Application (Mayfield)
Name: Trev-MUN
Personal LJ: ils_trevmun
Contact Info: E-mail: irishlightningstudios@gmail.com AIM: Aragan the Acolyte
Other Characters Played: None.
Preferred Housing: No preference.
Original Character/Source Canon: Tabula Rasa
Character Name: Balin Wilbur
Character Age: 27
1. Background
2. Personality
3. Abilities - Training
4. Abilities - Equipment
5. Abilities - Powers
6. Sample Entries
BACKGROUND
Balin Wilbur hails from Philadelphia. As a kid, Balin was fascinated with explosives. Naturally, the Fourth of July was one of his favorite holidays. This passion for all things "boom" made him a complete nerd for chemistry and physics, and eventually guided him to his career of choice: mining. He knew exactly what he'd do, too--he'd head to Utah, and work in the salt mines there. When he was twenty years old, he enrolled into the Mining Engineering program of the Missouri University of Science and Technology.
His Freshman year was just getting started when the Bane attacked Earth.
Just like that, everything changed. Bane gunships flooded the skies of Earth as the world's militaries, overwhelmed by the sheer number of invading forces and their advanced weaponry, struggled to fight back against the Bane. Balin found himself no longer worrying about making the grade, but fighting for survival. The second and third days of the Bane invasion, Balin took up arms as a guerrilla fighter. The third day saw some measure of hope, as humanity's myriad armed forces were learning how to fight the Bane ... but at great cost. With such overwhelming numbers and superior technology, a victory over the invaders seemed distantly Pyhrric at best.
Yet Balin never gave in to despair, and continued fighting alongside anyone else still resisting the Bane; bands of armed citizens and fellow students, police officers, local National Guard units. Then, Balin was found and evacuated by the Britannia Project's worldwide rescue operation "Tabula Rasa." As it happened, the Britannia Project had foreknowledge of the Bane and been preparing for their arrival for years. With the assistance of several national governments, the Britannia Project built a system of wormholes based on alien technology to evacuate refugees and anything salvageable from Earth. The project team wasn't taking just anyone, though, for there was no way they could save even a fraction of humanity. The Britannia Project only rescued soldiers, scientists, or those who were identified as Receptives; those who had carried the genes necessary for utilizing something called "Logos." Balin quickly discovered it was the latter-most reason for which he was rescued; everyone else he knew, his friends and family, would be left to die.
Balin spent the next seven years of his life as a soldier of the newly-established Army of Allied Free Sentients, struggling to cope with friends, family, and a complacent life forever lost, adjusting to a new harsh Spartan reality. Balin unlocked his potential as a Logos Receptive, discovering that Receptives were genetically modified for Logos compatibility thousands of years ago by a race known as the Eloh--the very same race who left wormhole technology hidden on Earth. Balin's basic training and subsequent trials by fire forged him into a formidable soldier, allowing him to progress in his military occupational specialties from Specialist, to Sapper, then to Demolitionist. As a Demolitionist, he aided AFS Intelligence in their search for the Eloh.
Balin also served the AFS well in their struggle to hold the alien planets of Foreas and Arieki from the Bane's incursions--curiously, the Bane seemed content to wage a ground campaign against the AFS, unlike their relentless and overpowering operations on Earth. AFS HIGHCOM took this as a sign that the rumors of Eloh presence on Foreas to be true, and stepped up their efforts to contact any members of the ancient race that might be hiding on the planet.
Like many men and women in the AFS, Balin burns with a desire to make the Bane pay for every world they have slaughtered, for every innocent life devoured by their genocidal campaign. Whether he lives to see it or not, he wants to ensure that one day the tide will turn against the Bane and liberate not only Earth, but the other Bane-conquered home worlds of AFS member races.
By the time Balin enters Mayfield, he is a Sergeant First Class.
PERSONALITY
Whatever kind of person Balin was before the Defeat of Earth is gone. Surviving the invasion, and the subsequent "basic training from Hell" that Receptives must go through, broke Balin down and molded him into a formidable soldier. Whenever there's a serious situation going on--especially if it's a combat situation--Balin will (mostly) act professionally, follow orders, and work as a team player.
Another thing the AFS instilled into Balin is tactical and strategic initiative. As is said in the AFS field manual, "Weak soldiers wait for opportunities; strong soldiers make them." Soldiers can wait for great opportunities, or they can seize a common occurrence and make it great. This is especially important for Receptives, who wield powers that can dramatically change the tide of battle in comparison to AFS regulars. Though Balin will follow the orders of someone clearly in charge of a situation--be it combat or working to complete some other task at hand. If the group has no direction, he will step forward to make one.
Socially, and sometimes in the middle of combat, Balin tries to hold to a "fighter pilot" mentality; he tries to be personable, extroverted, and cocksure, as well as frank and politically incorrect. Outside of combat situations, he'll strike up a conversation with just about anyone who doesn't annoy him. He'll display a level of showboating, taking pride in his status as an Logos Receptive and his skills as a Demolitionist of the AFS.
Under the surface, Balin is a mentally scarred man. The horrors of war have wrought havoc on Balin's body, mind, and spirit.
Like many AFS soldiers, Balin Wilbur suffers from Combat Stress Reactions, dangerously bordering on developing into full-blown Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It's easy to see why Balin would be struck with such an affliction; in his world, Earth was ruined and humanity threatened with extinction over the course of a few days--and the seven years he spent since then have been filled with nothing but desperate warfare. The fact that he survived the fall of Earth in the first place only by virtue of having the right genes especially haunts him, as he was chosen to live where so many of his friends and family were left to die.
Whenever he suffers from heavy combat stress, Balin has a limp, unfocused gaze, colloquially known as the "Thousand Yard Stare." When he looks at people, he appears to look through them, as if they weren't even there. It's a disquieting, haunting expression that can lead people to think that Balin has had the life sucked out of him, even if he appears jovial when interacting with others. This is the most obvious symptom in combat stress sufferers; coping with warfare by disassociating oneself from it. Balin also tends to suffer from back pains and stress headaches during acute periods of combat stress, for which he takes analgesics--but these contribute to other symptoms of stress, such as fatigue and oversleeping (usually when not in a combat zone) or suffering from insomnia, nightmares, hypervigilance, and an inability to relax (more common, especially if he has recently taken excess adrenaline).
Speaking of excess adrenaline, Balin has a mild addiction to painkillers and adrenaline injections; this is not uncommon among the Receptives, as many Logos abilities require a certain level of adrenaline in the user's body due to its effects. Prior to arriving in Mayfield, Balin adequately covered for his addictions--painkillers are ubiquitous in the AFS, especially as part of medical kits, and the physical effects of combat stress are widespread. As for the adrenaline addiction, Balin excused it with the fact that as a Receptive he needs the injections to power some of his Logos abilities. In Mayfield, provided he can't get his hands on similar injections, he may turn to over-the-counter epinephrine inhalers to get his adrenaline. Those who pay attention will notice that Balin uses synthesized adrenaline when he doesn't need it, such as when in a secure location that's not under the threat of getting attacked.
For as much as he strives to be personable, though, Balin's berserk buttons can be punched pretty easily. Balin is especially quick to anger over the mistreatment of humanity--even the drones of Mayfield--by non-humans, including half-breeds. Hatred for the Bane--and the loss of Earth and most of humanity--is too far ingrained into Balin's psyche for him to let go of his protectiveness for his own species. This is not to say that he will blindly oppose anyone who threatens or harms humans. Balin hasn't forgotten that not all humans are good to the bone, and working with other AFS member races like the Foreans and Brann have kept his perspective open. Balin knows that not every nonhuman species out there is genocidal and exploitative, and that many are victims just as humanity is. That still doesn't stop him from feeling more rage for witnessing innocent or undeserving humans in peril than other species, however.
ABILITIES - TRAINING
HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT TRAINING: Balin is rated as a Layman in AFS CQC, a martial art similar to Krav Maga and MCMAP. He won't be able to hold up for very long against a martial arts master, but he can still defend himself in melee. Usually, Balin uses AFS CQC techniques to disarm or push an enemy back into shooting (or nuking) range.
FIREARMS TRAINING: Through intensive training and seven years of war, Balin's become an expert with firearms, both in the marksmanship and maintenance thereof. He can field-strip, clean, and repair just about any gun from 20th century/early 21st century Earth, as well as the exotic ones developed by the AFS--which include directed energy weapons (lasers/sonics), photonic weapons, and weapons that utilize EMP, lightning, ice, fire, and toxins. Given enough time and resources, Balin can also learn his way around firearms from other worlds. So long as the firearm can be used without needing intrinsic powers, or isn't of a completely exotic and alien design, he'll figure out to operate and perform maintenance it.
CHEMISTRY AND EXPLOSIVES TRAINING: Although Balin never got to finish his Mining Engineering degree before the fall of Earth, the AFS more than made up for that. Balin can manufacture explosives, accelerants, and propellants, as well as tinker with explosive delivery technologies. He can also construct all types of AFS grenades and ammunition (except for power cells or cryogenic grenades), and is also well-trained in the placement and usage of explosives, ranging from those used in the AFS to any used from history to contemporary times. Although Balin requires an AFS-developed workstation to manufacture ammunition and explosives for AFS weapons, he has the know-how to make other, more primitive explosives from whatever might be available in Mayfield.
ABILITIES - EQUIPMENT
RECRUIT GEAR: All AFS Receptives get a set of dog tags, a field manual, and P/T clothes (a white shirt with the AFS insignia, matching white pants, combat boots). Recruits also receive a standard-issue sidearm similar to most .45 caliber pistols. Whenever he's off duty, Balin prefers wearing these. He usually keeps his sidearm with him at all times--even when he's sleeping.
Also, as a recruit, Balin started wearing a pair of shooting glasses. He also had the names of his family members from Earth tatooed on his left bicep.
SERIES 3 INCENDIARY TRIPLE SHOTGUN: Balin's favorite boomstick. This thing is a monstrous belt-fed triple-barreled shotgun that fires canisters of incendiary rounds, ideal for crowd control and close-quarter combat. Balin especially prefers this shotgun because it works well with his Demolitionist abilities, aside from making Crusty* all roasty-toasty.
* "Crusty" is a derogatory term for the Bane, specifically the Thrax, because of their exoskeletons.
MECH ARMOR SUIT: Balin is rated Expert in the use and maintenance of Mech Armor. Despite the name, they aren't mecha; they're full-body suits of modern armor. Aside from providing excellent defense to its wearer, a Mech Armor suit also has on-board systems that can gradually replenish the mental stamina of the wearer and the wearer's allies--especially useful for Receptives and others who rely on mental strength for their powers. Balin's personal suit is painted various shades of red. AFS soldiers customarily dye a piece of their armor red in observation of Defeat of Earth Day on December 21st, but Balin prefers to "never forget."
(AFS WORKSTATION: Not something Balin can carry around with him, but he'll require one at home in order to fabricate the necessary ammunition, tools, and micromech necessary to use some of his abilities and equipment, so I'm listing it here as something that'll have to be eventually regained along with his other stuff.)
ABILITIES - POWERS
LOGOS RECEPTIVE: Generations ago, the Eloh modified the genes of certain humans in order to grant access to Logos usage in the future. Balin is among those genetically capable of receiving Logos information from the Eloh.
Logos was developed by the Eloh, a system that blurs the lines between science, magic, psionics, philosophy, and religion. Logos allows a sentient mind to influence the physical world in a manner distinct from technological application. The system utilizes a pictographic language developed by the Eloh; non-Receptives can learn this language, but only Receptives can understand the information encoded into each element. Doing this requires accessing a Logos shrine built by the Eloh to transfer knowledge and utilization directly into the mind of Receptives. "Memorized" elements are inscribed to a Receptive's "tabula." Logos abilities briefly manifest the tabula with a futuristic display of invoked elements and graphs, something akin to hermetic runes. These abilities draw upon varying mixtures of one's mental stamina, amount of adrenaline in the body, and reserves of miniature machines (micromech).
Generally speaking, Receptives are also capable of "cantrips" with their Logos powers, manipulating light and sound to produce brief displays. You have not lived until you see a Receptive play an air guitar.
LOGOS ABILITIES: Balin has learned a series of powerful Logos Abilities throughout his career. During his time as a Recruit, Balin learned and mastered control over electrostatic discharges. He can set loose single bolts of lighting, or scale all the way up to large (but brief and taxing) electrical storms that arc bolts between multiple targets and stun foes with powerful sonic blasts. Balin can also boost his running speed temporarily through Logos, sprinting up to almost 30 miles per hour for half a minute. As a Specialist, Balin learned several forms of Ruin, a Logos ability that damages organic targets through virulent toxins or mechanical/electronic targets through EMP, depending on the form Balin casts.
As a Demolitionist, Balin's arsenal now includes attacks to engage any type of target, but he's especially good with crowd control; a favorite tactic is using the Logos ability Reality Ripper to create a powerful gravity well that pulls his foes into a tight area, making them vulnerable to his shotgun or his nuclear Logos abilities. If Balin tells you he'll "nuke you until you glow," that is NOT a hollow threat.
Balin's nuclear Demolitionist abilities come in three primary flavors. Controlled Fission converts some of matter surrounding a target into fissile material; after enough energy strikes the target, the fissile material detonates. Self Destruct does something similar, but to Balin instead. It's not as suicidal as it sounds, however; when first invoked, a "marker" is set. Then, when Balin detonates himself, he is immediately teleported back to the marker, leaving his foes to deal with the explosion. This isn't a foolproof ability, and Balin does suffer significant harm by doing this, but it does make for a handy "fighting retreat" tactic, especially if he's been pinned down. Explosive Wave is the "signature ability" of AFS Demolitionists. It's something like a limit break; it can only be invoked at the height of an adrenaline rush and completely drains adrenaline from the body when used. Explosive Wave creates a small-scale nuclear explosion with Balin as its focus.
It's important to note that Balin has very fine control over the nuclear reactions he creates with his Logos abilities. He is in full command over the heat, ionizing radiation, and the explosive force of his abilities, which allows him to prevent harming or killing allies, innocent bystanders, and the surrounding environment by containing or redirecting them. If he wanted to, Balin could set off a blast in the middle of a crowded street without so much as flash-blinding a single creature, or disturbing a single brick. Typically Balin prevents any significant amount of ionizing radiation from getting released by his abilities, so all that's really there to harm his targets is the flash, heat, and fireball.
An important note here: Balin's control over nuclear reactions with Logos only extends to those reactions he himself creates. He can't contain an exploding nuclear warhead, for example, or manipulate nuclear powers used by others. Also, he's not capable of city-busting nuclear explosions. His most potent ability, Explosive Wave, is at best equal to 10 tons of TNT when uncontrolled.
SAMPLE ENTRY 1
Yo, Mayfield.
So, I've been walkin' 'round downtown tryin' to get the lay of the land. See what kinda stores we got here an' the like. But see, I got this cravin' for somethin' I ain't had in years. And all I get from these restaurants is blank stares an' a goofy grin.
...
Who's a man gotta bribe to get a decent Philly cheese steak sandwich around here?!
SAMPLE ENTRY 2
[Balin's at Olney's Tavern. He may have already had a beer or two, because he's feeling a bit rambly sitting there at the bar, an elbow resting on the bartop, propping up his head with a fist.]
I've been fightin' a war for seven years. Never had time to think of kids. Now I'm here in this creepy sitcom of a town. Days ago I'd be up to my boots in Crusty's guts.
Next thing I know, I got dese kids. I got this family I'm supposed to look after. I ain't ready for this crap, man. Back on Foreas, on Arieki, I didn't have time to think about se'lin' down and startin' a family. Y'know? Furthest thing from my mind. You'd have to be insane to think about bringin' kids into a warzone. Not like you'd have that privilege anyway.
... Meh. Only things I know how to do well is kill an' blow things up. Not the best paren'in' skills. Guess I'll just put 'em to work protectin' em the best I can. That's the best I can promise.
SAMPLE ENTRY 3
(Figured it wouldn't hurt having a third entry!)
[It's a work day morning! Balin's had to set an alarm clock right near his ear just to get himself out of bed. He's been struggling to adjust to this new daily routine. One thing that always helps with that is coffee! Sitting down at the kitchen table with the local newspaper, some dry cereal, and a cup of REAL COFFEE. None of that Coffite crap the Cormans grow on Foreas! He's about to put creamer in it, but stops ... and starts talking to himself.]
... Okay, they told me the milk is poisoned.
[He gestures at the creamer.]
... But is the creamer poisoned? It's dairy, so-
...
Forget it. I ain't dyin' today.
[Sip. HOLY CRAP THAT'S AWFUL. CHOKE. COUGH. SPLUTTER.]
... Screw that, takin' my chances.
[Aaand he hastily dumps creamer into his coffee. Balin can't take his joe like a man!]