[center]
[img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/214524939204689920/269323832693620749/unknown.png[/img][color=peachpuff]m / 25 / ab+[/color]

[img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/266657729492287489/268832209736040449/0673c631ac10f2199a1ad2181897c5e9.jpg[/img]

[b][color=darkkhaki]⇻ biography ⇺[/color][/b]
[/center][center]
[hider=Acton’s Brief Life]
[color=peachpuff]Overnight billionaires like Giovanni Clearfield had yet to learn much self control when out on business trips, and still lacked sufficient patience for loose ends that needed to be tied up at the end of those same debaucherous business trips. Born Acton Ghering-Clearfield, the young child proved to quite the difficult “fuck up” to cover up, but a cute one at that. Even if Clearfield wasn’t the most faithful husband, he’d be damned if he’d be a deadbeat father like his was. Clearfield’s form of long distance really only amounted to large sums of money deposited monthly for his extra set of mother and child he had acquired.

Riza Ghering was surprised to find that a one night stand with a strapping CEO little under a year ago had resulted in a brand new apartment in a decent part of town, a far cry from her old, run down flat in a neighborhood full of elderly people with little rat dogs that never shut up. Not only that, but it also came with a new baby boy in her arms. His new name was to be Acton Blackburn, since it could never come to light that he was the son of a married man whose name was quickly becoming a household one across the country. She was still dumbfounded as to how their paths even crossed, but Fate had ordained it, and now here she found herself.

From a young age, Acton presented himself as the extraordinarily charismatic small child, but was soon surprised this would find him more trouble than good. Without much explanation, his mother was extremely protective of him, and disallowed him from getting to close to his fellow classmates, telling young Acton that friends would gain him nothing but[/color] [color=9966CC]“Pain and suffering.”[/color][color=peachpuff] He was taught to fear others, and to [b]never, under any circumstance[/b] tell anyone about himself past his name and his age, and that was assuming he knew the person he was speaking to. Strangers were absolutely off-limits, no exceptions.

Acton’s mother was successful in ostracizing Acton from the rest of his class, and from most of the people in his life other than herself. What was once an outgoing, lively child slowly recessed into a child that was scared of anyone other than his mother, hesitant to tell his name to even his teachers and classmates. He had forgotten everything about making friends, terrified to see strangers approach him. His days turned into anxious agony, the words of his mother echoing in his head every time he spoke.[/color]

[color=9966CC][i]“Friend will bring you nothing but pain and suffering.”[/i][/color]

[color=peachpuff]Riza was not an oblivious fool to the damage she was doing to her child. Every bit of her despised itself, and what she had done to her beloved child, but she had no choice. The nightmare that would come out of anyone learning even a little bit of Acton’s life would cause troubles for the rest of the lives of every party involved. It was simply not enough that Acton believe that his father was dead, no one could even be around to ask him where his father was, how his mother managed to keep such a nice apartment and other luxuries without working. Until she was confident Acton could keep a secret and recognize the repercussions of telling the truth, he could never know.

Growing into his late middle school years and early high school years, Acton began to take notice the abnormal hold his mother had on his life. His socials skills may have been seriously impeded, but that did not extinguish his flaming desire to know what friendship felt like. The isolation placed on him by his mother was growing even more intolerable by the day, and she knew it. Not only did Acton find a new passion to make friends, but he also found a new passion for a school club: Theater.

All of the theater students seemed all excitingly eccentric in their own unique ways. Charismatic, but just different enough that Acton believed he could approach them. After weeks of pestering, begging, and other forms of annoyance, Riza gave in. Slightly loosening the iron grip she had on Acton’s social life, he was allowed to join the club, and make “only a few friends.” It was enough to make him ecstatic, he had just been given a new lease on life.

With a few new friends, and a hobby that Acton was obsessed with, he was too distracted with his new found happiness to ever question why his mother was still apprehensive of his resurging socialness. Even if their friendship was little more than spending plenty of time together at club activities, eating lunch together, it was enough. The perfect amount of distance to keep Acton’s personal life a secret. But Riza was not completely complacent with her son’s new social life. She would often voice her apprehension to her son, warning him time and time again not to let anyone too close.

Then, the part that Riza had dreaded for years finally arrived.[/color]

[color=palegoldenrod]”Why can’t my friends come over?”
				Why haven’t you ever told me anything about Dad?
												Why is me having friends so scary to you?”
[/color]

[color=peachpuff]So many questions and inquiries she was afraid of hearing were suddenly sputtering out of Acton’s mouth. They started as one-off comments here and there around the house, but slowly, they turned into full fledged interrogations, Acton trying more and more everyday to pry any sort of information he could out of his apprehensive mother. She feared that she was going to no longer be able to wing it with white lies and fabrications. She feared she’d soon have to tell him the truth. Acton’s tolerance of his over-possessive mother was wearing thin, and if there was anyone he could actually confront, it was his mother.[/color]

[color=9966CC]”Acton, what I’m about to tell you cannot leave this room. You’re 16 now, so I think you have the right to know this, but you [b]cannot[/b] tell anyone else. I mean, [b]nobody[/b]. Your father isn’t dead. This is going to sound crazy, but your father is Giovanni Clearfield, and you were born Acton Ghering-Clearfield. Giovanni was, and still is, a married man, so, we, of course, have to stay a secret, and he spends a great deal of money and time keeping us a secret. He makes sure you are clothed and fed, and often writes to me asking how you are. I know he’s distant, but he still gives a damn about you, Acton, which is more than what a lot of kids can ask for. I know being a secret sucks, and I know not being able to make many friends is the worst way to live life, but this is for the good of all of us, son.”[/color]

[color=peachpuff]It seemed like Riza went on for ages, fighting back tears trying to explain and justify her actions, why she made it impossible for him to socialize as a child, why his social skills were still damaged to this day, why she had lied for so many years, and why it was now imperative that Acton keep the secret completely and utterly to himself. In truth, it was quite too much for Acton to take in at one time. Being told he was a mistake that needed to be hidden from the world devastated him. Despite that, he understood. He understood the grief his mother went through isolating him, and understood why it all needed to be kept secret. He understood now that the secret was in his hands, and he had no intentions of letting it slip.

The years went by, and Acton still held onto his small group of friends, and improved his craft in stage acting. His conquering of stage fright helped improve his speaking skills, but now, he felt satisfied with only a small group of friends, even more so than he did before. Less friends meant having less people to manage, trying to keep them all at the same distance, making sure he could dodge the same questions over and over again with different answers. Of course, even with his friends, he wasn’t extremely close, but it was enough that he felt at least [i]someone[/i] else in his life. They weren’t complete strangers, but none of them would understand why they couldn’t be anything more than good acquaintances with the peculiar kid named Acton Blackburn.

A part-time hobby turned into a sort of passion, and Acton found himself going out and auditioning for small parts in local shows, stage and screen alike. Oddly enough, he was shot down for every single role he tried out for. Play after play, movie after movie, every casting company shot him down. He was confident that he had the skills, even if they were rather small parts, just being an extra in most of them, so what was the issue? The casting directors all seemed pleased with his performances, but when it came down the results, they always shot him down, looks of apprehension and feigned sympathy on their faces.

After not too long, a few gears fell into place and Acton came to a bit of a realization.[/color]

[color=9966CC]”I’m sorry Acton, I know it’s just extra parts and stuff, but your father is really obsessed with you staying a secret. There can be no chance of being any notable. Even I think it’s going overboard, but your dad has a lot of pull in a lot of places. Money talks, and your dad has a powerful voice. I’m sorry, son.”[/color]

[color=peachpuff]A father obsessed with keeping his illegitimate son a secret, going so far as paying money to keep him from ever getting a chance at notoriety. A mother completely complacent in her son’s dwindling freedom to pursue his dreams, and just simply be his own person. A young man cursed to live his life in obscurity and secrecy, coerced into a life of crippling normality. Finally, a chance, a open window out of his painfully sheltered life into a life that he could perhaps be happy and social in, but sadly, the window was shut in front of him as soon as it opened. His father’s gilded fingers gripped the window close, tacking on tape and padlocks at every possible opening or weakness.

Retreating mournfully back into his mundane life, Acton took his life instead to college, where all expenses were easily covered, granted he try his best to be the most unnoticable student on campus. After another painfully boring 4 years of awkward social encounters and bad stage fright, Acton found himself a job, of course, also just as ordinary and stifled as he. An office IT tech, the perfect position to work in a office full of people but never get especially close to any of them

Complete bliss. Until the First Day came.[/color]
[/hider]
[/center]

[center][b][color=darkkhaki]⇻ personality ⇺[/color][/b]
[color=peachpuff]With tired eyes and a look of general sleep deprivation, Acton looks like the typical tired office worker with little interest in the affairs of other people. Acton keeps to himself, opting to throw himself into his work and hobbies rather than being out and being social. He’s not against social interaction, but he just finds it difficult and exhausting go out and making friends, unless the other person seems genuinely interested in getting to know him, which doesn’t happen often. While getting close to Acton isn’t the simplest of affairs, once someone is his friend, they will see the warmth and compassion come out of him. 

Stemming from his rather emotionally unfulfilling upbringing, Acton often has to battle fears of abandonment and loss, leading to him being on the clingy side of things. Once he has made a friend, he goes out his way to make them happy, sometimes to the detriment of his own well being. 

Even if he is rather anti-social and quiet, Acton is by no means a heartless jerk, and often empathizes and sympathizes with people very extensively. Though he doesn’t usually know what to do or say to comfort or congratulate someone, he experience’s others emotions almost as vividly as they do. He will cry with you, or laugh with you, or cheer with you, even if you can’t hear it. Even more so if you are his friend.

Acton tends to be calm and level headed, always trying to think out the most logical plan of action for every situation, to a fault. He’s very weary of taking risks and making hasty decisions, always paranoid of the repercussions. If possible, he tends to try and push the task of making decisions to other people, so that he can at least have confidence that any mistakes or consequences aren’t his fault. He will will only do that, though, in the most dire of situations, as most of the time he shares the pain of failure with the other person anyway.[/color][/center]

[center][b][color=darkkhaki]⇻ appearance ⇺[/color][/b]
[color=peachpuff]Betraying his meek and quiet personality, Acton is actually quite tall and his height it punctuated with good posture. He hasn’t the most muscular build, but his hasn’t the lankiest one either. He may be a recluse, but he doesn't let that make him a couch potato. Although he likes being one of those too.

From his finger tips to about a quarter into his palm, Acton’s skin and most of his muscle have given way to a strange form of smooth, murky crystal, which is mostly black with moving spirals of blue inside of it. Ephemeral sparks of electricity can often be seen sparking between his fingertips, or traveling down his hand from end to end of the crystallized sections of his hands.

Usually a pleasant shade of blue, Acton’s eyes have begun to mysteriously shift between their natural color and a bright shade of yellow, and both colors have a habit of flickering and flashing, similar to seeing the flashes of lightning bolts across a night sky.

Along his arms and on the back of his neck all the way down to between his shoulders are raised sections of skin, which form uniform rectangles, all of which appear identical to his hands, black crystallized bumps with swirls of blue floating in them.[/color][/center]

[center][b][color=3CB371]⇻ mutations ⇺[/color][/b][/center]
[center][color=aqua]☢[i]electrician[/i]☢[/color]
[color=DeepSkyBlue]The Pandora Virus has endowed Acton with the mysterious ability to generate electricity from his body, and to bend and manipulate electricity in the world around him. His ability to wield and bend electricity as a tool greatly outweighs his ability to use it as a weapon, being able to sap power from systems, power machines with his own body, things of that nature. That being said, his electricity's combat use isn’t completely negligible, as he can use pure electricity as a short range taser, or give his opponents a healthy electrical shock while in hand-to-hand combat. Of course, he can use his electricity faster than he can produce it, hindering his combat abilities even more. On the more defensive end of the spectrum, electricity based weapons have little effect on him in short doses, but prolonged shocking could overcharge him. (See: Limitations.)

Welding electricity also gives Acton an odd assortment of other powers, such as using electricity to magnetize pieces of metal to his body to form makeshift armor, or create small balls of electricity in his hands for a easy light source. He’s also great for charging batteries.[/color][/center]

[center][color=steelblue]☢[i]Technomancer[/i]☢[/color][/center]
[color=CadetBlue][center]Acton can (rather, will be able to) be able to transfer his consciousness into electronic devices such as computers and cell phones, controlling them and accessing their information for himself to retain. He can control them, render them useless, or any other number of things. His consciousness will leave his limp body, and enter any sort of computer or electronic device, and every electrode and transistor enters his control. If a device can be automated, he can do so from inside, and control the machine like a sort of beastmaster.[/center][/color]


[center][b][color=limegreen]⇻ proficiencies ⇺[/color][/b][/center]
[center][color=forestgreen]⊚[i]shakespearean pupil[/i]⊚[/color]
[color=olivedrab]Having experience on stage, Acton can be quite the convincing actor. He isn’t the silver-tongued diplomat, or the brawny intimidator, but he is the keen liar, good at playing at other’s emotions, as he understands them.[/color]

[color=forestgreen]⊚[i]human battery[/i]⊚[/color]
[color=olivedrab]Electric shocks and hazards have little effect on Acton, simply acting to charge the strength of his own abilities, until he is as his capacity. He can only so much more energy past capacity, and once he has gone too far past capacity, he will short out, releasing all of the energy in a blast around him. The blast will leave him weak, if not comatose, but the resulting AoE shock should incapacitate or perhaps even kill most of what it hits, within a roughly 5 meter radius. Past that, it will deliver a healthy electro shock.[/color]

[color=forestgreen]⊚[i]computer knowledge[/i]⊚[/color]
[color=olivedrab]Having studied Computer Science and other similar subjects at college, Acton has extensive knowledge about computers, and decent knowledge about other electronics too.[/color][/center]

[center][b][color=darkred]⇻ limitations ⇺[/color][/b][/center]
[center][color=firebrick]⊗[i]turtle-shelled[/i]⊗[/color]
[color=indianred]Social interaction has never been Acton’s strong suit, and it still isn’t. Unless he is crafting a well acted lie, Acton is almost entirely unable to hold stable conversation. His skill isn’t non existent, as for a while there it had seemed he’d cracked his shell, but with his dreams being crushed by this father and otherwise positive life rocked by being kept in secrecy, he has withdrawn back into himself, finding it difficult to make even simple eye contact.[/color]

[color=firebrick]⊗[i]memory loss[/i]⊗[/color]
[color=indianred]When using his consciousness to access and control electronics, any assortment of things can happen. He could lose partial or whole memories somewhere in the device. If the device is destroyed while he is inside, it could very well kill him then and there. He could come away with memories that don’t belong to him, thus muddling and confusing his thoughts. Not only that, but anytime he must use his entire mind to control a device, it puts him in an incredibly vulnerable place, leaving his body completely defenseless. [/color]

[color=firebrick]⊗[i]human battery v2[/i]⊗[/color]
[color=indianred]In a similar vein that Acton can absorb electricity, he also needs electricity to use his own powers, and even further, to keep his body going. Overuse of his body’s own electricity can incapacitate him, and continuous overuse can even kill him. His body can produce it’s own electricity, but at nowhere the rate Acton can use it when his powers are in full swing. Similar to most electronic items, water is extremely dangerous when Acton is submerged in it. All of the electricity will be sapped out of his body extremely quickly, electrifying the water around him to dangerous levels, and knocking him unconscious nearly instantly.[/color]

[color=firebrick]⊗[i]static electricity[/i]⊗[/color]
[color=indianred]Acton is not really used to having any sort of stable relationships, so when he actually gets in one, he is [i]very proactive[/i]. He will always try to be of use to his friend, no matter if it is of a detriment to himself. He is a bit clingy, and will always try to stick to his friends if he is near them, finding comfort in bearing near a friend.[/color]

[color=firebrick]⊗[i]electric empath[/i]⊗[/color]
[color=indianred]Acton is a very empathetic person, and it can get to the point where it affects his own mental mood. Sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad, the mood of those around Acton is very influential on his own mood. He is, for lack of a better word, a slave to the emotions of others.[/color][/center]

[center][b][color=palegoldenrod]acton has no friends[/color][/b][/center]