TPH app
Player Name: Krafty
Personal LJ: kibilgund
E-mail: krafty dot dwarf at gmail blot com
AIM: kibilgund
Other characters currently in-game: Victor Mancha (AU)
Character Name: Douglas Ramsey/Cypher
Canon source: New Mutants (Marvel 616)
Personality: Douglas used to be the boy next door, a bright, friendly kid from suburban New York with a head for computers and no real inclination to deviate from the 'normal life' career track. After being dragooned into the New Mutants to help Warlock, he quickly identified with mutantkind and loved the opportunity for adventure, but would sometimes pity himself, wishing for a peaceful, ordinary place in society. While he wasn't a glory-seeker, despite his lack of physical power he always struggled to pull his weight on the New Mutants, often jumping into stupidly dangerous situations. (This would be what got him killed.)
Since his death and resurrection, that person is buried in a mind desperately trying to assimilate an impossible amount of data in time to save his species from extinction. To the people familiar with the old Doug, he's in an uncanny valley, recognizably Douglas Ramsey, but with a creepy lack of emotional engagement and a tendency to describe everything either as literally as possible or as a linguistic metaphor. Brutal decisions, acts of violence he'd never have considered as a teen, come easily now. He's still a nice guy in there somewhere, but it's going to take some work to get back to that normal kid from Westchester County.
History: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypher_(comics)#Fictional_character_biography
Strengths: He used to just understand languages, but after Selene's meddling, this ability has been taken to its logical end -- Cypher can translate any information stream. This includes body language, architecture, anything conscious and intentional. He has used this ability to gain an edge in hand-to-hand combat, find the best access points into fortresses, and find hidden vulnerabilities in enemy forces. If he's capable of understanding a piece of information (and he's a reasonably smart guy) he can communicate it to any other sentient being that uses language. He is a skilled programmer, and insanely great at breaking electronic security, to the point that the only sure way to keep him out of a computer system is to keep him from making contact with it in the first place.
Weaknesses: Physically, Douglas is an ordinary human. His powers can't tell him anything about non-conscious or irrational processes - basically if you throw nonsense at him that he can't translate, he'll lock up. He is currently a bit prone to distraction, seeking out the most information-dense inputs available, unless someone is giving him something more important to do. He is infected with the Technarch transmode virus. It's currently dormant, but this is something of a multi-purpose ticking time-bomb waiting to turn him into a techno-organic monster at the drop of a plot. Just sayin'.
Preferred drop-in point: Seattle
What are some of your plans for this character in their new environment? Doug hasn't had any time to readjust to being alive again, much less fully deal with what Selene has done to him. He's going to gradually relax back into something like his old personality, but it will take time, and he will undoubtedly need to lean on his old friends for help. He hasn't taken well in the past to being separated from Warlock, and that's going to make the relearning-to-have-free-will process even harder. He has a lot to learn about all the things that went down while he was dead, so he'll be picking peoples' brains about that.
First Person Journal Sample:
[ Voice: ]
Hello. I've been told many interesting things today. Let me translate some for you.
I was greeted by technicians, who apologized for my discomfort and inconvenience. They told me there used to be 'people like me - powerful people, heroes.' I've been given pamphlets, shelter, and a very nice piece of hardware for communicating. They are telling me they are sympathetic to my situation. They are telling me, "We hope you will behave as a hero would, within the parameters we set. Please be motivated by our gestures of good faith."
But the chip is the clearest message. "This is the compromise we make between our compassion and our fear."
I know this isn't Illyana's doing. Her reaction indicated a magical intrusion, not a technological one. But somehow it seems unlikely that I'm here alone. The facilities spoke of a long history and many arrivals.
Warlock. Are you here, buddy? If you're still upset, I understand, but please, talk to me.
Third Person Sample:
Douglas sits on the stoop looking over the empty street. The clouds and the breeze are information without content. Molecules driven at random, movements weighted by temperature trends. He's getting bored, but it's briefly refreshing to have nothing to translate. He finally has some time to assimilate what he's already heard at home, and identify the gaps in his new understanding.
No one has explained about Rahne yet. He hasn't pressed anyone on the topic, not with so much else to hear, but he hasn't forgotten either. Cypher translates the silences.
Something terrible has happened. We do not know her any more.
His friends are adults now, full X-Men, and they expect him to be the same. He looks the part, at least. Selene's servant had upgraded him. Perhaps her army had no use for child soldiers. They'd all drunk beer and decompressed together (except for Rahne), as if he hadn't died at sixteen, but had only been away somewhere.
We can accept you more easily if we avoid reflecting on the reason for your absence.
The chip in his arm is speaking words Douglas can't hear. That's vexing. He does speak irony, but he's not in the mood to appreciate it -- if Warlock were with him they could solve the interface problem as easily as breathing. He taps the injection site with a fingertip, frowning. "Talk to me."
Personal LJ: kibilgund
E-mail: krafty dot dwarf at gmail blot com
AIM: kibilgund
Other characters currently in-game: Victor Mancha (AU)
Character Name: Douglas Ramsey/Cypher
Canon source: New Mutants (Marvel 616)
Personality: Douglas used to be the boy next door, a bright, friendly kid from suburban New York with a head for computers and no real inclination to deviate from the 'normal life' career track. After being dragooned into the New Mutants to help Warlock, he quickly identified with mutantkind and loved the opportunity for adventure, but would sometimes pity himself, wishing for a peaceful, ordinary place in society. While he wasn't a glory-seeker, despite his lack of physical power he always struggled to pull his weight on the New Mutants, often jumping into stupidly dangerous situations. (This would be what got him killed.)
Since his death and resurrection, that person is buried in a mind desperately trying to assimilate an impossible amount of data in time to save his species from extinction. To the people familiar with the old Doug, he's in an uncanny valley, recognizably Douglas Ramsey, but with a creepy lack of emotional engagement and a tendency to describe everything either as literally as possible or as a linguistic metaphor. Brutal decisions, acts of violence he'd never have considered as a teen, come easily now. He's still a nice guy in there somewhere, but it's going to take some work to get back to that normal kid from Westchester County.
History: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypher_(comics)#Fictional_character_biography
Strengths: He used to just understand languages, but after Selene's meddling, this ability has been taken to its logical end -- Cypher can translate any information stream. This includes body language, architecture, anything conscious and intentional. He has used this ability to gain an edge in hand-to-hand combat, find the best access points into fortresses, and find hidden vulnerabilities in enemy forces. If he's capable of understanding a piece of information (and he's a reasonably smart guy) he can communicate it to any other sentient being that uses language. He is a skilled programmer, and insanely great at breaking electronic security, to the point that the only sure way to keep him out of a computer system is to keep him from making contact with it in the first place.
Weaknesses: Physically, Douglas is an ordinary human. His powers can't tell him anything about non-conscious or irrational processes - basically if you throw nonsense at him that he can't translate, he'll lock up. He is currently a bit prone to distraction, seeking out the most information-dense inputs available, unless someone is giving him something more important to do. He is infected with the Technarch transmode virus. It's currently dormant, but this is something of a multi-purpose ticking time-bomb waiting to turn him into a techno-organic monster at the drop of a plot. Just sayin'.
Preferred drop-in point: Seattle
What are some of your plans for this character in their new environment? Doug hasn't had any time to readjust to being alive again, much less fully deal with what Selene has done to him. He's going to gradually relax back into something like his old personality, but it will take time, and he will undoubtedly need to lean on his old friends for help. He hasn't taken well in the past to being separated from Warlock, and that's going to make the relearning-to-have-free-will process even harder. He has a lot to learn about all the things that went down while he was dead, so he'll be picking peoples' brains about that.
First Person Journal Sample:
[ Voice: ]
Hello. I've been told many interesting things today. Let me translate some for you.
I was greeted by technicians, who apologized for my discomfort and inconvenience. They told me there used to be 'people like me - powerful people, heroes.' I've been given pamphlets, shelter, and a very nice piece of hardware for communicating. They are telling me they are sympathetic to my situation. They are telling me, "We hope you will behave as a hero would, within the parameters we set. Please be motivated by our gestures of good faith."
But the chip is the clearest message. "This is the compromise we make between our compassion and our fear."
I know this isn't Illyana's doing. Her reaction indicated a magical intrusion, not a technological one. But somehow it seems unlikely that I'm here alone. The facilities spoke of a long history and many arrivals.
Warlock. Are you here, buddy? If you're still upset, I understand, but please, talk to me.
Third Person Sample:
Douglas sits on the stoop looking over the empty street. The clouds and the breeze are information without content. Molecules driven at random, movements weighted by temperature trends. He's getting bored, but it's briefly refreshing to have nothing to translate. He finally has some time to assimilate what he's already heard at home, and identify the gaps in his new understanding.
No one has explained about Rahne yet. He hasn't pressed anyone on the topic, not with so much else to hear, but he hasn't forgotten either. Cypher translates the silences.
Something terrible has happened. We do not know her any more.
His friends are adults now, full X-Men, and they expect him to be the same. He looks the part, at least. Selene's servant had upgraded him. Perhaps her army had no use for child soldiers. They'd all drunk beer and decompressed together (except for Rahne), as if he hadn't died at sixteen, but had only been away somewhere.
We can accept you more easily if we avoid reflecting on the reason for your absence.
The chip in his arm is speaking words Douglas can't hear. That's vexing. He does speak irony, but he's not in the mood to appreciate it -- if Warlock were with him they could solve the interface problem as easily as breathing. He taps the injection site with a fingertip, frowning. "Talk to me."