Living Liberty
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| Living Liberty | |
| Player: @Talen Lee | |
| Origin: | Science[1] |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Controller |
| Security Level: | 22 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Elizabeth Beaton |
| Known Aliases: | Libby |
| Species: | Homo Sapiens |
| Age: | 29 |
| Height: | 5'11" |
| Weight: | 110 lbs. |
| Eye Color: | Blue |
| Hair Color: | Golden-blonde |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | American Citizen by birth |
| Occupation: | Former research scientist (psychology) |
| Place of Birth: | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Base of Operations: | Brickstown, Paragon City |
| Marital Status: | Illegal |
| Known Relatives: | Confidential |
| Known Powers | |
| Force manipulation, psychic shock and resonance | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Skilled and trained psychologist | |
| Equipment | |
| Police belt, taser | |
| No additional information available. | |
- We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men — not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate and to defend causes that were, for the moment, unpopular.
- - Edward R Murrow
Character
Elizabeth Beaton is firmly principled, sweet young woman with an inquisitive mind and a driving urge for science and art. As her hero persona, there is almost no difference - merely that without her uniform, she retreats slightly and takes up the perhaps more-classic air of a nerd. Aware of reality, joyous in her understanding of science, she wants to share that joy with others... which can lead to unfortunate, awkward moments when someone says something she knows to be untrue. Not quite well-acclimatised to conflict, she's prone to stammeringly trying to have exhaustive arguments from first principles when really, a more socially alert person would recognise the sense of just 'agreeing to disagree.' This resolve - this unwillingness to set conflict aside - is reinforced when she assumes the mantle of her heroic persona.
Power Origin
Elizabeth Beaton is a classic Hot Girl Scientist raised in a conservative hometown with her own differences. Possessed of a canny intelligence, she was able to pursue her education, thanks to support from her parents who hadn't yet been shied away from education as an impact on their religious beliefs. Moving in small steps, she came to study psychology and, rather than take up a practice, found herself more interested in research of human behaviour than direct and immediate one-on-one behaviour with patients. Nonetheless, she quickly got a job in SERAPH's research department, and in doing so came to study the files of the hero Living Justice. It was through studying how Living Justice's powers stemmed from belief and focus on the ideals of Justice that she came to realise - and grasp - her own powers deriving from her own proud belief in individual liberty.
Powers
Libby's powers derive powerfully from an ill-understood principle she has, in her own study, referred to as Avatarism[2]. This power has let her incarnate physical reactions in other entities around her that let her reshape the world. Not so simple as the ill-defined 'reality warping' that some supers claim to have, Libby is capable of briefly creating force constructs that act on the world around her, and to impose those same elements on people around her.
Curiously, for a person who believes so aggressively in freedom, she's capable of taking hold of the wills of other people, and 'forcing' them to act in a particular way. She finds it curious that this effect seems to follow her unconsciously; while she can mark opponents as targets, and her presence can often lead to opponents being briefly seized by what they often describe as a sense of realisation, or of remorse. Liberty finds allies everywhere - and liberty is willing to extend its freedoms to everyone, even the freedom to make a mistake.
Metatext
RP Notes
- Libby is not supposed to swear very often. Her player swears a lot. Expect hilarity to ensue.
- Libby is visibly identifiable as Living Liberty; she did wear a mask for her first experiences tapping the Avatar Essence, but feels she needs to be publically accountable for her actions as a super.
Themes
Much is made of the idea of 'liberty' in comics. Superman, the iconic entity of the American Ideal Of Truth, Freedom, And The American Way, often has 'Liberty' bolted in there as well, which invariably completely gets on my tits because he's never seen doing the kind of thing that really embodies that, to me. Most of the time, these concepts are expressed very cheaply, with them thrown over normal, heroic style stuff without much importance. When I remade Living Liberty, I found inspiration from a phrase I heard from the podcast Chariots of Iron:
- America is the land of the free and the home of the brave, because it takes courage to be free. You have to be willing to be struck first before you strike back.
- - Eli, Chariots of Iron
This, coupled with costume fiddling led to the idea of Liberty as a person who was, despite her personal desires, willing to be the brave person who would not sacrifice liberties for immediate gains. Thus we arrive at Libby. So, with that in mind, we can say, the central theme of Libby's story is Liberty. Perhaps a contentious political issue, but to expect it to cause a fuss is to flatter myself.
Trivia
- Living Liberty used to be an Illusion/Empathy controller, then when I got jack of that I deleted her and replaced her with an Illusion/Rad controller I had from Freedom. Because of this, she has event badges from well before even her first appearance existed.
- Living Liberty read Atlas Shrugged as a research student on a dare. The only lasting memory she has of the book is a clear and concise belief in her own shoulders being gorgeous.
References
- ↑ SCIENCE!
- ↑ She has also noted that her field of study is generally focused on different, human matters, so creating a tangible energy force is not something with which she's well-acquainted. In essence, she discovered this force by accident studying another hero's powers, and considers her own understanding of the principles to be rudimentary at best
