mostly because he would admit to himself that he was somewhat shy or mistrustful of strangers, largely because he had developed a habit of avoiding people. It wasn’t a good habit, and he didn’t exactly want to be alone all the time, but there were those days when a person needed space. He had used a private dressing room to get ready, and it was unlikely anyone until then had known he was even there. He had also used the dressing room because he didn’t want to subject anyone to the freakish display of him transforming into his creature form.
When he emerged from the room, he had carefully stood aside while all the events took place, somehow managing to dismiss them as perhaps typical crazy things that would happen in a place full of meta-humans. He was very good at keeping calm, or rather, just not reacting in a dramatic fashion. When the actual training session started, he chose to go with the group relating to power assessment and improvement. He didn’t get the point of sparring, and he honestly thought that if people did violent things in the school, it could have a negative outcome. He didn’t want to look bad if he lost, but if he won, he would make a rival who hated him, most likely.
Codi Bailey
Codi had taken longer to put on her suit, as she had wrestled with trying to work around the enormous parasitic urchin/brittle star creature that was permanently attached to her back. She had arrived in the group and silently watched the events, messing with her hair because she couldn’t wear her scarf, and remained silent, in a fashion similar to her best friend Atticus. She was unnerved by the turn of events, but chose not to react, although it took a lot of willpower for her to keep Reef, the parasite, from trying to swat something with one of its arms. She immediately chose to go with the power improvement group, because she didn’t want to fight, and she felt more comfortable with someone she knew.
Atticus had taken much longer than everyone else to put on his protective suit, so when he showed up, he was unaware of what everyone was talking about, and for most of the past events, he had been trying to merely familiarize himself with his surroundings. He hadn’t spoken to anyone yet, mostly because he would admit to himself that he was somewhat shy or mistrustful of strangers, largely because he had developed a habit of avoiding people. It wasn’t a good habit, and he didn’t exactly want to be alone all the time, but there were those days when a person needed space. He had used a private dressing room to get ready, and it was unlikely anyone until then had known he was even there. He had also used the dressing room because he didn’t want to subject anyone to the freakish display of him transforming into his creature form.
When he emerged from the room, he had carefully stood aside while all the events took place, somehow managing to dismiss them as perhaps typical crazy things that would happen in a place full of meta-humans. He was very good at keeping calm, or rather, just not reacting in a dramatic fashion. When the actual training session started, he chose to go with the group relating to power assessment and improvement. He didn’t get the point of sparring, and he honestly thought that if people did violent things in the school, it could have a negative outcome. He didn’t want to look bad if he lost, but if he won, he would make a rival who hated him, most likely.
Codi Bailey
Codi had taken longer to put on her suit, as she had wrestled with trying to work around the enormous parasitic urchin/brittle star creature that was permanently attached to her back. She had arrived in the group and silently watched the events, messing with her hair because she couldn’t wear her scarf, and remained silent, in a fashion similar to her best friend Atticus. She was unnerved by the turn of events, but chose not to react, although it took a lot of willpower for her to keep Reef, the parasite, from trying to swat something with one of its arms. She immediately chose to go with the power improvement group, because she didn’t want to fight, and she felt more comfortable with someone she knew.
Alright, edited in Codi's stats. Now I should jump into the IC pretty soon.
Hey, Allen, I just finished Codi's sheet. Can you check it for me?
Basic Information
Name: Codi Bailey
Nickname/Alias/Etc: N/A
Age: 17
Height: 5’6”
Weight: 649lbs. (Human body 250lbs, Parasite body 399lbs estimates)
Status: New Student
Appearance
Hair Color: Dark Copper
Eye Color: Hazel
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Physical Appearance: Standing at a slightly taller-than-average 5’6”, Codi Bailey possesses a mostly thin figure with long limbs, which would normally make her seem pretty or beautiful, if her powers didn’t force her to have a persisting, hunched posture. The pronounced slouch makes her seem as though she were constantly tired, depressed, or perhaps ailing from some sort of pain. Most of the time, however, Codi is actually quite comfortable, and generally has a positive mood, so her appearance can be extremely deceiving to people who don’t know her well. She has a smooth, peaches-and-cream skin tone, being pale, but not exactly white or porcelain, because of a faint pink tinge. Her face is round in shape, and she possesses gentle, delicate features, with small dimples that appear on her cheeks when she smiles. Her eyes are a hazel color that shifts between brown and green depending on the light, and her eyelashes are long and dark. Her eyebrows lack a feminine arch, but are regardless, well-shaped in appearance. Her thick, wavy dark hair is worn short in a bob cut parted down the right side, long enough to reach the bottom of her chin. The middle segments of her fingers and at the base of her thumbs have pouches that conceal long, hollow, syringe-like claws that can be extended, the tips sprouting from beneath the normal-looking nails. The fashion of these needles’ concealment is similar to the retractable claws of a cat, and when not in use, cannot be detected.
Codi Bailey might look completely normal, if it weren’t for the nature of what was on her back, which is ultimately responsible for her slouch. At the age of sixteen, having been bitten squarely on the back by an ectoparasite, which she strongly suspects may have been a bed bug, due to the incident of the bite having likely occurred while her family was staying at a hotel while traveling, Codi developed into symbiosis with it. The insect, influenced by the unique nature of Codi’s then-developing powers, began to dramatically alter in order to work as a beneficial parasite to its host, shedding most of its insect traits in favor of those belonging to echinoderms, spiny-skinned creatures typically found in water. The bed bug, which was identified by Codi as male in the future, was so greatly altered that it had almost no semblance to the extremely small creature it began as. Codi later gave this creature a name, calling it ‘Reef’ because of its appearance.
With its mouthparts fusing into the center of Codi’s back just beneath the end of the ribcage on the spine, Reef has established a well-anchored, yet narrow area through which it and its host share a matching blood supply, and it has grown to an incredible size that is considered to be larger than Codi herself. Reef’s original six legs are now large, powerful grippers that dig into shallow hidden pockets in its host’s skin that developed to allow a better grip for the creature, without forcing more fusion of bodily tissues. The central point of Reef’s weight has been shifted up to Codi’s upper back, the reason for her hunched posture, despite the fusion of tissues being at a lower point, and Reef’s entire body transformed from something insect-like into a kind of shell. This shell Reef forms strongly resembles the body of a sea urchin, being dome-shaped in appearance, and covering much of Codi’s back, so much that the human part of her isn’t visible when viewed from behind, save for perhaps the bottom of her legs. The urchin that Reef primarily resembles at the base level is the shingle or ‘cliff-clinging’ urchin. The general appearance is a smooth, mosaic pattern formed out of polygonal plates with a faint radial pattern, starting small in the center, with the plates growing larger as they move outward. The outer edge of this body also basely has plates with a polygon shape, however, these plates are more elongated, and have a shape similar to roof-shingles (Hence the creature the appearance is compared to), splayed out in a relaxed manner, and molding to contours of the host’s body, as needed. In addition to polygon-shaped plates, Reef is covered with a large array of spikes that form clusters in alternating length in a radial pattern (Long spikes, then short, then long again heading towards the center).
Just before the outer shingle-like edges of Reef’s shell, Reef sprouts six arms, also in a radial pattern, which make him resemble a brittle star, in addition to a sea urchin. These arms are more like armored tentacles, being segmented with two bony spikes on each side of a segment, and therefore, they look vaguely like bones, namely a spine. Each arm is roughly eight feet in length, further emphasizing Reef’s incredible size compared to its host. Three arms are on Codi’s left, and another three are on her right.
Reef’s brilliant coloration hints at the creature’s dangerous nature. The base plates of the body being alternating colors of extremely pale, bright yellow and orange, they strongly resemble glowing lava. The sharp spines on Reef’s body are banded in appearance. One color on the bands, which always starts at the very base of each spine, begins as a yellow shade matching the color of the base plates, before becoming a darker shade of orange, almost like offshoots of flame. After the first band, these colors brighten to an intense yellow again that seems to glow in the bands. On the long spines, these bands are thinner, and quickly fade to a solid color, but are prevalent the entire length of the short spines. The other color on these bands is a dark, reddish-wine/mahogany color that continually darkens until it reaches the tips. On any one of these spines, although most often found at their very tips, a band may instead of these two colors be a bright shade of blue-purple, like hot flames. Overall, this bright coloration does not merely mimic fire, but appears to glow, and is most like the appearance of a Rainbow Fire Urchin. A similar color pattern is found in each of the six arms on Reef’s body. The only parts of Reef that deviate from this pattern are radial white spots, one per segment/portion of its body. These spots are considered to serve some sort of purpose regarding vision, although Reef’s entire body almost functions as an eye.
Attire: Codi’s choice of attire is greatly limited by the presence of Reef, who is fused to her back, and therefore, cannot be removed. Most often, Codi wears halter-neck clothing that is held onto the body via a ring of fabric around the neck, leaving her shoulders bare, and generally, these tops reveal much more on the back than typical clothing does, often being custom-made. Nothing is seen as bad about this, however, because Reef completely covers her back. Aside from her clothing, Codi wears jeans and good running shoes that can handle a great deal of weight. The colors Codi generally prefers often blend with that of Reef, because strange or not, the parasite’s colors are quite beautiful to the eye. She generally wears scarves made of a light or silky fabric.
She may also at times wear unusual clothing relating to safety. She may wear safety goggles, masks, or even a respirator like one might wear when working with spray paint or other such tools.
Personality
Outward & Innate Personality: Codi is a person who is generally considered to be kind and sweet, yet with much more stubbornness and backbone than what people expect from that description. She has what would be considered a heightened sensitivity to the emotions of others, and therefore, she is easily distressed by the problems of other people, even if it would be considered ridiculous to worry, either because she doesn’t know someone, or she has no control over the situation. She is easily bothered by the concept of having people that dislike her, and generally afraid to have enemies, even though she logically accepts that most people will wind up having them. She generally has a strong emotional desire to be accepted by her peers, and often hates being alone, even though she may have to be alone at times, because being in the presence of others can be emotionally or mentally exhausting and she needs to rest. She tends to alternate in her behavior, sometimes being a social butterfly, and other times, a loner who is probably seldom-seen. It often depends on the current situation.
Codi can be extremely quirky at times, with a witty sense of humor and an extremely blunt, open personality. She generally tends to be cheerful, and would much rather be in a Zen or peaceful state than one that is disturbed—she prefers to avoid stress as little as possible, even though she might unknowingly attract such situations. As a result, she often says what she is thinking aloud, or what her opinion is on a matter. She generally gives an honest answer when asked a question, unless she has promised to keep a secret, in which she will clearly tell the person that she isn’t allowed to tell. She isn’t reckless, though, and she won’t ever actively attempt to offend people. If her claims offend a person, it is likely because they asked her a question, and she gave them a response that, while honest, was one they didn’t want to hear. Codi strongly hates lying, and would be greatly crushed by guilt to the point that it is easy to get any confession from her.
Codi does not do a good job of hiding her emotions. If she is stressed or worried, it shows very easily on her face. She makes strange or strained expressions, and she might nervously play with a scarf she is wearing. Her behavior might change, too, and she might be unusually moody under a lot of pressure. She could display bizarre flashes of temper that aren’t associated with her, and possibly break down and cry directly afterwards. Most often, however, she never remains in an angry state for long, because an aspect of Codi’s personality is that she cannot remain angry for extended periods. As mentioned before, she would much rather be in Zen (No, she is not Buddhist, for reference) than stressed all the time.
Codi at times may be somewhat indulgent in nature, and generally enjoys comfort and security (Not that this isn’t true for most people). She likes soft, comfortable things, and might pile her bed with tons of cozy blankets to swaddle herself in when she’s resting, although this is also something she does to reduce the weight on her back from carrying Reef around all day. When she’s stressed, (like most girls would) she likes sweets, especially chocolate, and perhaps a good book or soothing/cheerful music. Since the parasite on her back doesn’t eat anymore (All its nourishment comes from their shared blood supply) she may also strongly crave fish if she’s stressed, since sea urchins may eat fish (since there’s little Reef has in common with insects anymore). She can generally eat far more than what her appearance suggests (or maybe it isn’t).
Indulgent nature set aside, Codi works very hard, so most people can easily forgive the luxuries that she allows herself. Anything she takes upon herself, she tries to do the best she can, and generally, may do more than what is minimum or expected. She is also quite generous, and will gladly share things she has with friends, often perhaps taking note of things they want that aren’t directly voiced, and giving gifts accordingly. She may at times be stubborn when she sets a goal, and refuse to stop pursuing it in perhaps the most frustrating of ways, but she has relatively simple desires, and often, works harder than anyone else to reach her ultimate goal, which she generally will try to finish. Simple desires set aside, Codi actually sets very high goals, and although a process may be slow, she may wind up ahead in it, and succeed long before she expected to do so. She is also very creative and smart, but this is covered more by her hobbies.
Hobbies/Interests: Codi is an extremely smart and creative person, and almost always has some sort of project that she needs to complete on her list, if she doesn’t have multiple things in progress at once. An artist with a good eye, she is excellent at drawing things free-hand, and this results in her living space typically winding up cluttered to a certain small extent with binders filled with hole-punched paper, or completed drawings. Drawing kits and special markers are also not an uncommon sight. A computer is almost always set up, where Codi messes with some obscure 3-D sculpting or image manipulation program. She may also have lying in some corner a project being made with duct tape, since the material can create almost anything. Aside from this, there may also be a potted plant somewhere, since Codi loves greenery.
These home hobbies aside, Codi’s artistic capability is incorporated into something artistry isn’t known for—she’s extremely good with technology and construction, overall. It’s not strange for her to talk about ‘Cortexes’, ‘Gearboxes’, ‘Motors’, ‘Servos’, or any other sort of jargon that a regular person couldn’t understand at all. She likes building little robots and programming them, when she can obtain parts, and secondly, she wants to give them names, and decorate them to look appealing to the eye. She can draw an excellent 3-D blueprint, after all, and wants to do something relating to Mechanical Engineering. This hobby is generally why she has so much safety equipment; since power tools require safety precautions (What did you expect? She’s drilling holes in wood and metal).
Skills/Talents: Codi is extremely skilled at drawing, and there is little room for a person to argue. The majority of her drawings (Save for those done in a primarily geometric style, which needs a protractor/ruler) are done freehand, without the use of aides or tools. She can do a large number of styles, ranging from pictures formed from swirling lines to those akin to sketches of anatomy, many becoming a superior quality that looks professionally done. Codi’s drawing talent aides her other hobby of building robots, as she can draw very detailed blueprints, just with the knowledge of the parts at her disposal. Codi is, however, no professional in 3-D programs on computers unless they are designed for engineering purposes, or consist of a coordinate plane or cubes; she’s not a master at everything, and to do a good 3-D sculpture, it requires a lot of time. She is good at her hobby of making things with duct-tape, though, because of its physical nature. Codi has unremarkable skills in regards to plants. Although she is an excellent cook with almost any kind of fruit or vegetable (even odd, obscure ones like jicama or yucca), and she can name a wide variety of herbs from memory, she is terrible at plant care. The only plants that flourish under her care are easy to manage, or require no attention at all to thrive.
Codi is shockingly good with robots, an aspect of Mechanical Engineering, and something nobody would expect from looking at her. She knows how to design grippers and claws, and how to properly wire small motors to a robot’s ‘brain’, or program proper commands into a remote for the movements of a servo. She likes to build little robots just for fun, ones that can be remote-controlled that can be played with like toys. She also greatly enjoys decorating these robots, and on occasion, designing ones with extremely difficult controls, just because it is more fun to try to learn how to control them, and amusing to watch them repeatedly crash into walls or other obstacles.
Prized Possession: Codi’s most prized possession is probably her drawing kit. She doesn’t seem to have a precious possession she would be lost without, but she does have a particular item that happens to be very difficult to obtain, just because of its cost.
Quote(s): “It’s funny how people react when I tell them I like to build robots, but they’re really not that fancy or impressive to look at. They usually have a pretty basic function, and they’re made out of whatever scraps I can find. I guess being able to build any robot with limitations, though, is kind of cool. The instant I start talking about the finer details, though, half the people listening to me will get bored and walk away.”
History/Bio: Codi grew up in the same Georgia hometown as Atticus Fowler, and although her mutations did not become apparent until the age of sixteen, it is suspected that she actually began mutating at the age of fifteen. With a previous nervous habit of picking at the fingernails, Codi would occasionally get small infections when skin was torn by accident, a painful, irritating problem. Most of these infections weren’t noticed, even though there was a notable increase at one point, for how severe the infections were. There was a point when all her fingernails, including her thumbs, became so heavily infected that red blotches spread down the finger, by the very end of a day, almost as though she were suffering from blood poisoning. Because Codi was often asleep in bed before these infections looked severe enough to prompt a visit to the hospital, she didn’t find it unusual when the infections were completely gone the next morning. She only ever visited the hospital once for an infection, and the doctors could not find anything wrong with her. It wasn’t until later, when her powers manifested in retractable hidden syringe-like claws under the fingernails that any significance was given to these infections. Each syringe-like claw internally is connected to a kind of pouch or cavity of sorts supposedly hidden in the arms, where there is more space. Each pouch has its own claw, and each pouch is filled with a different strain of (Lethal) symbiotic bacteria.
After the manifestation of these syringes, Codi was forced to avoid the hospital at all costs, and additionally, she could not spill her blood around people who weren’t meant to know about her abilities. Her blood itself appears to be to a certain extent, toxic. It wasn’t acid, or lethal, but physical contact with it could cause any patch of skin on another creature to break out in a rash on the affected area with a small degree of swelling, and an itching, burning, or stinging sensation.
When her family traveled somewhere to attend a family reunion, Codi and her parents stayed at a hotel, and afterwards, had to (literally) burn their clothing, in exchange for new ones, and check the new stuff, too. The hotel had been infested with bedbugs, and the only reason Codi’s own home didn’t get infected was that her father had suffered an allergic reaction to the bites. Because it seemed that a lot of bedbugs had died from ingesting her blood (it was probably toxic to small things), she did not recognize that one had become attached to her back, and that its cells were fusing with her own. She did not notice until long after the incident, and this bedbug later identified as male, would grow into the urchin-like monster Reef that sits on Codi’s back, sharing her blood supply. Reef would also be responsible for Codi’s homeschooling, and later, almost complete social isolation.
When Reef’s size had stopped increasing, and it had reached a size where she could not go anywhere, Codi ran into Atticus and discovered his powers by accident. She sometimes wandered around the private property she and her parents lived on, and Atticus had not seen the signs indicating the boundaries, because it was a wooded area where the incident occurred. Atticus had experienced an uncharacteristic panic when, stumbling upon Reef (Codi was facing the other direction) he was nearly swatted by Reef’s stinging arms, having been mistaken for a threat. He was immediately forced into a transformation, having never encountered another mutant before. This misunderstanding was quickly cleared up, however, and their parents also established a stable friendship.
Over the course of the next year, before deciding to go to the island school, Codi and Atticus became very close friends, largely because Atticus was the only other person in their town with powers, and they were permitted to spend time around each other.
Family:
Mother- Codi’s mother is a rather creative woman, in the sense that she often buys old, beat-up furniture and tries to restore it into pieces that can decorate the home. Because of this experience, Codi has an innate sense of style regarding decorating, as well as how to work with furniture, or pick gloss. She learned many different kinds of things to cook from her mother, and her mom is also responsible for teaching Codi how to identify herbs from memory. Codi deeply loves her mother.
Father- Codi’s father is in many ways like a big kid. In his spare time, he likes to play with RC helicopters (Where she gained her interest in remote-control robots), and mess with vehicles. He also works as a gear assembler, working with gears that could be as tall as the ceiling in a room, and what could weigh well over a thousand pounds. Codi often has concern for her father because he can be injured by all of the dangerous equipment, but shares his passion for machines, and also loves him very much.
Relationships
Relationships:
Atticus Fowler| Good | Best Friend/ Possible Crush| “Atticus usually looks calm, but in reality, he’s actually a very moody person who is just good at hiding his emotions. I know he looks like your stereotypical ‘cool guy’ and he might act like one, too, but he’s not really that shallow. He likes almost any kind of person, in general, and he doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. If you want to learn more about him, you just have to be patient, and eventually, he’ll tell you. Just don’t pry and try to get answers by force, because that never works.”
Abilities
Power Class:
Animal- 6
Super-System- 3
Chemical- 7
Power: Codi’s powers are often obvious to most of the people to look at her. She has an enormous urchin/brittle star fused to her back, which acts as a very powerful defensive armor. It takes a considerable amount of force from blunt blows to cause a bad injury to Reef, and most sharp edges like teeth, claws, or bladed weapons won’t have any effect at all. Overall, it’s just very hard to damage Reef by attacking its main body, and in truth, it’s dangerous to attack the urchin, anyway. Reef’s long, sharp spines, which grow back quite rapidly if damaged or lost, can easily pierce thick hides (it’s already comparable to being impaled by a lance or sword), and almost immediately after, inflict an excruciatingly painful sting that can last several hours in the affected area, though it is non-lethal. One cannot get past these spines easily, either, as Reef has been known to follow threats with its spines, having a rudimentary sight capability. The six long arms, eight feet in length each, capable of re-growing over a period of time and similar to a gigantic version of a brittle star’s, are another dangerous line of defense, and serve a strong offensive purpose, as well. Being tough and armored, and edged with blunt spikes along their lengths, the arms can swing in a wide range around Codi, striking foes with great force if they get too close. Thankfully, these arms do not contain venom like Reef’s spines, though they could send a person flying, having enough strength to lift Codi and the urchin’s weight combined. When not directed by Codi’s thoughts, however, they lack accuracy, and seem to merely flail about, though it is still very hazardous. Reef can also use its arms to move Codi and itself around a location, granted that it can grip something, making their movement much swifter than one would expect.
Codi’s super-system attributes are linked to her skeleton and body having developed the power to bear incredible weight on her back, extending far past that of the parasite. There is no offensive purpose to this ability, but it prevents Codi from becoming tired or weakened by being forced to carry a load she cannot ever remove from her back.
Codi’s second ability, regarding the human component of the symbiotic duo, is that she has concealed syringe-like claws stored under her fingernails in each hand. Each claw is connected to hidden pouches in the forearms, each finger having its own unique pouch. Just as each claw has its own unique pouch, each pouch has its own unique bacterial culture, which has developed into symbiosis with Codi as a defensive or offensive mechanism. Because the body of a host provides a rich environment, these bacteria have lost much of their ability to survive outside of it, although they can easily grow inside a living thing, particularly when injected into a wound. What should be noted is that nine of these strains can be easily treated with medications (Though cheap topical creams or sprays are still too weak), or overwhelmed by a foe’s immune system. They do, however, produce powerful toxins in the right environment (Inside a wound). These toxins have effects that can be treated, and have a generally delayed effect (it’s not immediate like Reef’s venom), but it can quickly sicken most things. Depending on what fingers struck a person in an attack, a victim may experience weakness, nausea, dizziness, involuntary shuddering, nerve pain, or an unnaturally fast heart rate that can’t slow down until the bacterial toxin runs its course (Toxins do not leave the body because the immune system killed the bacteria). The effects of nausea are caused by the small finger and middle finger of the left hand. Weakness is caused by the index finger and ring finger of the left hand. The thumb of the left hand and the small finger of the right hand cause severe dizziness and vertigo. Involuntary shuddering is caused by the index finger of the right hand, and the middle finger of the right hand causes nerve pain.
People must be wary of the thumb on the right hand. Although the thumb is the least-likely part of the hand to affect someone via a scratch due to its position and length, the bacteria connected to this digit is typically far worse than the others. The bacteria of this finger can cause a combination of multiple symptoms, often worse than the nine toxins previously mentioned. It is the bacteria Codi went to the hospital for, though it was only because of swelling in the thumb. Extreme aching pain over the entire body, nausea that could easily lead to vomiting along with painful stomach cramps, and dizziness can all be caused by a scratch from this thumb. It should also be noted that the bacteria from this digit last much longer than the others, and continue to produce toxin, so it could easily hospitalize people. The only thing that is good about this strain of bacteria is that it cannot spread, and it can be treated by antibiotics, and the symptoms suppressed by drugs. It also takes much more time than the other bacteria to spread, so someone who gets medical attention quickly may not have to suffer at all. It is when an injury is ignored, in this case, that someone will suffer.
Another mild defense Codi has is that her blood (Shared with Reef), contains a somewhat irritating compound in it. It is not at all lethal, but most creatures will experience itching and redness and perhaps a layer of skin might peel off, if the individual who touches it is more sensitive. Some people aren’t affected at all, making the effects of the substance in Codi’s blood more like an allergic reaction.
Weaknesses/Limitations/Drawbacks: Codi’s first limitation is that her human body—the part of her that really matters, is actually quite vulnerable. Though she possesses the power to carry an incredible amount of weight on her back, despite her extremely thin appearance, the strength does not extend to her arms or legs, and she cannot deliver strong blows. In fact, she is actually rather weak, often only going unharmed because she has a gigantic, powerful urchin sitting on her back. It should be noted that she can be easily injured, except on the level of breaking bones, as much of her strength comes from incredible bone-density. She also does not have the healing factor of Reef, and cannot rapidly recover from her injuries, only possessing powerful resistance to illness, disease, or toxins.
The strains of bacteria in Codi’s hands are not easy to use as offensive weapons, because they require physically piercing a foe’s skin, and getting closer, while revealing the most sensitive part of her body, which is her entire human-self. Also, while the syringe-nails are very sharp, and often not expected by foes, they cannot pierce heavily-armored skin, unless she was able to muster up incredible force, which she does not have. The use of her nails requires that her foe have human-like or equally sensitive/weaker skin that will break. Nine bacterial strains in Codi’s hands are rapidly killed by a threat’s immune system, leaving only the toxins, which has effects that could last a maximum of two hours, quickly taking effect once introduced, although the average amount of time it lasts is one hour. These toxins are seldom lethal, and can symptoms can be treated by drugs. The most powerful strain contained in Codi’s thumb can be treated with somewhat stronger antibiotics commonly found in clinics or hospitals, and the symptoms also treated, but most often, it takes too long to affect a foe in a dangerous situation, so it’s usually useless. It should be noted that while she cannot be harmed by her own bacteria, if one of these syringes is torn, Codi must wait for a new nail-claw to grow back before she can use the bacterial strain again.
Reef’s weaknesses lie in the fact that unlike Codi, it does not possess bacterial strains in its spines, only venom. The venom, which causes excruciating pain in the affected area once administered, can badly hinder most foes for several hours, but it is non-lethal, and the venom alone from a sting could not kill someone (Unless it was administered in an enormous dose, but it would take a ridiculous number of stings for that to happen, even though Reef is enormous and administers a lot to begin with). Reef’s venom, while very painful, can be treated by the same substances used to treat bee or jellyfish stings (In essence, vinegar, baking soda paste, etc.). Reef’s ability to heal, while quite rapid, does have limits, as while spines can rapidly re-grow, a lost arm takes an extended period of time, and Reef only has six (This in mind, it’s still not easy to cut through those thick, bony plates).
Bleeding cannot severely affect the urchin, as blood loss rapidly stops because of the nature of the creature’s anatomy, but it should be noted that blood loss still affects both Codi and Reef. Because of their shared blood supply, if one loses blood, so does the other. Reef’s attacks also lack accuracy when it flails its arms, unless directed by Codi’s thoughts.
Other: Couldn’t think of anything to put in here.
Name: Codi Bailey
Nickname/Alias/Etc: N/A
Age: 17
Height: 5’6”
Weight: 649lbs. (Human body 250lbs, Parasite body 399lbs estimates)
Status: New Student
Appearance
Hair Color: Dark Copper
Eye Color: Hazel
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Physical Appearance: Standing at a slightly taller-than-average 5’6”, Codi Bailey possesses a mostly thin figure with long limbs, which would normally make her seem pretty or beautiful, if her powers didn’t force her to have a persisting, hunched posture. The pronounced slouch makes her seem as though she were constantly tired, depressed, or perhaps ailing from some sort of pain. Most of the time, however, Codi is actually quite comfortable, and generally has a positive mood, so her appearance can be extremely deceiving to people who don’t know her well. She has a smooth, peaches-and-cream skin tone, being pale, but not exactly white or porcelain, because of a faint pink tinge. Her face is round in shape, and she possesses gentle, delicate features, with small dimples that appear on her cheeks when she smiles. Her eyes are a hazel color that shifts between brown and green depending on the light, and her eyelashes are long and dark. Her eyebrows lack a feminine arch, but are regardless, well-shaped in appearance. Her thick, wavy dark hair is worn short in a bob cut parted down the right side, long enough to reach the bottom of her chin. The middle segments of her fingers and at the base of her thumbs have pouches that conceal long, hollow, syringe-like claws that can be extended, the tips sprouting from beneath the normal-looking nails. The fashion of these needles’ concealment is similar to the retractable claws of a cat, and when not in use, cannot be detected.
Codi Bailey might look completely normal, if it weren’t for the nature of what was on her back, which is ultimately responsible for her slouch. At the age of sixteen, having been bitten squarely on the back by an ectoparasite, which she strongly suspects may have been a bed bug, due to the incident of the bite having likely occurred while her family was staying at a hotel while traveling, Codi developed into symbiosis with it. The insect, influenced by the unique nature of Codi’s then-developing powers, began to dramatically alter in order to work as a beneficial parasite to its host, shedding most of its insect traits in favor of those belonging to echinoderms, spiny-skinned creatures typically found in water. The bed bug, which was identified by Codi as male in the future, was so greatly altered that it had almost no semblance to the extremely small creature it began as. Codi later gave this creature a name, calling it ‘Reef’ because of its appearance.
With its mouthparts fusing into the center of Codi’s back just beneath the end of the ribcage on the spine, Reef has established a well-anchored, yet narrow area through which it and its host share a matching blood supply, and it has grown to an incredible size that is considered to be larger than Codi herself. Reef’s original six legs are now large, powerful grippers that dig into shallow hidden pockets in its host’s skin that developed to allow a better grip for the creature, without forcing more fusion of bodily tissues. The central point of Reef’s weight has been shifted up to Codi’s upper back, the reason for her hunched posture, despite the fusion of tissues being at a lower point, and Reef’s entire body transformed from something insect-like into a kind of shell. This shell Reef forms strongly resembles the body of a sea urchin, being dome-shaped in appearance, and covering much of Codi’s back, so much that the human part of her isn’t visible when viewed from behind, save for perhaps the bottom of her legs. The urchin that Reef primarily resembles at the base level is the shingle or ‘cliff-clinging’ urchin. The general appearance is a smooth, mosaic pattern formed out of polygonal plates with a faint radial pattern, starting small in the center, with the plates growing larger as they move outward. The outer edge of this body also basely has plates with a polygon shape, however, these plates are more elongated, and have a shape similar to roof-shingles (Hence the creature the appearance is compared to), splayed out in a relaxed manner, and molding to contours of the host’s body, as needed. In addition to polygon-shaped plates, Reef is covered with a large array of spikes that form clusters in alternating length in a radial pattern (Long spikes, then short, then long again heading towards the center).
Just before the outer shingle-like edges of Reef’s shell, Reef sprouts six arms, also in a radial pattern, which make him resemble a brittle star, in addition to a sea urchin. These arms are more like armored tentacles, being segmented with two bony spikes on each side of a segment, and therefore, they look vaguely like bones, namely a spine. Each arm is roughly eight feet in length, further emphasizing Reef’s incredible size compared to its host. Three arms are on Codi’s left, and another three are on her right.
Reef’s brilliant coloration hints at the creature’s dangerous nature. The base plates of the body being alternating colors of extremely pale, bright yellow and orange, they strongly resemble glowing lava. The sharp spines on Reef’s body are banded in appearance. One color on the bands, which always starts at the very base of each spine, begins as a yellow shade matching the color of the base plates, before becoming a darker shade of orange, almost like offshoots of flame. After the first band, these colors brighten to an intense yellow again that seems to glow in the bands. On the long spines, these bands are thinner, and quickly fade to a solid color, but are prevalent the entire length of the short spines. The other color on these bands is a dark, reddish-wine/mahogany color that continually darkens until it reaches the tips. On any one of these spines, although most often found at their very tips, a band may instead of these two colors be a bright shade of blue-purple, like hot flames. Overall, this bright coloration does not merely mimic fire, but appears to glow, and is most like the appearance of a Rainbow Fire Urchin. A similar color pattern is found in each of the six arms on Reef’s body. The only parts of Reef that deviate from this pattern are radial white spots, one per segment/portion of its body. These spots are considered to serve some sort of purpose regarding vision, although Reef’s entire body almost functions as an eye.
Attire: Codi’s choice of attire is greatly limited by the presence of Reef, who is fused to her back, and therefore, cannot be removed. Most often, Codi wears halter-neck clothing that is held onto the body via a ring of fabric around the neck, leaving her shoulders bare, and generally, these tops reveal much more on the back than typical clothing does, often being custom-made. Nothing is seen as bad about this, however, because Reef completely covers her back. Aside from her clothing, Codi wears jeans and good running shoes that can handle a great deal of weight. The colors Codi generally prefers often blend with that of Reef, because strange or not, the parasite’s colors are quite beautiful to the eye. She generally wears scarves made of a light or silky fabric.
She may also at times wear unusual clothing relating to safety. She may wear safety goggles, masks, or even a respirator like one might wear when working with spray paint or other such tools.
Personality
Outward & Innate Personality: Codi is a person who is generally considered to be kind and sweet, yet with much more stubbornness and backbone than what people expect from that description. She has what would be considered a heightened sensitivity to the emotions of others, and therefore, she is easily distressed by the problems of other people, even if it would be considered ridiculous to worry, either because she doesn’t know someone, or she has no control over the situation. She is easily bothered by the concept of having people that dislike her, and generally afraid to have enemies, even though she logically accepts that most people will wind up having them. She generally has a strong emotional desire to be accepted by her peers, and often hates being alone, even though she may have to be alone at times, because being in the presence of others can be emotionally or mentally exhausting and she needs to rest. She tends to alternate in her behavior, sometimes being a social butterfly, and other times, a loner who is probably seldom-seen. It often depends on the current situation.
Codi can be extremely quirky at times, with a witty sense of humor and an extremely blunt, open personality. She generally tends to be cheerful, and would much rather be in a Zen or peaceful state than one that is disturbed—she prefers to avoid stress as little as possible, even though she might unknowingly attract such situations. As a result, she often says what she is thinking aloud, or what her opinion is on a matter. She generally gives an honest answer when asked a question, unless she has promised to keep a secret, in which she will clearly tell the person that she isn’t allowed to tell. She isn’t reckless, though, and she won’t ever actively attempt to offend people. If her claims offend a person, it is likely because they asked her a question, and she gave them a response that, while honest, was one they didn’t want to hear. Codi strongly hates lying, and would be greatly crushed by guilt to the point that it is easy to get any confession from her.
Codi does not do a good job of hiding her emotions. If she is stressed or worried, it shows very easily on her face. She makes strange or strained expressions, and she might nervously play with a scarf she is wearing. Her behavior might change, too, and she might be unusually moody under a lot of pressure. She could display bizarre flashes of temper that aren’t associated with her, and possibly break down and cry directly afterwards. Most often, however, she never remains in an angry state for long, because an aspect of Codi’s personality is that she cannot remain angry for extended periods. As mentioned before, she would much rather be in Zen (No, she is not Buddhist, for reference) than stressed all the time.
Codi at times may be somewhat indulgent in nature, and generally enjoys comfort and security (Not that this isn’t true for most people). She likes soft, comfortable things, and might pile her bed with tons of cozy blankets to swaddle herself in when she’s resting, although this is also something she does to reduce the weight on her back from carrying Reef around all day. When she’s stressed, (like most girls would) she likes sweets, especially chocolate, and perhaps a good book or soothing/cheerful music. Since the parasite on her back doesn’t eat anymore (All its nourishment comes from their shared blood supply) she may also strongly crave fish if she’s stressed, since sea urchins may eat fish (since there’s little Reef has in common with insects anymore). She can generally eat far more than what her appearance suggests (or maybe it isn’t).
Indulgent nature set aside, Codi works very hard, so most people can easily forgive the luxuries that she allows herself. Anything she takes upon herself, she tries to do the best she can, and generally, may do more than what is minimum or expected. She is also quite generous, and will gladly share things she has with friends, often perhaps taking note of things they want that aren’t directly voiced, and giving gifts accordingly. She may at times be stubborn when she sets a goal, and refuse to stop pursuing it in perhaps the most frustrating of ways, but she has relatively simple desires, and often, works harder than anyone else to reach her ultimate goal, which she generally will try to finish. Simple desires set aside, Codi actually sets very high goals, and although a process may be slow, she may wind up ahead in it, and succeed long before she expected to do so. She is also very creative and smart, but this is covered more by her hobbies.
Hobbies/Interests: Codi is an extremely smart and creative person, and almost always has some sort of project that she needs to complete on her list, if she doesn’t have multiple things in progress at once. An artist with a good eye, she is excellent at drawing things free-hand, and this results in her living space typically winding up cluttered to a certain small extent with binders filled with hole-punched paper, or completed drawings. Drawing kits and special markers are also not an uncommon sight. A computer is almost always set up, where Codi messes with some obscure 3-D sculpting or image manipulation program. She may also have lying in some corner a project being made with duct tape, since the material can create almost anything. Aside from this, there may also be a potted plant somewhere, since Codi loves greenery.
These home hobbies aside, Codi’s artistic capability is incorporated into something artistry isn’t known for—she’s extremely good with technology and construction, overall. It’s not strange for her to talk about ‘Cortexes’, ‘Gearboxes’, ‘Motors’, ‘Servos’, or any other sort of jargon that a regular person couldn’t understand at all. She likes building little robots and programming them, when she can obtain parts, and secondly, she wants to give them names, and decorate them to look appealing to the eye. She can draw an excellent 3-D blueprint, after all, and wants to do something relating to Mechanical Engineering. This hobby is generally why she has so much safety equipment; since power tools require safety precautions (What did you expect? She’s drilling holes in wood and metal).
Skills/Talents: Codi is extremely skilled at drawing, and there is little room for a person to argue. The majority of her drawings (Save for those done in a primarily geometric style, which needs a protractor/ruler) are done freehand, without the use of aides or tools. She can do a large number of styles, ranging from pictures formed from swirling lines to those akin to sketches of anatomy, many becoming a superior quality that looks professionally done. Codi’s drawing talent aides her other hobby of building robots, as she can draw very detailed blueprints, just with the knowledge of the parts at her disposal. Codi is, however, no professional in 3-D programs on computers unless they are designed for engineering purposes, or consist of a coordinate plane or cubes; she’s not a master at everything, and to do a good 3-D sculpture, it requires a lot of time. She is good at her hobby of making things with duct-tape, though, because of its physical nature. Codi has unremarkable skills in regards to plants. Although she is an excellent cook with almost any kind of fruit or vegetable (even odd, obscure ones like jicama or yucca), and she can name a wide variety of herbs from memory, she is terrible at plant care. The only plants that flourish under her care are easy to manage, or require no attention at all to thrive.
Codi is shockingly good with robots, an aspect of Mechanical Engineering, and something nobody would expect from looking at her. She knows how to design grippers and claws, and how to properly wire small motors to a robot’s ‘brain’, or program proper commands into a remote for the movements of a servo. She likes to build little robots just for fun, ones that can be remote-controlled that can be played with like toys. She also greatly enjoys decorating these robots, and on occasion, designing ones with extremely difficult controls, just because it is more fun to try to learn how to control them, and amusing to watch them repeatedly crash into walls or other obstacles.
Prized Possession: Codi’s most prized possession is probably her drawing kit. She doesn’t seem to have a precious possession she would be lost without, but she does have a particular item that happens to be very difficult to obtain, just because of its cost.
Quote(s): “It’s funny how people react when I tell them I like to build robots, but they’re really not that fancy or impressive to look at. They usually have a pretty basic function, and they’re made out of whatever scraps I can find. I guess being able to build any robot with limitations, though, is kind of cool. The instant I start talking about the finer details, though, half the people listening to me will get bored and walk away.”
History/Bio: Codi grew up in the same Georgia hometown as Atticus Fowler, and although her mutations did not become apparent until the age of sixteen, it is suspected that she actually began mutating at the age of fifteen. With a previous nervous habit of picking at the fingernails, Codi would occasionally get small infections when skin was torn by accident, a painful, irritating problem. Most of these infections weren’t noticed, even though there was a notable increase at one point, for how severe the infections were. There was a point when all her fingernails, including her thumbs, became so heavily infected that red blotches spread down the finger, by the very end of a day, almost as though she were suffering from blood poisoning. Because Codi was often asleep in bed before these infections looked severe enough to prompt a visit to the hospital, she didn’t find it unusual when the infections were completely gone the next morning. She only ever visited the hospital once for an infection, and the doctors could not find anything wrong with her. It wasn’t until later, when her powers manifested in retractable hidden syringe-like claws under the fingernails that any significance was given to these infections. Each syringe-like claw internally is connected to a kind of pouch or cavity of sorts supposedly hidden in the arms, where there is more space. Each pouch has its own claw, and each pouch is filled with a different strain of (Lethal) symbiotic bacteria.
After the manifestation of these syringes, Codi was forced to avoid the hospital at all costs, and additionally, she could not spill her blood around people who weren’t meant to know about her abilities. Her blood itself appears to be to a certain extent, toxic. It wasn’t acid, or lethal, but physical contact with it could cause any patch of skin on another creature to break out in a rash on the affected area with a small degree of swelling, and an itching, burning, or stinging sensation.
When her family traveled somewhere to attend a family reunion, Codi and her parents stayed at a hotel, and afterwards, had to (literally) burn their clothing, in exchange for new ones, and check the new stuff, too. The hotel had been infested with bedbugs, and the only reason Codi’s own home didn’t get infected was that her father had suffered an allergic reaction to the bites. Because it seemed that a lot of bedbugs had died from ingesting her blood (it was probably toxic to small things), she did not recognize that one had become attached to her back, and that its cells were fusing with her own. She did not notice until long after the incident, and this bedbug later identified as male, would grow into the urchin-like monster Reef that sits on Codi’s back, sharing her blood supply. Reef would also be responsible for Codi’s homeschooling, and later, almost complete social isolation.
When Reef’s size had stopped increasing, and it had reached a size where she could not go anywhere, Codi ran into Atticus and discovered his powers by accident. She sometimes wandered around the private property she and her parents lived on, and Atticus had not seen the signs indicating the boundaries, because it was a wooded area where the incident occurred. Atticus had experienced an uncharacteristic panic when, stumbling upon Reef (Codi was facing the other direction) he was nearly swatted by Reef’s stinging arms, having been mistaken for a threat. He was immediately forced into a transformation, having never encountered another mutant before. This misunderstanding was quickly cleared up, however, and their parents also established a stable friendship.
Over the course of the next year, before deciding to go to the island school, Codi and Atticus became very close friends, largely because Atticus was the only other person in their town with powers, and they were permitted to spend time around each other.
Family:
Mother- Codi’s mother is a rather creative woman, in the sense that she often buys old, beat-up furniture and tries to restore it into pieces that can decorate the home. Because of this experience, Codi has an innate sense of style regarding decorating, as well as how to work with furniture, or pick gloss. She learned many different kinds of things to cook from her mother, and her mom is also responsible for teaching Codi how to identify herbs from memory. Codi deeply loves her mother.
Father- Codi’s father is in many ways like a big kid. In his spare time, he likes to play with RC helicopters (Where she gained her interest in remote-control robots), and mess with vehicles. He also works as a gear assembler, working with gears that could be as tall as the ceiling in a room, and what could weigh well over a thousand pounds. Codi often has concern for her father because he can be injured by all of the dangerous equipment, but shares his passion for machines, and also loves him very much.
Relationships
Relationships:
Atticus Fowler| Good | Best Friend/ Possible Crush| “Atticus usually looks calm, but in reality, he’s actually a very moody person who is just good at hiding his emotions. I know he looks like your stereotypical ‘cool guy’ and he might act like one, too, but he’s not really that shallow. He likes almost any kind of person, in general, and he doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. If you want to learn more about him, you just have to be patient, and eventually, he’ll tell you. Just don’t pry and try to get answers by force, because that never works.”
Abilities
Power Class:
Animal- 6
Super-System- 3
Chemical- 7
Power: Codi’s powers are often obvious to most of the people to look at her. She has an enormous urchin/brittle star fused to her back, which acts as a very powerful defensive armor. It takes a considerable amount of force from blunt blows to cause a bad injury to Reef, and most sharp edges like teeth, claws, or bladed weapons won’t have any effect at all. Overall, it’s just very hard to damage Reef by attacking its main body, and in truth, it’s dangerous to attack the urchin, anyway. Reef’s long, sharp spines, which grow back quite rapidly if damaged or lost, can easily pierce thick hides (it’s already comparable to being impaled by a lance or sword), and almost immediately after, inflict an excruciatingly painful sting that can last several hours in the affected area, though it is non-lethal. One cannot get past these spines easily, either, as Reef has been known to follow threats with its spines, having a rudimentary sight capability. The six long arms, eight feet in length each, capable of re-growing over a period of time and similar to a gigantic version of a brittle star’s, are another dangerous line of defense, and serve a strong offensive purpose, as well. Being tough and armored, and edged with blunt spikes along their lengths, the arms can swing in a wide range around Codi, striking foes with great force if they get too close. Thankfully, these arms do not contain venom like Reef’s spines, though they could send a person flying, having enough strength to lift Codi and the urchin’s weight combined. When not directed by Codi’s thoughts, however, they lack accuracy, and seem to merely flail about, though it is still very hazardous. Reef can also use its arms to move Codi and itself around a location, granted that it can grip something, making their movement much swifter than one would expect.
Codi’s super-system attributes are linked to her skeleton and body having developed the power to bear incredible weight on her back, extending far past that of the parasite. There is no offensive purpose to this ability, but it prevents Codi from becoming tired or weakened by being forced to carry a load she cannot ever remove from her back.
Codi’s second ability, regarding the human component of the symbiotic duo, is that she has concealed syringe-like claws stored under her fingernails in each hand. Each claw is connected to hidden pouches in the forearms, each finger having its own unique pouch. Just as each claw has its own unique pouch, each pouch has its own unique bacterial culture, which has developed into symbiosis with Codi as a defensive or offensive mechanism. Because the body of a host provides a rich environment, these bacteria have lost much of their ability to survive outside of it, although they can easily grow inside a living thing, particularly when injected into a wound. What should be noted is that nine of these strains can be easily treated with medications (Though cheap topical creams or sprays are still too weak), or overwhelmed by a foe’s immune system. They do, however, produce powerful toxins in the right environment (Inside a wound). These toxins have effects that can be treated, and have a generally delayed effect (it’s not immediate like Reef’s venom), but it can quickly sicken most things. Depending on what fingers struck a person in an attack, a victim may experience weakness, nausea, dizziness, involuntary shuddering, nerve pain, or an unnaturally fast heart rate that can’t slow down until the bacterial toxin runs its course (Toxins do not leave the body because the immune system killed the bacteria). The effects of nausea are caused by the small finger and middle finger of the left hand. Weakness is caused by the index finger and ring finger of the left hand. The thumb of the left hand and the small finger of the right hand cause severe dizziness and vertigo. Involuntary shuddering is caused by the index finger of the right hand, and the middle finger of the right hand causes nerve pain.
People must be wary of the thumb on the right hand. Although the thumb is the least-likely part of the hand to affect someone via a scratch due to its position and length, the bacteria connected to this digit is typically far worse than the others. The bacteria of this finger can cause a combination of multiple symptoms, often worse than the nine toxins previously mentioned. It is the bacteria Codi went to the hospital for, though it was only because of swelling in the thumb. Extreme aching pain over the entire body, nausea that could easily lead to vomiting along with painful stomach cramps, and dizziness can all be caused by a scratch from this thumb. It should also be noted that the bacteria from this digit last much longer than the others, and continue to produce toxin, so it could easily hospitalize people. The only thing that is good about this strain of bacteria is that it cannot spread, and it can be treated by antibiotics, and the symptoms suppressed by drugs. It also takes much more time than the other bacteria to spread, so someone who gets medical attention quickly may not have to suffer at all. It is when an injury is ignored, in this case, that someone will suffer.
Another mild defense Codi has is that her blood (Shared with Reef), contains a somewhat irritating compound in it. It is not at all lethal, but most creatures will experience itching and redness and perhaps a layer of skin might peel off, if the individual who touches it is more sensitive. Some people aren’t affected at all, making the effects of the substance in Codi’s blood more like an allergic reaction.
Weaknesses/Limitations/Drawbacks: Codi’s first limitation is that her human body—the part of her that really matters, is actually quite vulnerable. Though she possesses the power to carry an incredible amount of weight on her back, despite her extremely thin appearance, the strength does not extend to her arms or legs, and she cannot deliver strong blows. In fact, she is actually rather weak, often only going unharmed because she has a gigantic, powerful urchin sitting on her back. It should be noted that she can be easily injured, except on the level of breaking bones, as much of her strength comes from incredible bone-density. She also does not have the healing factor of Reef, and cannot rapidly recover from her injuries, only possessing powerful resistance to illness, disease, or toxins.
The strains of bacteria in Codi’s hands are not easy to use as offensive weapons, because they require physically piercing a foe’s skin, and getting closer, while revealing the most sensitive part of her body, which is her entire human-self. Also, while the syringe-nails are very sharp, and often not expected by foes, they cannot pierce heavily-armored skin, unless she was able to muster up incredible force, which she does not have. The use of her nails requires that her foe have human-like or equally sensitive/weaker skin that will break. Nine bacterial strains in Codi’s hands are rapidly killed by a threat’s immune system, leaving only the toxins, which has effects that could last a maximum of two hours, quickly taking effect once introduced, although the average amount of time it lasts is one hour. These toxins are seldom lethal, and can symptoms can be treated by drugs. The most powerful strain contained in Codi’s thumb can be treated with somewhat stronger antibiotics commonly found in clinics or hospitals, and the symptoms also treated, but most often, it takes too long to affect a foe in a dangerous situation, so it’s usually useless. It should be noted that while she cannot be harmed by her own bacteria, if one of these syringes is torn, Codi must wait for a new nail-claw to grow back before she can use the bacterial strain again.
Reef’s weaknesses lie in the fact that unlike Codi, it does not possess bacterial strains in its spines, only venom. The venom, which causes excruciating pain in the affected area once administered, can badly hinder most foes for several hours, but it is non-lethal, and the venom alone from a sting could not kill someone (Unless it was administered in an enormous dose, but it would take a ridiculous number of stings for that to happen, even though Reef is enormous and administers a lot to begin with). Reef’s venom, while very painful, can be treated by the same substances used to treat bee or jellyfish stings (In essence, vinegar, baking soda paste, etc.). Reef’s ability to heal, while quite rapid, does have limits, as while spines can rapidly re-grow, a lost arm takes an extended period of time, and Reef only has six (This in mind, it’s still not easy to cut through those thick, bony plates).
Bleeding cannot severely affect the urchin, as blood loss rapidly stops because of the nature of the creature’s anatomy, but it should be noted that blood loss still affects both Codi and Reef. Because of their shared blood supply, if one loses blood, so does the other. Reef’s attacks also lack accuracy when it flails its arms, unless directed by Codi’s thoughts.
Other: Couldn’t think of anything to put in here.
Well, I'm a bit confused as to what's going on, because I'm multitasking. I need to get in Codi's sheet before I can really post and introduce either her or Atticus. Can I get a small overview about what's currently happening IC-side?
Awesome, still working on Codi, but I'll get her in a bit faster, probably.
Basic Information
Name: Atticus Fowler
Nickname/Alias/Etc: N/A
Gender: Male
Age: 18
Height: 5’8”
Weight: 142.3lbs.
Status:[b] New Student
[b]Appearance
Hair Color: Dark Blonde
Eye Color: Red
Ethnicity: White/Caucasian
Physical Appearance: Most of the time, Atticus looks like a normal young adult his age with an average height of 5’8”. He possesses a healthy, slim build, and also muscular definition that suggests an athletic lifestyle, although he looks nothing like a bodybuilder or a professional. He has fair skin, although he is not ghostly pale, and possesses thick, wavy blonde hair that is dark enough to seem ashen in appearance. He keeps his hair cut in a shorter variant of a curtain-style, with the fringe parted in the center, and gradual tapering in length versus abrupt change. His face is oval-shaped with softer features, although his cheekbones are defined; highlighting the faintest aspects of his appearance that suggests that he is a meta-human. His cheeks appear at odd times to glow with the faintest hint of a deep red light, often becoming brighter the darker it is in the surrounding area. A similar patch shaped like a small star-and-strip mark with three prongs going upwards, also glows just beneath his hairline, much fainter, but also seeming to grow brighter with less light. Most people do not notice these glowing patches unless they look closely. Atticus’ round eyes look like a regular human’s, with long, dark eyelashes, but possess irises that are considered to be the color of blood, an intense and pure color that clearly results from his mutations. Because of a strong sensitivity to sunlight, Atticus’ eyes are hidden behind his glasses most of the time.
Atticus is an animal-meta gifted with the ability to shift between the form of a human and a creature, and possesses another form that is, by all accounts, considered a monstrosity that would have crawled in from someone’s nightmares. His skin loses all hair and takes on an unnerving color, a pure black that is comparable to obsidian or oil, which reflects light in a fashion that makes his body seem sleek or smooth like glass, in a fashion similar to a black dragonfish. The structure of his skeleton and musculature change, and his legs and feet alter so that the foot elongates, allowing him to stand on the frontal part alone, similar to depictions of bipedal lycanthropes. His fingers grow much longer, becoming spindly in appearance because of their length, although they retain great strength and dexterity. Webbing forms between the joints of the thumb, and the first joint of each finger. The arms and legs both become more muscular with this transformation to support power and speed, although the torso and overall body retains the same lean build as Atticus’ human form, though the musculature becomes more sharply defined as a result of the transformation. He sprouts a long tail that begins thick, like reptiles, but tapers to a thin appearance like the tail of an eel or newt. A ridge appears on his back, and sprouts extremely long spines that form a fan, looking more like feelers, or whiskers. Similar smaller ridges appear on his lower arms, lining up with the shortest outer fingers.
Atticus’s neck elongates and becomes eel-like in appearance, although it remains thick enough to support the new shape of his skull and head, overall. His head becomes like a gulper eel’s, with an enormous, cavernous mouth. When closed, it may seem harmless, but jagged, spike or needle-like teeth line it, and each tooth faintly points inward. His nose grows flat and becomes a simple pair of nostrils, located on the very tip of the face. His eyes become perfectly round, and enlarge to become like those of a deep-sea fish in appearance, primarily a spookfish, although the eyes are forward-facing. These eyes may appear black or mirror-like in most lights (They actually do contain mirrors), but certain angles reveal that they retain their characteristic blood-red coloration, which is perhaps one of the sole means that can allow a person to identify the form as Atticus. The glowing patches on Atticus transform and become more pronounced. The red glows his cheeks become cashew or kidney-shaped organs that emit a bright red light right beneath each eye, although an internal membrane of black skin can immediately obscure this light, being much more effective than the original pale, human-like skin. Likewise, the blue forked patch on Atticus’ forehead transforms into a lure similar to a wolftrap anglerfish, having distinct joints that cause it to strongly resemble a fishing rod, and tipped with three hook-like bioluminescent organs, which are tipped with sharp claw-like protrusions. Similar to the glow in Atticus’ cheeks, there is a black membrane in this lure that can obscure the glow, and the joints of the lure allow it to fold up on his head so that it does not hinder him, if need be. These glows are revealed to be produced by strains of bioluminescent bacteria, which originated from regular bacteria presumably living on his skin or in his mouth, which mutated with him. Atticus’ face is covered with ridges that accent his nostrils and separate parts of his features, vaguely akin to most abyssal fish, or a fangtooth. A third pair of eyelids, which are transparent but yellow in coloration, can cover Atticus’ eyes.
A final feature that is only ever apparent when Atticus is present around people who know he has his powers, or they do not recognize his creature form as him, is that Atticus’ body is covered with blue photophores, which he can control when their light glows, unlike the bacterial glow in his lure or cheeks, due to bodily systems being responsible for the production of light. He often does not use it, though, because however small the amount of energy it costs him to use the photophores, it is still use of energy that he does not like to afford, and for the most part, they do not serve much purpose.
Attire: Atticus’ typical attire consists of jeans and short-sleeve, which are typically made from a light, breathing fabric, in order to prevent him from being uncomfortably warm. Often, his color choices revolve around either white or black as a base, with color accents primarily being red or blue, although red is most often the chosen color. He generally prefers wearing a good pair of shoes that will suit any purpose, and prevent injuries to his feet. Overall, he dresses nicely, although his choice of clothing may be simple. What Atticus is never seen without is a special pair of sunglasses, which are large, and completely conceal his eyes when viewed from any angle. Their tint is additionally so dark that people cannot even see the faintest impression of his eyes. This is because Atticus has photophobia as a result of his powers. It is not an irrational fear of light, but a real sensitivity that makes sunlight painful to look at. Atticus keeps a spare pair of glasses in his pocket at all times, taking into account that on an island filled with mutants someone who doesn’t respect privacy might be tempted to steal his lenses.
In his mutated form, Atticus has a special black wetsuit with grey accents, which he wears primarily for the purpose of having a reliable and durable fabric that will comfortably move with his body, without feeling restricting. The suit was made primarily because Atticus’ clothing does not properly fit him after he sprouts a tail, spines, and develops a long eel’s neck along with claws, and it would be ridiculous having to deal with ripped clothing every time he changed. It was also specifically a wetsuit because it was suggested, on account of his fish-like abilities.
Personality
Outward & Innate Personality: Atticus is generally considered to be calm and collected in nature, although this taken into account, he is not insensitive to the needs of others, or completely resistant to stress himself. He is mostly reserved, saying little about himself or about other people, making it difficult for someone to pry secrets from him. He tries to discourage people from telling him something they expect to be kept a secret, because though he will do as they ask, he heavily dislikes people asking him probing questions. He tries not to be too cold towards people, and often avoids conflict as much as possible, although he does not do so in a cowardly or submissive manner, but rather, will simply claim that something will cause trouble, and that he does not wish to be involved. He dislikes getting into arguments, or having to tolerate ridiculous or foolish behavior, preferring to be left to his own devices, and generally not wasting energy on something that he may view as pointless, having a dislike for irrational acts. He is not, however mean, and will generally try not to upset others, because he is actually rather empathetic, despite any misconceptions made.
Internally, Atticus is a person who is more likely to not show any sort of reaction to stressful or upsetting situations, but this is largely because he is extremely good at exerting self-control, and dismissing feelings that may cause him to behave in a rash manner. In reality, though, certain frustrations could potentially build up, until he flies into a fit that leaves most people stunned, because his outwardly calm demeanor so greatly masks the emotional turmoil. Afterwards, Atticus will generally be consumed with guilt at his behavior, and vanish, going to some private place to beat himself up over his break in composure. Atticus is generally more open with people who are close friends, and he will typically share more about his feelings or thoughts with them. Because of his own maturity, Atticus is typically capable of recognizing his own emotional needs, and that of others, and he also considers himself to be smart, clever, and organized. He is not blind to his own flaws, however, and may likewise consider himself to be proud, vain, and at certain times, snobbish. He may also insult himself, regarding his personality as too serious, insecure, or sarcastic in a fashion that might irritate people. Atticus does not care to have a large number of friends, but he does not want people to think badly of him, either.
When having casual conversations, Atticus is known for having a sarcastic and witty sense of humor, which involves leading on extremely detailed fictional stories, which some people may not recognize as a joke, unless he were to change his tone slightly, or proceed to give a long-winded dialogue on purpose. He may make a quip with perfect timing for a situation to be humorous, or speak in a deadpan fashion about a topic that one struggles to imagine talking about in a serious tone. He also does not mind being made fun of, if he knows the jokes direct attention at something that is true to his nature that he himself is aware of, but likewise, he will not appreciate humor that is intended to be hurtful or cruel.
When asked about his glasses, or the glowing patches on his face, Atticus will vaguely respond that his powers did weird things to him, and that he has to wear the glasses because the sun is ‘too bright’. Often, his response to these questions could act as a good way of gauging how he perceives you, because he will generally be more descriptive for the people he trusts. On many levels, it is universally considered wrong to snatch Atticus’ glasses from his face to find out the color of his eyes, even if he tells you they are red. You won’t find out, because he will immediately close his eyes and put on the spare set he has in his pocket. The only people who could get away with this without a negative response are the people he considers to be true best friends. If you are not in the mentioned group, well…it was wrong in the first place, since he was telling the truth that the sun hurt his eyes, and he has no real reason to lie, even if at times he seems tight-lipped.
Hobbies/Interests: When it comes to his main interest, Atticus has a very unusual liking for calligraphy, and it does not particularly matter what form, or even what language, the calligraphy is written in. He does not pay close attention to the history of calligraphy, but seems to artistically express himself by practicing the art form. Atticus, despite the common belief that men have terrible handwriting and prefer to write in print, possesses extremely neat penmanship, and often writes in cursive, his handwriting often being extremely neat and legible. Likewise, he may also pick up words from foreign languages, although this does not mean he truly speaks them, although some things may be forever lodged in his memory. Any living space he inhabits will be decorated by samples of his work, and there may be poems lying around, also, because calligraphy should also be written with some sort of meaning behind it. These poems may have been written by someone else, or made up by Atticus himself.
A second hobby Atticus has is that he can play the tenor saxophone, mostly because he has a natural liking for jazz music, although he also studied a few classical pieces himself. He does not compose the music himself, but enjoys it, regardless. If asked about either hobby, he might mention a few facts, along with the claim that it ‘makes [him] happy’.
Skills/Talents: In regards to calligraphy, there are very few things that Atticus cannot do, as he has a natural talent for it. It is what he usually does to calm himself down if he feels stressed, and he loves that he can do something artistic, and also have worded meaning behind his work. It should be noted that while he only speaks English, he can pick up and remember words from foreign languages if he wants to write in them, since he finds the notion of writing and not being able to understand the meaning of what is written as ‘ridiculous’.
In regards to Atticus’ skill at playing the tenor saxophone, he is largely good at it, under the restrictions of his emotions, making the saxophone a good way to tell if he is stressed or not. Because there is a certain degree of truth in the belief that an instrument reflects the person playing it, Atticus’ music will only sound harmonious if he is in a good mood, or peaceful on an internal level. If he is upset or angry, his music will reflect his feelings. The notes will have a distinctly sharper beginning and end, seeming oddly forceful, or if he is sad, they may sound weak or ‘thin’. He may play for a longer time if he is angry, and he may rapidly lose interest in playing if he is depressed, the terrible sound produced often worsening the emotion until he gives up.
Prized Possession: Atticus’ most prized possessions are his two pairs of special sunglasses. He wouldn’t be able to function without them, except in his creature form.
Quote(s): “Sometimes I hate that I have to wear tinted lenses all the time; people like eye contact, and you can’t even look at my eyes, even though there’s times when I’m grateful for it. I remember I used to get angry over when people would stare at me when I never took them off, and then I was glad because people couldn’t tell that I was mad at them. Eventually, though, I just got it through my thick skull that it was ridiculous to be stuck in that situation, and I just learned to ignore it. It isn’t really my problem if they can’t talk to a guy wearing glasses, although I suppose what I just said was kind of bitter, in retrospect.”
History/Bio: Atticus came from a small neighborhood in his hometown in Georgia, where he grew up in the same neighborhood as Codi Bailey, whom he became close friends with after they both developed mutations that were akin in some form or fashion to sea creatures, roughly around the same time at the age of 16 and 17, respectively. While Atticus gained the power to turn into a monster with midnight-zone qualities, Codi mutated alongside an ectoparasite (Most likely a bedbug, although what it is isn’t entirely clear) and developed into a symbiotic relationship with the insect, although she had already begun to enter symbiosis with bacteria before this period. Because Atticus and Codi both had to conceal their mutations, they grew to greatly desire each other’s company, out of the basic human need for social interaction, which was not comfortable for Atticus, and for the most part impossible for Codi, because of the parasite. Upon discovering that both of them had an invitation to the same school, they made the decision to go as a group, having been best friends for over a year.
Family:
Father- Atticus has had a healthy relationship with his father, but for the most part, does not share his father’s interest in carpentry or construction pursuits. Atticus never understood what was enjoyable about working with power tools, and didn’t like having to wear a mask over his nose and mouth to prevent issues from inhaling dust, even though he knew it was better than suffering something like a coughing fit, or splinters in the lungs. Despite this, Atticus looks up to his father, and respects him as a person of good character, albeit that he can be childish and irresponsible at times.
Mother- Atticus takes after his mother creatively-speaking. His mother is a talented painter, and manages to make money by selling her paintings for a small profit, which adds up over time, as she enjoys painting as a hobby. She doesn’t do commissions, however, as she is a visionary, and does not like having to deal with the constraints of what other people want. Although Atticus claims he will, ‘Never have the talent that [his mom] has when it comes to paintings.’ He has developed his own creative sense through calligraphy and the ability to play the tenor saxophone.
Relationships:
Codi Bailey | Good | Best Friend | “She’s my best friend, and even though I usually wouldn’t say too much about myself around other people, I feel like I can’t shut up around her. I just relax when she’s there. She listens to me, and she never tried to force me to say anything I didn’t want to.”
Abilities
Power Class:
Animal- 7
Super System- 5
Energy- 3
Power: Atticus is primarily an animal meta-human with the power to switch between his human and creature form. In his human form, he is largely vulnerable, his powers generally being much weaker, and only a small fraction of his true strength, which comes out in his creature form. In his creature form, Atticus most notably loses the severe photophobia that he normally suffers and is thus able to remove his tinted lenses, because the mutations in his eyes fully-develop during the transformation, although he still takes precautions not to look directly at a light source. His eyes, which are similar to those of a spook fish or barreleye, are incredibly unique, employing mirrors instead of lenses in order to see, and thus allowing sight via both refractive and reflective means. The superior capability of Atticus’ eyes to collect light allows him to see with even the faintest amount of light, and the design of his eyes additionally allows him to see a much wider range of vision, allowing him to see what is in front of him, above him, below him, or next to him, all at once. This greatly decreases the chance of being caught unaware, as it eliminates a large number of blind spots that are normally present in one’s vision. The third eyelids of his eyes, which are tinted yellow, can be closed to allow him to filter out unwanted light frequencies. This ability would be more useful in complete darkness, where it would have been used to detect the difference between real light and that produced by photophores, but on land, surrounded by meta-humans; it actually provides a unique benefit. Any creature that can camouflage, or refract/produce light to hide itself, becomes visible when these third eyelids are closed.
Atticus has claimed that in his creature form, he also gains the ability to see a small amount of light on the infrared spectrum, which is an adaptation that relates to the red glowing patches on his face, which are organs containing bacteria that additionally direct the light in front of him, almost like beams, and can be masked at will by a layer of dark internally stored skin. There is a second layer of skin that can filter out visible light, leaving only infrared light that solely Atticus or specific people could see, although he has not learned how to use it, yet, or even acknowledge that it exists. Visible-light glows are not particularly useful among humans, who can see red light, but anything that is color-blind to the color red (like most regular animals) cannot detect his approach. Anything corresponding with the red spectrum of Atticus’ light will reflect back, giving him an invisible flashlight of sorts, similar to a black dragonfish, although the fish does not use bacteria to produce such light.
Atticus’ blue bioluminescent lure and photophores do not have a proper purpose on land, aside from getting attention when it’s dark, and although Atticus suspects he might be able to breathe underwater, he’s never tried it, because he doesn’t have gills or any features that would suggest it. (You’d have to risk drowning, perhaps, and he didn’t come from a place where there was a large body of water to test the theory. You can’t blame someone for being cautious). In reality, Atticus possesses the ability to breathe in water through his skin, similar to an amphibious fish, and being similar to abyssal fish; he can likely tolerate extremely cold temperatures in the water, and an immense amount of pressure, making him capable of going to extremely deep depths. He’s never been able to test his limits, however, and testing to see if he really can breathe underwater is something that isn’t easy to coax him into.
The spines on Atticus’ back and arms, while perhaps initially mistaken for ornamentation or protection, actually exist to serve a sensory purpose. In reality, they are not true spines, but stiff antennae of sorts, comparable to the fins of a hairy anglerfish. These antennae work in both air and water, and twitch with the slightest disturbances or changes in currents from either medium. This allows him to determine general information about the weather or tides (The terms are interchangeable), and also, on a finer-tuned level, determine the approach of moving objects. This in some ways is more accurate than if he were to possess a strong sense of smell, because although he cannot track things, he can tell what’s approaching, and how far away it is.
Atticus’ claws and cavernous mouth are the final notable aspects of his creature form that grant him powers because of animal form. His nails become sharp claws, which, while not comparable to razors or anything truly fascinating, could still leave marks. His mouth and bite are what should truly be avoided, because Atticus’ mouth is enormous like a gulper eel’s, and his bite force is actually stronger than the eel. It should also be noted that multiple rows of ragged, needle-like teeth, faintly pointing inward, line his mouth, perfect for snagging tissues and causing severe injury. While a regular gulper eel couldn’t do anything harmful to a human aside from leaving small scratches (It’s very tiny, too) Atticus could realistically wound someone and kill them through blood loss. He couldn’t take someone’s arm, but he could still cause severe injury.
Powers unrelated to Atticus’ status as an animal meta-human are extremely obvious, when used, as he appears to have super-system traits along with his animal characteristics. Atticus, while not strong in the sense of an ant lifting ten-times its weight, is still stronger than what should be expected of his creature form, which has almost the same build as his regular human form. A single punch or strike that’s well-aimed can snap the bones of a regular human being, and he could also potentially send them skidding a good distance away. His punches could dent metal or crack stone. This in mind, though, Atticus wouldn’t punch metal or stone so hard unless he needed to, because hard materials would badly injure his hands. Also, while he can deliver devastating blows with considerable force, he can’t really exert force long-term. He couldn’t genuinely lift or toss an elephant, he’s not that strong. He’s strong in an aerobic sense, and anaerobic activity is extremely taxing.
Atticus’ true super-system abilities lay in his capability to use powerful attacks with a swift enough speed to overwhelm opponents, and then safely maneuver away to avoid any sort of counter-strike. Atticus’ skin isn’t tough or armored, and is still virtually as vulnerable—if not weaker—than a regular human’s, because of its sleek qualities. His speed, agility, and natural flexibility make it possible for him to elude most attacks, and although he could never be considered to have super-speed, he could easily rival a galloping horse if he wanted to (A galloping horse runs an average speed between 40-48 miles per hour).
Atticus’ final, and overall weakest ability, is his small, limited set of energy powers, which may or may not be part of his animal mutations...it’s really unclear, when he has fish mutations. Atticus has a certain degree of power, in that he can discharge electricity. This electricity can travel short distances in water (Because that’s just how electricity is), but is limited exclusively to physical contact when Atticus is on land. The confusion over Atticus’ electric abilities comes from the fact that his maximum voltage is around 470 volts, a power that could be akin to that of a small electric eel. One should not be deceived, however, by thinking that this voltage is small. The voltage Atticus discharges is easily enough to be fatal to a regular human being and it’s even worse if someone is crazy enough to touch his tail or his nose when he decides to zap something, considering he has a positive and negative end to his body, just like a magnet.
Weaknesses/Limitations/Drawbacks: The first great weakness Atticus has is that in his human form, he loses virtually all of his powers, and additionally gains an extreme case of photophobia that forces him to wear dark tinted lenses at all times. It’s not really difficult to see how if he were caught off-guard as a human, Atticus would be in trouble. It can badly hinder him if he loses his protective lenses, so he is easy to defeat in his human form.
In his creature form, Atticus’ strengths are generally offset by equally notable weaknesses. The first is that while capable of delivering extremely powerful blows, he can still injure himself in the process. The concept is not very different than a person bruising their knuckles if they punch a wall. He also cannot lift and throw things, whatever misconception that his strength might give people. If he is asked to lift something, he will probably get hurt. His skin is additionally just as sensitive in his creature form as it is in his human form, and as a result, any attack can hurt him. He has no defenses against elemental or energy attacks save for electric shocks, which his body is naturally designed to handle, and only up to a certain voltage.
Atticus also has a unique kind of ‘block’ period between his transformations, during which he is unable to change forms for a certain period of time after transforming. This means if he turns into a human, he must remain a human for roughly an hour before he can turn back into a creature. The same rule applies to his creature form, and he must remain a creature for an hour before becoming human again. If he is attacked in human form, it is an instinctive, almost automatic response for Atticus to attempt to transform, which, in the context of the situation, can break the rule of the block period, if he genuinely perceives that his life is in danger and his body perceives it in such a fashion, also, although this puts great stress on him physically, and he may grow weak or ill after the danger has passed. He also cannot transform if he receives too many serious injuries, in which case the energy used for transforming will transfer to the task of healing the wounds, trapping him in his current form, which more often than not, is his creature form, which is naturally better at self-defense. The disadvantage of being trapped in his creature form when injured is that it is difficult to administer medical treatment to someone with an alien kind of biology. He also can’t have antibiotics that are taken internally; for fear that it would harm the bioluminescent bacteria in his body.
Other: Couldn’t find anything to put in this section…I think I broke my record on how long a character sheet can be, though.
Name: Atticus Fowler
Nickname/Alias/Etc: N/A
Gender: Male
Age: 18
Height: 5’8”
Weight: 142.3lbs.
Status:[b] New Student
[b]Appearance
Hair Color: Dark Blonde
Eye Color: Red
Ethnicity: White/Caucasian
Physical Appearance: Most of the time, Atticus looks like a normal young adult his age with an average height of 5’8”. He possesses a healthy, slim build, and also muscular definition that suggests an athletic lifestyle, although he looks nothing like a bodybuilder or a professional. He has fair skin, although he is not ghostly pale, and possesses thick, wavy blonde hair that is dark enough to seem ashen in appearance. He keeps his hair cut in a shorter variant of a curtain-style, with the fringe parted in the center, and gradual tapering in length versus abrupt change. His face is oval-shaped with softer features, although his cheekbones are defined; highlighting the faintest aspects of his appearance that suggests that he is a meta-human. His cheeks appear at odd times to glow with the faintest hint of a deep red light, often becoming brighter the darker it is in the surrounding area. A similar patch shaped like a small star-and-strip mark with three prongs going upwards, also glows just beneath his hairline, much fainter, but also seeming to grow brighter with less light. Most people do not notice these glowing patches unless they look closely. Atticus’ round eyes look like a regular human’s, with long, dark eyelashes, but possess irises that are considered to be the color of blood, an intense and pure color that clearly results from his mutations. Because of a strong sensitivity to sunlight, Atticus’ eyes are hidden behind his glasses most of the time.
Atticus is an animal-meta gifted with the ability to shift between the form of a human and a creature, and possesses another form that is, by all accounts, considered a monstrosity that would have crawled in from someone’s nightmares. His skin loses all hair and takes on an unnerving color, a pure black that is comparable to obsidian or oil, which reflects light in a fashion that makes his body seem sleek or smooth like glass, in a fashion similar to a black dragonfish. The structure of his skeleton and musculature change, and his legs and feet alter so that the foot elongates, allowing him to stand on the frontal part alone, similar to depictions of bipedal lycanthropes. His fingers grow much longer, becoming spindly in appearance because of their length, although they retain great strength and dexterity. Webbing forms between the joints of the thumb, and the first joint of each finger. The arms and legs both become more muscular with this transformation to support power and speed, although the torso and overall body retains the same lean build as Atticus’ human form, though the musculature becomes more sharply defined as a result of the transformation. He sprouts a long tail that begins thick, like reptiles, but tapers to a thin appearance like the tail of an eel or newt. A ridge appears on his back, and sprouts extremely long spines that form a fan, looking more like feelers, or whiskers. Similar smaller ridges appear on his lower arms, lining up with the shortest outer fingers.
Atticus’s neck elongates and becomes eel-like in appearance, although it remains thick enough to support the new shape of his skull and head, overall. His head becomes like a gulper eel’s, with an enormous, cavernous mouth. When closed, it may seem harmless, but jagged, spike or needle-like teeth line it, and each tooth faintly points inward. His nose grows flat and becomes a simple pair of nostrils, located on the very tip of the face. His eyes become perfectly round, and enlarge to become like those of a deep-sea fish in appearance, primarily a spookfish, although the eyes are forward-facing. These eyes may appear black or mirror-like in most lights (They actually do contain mirrors), but certain angles reveal that they retain their characteristic blood-red coloration, which is perhaps one of the sole means that can allow a person to identify the form as Atticus. The glowing patches on Atticus transform and become more pronounced. The red glows his cheeks become cashew or kidney-shaped organs that emit a bright red light right beneath each eye, although an internal membrane of black skin can immediately obscure this light, being much more effective than the original pale, human-like skin. Likewise, the blue forked patch on Atticus’ forehead transforms into a lure similar to a wolftrap anglerfish, having distinct joints that cause it to strongly resemble a fishing rod, and tipped with three hook-like bioluminescent organs, which are tipped with sharp claw-like protrusions. Similar to the glow in Atticus’ cheeks, there is a black membrane in this lure that can obscure the glow, and the joints of the lure allow it to fold up on his head so that it does not hinder him, if need be. These glows are revealed to be produced by strains of bioluminescent bacteria, which originated from regular bacteria presumably living on his skin or in his mouth, which mutated with him. Atticus’ face is covered with ridges that accent his nostrils and separate parts of his features, vaguely akin to most abyssal fish, or a fangtooth. A third pair of eyelids, which are transparent but yellow in coloration, can cover Atticus’ eyes.
A final feature that is only ever apparent when Atticus is present around people who know he has his powers, or they do not recognize his creature form as him, is that Atticus’ body is covered with blue photophores, which he can control when their light glows, unlike the bacterial glow in his lure or cheeks, due to bodily systems being responsible for the production of light. He often does not use it, though, because however small the amount of energy it costs him to use the photophores, it is still use of energy that he does not like to afford, and for the most part, they do not serve much purpose.
Attire: Atticus’ typical attire consists of jeans and short-sleeve, which are typically made from a light, breathing fabric, in order to prevent him from being uncomfortably warm. Often, his color choices revolve around either white or black as a base, with color accents primarily being red or blue, although red is most often the chosen color. He generally prefers wearing a good pair of shoes that will suit any purpose, and prevent injuries to his feet. Overall, he dresses nicely, although his choice of clothing may be simple. What Atticus is never seen without is a special pair of sunglasses, which are large, and completely conceal his eyes when viewed from any angle. Their tint is additionally so dark that people cannot even see the faintest impression of his eyes. This is because Atticus has photophobia as a result of his powers. It is not an irrational fear of light, but a real sensitivity that makes sunlight painful to look at. Atticus keeps a spare pair of glasses in his pocket at all times, taking into account that on an island filled with mutants someone who doesn’t respect privacy might be tempted to steal his lenses.
In his mutated form, Atticus has a special black wetsuit with grey accents, which he wears primarily for the purpose of having a reliable and durable fabric that will comfortably move with his body, without feeling restricting. The suit was made primarily because Atticus’ clothing does not properly fit him after he sprouts a tail, spines, and develops a long eel’s neck along with claws, and it would be ridiculous having to deal with ripped clothing every time he changed. It was also specifically a wetsuit because it was suggested, on account of his fish-like abilities.
Personality
Outward & Innate Personality: Atticus is generally considered to be calm and collected in nature, although this taken into account, he is not insensitive to the needs of others, or completely resistant to stress himself. He is mostly reserved, saying little about himself or about other people, making it difficult for someone to pry secrets from him. He tries to discourage people from telling him something they expect to be kept a secret, because though he will do as they ask, he heavily dislikes people asking him probing questions. He tries not to be too cold towards people, and often avoids conflict as much as possible, although he does not do so in a cowardly or submissive manner, but rather, will simply claim that something will cause trouble, and that he does not wish to be involved. He dislikes getting into arguments, or having to tolerate ridiculous or foolish behavior, preferring to be left to his own devices, and generally not wasting energy on something that he may view as pointless, having a dislike for irrational acts. He is not, however mean, and will generally try not to upset others, because he is actually rather empathetic, despite any misconceptions made.
Internally, Atticus is a person who is more likely to not show any sort of reaction to stressful or upsetting situations, but this is largely because he is extremely good at exerting self-control, and dismissing feelings that may cause him to behave in a rash manner. In reality, though, certain frustrations could potentially build up, until he flies into a fit that leaves most people stunned, because his outwardly calm demeanor so greatly masks the emotional turmoil. Afterwards, Atticus will generally be consumed with guilt at his behavior, and vanish, going to some private place to beat himself up over his break in composure. Atticus is generally more open with people who are close friends, and he will typically share more about his feelings or thoughts with them. Because of his own maturity, Atticus is typically capable of recognizing his own emotional needs, and that of others, and he also considers himself to be smart, clever, and organized. He is not blind to his own flaws, however, and may likewise consider himself to be proud, vain, and at certain times, snobbish. He may also insult himself, regarding his personality as too serious, insecure, or sarcastic in a fashion that might irritate people. Atticus does not care to have a large number of friends, but he does not want people to think badly of him, either.
When having casual conversations, Atticus is known for having a sarcastic and witty sense of humor, which involves leading on extremely detailed fictional stories, which some people may not recognize as a joke, unless he were to change his tone slightly, or proceed to give a long-winded dialogue on purpose. He may make a quip with perfect timing for a situation to be humorous, or speak in a deadpan fashion about a topic that one struggles to imagine talking about in a serious tone. He also does not mind being made fun of, if he knows the jokes direct attention at something that is true to his nature that he himself is aware of, but likewise, he will not appreciate humor that is intended to be hurtful or cruel.
When asked about his glasses, or the glowing patches on his face, Atticus will vaguely respond that his powers did weird things to him, and that he has to wear the glasses because the sun is ‘too bright’. Often, his response to these questions could act as a good way of gauging how he perceives you, because he will generally be more descriptive for the people he trusts. On many levels, it is universally considered wrong to snatch Atticus’ glasses from his face to find out the color of his eyes, even if he tells you they are red. You won’t find out, because he will immediately close his eyes and put on the spare set he has in his pocket. The only people who could get away with this without a negative response are the people he considers to be true best friends. If you are not in the mentioned group, well…it was wrong in the first place, since he was telling the truth that the sun hurt his eyes, and he has no real reason to lie, even if at times he seems tight-lipped.
Hobbies/Interests: When it comes to his main interest, Atticus has a very unusual liking for calligraphy, and it does not particularly matter what form, or even what language, the calligraphy is written in. He does not pay close attention to the history of calligraphy, but seems to artistically express himself by practicing the art form. Atticus, despite the common belief that men have terrible handwriting and prefer to write in print, possesses extremely neat penmanship, and often writes in cursive, his handwriting often being extremely neat and legible. Likewise, he may also pick up words from foreign languages, although this does not mean he truly speaks them, although some things may be forever lodged in his memory. Any living space he inhabits will be decorated by samples of his work, and there may be poems lying around, also, because calligraphy should also be written with some sort of meaning behind it. These poems may have been written by someone else, or made up by Atticus himself.
A second hobby Atticus has is that he can play the tenor saxophone, mostly because he has a natural liking for jazz music, although he also studied a few classical pieces himself. He does not compose the music himself, but enjoys it, regardless. If asked about either hobby, he might mention a few facts, along with the claim that it ‘makes [him] happy’.
Skills/Talents: In regards to calligraphy, there are very few things that Atticus cannot do, as he has a natural talent for it. It is what he usually does to calm himself down if he feels stressed, and he loves that he can do something artistic, and also have worded meaning behind his work. It should be noted that while he only speaks English, he can pick up and remember words from foreign languages if he wants to write in them, since he finds the notion of writing and not being able to understand the meaning of what is written as ‘ridiculous’.
In regards to Atticus’ skill at playing the tenor saxophone, he is largely good at it, under the restrictions of his emotions, making the saxophone a good way to tell if he is stressed or not. Because there is a certain degree of truth in the belief that an instrument reflects the person playing it, Atticus’ music will only sound harmonious if he is in a good mood, or peaceful on an internal level. If he is upset or angry, his music will reflect his feelings. The notes will have a distinctly sharper beginning and end, seeming oddly forceful, or if he is sad, they may sound weak or ‘thin’. He may play for a longer time if he is angry, and he may rapidly lose interest in playing if he is depressed, the terrible sound produced often worsening the emotion until he gives up.
Prized Possession: Atticus’ most prized possessions are his two pairs of special sunglasses. He wouldn’t be able to function without them, except in his creature form.
Quote(s): “Sometimes I hate that I have to wear tinted lenses all the time; people like eye contact, and you can’t even look at my eyes, even though there’s times when I’m grateful for it. I remember I used to get angry over when people would stare at me when I never took them off, and then I was glad because people couldn’t tell that I was mad at them. Eventually, though, I just got it through my thick skull that it was ridiculous to be stuck in that situation, and I just learned to ignore it. It isn’t really my problem if they can’t talk to a guy wearing glasses, although I suppose what I just said was kind of bitter, in retrospect.”
History/Bio: Atticus came from a small neighborhood in his hometown in Georgia, where he grew up in the same neighborhood as Codi Bailey, whom he became close friends with after they both developed mutations that were akin in some form or fashion to sea creatures, roughly around the same time at the age of 16 and 17, respectively. While Atticus gained the power to turn into a monster with midnight-zone qualities, Codi mutated alongside an ectoparasite (Most likely a bedbug, although what it is isn’t entirely clear) and developed into a symbiotic relationship with the insect, although she had already begun to enter symbiosis with bacteria before this period. Because Atticus and Codi both had to conceal their mutations, they grew to greatly desire each other’s company, out of the basic human need for social interaction, which was not comfortable for Atticus, and for the most part impossible for Codi, because of the parasite. Upon discovering that both of them had an invitation to the same school, they made the decision to go as a group, having been best friends for over a year.
Family:
Father- Atticus has had a healthy relationship with his father, but for the most part, does not share his father’s interest in carpentry or construction pursuits. Atticus never understood what was enjoyable about working with power tools, and didn’t like having to wear a mask over his nose and mouth to prevent issues from inhaling dust, even though he knew it was better than suffering something like a coughing fit, or splinters in the lungs. Despite this, Atticus looks up to his father, and respects him as a person of good character, albeit that he can be childish and irresponsible at times.
Mother- Atticus takes after his mother creatively-speaking. His mother is a talented painter, and manages to make money by selling her paintings for a small profit, which adds up over time, as she enjoys painting as a hobby. She doesn’t do commissions, however, as she is a visionary, and does not like having to deal with the constraints of what other people want. Although Atticus claims he will, ‘Never have the talent that [his mom] has when it comes to paintings.’ He has developed his own creative sense through calligraphy and the ability to play the tenor saxophone.
Relationships:
Codi Bailey | Good | Best Friend | “She’s my best friend, and even though I usually wouldn’t say too much about myself around other people, I feel like I can’t shut up around her. I just relax when she’s there. She listens to me, and she never tried to force me to say anything I didn’t want to.”
Abilities
Power Class:
Animal- 7
Super System- 5
Energy- 3
Power: Atticus is primarily an animal meta-human with the power to switch between his human and creature form. In his human form, he is largely vulnerable, his powers generally being much weaker, and only a small fraction of his true strength, which comes out in his creature form. In his creature form, Atticus most notably loses the severe photophobia that he normally suffers and is thus able to remove his tinted lenses, because the mutations in his eyes fully-develop during the transformation, although he still takes precautions not to look directly at a light source. His eyes, which are similar to those of a spook fish or barreleye, are incredibly unique, employing mirrors instead of lenses in order to see, and thus allowing sight via both refractive and reflective means. The superior capability of Atticus’ eyes to collect light allows him to see with even the faintest amount of light, and the design of his eyes additionally allows him to see a much wider range of vision, allowing him to see what is in front of him, above him, below him, or next to him, all at once. This greatly decreases the chance of being caught unaware, as it eliminates a large number of blind spots that are normally present in one’s vision. The third eyelids of his eyes, which are tinted yellow, can be closed to allow him to filter out unwanted light frequencies. This ability would be more useful in complete darkness, where it would have been used to detect the difference between real light and that produced by photophores, but on land, surrounded by meta-humans; it actually provides a unique benefit. Any creature that can camouflage, or refract/produce light to hide itself, becomes visible when these third eyelids are closed.
Atticus has claimed that in his creature form, he also gains the ability to see a small amount of light on the infrared spectrum, which is an adaptation that relates to the red glowing patches on his face, which are organs containing bacteria that additionally direct the light in front of him, almost like beams, and can be masked at will by a layer of dark internally stored skin. There is a second layer of skin that can filter out visible light, leaving only infrared light that solely Atticus or specific people could see, although he has not learned how to use it, yet, or even acknowledge that it exists. Visible-light glows are not particularly useful among humans, who can see red light, but anything that is color-blind to the color red (like most regular animals) cannot detect his approach. Anything corresponding with the red spectrum of Atticus’ light will reflect back, giving him an invisible flashlight of sorts, similar to a black dragonfish, although the fish does not use bacteria to produce such light.
Atticus’ blue bioluminescent lure and photophores do not have a proper purpose on land, aside from getting attention when it’s dark, and although Atticus suspects he might be able to breathe underwater, he’s never tried it, because he doesn’t have gills or any features that would suggest it. (You’d have to risk drowning, perhaps, and he didn’t come from a place where there was a large body of water to test the theory. You can’t blame someone for being cautious). In reality, Atticus possesses the ability to breathe in water through his skin, similar to an amphibious fish, and being similar to abyssal fish; he can likely tolerate extremely cold temperatures in the water, and an immense amount of pressure, making him capable of going to extremely deep depths. He’s never been able to test his limits, however, and testing to see if he really can breathe underwater is something that isn’t easy to coax him into.
The spines on Atticus’ back and arms, while perhaps initially mistaken for ornamentation or protection, actually exist to serve a sensory purpose. In reality, they are not true spines, but stiff antennae of sorts, comparable to the fins of a hairy anglerfish. These antennae work in both air and water, and twitch with the slightest disturbances or changes in currents from either medium. This allows him to determine general information about the weather or tides (The terms are interchangeable), and also, on a finer-tuned level, determine the approach of moving objects. This in some ways is more accurate than if he were to possess a strong sense of smell, because although he cannot track things, he can tell what’s approaching, and how far away it is.
Atticus’ claws and cavernous mouth are the final notable aspects of his creature form that grant him powers because of animal form. His nails become sharp claws, which, while not comparable to razors or anything truly fascinating, could still leave marks. His mouth and bite are what should truly be avoided, because Atticus’ mouth is enormous like a gulper eel’s, and his bite force is actually stronger than the eel. It should also be noted that multiple rows of ragged, needle-like teeth, faintly pointing inward, line his mouth, perfect for snagging tissues and causing severe injury. While a regular gulper eel couldn’t do anything harmful to a human aside from leaving small scratches (It’s very tiny, too) Atticus could realistically wound someone and kill them through blood loss. He couldn’t take someone’s arm, but he could still cause severe injury.
Powers unrelated to Atticus’ status as an animal meta-human are extremely obvious, when used, as he appears to have super-system traits along with his animal characteristics. Atticus, while not strong in the sense of an ant lifting ten-times its weight, is still stronger than what should be expected of his creature form, which has almost the same build as his regular human form. A single punch or strike that’s well-aimed can snap the bones of a regular human being, and he could also potentially send them skidding a good distance away. His punches could dent metal or crack stone. This in mind, though, Atticus wouldn’t punch metal or stone so hard unless he needed to, because hard materials would badly injure his hands. Also, while he can deliver devastating blows with considerable force, he can’t really exert force long-term. He couldn’t genuinely lift or toss an elephant, he’s not that strong. He’s strong in an aerobic sense, and anaerobic activity is extremely taxing.
Atticus’ true super-system abilities lay in his capability to use powerful attacks with a swift enough speed to overwhelm opponents, and then safely maneuver away to avoid any sort of counter-strike. Atticus’ skin isn’t tough or armored, and is still virtually as vulnerable—if not weaker—than a regular human’s, because of its sleek qualities. His speed, agility, and natural flexibility make it possible for him to elude most attacks, and although he could never be considered to have super-speed, he could easily rival a galloping horse if he wanted to (A galloping horse runs an average speed between 40-48 miles per hour).
Atticus’ final, and overall weakest ability, is his small, limited set of energy powers, which may or may not be part of his animal mutations...it’s really unclear, when he has fish mutations. Atticus has a certain degree of power, in that he can discharge electricity. This electricity can travel short distances in water (Because that’s just how electricity is), but is limited exclusively to physical contact when Atticus is on land. The confusion over Atticus’ electric abilities comes from the fact that his maximum voltage is around 470 volts, a power that could be akin to that of a small electric eel. One should not be deceived, however, by thinking that this voltage is small. The voltage Atticus discharges is easily enough to be fatal to a regular human being and it’s even worse if someone is crazy enough to touch his tail or his nose when he decides to zap something, considering he has a positive and negative end to his body, just like a magnet.
Weaknesses/Limitations/Drawbacks: The first great weakness Atticus has is that in his human form, he loses virtually all of his powers, and additionally gains an extreme case of photophobia that forces him to wear dark tinted lenses at all times. It’s not really difficult to see how if he were caught off-guard as a human, Atticus would be in trouble. It can badly hinder him if he loses his protective lenses, so he is easy to defeat in his human form.
In his creature form, Atticus’ strengths are generally offset by equally notable weaknesses. The first is that while capable of delivering extremely powerful blows, he can still injure himself in the process. The concept is not very different than a person bruising their knuckles if they punch a wall. He also cannot lift and throw things, whatever misconception that his strength might give people. If he is asked to lift something, he will probably get hurt. His skin is additionally just as sensitive in his creature form as it is in his human form, and as a result, any attack can hurt him. He has no defenses against elemental or energy attacks save for electric shocks, which his body is naturally designed to handle, and only up to a certain voltage.
Atticus also has a unique kind of ‘block’ period between his transformations, during which he is unable to change forms for a certain period of time after transforming. This means if he turns into a human, he must remain a human for roughly an hour before he can turn back into a creature. The same rule applies to his creature form, and he must remain a creature for an hour before becoming human again. If he is attacked in human form, it is an instinctive, almost automatic response for Atticus to attempt to transform, which, in the context of the situation, can break the rule of the block period, if he genuinely perceives that his life is in danger and his body perceives it in such a fashion, also, although this puts great stress on him physically, and he may grow weak or ill after the danger has passed. He also cannot transform if he receives too many serious injuries, in which case the energy used for transforming will transfer to the task of healing the wounds, trapping him in his current form, which more often than not, is his creature form, which is naturally better at self-defense. The disadvantage of being trapped in his creature form when injured is that it is difficult to administer medical treatment to someone with an alien kind of biology. He also can’t have antibiotics that are taken internally; for fear that it would harm the bioluminescent bacteria in his body.
Other: Couldn’t find anything to put in this section…I think I broke my record on how long a character sheet can be, though.
Hi, people, I'm SerpentGear, but sometimes my friends might call me Vipera. I've been roleplaying for roughly three years, and it's one of my favorite hobbies. It's nice to meet all of you!
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