Bitter December
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| Bitter December, by William Potts (CelticBolt) | |
| Bitter December | |
| Player: @SoulTrain2 (@SoulTrain) | |
| Origin: | Magic |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Dominator |
| Threat Level: | Confidential |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Britt Hoaglund |
| Known Aliases: | Britt |
| Species: | Human-Faerie |
| Age: | 18 |
| Height: | Confidential |
| Weight: | Confidential |
| Eye Color: | Ice-Blue |
| Hair Color: | White |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | Danish-American |
| Occupation: | Circus acrobat, thief, saboteur |
| Place of Birth: | Helsingør, Denmark |
| Base of Operations: | Port Oakes, Etoile Islands |
| Marital Status: | in a relationship |
| Known Relatives: | None |
| Known Powers | |
| Confidential | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Confidential | |
| Equipment | |
| Confidential | |
| No additional information available. | |
Born the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, the Fae bloodline in Britt's family concentrated in her, granting her amazing control over ice and frost, and the mischievous nature of the Pixies. A short stint with the Carnival of Shadows sharpened her powers, but when it was discovered Vanessa deVore could never truly claim her soul or dominate her will, she was cast out of the Carnival, and left to fend for herself.
Contents |
Affiliations
Friends
- Joie de Vivre/Anoush
- Kali's Embrace
- Luna Firespeaker - each time she sees the young pyrokinetic, she's a little less afraid of fire, and more entranced by it.
- Madame Lilith - As Carnies go... this Ring Mistress is really quite special
- Frozen Roze - Everyone likes roses. Britt likes hers sentient and snuggly.
- Sibrina Styles - If anyone asks, Britt's Sibby's fitness trainer. They're fast becoming very fit together.
- Sathraa - Britt's first real love, she believed the woman to be lost forever, but has since discovered that Sathraa fought a fate worse than death, all to return to Britt's side.
Friends Who've Gone Away
Enemies
- Galaxy Adjutant Webb -- The few times she's run into the Council soldier, she's either put on an extreme show of bravado bordering on insolence, or turned tail and run like hell. Britt doesn't just hate Webb, she's terrified of the woman. Of course, Webb enjoys the hell out of tormenting her - just a stare and a few words can set Britt off, without actually laying a hand on her.
- Carnival of Shadows -- Britt's pretty much persona non grata with any Carnie group still under Vanessa's sway. They were beginning to look on her as 'prey' rather than as a convert when she was kicked out, as any group of bullies will when there's a weakling in their midst.
Powers
Britt's abilities all center around her control over carbon dioxide. She can coalesce 'dry ice' from thin air, but if she stops concentrating, anything she summons will disperse back to gaseous carbon dioxide a short time later.
Although at first glance, one would think Britt is a mutant (because her powers over cold are innate), in reality, they are magical in origin, and stem from her Fae bloodline.
Icy Domination
Britt can summon large expanses of 'dry ice' around people or objects. The substance is so cold that it begins to lower the target's body temperature almost immediately, causing the target to move more slowly, and be unable to attack as quickly, due to the onset of hypothermia. If held too long in these icy traps, most targets will lapse into unconsciousness, as the slowed blood flow to their brain causes a shortage of oxygen. The dry ice will sublimate back to gas in time, but as it does so, it also leaches off heat at a very rapid rate.
A common trick Britt uses is to superchill the very air around her by seeding it with millions of dry ice crystals, creating a cold arctic 'tule fog' effect that can render stealth techniques or technology useless. It also reduces sight distance, and the drop in temperature can slow down her foes and cause them to become confused, sometimes mistaking friends for foes. If she decreases the temperature further, anyone in close proximity will find themselves chilled to the bone.
She's also demonstrated laying sheets of ice on the ground, causing anyone on them to slip and fall. She seems to have some control over WHO is affected, however, as her allies never seem to lose traction.
A variant of this is a kind of 'flash freeze' effect, where her targets are suddenly encased in transparent shells of dry ice. It takes time for anyone caught to struggle free, but the traps can be broken by damaging them externally.
Icy Assault
Britt can also summon icy darts and batons, even a sword of sorts. When thrown or swung, they cause serious impact damage, as well as the aforementioned symptoms of hypothermia, as they vaporise on impact, sublimating heat in the process.
She's also learned to superchill the CO2 in her breath when she exhales. She's got decent range, but up close, anyone in the path of this 'frost breath' will be severely chilled. It IS minty fresh, however; it would be a bad thing to inflict halitosis on people.
Acrobat
Britt's strong legs and lithe body illustrate her long hours of gymnast training. She's able to flip, handspring, cartwheel, and dive-roll with the best, and is fairly good at high-wire balance acts. As such, it's hard to pin her down for long.
She's also a fairly accomplished Nordic-style skier[1].
Super Leap
Britt hasn't figured out HOW she can jump so high, or so far, or so fast. Speculation is that it magical in origin, and is related to her gymnast training, and that if she were more inclined to fly or to run, she could do it. Magic sensitives have reported a pale bluish aura surrounding her when she exerts her cold powers, and this same aura is present when she's leaping from rooftop to rooftop.
Abilities
In addition to her powers, Britt is an accomplished cook. Her specialty is Æbleskiver[2].
She's a tolerable seamstress, and a fairly proficient juggler.
Britt also has learned some shiatsu massage techniques, and can combine them with her 'cold' powers to offer relief to strained backs and such. She's not a skilled masseuse, however.
She's read through the Commedia dell'Arte bartender's guides, and will occasionally juggle liquor bottles when the regular bartender's not around.
Personality
Pleasant, a bit shy, but rapidly warms to people she regards as friends. She's very open and unguarded, willing to talk about nearly anything, although she tends to blush a lot when the subject of conversation gets intimate or risque'.
She's skittish around people she doesn't know, especially those that appear dangerous.
She has a very loving caring 'soul' and this gets her into trouble. As an example, when she learned of the demonic spirit inhabiting Sathraa, rather than running away, she embraced the demon as 'the other half of the woman'; it was only her innocence that prevented the spirit from ravishing and killing the girl where she stood. The encounter forced the spirit to retreat within Sathraa, totally discombobulated.
She's also discovered a submissive side, one that she's been careful to guard except around those she trusts implicitly.
Phobias
Britt has an extreme aversion to fire. She's managed to rein it in to the point where she can be around things like torches or small bonfires, but she will tend to stand away from them all the same. Any out-of-control fire freaks her, badly, and fire used as a weapon is enough to trigger what could only be called a 'panic reaction[3]' where she will push her powers to the breaking point in an effort to put out the flames. Many a Longbow agent or Council soldier has been found encased in fragments of dry ice, shivering, suffering from severe frostbite or hypothermia, because they dared point a flamethrower in Britt's direction.
Weaknesses and Limitations
- Even though Britt's talents are magical, she requires carbon dioxide as a reagent.
- Britt is 'mind-blind'; telepaths will have no problems reading her thoughts, but she cannot process thoughts sent to her. Her reception is limited to subtle emotional projections, such that she herself is unaware of their origin. She still suffers the full debilitating effects of psychic assaults, however.
- Because she cannot sense or process the 'presence' of a telepath, she's an open book, with few if any shields other than her mind being 'read-only'. Send Britt a tell if you wish to interact in this manner.
Recent History
Britt was on the street for several months, before discovering a quaint old theatre in St. Martial. What charmed her most wasn't the decor of the place, but the open and loving regard she was shown by the proprietress, Joie de Vivre. Determined to help Joie and her troupe out, Britt jumped into doing any job that needed doing, including bartending (much to the dismay of Kyle Hewer, the regular bartender).
However, it was not to last. Joie was afflicted with amnesia after the destruction of a magical artifact, Brian Foster and Muse left, Kyle disappeared, and the place echoed with Britt's footsteps instead of the ring of friendly voices. She turned her back on the theatre, renting rooms in various flophouses when she could afford their rates, and sleeping in doorways or abandoned buildings when she couldn't.
She has since run across Brian and his friend Scathe in Pocket D, and has been asked if she wants a place in the branded safehouse. She's since accepted the offer, and is slowly learning how many friends she has, now.
Although she made many friends in branded, most notably Hard Candy, Cast Iron Chef, Luna Firespeaker, Ayapana, and Frozen Roze, circumstances made her move on unexpectedly. She misses all of them dearly. Instead, she's taken up working for Sniper Widow's troubleshooting agency Widow's Web, although she's only an intern at this point.
She's almost gone mad due to Hard Candy's continued absence, and an encounter with Ayapana that turned rather awkward.
Due to personal reasons, Britt has left the Web. She's been seen in Carnival garb again, as well as coming and going from the Commedia dell'Arte Theatre.
Trivia
- Although she does have traces of Fae blood, Britt so far has shown no vulnerability or aversion to Cold Iron. In fact, her cast iron Æbleskiver pan was probably her most prized possession, and she is looking forward to when she can get it replaced.
- At the time of her incarceration, Britt was more of a 'street rat' and a prankster than a villain - she was sent to the Zig preemptively when it was discovered she had meta abilities during a murder investigation (as a 'person of interest'), and was in a holding cell awaiting questioning when the Arachnos breakout occurred. As such, she is learning rather quickly that she at least has to put on a facade of being a power-hungry psycho, if only to keep herself out of the hands of the REAL killers.
- She has killed someone once - sadly, that person turned out to be a friend who was inducted into the Carnival of Shadows and enslaved to Vanessa deVore's will. Although it saddened her dearly, this experience has also added an edge to her; although she still tries not to kill indiscriminately, lethal force directed at her is answered in kind.
Rumors
Heard something juicy about Bitter December? Why not add it here?
Angie wonders, based on the few times she's seen Britt since they both left branded, just how much the Widow's Web is changing the young girl and it worries her. ~~ Crushing Violet
Music
Liset Alea/Etro Anime, "Endless"
Artwork Credits
Bitter December Commissioned Image (C) 2008 by [William Potts]
Bitter December Commissioned Image (C) 2008 by [Dark Vanessa]
- ↑ She has the Ski Run badges to prove it
- ↑ A round Danish pancake
- ↑ Domination
