BMDR - James


Name: James Tierney Gender: Male, Straight Age/DOB: 25/2000 Origin: Repurposed Earth, AA Enrichment Center, Fairport Alabama Family: Unknown, has at least three donor parents, and may share one of them with Bruce given their appearances; daughter Juanita with Lynne, son Doyle with Dydell Other: He usually keeps to himself, though he is a pleasant addition to any group, and the non-Vortals seem to like him quite a bit Height: 6'3 Weight: 150, slender and wiry, lean build, doesn't seem to gain weight even if there's plentiful food and lazy days Hair: brightly blond, shaggy, usually long enough to have a pony tail, rarely cut shorter than shoulder length Eyes: blue, clear and large, often enough with concern on his face, and easily read Appearance: fair skinned with a few small scars, but no obvious blemishes, James is an attractive young man who tries not to stand out in a crowd even though he's tall enough to tower over many. Likes blue so he wears more or less what's shown at any given time, though yes he does often add an Icarus suit under it Icarus Processing: Not until age 18, when he asked Melissa and Carmen to do the process for him; tired of being 'on the weaker end' of things, he wanted to at least be able to connect to more distant people. Though this was an incredibly painful process (particularly as a later teen) he claims that it lets him sense a much greater range of people, including non-Vortal ones, at considerably wider distances. This has helped the Rookery in particular, since he tends to remain a little farther off than most.	Image Credits: Azalea's Dolls/Starsue Cat Noir / tektek
Genetic Abilities: Strong Empathic ability that is a very broad and encompassing force, can detect spikes in any overall mood of a group with ease, at a distance of half a mile; can alter or nudge moods within 20 meters, working best with individuals, impossible with a larger or more varied group; Telepathy at an average distance, around 1km with ease, but must know that there's someone to receive his messages before he's confident in blurting anything out; his mental voice is quiet and almost chime-like, hardly invasive at all even though he can extract information with his abilities up close. ** Note that with the Icarus process finally done, his range expands to nearly ten times his original, though his control over any given ability is the same. Also note that of the Pantheon he's also one of the few outside of Paxton's family that knows of and uses the Antlion larval extract to boost his powers now and again.
Skills or Profession: Though originally intended as a spy, informant, or threat detection system, James is of much more use as a communication network for the Pantheon. He, Tina, and Bruce can serve as a web covering the entire Rookery - or the EC, or almost any other facility-sized location with ease. He has always been good at logistics, quickly sensing the needs of a group and assessing their skillsets. This is something that Melissa appreciates, she knows she can delegate the delegation of duties directly to him. Paxton relies on him for such things as well, and he is confident when James puts together a team that they'll do well. As his training was only just started at the EC, and hardly reinforced beyond their scrambling around after the Events, James wasn't sure whether there were any other skills he was supposed to even have. He does enjoy picking up information and recording it, so his services as a sort of 'court reporter' are also valued at Black Mesa (any of them), and he's even considered announcing himself as an arbitrator of sorts for disputes. He can remain unaffected by the moods he senses, particularly after his Icarus treatment, even though the emotions he senses became much more vivid. In the current era of RY12+, he is very much relied upon in North Aperture, to help keep things moving smoothly among the new arrivals.
Personality: A sensible and quick-witted youth, he easily puts together clues and actions of those around him. It's almost impossible to lie to him, perhaps this is a deeper empathy or just an ability to decode body language. But then again: hardly anyone wants to lie to him - he's a comfortable and comforting young man and one that few people would willingly try to anger. He's nowhere near as nervous or needy as Bruce, so he is someone that plenty of people confide in, and he keeps those secrets they've entrusted to him. James is on the quiet side, even well after his Icarus boosting, but as a stable presence he's very valued.
Events or History: Among the younger of the Pantheon, but still served well as a relay-telepath during the attack on the Vault and GLADOS. He spent much of his youth running around the EC avoiding detection and soothing others fears, even as a 7 or 8 year old he was able to help calm Lynne when things were getting hairy. As they exited the facility, he would go on rounds with some teams, but until he realized he could have the Icarus treatments he felt like he was too short-ranged to really be of much use. Among the very few in the Pantheon who volunteered for the process, Mel and Carmen made sure that his treatments were as painless (hah) as possible, and that his memories of the incident were dulled but not removed. If anyone is approached about having it done, they can certainly ask him about it, and he'll tell them - in gory detail, but with a detatchment that says volumes. In the Rookery era, James enjoys a spot rather distant from the rest of the Pantheon, with his beautiful bond friend Hibiscus. They'd lived in the Bayou for a time, but after RY 12 they make regular appearances at the Mesa, but live at the North Aperture site helping out with renovations and health. Hibiscus works with the plant shapers and keeps the food growing, while James himself resides with the communication center folks in Shaft 9.
Dragon Name: Hibiscus Gender: Female Size/Shoulder/Length: Medium-small 7'6" shoulder / 40' l / 75' ws Colors: Brilliant white belly from chin to tail tip and backs of limbs; white scales on sides and limbs; vibrant red spots and scales along fronts of limbs, stripe, and luminescent spots, nose tip, tail tip, and neck frill; gradient grey to rich black fades on wingsails, black to grey blending into the white on feet, and black mask on face; black claws and horns, spine ridges; deeply blue-green eyes Features: Rainwing, four legs, two wings, long prehensile tail; feet have 5 and 4 digits with extremely sharp curved claws, thumbs on fore and heel-claw on hind; tail can support full weight as long as there's something strong enough to wrap around; skin is scaley with very bright and clean large plates on belly, small but visible scaling on sides, and armored bits otherwise, short ridged scales along entire spine from head to tail tip; leathery wings have four distinct fingers and an added elbow strut, plus a large wrist thumb with massive claw, all end in claws; nose has short horn, and jaw nubs, external ears, webbed neck frill behind ears, and short back and upswept horns. Powers: Winged Flight, Hibiscus is a very good flier particularly when there's mist or fog, seeing easily through it and making sure that she doesn't run into any stray treelimbs or rebar. She tends not to fly very swiftly, but rather moves like a butterfly - some say she took lessons from Silkwings and they succeeded in making her as graceful as she is beautiful. She likes to hold on to a lower strut with her tail, anchoring herself, and flapping carefully to clear the air if needed - she can move smoke, haze, or even toxic fumes away from an area very quickly in this way. She cannot hold too much more weight than her little Human friend, but then he doesn't ask her to do much more than that. Communication, Hibiscus is very adept at listening, in multiple languages including English, Vort, Draconic, and some few others that only she can say how much she understands. Even if she cannot speak, say, Russian, she still understands intimately what is being said, probably a Vortal power. She can speak in English and Draconic, her voice hardly a whisper but filled with positivity and friendliness. Calming and sensible, like her human. Venom; though she would hardly use this against most creatures, Hibiscus has the typically available Rainwing bite which can immobilize and eventually kill prey of medium size or less. Her bite is actually remarkably soft - deceptively so, sort of like a vampire bat's bite that soothes and numbs even as it penetrates into the skin. Thus any creature that she does need to kill, she attempts to lull it first, bite without them even noticing, and let them pass in peace before eating. All bets are off, however, if James or any of the other Rookery inhabitants are in danger - she can be fierce, but she'd never put herself into a battle without tremendously good cause. Parentage: Unknown, pure Rainwing, unrelated to any others at the Rookery, and probably a clear choice for pairing up for some of them. Origin: adopted from HufflepuffHannah at Deviantart, Base by FearlessMist and the WoF Wikia Other Info: A RainWing who keeps her scales shades of red, white, and gray spotless, she prefers little company, for she doesn't really like loud crowds or noises. She's sweet though, and will treat any guest kindly, with a soft voice and a gentle air about her. Her pride and joy are the many flowers she grows in her home, which is set higher into the trees than most RainWings (or, oddly, high among the Spheres in the Rookery Earth's Enrichment Center...). She listens to the NightWings (and anyone else!) who comes up to her home, and when her guests leave, they are content that their problems have been heard by someone who doesn't think of sunshine and rainbows all day. She's not super-duper serious, but she takes others confidence in her with brevity, knowing that their moods might affect how well they perform in their duties to the Rookery.