[b]Basic Information[/b]

[b]Name:[/b] Atticus Fowler
[b]Nickname/Alias/Etc:[/b] N/A
[b]Gender:[/b] Male
[b]Age:[/b] 18
[b]Height:[/b] 5’8”
[b]Weight:[/b] 142.3lbs.
[b]Status:[b] New Student

[b]Appearance[/b]

[b]Hair Color:[/b] Dark Blonde
[b]Eye Color:[/b] Red
[b]Ethnicity:[/b] White/Caucasian

[b]Physical Appearance:[/b] Most of the time, Atticus looks like a normal young adult his age with an average height of 5’8”. He possesses a healthy, slim build, and also muscular definition that suggests an athletic lifestyle, although he looks nothing like a bodybuilder or a professional. He has fair skin, although he is not ghostly pale, and possesses thick, wavy blonde hair that is dark enough to seem ashen in appearance. He keeps his hair cut in a shorter variant of a curtain-style, with the fringe parted in the center, and gradual tapering in length versus abrupt change. His face is oval-shaped with softer features, although his cheekbones are defined; highlighting the faintest aspects of his appearance that suggests that he is a meta-human. His cheeks appear at odd times to glow with the faintest hint of a deep red light, often becoming brighter the darker it is in the surrounding area. A similar patch shaped like a small star-and-strip mark with three prongs going upwards, also glows just beneath his hairline, much fainter, but also seeming to grow brighter with less light. Most people do not notice these glowing patches unless they look closely. Atticus’ round eyes look like a regular human’s, with long, dark eyelashes, but possess irises that are considered to be the color of blood, an intense and pure color that clearly results from his mutations. Because of a strong sensitivity to sunlight, Atticus’ eyes are hidden behind his glasses most of the time. 

Atticus is an animal-meta gifted with the ability to shift between the form of a human and a creature, and possesses another form that is, by all accounts, considered a monstrosity that would have crawled in from someone’s nightmares. His skin loses all hair and takes on an unnerving color, a pure black that is comparable to obsidian or oil, which reflects light in a fashion that makes his body seem sleek or smooth like glass, in a fashion similar to a black dragonfish. The structure of his skeleton and musculature change, and his legs and feet alter so that the foot elongates, allowing him to stand on the frontal part alone, similar to depictions of bipedal lycanthropes. His fingers grow much longer, becoming spindly in appearance because of their length, although they retain great strength and dexterity. Webbing forms between the joints of the thumb, and the first joint of each finger. The arms and legs both become more muscular with this transformation to support power and speed, although the torso and overall body retains the same lean build as Atticus’ human form, though the musculature becomes more sharply defined as a result of the transformation. He sprouts a long tail that begins thick, like reptiles, but tapers to a thin appearance like the tail of an eel or newt. A ridge appears on his back, and sprouts extremely long spines that form a fan, looking more like feelers, or whiskers. Similar smaller ridges appear on his lower arms, lining up with the shortest outer fingers.

Atticus’s neck elongates and becomes eel-like in appearance, although it remains thick enough to support the new shape of his skull and head, overall. His head becomes like a gulper eel’s, with an enormous, cavernous mouth. When closed, it may seem harmless, but jagged, spike or needle-like teeth line it, and each tooth faintly points inward. His nose grows flat and becomes a simple pair of nostrils, located on the very tip of the face. His eyes become perfectly round, and enlarge to become like those of a deep-sea fish in appearance, primarily a spookfish, although the eyes are forward-facing. These eyes may appear black or mirror-like in most lights (They actually do contain mirrors), but certain angles reveal that they retain their characteristic blood-red coloration, which is perhaps one of the sole means that can allow a person to identify the form as Atticus. The glowing patches on Atticus transform and become more pronounced. The red glows his cheeks become cashew or kidney-shaped organs that emit a bright red light right beneath each eye, although an internal membrane of black skin can immediately obscure this light, being much more effective than the original pale, human-like skin. Likewise, the blue forked patch on Atticus’ forehead transforms into a lure similar to a wolftrap anglerfish, having distinct joints that cause it to strongly resemble a fishing rod, and tipped with three hook-like bioluminescent organs, which are tipped with sharp claw-like protrusions. Similar to the glow in Atticus’ cheeks, there is a black membrane in this lure that can obscure the glow, and the joints of the lure allow it to fold up on his head so that it does not hinder him, if need be. These glows are revealed to be produced by strains of bioluminescent bacteria, which originated from regular bacteria presumably living on his skin or in his mouth, which mutated with him. Atticus’ face is covered with ridges that accent his nostrils and separate parts of his features, vaguely akin to most abyssal fish, or a fangtooth. A third pair of eyelids, which are transparent but yellow in coloration, can cover Atticus’ eyes.

A final feature that is only ever apparent when Atticus is present around people who know he has his powers, or they do not recognize his creature form as him, is that Atticus’ body is covered with blue photophores, which he can control when their light glows, unlike the bacterial glow in his lure or cheeks, due to bodily systems being responsible for the production of light. He often does not use it, though, because however small the amount of energy it costs him to use the photophores, it is still use of energy that he does not like to afford, and for the most part, they do not serve much purpose.

[b]Attire:[/b] Atticus’ typical attire consists of jeans and short-sleeve, which are typically made from a light, breathing fabric, in order to prevent him from being uncomfortably warm. Often, his color choices revolve around either white or black as a base, with color accents primarily being red or blue, although red is most often the chosen color. He generally prefers wearing a good pair of shoes that will suit any purpose, and prevent injuries to his feet. Overall, he dresses nicely, although his choice of clothing may be simple. What Atticus is never seen without is a special pair of sunglasses, which are large, and completely conceal his eyes when viewed from any angle. Their tint is additionally so dark that people cannot even see the faintest impression of his eyes. This is because Atticus has photophobia as a result of his powers. It is not an irrational fear of light, but a real sensitivity that makes sunlight painful to look at. Atticus keeps a spare pair of glasses in his pocket at all times, taking into account that on an island filled with mutants someone who doesn’t respect privacy might be tempted to steal his lenses.

In his mutated form, Atticus has a special black wetsuit with grey accents, which he wears primarily for the purpose of having a reliable and durable fabric that will comfortably move with his body, without feeling restricting. The suit was made primarily because Atticus’ clothing does not properly fit him after he sprouts a tail, spines, and develops a long eel’s neck along with claws, and it would be ridiculous having to deal with ripped clothing every time he changed. It was also specifically a wetsuit because it was suggested, on account of his fish-like abilities.

[b]Personality[/b]

[b]Outward & Innate Personality:[/b] Atticus is generally considered to be calm and collected in nature, although this taken into account, he is not insensitive to the needs of others, or completely resistant to stress himself. He is mostly reserved, saying little about himself or about other people, making it difficult for someone to pry secrets from him. He tries to discourage people from telling him something they expect to be kept a secret, because though he will do as they ask, he heavily dislikes people asking him probing questions. He tries not to be too cold towards people, and often avoids conflict as much as possible, although he does not do so in a cowardly or submissive manner, but rather, will simply claim that something will cause trouble, and that he does not wish to be involved. He dislikes getting into arguments, or having to tolerate ridiculous or foolish behavior, preferring to be left to his own devices, and generally not wasting energy on something that he may view as pointless, having a dislike for irrational acts. He is not, however mean, and will generally try not to upset others, because he is actually rather empathetic, despite any misconceptions made.

Internally, Atticus is a person who is more likely to not show any sort of reaction to stressful or upsetting situations, but this is largely because he is extremely good at exerting self-control, and dismissing feelings that may cause him to behave in a rash manner. In reality, though, certain frustrations could potentially build up, until he flies into a fit that leaves most people stunned, because his outwardly calm demeanor so greatly masks the emotional turmoil. Afterwards, Atticus will generally be consumed with guilt at his behavior, and vanish, going to some private place to beat himself up over his break in composure. Atticus is generally more open with people who are close friends, and he will typically share more about his feelings or thoughts with them. Because of his own maturity, Atticus is typically capable of recognizing his own emotional needs, and that of others, and he also considers himself to be smart, clever, and organized. He is not blind to his own flaws, however, and may likewise consider himself to be proud, vain, and at certain times, snobbish. He may also insult himself, regarding his personality as too serious, insecure, or sarcastic in a fashion that might irritate people. Atticus does not care to have a large number of friends, but he does not want people to think badly of him, either.

When having casual conversations, Atticus is known for having a sarcastic and witty sense of humor, which involves leading on extremely detailed fictional stories, which some people may not recognize as a joke, unless he were to change his tone slightly, or proceed to give a long-winded dialogue on purpose. He may make a quip with perfect timing for a situation to be humorous, or speak in a deadpan fashion about a topic that one struggles to imagine talking about in a serious tone. He also does not mind being made fun of, if he knows the jokes direct attention at something that is true to his nature that he himself is aware of, but likewise, he will not appreciate humor that is intended to be hurtful or cruel.

When asked about his glasses, or the glowing patches on his face, Atticus will vaguely respond that his powers did weird things to him, and that he has to wear the glasses because the sun is ‘too bright’. Often, his response to these questions could act as a good way of gauging how he perceives you, because he will generally be more descriptive for the people he trusts. On many levels, it is universally considered wrong to snatch Atticus’ glasses from his face to find out the color of his eyes, even if he tells you they are red. You won’t find out, because he will immediately close his eyes and put on the spare set he has in his pocket. The only people who could get away with this without a negative response are the people he considers to be true best friends. If you are not in the mentioned group, well…it was wrong in the first place, since he was telling the truth that the sun hurt his eyes, and he has no real reason to lie, even if at times he seems tight-lipped.

[b]Hobbies/Interests:[/b] When it comes to his main interest, Atticus has a very unusual liking for calligraphy, and it does not particularly matter what form, or even what language, the calligraphy is written in. He does not pay close attention to the history of calligraphy, but seems to artistically express himself by practicing the art form. Atticus, despite the common belief that men have terrible handwriting and prefer to write in print, possesses extremely neat penmanship, and often writes in cursive, his handwriting often being extremely neat and legible. Likewise, he may also pick up words from foreign languages, although this does not mean he truly speaks them, although some things may be forever lodged in his memory. Any living space he inhabits will be decorated by samples of his work, and there may be poems lying around, also, because calligraphy should also be written with some sort of meaning behind it. These poems may have been written by someone else, or made up by Atticus himself. 

A second hobby Atticus has is that he can play the tenor saxophone, mostly because he has a natural liking for jazz music, although he also studied a few classical pieces himself. He does not compose the music himself, but enjoys it, regardless. If asked about either hobby, he might mention a few facts, along with the claim that it ‘makes [him] happy’.

[b]Skills/Talents:[/b] In regards to calligraphy, there are very few things that Atticus cannot do, as he has a natural talent for it. It is what he usually does to calm himself down if he feels stressed, and he loves that he can do something artistic, and also have worded meaning behind his work. It should be noted that while he only speaks English, he can pick up and remember words from foreign languages if he wants to write in them, since he finds the notion of writing and not being able to understand the meaning of what is written as ‘ridiculous’.

In regards to Atticus’ skill at playing the tenor saxophone, he is largely good at it, under the restrictions of his emotions, making the saxophone a good way to tell if he is stressed or not. Because there is a certain degree of truth in the belief that an instrument reflects the person playing it, Atticus’ music will only sound harmonious if he is in a good mood, or peaceful on an internal level. If he is upset or angry, his music will reflect his feelings. The notes will have a distinctly sharper beginning and end, seeming oddly forceful, or if he is sad, they may sound weak or ‘thin’. He may play for a longer time if he is angry, and he may rapidly lose interest in playing if he is depressed, the terrible sound produced often worsening the emotion until he gives up.

[b]Prized Possession:[/b] Atticus’ most prized possessions are his two pairs of special sunglasses. He wouldn’t be able to function without them, except in his creature form.

[b]Quote(s):[/b] “Sometimes I hate that I have to wear tinted lenses all the time; people like eye contact, and you can’t even look at my eyes, even though there’s times when I’m grateful for it. I remember I used to get angry over when people would stare at me when I never took them off, and then I was glad because people couldn’t tell that I was mad at them. Eventually, though, I just got it through my thick skull that it was ridiculous to be stuck in that situation, and I just learned to ignore it. It isn’t really my problem if they can’t talk to a guy wearing glasses, although I suppose what I just said was kind of bitter, in retrospect.”

[b]History/Bio:[/b] Atticus came from a small neighborhood in his hometown in Georgia, where he grew up in the same neighborhood as Codi Bailey, whom he became close friends with after they both developed mutations that were akin in some form or fashion to sea creatures, roughly around the same time at the age of 16 and 17, respectively. While Atticus gained the power to turn into a monster with midnight-zone qualities, Codi mutated alongside an ectoparasite (Most likely a bedbug, although what it is isn’t entirely clear) and developed into a symbiotic relationship with the insect, although she had already begun to enter symbiosis with bacteria before this period. Because Atticus and Codi both had to conceal their mutations, they grew to greatly desire each other’s company, out of the basic human need for social interaction, which was not comfortable for Atticus, and for the most part impossible for Codi, because of the parasite. Upon discovering that both of them had an invitation to the same school, they made the decision to go as a group, having been best friends for over a year.

[b]Family:[/b]

Father- Atticus has had a healthy relationship with his father, but for the most part, does not share his father’s interest in carpentry or construction pursuits. Atticus never understood what was enjoyable about working with power tools, and didn’t like having to wear a mask over his nose and mouth to prevent issues from inhaling dust, even though he knew it was better than suffering something like a coughing fit, or splinters in the lungs. Despite this, Atticus looks up to his father, and respects him as a person of good character, albeit that he can be childish and irresponsible at times.

Mother- Atticus takes after his mother creatively-speaking. His mother is a talented painter, and manages to make money by selling her paintings for a small profit, which adds up over time, as she enjoys painting as a hobby. She doesn’t do commissions, however, as she is a visionary, and does not like having to deal with the constraints of what other people want. Although Atticus claims he will, ‘Never have the talent that [his mom] has when it comes to paintings.’ He has developed his own creative sense through calligraphy and the ability to play the tenor saxophone.

[b]Relationships:[/b]

Codi Bailey | Good | Best Friend | “She’s my best friend, and even though I usually wouldn’t say too much about myself around other people, I feel like I can’t shut up around her. I just relax when she’s there. She listens to me, and she never tried to force me to say anything I didn’t want to.”

[b]Abilities[/b]

[b]Power Class:[/b]

Animal- 7
Super System- 5
Energy- 3

[b]Power:[/b] Atticus is primarily an animal meta-human with the power to switch between his human and creature form. In his human form, he is largely vulnerable, his powers generally being much weaker, and only a small fraction of his true strength, which comes out in his creature form. In his creature form, Atticus most notably loses the severe photophobia that he normally suffers and is thus able to remove his tinted lenses, because the mutations in his eyes fully-develop during the transformation, although he still takes precautions not to look directly at a light source. His eyes, which are similar to those of a spook fish or barreleye, are incredibly unique, employing mirrors instead of lenses in order to see, and thus allowing sight via both refractive and reflective means. The superior capability of Atticus’ eyes to collect light allows him to see with even the faintest amount of light, and the design of his eyes additionally allows him to see a much wider range of vision, allowing him to see what is in front of him, above him, below him, or next to him, all at once. This greatly decreases the chance of being caught unaware, as it eliminates a large number of blind spots that are normally present in one’s vision. The third eyelids of his eyes, which are tinted yellow, can be closed to allow him to filter out unwanted light frequencies. This ability would be more useful in complete darkness, where it would have been used to detect the difference between real light and that produced by photophores, but on land, surrounded by meta-humans; it actually provides a unique benefit. Any creature that can camouflage, or refract/produce light to hide itself, becomes visible when these third eyelids are closed.

Atticus has claimed that in his creature form, he also gains the ability to see a small amount of light on the infrared spectrum, which is an adaptation that relates to the red glowing patches on his face, which are organs containing bacteria that additionally direct the light in front of him, almost like beams, and can be masked at will by a layer of dark internally stored skin. There is a second layer of skin that can filter out visible light, leaving only infrared light that solely Atticus or specific people could see, although he has not learned how to use it, yet, or even acknowledge that it exists. Visible-light glows are not particularly useful among humans, who can see red light, but anything that is color-blind to the color red (like most regular animals) cannot detect his approach. Anything corresponding with the red spectrum of Atticus’ light will reflect back, giving him an invisible flashlight of sorts, similar to a black dragonfish, although the fish does not use bacteria to produce such light. 

Atticus’ blue bioluminescent lure and photophores do not have a proper purpose on land, aside from getting attention when it’s dark, and although Atticus suspects he might be able to breathe underwater, he’s never tried it, because he doesn’t have gills or any features that would suggest it. (You’d have to risk drowning, perhaps, and he didn’t come from a place where there was a large body of water to test the theory. You can’t blame someone for being cautious). In reality, Atticus possesses the ability to breathe in water through his skin, similar to an amphibious fish, and being similar to abyssal fish; he can likely tolerate extremely cold temperatures in the water, and an immense amount of pressure, making him capable of going to extremely deep depths. He’s never been able to test his limits, however, and testing to see if he really can breathe underwater is something that isn’t easy to coax him into.

The spines on Atticus’ back and arms, while perhaps initially mistaken for ornamentation or protection, actually exist to serve a sensory purpose. In reality, they are not true spines, but stiff antennae of sorts, comparable to the fins of a hairy anglerfish. These antennae work in both air and water, and twitch with the slightest disturbances or changes in currents from either medium. This allows him to determine general information about the weather or tides (The terms are interchangeable), and also, on a finer-tuned level, determine the approach of moving objects. This in some ways is more accurate than if he were to possess a strong sense of smell, because although he cannot track things, he can tell what’s approaching, and how far away it is.

Atticus’ claws and cavernous mouth are the final notable aspects of his creature form that grant him powers because of animal form. His nails become sharp claws, which, while not comparable to razors or anything truly fascinating, could still leave marks. His mouth and bite are what should truly be avoided, because Atticus’ mouth is enormous like a gulper eel’s, and his bite force is actually stronger than the eel. It should also be noted that multiple rows of ragged, needle-like teeth, faintly pointing inward, line his mouth, perfect for snagging tissues and causing severe injury. While a regular gulper eel couldn’t do anything harmful to a human aside from leaving small scratches (It’s very tiny, too) Atticus could realistically wound someone and kill them through blood loss. He couldn’t take someone’s arm, but he could still cause severe injury.

Powers unrelated to Atticus’ status as an animal meta-human are extremely obvious, when used, as he appears to have super-system traits along with his animal characteristics. Atticus, while not strong in the sense of an ant lifting ten-times its weight, is still stronger than what should be expected of his creature form, which has almost the same build as his regular human form. A single punch or strike that’s well-aimed can snap the bones of a regular human being, and he could also potentially send them skidding a good distance away. His punches could dent metal or crack stone. This in mind, though, Atticus wouldn’t punch metal or stone so hard unless he needed to, because hard materials would badly injure his hands. Also, while he can deliver devastating blows with considerable force, he can’t really exert force long-term. He couldn’t genuinely lift or toss an elephant, he’s not that strong. He’s strong in an aerobic sense, and anaerobic activity is extremely taxing.

Atticus’ true super-system abilities lay in his capability to use powerful attacks with a swift enough speed to overwhelm opponents, and then safely maneuver away to avoid any sort of counter-strike. Atticus’ skin isn’t tough or armored, and is still virtually as vulnerable—if not weaker—than a regular human’s, because of its sleek qualities. His speed, agility, and natural flexibility make it possible for him to elude most attacks, and although he could never be considered to have super-speed, he could easily rival a galloping horse if he wanted to (A galloping horse runs an average speed between 40-48 miles per hour).

Atticus’ final, and overall weakest ability, is his small, limited set of energy powers, which may or may not be part of his animal mutations...it’s really unclear, when he has fish mutations. Atticus has a certain degree of power, in that he can discharge electricity. This electricity can travel short distances in water (Because that’s just how electricity is), but is limited exclusively to physical contact when Atticus is on land. The confusion over Atticus’ electric abilities comes from the fact that his maximum voltage is around 470 volts, a power that could be akin to that of a small electric eel. One should not be deceived, however, by thinking that this voltage is small. The voltage Atticus discharges is easily enough to be fatal to a regular human being and it’s even worse if someone is crazy enough to touch his tail or his nose when he decides to zap something, considering he has a positive and negative end to his body, just like a magnet.

[b]Weaknesses/Limitations/Drawbacks:[/b] The first great weakness Atticus has is that in his human form, he loses virtually all of his powers, and additionally gains an extreme case of photophobia that forces him to wear dark tinted lenses at all times. It’s not really difficult to see how if he were caught off-guard as a human, Atticus would be in trouble. It can badly hinder him if he loses his protective lenses, so he is easy to defeat in his human form.
In his creature form, Atticus’ strengths are generally offset by equally notable weaknesses. The first is that while capable of delivering extremely powerful blows, he can still injure himself in the process. The concept is not very different than a person bruising their knuckles if they punch a wall. He also cannot lift and throw things, whatever misconception that his strength might give people. If he is asked to lift something, he will probably get hurt. His skin is additionally just as sensitive in his creature form as it is in his human form, and as a result, any attack can hurt him. He has no defenses against elemental or energy attacks save for electric shocks, which his body is naturally designed to handle, and only up to a certain voltage.

Atticus also has a unique kind of ‘block’ period between his transformations, during which he is unable to change forms for a certain period of time after transforming. This means if he turns into a human, he must remain a human for roughly an hour before he can turn back into a creature. The same rule applies to his creature form, and he must remain a creature for an hour before becoming human again. If he is attacked in human form, it is an instinctive, almost automatic response for Atticus to attempt to transform, which, in the context of the situation, can break the rule of the block period, if he genuinely perceives that his life is in danger and his body perceives it in such a fashion, also, although this puts great stress on him physically, and he may grow weak or ill after the danger has passed. He also cannot transform if he receives too many serious injuries, in which case the energy used for transforming will transfer to the task of healing the wounds, trapping him in his current form, which more often than not, is his creature form, which is naturally better at self-defense. The disadvantage of being trapped in his creature form when injured is that it is difficult to administer medical treatment to someone with an alien kind of biology. He also can’t have antibiotics that are taken internally; for fear that it would harm the bioluminescent bacteria in his body. 

[b]Other:[/b] Couldn’t find anything to put in this section…I think I broke my record on how long a character sheet can be, though.