#rmaccepted

WHO ARE THEY?

PERSONALITY

(+) kind, captivating, earnest (–) overtrusting, insecure, clumsy

BACKGROUND

i.

here is a boy swatched in gold- the world at his fingertips.

ii.

ryu hanbyul is born in the dead of winter: a frail little thing, two months too early, but with a surprisingly strong set of lungs to make up for any future health complications he might end up with. he comes out kicking and screaming, red in the face, and it makes his father’s lips flatten in displeasure before his features smooth into an impassive gaze. despite being a wailer in the beginning, he’s quite the docile boy. perhaps a little too soft and lacking the proper bite needed to survive in a world like this, but he doesn’t consider it to be problem. that is, until he realizes that he’s destined to become the heir to a corporation he could care less about instead of his darling older sister. it doesn’t make any sense to him. she handles everything with far more grace than he ever could, like she was meant for it. her back held taut and eyes looking straight ahead- his own, slouched and looking anywhere but here.

his father’s expectations weigh on him far too heavily to even try to refute it. his critical eyes pinprick the back of hanbyul’s neck as he sits down with private tutors, trudges through the arduous piano lessons, and reads about a culture steeped in tradition. in summary, he learns how to be the perfect son and more.

it’s overwhelming and exhausting, but he should be happy because he has everything he could possibly want.

( what he truly wants is to be able to live his own life, and that’s the only thing his father can’t give him. )

iii.

the minute he rolls out of bed, something feels off. a low buzz sits at the base of his skull, and everything sounds muted. his mouth is dry and he aches all over, but he chalks it up to the onset of a cold, or maybe a mild flu, and doesn’t think that anything is amiss until he takes a step inside of school. almost immediately, it’s like he has been hit by the invisible force of a freight train. or at least, his head has. it’s the sort of agonizing, splitting pain one would associate with a migraine, and it comes literally out of nowhere. a swarm of thoughts begin to rattle inside his head, each one louder than the last.

he must look like an idiot standing in the middle of the hallway, a total deer in the headlights, so he all but hurries to the nearest bathroom stall to lock himself in and tries to fight the urge to vomit. the headache dulls into a bearable throb. the thoughts that aren’t his lessen, no longer fighting for his attention.

with shaky hands he takes out his phone to tap a quick message to his noona: something’s wrong with me. help.

in the heat of the moment, it’s inconsequential that he doesn’t know where exactly he stands with his older sister at times. there was no one else in the world he would go running first to other than her.

iv.

they become best friends through sheer force and hanbyul’s dogged persistence. he hasn’t quite managed to find the right frequency for tuning out other people’s thoughts completely. especially when they get too loud. so he ambles up to the other boy with a crooked grin ( the real one, not the practiced one ) and says, “hey! you’re trying out for the soccer team, right? let’s practice together.”

he doesn’t expect it to fall apart so quickly. hell, he didn’t expect for it to fall apart at all.

the thing is, he’s not even mad about it. who would be, when your best friend saves your life? his extended stay at the hospital is just a small blemish- because his heart is still beating and that is a miracle in itself. the doctors tell him that he’s lucky, and he’s got the scars to prove it. thin fractals of puckered pink flesh that go out and fade into tendrils.

so it kind of hurts that he never bothers to visit and laugh at the dumb jokes he cracks that the nurses can only smile politely at as they fluff his pillow. it’s not the same.

he can do the practiced smiles, the manners fit for a prince, the words that run smoothly off his tongue. but pretending not to care, he thinks, is someting he’ll never manage to perfect.

v.

home is where he’s hanging precariously on a precipice and doesn’t know how to let go. compared to home, gumi is a breath of fresh air he didn’t know he desperately needed. hanbyul is a natural disaster in the making, barely contained at the edges.

sure, he doesn’t get to study what he wants. he still attends business meetings with his father and has to hide how bored he is at all of it. but when he doesn’t make it into his father’s desired legacy, all the man does is sigh and shake his head. the disappointment in his voice is palpable when hanbyul finally works up the courage to tell him.

maybe falling will be easier than expected. all he needs to do is take the plunge.

WHAT CAN THEY DO?

TELEPATHY is the ability to mentally receive and transmit information. it involves being able to read, communicate with, or manipulate one’s thoughts.

— through mind reading, he can predict his opponent’s attacks before they even have a chance to occur. during this time frame, he is able to react quickly and put his team and himself out of harm’s way. this allows him to always be five steps ahead of everyone else and is useful as a strategist.

— he is able to implant false thoughts inside a person’s head. they must comply with his demands or what he asks for as long as it is simple and straight to the point. once done, the person will shake out of their stupor and realize that the impulsive thought was not done out of their own free will.

— although his power is primarily a defensive one, he is able to project psionic bolts of energy to overload a person’s mind. this does not cause any physical damage, but rather mental, knocking them unconscious.

WEAKNESSES —

— the thoughts of other people are always constant; as a result, his power does not work well in large crowds because he can easily get overwhelmed by being overridden with too much information. while he is able to tune out most people’s thoughts, it becomes increasingly difficult when there are a large amount of people near his vicinity.

— he needs to be within 25 feet of another person in order to use his power on them. subsequently, while he is able to filter through several peoples’ thoughts at once, he can only focus on one person at a time if he wants to manipulate their mind specifically, whether it is through illusions or another one of his tricks. because this requires concentration, he leaves his own body vulnerable to attack.

— more passive applications of his power can be used for longer without any obvious strain, but the ones that require his imagination or projections can only be done for up to three hours before fatigue sets in.

— those with physic shield or immunity are impervious to his power. likewise, mindless beings such as monsters do not have thoughts that can be read, and can only be subjected to the more offensive aspect of his power. as of now, he is only able to use his telepathy on other humans.

DID YOU KNOW?

WHO ARE THEY?

PERSONALITY

(+) intelligent, logical, resourceful (–) aggressive, ambitious, stubborn

BACKGROUND

5: orphaned; his name came from the nanny who found him by the doorstep. there had been strange occurrences that were seemingly beyond his control. the exhibits: melting ice cream cones at alarming rates, often been told his hands were uncomfortably warm to hold during morning prayers, sporadically reddened skin like a sunburn. the outcome: wary adults, unwarranted gossip, distanced kids ––– quickly realised the initial isolation wasn’t by his choice, but internalising it was.

7: they came donned in black, cliche but necessary, trudging into the premise like an army of soldiers, carrying with them weapons meant for a different purpose and a prominent state of dread. it was a swift process, barely 5 minutes in the principal’s office and the deal was sealed ––– a well-established business relationship over the years that kept the kids blindsided. jaehwan was amongst the group ( yet another batch ) of kids to be adopted, first name off of the roll-call sheet. ( they were afraid of anything that was different. ) some sort of underground faction, some kind of criminals, some form of brotherhood. they were put through training, a sick semblance of survival games ––– to eventually be of use and value ( for what? for who? for why? ). jaehwan found out the hard way that they wanted an heir, a victor, a survivor; someone they could control, something they could weaponise.

11: warzone, blackened scars, broken ribs ––– jaehwan harnessed the extent of his capabilities best in times of desperation. they pushed him to the limits, constantly redrawing boundaries but the gist of it remained: the only way out is through ( winning ).

12: his first impression of the man: he was not what he seemed. all jaehwan remembered of him was polished oxford shoes. don’t look him in the eye was the only instruction he received. the eye contact was completely accidental, heart squeezed tight in throat and he couldn’t breathe ––– a learnt behaviour, yet no one told them why it was so. the man held his gaze, brief but powerful, and frankly jaehwan had never been able to shake this since.

13: they promised a kind ending for the boy. jaehwan reckoned if the boy had been born into a proper family, he would’ve been a sweet summer child, radiant all around and loved. except the fragility of trust and bond was taught in practicality, a concept they’d smashed and grinded into powdered little pieces, pathetic and ever so present. they were pitched against each other ––– an expected scenario though utterly foul ––– either one claimed victory or double the loss; there was no leg room for negotiation and hesitation. it was a battle won but a war lost for jaehwan, sense of achievement crushed with the boy’s bones and jaehwan watched him break. ( “this is no place for failures.” )

15: he bagged the top grades through high school because he was promised a better prospect on things if he did as told. words didn’t mean shit but he bought it all the same, chewed it all up like the hard-to-come-by halloween candies ––– a crooked sense of motivation, an ingrained sense of ambition.

16: it was a gruesome sight. the rest watched in horror as men lifted the boy’s lifeless, crusty body out of the scene, eyes melted out of sockets and the scent of burnt flesh festered ––– to be disposed of, to be marked as another failure, whichever fed their revolting sense of gratification. the man stood from a distance, looking at jaehwan with something akin to admiration, perhaps even pride ( he learnt this: blood is thicker where one so chooses ). brotherhood was a fickle abstraction in the face of an over-glorified honour.

16: his impression of the man was as it had always been: he was not what he seemed. a tender tone with an underlying ambiguity, indecipherable, unpredictable; a man of few words, but the sole mastermind behind the organisation. they held him in high regard, in part fear and in part respect, and jaehwan learnt as he saw. there were changes made following his victories ––– jaehwan was elevated to a different position, possibly for the better, though more likely to be a valuable spawn within a grandiose scheme.

18: he was hailed as the heir, but the bloodbath continued on in another form, elsewhere. the brutality of monster games played right into his cards, stacking odds against opponents and leading them right into their own demise. alpha fed his insatiable ambition, and the rusty taste of victory had never been nearly as fulfilling. if nothing else, the years had hammered into him the realisation that power dictated everything. the incessant pursuit for it should never end, not until he’d reached the crown with his own hands ( heavy on the neck, but it wouldn’t be him that it’d crush ).

22: they thrived on aggression ––– blood-bound, sharp-toothed, rough-edged, building a home amongst young wolves who would swallow the sky; full of vigour, full of strange hope. perhaps there were more to it after all.

WHAT CAN THEY DO?

DEFINITION

fire manipulation / pyrokinesis ––– ability to manipulate fire and its properties in various ways. user is able to create, shape, absorb and manipulate the element, the rapid oxidation and combustion process of such, heat and so forth.

applications:

fire generation ––– jaehwan’s able to generate fire (with the right elements present), with control over intensity and temperature. depending on the substances alight, and any impurities outside, the colour of the flame and the fire’s intensity will change accordingly.   heat manipulation / incineration ––– able to generate / manipulate variations of heat, utilising high temperatures to melt or incinerate through palms, reducing things to ashes. essentially, he’s able to burn / scorch / scald / vapourise / incinerate objects or beings by touch. (see limit) pyrokinetic attacks ––– able to manipulate fire to attack, generally mixed into melee attacks or infused into projectiles. currently he’s capable of fire infusion, fire blasts and fire bullets, and he’s working into other forms of attacks in the meantime. pyrokinetic constructs –– able to solidify fire into objects / weapons / shields / etc. essentially jaehwan’s able to create items out of flames — as long as these are things he’s seen or can imagine, with a good idea of how it functions. (see limit) fire negation ––– able to negate fire and most fire-using attacks, stopping their effects via deoxygenation. (see limit) fire immunity / thermal resistance ––– jaehwan’s immune to his own fire, and under normal circumstances, external flames as well. (see limit)

WEAKNESSES

oxygen is crucial as a comburent, and there (preferably) needs to be sufficient heat in the environment for fire and heat generation to be possible. intensity of flames is also dependent on these two. in an environment where there’s an exceptionally low oxygen supply, this power would be rendered useless.

water / ice elements could weaken his power and under certain circumstances, overpower him, especially if the users of these elements are stronger / the intensity subdues his. goes without saying that he might be rendered useless in extreme cold environments, i.e. north / south poles. 

immunity is limited to 1200C temperature wise. anything higher or more intense than that could result in burns and / or other collateral injuries unless flame retardant gloves are used. he also risks being burnt if he comes in contact with any foreign flames (or his own) that exceed the limited temperature.

emotions and adrenaline rushes could result in a surge in intensity and escalating the flames beyond his control. these usually stem from aggression and the overwhelming desire to win in battles / games, or when provoked. keeping himself level-headed during these situations is practically improbable. damages done could exceed his normal capabilities but they’ve almost always backfired on himself as well.

pyrokinetic constructs: mostly restricted to constructing weapons / shields / small objects or structures out of flames, nothing too complicated.

fire negation: depends on the intensity and scale of fire that he’s dealing with. for example, he’ll not be able to do much for a high-rise building that’s been set on fire. this can be trained, however, but it will require a much more refined level of concentration, coupled with control and skills.

incineration: vapourisation is currently a work in progress, unstable and doesn’t always prove effective.

time limit: depending on the scale and intensity, in 1-on-1 combat situations he could go for 2-3 consecutive hours before being physically drained. recuperation periods vary depending on damage done.

firing range: in an ideal / under normal circumstances, fired attacks could reach up to a maximum of 43m (141ft) of distance from him. radius wise he’s able to create a ring of flames that spans up to a maximum of a 5m (16ft) radius.

DID YOU KNOW?

WHO ARE THEY?

PERSONALITY

(+) calm, loyal, determined (–) unforgiving, selfish, aloof

BACKGROUND

 i don’t remember, was what he said when they asked about his past. i don’t know, was what he responded to the inquiry of his name. okay, was what he agreed when they told him to stay put. song jaemin appeared quite the obedient little boy when he was found alongside the road by local police. quiet, with a blank facial expression, the boy’s hand was taken before he’d been gently ushered into a vehicle in which, after it had started moving, jaemin sat obediently gazing out of the car window as trees flicked past and green soon turned to grey. the officer who had found the boy gazed upon his frail form through the rear-view mirror. jaemin’s own dark orbs met the curious ones. the face of the man briefly contorted in confused pain. when they arrived at destination, the disgruntled man was unable to recall where he’d found the boy.

jaemin sat on a blue chair, head bent as he swung his little legs that were too short for the tips of his worn shoes to touch the squeaky-clean floors of the police station. Intensely, yet with a hint of curiosity, the boy watched as a spider crawled from underneath the chair, circling one leg as it hid underneath the shadows of jaemin’s legs. “sweetheart?” a kind voice startled the boy from his reverie and once again dark orbs lifted to meet the gaze of another stranger. a woman smiled indulgently as she handed the boy a wrapped candy, its colours stark against the stranger’s tanned hand. carefully, the boy lifted the candy from her palm and the woman gave him a brilliant smile before she walked away. when child protective services took jaemin away an hour later, the only evidence of the boy’s discontinued presence was an opened candy wrapper underneath the blue seat – a twitching spider right next to it.

cats were beloved by jaemin. it was therefore really unfortunate that the family who adopted the little boy owned a dog. misfortune befell the family’s pet when, on a peaceful saturday afternoon, the creature suddenly started whimpering from its spot on the sofa between jaemin and his new father. blood tricked from the animal’s tear ducts before it shuddered its last breath. father had been confused, and mother inconsolable. jaemin simply stared as a hole in the back garden was dug before the golden retriever was buried. a month later, jaemin welcomed a new addition to the family with open arms and twinkling eyes – a black cat he named luna. the boy’s parents felt relief knowing they had managed to cheer up their baby boy after the tragic loss of their previous pet.

classmates refused to play with the weird kid, or so jaemin was told when he’d accidentally overheard a conversation during lunch break. the boy knew he’d scared the boys and girls in his class but did not know why. it was surprising when a few days later, a freckle-faced boy firmly planted his butt on the grass next to jaemin’s. the smile that he directed at jaemin was more brilliant than the sun which warmed their backs. the friendless boy’s face had remained neutral, and the sight of it started to diminish the newcomer’s confidence. the smile slipped from crooked lips until the two boys made eye contact. a breathy laugh and many sandwiches later, jaemin went home to tell his parents that he had finally made a friend, and park heechul would never forget the overwhelming feelings of gratitude (mixed with an inexplicable stinging sort of pain) that he felt when he’d sat down next to song jaemin that day. henceforth, jaemin could be seen trailing after heechul throughout their school years.

money couldn’t buy happiness but it could allude to it. as jaemin slowly grew up, his understanding of the privileged status he enjoyed grew as well. they were an upstanding middle-class family, earning respect and recognition from the people in their neighbourhood. his mother received frequent invitations to tea gatherings and church outings, while his father was often invited to lavish parties at expensive-looking hotels – to close business deals or extend his influence. as jaemin began to understand the importance of monetary means, and the generosity with which money was spent within their family, the boy also noticed the steadily increasing absences of his father from home. the now 13-year-old regularly opened the door to accept packages as a result from his mother’s new-found addiction to teleshopping.

while his mother hid her sorrows with expensive jewellery, the newest household appliances and forced cheerfulness, jaemin observed the times his father returned home. when the boy caught his father cheating, he was a teenager and already in high school. money didn’t buy happiness, but when song jaemin stared into his father’s eyes, he realised that he didn’t need to exchange anything for happiness. he could simply take it – forcefully, if he had to. the therapist couldn’t explain the large gap in the man’s memory, nor the persistent headaches, but all was forgiven when jaemin’s mother left that necklace she loved so much on her dresser and jumped up to greet her husband as the man finally came home at an appropriate time of day. and if jaemin’s lips curved into a sly smile, no one was there to witness it (if only, perhaps, the cat).

after their family returned back to what song jaemin considered normalcy, the teenager recalled the events he had brought about and the conscious act of erasing his father’s memory which had brought him a wicked sense of gratification. it wasn’t long before he started looking into mutation, reading records of known mutants who had outed themselves as such and agreed to having their powers documented. his research was to be kept a secret. slowly but surely, jaemin came to an understanding on the basics of his own abilities, and the life he had led. fragments of a past before his current family were mulled over at night, hiding under the covers with only the light of his phone to help his vision as an article about a missing boy led him to an article about a particular school. when jaemin finally closed his laptop and went to sleep well past midnight, both articles were bookmarked for safe-keeping.

the day jaemin fell out with his best friend was the day the unfortunate guy swept jaemin’s crush off her feet and declared her his. struggling with emotions and unable to express his feelings, jaemin had watched as the girl he had come to love throughout his high school years became infatuated by the charismatic guy, always animatedly chattering abuse to the mutant’s sensitive ears. whether heechul had been aware of jaemin’s affections for the girl remains unknown to this day. it wasn’t the kind of knowledge a comatose patient could convey. the girl had been heartbroken, and jaemin had undergone a physical change – a thick lock of white-grey hair now fell gently down his pale forehead.

i can make things happen, was what he told his parents after graduation. i’m a mutant, was what he confessed upon gazing at their confused faces. i’m leaving to study at gumi, was how jaemin informed his adoptive parents of his departure. to his parents’ credit, they helped him pack his things but when song jaemin got into the car of a foreign brand which would transport him to the international university, his parents did not look back as the car rolled down the driveway. jaemin wasn’t a case of special normalcy to them. not when his father advocated against mutants. not when he had obliterated any trace of him from his adoptive parents’ minds prior to getting into that car. luna was all that remained, and jaemin had decided to take her with him to his new home.

jaeger wasn’t the best but they were cunning, resourceful – and jaemin felt he could belong. while certain practices made him squeamish, he learnt to accept them or turn a blind eye. as an original member, song jaemin was taught to fight for the pride of the team and win, by any means necessary. he took that too literally one day and endured the consequences. the student’s body was broken but his mind clearer than before. jaemin started training more vigorously, strengthening his weak body and honing his mental abilities – and if he lost the colour of his hair, it was a mere side-effect he could live with. arrogance was not a word in the man’s dictionary but he was a follower like no other, prepared to reach heights many wouldn’t dream. all for the sake of jaeger – and to learn to control his abilities.

when he tossed and turned at night, no one was witness. after all, song jaemin had a room to himself. other students generally gave his apathetic presence a wide berth. when his grades dropped and his absence was noted more frequently, his fellow team mates frowned. nightmares haunted song jaemin at night (the agonised screams of one’s former best friend overlapping with numerous pairs of fearful eyes as he delivered fate) and fatigue taunted him during the day. and then came the moment where he looked into his captain’s eyes and couldn’t remember the guy’s identity. disoriented, jaemin fled – to the comforts of the library he worked in part-time, to the softness of his sheets where he remained until waking and realising he missed lectures (again), and, eventually, to the deep recesses of his mind.

a now silver-haired song jaemin roamed the halls of gumi international university for the powered. still a jaeger member, perhaps for longer than he had initially intended. having failed many classes, and having been unable to discern reality from illusion, jaemin had been forced to delay graduation – only having been able to follow half the courses on the curriculum for a year or two. he was now a fourth year, and among the oldest jaeger members still at university. his assumed brilliance in controlling his power through intensive training throughout the years has left him grey in the many definitions of the word; life seemed bleak, safe for the moments jaemin could feel passion during a fight. his memories were gap-filled and it had been many months since jaemin last felt in tune with his emotions. but he has survived this far, and he will continue his fight for survival in an environment where fighting, at times, appeared to be the only virtue.

WHAT CAN THEY DO?

song jaemin is gifted with the power of psionic inundation which causes a psychic attack, also called telepathic torture. the attack results in a mental overload which could result in brain damage, loss of memory or consciousness, turn the victim(s) into a vegetative state or even cause death. the attack can manifest in two ways; [a] extreme mental pain often described by victims as if their brain is on fire, and [b]overload of haunting voices/ psychobabble that can cause the victim to go insane or drive them to a mental breakdown. both variations can overpower the victim and effectively make them lose concentration, or consciousness. please note that; [1] jaemin can’t change or manipulate the memories his attack affects, only erase. [2] the severity of the damage can be controlled by jaemin (ooc note: the writer of the victim determines how far the mental damage should go), [3] jaemin prefers to utilise his abilities and attack from a distance.

WEAKNESSES —

as powerful as his abilities may seem, jaemin’s power has lots of weaknesses and side-effects of which many he attempts to keep concealed. psionic inundation is activated upon touch or eye contact, though jaemin prefers eye contact as he is often uncomfortable with touch. both manners of activation are instantaneous. the attack can last up to 20 min in one attack, before jaemin has to break the attack and rest for 30 minutes. the effects of inundation will linger for approximately 10 minutes after the attack is broken until fading. in the case that the victim breaks eye contact shortly after jaemin attacked, the effects of inundation will linger for approximately 6-7 minutes. should jaemin ever activate his abilities upon touch, the same duration of attack and effects of inundation after attack apply. jaemin’s control over his power is weakened when he is exceptionally drowsy or his psychic energy is depleted. being a psychic, in jaemin’s case, means being weaker physically. while he keeps training hard to gain skills in physical combat, if jaemin needs to resort to punches – if he’s dragged into a physical fight – he always emerges with varying degrees of physical injuries that heal slowly. it is one of the reasons why jaemin is often surrounded by jaeger members in fights where they have to compete as a team and he can use his abilities from a safe distance. jaemin’s psychic range is 75ft but his abilities are more effective when the target is within 50ft. mutants gifted with psychic shield and/or psychic immunity can blockjaemin’s attacks, and other psychic users such as telepaths might be more difficult for jaemin to influence and vice versa. mutants with memory manipulation can potentially shield their memories from being erased in attack [a] but will be susceptible towards mind blast [b]. jaemin can only mentally attack five targets at a time (rapid eye contact) or two targets at a time (touch). the danger to jaemin’s power is that his abilities affect him as well, though in a much slower rate than when used on victims. in order to use his power, jaemin’s brain overloads with psychic energy, causing him to experience some of the effects his victims experience. a very slow, stunted but sure loss of memory is one consequence compared with a need to sleep more hours than necessary, but the most direct, visual consequence is the ageing of his hair, which has been discoloured a white-grey due to excessive us of jaemin’s abilities.

DID YOU KNOW?

WHO ARE THEY?

PERSONALITY

(+) honest, diligent, quiet (–) surly, reckless, insubordinate

BACKGROUND

she’s long learnt that size is less important than agility. at least, that’s her theory.

it’s not working too well, her opponent besting her with sheer mass, fists almost the size of her head and the strength behind it as well. jisoo gasps, each breath marred with copper-bitter blood. her attacks hardly register on this mountain of a man, and she’s relegated to defense, cornered, her forearms shielding her face. he can finish her with just one more punch, and they both know it. but this is not a fight to withdraw from, and so jisoo braces herself as he swings his arm towards her, aimed high.

she hears the crunch of bone, but it’s not hers – she is untouched, fortified and held together by the imperceptible shift in her skin. her opponent is screaming in pain, his fingers flat against his palm in unnatural dislocation. she can barely grasp what’s happened, the instinctive understanding fading against the commotion of the fight itself, but jisoo feels the change in her body well enough to know her next move.

she curls her hand into a fist and knocks that sucker out.

—

she’s born fighting, thrown into the world with her tiny hands curled into fists. her family loves her, does their best to soothe the inexplicable roughness they find in her, but nothing quite works. she is loved, her parents giving all they can in any circumstances they find themselves in, and jisoo grows up a little softer, but she keeps her edges, the prickliness that keeps most people away. she’s seen enough of the way others treat her brother to know it’s better that way.

—

when she is sixteen, she falls into the wrong company. it’s a familiarity known to her only when she discovers it, a feeling of maybe this is what she was meant to do coursing through her. it’s not the fighting ring itself; that is but the conduit for whatever this is that she feels.

above all, she recognises the girl, the one with the bloodshot eyes, watching from the shadows. always watching, never fighting. this, she knows, she’s always known, bloodlust-crazy or not. she doesn’t learn the extent of the other girl’s powers, ever. all she knows is her effect on the ring when she’s there. her opponents are stronger, faster, more vicious whenever she’s around, almost feral in nature and with the matching strength to boot. either way, jisoo learns to love the surge of white-hot adrenaline, the clamour for blood awakened in her whenever the girl’s around. she misses it, she finds, when the fighting ring is shut down abruptly, broken up into fragments of its former self and the girl disappears into shadow.

it must have felt divine, she thinks, to have been able to control the bloodlust. or perhaps she’s mistaken fear for elation; she’d hardly known the difference when the girl was around.

—

gumi university is known only for one thing, and one thing only. of course it’s what attracts her to it, despite the mediocre ranking of its animation programme and the distance from anywhere else that falls under the category of civilisation. what’s a college experience without monsters?

hellion. she likes the sound of it. gumi’s chasing monsters, but the one inside her is looking for them.

WHAT CAN THEY DO?

POWER — carbokinesis – the ability to manipulate carbon. she can move, shape and otherwise manipulate all forms of carbon, such as changing it into various physical states and altering properties, including color, density, texture and flammability. she does this by restructuring carbon bonds to allow her to form carbon into different carbon-based matter, such as graphite or diamonds, using the carbon in her own body to supplement or break down these bonds or atoms.

carbon construct creation – she can create constructs out of carbon from existing carbon materials, or rearrange the carbon in her body to create constructs that are part of or attached to her. the structural strength of her constructs will depend on her knowledge of the object she is creating and the degree of intricacy, and the more complicated it is, the more difficult it will be to create such a construct. the carbon she manipulates will retain its shape after the initial manipulation, as she is physically rearranging carbon and not holding it together through force of will.

carbon isolation and formation – she can isolate carbon in some cases to use it to form carbon-based matter. she can thus weaken carbon-based matter, such as diamonds, causing it to be susceptible to bending or breaking, or strengthen such materials by rearranging the carbon to fortify the material. hence, she can also harden her skin by rearranging the carbon in her body to make it as hard as diamonds.

WEAKNESSES —

most of her carbon manipulation involves the carbon in her own body, and since there is a limited amount of carbon in a human body, jiwoo typically cannot both create a construct from herself and also fortify her skin; she is unable to multitask and utilise both of her applications at once. moreover, because carbon is one of the basic building blocks of the human body, if jiwoo manipulates too much of it in herself she could cause her body to shut down. thus, she has a limited supply of carbon that is readily available for her to manipulate.

outside of her own physical body, jiwoo can only manipulate carbon in its most pure form, or at least a material that is minimally 90% carbon, as she can only manipulate carbon and nothing else; for example, even though plastic contains organic polymers, the chains of carbon are likely to have the addition of other atoms that she cannot manipulate – ergo, she cannot manipulate plastic, or anything that is not made up of a majority of carbon atoms. trying to do so will result in structurally flawed constructs that are unlikely to hold their form beyond her initial attempt at manipulation, or constructs that will shatter upon impact.

she cannot create carbon out of nothing – there exists carbon in almost everything, but she currently cannot isolate carbon that is bonded to anything other than that of her own body. thus, she cannot create carbon out of the carbon dioxide in the air, or pull carbon from various living things and inanimate objects. jiwoo is limited to manipulating carbon from herself, or carbon that already exists in as pure a form as possible.

she has to be in physical contact with the carbon forms to be able to manipulate them; her manipulations are not telekinetic and she must be in contact with the carbon to rearrange the bonds or atoms. this is due to the way she manipulates carbon – using the carbon present in her body necessarily means she must be able to physically ‘transfer’ the bonds to or from the objects she’s manipulating, which requires physical contact.

her time limit comes more with fatigue than the use of her power; carbon manipulation for her is more like building physical things than any mental feat, which means she could theoretically engage her ability for an indefinite amount of time. however, like any ability she is limited to what her body can stand, and cannot continue using her ability when exhausted or if she uses up the carbon available to her.

DID YOU KNOW?

WHO ARE THEY?

PERSONALITY

(+) smart, heroic, compassionate (–) overprotective, impatient, competitive

BACKGROUND

i.jisung was born first in a family of four, consisting of his father, mother, him, and his younger sister – jisoo. their family was not poor per se but the kids’ parents needed to work hard, with all their blood, sweat, and tears, to give them a decent life.

ii. the first born is every parents’ dream. he always excelled in everything he did. he is always his class’ top student. he never left competitions without a medal around his neck or a trophy in hand. he had worked multiple jobs at a time so that he could to earn money not just for him but for the ones he loved as well. he is the perfect son but that didn’t just come to be. his family was his motivation, to be able to give them a bright future ahead of them. that’s why he studied his hardest, trained his hardest, and worked his hardest.

iii. his powers emerge at the age of 14. it first manifested during an arduous time and the teenage boy longed for escape. his hands started to emit glowing orbs that flare and spark in hues of purple and blue, much like the sparklers kids hold during new year’s, when he brought them together it became bigger and bright. to his astonishment, the once firework like orbs have grown into a small aperture looking out to cheonggyecheon stream, the same vista, the same place where jisung loved to escape to. han jisung was a mutant and this scared him because there were heavy consequences that could potentially ruin him, so the boy kept it a secret for as long as he could.

iv. the year that jisung was eligible to represent the country for the olympics was the lowest state he’s ever been. secrets were never kept for long, they always find a way to become known. like every other olympian there are tests each one is mandated to take, one of which is the test to discover if one has the mutant genome. this is a mandatory test for all, as mutants who look to play sports professionally is looked down upon solely for the belief of the supposed advantage they have over non-mutants. it is no surprise that jisung tested positive for the mutant genome and that was when his life fell apart. it was his dream to join the olympics, he has trained for as long as he could remember, worked all he could to be able to pay for the cost of it.

v. for a time, the boy was lost, angry even, but he was able to spring back up when he met a fellow mutant during his junior year in high school. this person was able to turn jisung’s life around and that’s one of the reasons why he fell in love with them. he started to train in martial arts again, even his powers. until that hole inside him was finally filled and the old jisung was back.

vi. everything felt perfect until his significant other was taken from him, victim to a heinous mutant hate crime. the culprits were sentenced “not guilty” as the law favored them, the non-mutants. this ignited a fire in jisung, resulting into him tracking them down and ending them the moment he could. because of what had happened this influenced jisung’s decision to pursue law, hoping that a time will come where he can fully avenge the love of his life in form of saving others.

vii. before jisung could enter university, he decided to take a gap year to work and save up enough money to be able to shoulder the expense of studying. during this time, jisung took as many jobs as he could – legal and illegal – all the while, still training.

viii. a year after all the back-breaking work he finally was able to enter gumi, his parents were a bit skeptical on his choice when he’d passed other more distinguished schools geared for law. in the end, his parents trusted his decision and that’s how the boy found himself in gumi’s campus taking up political science. not long after his admission, jisung was recruited into alpha because he made quite a name for himself during his tournament days and fighting prowess, thinking the freshman would make quite the addition to their roster, and as expected the male did, and excelled in the monster games; earning him the title as one of alpha’s respected (and feared) members at present.

ix. jisung encountered kick at its early phase of distribution. his previous supplier when he’d worked as a dealer for drugs contacted him and asked if he wanted in. the boy obliged, money is money after all, and that was how jisung turned into one of gumi’s resident kick dealers.

x. now, jisung is at his senior year looking to graduate with latin honors and pursuing law school. incidentally working part-time at fast-food chain, mostly as a delivery boy. whilst dealing kick and teaching martial arts at the weekends on the side.

WHAT CAN THEY DO?

portal creation

jisung is gifted with the power to create a teleportation vacuum in which he could transport multiple people and/or objects between two non-adjacent locations. the boy can also close the portal at will, causing whatever that has not exited be cut off. his portals manifest in hues of purples and blues that open in the form of a tear in space, surrounded by fuming vapor and light leaks that glow and glint then closes back up until it fizzes out like a dying sparkler.

at first jisung could only open portals as big as basketballs from his hands and tear them open with extreme effort to get them bigger. the stretch was limited to the span of his arms and the opening was limited to distance of his hands could reach. for the boy it was like prying open a gateway that wants to close. with training and practice however, jisung was able to develop his portals and was even able to learn how to create teleportation vacuums much farther than him by throwing a small orb of energy similar to a glowing cherry bomb, that bursts into a portal when it reaches its destination.

non-mutant skills

master martial artist: jisung is proficient in several martial arts like karate, ninjutsu, and kyusho jitsu.

peak human physical conditioning: he was able to gain this from being trained almost his whole life to be an Olympic-level athlete.

weapons expert: through martial arts jisung was able to learn how to use various weapons and master the use of certain weapons namely – the katana, sais, and balisong. the boy’s personal favorite weapon to use are his twin sais.

proficient marksman: due to the training he’s received and nature of jisung’s powers he needed to be a skilled marksman. (e.x. throwing his sais or his portals open)

WEAKNESSES —

been there, done that

the most important and probably most crucial limitation of his powers is needing to see where he needs to open a portal to or having been there physically before. attempting to transport anyone or anything under these circumstances will result to whatever passing through the portal not making it out intact/cut in half. it will be much easier if the portals he create to are in his line of sight and if they are areas/places he’s very familiar with.

eyes, eyes, baby

at first glance you’d think jisung is completely normal but when you look at his eyes you’ll be able to tell he’s a mutant. after the first manifestation, the color of his irises started to shift from dark brown to the same hues of his portals – purple and blue. it was very subtle at first, barely even noticeable but as time went on and the more he tried to use it the more noticeable it was. because of the consequences of being found mutant, jisung started to wear contacts to hide them. it is able to hide his peculiarity but he is not able to portal with them. jisung’s peculiar eyes are key to his powers, if covered he won’t be able to see the portals and where they lead to. merely interfering with his vision could give the portal creator a hard time. he describes this like playing darts blindfolded during a hurricane.

land of far far away

the farthest he can go without exhausting himself is roughly within a 5-mile radius. any farther than that, jisung will have to create hand-opened portals and take more time as he’ll need to concentrate and visualize the place perfectly if not it will not work and his portals would just continue to fizz and spark between his hands.

i open at the close

jisung can only throw open portals in quick successions never two at the same time. doing so may risk those that enter to spatial splicing. additionally, it is not only jisung who can close his portals. anyone with the ability to control matter can forcefully close it with their power, e.g. telekinesis.

tick, tick, tick

the opened portals time to close varies in different situations. for distance-open portals, jisung is able to keep it fully open for roughly five seconds before it closes in on itself. hand-opened portals however are different, the boy can hold it open for as long as he physically can before it closes, it will be like walls closing in on the portal and jisung trying his best to keep them pried open. if jisung overdoes himself he could lose consciousness and his powers could go haywire.

size matters

the bigger the distance-opened portals the slower the time it takes for it to fully close. though the boy can close it at will, the time it takes to close is completely dependent on the portal’s size. given that, enemies are able to retaliate in that given time frame before the portal closes.

portal storm

the worst backlash jisung can ever have with his powers and evidently a situation he tries to avoid the most. if the boy pushes himself over the limits of his powers, he could fall unconscious and go into respiratory distress. during this time his powers will have a mind of their own, his hands blasting open portals all around.

training

to maintain jisung’s non-mutant skills and olympic-level condition, he needs to train as much as possible which is why he is a frequent body at the taeryung athletic center.

DID YOU KNOW?

WHO ARE THEY?

PERSONALITY

(+) cunning, driven, prudent (–) indecisive, insincere, vindictive

BACKGROUND

one. You spend your first five years sick. Nobody can tell you really why, only that your body seems to be fighting a constant fever. Nothing your father, born with a healing touch, does ever manages to keep it down for long. Years later you will come to realize that maybe your parents knew long before you ever set a single thing on fire. Maybe they were scared from the start. 

two. You set your first fire aged six. Your mother tells you that it’s not your fault as she presses a cold, damp cloth to your father’s forearm. The scar left behind turns into a physical manifestation of your shame. The chronic fever is gone after that. We should have known, Jinyong-ah. We should’ve been more careful.  They don’t tell you that your aunt shared your gift, that it was her fire that killed your grandparents years before you were even an idea. You learn that on your own, through gossip, through whispers during family gatherings. Your parents should understand, they, too, are gifted, but all of that doesn’t seem to matter.  You are on your own, whether you want it or not.

three. All your powers do is hurt. You grow to resent it for being destructive in your untrained hands. There is a long and growing list of household items incinerated in bursts of frustration. Your older cousin, your tutor in this field, gently reminds you that negative feelings are just as much fuel to your flames as energy is, but at such a young age you interpret it as an outright invitation not to feel at all. It doesn’t work, of course, you are human and humans, as per default, feel. But you find out that you can hide what you feel, refuse to let it rear its head. You become an expert at feeling out your limits and keeping your emotions down enough You have become cold and distant, your father complains somewhere around your fifteenth birthday. I did it for you is what you long to say, but you swallow it, along with the tears of anger and frustration.  You nearly incinerate the rug in the living room anyway.

four. It’s your mother who approaches you about attending Gumi International School for the Powered, somewhere where you will be able to truly learn how to use your gift, as she puts it with a nervous smile, as if she expects you to burn her to cinders. You would never, but by seventeen you have given up on assuring that you won’t cause her any harm. It’s not like she ever listened before. You understand the concept of trauma, but still it makes you feel bitter (bitter, for there’s no more energy to feel angry). I am not my aunt, you want to tell her. Your thoughts go unspoken as you fill out the paperwork.

five. There is something incredibly ironic about you, someone born to destroy, choosing to major in nursing. You do it anyway, partially to spite everyone who ever dared to doubt you, partially out of a sense of obligation to return every little bit of hurt you’ve ever caused. As long as you don’t call it outright punishing yourself no one will ever know. Gumi comes, however, with one incredible advantage: true independence. It is different from the self-sufficiency you had to learn in your childhood, comes with higher stakes, but it’s incredibly freeing. You take to it far better than you would’ve dared to imagine.  

five-and-a-half. You don’t plan on joining a legacy team at first, the whole concept of the monster games scaring you – whether it’s because you are scared of getting hurt or hurting someone else you’re not quite sure yet. Lotus, however, stands for everything you strive for, in a way; control, discipline, the ability to forego brute force in favour of strategy. You mull over the choice for longer than necessary, you know this is where you want to be long before you are done listing the pros and cons.

WHAT CAN THEY DO?

Pyrokinesis grants the ability to manipulate the properties of fire.

This includes:

– Manipulate heat and fire present in the user’s environment.

– The ability to induce combustion and generate fire.

– Immunity to fire and heat up until 500°C, with the ability to expand said limit with training.

WEAKNESSES —

– Pyrokinesis relies heavily on the presence of oxygen in an environment to function. That excludes obvious situations like being underwater or in a vacuum but can also apply to particularly crowded, enclosed places with a higher percentage of carbonic oxide.

– Damp and/or cold climate heavily tamper with the efficiency, range & strength of Jinyong’s fire. If the necessary ignition temperature cannot be met, fire won’t form or be able to be maintained. While he runs hotter than most, if he can’t sustain his body temperature his efficiency will suffer. Likewise, humidity in the air, influences how well he performs, with rain-heavy seasons significantly affecting him and places like the poles or rainforests alike rendering him completely powerless.

– Jinyong is also reliant on good nutrition to generate fuel for his own fire. If he can’t eat to cover the calorie deficit, he runs risk of exhausting himself (short-term, takes give or take 60 minutes to set in) to damaging muscle tissue, nerves and organs if kept up past his limits. This also includes proper hydration – if neglected, he will be affected by his higher-than-average internal temperature of 39°C like every other human being: by coming down with a fever.

— After generating fire, a literal cooldown period corresponding to the amount of energy burnt is required.  The exact amount of time needed depends on several factors like physical and mental condition, external temperature and so forth, but a good rule of the thumb is 20-30 minutes for an immediate cooldown (with potential consequences if still used past the personal limit) and up to 96 hours for a full recovery.

— Jinyong’s physical limit currently lies at 5 metres (about 16 feet), with non-combustible barriers able to decrease said range, his temperature limit lies at 500° C. Continuous, full use of his power can currently be upheld for 45 minutes to an hour and requires the full 96 hours of recovery in order not to cause permanent physical damage.

– Discipline and a strong hold on one’s emotions are an absolute must. Pyrokinesis comes with many limits that have to be kept in touch with in order not to damage its user and is known for its vast destructive power. Jinyong has made more than enough acquaintance with violent outbursts that have caused far more harm than he ever could’ve imagined and thus takes great care to keep his feelings under control, but when it boils down to it, he is still just a boy of eighteen and terribly afraid of his powers.

DID YOU KNOW?

WHO ARE THEY?

PERSONALITY

(+) sociable, bold, charismatic (–) reckless, self-indulgent, vain

BACKGROUND

I. THE LIMELIGHT

a childhood of golden spoons and silver platters is nothing less than expected for a boy like you. thrust into the spotlight from birth, you were always one to envy with those big eyes and a brilliant smile like no other.

picture perfect.

your father said. your mother reminded. your aunt scolded. your grandfather boasted. your friends questioned. the media outlets reported. you swear those words have bounced around in your head over a million times, seeping into the depths of your mind and implanting themselves there for good.

so you learned to deliver because no flaws would suffice. each surface was polished to a point.

no sir, you were anything but lackluster.

you lived for the flashing lights. eventually, basked in it. ultimately, sought glory from within it.

and that was all you ever knew.

II. THE INTERMISSION

city sidewalks and classroom carpets bled red for you, and only you. what others call friends, you called fans. every number mattered. every caption checked, and double checked. every hair brushed perfectly in place. every posture practiced in front of the mirror.

this was the world you knew. this became the very essence of you.

the hushed whispers, the shining glances, the wide smiles—the crowds inevitably followed you around. the uncomfortable feeling deep within your bones has long dissipated at this point, only to be replaced by casual complacency. they could have called you an addict at this point and you wouldn’t care.

more noise. more attention. you were happy. your family was proud.

life was a show in which you played the dazzling lead—until the curtains were suddenly pulled shut, and the lights went out.

a premature finale.

you’ve dealt with your fair share of antis before, low lives with nothing but pent up jealousy and resentment against the gem that was you—but it was never like this.

they said your eyes became the color of ice. your body was rock hard, sharp, stone cold to the touch.

they claimed you were a violent, untamable monster, capable of making flowers of purple and blue grow on the skin of those who dared to touch you.

they even said you painted the grass with a masterpiece of fresh blood.

you were at the prime of your high school career with hopes, dreams, and the continued promise of an unfathomably bright future, just as planned.

oh, but they didn’t care.

there could be no tarnishes in the family reputation, not when the nation—the world was watching. and so the glittering wonder of your life came to shatter before your very eyes, slipping through the white hot grasp of your own stubborn fingers.

III. THE SHOW MUST GO ON

with one final push, you were shipped off miles away to a school for abnegations like you to make it on your own until you could find a way to be their perfect little son again. in this foreign land with all these unfamiliar faces, you thought it would be easy to turn the page. to start over again. you pretended for as long as you could, dashing smiles, carefree shrugs, and all. but it was becoming harder and harder to suppress the supposed beast that thrashes within, so you did what was only natural.

you let it out.

within the confines of the dark, forgotten cement walls, you found your inner monster’s niche. it was deep underneath the city’s burning asphalt that you felt, though fleetingly, as if everything was right in the world again.

as if you hadn’t longed for it all this time.

you’ve lived your life with the world in the palm of your hand. you were not going to let a little setback become your end all, be all.

the show in which you starred wasn’t coming to an end. no, it most certainly is not.

you were only just preparing for the encore.

WHAT CAN THEY DO?

DIAMOND MIMICRY  — means that junhao can transform his body fully into diamond. he is physically, but also partially, composed of diamond. while anatomically and biologically he looks and functions like any other ordinary human being, parts of his internal and external organs are made up of this precious gem. he’s, in other words, unscratchable when in his full diamond form, as this ability gives him virtually impenetrable dermal armor that can protect him from the majority of offensive attacks.

DERMAL ARMOR — allows him to be unscathed in the face of extreme changes in temperature, pressure, and so on. his diamond form also allows junhao to reflect not only light, but other kinds of attacks back at the offender, such as energy beams and projectiles as well.

NATURAL WEAPONRY — he is able to will certain parts of his body to manifest as weapons to be used in offensive combat. this can range anywhere from small, spiky protrusions along his skin, to an entire arm functioning as some variant form of spear or sword.

PASSIVE APPLICATION — all of the aforementioned applications are of course, only used when needed. passively, junhao’s skin isn’t super rock hard, but it is more firm to the touch than considered normal ( though he likes to tell people that he’s ripped and that it’s all muscle. ) he’s also not as blindingly lustrous as he would be in his full diamond form, instead he will appear to have a shine or glow that reflects light in a subtle, yet ever glaringly noticeable way.

WEAKNESSES

ACHILLES HEEL — while he’s not in full diamond form, he’s susceptible to injuries, albeit it takes just a tiny bit more force than usual for him to get a paper cut or some sort of bruise. when he’s in full form, however, at first glance he may seem completely unscratchable, but like all great heroes he does have his own achilles heel: a small area, about 3 centimeters in diameter, on the small of his back. this part of his skin is the only part of his entire being that isn’t composed of diamond in any sort of way.

SHATTERING — diamonds, although known as the hardest mineral substance on earth, are still susceptible to shattering. this makes junhao’s abilities quite weak when faced with mutants who possess the abilities of vibration emission and sound manipulation as high frequency waves can lead to molecular level fractures, and ultimately the shattering of his form.

PHYSICAL FLAWS — as stated above, when not in full diamond form, junhao is susceptible to injury. because he is physically composed in part of diamond, when junhao does decide to use his abilities to its fullest potentials, all he has to do is concentrate and mentally flip a switch to activate it. in other words, whatever injuries he sustained before entering into his full form, will remain and become kinks in his armor. he has no supernatural healing capabilities whatsoever.

TIME LIMIT — the amount of surface area on his body he wills to become full diamond is equivalent to the amount of energy and eventual exhaustion he needs to invest and pay for later. as of right now, junhao can only be in his complete form for a maximum of an hour if he’s really pushing it. usually, thirty to forty minutes is enough to have him  recovering for at least three hours afterwards.

RANGE — while many other mutations allow users to engage in long distance combat, junhao is limited to only close range defenses and attacks because his power stems from within and manifests itself as being wholly and physically a part of his very being. for example, he cannot shoot diamond spikes at his opponent from afar because said spikes are literally a part of his body that he cannot remove or dismantle without fatal consequences.

DID YOU KNOW?