arca9

The Hidden People

@TheIrishJJ Me too! Julian wouldn't get so scared that he'd back down from a situation, since it would go against his idea that he's better than everyone. I'm worried that Séamus will get tired of Julian's big ego and total self-absorption xD

The Hidden People

@TheIrishJJ

The large man turned around to reveal a tough-looking face, his shirt stretching over large upper body muscles. Instinctive fear momentarily shrouded Julian's confidence. He stopped leaning on his elbows, and leaned further back when he was told. The man got up, towering over Julian despite being in the row below him, and went around to sit next to him. He said he was a vampire in a suspiciously nonchalant way, and introduced himself as Séamus. Julian tried not to seem intimidated, and looked him straight in the eye. "I'm Julian," he said, taking Séamus' outstretched hand. He channeled his shifter's heightened strength to match Séamus' handshake, as Séamus was apparently trying to fling him off the bleachers. Werewolves are tougher than blood-sucking creeps. He didn't even notice Séamus' Irish accent. "You're not from here? I'm not either. I'm from Ocala, Florida. I came here a couple years ago to learn about my powers. I'm a werewolf. A shifter, from a long line of werewolves. I can turn into a werewolf whenever I want. I would show you, but I don't think here is the place, what with all the scared newbies and all." The seat in front of Julian filled with a much smaller, elf-like creature. He pointed at it. "See? That's much better. I can see the new kids from here. Look how scared they are. I wasn't that scared on my first day." He was probably even braver than this big guy, but he opted not to say it as the assembly finally started.

The orientation finished, and Julian sat in the bleachers waiting for the path to clear up before he left. He had nothing else to do today anyways, so might as well wait and avoid being tripped by someone. With Séamus' big stature, Julian couldn't not notice that Séamus was sitting and waiting as well.

The World's Prison

@Shadow Daedalus Sorry, I didn't realize that. Thanks for the tip!

The World's Prison

Dawn Cohen

---

@Shadow Daedalus

Dawn was awakened by the sun shining through the low windows directly into her face. Was it morning or evening? She didn't know. She didn't care. She figured she should go home and organize her things, check to see if anything had been pillaged. She grabbed the backpack and made sure everything was still there, even the empty plastic water bottle and the nails that she probably had no use for. She looked both ways before exiting the building, making sure there were no enemies and also trying to get her bearings. She would have to find a main street to figure out where she was. As she walked down the road and glanced at dusty, bent, and broken street signs, she realized that she was in Black Out Connection territory. Gang territory; a gang she did not want to mess with, especially now that she had food on her. Realizing her location, she walked quickly through the buildings in the general direction home, knowing it would take a few hours to get there. Her senses keen on listening and watching for people around her, she almost didn't notice the dead bodies on the ground. Her foot bumped into a heavy, somewhat squishy object. She stopped abruptly and looked down. Two corpses lay mangled in puddles of dried blood. Their clothes told her they weren't part of BOC. They were members of the other gang in the area. She knew there was rivalry between the two gangs, and wondered if this was BOC's doing. She looked around, just in case the killers were nearby.

The Hidden People

Julian nearly fell over a pumpkin as he walked out of his dorm building, but took a few running steps forward to balance himself. He looked around to see if anyone had noticed. A girl with glasses and a brown ponytail was walking up the sidewalk towards the building. He felt his face warm with slight anger and embarrassment. Walking past the girl, he said, "That pumpkin's no match for my fast reflexes." The girl gave him a look that said, why are you talking to me? before entering through the door. Smirking triumphantly at his quick wit, Julian continued towards the auditorium to attend the orientation.

Although this was his third year at Gringore, he still liked going to the orientation for the chance to see the elusive Headmaster and the principal, and to get an idea of what clubs he would join this year. But the icing on the cake was watching the scared faces of the clueless newbies. He remembered his first day at the academy. He was certain he had looked more confident and sure of himself than these kids, excited to practice his powers, knowing he could or would soon be able to take any of these freaks down in a fight. And freaks they were. All creatures seemed to surround him; part-animal-part-humans, little people with or without wings, people that could transform into creatures like he could, people with all colours of skin and hair and eyes and weird faces. He always seemed like the only normal one at this school, his abilities managing to not demote him into freakdom.

He joined the crowd entering the auditorium and climb the bleachers, picking a seat near the top-left corner so he could see all the action in the bleachers and in front. He was absent-mindedly watching people coming in and sitting down when a large man (@TheIrishJJ) plunked himself down right in front of him, blocking his view. Julian leaned forward with his elbows on his legs and spoke loudly into the man's brown hair as he sarcastically pretended to be talking to someone else. "You know, I could get a lot more out of this orientation if I could see what was going on in front of me."

Schism: Blood of Heroes

The taxi left Mina in front of a large, new-looking building with walls of windows. Duffle bag in hand, she entered the airport and made her way to the private jets. A slight concern of being recognized lurked in the back of her mind, but she reminded herself that she had spent the most reputation-ruining parts of her superhero career in camouflage. The only reason for people to give her a second glance was to look at her long green hair, perfectly matching her eyes.

Mina didn't know Red Jack well, but she recognized his family helm on large red-and-white jet. She couldn't have ignored that beauty even if she'd tried. Her awe heightened with each step she took up and into the jet. The interior was even more lavish, with even the flight attendants meeting the apparent criteria of being eye candy. "Hey," she gave a slight nod at the other team members as she saw them, omitting their names because she couldn't remember all of them. She dumped her duffle bag near a wall and sank into a nearby leather couch, watching a pale dark-haired girl bringing Red Jack a drink. A handsome blonde man walked past her towards her bag, appearing to want to put it away. She asked him, "Could you get me a white wine please? Chardonnay if you have any, otherwise anything's fine." She needed to bring her mind back to earth a bit after spending a week out of the loop, camouflaging in and out of the stuffy hotel. Maybe some alcohol would help to quiet the residual feeling of doom.

She quickly finished the wine and began to close her eyes, listening to the ambient noise of the plane and the sounds of others settling in. She kept her eyes closed through Jack's speech, but opened them as the discussion unfolded. "I agree that we should act now, before the Champions can steal our thunder."

The Hidden People

@TheIrishJJ Good idea! I think there could be a sort of friend/mentor relationship where Julian can learn sadistic ways of using his powers from Séamus, since Julian hasn't really used his powers for anything yet.

The Hidden People

Full Name: Julian Marino

Nicknames/Alias/AKA: (He calls himself Julian, but he's known as "the big guy" around Whitecross.)

Age: 20

Gender: Male

DOB: May 13, 1996

Occupation: Student / Part-time stocker and cashier at Oryana Grocery

Race: Shifter

Hair Color: Dark brown

Eye Color: Gold

Height and Build: 5'11", muscular yet lean.

Other Appearance: Julian uses hair gel to keep his hair spiked out of his face. He likes to wear well-fitting thin hoodies and T-shirts that show his athletic build, along with skinny jeans and worn black Converse.

History/bio:

Family History

It is mythologized that King Lycaon of Arkadia infuriated Zeus, the god of the sky, by wanting to serve him a slaughtered child, his son Nyctimus being one of the options. Zeus' angry response was to bring lightning bolts upon fifty of Lycaon's sons and turn Lycaon and Nyctimus into wolves. The descendants of Nyctimus became Shifters, able to shift in and out of their wolf forms at will, while the descendants of Lycaon found themselves as Lycanthropes, cursed with uncontrollable transformations under the full moon. Shifters hated the Lycanthropes and still do, having the goal of demolishing the race.

Nyctimus' daughter, Phylonome, gave birth to twin sons, one of whom founded and populated Rome. Among his descendents were shipbuilders, who joined the trade business and sailed in the modern-day Mediterranean Sea. These people gained the family name Marinus ("of the sea"). In the 1500s, the Italian Wars resulted in the Italian city states spending a period of time under Spanish rule. A few families named Marinus immigrated to Spain and changed their names to Marino. When news came of a new land discovered, a few Marinos set out on ships the Americas. One family began their new life in what is now known as Florida.

Julian's personal history

It was known from the moment Julian was conceived what he might be. Julian was born in a private hospital in Ocala, Florida, on May 13, 1996 to specialized doctors. DNA tests confirmed that Julian was indeed a shifter, although his bright golden eyes, differentiating him from non-affected brown-eyed family members, was enough indication. Appropriate personal and medical arrangements were made.

Julian was an only child and lived with his parents in Ocala. His father, Edward Marino, was the senior manager of a company that sold furniture and household appliances. He received discounts as well as a good salary, and filled the entire apartment with furniture and appliances from that specific brand. Being loyal to his work, yet quite the proud person that he was, one of Edward's favourite things was when guests noticed the uniformity of everything in the house. He would often position the items so that the brand name was visible, and try to drop subtle comments into conversations about how much he liked using such-and-such an appliance from this brand. If guests were so interested as to ask about it, the resulting conversation would often revolve around how Edward worked for such a great company. He wore brown contact lenses to change the colour of his eyes, even though they were hardly an unnatural shade of golden brown. His mother, Roisin Wilson-Marino, was a second-generation Irish-American. She used to teach general science in a middle school, known among the students for giving out relatively simple assignments for easy marks while still being somewhat of an effective teacher. When Julian came, she decided to work from home and provide science lessons online, available to the middle schools of Ocala. This gave her time to give Julian her undivided attention.

Julian seemed like a regular temperamental child in his youth. He attended Maplewood Elementary School and developed a knack for appearing to befriend loners. He loved to talk and was seen as a natural leader. He was overly-sensitive to criticism, throwing tantrums in class and expecting people to comfort him. He was also a jealous child, getting angry if he perceived someone as better than him at something and arguing if he lost a game. Although he was small and skinny no matter how much he ate, he had above-average strength and speed. He excelled at all sports and never seemed to get hurt. He also had a suspiciously good sense of hearing and smell, sometimes making him feel overwhelmed. It was decided that music lessons would help him control his attention to at least sounds, and he took up guitar lessons. It took four tries to find a guitar teacher patient enough not to drop him. Perhaps picking up from his father, he was proud of his heightened abilities and senses and liked to show them off.

His first shift conveniently happened in the summer between elementary school and middle school, in the middle of an intense dream. When Julian woke up the next morning, he felt different in the bed. He screamed loudly when he saw what he had become. His mother ran into his room with a worried face that was immediately replaced with relief, confusing Julian. That day, his mother told him the legend of the Shifters and the Lycanthropes and his family history. Since Julian had no clue about any of this, it took him a few years to fully understand everything, but this only served to confirm his belief that he was special. He was sworn to secrecy, only deciding to keep this oath after Roisin explained the family's potentially doomed fate if the secret was let out. He didn't want to bring any negative reputation and harm to himself. His father revealed his own wolf form and took to training Julian how to control it, taking him to the Ocala National Forest to practice hunting and wolf behaviour.

Out of fear for revealing the family secret, Julian's parents hired several tutors to home-school Julian through middle school and high school. Most of the tutors grew to dislike Julian for his arrogance, but kept coming for the pay. His friends from elementary school, the young loners, had had enough of Julian's controlling ways and happily cut off connections from him when they stopped going to the same school. Julian denied his isolation and simply dismissed these old classmates as unworthy of his friendship. He selected new, worthy "friends" in online chats and video games, meeting up with the ones in his area to attend events and party. He had a girlfriend for his last two years in high school, a tall blonde named Lily Flynn. She lived with an abusive family and was used to neglect enough to be with him, using her time out with him more as an escape from her home than anything else.

A plan long in the works, Julian's parents sent Julian off to Whitecross to attend Gringore Academy after high school. They explained to him that he would not only received a college education, but would learn about his powers as well. Infatuated by the opportunity to finally show his powers to the world, Julian promptly broke up with Lily. He moved alone to Whitecross two months after he turned 18 and took residence in the dormitories of Gringore Academy. He hardly needed any time to adjust to this new isolation. Being outgoing and an extrovert, Julian had no trouble busying himself with studying, parties, events, and a part-time job at Oryana Grocery, socializing whenever and however he pleased. He has developed a crush on a same-aged floor-mate, a witch named Susanna Lim, who he has tried unsuccessfully to seduce by talking about how special he is.

Family/Relationships:

Family/Relationships

Edward Marino - Father. Shifter. 52.
Roisin Wilson-Marino - Mother. Human. 49.
Lily Flynn - Ex-girlfriend. Student at Hillsborough Community College. 20.
Susanna Lim - Crush. Witch. Student at Gringore Academy. Floor-mate. 20.
Sam & Alex - Students at Gringore Academy. New floor-mates. 18.

Other/Extra: Julian is aware that Lycanthropes are the enemy, but hasn't had much to do with them yet. Julian enjoys talking to people (about himself), working out at the gym (especially in front of the mirrored wall), playing all sports, and being in situations where he can take the lead. Julian also tends to give people nicknames no matter how well he knows them, especially if they're also called Julian.

The Hidden People

Julian Marino

Appearance:


Full Name: Julian Marino

Nicknames/Alias/AKA: (He calls himself Julian, but he's known as "the big guy" around Whitecross.)

Age: 20

Gender: Male

DOB: May 13, 1996

Occupation: Student / Part-time stocker and cashier at Oryana Grocery

Race: Shifter

Hair Color: Dark brown

Eye Color: Gold

Height and Build: 5'11", muscular yet lean.

Other Appearance: Julian uses hair gel to keep his hair spiked out of his face. He likes to wear well-fitting thin hoodies and T-shirts that show his athletic build, along with skinny jeans and worn black Converse.

History/bio:

Family History

It is mythologized that King Lycaon of Arkadia infuriated Zeus, the god of the sky, by wanting to serve him a slaughtered child, his son Nyctimus being one of the options. Zeus' angry response was to bring lightning bolts upon fifty of Lycaon's sons and turn Lycaon and Nyctimus into wolves. The descendants of Nyctimus became Shifters, able to shift in and out of their wolf forms at will, while the descendants of Lycaon found themselves as Lycanthropes, cursed with uncontrollable transformations under the full moon. Shifters hated the Lycanthropes and still do, having the goal of demolishing the race.

Nyctimus' daughter, Phylonome, gave birth to twin sons, one of whom founded and populated Rome. Among his descendents were shipbuilders, who joined the trade business and sailed in the modern-day Mediterranean Sea. These people gained the family name Marinus ("of the sea"). In the 1500s, the Italian Wars resulted in the Italian city states spending a period of time under Spanish rule. A few families named Marinus immigrated to Spain and changed their names to Marino. When news came of a new land discovered, a few Marinos set out on ships the Americas. One family began their new life in what is now known as Florida.

Julian's personal history

It was known from the moment Julian was conceived what he might be. Julian was born in a private hospital in Ocala, Florida, on May 13, 1996 to specialized doctors. DNA tests confirmed that Julian was indeed a shifter, although his bright golden eyes, differentiating him from non-affected brown-eyed family members, was enough indication. Appropriate personal and medical arrangements were made.

Julian was an only child and lived with his parents in Ocala. His father, Edward Marino, was the senior manager of a company that sold furniture and household appliances. He received discounts as well as a good salary, and filled the entire apartment with furniture and appliances from that specific brand. Being loyal to his work, yet quite the proud person that he was, one of Edward's favourite things was when guests noticed the uniformity of everything in the house. He would often position the items so that the brand name was visible, and try to drop subtle comments into conversations about how much he liked using such-and-such an appliance from this brand. If guests were so interested as to ask about it, the resulting conversation would often revolve around how Edward worked for such a great company. He wore brown contact lenses to change the colour of his eyes, even though they were hardly an unnatural shade of golden brown. His mother, Roisin Wilson-Marino, was a second-generation Irish-American. She used to teach general science in a middle school, known among the students for giving out relatively simple assignments for easy marks while still being somewhat of an effective teacher. When Julian came, she decided to work from home and provide science lessons online, available to the middle schools of Ocala. This gave her time to give Julian her undivided attention.

Julian seemed like a regular temperamental child in his youth. He attended Maplewood Elementary School and developed a knack for appearing to befriend loners. He loved to talk and was seen as a natural leader. He was overly-sensitive to criticism, throwing tantrums in class and expecting people to comfort him. He was also a jealous child, getting angry if he perceived someone as better than him at something and arguing if he lost a game. Although he was small and skinny no matter how much he ate, he had above-average strength and speed. He excelled at all sports and never seemed to get hurt. He also had a suspiciously good sense of hearing and smell, sometimes making him feel overwhelmed. It was decided that music lessons would help him control his attention to at least sounds, and he took up guitar lessons. It took four tries to find a guitar teacher patient enough not to drop him. Perhaps picking up from his father, he was proud of his heightened abilities and senses and liked to show them off.

His first shift conveniently happened in the summer between elementary school and middle school, in the middle of an intense dream. When Julian woke up the next morning, he felt different in the bed. He screamed loudly when he saw what he had become. His mother ran into his room with a worried face that was immediately replaced with relief, confusing Julian. That day, his mother told him the legend of the Shifters and the Lycanthropes and his family history. Since Julian had no clue about any of this, it took him a few years to fully understand everything, but this only served to confirm his belief that he was special. He was sworn to secrecy, only deciding to keep this oath after Roisin explained the family's potentially doomed fate if the secret was let out. He didn't want to bring any negative reputation and harm to himself. His father revealed his own wolf form and took to training Julian how to control it, taking him to the Ocala National Forest to practice hunting and wolf behaviour.

Out of fear for revealing the family secret, Julian's parents hired several tutors to home-school Julian through middle school and high school. Most of the tutors grew to dislike Julian for his arrogance, but kept coming for the pay. His friends from elementary school, the young loners, had had enough of Julian's controlling ways and happily cut off connections from him when they stopped going to the same school. Julian denied his isolation and simply dismissed these old classmates as unworthy of his friendship. He selected new, worthy "friends" in online chats and video games, meeting up with the ones in his area to attend events and party. He had a girlfriend for his last two years in high school, a tall blonde named Lily Flynn. She lived with an abusive family and was used to neglect enough to be with him, using her time out with him more as an escape from her home than anything else.

A plan long in the works, Julian's parents sent Julian off to Whitecross to attend Gringore Academy after high school. They explained to him that he would not only received a college education, but would learn about his powers as well. Infatuated by the opportunity to finally show his powers to the world, Julian promptly broke up with Lily. He moved alone to Whitecross two months after he turned 18 and took residence in the dormitories of Gringore Academy. He hardly needed any time to adjust to this new isolation. Being outgoing and an extrovert, Julian had no trouble busying himself with studying, parties, events, and a part-time job at Oryana Grocery, socializing whenever and however he pleased. He has developed a crush on a same-aged floor-mate, a witch named Susanna Lim, who he has tried unsuccessfully to seduce by talking about how special he is.

Family/Relationships:

Family/Relationships

Edward Marino - Father. Shifter. 52.
Roisin Wilson-Marino - Mother. Human. 49.
Lily Flynn - Ex-girlfriend. Student at Hillsborough Community College. 20.
Susanna Lim - Crush. Witch. Student at Gringore Academy. Floor-mate. 20.
Sam & Alex - Students at Gringore Academy. New floor-mates. 18.

Other/Extra: Julian is aware that Lycanthropes are the enemy, but hasn't had much to do with them yet. Julian enjoys talking to people (about himself), working out at the gym (especially in front of the mirrored wall), playing all sports, and being in situations where he can take the lead. Julian also tends to give people nicknames no matter how well he knows them, especially if they're also called Julian.

TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

@Pineappletumble

Carver was taking the last sip of the drink the detective had given him when he heard someone cry, "I'M NOT A BLUEBERRY!" He spit the drink out of his mouth, spraying the table as he failed to hold back his laughter. A drop or two managed to find its way through his nose and burned his nasal cavity, but he was too drunk to care. He tried in vain to stop giggling as he looked around for the source of the outburst. He eyes rested on the pixie. That makes sense. It's blue and can yell. Although that would be some demented blueberry. It's way too bright and glowing and it talks. I wouldn't want to eat that. Carver called back through his laughing fit. "No, you're not!"