Prizmo
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| File:Prizmo.JPG | |
| Prizmo | |
| Player: @Quinn Ordell | |
| Origin: | Magic |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Controller |
| Security Level: | 22 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Alison Khelm |
| Known Aliases: | Priz |
| Species: | Manifestation |
| Age: | 20 |
| Height: | 5'4" |
| Weight: | 50 lbs. |
| Eye Color: | Blue |
| Hair Color: | Green |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | United States |
| Occupation: | Day Care Teacher |
| Place of Birth: | Arcadia, CA. |
| Base of Operations: | Paragon City, RI. |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | Sean Khelm (father), Leigh Khelm (mother), Patrick Khelm (brother) |
| Known Powers | |
| The Power of Imagination and Make-Believe | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Skilled acrobat, mime and thespian | |
| Equipment | |
| Confidential | |
| Always a Work In Progress | |
Player's Note: Because Prizmo does not speak, all of the information contained on this page has not been revealed through active roleplaying. However, I am not listing it as "Spoiler" information, because everything written can either be discovered through consistent observation of Prizmo's habits and actions - or - can likely be found by a truly gifted and diligent investigative hero through cross referencing various files held by the Federal Bureau of Superhero Affairs (FBSA), most notably the offices of the MAGI division. The information about Prizmo's secret identity, such as family, age and real name however - ARE spoiler details. Short stories about Prizmo's origins will be posted here when they are completed, which will further detail this information, but under NO CIRCUMSTANCES are the details of her secret identity available to investigators of ANY calibur, as the girl who was once Alison Khelm no longer exists and has no known ties to the Prizmo character. Thank you.
Contents |
Arrival
On the first day of April, 2008, something odd happened all over the Atlas Park region of Rhode Island's Paragon City. At precisely 12:01am, nearly six dozen people heard the laughter of very young children, seemingly from nowhere. Ths sound lasted only a few seconds, before fading away and no explanation was ever uncovered. During those few seconds, one crime was thwarted: An attempted kidnapping was averted when the would-be kidnapper's shoestrings inexpicably tied themselves together, causing him to fall to the ground and allowing the child to escape. Katie Marsh, seven years old, recounted the tale to her parents within the hour and the Paragon Police Department made a successful arrest of the would-be kidnapper before the night was over. Mr. Matthew Reise did not arrive to teach his first grade class the next morning, and two of his missing students were brought safely home from his basement, to their loving families. That afternoon, though the skies had been clear and sunny all day, children across the city could see a crystal clear rainbow in the sky. When it was pointed out to parents and older siblings, a simple smile and the words, "That's nice." were the only responses given - indicating that only the children could see it.
Happy Phantom
On the second day of April, crimes were stopped all over Atlas Park, in highly unorthodox ways:
- Muggers found that the people they were trying to rob were off-duty police officers and were arrested instead.
- Gang fights were brought to sudden and confusing ends when the guns being used would fire only cork stoppers on strings, toy caps, streams of water, bursts of confetti or small flags that said, "BANG!" in bright colorful letters.
- Vahzilok zombies deep in the sewer system that attempted to detonate the explosive packs on their backs found themselves surrounded by a forceful blast of soap bubbles instead.
- Purse snatchers sneezed and lost their tug of war, allowing the victims to escape.
At the same time, superheroes across the area found themselves on the beneficial end of this oddity:
- Grievous injuries suffered were miraculously healed almost instantly.
- Young heroes and sidekicks lost in the sewer tunnels saw dazzling light displays marking their safest paths to the surface.
- Those unlucky enough to sustain critical or lethal injuries were raised from the places they'd fallen, alive and whole again.
- Groups of sidekicks who were outnumbered and overpowered were suddenly assisted by invisible allies, that helped turn the battle in their favor and then were never heard from again.
- Those fighting Hellions found the fires set upon them extinguished by mysterious gallons of water falling from no apparent source.
After over forty unexplained reports of this nature, the FBSA enlisted the aid of it's MAGI division branch, to help uncover the cause of these unusual events. Certainly the FBSA officials were accustomed to these types of things happening in the field from time to time, but they were also accustomed to knowing who had caused them and how. Having no known source for these occurrences placed the case firmly in the jurisdiction of MAGI, at least until an answer could be found. A small team of investigators was assigned to the task and began looking into possible causes for this wave of helpful oddities, looking for everything from divine intervention to ghosts and simple cloaking fields, in their search. After nearly a week, they'd finally found what they were looking for: A young woman with a fae-like appearance and a rainbow-colored costume, watching with glee from a nearby open window ledge as a group of Skulls were attacked by giggling ghosts looking every bit like the white sheet versions found on Halloween lawns, who seemed intent on tickling every last Skulls member, into submission.
Joining MAGI
After bringing the young woman back to the MAGI offices, a brief exam determined that she was indeed of a magical nature, thus placing the unknown girl into MAGI's official jurisdiction from that point on. Shortly thereafter, the frustrated examiner came to the conclusion that his newest patient either would not, or could not, speak. Needing a name to put down in his records, the examiner looked at the girl's bright and colorful costume and gave her the nickname "Prizmo". Originally this name was intended only for his own records, so he wouldn't need to memorize yet another long serial number, but when another of the MAGI staff looked over his reports to gauge the progress made with the girl - the name was thought to be her own and has been used by the FBSA faculty ever since.
Having found several unusual physical characteristics in Prizmo, the examiner - a spiritualist and meta-physician going by the hero moniker "Doc Mesmer" - was still unable to verifiably classify the girl as either a human or a faerie. After many hours of diligent magical testing and research, he was left with no choice but to classify her species as 'Unknown', though he remained devoted to researching her case on his own time thereafter. Establishing the quality of her character through conversations held largely through artistic mediums such as pantomime and fingerpainting, Doc Mesmer was satisfied that her intentions were good and her methods were well within the established behavioral parameters to which the FBSA holds it's active affiliates. With this approval in place and with the girl seemingly agreeable to the idea of doing assigned hero tasks on behalf of the city, she was entered into the Active Roster Database of Superheroes and given level one security clearance. The name entered for her file was the same as that on her examination report: Prizmo.
The Sound of Silence
Despite not speaking, Prizmo has had no trouble in making herself understood. Whether towards her friends, her enemies or simply those who meet her on the street, Prizmo's use of pantomime and illusions - as well as her gift for theatrical exaggeration of physical characteristics and facial expression - have allowed her to hold comprehensive and intelligent conversations with anyone who's tried to speak with her. Whether she remains silent by choice or by circumstances beyond her control, remains a secret to this day, but even her laughter and sneezes have been without sound - lending many to believe more in the latter theory on the matter.
More recently, however, Doc Mesmer has made an interesting discovery in his continued research of her case:
He believes she may be deaf as well.
While Prizmo seems able to hear and understand what goes on around her, Doc Mesmer has begun to notice that there are times that Prizmo does not respond to those who speak to her, if she is not facing them. He has also noted that while she sometimes covers her ears to demonstrate a dislike of certain loud sounds, she has, at other times, been completely unresponsive to sudden loud noises she wasn't paying any attention to. His efforts to ascertain the truth on her possible deafness remain obstructed by her talent for creativity and theatricality, as well as her seeming unwillingness to be completely serious about anything. Half of his tests thus far have been inconclusive, due to her games and distracting behavior. Because he has not yet discovered the truth, Doc Mesmer has thus far kept this theory to himself and recorded it nowhere but in his personal journal logs. When asked directly, of course, Prizmo simply smiles and offers her examiner some kind of candy treat in response.
The Good Fight
Once registered as an official superheroine in affiliation with the FBSA, Prizmo began her tour of public service more openly, not having realized that keeping herself out of sight was making some of the citizenry uncomfortable. As is so often the case with young heroes in Paragon City, the first place she found herself being of use was in the sewer tunnels beneath Atlas Park, as part of a small group of up-and-comers doing their part to rid the tunnels of gang members and the alchemical undead. In this capacity, she served as an able healer for her teammates, though most were unhappy with her pacifist approach to the work - being unwilling to attack their enemies herself. Her teammates also often became frustrated with a teammate who refused to speak and could not answer even the simplest questions, in what they considered a straight-forward manner.
Never the less, Prizmo became a trusted ally to a scant handful of heroes for her unswerving devotion to non-lethal methods and capable healing magics. Though her efforts to aid her fellow do-gooders has extended as far as Steel Canyon thus far, she remains close to Atlas Park most of the time, assisting younger heroes in their efforts to protect the innocent. It has become known to those arond the district that Prizmo has found some kind of residence inside the MAGI offices of City Hall. The details of this arrangement remain a mystery.
More recently, Prizmo was spotted by members of the Galacto-Rangers, a registered team of heroes led by the dimensional visitor, Galactoman. While not as actively involved in the group's activities as other members, she remains a loyal and happy contributor, wherever and whenever she is able.
The Power of Make-Believe
Prizmo's powers seem rooted in her imagination. Whether it's the materialization of objects and substances which shouldn't exist, altering the appearances of herself and others with costumes out of thin air or even raising others who have fallen to their deaths in combat - the only apparent limit to Prizmo's magical effects is her imagination. This phenomenon has also been reported by others who spend time in her presence, as she encourages them to "play" with her and use their own imaginations, sometimes resulting in similiar effects even if the person in question has no powers of their own. Exactly how she is able to super-impose her imaginings and fantasies onto the local reality of others is unknown, though Doc Mesmer has made some small headway into the mystery. Thus far, he has declined to share his notes on Prizmo's powers with anyone, including his superiors in MAGI. One noteworthy restriction however, is that when heavily distracted and placed under high stress levels, Prizmo's powers become far more limited. During stressful combat situations for instance, the constant need to heal those around her and provide her teammates with the support of her imaginary allies seems to impose a taxing effect on her concentration. Potentially, this weakness could be exploited by any dedicated enemies Prizmo makes during her efforts to protect the innocent.
Imaginary Friends
One of the most significant discoveries that Doc Mesmer has made during his research into Prizmo's case is her ability to summon imagined allies. Originally believed to be nothing more than another of her focused playtime illusions, he noticed that some of the actions taken by these featureless warriors surprises and even saddens Prizmo, indicating that perhaps they are not under her control as he'd once thought. If these magical henchmen truly are summoned, where do they come from? What are they? How is she able to contact and summon them?
This mystery has spurred a whole new branch of research and investigation for the MAGI meta-physician, as he thinks perhaps that whatever fantastical dream realm spawns these beings may also be the vital clue he's been searching for in uncovering the true nature of his ward's magical powers and perhaps even her nature.
Trivia
- Two of the headings in this profile are titles of songs the player likes, "Happy Phantom" by Tori Amos and "The Sound of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkle.
- One of Prizmo's theme songs, "The Entertainer" was written by Scott Joplin in 1902 as a ragtime two step musical number, played primarily in the key of C. Most people have heard this piece, though not as many know it by name, but samples of it can be found through YouTube and Wikipedia.
- Despite it's simplicity, Prizmo's primary costume, with the green-yellow blend hair and the rainbow body suit, took over 45 minutes to properly adjust to properly mimic the shade blend and coloring order of an actual rainbow.
- The more powerful Prizmo becomes, the younger she will look. Despite the costume editor's inability to alter the overall size of a created character, if she ever reaches Level 50, Prizmo will look roughly seven years old.
- Prizmo's sweet and cheery disposition in the face of any of life's obstacles was partly inspired by the player's daughters, currently aged 4 and 5.
- Prizmo is a skilled dancer and can play both the guitar and piano. She once performed a full tap-dance routine on stage at a private club VG, wearing tight leather pants and matching jacket with a fedora and her hair tucked up high underneath - to Taco's cover of "Puttin' On The Ritz".
- Her habit of hugging and kissing others at random is due to Seba'eld, a friend of Prizmo's who tried to teach her about boys and kissing. Unable to comprehend the lesson in context, Prizmo mistook it for a new kind of game and uses it to welcome others and cheer them up.
- The exact details of what Prizmo actually is, and whether or not she can speak if she wanted to, are left vague and always will be. Under no circumstances will this be revealed. Use your imaginations. :P
Suggested Theme Material
- "The NeverEnding Story" - Soundtrack and film. (not the novel)
- "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass" by CS Lewis
- "Labyrinth" - Soundtrack and film.
- "Good Fairy / Bad Fairy" by Brian and Wendy Froud
- "The Peanut Butter Solution" - a 1985 family film directed by Michael Rubbo. It is the second in the 'Tales for All' series of french children's films.
- "Hook" - film.
- "Ordinary World" - not the original by Duran Duran, but the techno cover by DDR (not for the lyrics so much as the melody).
This article about a character is a stub -- a small, but growing, work in progress. If you're the creator of this character, why not consider expanding it?
