The Superiors [Original Super-Heroes, Recruiting Closed]

[Strangefate]

I've been debating give this a try.  The idea of it being a black comedy appeals to me (that's my favorite kind of superhero comic -- Judge Dredd, Nextwave, etc).  So I'll see if I can maybe whip up a character to slip in just under the deadline.

[Foxy DeVille]

Gotcha.  Guess I misread the ceremony that summoned the valkyrie'n such.  Time for me to work on the character. 

You needed more female characters, right

Yeah, there's magic but just not for the player characters. They're government/corporate creations. Someone could claim to have a magical origin to the public though. And it might be fun to see what happens when a not-actually-magical poseur runs into the real thing.

And ladies are good. Also, I wouldn't mind ethnic diversity. Being that one of the backers is a PR firm, having a rainbow of colrs would be something they would want the Superiors to have to maximize their appeal to the public. Put I wouldn't turn down a white male charcter if he's interesting.

I've been debating give this a try.  The idea of it being a black comedy appeals to me (that's my favorite kind of superhero comic -- Judge Dredd, Nextwave, etc).  So I'll see if I can maybe whip up a character to slip in just under the deadline.

The "deadline" isn't all or nothing. Other people are still tinkering with their characters. Just as long as I got a decent idea of what you'll be playing, we're good. 

[BadForm]

And it might be fun to see what happens when a not-actually-magical poseur runs into the real thing.

Oooh, I haven't seen anyone use that word a opposed to "poser" in quite some time. I think I just got a bit turned on... ;)

Ok, I'll stick around. If you need me to convert Bennie to a woman I can do that, I'm not averse to playing a woman to balance things. I will not change the character to an ethnic or racial minority though - a barely-controlled sociopathic white person is gonna be a hard enough sell, with the amount of racism still present in society a sociopathic member of a minority group would be a PR disaster.

[Foxy DeVille]

Oooh, I haven't seen anyone use that word a opposed to "poser" in quite some time. I think I just got a bit turned on... ;)

Ok, I'll stick around. If you need me to convert Bennie to a woman I can do that, I'm not averse to playing a woman to balance things. I will not change the character to an ethnic or racial minority though - a barely-controlled sociopathic white person is gonna be a hard enough sell, with the amount of racism still present in society a sociopathic member of a minority group would be a PR disaster.

Hee hee... slut.

Nah, Bennie's good as a fella. And his ethnicity is fine too. I see the Superiors' diversity as being like one of those commercials where there's a party with a bunch of young attractive white people... and one African-American guy and one Asian-American girl. You almost hear the marketing team going "OK, that's one minority of each gender... we're good." Pretty much doing the minimum to look open-minded. The Superiors can have more than that since putting a cap on minority characters would be clearly not cool, but there will still be an undercurrent of PR-driven tokenism.

[BadForm]

*pictures warroom conversation*

One African American?
CHECK!
One Asian American?
CHECK!
One Woman?
CHECK!
One gay?
No, we're not even up to don't ask don't tell yet... We do have a guy with a purple neck tie in the office though...

(I trust it's obvious I'm joking about the ridiculous, but sadly prevalent, nature of tokenism)

[Foxy DeVille]

This isn't a Superior but the person who tells the Superiors what their bosses want...

Code Name: The Liaison
Real Name: Noelle Ngo
Description: The Liaison is a cute and petite Asian woman who nas perfected the sexy secretary look.

 

Powers/Skills/Gadgets: The Liaison can link up two minds and allow them to communicate telepathically. While her range is global, she must be aware of the subjects' locations within a mile. Only conscious and deliberate thoughts are transmitted, she can not do something like probe memories. However, the Liaison can also link senses. This can be performed with a subject being unaware that someone else can see through his or her eyes. She keeps this secondary ability a secret from the Superiors.  In addition to her psionic abilities, Miss Ngo has excellent office management skills. She grew up speaking both Vietnamese and French later she became fluent in English, Chinese, and Korean.

Qualifications: Noelle Ngo is a talented and trusted executive at Image Nation. Combined with her non-threatening appearance, she is an ideal go-between.

Motivations: Her primary goal is to move up the corporate ladder. Miss Ngo's current role has brought her quite a bit of power even beyond the superhuman kind.

Personality: The Liaison come across as calm, polite, and efficient. Inside she is a very driven young woman with few scruples about how she achieves success. Her main loyalty is to herself, then her company... and eventually to the members of the Superiors after going quite a ways down the list.

History: She was born in what was then South Vietnam with the name Ngo Truc Nhi to wealthy parents who lost everything in the war and fled the country. The Ngos settled in Quebec since her mother and father learned French during the colonial days. Truc Nhi started using the name "Noelle" to fit in better. She hated the fact that her family was now poor after having so much. Noelle studied hard and got a job at Image Nation's Montreal office after graduating from university. She went from secretary to office manager quickly but felt she had already hit the glass ceiling. Then Noelle "accidentally" found a memo about Project Prometheus on the desk of a senior executive. Seeing her chance, Noelle contacted Image Nation CEO Phillip Bennington about being a "consultant" to the Superiors who would actually be the direct connection to the hero team from their masters in the corporate and political worlds. Imressed with her ambition, and her exotic looks, Bennington agreed. Even better, it was discovered that Noelle's genes were capable of being manipulated to gain powers. The resulting telepathic abilities she gained from the Next-Gen procedure made her even more of an asset. Giving herself the title of "the Liaison," Noelle keep tabs on the Superiors as well as informing of when and how their services are needed. She communicates directly to Phillip Bennington, with whom Noelle has also begun a personal but mainly physical relationship with.

Vices/Secrets: Since becoming immersed in 80's corporate culture, Noelle has found herself getting deeper in the yuppie world of sex, drugs, and European dance music. She also has gotten hooked on using her powers to become quite the voyeur, caring little for the privacy of others.

[BadForm]

Got damn, I'll "sign her contracts" with my own special pen... ;)

[Kadigan]

So, did a revamp on the char. Wasn't really feeling the powerset, though I kept most of the major personality bits of the backstory. What does everyone, or no one I guess, think?

[Green Goo Theory]

Would cybernetics be too far fetched?  Just kind of a final question.  Narrowed it down to two of my characters.  One's already completely made anyway and would just take some minor tweaks to fit it into your bio layout. 

Just thought of the cyborg as a good PR type of thing.  Advancing medical technology and now we're using it to make the world a safer place!  Not going to hurt my feelings if you say 'no'. 

[Foxy DeVille]

Would cybernetics be too far fetched?  Just kind of a final question.  Narrowed it down to two of my characters.  One's already completely made anyway and would just take some minor tweaks to fit it into your bio layout. 

Just thought of the cyborg as a good PR type of thing.  Advancing medical technology and now we're using it to make the world a safer place!  Not going to hurt my feelings if you say 'no'.

Cybernetics are good. One of the backers is Aegis a tech firm.

[GabrielM]

So, did a revamp on the char. Wasn't really feeling the powerset, though I kept most of the major personality bits of the backstory. What does everyone, or no one I guess, think?

I like it flows good and all makes sense cant wait to meet in game! :).

I also did a little work on my character history, I have never been super great at just writing out histories Ive always been better at fleshing them out within the role play.

[Sephora]

So glad to see this!  I am craving me some super heroes, I'll make a character sheet right away. 

[Sephora]

I have decided to make an amateur! And a ditz!  It will be my first time playing one, so I'm pretty excited.   

Code Name: Cypher
Real Name: Juliet Morris
Description:

Powers/Skills/Gadgets: Language comprehension, telekinesis, telepathy, (IQ enhancement?)  with the strength of those abilities in that order.  She can instantly understand any language that is being spoken to her (though she is unable to respond in said language unless she is also fluent).  She can move things with her mind, but nothing that she wouldn't have been able to lift with her hands anyway (No tossing minivans at an opponent for this girl. And she can read the surface thoughts of anyone she is currently in contact with.   

Qualifications: She has the potential to be a huge asset in both the government and the business world based on her translation skills alone.  The Superiors have hired her more due to the potential of what she could be more than what she currently is.  She needs more training, what better way to get it than on the job?  She's a tool who is attractive enough to make for good PR and fortunately isn't bright enough to ask questions. 

Motivations: Juliet doesn't have complete control over her powers yet.  Their level of effectiveness is seemingly random, and there have been times when she has read someone's mind or had a teacup shatter against a wall when she hadn't intended on doing either.  She knows she is a complete rookie, but wasn't everyone at some point?

Personality: Bright eyed and optimistic, Juliet truly believes that the Superiors will be real heroes.  This is a woman who firmly believes that the glass is half full, and the world has yet to really, effectively, prove her wrong.  She can come off as naive, and at times even a little ignorant to the way really works (which shows a certain level of resiliency on the matter considering that she is a telepath) but she is earnest in nature and a hard worker.

History:  Juliet is a fairly strong example of the concept, "Spoiled sweet".  She grew up in a loving, well to-do household, and having spent the majority of her life being incredibly attractive, incredibly kind, and incredibly oblivious, she really hasn't experienced too much suffering.  In fact, for all intents and purposes her life was fairly perfect. She went to the perfect school (Where she was only nominated as Prom Queen-she never got the title), she dropped out of college and got herself the perfect doctor boyfriend.  They moved into the perfect city apartment.  They got the perfect puppy dog together.  Then she got the perfect doctor fiancee.  Then Juliet got cancer. 

The brain tumor was perfectly lethal. 

Fortunately, just like every other time in her life, things went perfectly.  An organization was researching on different cancer treatments-or so they claimed-and Juliet was the perfect candidate.  Just what they had been looking for. 

So Juliet signed off on the treatment, and her tumor went away.  In it's place came the headaches, and with them came the powers.  It wasn't long after that that her fiancee left her.  He never really explained why, and could certainly never understand why people would glance at the official people from the research study when she talked about it.  Lucky for her (again), she's been offered a position that will work as a distraction from the loneliness she found herself faced with.  It's going to be the perfect job. 

Vices/Secrets: Juliet was and still is a moron.  But lately she's been thinking in a much more complex manner than she used to, and somehow she knows that it might be in her best interest to keep quiet about that.

[Foxy DeVille]

OK, I think we got enough awesomeness so I'm capping the roster. Spynmaster, Strangefate and Tonberryshuffle, there are still slots for you guys since you've given me an idea of what sort of characters you'll have. I'll start whipping together some game threads over the next day and we'll get fired  up!

[Strangefate]

Superiors Application

Code Name:  Prismatrix   

Real Name:  Stella Robyns (formerly Maisy Cummings)

Powers/Skills/Gadgets: Stella has the ability to alter the visible wavelength of light.  When put like that it may even sound rather impressive.  When put in practical terms, however, this means she can effectively change the colors of various items.  As her teammates may have noticed, this is not often very useful. To augment these questionable powers, she has also been outfitted with various experimental weapons that produce a great deal of flash and bang when triggered, but otherwise mostly just shoot holes in things like any other gun.  She has also undergone extensive fitness training making her roughly equivalent in strength and agility to a professional athlete of the same size and body type.

Qualifications: Stella was the product of a public relations initiative by Image Nation to combat focus group complaints of a lack of diversity on the Superiors.  She was selected out of two hundred privately screened applicants due to her “superior mental, physical, and spiritual attributes, and impressive depth of character that uniquely qualified her for a position in America’s premier peace-keeping unit” according to official documents.  In reality she was found to be the most photogenic, personable, ‘clean’, and, most importantly, tractable of the candidates, making her the ideal Superior for their needs.  Subjected to Next-Gen techniques to induce meta-human powers, the results were less than impressive, but that’s not really why they hired her anyways.  They have other members who can handle the nastier stuff.  Mostly they just needed someone who could speak on camera without embarrassing the program, while simultaneously disproving any claims that The Superiors discriminates in its membership.

Motivations: Stella’s motivations have changed somewhat since first joining the team, but have remained relatively simple and straightforward.  Fame.  Money. Celebrity.  Ego.  Originally thrilled with her sudden fame and substantial paycheck, she has recently grown more jaded about it and now seeks to extend her personal brand into other ventures including fashion, music, and acting, leaving her little time for training, missions, and that sort of thing.  National security, anti-terrorism, ‘saving the world’ -- these are viewed by her mainly as the annoying baggage that goes along with the hero gig, although she puts a good face on it in public and recites the patriotic platitudes Image Nation writes for her with practiced ease.   

Personality:  Outwardly friendly, well-spoken, even classy, Stella is one of the Superiors more popular public faces.  In private she is somewhat less endearing, an anxious image-obsessed young woman with little tolerance for her teammates’ eccentricities and a frank disinterest in company business, preferring for them to simply get their assignments and get them done with as quickly as possible.  This abrasiveness is something of a screen for her own insecurities, as she worries her teammates view her as a bit of a lightweight, and that Aegis Industries could pull the rug out from under her at anytime.

History:  Stella was born Maisy Cummings, the only child of a comfortably well-off automobile dealership owner and his celebrity-obsessed housewife in San Francisco.  Determined to make her child into star, Maisy’s mother had her involved in a number of activities since a very young age, from beauty pageants to school recitals to try-outs for locally filmed TV commercials.  Dropping out of high school at the age of sixteen, she continued to pursue a career in entertainment, attempting to find work at various modeling agencies or steady employment as an actress to little success.  For a brief time, she was employed as a dancer at a gentlemen’s club to make ends mean, two years that have since been thoroughly scrubbed away by Image Nation.

After entering her name in a contest for what was supposed to be a TV spot as an Aegis Industries spokes model, Maisy’s life changed completely when she was instead selected for placement on the Superiors.  Supplying her not only with an outfit, powers, and equipment, they also gave her a new more glamorous name, and altered her background to better fit their needs.  Now a fourth child from a broken poverty-stricken home, she is presented as the embodiment of the American ideal, proof positive anyone can succeed through hard work and determination.

Although hardly the most lethal or dangerous of the Superiors, Stella serves an important public relations role: doing interviews, appearing on various promotional advertisements for Aegis Industries, and altogether making for a much needed photogenic presence on the team with a heartwarming inspirational story that fits well on the pages of celebrity tabloid magazines.

Vices/Secrets:  Beyond the thorough PR work that is her background, Stella remains a fairly stable member of the team, with no serious substance abuse issues at this time.  Her increasing vanity, lack of useful abilities, and complete disinterest in the actual purpose of the Superiors, can be somewhat vexing for her handlers, particularly as she tries to pull away to establish her own independent pursuits.  So far it nothing they feel they can’t handle and of course if it ever grew too disruptive, they could always manufacture a suitable scandal or accident, and simply find someone else to fill the role.

[Sephora]

Can I just say that I find it so messed up and perfect that the ladies in the group tend to be more have a bit more PR motivations behind the reason they are in then the men-folk?

[Green Goo Theory]

Does that mean the male/female ratio is going the other direction now...?

And now that all the questions are answered should have something up by tonight.  Just on lunch break right now. 

[Foxy DeVille]

Does that mean the male/female ratio is going the other direction now...?

And now that all the questions are answered should have something up by tonight.  Just on lunch break right now.

Things seem generally balanced now. By my count it's 4 dudes and 4 dudettes in the Superiors, plus my lovely lady Liaison. So do whatcha like. I was just concerned for a little bit there when there were only two gals. But now there's a pretty good mix.

[Green Goo Theory]

Alright, I was going to flip a coin for gender.  While I did technically flip a coin (got female) the idea came to me to make it interesting.  Hopefully it doesn't turn out to be an issue. 

Superiors Application

Code Name: Rosie (as in Rosie the Riveter, a dark parodical female alternative to Captain America)
Real Name: Originally Aref Sahar, changed to Lori Young under assumed identity
Description:
Normal (Clothing not really accurate except maybe hte 80's high collar half jacket)

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Spandex!  Uniform can obviously be altered but it just seemed to kind of fit. 

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Cybernetics not pictured; described better below.


Powers/Skills/Gadgets: Much of Lori's body had to be surgically altered and enhanced with a great deal of synthetic components.  Her entire right arm and right leg are missing.  Large sections of muscles were also replaced as well as sections of bone and several organs.  While the surgeons did an amazing job scars are still apparent in several places over her body.  Likewise the blend of synthetic flesh and grafts on much of her right side can be seen with a keen eye. 

Thanks to the extensive nature of the surgical, chemical, and cybernetic alterations her entire body operates on a level far above the average human norm.  She would be comparable to peak human levels.  She's been known to have a few hidden embedded weapons such as single shot firearms, blades, and other mission specific items. 

Qualifications: In addition to the apparent upgrades Rosie received some of the best training available from nearly unlimited resources from the United States.  Even in her relatively short lifespan she also carries nearly a decade of experience.

Motivations: Lori has remained dedicated and something of a "company girl" as it ultimately gave her a purpose in life.  To some extent contrary to that mentality she's also against the kind of warmongering brought to her home country and aims to prevent that.

Personality: Lori's outward personality is largely an act.  She's had to take up a variety of personalities over the years and in doing so lost who she was truly supposed to be.  In much the same way that she found her new body she's trying to find her new identity and how she's supposed to act as herself. 


History:
   Aref sahar was born an Afghani native and reached the age of a young teenager near the start of the Soviet invasion and occupation of his homeland.  While culturally nearing adulthood in the eyes of the aggresors the now orphan was near enough to adolescence--especially given the relatively small stature natural to the locals-- to be viewed as a child.  Aref's life as a runt hated for so long was to become one of his largest weapons.

   The unofficial arrival of US assets saw the use of well trained youth.  Special forces and virtually every organization spelled with an acronym took their hand at troops.  Equipping the locals as best they could, training them, and getting them to do the work they themselves could not directly do. 
   With the inevitable end of the occupation Aref volunteered to continue working as a foreign agent.  Not inherently tied to the US at all and fully capable of acting beyond the normal scope of the law Aref was an incredible boon to the intelligence community. 

   The good life could only last for so long.  While working in Europe Aref was subject to an assassination attempt.  His car inadequately rigged to explode upon starting and at this time he sustained considerable injuries to a substantial percentage of his body.  It was then the proposition was made that he serve a new group in exchange for recovery. 

   In addition to the extensive synthetic portions added to his mangled body Aref wanted a few changes to further aid in hisher new identity.  A common name adopted alongside a new identity that would make 'fellow' Americans more comfortable.  A story about a woman hurt in an accident and given a second chance on board the new team of super heroes. 

Vices/Secrets:Aref (now Lori) suffers from Gender Dysphoria and views herself as a biological female stuck in a man's body.  She is still trying to explore her new body (cybernetics and gender) and new life. 

[Pumpkin Seeds]

Be interesting if Dedika and Aref had traveled in the same circles, worked together or perhaps were hunting each other.  Considering the change in appearance, could stand to reason she doesn't recognize him at all.

[Green Goo Theory]

I didn't even think of that when writing for the character.  Definitely a possibility. 

Also!  I have some pictures of your character's armor if you want some more.  I know some (helmet removed) wouldn't fit for your character.  They're cool pictures anyway. 

[Foxy DeVille]

OK, peeps... here's an OOC thread for y'all... https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=203033.0