TSS - Application
Player Information:
Name: Marie
Age: I watched the Raccoons when it first came on TV. (Way over 18)
Contact: seemarierun on Plurk
Game Cast: Bart Allen |![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
backinakidflash | Last AC
Character Information:
Name: Julio Esteban Richter, codename: Rictor
Canon: Marvel 616
Canon Point: The end of X-Factor #259. X-Factor has been scattered across time, space, and dimensions. Julio has spent several months in Mojoverse as a result and only knows the whereabouts of Shatterstar.
Age: 24.
Reference: @ Wikipedia
@ Marvel Wiki
Setting:
The Marvel 616 universe is meant to be much like the world that we know, and it is nearly always set in the present day. There is nothing that exists in our world that does not exist in 616. However, there are numerous additions to it. The primary one is that super-humans, superheroes, and super-villains exist. Others are less noticeable, such as the fictional country Genosha (detailed further down) or the American government's spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D. and its Canadian counterpart Department K, both of which tend to be the government's way of working with or against super-humans.
These super-humans have supernatural abilities, ranging from the expected flight and super strength combination to the absurd, like having a digestive tract comprised of two sentient maggots. They have come about these abilities in various ways.
First, there are the aliens. The Skrull and Kree are two of the more famous; these races are constantly at war with each other. Skrulls, at one point, took a fancy to impersonating super-humans of Earth in an attempt to take over the world. It didn't work. Ric has come up against the Spineless Ones and their leader, Mojo, more often. These Jabba-like blobs are extremely technologically savvy, addicted to television, and live in another dimension known as the Mojoverse. While they consider humans to be disgusting creatures, they have genetically constructed a race of slaves based on humans to be servants, gladiators, and actors. Immobile slug beings make for boring TV. When they get bored with this, they kidnap real humans, generally mutants, and put them in the gladiator fights instead. The only good thing to come out of Mojoverse is his half-construct, half-human boyfriend, Shatterstar.
As for the more human super-humans, some were experimented on, many were drenched in radioactive rays/materials/bug bites, and others are magically attuned or demigods. Still more can't claim the abilities as their own, having instead used their technological genius to create gadgets that let them fly or shoot missiles. The do-gooding of these super-humans tend to gravitate to the more legally recognized, government-chartered Avengers. The Avengers exists to fight off huge, world-threatening Bad Guys that none of them could take on their own.
Finally, until several years ago, the most common way to find oneself with a superpower was to have been born a mutant, a human with an "X-gene." While some physical mutations caused by this gene appear at birth, most mutants first realize their status during puberty while under great stress. It has been theorized that it is the nature of this stressor that defines the actual abilities granted by the X-gene. A girl whose best friend is in a coma receives telepathy; a boy who was gravely injured is granted a healing factor. This first use of power, or manifestation, can be violent and uncontrolled. When Rictor manifested his mutant ability, he leveled a good chunk of his neighborhood.
Due to incidents like "destroying several city blocks" and the bad PR that follows them everywhere, mutants are not much loved by the general populace of the world, who can't be thrilled to see the next step in evolution happening quite suddenly all around them. It's like being a Neanderthal when humans starting popping everywhere. Mutants are hated to the point of 'average' humans forming multiple, violent, anti-mutant organizations that are willing to do anything to drain the X-gene from the gene pool. Mutants have been kidnapped, tortured, experimented on, and killed in myriad ways. It's slightly irrational, as some of the other ways to become a hero turn out rather beloved figures like Spider-Man, but that's how it works.
In order to protect mutants, work for their acceptance, and advance their rights, Professor Charles Xavier created a boarding school for "gifted" youth, the Xavier Institute. It was mainly a front for him to safely collect mutant teenagers and teach them to use their powers. Ostensibly, actual education is given as well, when the school isn't being destroyed by training accidents and attacks. Due to the fact that simply hiding what mutants he could at a school wasn't enough to protect them, Xavier used his first students to create a team that would fight on behalf of mutants - or fight against ones that sought to use their powers for evil.
Two of the prominent groups that regularly attack mutants are The Right and the Purifiers. The Right, lead by Cameron Hodge, have generally been kidnappers who attempt to stir up shit by making mutants look worse to the general public in hopes of creating more anti-mutant feelings that will turn the government against them. Ric was one of their earliest victims. The Purifiers are a bunch of religious nutballs who think mutation is caused by sin and occasionally wage a sort of holy war against them. On the opposite end of the spectrum is things like the Brotherhood of Mutants, who believe that mutants should rule the world (depending on the writer). There are more, but the bottom line is that Bad Guys Exist; X-Teams Fight Them.
There have been many mutant groups/teams with the Xavier Institute and the X-Men. To keep things streamlined, only the ones which Rictor has been associated or are currently operating will be discussed. Defunct teams have been included in an effort to show how well-connected he is within the mutant circles.
Mutant Groups/Teams/Factions
X-MEN:
The original is still the best. Sometimes, including right now, there's more than one team running around with this name. Since they were first formed, there's only been a brief stint when there wasn't a squad running around under this name. They're a little goody-goody, no matter how many times they let reformed villains join, and Ric has never been a member, though he has teamed up with them.
X-FACTOR (original):
The original five X-Men - Scott Summers (Cyclops), Jean Grey (Phoenix), Bobby Drake (Iceman), Hank McCoy (Beast), and Warren Worthington (Angel) - reunited and decided to pretend to be a bunch of mutant-hunting mercenaries that they called X-Factor. This was a way of disguising their recruitment/saving of several young mutants, including Julio. The saving was always done while pretending to be yet another squad called the X-Terminators, so that nothing could be connected to the original X-Men name (or to the school). Good thing, too, because this team turned into a spectacular PR nightmare.
X-TERMINATORS (defunct):
X-Factor's growing collection of young wards, including, began to emulate them, co-opting the X-Terminators name.
NEW MUTANTS (original incarnation):
A teenaged team based out of the Xavier Institute that grew to include the X-Terminators. In a... stunning lack of common sense, the role of training and leading them was given to Magneto (Erik Lehnsherr), who advocates mutant rights to the point of being a zealot and has clashed with the X-types more often than he's sided with them. The squad almost never listened to him and had a terrible life expectancy.
GENOSHA (currently a wasteland):
When Ric first encountered it, the Genoshan government was enslaving all of its mutant population to create a paradise for humanity. It was overthrown by various X-members, including Julio, and was later given over to Magneto by the U.N. to be a mutant nation, much like what was done with the land in our world that became Israel. This was successful for some time, and the island country grew to a population of 16 million before they were all slaughtered, because everyone still hates mutants.
X-FORCE (original incarnation):
The remains of the first New Mutants team became a violent squad with a penchant for law-breaking and collateral damage when Magneto turned the team over to Cable (Nate Summers). The name has been reused for other teams that must operate further outside the law than the X-Men are willing to go.
CABLE:
A faction all to himself, having played the Jesus role of the universe several times. The man has his own agenda and is willing to use people as soldiers or pawns. His clone, Stryfe, murdered Rictor's father.
X-CORPORATION (defunct):
The closest Rictor has come to being an actual X-Man, this was an international collection of squads created by Xavier to aid the exploding mutant population. Until suddenly, there was a morning where Rictor and over 90% of mutants woke up and weren't mutants (the day has been termed M-Day). With the population it meant to serve decimated and its offices being bombed, X-Corporation dissolved.
X-FACTOR (current):
The superhero team that isn't exactly a team. Rictor fell in with them almost by accident. Namely, he was prevented from committing suicide by the newly re-formed X-Factor, now a detective agency comprised of mainly old friends/teammates, and he just... stayed on. This X-Factor focuses itself on helping the mutant and no-longer-mutant population with its troubles (generally for a fee), while looking into what caused the massive depowerment, protesting the Registration Act, or chasing around the first mutant baby born since the massive depowerment. They run with whatever the Mutant Cause du jour is.
Other Members of X-Factor (very briefly & somewhat through Julio's eyes):
Multiple Man/Jamie Madrox: Leader, as he owns the building they live-in rent free. Wins at life for bagging Monet and Terry in one night. Fails at life for falling for Layla. A good friend, but he'll never be told that, especially because he's literally a demon right now.
Wolfsbane/Rahne Sinclair: One of the best people Julio's ever met. He admires her ability to have faith. A former flame and close friend, they know the other is damaged (and that they caused some of it), and they're very protective of each other.
Shatterstar: Reads Ric too well, but that's why they've been best friends since they met and why Julio's dating him. There's no one better to watch your back in a bar fight. Obsessed with tv, enjoys cracking skulls, and makes Ric laugh.
Siryn/Theresa Cassidy: Stereotypical fiery, Irish redhead. They go way back, and, like all of his friends, she has her problems (recovering alcoholic, professional at denial). Currently the manifestation of an ancient goddess.
Monet: Julio's favorite verbal sparring partner. He'll never admit it, but he recognizes that they're alike. She's still stuck-up though.
Layla Miller: The most annoying person ever born. Now she's married to Jamie, and he'll never get to slap her. She made the boneheaded decision to bring Guido back to life without a soul.
Longshot: Useful, but even Ric thinks he's an idiot and something of a pig. Was impersonated by a Skrull at one point. Ric doesn't trust him much.
Havok & Polaris: Babysitters sent by the X-Men to keep tabs on X-Factor's nosiness and to give them some legitimacy. They're train wrecks masquerading as people, so they fit right in.
Darwin: Seemed okay. Tried to kill Tier, Rahne's kid, and Ric was forced to attack him - nearly killing Darwin in the process.
Strong Guy/Guido:Nice enough, funny. Something of a friend. Died and resurrected soulless, he got rougher around the edges. Then he killed Rahne's kid, and he's pretty much Dead to Ric.
Personality:
[NOTE: Purple is headcanon. Green is the reaction to landing on the turtle.]
To begin with, Julio doesn't want to be here, really. Not "here" as in on the Turtle, here as in "stuck in the mess of mutant issues that he can never quite get away from". But it's all he's known since he was about 13, and he honestly thinks that there's no other place for him in the world. This superhero stuff, if he is one, is partly to try and make sure no kids have to live through what he did and partly because sometimes they actually get to do that. He can take the successes and coast on the good vibes for awhile.
He's an angry person. As a youth, Rictor witnessed the murder of his father and was overcome with grief, and the wounds are there to this day. Through DNA alone - something that he had no say over, he's stuck being treated like dirt by millions of people over his status as a mutant. It's doubly painful, because his power is one of the only things that he is proud of and believes himself to be good at. He's seen too many of his friends die for someone who's only in his mid-twenties. Most of them were only teenagers. Rahne's kid wasn't even that old. Ric, himself, has been kidnapped multiple times, tortured with a proddy electrical machine, forced to fight in gladiatorial combat, temporarily enslaved, etc. So yeah, he's bitter. He'd like to get the long end of the stick once in awhile (and then whack a few people over the head with it).
Unsurprisingly, due to all of the trauma he's suffered, Ric is completely unable to handle personal, emotional stress. When he was younger, getting overly emotional or worked up tended to set off his powers (sometimes literally bringing the house down around him). He's attempted suicide twice. The first time was as a teenager, when it seemed as if he was going to fall back into the hands of the Right (who had tortured him).
When he was de-powered, Ric wound up on a window ledge again threatening to commit suicide, because he values himself by his ability. Without it, he felt like nothing. He's struggled with depression. It's never been explicitly diagnosed, but, aside from the suicide attempt, he's admitted that his bad days are spent in morosely wallowing in self-pity and that the good days are the ones when he's just too busy to do so. He's not above self-medicating with alcohol or sex when it gets to be too much. Getting help seems out of the question. When Jamie insisted that the entire roster of X-Factor see a psychiatrist, Julio was alternately hostile and flippant during his session. He's too proud to admit that he may not be able to handle something on his own.
When he was repowered permanently, Rictor was exuberant. There was extraneous use of abilities for several weeks and enough cocky swagger that multiple teammates had to basically tell him to calm down. He hasn't been as glum since then, but he will always find things to get upset about.
Ric has an established problem with authority figures. It's not entirely without reason. His father and uncles, who he loved, turned out to be arms-dealers and murderers. The original X-Factor team was working with Cameron Hodge, who tried to force Julio to cause a massive earthquake that would "prove" how dangerous mutants were. Cable's a douchebag, and it's been proven that its somewhere in his DNA to be a killer. . The list goes on. Julio is usually one of the first in line to question an order, particularly when it comes from an outsider. You have to earn Ric's trust, and he goes out of his way to make it hard to do just by being who he is.
Even ordinary conversations with him can get combative, especially if he goes into it feeling judged. Rictor is always on the defensive. Sometimes, it's quips, but, more often than not, it takes the form of stronger tones and debate. If it degenerates into a fight and he's taking a few too many stings, he's outta there. Anything to keep you and whatever hot mess you're in away, because he's got his own to deal with, thanks, and he doesn't want your pity. With close friends, he'll let his guard down sometimes, so long as they just operate on assumptions and don't expect him to actually talk about his feelings. That never goes well, because he hates being vulnerable.
Take his relationship with Shatterstar. It's obvious that Julio cares for him deeply, but Star's insistence on an open relationship makes Ric feel like he's leaving himself at risk of emotional pain. And so there's arguments, annoyed glances and snorts and angry remarks everywhere, and general overcompensation for being gay/bi and a complete refusal to enjoy any pop culture that might have the barest hint of being considered part of the gay stereotype (really, who doesn't like Singin' in the Rain? This guy. That's who). He sees it as completely justified behavior, because the last person that he attempted a relationship with (Rahne) fucked him and basically took off, leaving him with a Dear John letter, until she turned back up pregnant with someone else's kid and telling him it was his. He forgave her for that, but it still hurt to go through.
There's an unrecognized hypocritical streak in him as well. He's got an aversion to conforming to gay sterotypes, but Ric is ignorant of how he adheres to the one about the Latin male and his precious machismo. His honesty can work in brutal ways. He'll rail on someone for their mistakes, faults, and screw-ups and expect them to take it, but, if someone does the same to him, he blows them off. Fiercely against guns through his teenage years, he begins using handguns while he is depowered, in an effort to not be weak.
He's good at excusing his own bad behavior. He tried to explain away his suicide attempt to Rahne while he was still on the ledge threatening to jump. Ric lies to himself, as well. He's admitted to doing so while he was in the closet, but that's not the only time it's cropped off. It's more of a lying by omission than attempting to delude himself: if he can pretend that something didn't happen or didn't affect him, then it didn't. Picking minor fights (both verbal and physical) tends to help with this; it lets off some of the steam that builds up as a result of ignoring problems.
The one thing that he doesn't try to excuse is the killing that he's done. Ric doesn't enjoy killing, and he's actively avoided it in the Mojoverse gladiatorial arena. That said, he has taken lives when he thinks it's merited. Notably, he dealt what should have been the death blow on Cameron Hodge (reminder: leader of a human faction that seeks to destroy mutantkind, tortured Rictor personally), burying his still human head and cyborg body (don't ask. Comics.) under tons of rubble. He also killed a deranged man who abducted and mutilated Terry. Ric firmly believes that some people can't be allowed to live on, and he won't apologize for it.
When it comes to his friends, he's fine with them being vulnerable and will act as a support system, if allowed. He'll listen and offer well-meaning but terrible advice that you're probably better off without because Ric makes Really Bad Life Decisions, but the friend in question has to be bleeding emotions all over the place for him to see it. He's not trying to ignore them; he's just a self-centered asshole in his day-to-day life. But when the big stuff happens, he's right there to help. Just whack him on the face with it to get his attention. For example, with Rahne's pregnancy, he didn't bail on her when she told him it was his (as one could reasonably expect him to, with his penchant for storming off when things get hard). Even when he found out it wasn't his, Ric eventually got over himself and agreed to continue the farce that it was his child, even offering to help raise the kid.
Moodiness and anger issues aside, Rictor isn't a bad person. He may roll his eyes and bitch, but he'll never walk away from someone that needs help, even if it's a random domestic disturbance that doesn't concern him at all. He often misses the mark on his reactions to people, but, when he cools off, he can regret his lashing out. Sometimes, he can even manage to say that he's sorry. If he knows something is a sore spot for someone, he'll do the fighting for them without hesitation. Once he considers someone a friend, he's on their side even when they're possessed and attacking him, like Shatterstar was, or causing international incidents. It's part of his charm.
Another reason why people put up with him is that he's a sparkling conversationalist. Ok, not quite, but if you're in the market for someone to go have a few beers with and shoot the shit, he can be fun to talk to. There's a sense of humor there, and, as stated in several ways already, he doesn't enjoy talking about the bad memories. Underneath the mountains of manpain, he's an average guy with a sense of humor. He likes to go clubbing and drive too fast. He'd rather ask someone about their hot date this weekend or start a pool on how many more inches the zipper on Monet's uniform can go down before she gets hit with a ticket for indecent exposure.
As to his reaction to Tu Shanshu, he's going to be pissed, and that's not going to go away for awhile. When he gets done threatening whatever poor kedan is tasked with explaining the situation to him and demanding to know where Shatterstar - er, both Shatterstars are (there are two at his pullpoint - it's a time travel thing), Ric is going to curse the poor guy out. A lot. In three languages. He'll suggest things that you never would think of doing with a cart wheel. Through it all - however long he's on Tu Vishan, no matter what anyone tells him - he will never let go of the suspicion that this is Mojo. It has to be Mojo. There are cloaked hovercams around here somewhere. The rest of you might not listen to his ranting about how we're all stuck in TheTruman Turtle Show, but he knows better.
Appearance:
Ric is a Hispanic male with brown hair, brown eyes, and seemingly perpetual scruff (shown in the image on the left). He is of average weight and height, with an above average build. He will arrive with longer than normal hair and a full beard (right image), due to captivity, but he'll get that taken care of soon enough.
Abilities:
Rictor's mutation allows him create seismic waves and energy. This can manifest in various ways. He's mostly seen channeling the vibrational waves through his hands and directing them at a target, which can cause the target to shatter, crumble, or explode. Due to the violent nature of the effect, he usually directs it at surfaces and objects around someone rather than directly at them.
In his younger days, he would sometimes lose control of his power and shake uncontrollably, causing the energy to spread out in all directions and with a strong force. It doesn't specifically need to be his hands, but they certainly are the most convenient way to control the direction. In fact, he doesn't need to direct them at anything through the air - the energy can be transferred by touch, causing objects in his hands in the same way that they would through an indirect attack.
Should he lose control or opt for a unfocused attack, Ric basically creates a localized earthquake. While it's not widespread devastation, it's akin to a high magnitude earthquake resulting in a radius of several city blocks brought to the ground. Due to this, he is extremely hesitant to use his powers near a fault line and will refuse to use them at all near a major one.
As luck would have it, his mutation also grants him a connection to the earth itself. He can feel the movements of the tectonic plates, sense fault lines, and wax poetic about how he can feel the rain on the dirt and the life in each ant. Obviously, he's not going to be connected to the turtle. If there are fault lines or tectonic plates beneath the ocean, perhaps he would have a dim sense of them? It's unnecessary, as turtle is not anchored to the plates and is cushioned by the sea, so it doesn't seem likely that Ric will be in danger of setting off something catastrophic.
When he channels the power through his hands, there is something of a glowy effect. It's blue-ish, sometimes leaning more to purple or to green.
Somewhere along the way (it's never really said when or how), Ric has become an accomplished hacker. He's good enough to the Avengers database, as well as that of S.H.I.E.L.D.
He's fluent in Spanish, English, and the language of the Mojoverse rebels, Cadre Alliance.
Inventory:
1 tank top
1 ridiculous ribbed turtleneck with leathery arms and shoulders
1 pair of khakis
Inexplicable leather shoulder guard-ish thing that straps over his chest
Double belt with X medallion, boots & socks, underwear
Suite: Earth Sector is *highly* preferred, due to the correlation of the name & his power. Also, the low-key nature of it suits him. However, if any sector has a damaged/condemned building that is free, that one. Because X-Force and X-Factor live in dives. One floor preferable, two at absolute max. A distant second choice is Wood.
In-Character Samples:
Third Person:
Two weeks in this nutsack, and Julio was nearing the end of his juulan. Oh, he'd prolonged the agony of being broke, sure. That last job, he'd managed to keep it for... almost a day. How was he supposed to know that the alternate dimension's translation field worked on obscure languages from other alternate dimensions. She shouldn't've been nosy and listening to people grumble under their breath.
It didn't matter now, anyway. He was out of a job and down to his last four bucks, and he was running out of options. If he didn't find a way to pick up some cash today, breakfast tomorrow was going to be the week-old sea prune currently residing at the back of his fridge. If it stayed in there much longer, it was going to start plotting revenge for the bite he'd taken out of it and spat all over the street.
Maybe he could ask on the network if there were any job openings. Ric was halfway to where the console was when he stepped in something and felt it gloosh around his foot. "Fuck."
Right, that's where the console had been, but that was last week, before the Empress had decided to force herself into everyone's feeds and shove her propaganda down everyone's throats. How was he supposed to know the goddamn thing dissolved if you accidentally cracked the casing? Fuck it. At least they couldn't turn the webcam on whenever they wanted anymore. Yeah, that's right, he thought smugly, I know that little trick.
He hated having to drag himself down to the cafe every day to check on the network. Sometimes he had to go twice if he had something to say. Ric grabbed his coat and started out the door with the gloop on his foot happily squish-squishing with every other step, making a muscle in his jaw tick to the beat as the irritation mounted.
At least the cafe had cleaner floors.
Network:
[ The feed clicks on to show Rictor sitting in one of the Earth Sector cafes, as he has been for all four times he's posted in the two weeks since his arrival. He looks mildly aggrieved. ]
The console in my place is still broken, before any smart mouth asks about it.
[ He holds up a ragged flier advertising the haunted house. It's clearly been torn down from something. There's still a thumbtack stubbornly holding on. ]
You've got to be fucking kidding me with this one. This is how you guys want to spend your time and resources? A haunted house? Please tell me Count Chocula knows the way home. Jesus, just look around. I don't care if you use the props to build a cannon and turn the building into a soup kitchen. Cause this?
[ He rattles the cardstock. ]
Waste of everyone's time and money. This is how you earn Girl Scout badges. Get it together.
[ Somewhere between the apartment and the cafe, he found the sign, and the chip on his shoulder grew three sizes and blotted out the light of reason. As he reaches for the button to end the feed, Ric remembers why he came down here in the first place: to ask if anyone had any job leads. Forget it, they'll probably tell him to go sell tickets for their funhouse. He'll ask tomorrow. He hits the button to cut the feed with finality.
Guess it's the sea prune for breakfast.]
Name: Marie
Age: I watched the Raccoons when it first came on TV. (Way over 18)
Contact: seemarierun on Plurk
Game Cast: Bart Allen |
backinakidflash | Last ACCharacter Information:
Name: Julio Esteban Richter, codename: Rictor
Canon: Marvel 616
Canon Point: The end of X-Factor #259. X-Factor has been scattered across time, space, and dimensions. Julio has spent several months in Mojoverse as a result and only knows the whereabouts of Shatterstar.
Age: 24.
Reference: @ Wikipedia
@ Marvel Wiki
Setting:
The Marvel 616 universe is meant to be much like the world that we know, and it is nearly always set in the present day. There is nothing that exists in our world that does not exist in 616. However, there are numerous additions to it. The primary one is that super-humans, superheroes, and super-villains exist. Others are less noticeable, such as the fictional country Genosha (detailed further down) or the American government's spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D. and its Canadian counterpart Department K, both of which tend to be the government's way of working with or against super-humans.
These super-humans have supernatural abilities, ranging from the expected flight and super strength combination to the absurd, like having a digestive tract comprised of two sentient maggots. They have come about these abilities in various ways.
First, there are the aliens. The Skrull and Kree are two of the more famous; these races are constantly at war with each other. Skrulls, at one point, took a fancy to impersonating super-humans of Earth in an attempt to take over the world. It didn't work. Ric has come up against the Spineless Ones and their leader, Mojo, more often. These Jabba-like blobs are extremely technologically savvy, addicted to television, and live in another dimension known as the Mojoverse. While they consider humans to be disgusting creatures, they have genetically constructed a race of slaves based on humans to be servants, gladiators, and actors. Immobile slug beings make for boring TV. When they get bored with this, they kidnap real humans, generally mutants, and put them in the gladiator fights instead. The only good thing to come out of Mojoverse is his half-construct, half-human boyfriend, Shatterstar.
As for the more human super-humans, some were experimented on, many were drenched in radioactive rays/materials/bug bites, and others are magically attuned or demigods. Still more can't claim the abilities as their own, having instead used their technological genius to create gadgets that let them fly or shoot missiles. The do-gooding of these super-humans tend to gravitate to the more legally recognized, government-chartered Avengers. The Avengers exists to fight off huge, world-threatening Bad Guys that none of them could take on their own.
Finally, until several years ago, the most common way to find oneself with a superpower was to have been born a mutant, a human with an "X-gene." While some physical mutations caused by this gene appear at birth, most mutants first realize their status during puberty while under great stress. It has been theorized that it is the nature of this stressor that defines the actual abilities granted by the X-gene. A girl whose best friend is in a coma receives telepathy; a boy who was gravely injured is granted a healing factor. This first use of power, or manifestation, can be violent and uncontrolled. When Rictor manifested his mutant ability, he leveled a good chunk of his neighborhood.
Due to incidents like "destroying several city blocks" and the bad PR that follows them everywhere, mutants are not much loved by the general populace of the world, who can't be thrilled to see the next step in evolution happening quite suddenly all around them. It's like being a Neanderthal when humans starting popping everywhere. Mutants are hated to the point of 'average' humans forming multiple, violent, anti-mutant organizations that are willing to do anything to drain the X-gene from the gene pool. Mutants have been kidnapped, tortured, experimented on, and killed in myriad ways. It's slightly irrational, as some of the other ways to become a hero turn out rather beloved figures like Spider-Man, but that's how it works.
In order to protect mutants, work for their acceptance, and advance their rights, Professor Charles Xavier created a boarding school for "gifted" youth, the Xavier Institute. It was mainly a front for him to safely collect mutant teenagers and teach them to use their powers. Ostensibly, actual education is given as well, when the school isn't being destroyed by training accidents and attacks. Due to the fact that simply hiding what mutants he could at a school wasn't enough to protect them, Xavier used his first students to create a team that would fight on behalf of mutants - or fight against ones that sought to use their powers for evil.
Two of the prominent groups that regularly attack mutants are The Right and the Purifiers. The Right, lead by Cameron Hodge, have generally been kidnappers who attempt to stir up shit by making mutants look worse to the general public in hopes of creating more anti-mutant feelings that will turn the government against them. Ric was one of their earliest victims. The Purifiers are a bunch of religious nutballs who think mutation is caused by sin and occasionally wage a sort of holy war against them. On the opposite end of the spectrum is things like the Brotherhood of Mutants, who believe that mutants should rule the world (depending on the writer). There are more, but the bottom line is that Bad Guys Exist; X-Teams Fight Them.
There have been many mutant groups/teams with the Xavier Institute and the X-Men. To keep things streamlined, only the ones which Rictor has been associated or are currently operating will be discussed. Defunct teams have been included in an effort to show how well-connected he is within the mutant circles.
Mutant Groups/Teams/Factions
X-MEN:
The original is still the best. Sometimes, including right now, there's more than one team running around with this name. Since they were first formed, there's only been a brief stint when there wasn't a squad running around under this name. They're a little goody-goody, no matter how many times they let reformed villains join, and Ric has never been a member, though he has teamed up with them.
X-FACTOR (original):
The original five X-Men - Scott Summers (Cyclops), Jean Grey (Phoenix), Bobby Drake (Iceman), Hank McCoy (Beast), and Warren Worthington (Angel) - reunited and decided to pretend to be a bunch of mutant-hunting mercenaries that they called X-Factor. This was a way of disguising their recruitment/saving of several young mutants, including Julio. The saving was always done while pretending to be yet another squad called the X-Terminators, so that nothing could be connected to the original X-Men name (or to the school). Good thing, too, because this team turned into a spectacular PR nightmare.
X-TERMINATORS (defunct):
X-Factor's growing collection of young wards, including, began to emulate them, co-opting the X-Terminators name.
NEW MUTANTS (original incarnation):
A teenaged team based out of the Xavier Institute that grew to include the X-Terminators. In a... stunning lack of common sense, the role of training and leading them was given to Magneto (Erik Lehnsherr), who advocates mutant rights to the point of being a zealot and has clashed with the X-types more often than he's sided with them. The squad almost never listened to him and had a terrible life expectancy.
GENOSHA (currently a wasteland):
When Ric first encountered it, the Genoshan government was enslaving all of its mutant population to create a paradise for humanity. It was overthrown by various X-members, including Julio, and was later given over to Magneto by the U.N. to be a mutant nation, much like what was done with the land in our world that became Israel. This was successful for some time, and the island country grew to a population of 16 million before they were all slaughtered, because everyone still hates mutants.
X-FORCE (original incarnation):
The remains of the first New Mutants team became a violent squad with a penchant for law-breaking and collateral damage when Magneto turned the team over to Cable (Nate Summers). The name has been reused for other teams that must operate further outside the law than the X-Men are willing to go.
CABLE:
A faction all to himself, having played the Jesus role of the universe several times. The man has his own agenda and is willing to use people as soldiers or pawns. His clone, Stryfe, murdered Rictor's father.
X-CORPORATION (defunct):
The closest Rictor has come to being an actual X-Man, this was an international collection of squads created by Xavier to aid the exploding mutant population. Until suddenly, there was a morning where Rictor and over 90% of mutants woke up and weren't mutants (the day has been termed M-Day). With the population it meant to serve decimated and its offices being bombed, X-Corporation dissolved.
X-FACTOR (current):
The superhero team that isn't exactly a team. Rictor fell in with them almost by accident. Namely, he was prevented from committing suicide by the newly re-formed X-Factor, now a detective agency comprised of mainly old friends/teammates, and he just... stayed on. This X-Factor focuses itself on helping the mutant and no-longer-mutant population with its troubles (generally for a fee), while looking into what caused the massive depowerment, protesting the Registration Act, or chasing around the first mutant baby born since the massive depowerment. They run with whatever the Mutant Cause du jour is.
Other Members of X-Factor (very briefly & somewhat through Julio's eyes):
Multiple Man/Jamie Madrox: Leader, as he owns the building they live-in rent free. Wins at life for bagging Monet and Terry in one night. Fails at life for falling for Layla. A good friend, but he'll never be told that, especially because he's literally a demon right now.
Wolfsbane/Rahne Sinclair: One of the best people Julio's ever met. He admires her ability to have faith. A former flame and close friend, they know the other is damaged (and that they caused some of it), and they're very protective of each other.
Shatterstar: Reads Ric too well, but that's why they've been best friends since they met and why Julio's dating him. There's no one better to watch your back in a bar fight. Obsessed with tv, enjoys cracking skulls, and makes Ric laugh.
Siryn/Theresa Cassidy: Stereotypical fiery, Irish redhead. They go way back, and, like all of his friends, she has her problems (recovering alcoholic, professional at denial). Currently the manifestation of an ancient goddess.
Monet: Julio's favorite verbal sparring partner. He'll never admit it, but he recognizes that they're alike. She's still stuck-up though.
Layla Miller: The most annoying person ever born. Now she's married to Jamie, and he'll never get to slap her. She made the boneheaded decision to bring Guido back to life without a soul.
Longshot: Useful, but even Ric thinks he's an idiot and something of a pig. Was impersonated by a Skrull at one point. Ric doesn't trust him much.
Havok & Polaris: Babysitters sent by the X-Men to keep tabs on X-Factor's nosiness and to give them some legitimacy. They're train wrecks masquerading as people, so they fit right in.
Darwin: Seemed okay. Tried to kill Tier, Rahne's kid, and Ric was forced to attack him - nearly killing Darwin in the process.
Strong Guy/Guido:
Personality:
[NOTE: Purple is headcanon. Green is the reaction to landing on the turtle.]
To begin with, Julio doesn't want to be here, really. Not "here" as in on the Turtle, here as in "stuck in the mess of mutant issues that he can never quite get away from". But it's all he's known since he was about 13, and he honestly thinks that there's no other place for him in the world. This superhero stuff, if he is one, is partly to try and make sure no kids have to live through what he did and partly because sometimes they actually get to do that. He can take the successes and coast on the good vibes for awhile.
He's an angry person. As a youth, Rictor witnessed the murder of his father and was overcome with grief, and the wounds are there to this day. Through DNA alone - something that he had no say over, he's stuck being treated like dirt by millions of people over his status as a mutant. It's doubly painful, because his power is one of the only things that he is proud of and believes himself to be good at. He's seen too many of his friends die for someone who's only in his mid-twenties. Most of them were only teenagers. Rahne's kid wasn't even that old. Ric, himself, has been kidnapped multiple times, tortured with a proddy electrical machine, forced to fight in gladiatorial combat, temporarily enslaved, etc. So yeah, he's bitter. He'd like to get the long end of the stick once in awhile (and then whack a few people over the head with it).
Unsurprisingly, due to all of the trauma he's suffered, Ric is completely unable to handle personal, emotional stress. When he was younger, getting overly emotional or worked up tended to set off his powers (sometimes literally bringing the house down around him). He's attempted suicide twice. The first time was as a teenager, when it seemed as if he was going to fall back into the hands of the Right (who had tortured him).
When he was de-powered, Ric wound up on a window ledge again threatening to commit suicide, because he values himself by his ability. Without it, he felt like nothing. He's struggled with depression. It's never been explicitly diagnosed, but, aside from the suicide attempt, he's admitted that his bad days are spent in morosely wallowing in self-pity and that the good days are the ones when he's just too busy to do so. He's not above self-medicating with alcohol or sex when it gets to be too much. Getting help seems out of the question. When Jamie insisted that the entire roster of X-Factor see a psychiatrist, Julio was alternately hostile and flippant during his session. He's too proud to admit that he may not be able to handle something on his own.
When he was repowered permanently, Rictor was exuberant. There was extraneous use of abilities for several weeks and enough cocky swagger that multiple teammates had to basically tell him to calm down. He hasn't been as glum since then, but he will always find things to get upset about.
Ric has an established problem with authority figures. It's not entirely without reason. His father and uncles, who he loved, turned out to be arms-dealers and murderers. The original X-Factor team was working with Cameron Hodge, who tried to force Julio to cause a massive earthquake that would "prove" how dangerous mutants were. Cable's a douchebag, and it's been proven that its somewhere in his DNA to be a killer. . The list goes on. Julio is usually one of the first in line to question an order, particularly when it comes from an outsider. You have to earn Ric's trust, and he goes out of his way to make it hard to do just by being who he is.
Even ordinary conversations with him can get combative, especially if he goes into it feeling judged. Rictor is always on the defensive. Sometimes, it's quips, but, more often than not, it takes the form of stronger tones and debate. If it degenerates into a fight and he's taking a few too many stings, he's outta there. Anything to keep you and whatever hot mess you're in away, because he's got his own to deal with, thanks, and he doesn't want your pity. With close friends, he'll let his guard down sometimes, so long as they just operate on assumptions and don't expect him to actually talk about his feelings. That never goes well, because he hates being vulnerable.
Take his relationship with Shatterstar. It's obvious that Julio cares for him deeply, but Star's insistence on an open relationship makes Ric feel like he's leaving himself at risk of emotional pain. And so there's arguments, annoyed glances and snorts and angry remarks everywhere, and general overcompensation for being gay/bi and a complete refusal to enjoy any pop culture that might have the barest hint of being considered part of the gay stereotype (really, who doesn't like Singin' in the Rain? This guy. That's who). He sees it as completely justified behavior, because the last person that he attempted a relationship with (Rahne) fucked him and basically took off, leaving him with a Dear John letter, until she turned back up pregnant with someone else's kid and telling him it was his. He forgave her for that, but it still hurt to go through.
There's an unrecognized hypocritical streak in him as well. He's got an aversion to conforming to gay sterotypes, but Ric is ignorant of how he adheres to the one about the Latin male and his precious machismo. His honesty can work in brutal ways. He'll rail on someone for their mistakes, faults, and screw-ups and expect them to take it, but, if someone does the same to him, he blows them off. Fiercely against guns through his teenage years, he begins using handguns while he is depowered, in an effort to not be weak.
He's good at excusing his own bad behavior. He tried to explain away his suicide attempt to Rahne while he was still on the ledge threatening to jump. Ric lies to himself, as well. He's admitted to doing so while he was in the closet, but that's not the only time it's cropped off. It's more of a lying by omission than attempting to delude himself: if he can pretend that something didn't happen or didn't affect him, then it didn't. Picking minor fights (both verbal and physical) tends to help with this; it lets off some of the steam that builds up as a result of ignoring problems.
The one thing that he doesn't try to excuse is the killing that he's done. Ric doesn't enjoy killing, and he's actively avoided it in the Mojoverse gladiatorial arena. That said, he has taken lives when he thinks it's merited. Notably, he dealt what should have been the death blow on Cameron Hodge (reminder: leader of a human faction that seeks to destroy mutantkind, tortured Rictor personally), burying his still human head and cyborg body (don't ask. Comics.) under tons of rubble. He also killed a deranged man who abducted and mutilated Terry. Ric firmly believes that some people can't be allowed to live on, and he won't apologize for it.
When it comes to his friends, he's fine with them being vulnerable and will act as a support system, if allowed. He'll listen and offer well-meaning but terrible advice that you're probably better off without because Ric makes Really Bad Life Decisions, but the friend in question has to be bleeding emotions all over the place for him to see it. He's not trying to ignore them; he's just a self-centered asshole in his day-to-day life. But when the big stuff happens, he's right there to help. Just whack him on the face with it to get his attention. For example, with Rahne's pregnancy, he didn't bail on her when she told him it was his (as one could reasonably expect him to, with his penchant for storming off when things get hard). Even when he found out it wasn't his, Ric eventually got over himself and agreed to continue the farce that it was his child, even offering to help raise the kid.
Moodiness and anger issues aside, Rictor isn't a bad person. He may roll his eyes and bitch, but he'll never walk away from someone that needs help, even if it's a random domestic disturbance that doesn't concern him at all. He often misses the mark on his reactions to people, but, when he cools off, he can regret his lashing out. Sometimes, he can even manage to say that he's sorry. If he knows something is a sore spot for someone, he'll do the fighting for them without hesitation. Once he considers someone a friend, he's on their side even when they're possessed and attacking him, like Shatterstar was, or causing international incidents. It's part of his charm.
Another reason why people put up with him is that he's a sparkling conversationalist. Ok, not quite, but if you're in the market for someone to go have a few beers with and shoot the shit, he can be fun to talk to. There's a sense of humor there, and, as stated in several ways already, he doesn't enjoy talking about the bad memories. Underneath the mountains of manpain, he's an average guy with a sense of humor. He likes to go clubbing and drive too fast. He'd rather ask someone about their hot date this weekend or start a pool on how many more inches the zipper on Monet's uniform can go down before she gets hit with a ticket for indecent exposure.
As to his reaction to Tu Shanshu, he's going to be pissed, and that's not going to go away for awhile. When he gets done threatening whatever poor kedan is tasked with explaining the situation to him and demanding to know where Shatterstar - er, both Shatterstars are (there are two at his pullpoint - it's a time travel thing), Ric is going to curse the poor guy out. A lot. In three languages. He'll suggest things that you never would think of doing with a cart wheel. Through it all - however long he's on Tu Vishan, no matter what anyone tells him - he will never let go of the suspicion that this is Mojo. It has to be Mojo. There are cloaked hovercams around here somewhere. The rest of you might not listen to his ranting about how we're all stuck in The
Appearance:
Ric is a Hispanic male with brown hair, brown eyes, and seemingly perpetual scruff (shown in the image on the left). He is of average weight and height, with an above average build. He will arrive with longer than normal hair and a full beard (right image), due to captivity, but he'll get that taken care of soon enough.
Abilities:
Rictor's mutation allows him create seismic waves and energy. This can manifest in various ways. He's mostly seen channeling the vibrational waves through his hands and directing them at a target, which can cause the target to shatter, crumble, or explode. Due to the violent nature of the effect, he usually directs it at surfaces and objects around someone rather than directly at them.
In his younger days, he would sometimes lose control of his power and shake uncontrollably, causing the energy to spread out in all directions and with a strong force. It doesn't specifically need to be his hands, but they certainly are the most convenient way to control the direction. In fact, he doesn't need to direct them at anything through the air - the energy can be transferred by touch, causing objects in his hands in the same way that they would through an indirect attack.
Should he lose control or opt for a unfocused attack, Ric basically creates a localized earthquake. While it's not widespread devastation, it's akin to a high magnitude earthquake resulting in a radius of several city blocks brought to the ground. Due to this, he is extremely hesitant to use his powers near a fault line and will refuse to use them at all near a major one.
As luck would have it, his mutation also grants him a connection to the earth itself. He can feel the movements of the tectonic plates, sense fault lines, and wax poetic about how he can feel the rain on the dirt and the life in each ant. Obviously, he's not going to be connected to the turtle. If there are fault lines or tectonic plates beneath the ocean, perhaps he would have a dim sense of them? It's unnecessary, as turtle is not anchored to the plates and is cushioned by the sea, so it doesn't seem likely that Ric will be in danger of setting off something catastrophic.
When he channels the power through his hands, there is something of a glowy effect. It's blue-ish, sometimes leaning more to purple or to green.
Somewhere along the way (it's never really said when or how), Ric has become an accomplished hacker. He's good enough to the Avengers database, as well as that of S.H.I.E.L.D.
He's fluent in Spanish, English, and the language of the Mojoverse rebels, Cadre Alliance.
Inventory:
1 tank top
1 ridiculous ribbed turtleneck with leathery arms and shoulders
1 pair of khakis
Inexplicable leather shoulder guard-ish thing that straps over his chest
Double belt with X medallion, boots & socks, underwear
Suite: Earth Sector is *highly* preferred, due to the correlation of the name & his power. Also, the low-key nature of it suits him. However, if any sector has a damaged/condemned building that is free, that one. Because X-Force and X-Factor live in dives. One floor preferable, two at absolute max. A distant second choice is Wood.
In-Character Samples:
Third Person:
Two weeks in this nutsack, and Julio was nearing the end of his juulan. Oh, he'd prolonged the agony of being broke, sure. That last job, he'd managed to keep it for... almost a day. How was he supposed to know that the alternate dimension's translation field worked on obscure languages from other alternate dimensions. She shouldn't've been nosy and listening to people grumble under their breath.
It didn't matter now, anyway. He was out of a job and down to his last four bucks, and he was running out of options. If he didn't find a way to pick up some cash today, breakfast tomorrow was going to be the week-old sea prune currently residing at the back of his fridge. If it stayed in there much longer, it was going to start plotting revenge for the bite he'd taken out of it and spat all over the street.
Maybe he could ask on the network if there were any job openings. Ric was halfway to where the console was when he stepped in something and felt it gloosh around his foot. "Fuck."
Right, that's where the console had been, but that was last week, before the Empress had decided to force herself into everyone's feeds and shove her propaganda down everyone's throats. How was he supposed to know the goddamn thing dissolved if you accidentally cracked the casing? Fuck it. At least they couldn't turn the webcam on whenever they wanted anymore. Yeah, that's right, he thought smugly, I know that little trick.
He hated having to drag himself down to the cafe every day to check on the network. Sometimes he had to go twice if he had something to say. Ric grabbed his coat and started out the door with the gloop on his foot happily squish-squishing with every other step, making a muscle in his jaw tick to the beat as the irritation mounted.
At least the cafe had cleaner floors.
Network:
[ The feed clicks on to show Rictor sitting in one of the Earth Sector cafes, as he has been for all four times he's posted in the two weeks since his arrival. He looks mildly aggrieved. ]
The console in my place is still broken, before any smart mouth asks about it.
[ He holds up a ragged flier advertising the haunted house. It's clearly been torn down from something. There's still a thumbtack stubbornly holding on. ]
You've got to be fucking kidding me with this one. This is how you guys want to spend your time and resources? A haunted house? Please tell me Count Chocula knows the way home. Jesus, just look around. I don't care if you use the props to build a cannon and turn the building into a soup kitchen. Cause this?
[ He rattles the cardstock. ]
Waste of everyone's time and money. This is how you earn Girl Scout badges. Get it together.
[ Somewhere between the apartment and the cafe, he found the sign, and the chip on his shoulder grew three sizes and blotted out the light of reason. As he reaches for the button to end the feed, Ric remembers why he came down here in the first place: to ask if anyone had any job leads. Forget it, they'll probably tell him to go sell tickets for their funhouse. He'll ask tomorrow. He hits the button to cut the feed with finality.
Guess it's the sea prune for breakfast.]