(no subject)
Name: Lan
Personal LJ: so_low
Contact Info: OcularDoomsday on AIM; hellglass on plurk
Preferred Housing: 457 Stone St. in the Tenma household!
Character Name: Jane Elizabeth Barton; just Barton usually.
Character Age: 15
Background: For time's sake I'd like to link you to the first paragraph of Quinn's app. They come from the same world. But this app will expand upon this, since there's a lot of supernatural things in their world, and Barton ranks up as one of the most unique specimens.
Jane Barton was born in 1872 in the Wyoming territory to a coal mining family. Her family was poor and hard-working, scraping by in a tiny, quiet mining town. She was the youngest of 5 children, though she was the only one in her immediate family gifted with magic. While it usually runs in families, it seemed to have skipped a few generations. Not even one other person in their town knew anything about it; usually if you're gifted with incredible magic powers, there's not a lot of reason for you to slave away as a miner or farmer. Barton was left to teach herself how to use her strange gift in her own. She had the ability to physically boost herself and others - temporarily, she could make a person stronger or faster for awhile just by touching them. Her soul, the source of a person's magical power, was also amazingly strong, and she was full of potential, though she wasn't aware of it. She practiced it as well as she could, but her family discouraged her from doing such weird things, so she had to hide it. A stubborn and independent girl, she wasn't about to let anyone stop her. Barton knew she was meant for bigger and better things than life on the Midwestern plains. She ran off alone a lot, disappearing for days at a time to camp out alone and train herself. Even though she didn't have a teacher, she managed to not only to fine tune her magic, but became a devastating brawler.
Her powerful soul, sadly, was a beacon to other mages who knew how to find them. One by the name of Aries, unquestionably the most powerful mage alive, caught wind of Barton when searching for strong souls. Aries had figured a way to remove souls from a person, leaving them alive, but removed of their power and turned into a hollow shell of their former selves. Rumors of him doing this flew around between mage families and communities, who prepared themselves against his attacks. Barton, of course, knew nothing about it. So when Aries came and attacked her, Barton didn't stand a chance - but that doesn't mean she didn't put up a fight. Aries managed to steal her soul, taking with it her magic power. Little did he know, or even Barton until that moment, that another power lurked within her. Psychic powers, controlled by the mind instead of the soul, were something that was emerging in people in about the last hundred years, and no one was sure what was causing them. They weren't a good thing to have though. While powerful, they were unpredictable and often caused the person to go mad. The trauma of having her soul stolen instantly awakened telekinetic abilities in Barton, and in her rage she lashed out at Aires with it. He managed to fight her off, but not without taking one hell of a beating from Barton first. He got away though, and she was left beaten, soulless, and hellbent on revenge. She left her family behind to seek Aries out, but after 35 years, all her leads have come up short, and thanks to her lack of soul and her unchecked psychic powers, Barton is left on the brink of madness.
Since she left her family, Barton has lived on her own, moving from town to town all over North America searching for clues on Aries. Most mages are reluctant to help her, afraid of getting Aries's attention, making Barton bitter and resentful to most mages now. Aries has several people working for him that occasionally show up and give Barton false information. One thing in this world that actually unsettles Aries is Barton, and other psychics, since they seem to be quite strong against mages.
Personality: Barton has been stuck at age 15 thanks to having her soul taken, and looks like she was recently in a nasty fight, covered in bandaged cuts and bruises (see “Abilities” for the details on that). She's a small girl, only 5'2', but is well-toned and muscled. He dark brown hair is kept short and messy. She is often mistaken as a boy since she dresses in whatever she can find, and was never one for feminine clothes anyway.
Barton has always been a tomboy. She has 4 older brothers, and grew up admiring them, even if they were never the closest. You'll never catch her in a dress, and even demands everyone she meets to call her by her last name - call her Jane at your own risk. Her temper has never been the best, and her soulless and psychic status only make her fuse shorter. To her mother's chagrin, she was never one to learn to cook or take care of the family. Barton often ran off and spent a lot of time on her own, not having kids her age around to play with. She prefers being on her own, never knowing what to say or do with other people. She doesn't necessarily hate people, but she has a hard time being patient with them. This is especially true with any weak-willed or indecisive people. She can be quite a bully to people like that.
Barton has never had an education, and frankly has never been interested in one. Intellectual pursuits of any kind bore her entirely. She can read at an elementary level, but her mother taught her that as she never went to school. Barton has a handyman streak in her though, and was taught some carpentry by her brothers. She was always interested in learning to fight or control her power than anything else, though. Since she's been traveling so long on her own, she's good at navigating through the wilderness. While a soulless person doesn't need to worry about food or sleep, it's good to have money and a place to put your feet up once in awhile. Barton often passed herself off as a boy and worked odd jobs, most often with builders and carpenters, so she manages to make a profit while doing something she likes, and doesn't get told it's something a girl shouldn't bother doing (she's coming from 1922 after all).
She has disconnected herself from her family and has no friends. She does miss her family, and sends them a letter every so often, though it gives no real details. She never made friends easily, too used to being on her own. Since she moves around so much, she's never made any long-lasting relationships. There are few people in this world she really gets along with, but if she finds someone who manages to put up with her, she proves to be a loyal, if volatile friend. She doesn't trust people easily, too world-weary to think there's a lot of good out there. She's been around, seen a lot of bad things, and it's hard convincing her there's a lot of good people out there. However, Barton's always had a fondness for animals, especially dogs, but her soullessness drives them away from her. She'll definitely take advantage of this in Mayfield by picking up a pet or two.
Barton is not someone who inspires trust easily, thanks to her attitude and temper. However, she's a very true person, and rarely lies. She is always up front and honest as she can be, blunt, and won't hesitate to get in your face about it. She also doesn't like being told she's wrong, even though she often is. She's not anti-social as much as she is unused to social situations. If thrown into one, she is more likely to stand back and observe before speaking or acting. She's not afraid to speak her mind when needed though, and is always on the side of practicality. Unfortunately, she really doesn't have much in the way of a sense of humor. Jokes just usually pass right on by her. Sarcasm is usually all she does. She may not be book smart, but that doesn't mean Barton is stupid. She has a quick wit, and can act quickly. Unless she's angry, she's a practical thinker. If she IS angry, all bets are off.
While she will never give up pursuing Aries, part of Barton knows that she will probably never find him. Her stubborn attitude makes her refuse to give up, though. She hopes that eventually, she'll find a clue or lead somewhere, and get her back on track. Once she sets her mind to something, it's hard to sway it. The problems caused by her soullessness and psychic powers make her lose focus too much lately, though. It's gotten to the point that she only pursues Aries it because she doesn't know what else to do. She's been away from home too long, she has no ties to anything, no place to belong. Thanks to her deteriorating mind, she's even losing her sense of self. At this point, Barton doesn't have much left going for her.
Abilities: While Barton has a lot of abilities and is powerful, I want to state for the record that I have no interest in giving her back both her magical and her psychic ability together. I only want to give her one or the other. Either I'll just never send one back (probably the magical one), or she won't open what she gets in the mail.
•Barton is telekinetic. In this world, psychics only come in two flavors - telekinetic or telepathic. But Barton has had a lot of time to practice this, and uses it in a unique way. Instead of throwing things around, she uses it to move *herself*. She uses it to propel herself; for example, her legs to help her jump higher or run faster, or swing her hatchet faster by focusing on it and her arm. She's pretty good with it, though occasionally it goes wild or out of her control. Psychic abilities cause brain damage, and the more you use it, without proper training, the more it will deteriorate you. Lately, this is causing her not only to lose control of her ability, but it causes her temper to fly off the handle, and even hallucinate.
•Barton has been trapped at age 15 ever since her soul was taken. The soulless cease aging. Slowly, other bodily functions cease, like needing to sleep, breathe or eat. They cannot stay dead, as they will recover from anything in a matter of moments. Their presence often unsettles people and animals. Eventually, they lose their emotions, becoming cold; after that, they go completely mad, though the process can take decades. They're left in stasis from the moment their soul was removed, including any injuries, disease, etc., they may have been suffering from. They can be healed temporarily with magic, but will return if /when the person died and resurrects. Since she was injured from her fight with Aries, she is perpetually covered in painful cuts, scrapes and bruises, but nothing fatal.
•Her magic ability (which I don't ever plan for her to regain) lets her make people temporarily stronger or faster by touching them. Depending how much energy she puts into it decides how strong/fast they become, and how long it last. She can also use this ability on herself.
Sample Entry 1: Mayfielf test run; Dear_Mun post
Sample Entry 2:
[It's been a few weeks, but Barton has finally been getting the hang of this 1950s life. She's gotten comfortable enough to try driving one of those fancy cars they've got here. They're everywhere, too, so it's not like her family will miss theirs, right? They can't be *that* difficult to figure out? When does Jane Barton ever ask anyone with help on anything, anyway.
Barton gets as far as turning the ignition, hitting the gas pedal, and immediately slamming the car directly into the closed garage door. Barton slams her fists angrily on the steering wheel a few times before dashing from the car and into the house. She picks up the phone.]
...
I think there's something wrong with our car. It moves way too fast.