Exsilium app

[mr_wing_tip_shoes]

» PLAYER INFORMATION
Player NAME: Kat
Current AGE: 21
Personal JOURNAL: destroyalldreamers
IM & SERVICE: MSN, Three days
Player PLURK: HowloftheSun
Current CHARACTERS: Lancir ve Aurelles, Blues

» CHARACTER INFORMATION
Character NAME: Niall Wilder
Character PULL-POINT: A few days/weeks/whatever after the events in the history section (1960-something)
Character AGE: About thirty
Character ABILITIES:

Regeneration:
First off, he can regenerate. It heals the damage done by aging. It’s not smart though. While it can heal cuts and bruises no problem, if bones are broken or he gets shot, his body will heal things as they are. Bones do not set themselves and bullets aren’t forced back out the way they came. The healing itself is not pleasant either. It hurts like a bitch. The greater the damage, the more it hurts, and the longer it takes to heal. Small cuts heal in a second or two whereas big holes can take a few minutes. The more wounds there are, the longer it takes to heal. There is also only so much it can do. If he sustains too much damage in a short period of time (like, say, getting pumped full of lead with a tommy gun) the regeneration can’t keep up, gradually slows (partially due to blood loss as well as the sheer scale of the damage) and stops all together.

Empathy:
The second, and probably most important ability, is what he calls Empathy. He can feel the emotions of others and, by extension, manipulate them. It’s like a specialized form of telepathy that is constantly working; like a sixth sense. He can ignore people to some degree but, it’s a lot like listening to white noise when he’s not paying attention to others. He hears the sound but not specific thoughts or feelings so to speak. As far as pushing or pulling people’s emotions go, it’s a lot like trying to herd a bunch of bitchy cats. The human mind is a disorganized, complicated mess of thoughts and feelings that he has to sift through and then persuade to do a certain thing. Subtlety is key. Too heavy a hand can severely damage a mind, making a person into a vegetable. Unfortunately he’s only had about ten or so years to use his ability this way and things get broken. Sometimes that’s the goal though. He uses this ability as a weapon just as much as a means for gathering information or getting what he wants.

It can work against him though. Due to the fact that he can’t completely block out the thoughts of others; situations where a large group of people are thinking about the same thing can end up influencing him. It’s subtle and he generally doesn’t realize what’s going on till he finds himself doing things he usually wouldn’t ever do. Physical contact with other people is something he avoids. It hurts. It shoves their mind into his and he can’t ignore it. He can gain a tolerance to people though, if they repeatedly touch him.

The only thing this ability is limited by is magic/supernatural shenanigans. People who are born from magic (or whatever else) like faeries and such don’t register to him and so, seem to lack brain functions. It’s like they aren’t there. Mages and people who have acquired magical traits don’t count.

Forced Hallucinations:
Niall can make people hallucinate. This is augmented by the fact that he can rummage around in people’s minds and find out what makes them tick. Hallucinations can range from small, subtle things to elaborate, world encompassing nightmares depending on how much energy he’s willing to spend. The more detailed and involved a hallucination his, the more effort it takes to maintain it. He doesn’t use this ability much though, as it’s much easier to push emotions around.

Also, as a kind of catch-all: he gets headaches rather frequently from his abilities. Be it from putting too much into a hallucination or just being around large groups of people for extended periods of time.

Aside from the weird mental shenanigans, Niall knows his way around guns and is a pretty good shot (it helps when you can make your target stand still).


Character HISTORY:
Niall is the product of advanced genetic science and his mother’s almost fanatical drive to advance human evolution. As such, he’s more than a little screwed up. He’s the eldest of three siblings, each with their own strange psychokinetic/telepathic abilities.

Born in 1934 in Russia, Niall spent his early childhood as the subject of various experiments designed to troubleshoot his telepathic abilities. After the death of his father, the responsibility of caring for his siblings fell to Niall. Eventually, he decided that he’d had enough of his family and its insanity and left, choosing to emigrate from Russia to America at the age of 22.

Unfortunately, Niall’s arrival in America wasn’t anything like what his father had made it out to be. Due to prevalent anti-communist sentiments, he was often treated with hostility and finding a job was impossible. In an act of desperation, he resorted to using his telepathy to cheat at poker for money. Through this, Niall realized that he could get almost anything he wanted with the right push; everything else required the skills of more than one man. Fortunately for him, Niall wasn’t the only angry, disenchanted immigrant looking for a way to make a living with few scruples as to the means. And, with a combination of subtle mental manipulation, promises, and bribery, Niall was well on his way to starting his own gang.

Fast forward about ten years to somewhere in the 1960s. Niall is thoroughly enjoying the life of organized crime and, as with most illegal endeavors, people get hurt on a fairly regular basis. Due to the questionable legality of his gang’s activities, Niall became a frequent patron of an underground clinic run by Dr. Aileen Kimbler.

The two butted heads almost every time Niall showed up. Aileen would almost constantly lecture Niall on his amoral practices and jacking up the price for her services; Niall alternately insulting and teasing Aileen and just generally being a jerk.

Shortly after meeting Aileen, a new gang showed up and made it a point of removing the competition; Niall’s group of hooligans to be specific. This group was made up of strange people and creatures the likes of which Niall had never seen before and had no idea how to deal with. To make matters worse, Niall took a bullet to the head and was declared dead by his gang.

Lucky for Niall, he wakes up, weak and disorientated with the most obnoxious headache of his life, to a bunch of bewildered gangsters suddenly thinking he’s some sort of demon. Eventually he goes to find Aileen, the only person he knew who wouldn’t toss him out on his ass because he had “allegedly” been shot. He soon learns that her clinic had been torched by the same gang that had attacked his and that the two shared a common goal. After quite a few awkward questions as to how it was possible for Niall to be walking around without a hole in his head, the two grudgingly decide to work together.

Character PERSONALITY:
Niall is a sociopath, plain and simple. He likes to pass himself off as charming and charismatic when there’s really a monster lurking just beneath the surface. He’s terribly manipulative. He almost never recognizes the rights of others and sees his self-serving behaviors as permissible. He’s hostile, domineering, and thinks of people as instruments to be used. Despite his intimate knowledge of human psychology and emotions, he’s incapable of empathizing with others; having only contempt for their feelings and readily taking advantage of them.

Ironically, Niall has issues expressing his own emotions let alone knowing how to deal with them. More often than not, the face he shows others is more feigned than experienced and serves an ulterior motive. Outraged by insignificant matters, yet remaining unmoved and cold by what would upset a normal person. When he does feel something genuine he has no idea what to do with it more than half the time and ends up attempting to shove it under the proverbial carpet.

He cares very little about the consequences of his actions and often blames others for things he obviously did. He has no idea what remorse is and guilt isn’t a word he knows as long as he gets what he wants it doesn’t matter how many lives he wrecks in order to get there. The end always justifies the means and he lets nothing stand in his way. Losing isn’t a concept he’s capable of understanding. As far as he’s concerned, he never loses. He just suffers minor setbacks from time to time.

Niall is, in a sense, a pathological liar. He lies to himself half the time as a way to rationalize his terrible behavior, the other half he spends lying out of paranoia in order to keep himself just a few steps ahead of everyone else. So people only get half of the answer to their question. It’s not his fault. He’s narcissistic and arrogant. As far as he’s concerned he’s the best thing since sliced bread and everybody should know this. As such he feels entitled to things. He’s impulsive and, if he wants something, he’ll get it regardless of means.

Despite the fact that Niall will ruthlessly use someone till there is nothing left, he rarely goes so far as to physically harm people himself. He feels their pain as well as the emotional trauma that goes along with it and it’s much easier to get someone else to do it for him if he really needs someone gone. Niall is also very much a product of his time period. Gender roles were very clearly defined and, as such, he will not harm a woman under any circumstances. You just don’t do that. Granted, this also means that he has a rather misogynistic view as to where a woman’s place in society is. A womanizing, male chauvinist pig sums him up nicely.


» EXSILIUM INFORMATION
Chosen WEAPON:
Niall would choose a handgun of some sort. Doesn’t really matter to him as long as it works.

Chosen SKILLSET:
Niall is not known for his physical prowess and prefers to have other people fight his battles for him. He is very good with words and superb at influencing others. If it’s a diplomatic mission, he’s your man….if you can get him to stop being horrible for more than five seconds. A carrot on a stick might work.

» SAMPLES
First PERSON:
[The feed switches on to show a rather irritated and slightly confused man staring into the camera….or what he thinks is the camera.]

I’ve been….told that this thing is some sort of computer. I don’t know what computers you people have been looking at but this certainly isn’t one.
It’s too small…

[He rolls his eyes and sighs.]

Regardless, I have next to no idea how to work it. I was through sheer dumb luck that I got this far and I’m not even sure it’s working. If someone would be so kind as to explain the basics I would much appreciate it.

[He flashes a charming smile.]

The name is Niall Wilder.


Third PERSON:
It wasn’t often he personally accompanied his men on jobs but this one required a bit more finesse than usual. Well….it had before his client’s lackey had shown up saying he didn’t have the money but they would pay Niall back as soon as possible. The kid was a good liar. Probably could have gotten away with it. Too bad the lie was the only thing he was thinking about as he was talking. It didn’t take much digging on Niall’s part to find it underneath all the fear and intimidation. All it took was a small mental push for the kid to break down and spill everything he knew.

Unfortunately for the kid, Niall’s employees had been itching to hit something all week and this was precisely why he preferred to direct from afar. While he wasn’t the one being punched it certainly hurt and, at this rate it would be a little difficult to get his men to stop. Sure, examples were useful but he wasn’t too keen on feeling someone die today. Besides, he couldn’t use the kid if he’s dead.



» ADDITIONAL NOTES
The story Niall is from is a collaboration between Lora and her character Aileen ( seamend ) because, for some reason, our characters somehow end up being joined at the hip. It’s what they do.