Elhanan
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| Elhanan | |
| Player: @Talen Lee | |
| Origin: | Mutation |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Stalker |
| Security Level: | 50 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Confidential[1] |
| Known Aliases: | Eli |
| Species: | Homo Sapiens 'Superior' |
| Age: | 27 |
| Height: | 7'1" |
| Weight: | 140 lbs |
| Eye Color: | White |
| Hair Color: | Blonde[2] |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | US Citizen |
| Occupation: | Nation Subversive |
| Place of Birth: | Confidential[3] |
| Base of Operations: | Nation citizen |
| Marital Status: | Taken |
| Known Relatives: | Confidential[4] |
| Known Powers | |
| None | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Exceptionally diverse skillbase. | |
| Equipment | |
| A variety of useful devices. | |
| Commissioned art from Eudetenis | |
- And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Bethlehemite, slew Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.
- - 2 Samuel 21:19
- "We need every able asshole, every asshole you can spare."
- - The Old School Off The Bright, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Character
Elhanan is a brief man of careful word choice and a restrained manner. Often he'll let a topic pass him by, rather than pipe up. In his mind, action is important, but strutting isn't, meaning that he'll often work hard at things where nobody ever notices his work. He likes chores, he likes active operations, and he revels in small, sweet pleasures, like the sight of a sunset and the satisfied sounds of friends enjoying their food. Elhanan views family as important, and the happiness of others as worthwhile ends unto themselves.
Elhanan has made himself remarkably useful in Nation, seeking to make up for his lack of mutant powers with a willingness to always start working, to always put his hand to the wheel. This makes him Nation's go-to hatchetman, taking care of operations that a normal person could manage, and that he therefore keeps his feet on the ground, learning all about new cultures, learning fast about international affairs, politics, and military strategy.
Powers
Elhanan's mutant power is that his skin absorbs radiation wavelengths - including the light spectrum - and his body bleeds out the excess radiation during times of energetic catalysis by bleeding it from the white tissue of his eyes. While some at first have regarded this as useful - as if he can always use them as a torch, it is literally a very bright light right by his iris. When the lights are visible, Elhanan cannot see anything, meaning that he has to fight blind.
This mutation does have a corollary that does put him above normal human standards; his body heals and regenerates very quickly when at rest, letting him heal up from gunshot wounds and energy blasts very quickly compared to a mundane human.
Because of this disadvantage, Elhanan instead compensates with a dizzying array of extracurricular training. He's skilled in a variety of mechanical and engineering disciplines - mostly in how high-level robotics stops working - in sociopolitical operations, and in international cooking[5].
Metatext
RP Notes
- Elhanan is meant to be a mundane mutant, but also a very athletic, physically fit, and skilled hand-to-hand combatant.
- Elhanan does not have an African-American facial structure. Anyone who looks at his face would assume him biracial.
- Elhanan has large scars around his eyes and face, that a seasoned energy weapon expert would recognise as the result of a glancing blow of maser fire.
- Elhanan's eyesight is not very good. He can pick out details fine up close, but at long range he can't.
Themes
The central theme of Elhanan's story is the Everyman. It's not uncommon for people to play with that idea of the 'pure badass' character, these normal and mundane individuals who can punch gods in the face through sheer force of will, and I have a problem with that that is generally overdone and I don't need to repeat. But in Nation, everyone's a badass, and there's not a lot of talk about mutant powers that aren't any kind of advantage.
Thus, Elhanan. In Task Forces and team events, I tend to RP him as being challenged by things that others are dealing with - often, he's not involved in the big stompy fracas, unless it's against enemy units he can physically disable like Malta or Longbow. Rularuu? He's skulking around, finding things, occasionally smacking lone stragglers around.
Ironically, he's a very powerful build and trashes bad guys quite effectively. But I'm not trying to play that up.
Trivia
- Elhanan's cooking is oriented towards Southern breakfast food. This has led to a lot of research from me, which has led to astonishment.
- Elhanan's scarred face texture was chosen because I wanted to give him the white eyes, to give his eyes some visual panache.
