[center] [b] Completed 7/15/2014, will tweak information as necessary. [/b] [/center] [hider=Character Image] [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/Q55ufm7.jpg[/IMG] [/hider] [Damien Reid | 20 | Male] [i]"One man with courage is a majority"[/i] [indent]- Thomas Jefferson[/indent] ------- [b]Appearance[/b] - Damien is 6'2 and weighs 205lbs, spending considerable energy to maintain the solid build he developed over nine years playing hockey. He has short black hair, preferring to let it lay naturally as opposed to styling it. He has a square face characterized with a thick jaw, a solid, cleft chin, and a slightly crooked nose - courtesy of two injuries, long since healed. He has brown eyes and prominent, somewhat bushy eyebrows. He sticks to jeans and t-shirts most often, dressing up only on rare occasions, which may find him wearing a suit, or a jacket and khakis, depending on the event. Overall, Damien is very relaxed about his appearance, as he's of the opinion that those who judge by looks alone aren't the sort of people he wants to interact with. [b]Avatar Ability[/b] - [i]Ebb and Flow[/i] Damien's abilities revolve around enduring attacks and absorbing their energy in order to convert it into a unique form of ley energy he can store within himself. Then, Damien can either choose to channel the unique ley into powerful counterattacks, or infuse the ley into his body, enhancing his fortitude, strength, and other attributes. Damien's first ability saps the power of attacks made against himself or against friends and allies. This absorption requires considerable concentration, leaving him vulnerable to flanking and rear attacks. The time required is entirely dependent on the type of energy and the magnitude of the attack. Damien can absorb many different energies so long as he can identify them, but he cannot absorb more than a few types simultaneously. He converts them all into the same resource. Damien’s second ability channels the accumulated energy into his attacks and enhancements. Damien can discharge any amount of energy he desires - from a small, controlled stream to a devastating full release. Since it is derived from numerous sources, the unique ley effects all things equally - for example, it is as effective against fire as it is water. However, this also means it has no devastating effect against a counterpart, like how water quenches fire. He may choose to forego channeling and instead continue to absorb energy endlessly, growing the ley reservoir. While at rest, the ley energy bleeds out slowly, and will continue to do so until Damien absorbs more energy. [b]Personality[/b] As a general rule, Damien doesn’t do things half-way - he is either incredibly passionate and driven to achieve his goals and desires, or he is apathetic and unwilling to waste his time. However, Damien acknowledges that he isn’t infallible, but he has trouble admitting this fact to others, and has been known to argue a point or pursue a goal much longer than is practical. Because Damien focuses his energy only on those things he finds interesting, he isn’t fond of conventional education, believing it too rigid and focused on averages and equality. He believes that no one should be forced to learn subjects they find unappealing, or act a certain way based on societal conventions, and should instead embrace their goals and desires wholeheartedly, regardless of the opinions of others. Damien has a strong sense of empathy, and is always willing to donate his time and energy to others - which has led to his exploitation on more than one occasion. Damien is fiercely protective of those in his inner circle and does not hesitate to confront those who would, or have, hurt them or himself. In a confrontation, Damien doesn’t pull punches, verbally or physically, and more often than not he is the instigator rather than the peacemaker, although the most common reason he fights is to defend his friends or get revenge on their behalf. [b]Traits[/b] - Damien is particularly fond of group projects and other collaborative endeavors. He can hold his own in most subjects, although he isn’t interested in many. His favorite subjects (not necessarily his strongest) are physical education, English, physics, and astronomy. - Besides his love of hockey, Damien likes rock and alternative music, winter, snowboarding, woodcarving, reading, and rock climbing. - Damien can play bass guitar and occasionally carves figures and other trinkets. [b]History[/b] Damien grew up as the only child of his career-military parents, his father a Naval helicopter aviation instructor and his mother a Naval engineer. They never lived in the same state for more than two consecutive years, and he attended three different schools over his five years in high-school, having had to repeat his junior year due to ditching the classes he didn’t like. Although his parents were unhappy with him for having to repeat a year of school, they always encouraged him to trust his instincts and make his own decisions. They gave him a great deal of freedom to do as he wished, never telling him what to do - perhaps out of a sense of guilt for the constant moving from state to state. Damien spent much of this free time playing or trying out for different hockey clubs in each new state, always eager for the opportunity to test his skills against new teams and players. Damien discovered hockey when he was ten years old, after attending a classmate’s birthday party at an ice rink. After the party ended and the kids were ushered off the ice, falling down half a dozen times in the process, a youth hockey club skated onto the ice, and Damien was fascinated with their practice. It wasn’t two weeks later that he joined the club, spending each evening after school learning to skate or observing the older members practice their skills. A few months later, Damien’s family moved again, and he immediately sought out the closest club, picking up where he left off, improving his skating skills and dreaming of the day he’d skate out onto the ice to play a game. He continued this trend after every move, meeting new friends and rivals each time. When he was thirteen, Damien started playing in games and rapidly discovered he still had much to learn. He wasn’t terrible, but he knew he could get much better. He took to bringing his hockey stick with him everywhere, tied to the side of his backpack or stuck in a locker at school. He practiced incessantly, practicing his skills whenever and wherever possible, on or off the ice, at the mall or in the school hallways, much to the chagrin of his parents and the consternation of his teachers. Eventually, Damien’s persistence and unflagging desire to improve paid off, and during his junior year he was invited to play for an elite club. Just after joining, Damien was goaded by his new teammates to play as an “enforcer” on the ice, answering penalties and dirty tactics with heavy hits and equally dirty play, or when passions ran especially high, dropped gloves and raised fists. They convinced him it was the rite of passage for all new players, when in fact they were hoping to get him thrown off the team by the coaches - they didn’t want any competition for their positions. Damien, hoping to prove he had the mettle to play on that level, did as his teammates told him, launching an occasional illegal hit every few games to provoke other teams into fights. At first, it didn’t seem to be an issue, the coach only yelling at him after particularly fierce brawls, which his teammates convinced him was also part of the hazing. They told him he needed to fight even more, and so he did. After a week in which he drew penalties or fought on the ice every game, the coach excused him from the team, shocking Damien. He tried to explain what his teammates had told him, but they denied his claims and the coach angrily escorted Damien out of the rink and told him not to come back. He returned to playing in the local club league, angry and humiliated at being so easily deceived, and for readily believing his teammates’ insistent lies that they had all gone through it. He wasn’t invited to play for any other elite leagues, where college scouts would come and watch, hoping to snare talented players, and thus Damien graduated high school without any of the scholarship offers he had once dreamed about receiving to play collegiate hockey. Now, a year out of high school and in yet another state, Damien splits his time between playing for a club league and coaching youth hockey. He still hopes he’ll get a chance to play at an elite level once more, which he is convinced will prove his efforts weren’t for nothing. [b]Music[/b] [youtube]1m782ah83UQ[/youtube]