James is a very friendly, and kind soul, albeit he has his moments of being overly competitive or cocky. The guy believes that everyone deserves a fair first chance, and maybe a second chance after that. He usually carries himself in a kind, fair, manner and is the kind of person to hold the door open for somebody for a long time. When around friends he's usually loud, busting jokes, and full of energy, just constantly giving off the vibe that he's the big dog. Because he sees himself as the big dog due to his experiences and he's usually the first person to jump up and help somebody or fight them. Though, he can be a bit... fragile, at times. He doesn't like it when other people upstage him even in the slightest and he has a bit of a competitive streak.

James was born in Atlanta, Georgia... as the results of casual sex between his father and his mother. When she got pregnant, James' father dipped and left her to take care of their son, and it was a rough time for the two of them growing up. Money was tough to come across and she barely had any time to take care of their son James... and once James was seven the two of them ended up moving up to New York so they can live with their grandparents. It was different from Atlanta, but the family made the most of their time in New York. The city that never sleeps was hectic but it was better than living on the streets.

His mother made sure to teach him morals and other positive traits so that he doesn't grow up to be a sociopath or something. Politeness, customs, courtesies, and other such things. Growing up James was pretty popular in school, being a relatively sociable kid. That popularity skyrocketed when James hit high school and after his explosive growth spurt, he joined the High school Football team. His team with the football team was stated to be the highlight of his life, it's where he gained lifelong friends, partied, lost his virginity, etc, etc. Though, he was riding on getting a football scholarship to one of the colleges... and he didn't get it. Which was crushing but eventually his mother talked him into going to a community college. It was cheaper, after all.

It wasn't the best but James got a job at a local Burger King in which he went to after classes and became the manager only because there was nobody else qualified. Life went on for a few years back and forth until was just about to earn his degree... then the Return happened. James didn't exactly realize what happened during the insanity of the Return, but when he was closing up on his shift on Burger King he got into a fight with a coworker... which ended up with James zapping the poor bastard with a bolt of lightning.

James was confused and the whole thing was pinned on faulty wiring in the place... except James had a weird relationship with electricity, and eventually discovered that he could shoot it from his hands along with fire. He realized that he was tougher, stronger, better than ever before... was he an X-Men?

That was when he received that weird letter in the mail and decided to follow this lead.

Fire & Lightning Generation: From James fingertips he can cast bolts of lightning from his fingertips. These bolts of lightning are capable of frying a regular person and giving a God or other mythological being one helluva shock. He can also channel a constant stream of electricity and surround a limb or body part in this powerful electricity. In a similar vein, James can create firestorms from his hands and incinerate his foes, regardless of who they are. It's not as strong as his lightning powers but it's not something to laugh at.

Axe-Summoning: At will Shango can summon his battle axe. All James has to do is stick his hand out and his ax will come flying towards him and using it augments his fire and lightning powers. Only James can use the ax and if anyone else tries to pick up the ax they'll be in... for a shock.

Water is generally the bane of James' existence. While he's relativity immune to the effects of his electricity if he's wet or touching water that'll interfere with his ability. The electricity will go into the water as opposed to where he means to channel it, it'll evaporate in time but that can screw with him in a pinch. Water affects his fire the way you'd predict and stops him from creating it in a lot of situations. Now, James' abilities have a limit of around fifteen meters and outside of that, he can't affect it. However, James can summon his ax from anywhere in the world... that doesn't mean it'll instantly get there. Or that somebody can't interrupt it.

A tad abrasive. Jasmine is a girl that is very vain and haughty about her talents and appreciates all the love and admiration for being her home town's finest. She has a lot of confidence in herself, and the skills to back it up, of course. She's normally laid back until someone sets off that flaming temper of hers, then she turns into a screaming maniac that is blunt as hell. Like, she'll give people the most savage verbal beatdowns on the planet.

Jasmine is blunt in general, but honestly, she mostly reserves that for the people who annoy her the most. She speaks in a casual and friendly manner and uses the lingo and slang you'd expect an eighteen-year-old to use. Not overly energetic, but she puts enough passion in her interactions that leave a good first impression. Usually, put on a confident smirk. Certainly playful and confident with other people, and tends to spout jokes and the sorts. Jasmine is so confident in herself that, when she makes a mistake, she owns up to it, and takes full responsibility for it. Most importantly, looking down on people who don't.

The other main trait about Jasmine is that she's incredibly competitive. Like, she wants to be the very best in the world and will go to insane lengths to achieve that. She doesn't like being number two, and instead, will fight tooth and nail, going to illegal ends to become the number one. Either by bettering herself, or sabotaging the opposition. It all stems from an innate inferiority complex.

Jasmine Nnamani was born in Germany to parents that were very important architects that made plenty of trips around the world. That made the money flow in for the young Jasmine and gave her everything she ever wanted. She was always a ball of energy... like, she was a limitless supply of it. Which caused her to act out without any real outlet. It would be years before anyone would even think of putting Jasmine in a sport. She started by first joining the local soccer (or Football) team, which served her well until she got into basketball where she did much better. Putting that energy towards winning above all else. Sure, she had the energy to do it, but Jasmine talented at sports that she was showered with praise at a young age... and that filled her head with the idea that she needed victory above all else, and made her incredibly arrogant. It wasn't long until the girl had become obsessed with the idea of being the very best.

With the world showering her with praise, Jasmine felt unstoppable... that is, until her parents got a divorce after her mother found out that her father had an affair with an American woman a few years ago, and fathered a child with her. She didn't even want anything to do with Jasmine, so she was left in the care of her father as the two came to America to find new business. Moving to another country was hard since she was leaving behind her life of fame... and then quickly found out that America had a big love of sports (even some large leagues just for women). The moment Jasmine touched down in New York, New York, she spent her time practicing and training for the WNBA.

It wasn't long until Jasmine encountered her half-sister Phoebe Carmicheal. The two didn't get along that well... at all. Given that Jasmine thought that Phoebe was a loser, and not even worth her time. Which caused a noticeable schism between the two, but Jasmine didn't even waste time on Phoebe, and instead single-mindedly focused on becoming the best. It wasn't long until Jasmine became queen bee of her highschool merely by sports talent alone. Her name became known all over school... but, not all over New Yor! She tried her best to get noticed by sports agencies, but, just couldn't. That was such a blow to her pride that she went to some rather... seedy lengths to get to that level, she met with a few people that her father knows and they arranged a little deal.

Soon Jasmine graduated from highschool with rather average grades, school was for nerds anyway. Jasmine was just going to try a little harder to achieve her dream of being in the WBA... and then the Return happened. It was a subtle change that Jasmine didn't notice unlike the other Gods and beings of myth unlocking their abilities. When she was practicing she found out that she was a lot more... limber than before. That she was faster, stronger, and tougher than ever before, at first she thought that she accidentally took some roids. However, when she discovered that she can shoot... web out of her hands, she realized something was wrong (Was she bit by a radioactive spider???).

The letter came and just for some answers she followed it.

Web-Weaving: Anansi the Spider had the ability to weave thick webs out of his own hands. At his very peak, the spider could weave a web into the heavens... unfortunately, Jasmine is not capable of those peaks, she can weave a spider web about fifteen meters if that counts for anything. At will, Jasmine can shoot webs out of her hands Spider-man style but she can also create constructs out of the web. These are logically simple constructs such as a ladder but if she gets some time she can make a whole house out of the web. Not that's practical, at all. These webs are strong enough to hold a car in place and can even bind a God in place if she can trap them. Jasmine's webs are strong enough to hold and carry herself.

Spider-Transformation: The stories about Anansi the Spider are... unsure, of whether or not he was a spider or not. In some stories he was a frail old man, in others he was part spider, and in some, he took the form of well, a spider. In truth, he was capable of all changing his form. At will, Jasmine can take the form of a tiny little black widow spider - with all the abilities of a spider. Using this she can sneak around, hide, and dodge attacks. Jasmine can also assume a partial spider form by growing two extra arms and legs - or just two extra arms look less weird. However, Jasmine can always wall-crawl regardless of what form she is.

Now, Anansi was not known for being physically the strongest, or throwing webs like Zeus. He was known as a frail old man or a tiny spider that could get splattered in a confrontation with his enemies. Which translates to Jasmine as she's not exactly a super durable or strong person, she's less durable than the other Gods. So she has to rely on deception and quick thinking like the God she reincarnated into... two things that she isn't good at. Jasmine can create a web of about fifteen meters and can create a small house out of the web at best... if she creates too much web she'll get lethargic/sluggish and will have to wait until her supply comes back.

Jasmine calls herself Jasmine instead of her actual name to better blend in with the Americans. Technically her last name is her father's first.

a strange one, Heidi has lived her life being an outsider in whatever group that she was apart of - until she found the group that was really for her. The girl always had a heavy interest in spirituality and even some occultism and then some. She always speaks in a low volume and ends up rambling about a bunch of different stuff. Usually the symbolism of this, the meaning of that... and usually it ends up falling on deaf ears or nobody listens. The girl is very outward and likes talking with people about whatever comes to mind, and while Heidi is a talker, she's also a listener. She pays attention to what people say and pieces together their little puzzles... while also being a shoulder to cry on if she needs to be. Heidi believes that everyone is a puzzle, one that she wants to piece together and figure out their psyche (or what makes them tick). She always likes guessing what people are going to do or say next and if they do something that she can't predict, then she gets thrown off. Heidi is a bit of a manipulator... she is a stripper, after all. Using her knowledge of how people act she carefully chooses her words to get the best outcome.

Born a native of New York to a pair of working parents (one of which is a Liberian immigrant), they tried to give Heidi a better life here in the states than they had. Though there was always something a little... off, about Heidi. She didn't exactly get along with other kids and was always seemingly an outsider. One that found enjoyment in isolation rather than interacting with people, which they found weird as the girl would rather bury herself in a book than party. Just what is wrong with her?! She says that she never really got people as she grew up, and found find herself doing anything other than what they considered normal. Heidi, as a child, found it easier to stay inside and keep to herself, which meant that she stayed out of trouble.

Her parents constantly tried to push her towards social situations by the means of after school activities... which she didn't take to other than the writing club and her future passion: the theater. Yes, Heidi was a theater kid and once she went there she immediately took to their lot. They were open, they had fun, and they took a liking to Heidi herself. She was merely the makeup and costume artist but whenever someone had a cold or didn't want to do a role she was an actor. Something that she took a liking to... and despite that reserved demeanor Heidi was very overdramatic.

There's not much else to say that Heidi partied with the theater kids and made some true friends that made her parents happy. Then everyone graduated and then went their separate ways and Heidi went to college for the arts... as the stage was her passion and she was going to get a degree in that field! It was a grueling four years of college - full of stress, tears, enemies, hookups, and shitty jobs to pass the time - but eventually, Heidi got her bachelor's degree in the arts! The first thing that she got was a job as a conductor and it was everything that she could have dreamed of, and more...

... Until she saw her salary.

New York's a very expensive state to live in and her salary wasn't enough to cut it despite how much she liked being a conductor in a big orchestra. She didn't like it but a friend of hers who played the violin in the orchestra suggested her for a little side hustle: stripping. Heidi was hesitant about it at first but she warmed up to it once she got on the stage, and the life of a stripper was peculiar enough for Ms. Thomas. It gave her a little extra money to avoid getting thrown out on the streets but she also wanted to move out where it was cheaper, the south sounded appealing.

However she was getting bled dry through bills so that was a far cry but she remained hopeful... however, the Return happened and Heidi wasn't aware but she possesses the soul of the primitive God of fire, Agni. When she performed on stage one day she didn't realize it but the place was engulfed in fire due to her new Godly abilities flaring up and going out of control. The fire department saved the day but a bunch of people was still injured, including Heidi herself. She had to spend a little while in the hospital... which she also set on fire.

It didn't take a genius to realize that there was a pattern and that she was not "herself". The letter came and she didn't like the sound of it... but she also didn't have any other options here.

Fire-Manipulation: The fires of Agni were stated to be more than just mere fire, a consuming force that transports sacrifices to the Hindu pantheon. Naturally... Heidi's pyrokinesis is a lot weaker than that. She's not capable of burning all to ash, but she's capable of producing one hell of a flame. Heidi's flames are not a traditional red but a dark blue color that symbolizes that maybe they come from a different source. They burn a bit hotter than average flame but the average person will probably not tell the difference when they're on fire. It's simple, Heidi can produce this flame from her hands and in this environment - it's easier to produce the flame from her body, however.

Water is naturally the opposite of Heidi's fire, and if you soak her in the fire she won't be able to use her fire until she dries off. Of course, her fire is susceptible that regular fire is so I'm not going to go over that. The big issue is that the fire burns up the air quickly and it also produces a lot of smoke when she's in close quarters. So that makes it dangerous for her to use along with the fact that it causes dehydration so she'll have to constantly drink water.

MAIN GOAL ⫻ Maxine's goal as it stands is to just enjoy herself and have fun. She's not exactly a long term kind of person and just wants to live in the moment. Though she has a newfound interest in the world of magic and seeks to explore it... even if it means ending up in the dark places it can take you.

PHILOSOPHY ⫻ To Maxine, people are in shit for themself and don't give a shit about other people - not something that she likes but it's true. She kinda feels the same way, but she still believes that people need to look out for each other and bolster one another. Maxine tries to look out for other people and try to keep them out of trouble. Other than that, the girl doesn't have any deep or meaningful philosophy other than having fun, be your best, and expanding her horizons. However, Maxine also believes that regardless of how bad things get, or what justification people have for their shitty behavior, that it's not an excuse. Nor is it absolution from their crimes, and Maxine is the last person to listen to or even accept these justifications. Even if they're for "the greater good", the ends are shaped and defined by the means. Also, "family" to her is just a word and she values personal relationships and friendships.

SECRETS ⫻ Not a whole lot... Maxine doesn't see herself as a secretive human being and feels as if there isn't a thing that people can use against her. This is why she is an open book in the eyes of her friends, whatever you ask her, you'd get a straight answer. However, Maxine doesn't go around broadcasting her interest in occulture... or the fact that she was in a cult. Nor does she scream from the heavens about the time she used her abstraction to intimidate her douchebag stepfather.

SEXUALITY ⫻ Maxine is openly bisexual, she has always had an attraction to both genders. She discovered herself after a chance encounter with her friend, but she also doesn't have a preference. Oftentimes, Maxine Carter is seen flirting with people from both genders unabashedly, though a lot of the time it's just her playing around and toying with people. Maxine rarely, if ever, really goes through with any relationships and just stays flirting out of a desire to remain free.

FEARS ⫻ As interested in the magical world that Maxine is, she is afraid of just how deep that rabbit hole goes. While it's amazing to shoot fire, she doesn't want to give up her soul regardless of the price. She wants to protect her friends from the predatory forces that are out there as well of informing herself of them so she's better prepared. Though, Maxine is wondering if that's possible as it stands and she's not just trying to have her cake and eat it.

REPUTATION ⫻ Around Araminta, Maxine is seen as that one weird goth girl. Fortunately, she tries not to make any big waves so not a whole lot of people know who she is. She likes to keep it that way, and she also likes to keep her circles small. Also, Maxine knows her near-nonexistent reputation would plummet the second that anyone finds out.

FLAWS ⫻ Now let me just say that Maxine is hard to get along with at times. The girl just loves stirring the pot - subtly or not - and poking fun at and irritating people for fun. Especially the kind of people that she doesn't like, it's just something that she thinks is funny... not a whole lot of people share this sentiment. It's come to the point where it's honestly difficult to tell when she's being serious or just screwing with people. Maxine is also at times very unforgiving, harsh, and quick to anger - if you piss the girl off then she's probably going to hold onto it for a while even after the offending party apologizes! It's irrational anger and grudge that she holds onto for no sane or sensible reason. Maxine also tends not to think about the long term of her actions, and tends to procrastinate and put off problems in favor of worrying about the good in life. Then getting pissed off when that problem can't be ignored any longer.

The life of Maxine Carter began in Philadelphia, PA, she was born from the casual-sex relationship between her mother and her father which ended with her being conceived. Her father didn't want to be a father so he just decided to up and leave. Which left Maxine with her mother as she ended up having to move back in with her parents to survive. To say the least, life growing up was a little rough because her mother was not exactly the most mature human being in the world. She was always getting into arguments with her parents, going on flings with new men only to get manipulated for sex again, and getting drunk and partying. It wasn't the best early development for a girl like Maxine but fortunately, her two grandparents were always there for her to provide that stable emotional support that she needed. They tried to raise her to the best of their abilities and worked their asses off working on.

However, things changed when her mother finally met her husband and declared him the love of her life... and he felt the same way. The two eloped and got married and moved out of Philadelphia to Araminta around the time she was in middle school. Now, Maxine didn't want to move out to Araminta but her parents were pretty much set on this. So away they went to Araminta to start a new family and suddenly it felt like her new siblings were born that she wasn't wanted. That she was just a mistake to be forgotten about, and... that didn't go well.

In high school she acted out a lot - she was one to get into fights, pull pranks, and it came to the point where detention was pretty much an after school program with her where she hung out with the homies. Maxine was the kind of person that wanted attention and she got it by acting out, just not in the way that looked good for her family. It took her getting kicked down a few pegs to calm down a bit and act out in less obvious ways. This didn't do wonders for her reputation, however, and she ended out as an outcast... and she grouped with the other outcasts, in the way of Morgana Rose-Hill.

A native of Araminta who seemed to be obsessed with the occult and witches and the supernatural even though it totally wasn't real. They met in detention and hit it off and the two girls quickly became the best of friends, and Maxine was let into Morgana's friend group. Together they had fun in highschool causing trouble, getting high, and being annoying for everyone else. Though Morgana was a bit spooky, she was like into that hardcore witch shit; pentagrams, tarot cards, rituals, yeah, witch shit. It was something that Maxine was interested in herself and learned by proxy... but because she lived in a heavily Christian household, she had to keep it under wraps out of fear.

Though, her household became a bit toxic for different reasons as her stepfather started acting like a bit of a dick. He would fly off the handle at the drop of a hat and arguments between himself and her mother became every other night. Maxine herself would learn not to say nothing to him out of fear that he'd explode at her next, but eventually, she realized that even the slightest actions would set the miserable bastard off. One time he made her sleep out on the porch and that was the point where she began hating him and began engaging in acts of rebellion against him.

It ranged from the subtle like moving shit around to gaslight him, to openly wearing the witchy jewelry that she got from Morgana. Speaking of which, being a fellow teenager with some intense daddy issues, she fit right in with Morgana and her friends. During this time this was when Morgana taught Maxine how to draw and other witchy stuff - which Maxine made a crucial part of her identity. However, it wasn't long until her father brought the hammer down and forbade her from leaving the house. If it wasn't for school, then Maxine had to keep her ass right in his house.

Maxine tried to plead with her mother about this but she just kept saying "he's only doing what he thinks is best for you". This built-up resentment in Maxine's heart towards not just her father but also her mother. However, she managed to keep herself occupied by staying in the house all day by learning some new skills... such as reading into the book on spooky shit that Morgana slipped her. She also picked up the guitar, artistry, and reading into other hobbies.

However, that wasn't enough for Morgana and the girl eventually coaxed Maxine into sneaking out the house so they can party and have fun! Maxine learned how to pick locks for when her mother locked the door at night - speaking of which she knew but didn't feel as if Maxine needed to be boxed in other than to appease her husband. She wanted Maxine to go out and learn the same way she did, through her shitty actions. However, it wasn't long until her father caught on and one night when Maxine came home he confronted her.

The two got into an argument as he demanded that she stay up in the house and Maxine disagreed. It got heated... and it was when Maxine received her Kindling Event. A vision of her ancestors telling her about her Adept heritage and her roots in the world of magic... and how to unlock it. She asked a myriad of questions and learned all about it - and her roots as a... Pumpkin Witch? The females in Maxine's family came from a line of witches that specialized in Pumpkins? That was kind of weird but Maxine went along with it as the vision ended as fast as it began - and she was right back in the argument. She decided to gracefully leave by going back into her room and locking herself into it.

That was when Maxine decided to practice magic and...? She realized that magic was real when she created a Pumpkin minion. Suddenly, getting locked in her room was okay with her as she practiced her magic in the shadows. She learned how to create all sorts of pumpkin minions, create vines out of pumpkins, but she felt like it wasn't her thing. Like it just didn't feel right and that was when she expanded her horizons... to fire, and fire and Maxine mixed well. She finally felt like she had the power to get what she wanted and then grabbed the keys and prepared to walk out. Her stepfather tried to stop her and then she showed him how much of a witch she was.

She frightened him with her brand new abstraction and told him that his little reign of terror ends now. Out of fear that she was going to kill him with her spooky witch powers, he complied, and finally, Maxine was allowed to act. Suddenly, he was the one that was avoiding her and that was one thing that she found hilarious. She was finally allowed to hang out with their friends and live her life and she graduated soon afterward. However, on her graduation day, she was told by her mother the reason why her father was acting so erratic all these years: He was dying of cancer and the fees were stressing them out.

Like it was supposed to be a justification for his actions.

Funny.

At this point, Maxine lost all respect for both of her parents and did nothing but walk off. Maxine said that she would go to the University of Araminta and stay out of their way. She was still interested in the world of magic, but Maxine didn't have a whole lot of outlets. However, she was approached by her old friend Morgana who told her about this little group she was getting together, and Maxine went along with it. Then she found out her high school friend started a cult.

Enter the Wiccans, a group of degenerates and numbskulls that were assembled to worship an Apparition known as "The Triple Goddess". Maxine was hesitant at first but she eventually went along with the cult as the Triple Goddess knew about magic. It was a fun experience in which Maxine listened to the girls argue about every stupid thing that came to mind and found it entertaining to prod them! The only thing was that she was getting them more and more comfortable with ritualistic sacrifice and she feared that they would go past the point of no return.

Not if Maxine had anything to say about it.

TYPE ⫻ Adept

ABSTRACTION ⫻ Red & Gold Lux | Rings.

ABSTRACTION DESCRIPTION ⫻ Maxine comes from a line of... "Pumpkin Witches". They're a bunch of Witch-themed Adepts that used a myriad of pumpkin-based spells, however, Maxine tried to follow that tradition only to realize that wasn't her affinity. Her affinity is fire, going off of her firey rage and passionate nature. She still can make use of her pumpkin spells but she's quickly shifting into her affinity, which is fire.



LIMITS ⫻ Maxine's grasp on pyromancery is wild and dangerous, difficult to control. She has some accidents from time to time despite her high affinity towards the element (or maybe that's apart of it). Maxine can shoot out a flamethrower's worth of fire and create a firestorm with it but the more fire she creates the more tired she becomes. As stated before she is immune to the fire that she is controlling but she can still be injured by external flames. Maxine can create around five Pumpkin minions that are no bigger than herself and they can only travel around ten meters away from herself or they'll fall apart. Maxine can only create and control vines in a two-meter radius around herself and she can create a twenty-meter long vine at best. It'd still be a bitch to create as she can't instantly create the vines. She can control soil in a very short radius, around three meters, and she can manipulate around a hundred pounds of soil or equal to her body mass. However, all of her spells work better if her feet are planted on the ground.

WEAKNESSES ⫻ Naturally, Maxine's fire is countered by water. If she's soaked in water or if the area is too humid then she will not be able to produce fire - Smoke is also an issue from setting stuff on fire. Maxine's minions are also fairly frail, having the durability of well, Pumpkins. She offsets this by quantity, but they can be smashed by a Blind... if they get past the claws. The Pumpkins can be burnt away and the same goes for the vines. For Maxine to use her Soil manipulation she has to be sedentary.

Nakala herself is a very caring and loving human being who sometimes lets her pride cloud her judgment at times. Nakala herself only focuses on what's in front of her and hardly has time for distractions. She's less concerned with putting on fronts as she is with her immediate friend group and advancing herself. So rarely you'll see Nakala drawing unnecessary attention to herself or dressing flashy. However that isn't to say the girl is completely anti-social, she's perfectly fine talking to people. However, Nakala is extremely impatient and at times and that leads to her saying and doing things that alienate herself from friends or something rash.

Trigger Type: Natural Trigger

PRT Power Classification: Shaker 5, Mover 3

Power Perk(s): There are two facets to Nakala's parahuman ability that works astonishingly well together. Nakala can create a green, translucent barrier around herself that forms a twenty twenty-foot dome around herself. This dome is semi-transparent and constantly moving, adding more and more layers upon itself seemingly subconsciously as Nakala (or maybe her passenger) perceives the threat. The barrier is insanely durable and is capable of tanking hits from even high-level brutes, perhaps even an Endbringer, and the barrier moves with her. The other end of Nakala's power is simply put; flight. There is a twist with this ability, however, as once Nakala engages in flight she becomes sort of a rocket - she just keeps going faster, and faster, and faster, with no maneuverability. Mixing these two abilities turns Nakala into an ultra-fast wrecking ball that can demolish small buildings with ease.

Power Drawbacks: Now the dome doesn't prevent her from feeling the impact of stuff. She can crash into people and stuff, but she's going to feel it through her barrier and it can fuck her up. Nakala's flight ability only has two and a half settings: Stop, go, and kinda veer in that direction. Maneuverability is damn near impossible for her unless she stops and she'll keep going and going and going.... until she reaches something that stops her and she goes splat. Which is why Nakala is very careful about how she uses her ability.

History: Nakala Phillips was born in New York, New York to a single mother and life was simple... before the Behemoth attacked the city. It was an insane experience that she fortunately only vaguely remembers, but obviously, she survived but the scars on New York weren't easily healed. She had to live through decades of criminals and supervillains moving in on the city. So yeah, growing up was pretty crazy for Nakala, and she had to have her head on a swivel. Though she grew up in capable hands, around her best friend Phoebe Carmicheal and the two had a merry time growing up together.

However, when Nakala was a teenager she and her friend Phoebe were attacked by one of the local gangs that had moved into the city. Well, sort of, they were a group of teenaged punks that wanted to impress one of the Neo-Nazi gangs by beating on some black kids, and they saw that they had outnumbered them five to two. The two beat on the two girls until Nakala was the one that got away and then she saw that they were still beating on Phoebe. She didn't want to let Phoebe die here and that was when she charged in, turning into a barrage of fists and feet.

She triggered in the process, creating a barrier around herself and Phoebe that scared off the punks. However, the punks reported her to the PRT and claimed that she was a villain that attacked them. Given that the PRT is just a little bias against Parahumans (a black one at that) they believed them and ended up arresting Nakala... however, a cape that was sympathetic to her managed to sway the director into cutting her a deal. A deal that Nakala, at the time, didn't really like, but it was better than prison: become a Ward. She and her mother took the deal without a second thought and even though Nakala had her compunctions at the time, she was still entitled to all of the benefits. She took the name Pinball, which was suggested to her by her mother.

So she went to school during the day and during the night she patrolled the streets and helped out where she was needed - and got paid for it. It was a hectic lifestyle but Nakala pulled it off - not without some hiccups. The New York Wards' leadership was a bit... toxic, to say the least. The PRT Agent in charge of the New York Wards played favorites a lot and their leader Iron Bird was a self-centered, glory-hogging, bitch. Nakala and Iron Bird did not get along but Iron-Bird always held over the threat of ending Nakala's time in the Wards over her head.

Iron Bird constantly lied, cheated, and bullied Nakala and the girl had to take it with a smile. That was until the Leviathan attack on Seattle and the New York Wards were sent there. It was terrifying but the PRT Agents just told them they would not be fighting and would be helping civilians evacuate. While it was true, Nakala ended up fighting with the Endbringer a few times and the experience was horrifying. However, in the experience, Iron Bird, Nakala, and another Ward were separated from the others.

That was when they went for the Endbringer Shelter... in which Leviathan followed. The Endbringer attacked the Shelter and then it was up to the three to hold them off, and Leviathan killed both Iron Bird and the Ward from Chicago. Nakala claims that she did all that she could to save them, but in actuality, she cut and run and left Iron Bird to die... purely out of spite.

Seattle survived and Nakala was given awards for her "heroism", afterward, she went back to the New York Wards and became their leader. For at least a brief period because once she turned eighteen, she became a fulltime Protectorate member and she bounced around from place to place... until she ended up in Manchester, there was a Protectorate member for a few years now.

Skills: Dancing, Hand-to-Hand combat, drawing, yoga.

Gear: First-Aid Kid, Tear-Gas Bomb, Body-Armor, combat-knife.

Occupation: Protectorate

Relationships and Family: Michelle Phillips (Mother).

Now, as stated before, Maya is very tall and somewhat skinny - well, not completely skinny because she has a bit of body fat on her. The lifestyle and occupation that Maya lives don't really require that she be in tip-top shape, and due to hormone replacement she packs on fat a bit more. She tries to keep the excess body fat off, but she has a bit of a belly but it doesn't do anything gross like sag. She also has body fat on other parts on her legs, arms, calves, behind, and breasts - which is pretty much the only thing padding out her curves. People notice that she keeps her body covered up at all times, even in warmer environments. That is because Maya is covered in whipping scars and other old wounds from her time as a slave. They're all over her body and they are ugly, and the young Maya would rather keep them hidden.

Maya was born and raised in the Terminus Systems, in a mere rural farming colony. Her parents (and their parents) didn't agree with the Systems Alliance or the Citadel and wanted a life free from alien influence. It was a difficult lifestyle, given that they were under threat from slavers and pirates. However, they managed to form their own security force and deter them, or at least minimize the damage when they inevitably did attack. The colony relied on everyone playing their own part to contribute to farming, which was their main export and trade to other colonies in the Terminus Systems - and the only thing keeping the colony afloat. Though there were some rumors that the colony had ties with Cerberus, those were just rumors, right? Now again, Maya wasn't always Maya... she was known as Dudley Carter.

Dudley always felt that something was wrong, that his body was maybe not made for him. However, the young Dudley kept to himself and he was generally put to work in the fields like the rest of his family. Between school and the work, he barely had any time to really explore these feelings, and any behavior seen breaking the norm was not welcomed. He just kept these feelings in as he had a mild interest in things that were seen as feminine, which evolved into an obsession. Dudley's household was pretty healthy and he had a great relationship with his parents even if they found his behavior odd at times. The colony was beautiful, and he had plenty of other children to play with... until it all came crashing down.

The pirates attacked again and they obviously had a plan, a cunning one: distract the security forces on one part of the colony while they snuck in and kidnapped some children. They were watching the colony, obviously, and knew the schedule and pattern enough to attack when they least expected it and where. Unfortunately, while they suffered some losses, they left with many of the colony's children, including Dudley. They were undermanned and barely had enough weaponry to defend themselves, so they merely let the slavers have their way and cut their losses.

Thus, the young Dudley spent a few years of his life as a slave for this pirate group, as everyone around him was sold off to other groups in the Terminus Systems. He was kept around for the menial tasks that the pirates didn't want to do like cleaning and cooking. These few years were absolute hell for Dudley as he was just barely kept alive to serve them and was abused. This was where Dudley realized that the colonists had a bit of a point not wanting anything to do with aliens. However, the pirates raided a colony in the Attican Traverse that was under Citadel control and the Alliance Navy retaliated and raided the ship. Alliance Marines utterly trounced the pirates and they finally broke the chains around Dudley.

However, they couldn't find the colony where Dudley originated from and he, for the life of him, couldn't remember what the planet's name was. He was simply brought under Alliance custody and placed in an orphanage in one of the larger, more prosperous, colonies under the System Alliance's oh so watchful eye. He never had to worry about being enslaved again, fortunately, and thus he was allowed to finally allowed to heal from that awful, awful, experience. Dudley was finally allowed to explore himself as well and realized that wasn't his identity, being a teenager at this point. The colony was a lot more open than Dudley's original place and he started using female pronouns and eventually, he went to a special doctor. Then he got the proper drugs prescribed to him and went through the procedure of changing his name.

And that was the death of Dudley and the birth of Maya Carter.

As Maya; she wanted to help people and avoid that tragedy that happened to her so many years ago, so when she came of age she tried to enlist in the Alliance Navy. However, it was discovered that she has a bit of PTSD from her time as a slave and she couldn't pass the psychological evaluation. This was a bummer at the time but Maya didn't give up and decided to attend college, but this wasn't exactly ideal as an orphan with no money. The options were becoming more and more limited as Maya eventually took a job as a secretary in a doctor's office - One that she found out was a front for a Cerberus operation. Cerberus members would get hurt and they would come there to be discretely patched up and given an official cover. Maya was afraid at first, but then she found out about the opportunities.

Through this doctor, Maya was recruited into Cerberus as a medic. She was taught all the ways to patch up the Cerberus operatives that got injured. With Cerberus, Maya thought that she was helping people, but she quickly found out that she was just another pawn in the Illusive Man's game. That they were just a disgusting terrorist group, despite all the great things she heard about them - and all of her own xenophobia. That was when Maya had enough, took all of her things, and disappeared without a trace - they came looking for her but she fled into the Terminus Systems.

Probably the most obvious place for a deserter but Maya put her skills that she learned under Cerberus to good use as a freelance contractor. She worked under a doctor under the guise of a nurse for the longest and she's... seen some shit. Eventually, Maya took a job for an Asari Captain for a shady operation... while she was hesitant, it was a quick and easy way out of Omega - and they would give her free food and a place to sleep.

Sounded like a good deal, right?

Despite it all, Maya attempts to make the best of things and put on a smile on her face. Despite more or less a back-alley doctor for a bunch of criminals, mercenaries, and other thugs, she has some exceptional customer service, so to speak. It's a mixture of genuine kindness and some remnants of her past trauma as a slave - putting on a smile made them beat her less. Maya realized that she had a tough life and that she's unlikely to work past it but damn she's going to try. Maya is cheerful and kind, making sure to treat everyone with respect until they prove they don't deserve it. That's usually how she is on the job and is one that isn't afraid to make conversation with people. Off the job, or if it's not necessary, she's a bit quieter and more focused on the job.

Maya is a hard worker and is the kind of person that's better kept busy or else she'll begin to go a bit crazy. She prides herself on being the most efficient and productive person and she doesn't really have a lot of patience or care for somebody who isn't. While Maya isn't the confrontational type, she isn't above throwing passive-aggressive or snide comments someone's way. Definitely will give someone a hard time if they think that they're better than her due to arbitrary reasons. Maya has a sharp tongue but saves it for the right occasion, or the right idiot. Maya has a good sense of humor and is usually sarcastic and making teasing comments towards people - provided that they are on board with it.

However, Maya has a lot of past trauma to work through despite her best interests and is the kind of person that has a hard time dealing with stress. Maya usually shuts down if faced with an issue that she cannot immediately solve or one that takes her out of her own comfort zone. Because if she cannot solve it on her own she'll attempt to avoid it altogether. The woman has a lot of trouble with dealing with other races, or "aliens" she insultingly refers to them as. She was born in a xenophobic community that was ultimately proven right when Maya was kidnapped by Batarian slavers and enslaved for several years of her life. Maya doesn't like aliens, nor does she like dealing with them, but she knows that to survive out in Terminus she has to swallow her pride. Ultimately, she has learned to keep her distance from such aliens.

Maya is realistic and down to earth, and while she tries to put on the facade of cheerfulness, she can't help but tell people the grim truth. She also attempts to be a moral, kind-hearted, person because she feels some deep regret for helping Cerberus. She feels as if she can make up for it by helping people but she knows many lives were indirectly ended due to her skillset. Maya was misled and now she tries not to be so naive and trusting.

("Tropica, don't forget it.")

Tropica.

("I know everything there is to know about being a hero and they say I'm a Pawn.")

Pawn.

("Don't take me lightly, because it may blow up in your face. Eh, eh?")

JUICY FRUIT - EMITTER

Juicy Fruit is a strange one among even the quirks. Where some have the ability to create explosions with their sweat or control over ice and fire... Phoebe's quirk merely allows her to augment fruit with different properties. If she touches fruit of any sort with all five fingers; she can augment fruit with healing or explosive properties. Originally, she could only augment fruit with healing properties, but in her first year, she has learned how to augment them with explosive properties. So I'll start with the former: healing. If Phoebe infuses fruit with healing properties, once they are consumed the consumer's wounds will begin to heal. The size and type of the fruit depend on the severity of the injuries healed; cherries and grapes could heal cuts, an apple could heal broken bones, and watermelon can bring someone back from the brink of death. It depends on how much of the fruit is eaten, too. If you eat half or one-fourth... then that's how effective the healing will be. She can also take advantage of the healing, but the effect will be halved.

As for explosives, the same principles apply: the bigger the fruit, the larger the explosion! Grapes would have the same effect as an M-80, while an apple would be like a stick of dynamite, and watermelon would produce an enormous explosion. To trigger the explosion, they have to be significantly disturbed, and the best way to do that is for Phoebe to throw it at an enemy (or at their feet).

Now there are a few ups and downs here; first, off she can't instantly apply the effect and she needs a few minutes to charge it up. Also, she has to use the fruit almost immediately, or else the effect will get progressively worse until it wears off completely! Also, it goes both ways, as in enemies can eat her fruit or prematurely trigger an explosion.

("If you're not number one, you're number two. And if you're not number one; you're not important.")

When you think of a hero; you think kind, selfless, and ultimately generous person. Unfortunately, Phoebe is not any of that and she’s more or less everything wrong with the hero world. Phoebe seeks to become the best hero not out of an inherent desire to help people, but merely to stroke her ego. The girl thinks that she’s the best the world has to offer and isn’t driven to improve the world or defeat heroes other than her fame. Unfortunately, she has a very cynical outlook on things and thinks that all heroes are in it for their gain - which isn’t entirely wrong. So she just skips the middle man and feels anyone that treats heroism as some sort of legitimate good deed on society is a moron and will gladly condescend to them. This piss-poor attitude roots from some relatively shitty interactions with current heroes, and she mostly uses this attitude as a barrier for her idealism that she has deep down. However, despite the girl’s attitude, she can, at the very least back it up with her skill and knowledge, just not experience.

("I will prove all those bastards wrong!")

Now, Phoebe Carmicheal is the “daughter” of a very successful and wealthy hero known as Thunder, who is - you guessed it - a lightning hero. He married his wife the hero known as Juicy Fruit, a fruit hero that immigrated to the states from Japan. They had a family of several different people and they all lived happily ever after in their mansion in SoCal. However, something was amiss when Phoebe’s quirk manifested - all of Thunder’s children had a mixture of his and Juicy Fruit’s quirks. It was almost like Phoebe wasn’t his daughter.

Because she wasn’t.

Phoebe was born from an affair between Juicy Fruit and a healing hero and that manifested in their quirks coalescing into Phoebe. Unfortunately, Thunder knew this and resented Phoebe, being unable to come to grips with the fact that the love of his life betrayed him and sired this bastard. While he called Phoebe his daughter he mistreated the girl at every available opportunity, calling her weak, having no chance at being a hero, and belittling her whenever he could. However, this eventually began to weigh down on Phoebe as she used this as motivation to become the greatest hero, as she dug deep into not just the American hero world, but the hero scenes in every other country. Aspiring to become the greatest hero in the world, above even All-Might… but her father’s beratings weighed down on her.

The rest of her family joined in on it, calling her a weakling as well as they launched successful hero careers. Phoebe knew that they were in it for the money, everyone in the hero scene was once you did some digging, Stain had a point there… but she was going to prove herself as better than them. Well, not in morals because that was a lost cause but she was going to become the most knowledgeable and skilled hero in the world.

She proved them wrong just by getting accepted into the Eirei Academy after passing the entrance exam with flying colors.

Nakala didn't exactly live the best life, especially for Deadwood's already low standards. To cut to the chase: Nakala was born a slave in the "kingdom" of Darington. Both of her parents were slaves (A human and a Goliath respectively) that were forced to breed with each other in hopes of producing stronger slaves but without the weaknesses of the Goliath-kind. The second she was born, she was taken away and since then Nakala knew nothing but scrubbing floors, cleaning stables, and preparing food for rich tyrants. It was all a blur for the girl, but she sharply remembers the punishments they would give her if they weren't even slightly satisfied with her performance. Said punishments were either physical or they would deprive her of food and rest until they felt like she learned the lesson. These punishments taught Nakala that she needed to please them however she could, even appearing happy about. Nakala spent her nights with the other slaves, both boys and girls and they would ideate about freedom and the lands outside of Darington. They would interact with each other and share knowledge of the outside world - even food and weaponry that they scrounged up.

This went on for years it felt like, and Nakala honestly felt like it was getting easier. However, she wasn't getting any happier being caged, forced to please these bastards. She wanted freedom at any cost, but her slaves had weaponry and power. Eventually, Nakala gained the freedom that she desired... to an extent. In Deadwood, even the wealthiest man has to budget their money correctly and he had to cut some corners. While he enjoyed having so many slaves clean his manor, he had too many of them and could afford to lose a few. So, he sold off a couple of his slaves, including Nakala, seeing that he can just work the rest harder.

Nakala ended up at the next stage of her life - her lowest and most traumatic point - the gladiator arena. The place where she was forced to fight for the amusement of the denizens of Darington. She was just a little girl, and she was pitted against the very same slaves that she used to play with. She had to produce an entertaining fight, or else she wouldn't get food, and sometimes she had to kill these poor people. She didn't want to do it, she didn't want any of it, but she had to do it to survive.

In time, she honed her skills and became a very capable warrior... especially with her preferred weapon, a spear. She would skewer enemies on its long blade and break them with her brute strength, creating her own fighting style. Of course, Nakala was given the option of buying her own freedom by constantly winning fight after fight... but that would be impossible given the amount of money she made, and the fact that she would likely finally die before she reached that goal. She didn't know what pushed her forward to win fight after fight for the amusement of those bastards.

However, things changed when the Kaimerian Uprising finally began and Darington was in the crossfire in fact. The Kaimerians assaulted the hive of crime and villainy and cleaved their way through the place - naturally, everyone fled the place. Nakala was released by other slaves attempting to get away, grabbed her spear, and ran out the door - but one boy grabbed her spear and threw it to the ground. When Nakala asked him why he told her that the Kaimerian code of honor that permits that they only fight combatants. Kaimerians kicked down the door and saw two children... and told them to flee.

And that's what they did, they fled out into the harsh wasteland that was Deadwood. No clue of where to go, and only armed with what they could find.

They ended up at one of the villages far away from Darington by following the tracks of the other slaves in hopes that they had an idea of where to get. That was when the two were taken in by a very friendly farmer that saw their plight - at the price of helping around the farm. This, for a moment, felt like slavery to Nakala but she eventually came around and worked for the farmer in exchange for food and shelter. This was when Nakala and the boy... the boy that she realized was one of the very boys from the first house she was a slave in. That was when she realized that he never had a name - because they never gave him one.

She named him Rollo.

Nakala and Rollo lived on the farm in peace, getting to know each other and sharing stories about what happened - being relieved that they were finally free. One day, the knights from Orthos came to the village, searching for any willing volunteers to join the fight against the Kaimerian insurrection. Rollo was about to volunteer but Nakala stopped him, telling him that where ever he went, she would follow. They nodded as they both volunteered for the Orthos military. Sending children out to war was nothing unfamiliar in the land of Deadwood, and they were desperate for anyone to help stop the Kaimerian push.

They were sent off to Orthos, barely trained, and placed on the frontlines... probably because the Orthos government saw them as irrelevant and cannon fodder. Against all odds, Nakala and Rollo survived every battle that they participated in. They weren't even war heroes, but they definitely put in their fair share of work in the Kaimerian Uprising... until it was all over and the two were finally trained. Nakala became a lancer, while Rollo became an accomplished swordsman... and most of the time they just fought in the border conflicts Orthos had with Ethos. Or were just patrolling the neighboring towns.

Nakala, at this point, announced that she had fallen in love with Rollo and the two got eloped... however, the life of being grunts sent in as meatshields were not for the two. For months they planned their getaway and scouted out neighboring locations that weren't or were barely mapped out. Then one night; they disappeared in the dead of the night with as many supplies and weaponry as they could. Nobody had a clue where they went, but hell would be to pay if they were found.

It was unlikely since the two retired to one of the unmarked towns... Buruko, it was called. The two finally got married there and then Nakala conceived their daughter: Joko. They lived peacefully in this town, farming, and training, honing their skills just in case - years went by and nothing happened and they got complacent. They thought everything was going to be fine... until the slavers attacked that is. The unmarked towns and locations are a prime target for slavers and they assaulted the village.

Rollo rushed into the fray to fight them off and Nakala took Joko and hid in their home... not that it mattered much because the slavers knew that Joko was in there - having watched the town for a while. They eventually found them, Nakala attempted to fight them off but there were too many and they beat her and took Joko. Nakala passed out, and when she woke up, she saw that Joko was gone... and Rollo was dead.

She fell into a deep depression as she recovered from her wounds, but a passionate rage built up inside of the woman. She was going to get Joko back, one way or another... and the very second that she recovered she grabbed her spear, some supplies, and left the house: straight to Darington. After cleaving her way through the monsters, she made it to Darington and saw her daughter on sale.

However, Darington was full of all sorts of people that would love to someone trying to break slaves out skewered. Then the slaver cut her a deal: Bring him a mountain of gold and he would release her daughter. Nakala was certain that he thought that she wouldn't be able to do it, but she sure as hell would try.

She grabbed an advertisement looking for warriors to go to Exusia and got an idea...

Nakala is very good at cleaning, farmwork, and other things.

("Still looking for the Brimstone to my Fire, baby.")

Fire

("I'm no one's Pawn!")

Pawn

("Too hot to get cold, baby!")

FURANACE - EMITTER.

This girl is hot... literally. Inside of Fire Thomas is a furnace of sorts... a flame that exists inside of her that burns constantly. It elevates her body temperature far above what's normal for people, not enough to burn people on touch but they'll definitely notice how much warmer she is than average (and will probably want to let go of her). If she spits it'll sizzle on the ground, and her blood is hot like lava... and you probably don't want it on you. She can control this fire that's inside of her to an extent and heat her body, and to the main part of her ability, Fire can launch fire. She can generate large amounts of fire in the environment, and launch it in a variety of ways. During her time at Eirei, she has developed such a fine amount of control over the Furnace that she can create a small spark to an inferno. Some teachers at Eirei say that her quirk could be one of the strongest with some more time, and she can become a top hero!

Though, there are some drawbacks... as the name implies, her ability is a Furnace, and to keep her functioning at 100% she needs to constantly feed that fire. Because using her Quirk burns her natural resources and if it's depleted, it can leave her drained and possibly kill her. To do that, she needs to eat! For some reason, her biology has been altered so that she can consume charcoal in large amounts. Charcoal is the best fuel for her Furnace and she carries a lot with her to keep functioning. Regular food can feed the furnace but not to the extent of charcoal.

("I promise you everything about me is real, so I want that same energy.")

Heidi Mya Thomas (her full name) definitely is a person you'd have a hard time wiping from your mind. It's the way she carries herself, full of energy, kindness, and passion. She's a girl that's bouncy and always excitable, seemingly cheery. A passionate girl, and rarely, if ever backs down from a challenge of any kind. While Fire means well, she is sometimes absent-minded and doesn't really stop to consider how her actions come across to other people. She may seem like she's playing around, but at times she comes off as super disrespectful, arrogant, and dismissive of people. At times Heidi can be very impulsive, overly trusting, and rarely if ever thinks about the long term, only the short term. Despite her attitude, people are surprised that she doesn't like making a big deal of herself... as while Fire wants to be a hero, she's a free spirit above all else. She cares little for rules and doesn't respect authority that proves themselves to be incompetent or self-centered. The idea of a hero is a paragon of truth, virtue, and always has to act like they're, well, a hero. The higher up you are, the more the light is on you, and Fire wants nothing to do with that for a large number of reasons (she doesn't want to make heroes look bad, she wants her independence above all else, etc, etc). In the end, she doesn't quite realize that she wants to have her cake and eat it too, and probably never will unless pointed out by the right person.

("What are you fighting for, love?")

You be asking yourself, why exactly is Heidi in Japan where she sticks out like a sore thumb. It's a pretty simple story... and it starts in America. There was a pair of villains known as Fire and Spark, that fell in love after escaping prison together and eloped becoming a dangerous pair of fire-themed villains known all over the states! Eventually, a hero team raided their hideout and defeated them, where they made a discovery: they reproduced. A pair of children were found there and thus put into the American foster care system... separated from each other. Heidi never exactly knew her sibling, just that she knows that he's out there, somewhere. She was raised by a family of retired heroes in New York to be a healthy young girl, and for a while, it was thought that she was quirkless. Then at five years old, her quirk activated in kindergarten explosively... the fire department had to be called. For a while, the young Heidi had a hard time controlling her fire quirk which seemed to be awfully strong, and she had to go through special training to get her quirk under control.

Once she got her quirk under control, the rest of Heidi's early childhood was nothing of note. She partied and played around a lot and trained with her Quirk so she'd never hurt anyone again. However, Heidi decided that she was going to live in her foster family's footsteps and redeem her biological family's footsteps and become a hero! Though it was easier said than done because the American hero system showed an intense bias against her, with many American Hero Schools not even allowing her to apply! Not that would stop the young Heidi Thomas, in fact, it made her more determined.

Then she tried going foreign and that's where she landed at Eirei Academy. Where she aced the Entrance Exam and was accepted into their ranks. Her first year went by pretty smoothly as she learned to control her quirk. However, what was notable was that Enzou Todoroki, the flame hero, took her under his wing as an intern where she has learned a lot from him... however, she's on the fence on whether or not she likes him.

Sure as hell not going to be a hero like him.

Maxine is an interesting sort... she intentionally plays up the role of the "Spicy Latina" for no reason other than the fact that she thinks it makes her sound more interesting. She speaks with a thick Spanish accent, and has a bit of a temper. Think of the spiciest food you've ever eaten, she's spicier. She's incredibly flirty, passionate about what she does, and she enjoys stirring the pot. Every other word out of her mouth is some kind of snarky quip, or she's picking on another member of the Royals. To Maxine, almost everything is a game... especially this gang shit. Because that's just what Miami is for, fun, fun, fun. Her goal in the Royals is to get revenge on those bastards at the Lips for betraying her, and they're one sore spot that causes Maxine to flip from playful Latina to one cold motherfucker at the drop of a hat.

Maybe life for Maxine would have been better if she was born literally anywhere except Neon Miami. But, alas, she was born into the Neon shithole by complete accident... her parents were casual sex partners and her mother accidentally got pregnant. She didn't believe in abortion, and her father wanted nothing to do with her so he skedaddled and left her with a baby. One that she had to raise in the heart of the Miami gang war... Little Havana changed colors so many times that it's kinda silly, but long as one stays out of their way, (maybe) they won't murder you. To say the least, life growing up was a little rough because her mother was not exactly the most mature human being in the world. She was always getting into arguments with her parents, going on flings with new men only to get manipulated for sex again, and getting drunk and partying. It wasn't the best early development for a girl like Maxine but fortunately, her two grandparents were always there for her to provide that stable emotional support that she needed. They tried to raise her to the best of their abilities and worked their asses off trying to keep a roof over her head.

Of course, with her mother getting involved with the gangs... it wasn't exactly a great thing for Maxine growing up. Especially with a bunch of gangsters hanging around the house, but it ended when a rival gang came by and shot up the place. That was when her grandparents had enough... and threw Maxine's mother out of the house, as they were done with their daughter's childishness and short-sighted decision-making. Maxine was allowed to stay and she was more or less raised by her grandparents, but never saw her mother again after she was thrown out of the house. Not that she cared, her grandparents taught her all about how terrible of a person her mother was... but she always wondered just how she got that way.

Her grandparents pushed her to go to school, college, and to get the fuck out of Miami. Of course, Maxine's early life was stunted enough that the rest of her life was not going to go smoothly as her grandparents wanted. She spent a lot of time in school goofing off with friends, smoking weed, and partying, and she was more or less a career detention student. It wasn't long before her grandparents deemed her a similar lost cause as her mother and when the time came and her 18th birthday came around, as a gift she was given homelessness. Fortunately, she was able to couch surf from friend to friend until she got herself a place of her own. She figured that she should get her shit together fast and wished that she listened to her grandparents when she had the chance.

So she took up a fast food restaurant job during the day (that got robbed) and tried to take classes... but that wasn't cutting it in terms of money. She was talked into becoming a stripper at a sleezy Miami strip club downtown... strip clubs are usually considered as "neutral territory" for the colors, but some gang members just don't give a fuck. She was raking in the money with her looks and talent... but the gangsters came in there and acted like they were untouchable. Unfortunately, they were because they had connections and all Maxine had was ass shaking. This was around the time of the rise of Lips when all the sex workers (and other groups) that the Colors have brutalized. Naturally, Maxine joined them because they were quickly taking turf, even claiming a color for themselves! She wanted to get in on it while the going was hot, and she could get herself a top spot.

That she did, she earned herself a high-ranking place in the Lips through nothing but connections to the right people. However, the whole protecting themselves from the other gangs wasn't cutting it for Maxine. They were a friggin' color! They should rob a bank or something. So, she got a crew together that wanted to fill their pockets up with as much money as possible! They caught wind of the Three-Leaf hauling a huge amount of drugs in, and the Lips decided to rob them! They made a complex plan, with the plan being that the Lips disguised themselves as a different gang.

They attacked the docks, caught Three-Leaf off guard, and made it off with the drugs... however, they left Maxine behind with all the Three-Leafers. Fortunately, the cops came and it gave Maxine a cover to get out, but when she confronted her crew back on the Lips and demanded a cut, she was shot in the stomach and dumped on the stairs leading up to the hospital. Bummer. After she recovered, Maxine was back to square one... and ended up being a stripper again to pay the bills. Fortunately, with the rise of Lips and the unspoken protection sex workers and LGBT have, it was a lot safer but it wasn't enough for Maxine.

Eventually, she ended up stripping for one of the Royals races... and the Caras Rojas attacked and she grabbed a pistol and defended herself and the Royals. Proving her mettle for the group and asked to be let in... which they gladly accepted and since then she was a proud member of the Royals.

Write your character's backstory up to joining the Royals and some actions in the gang.

"I have big shoes to fill, hopefully, I will be ready to succeed where my father failed."
^{▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔}
In the era of the shogunate there was a massive war between humanity and the evil Oni-Kind. It is unknown what sparked the war as some say the Onis and humans lived in harmony for a while, while others say that the Oni-kind rose from hell to conquer Japan. The war was brutal and humanity was on the losing end of the battle as the Onis were far more powerful than the average human, especially their leader - Oni Emperor Daisuke. The Japanese had numbers but they were slowly dwindling down as the Onis cut through village after village. There was one brave samurai named Hatanaka Takashi, who ventured from Japan and traveled the world desperately hoping to find something that can defeat Daisuke. His peers thought that he was slain, however, years later he returned with ancient magic from the far-off lands and challenged Daisuke to a one-on-one battle for honor.

The Onis laughed while his fellow samurai thought that he was crazy, however, Daisuke accepted being the honorable demon that he was. In his arrogance, Daisuke felt that he would end the battle in a single stroke... and ended up being defeated by Takashi's magic and had his power sealed inside his blade: named Murakumo. With Murakumo at their side and Daisuke defeated the Japanese fought back the Oni-Kind and eventually they formed a truce: the Oni will remain in their secluded lands in the Japanese mountains and no human may enter and no Oni may leave - or else the war will begin again. Takashi's magic allowed only his blood can use the sword or else they'll lose themselves to Daisuke.

Thus, Takashi became the legendary Hatanaka family who were all trained in the ways of defending Japan against supernatural threats - especially the Oni-kind in case they broke the truce. There were daughters, then sons, and then the latest and greatest of the Hatanaka family; Yoko. However, when she was just an infant, a family of mercenaries raided the Hatanaka compound and took Murakumo, and killed her father, Kenji, in the process. Leaving Yoko fatherless and yet she knew her loss before she even knew how to speak - this meant that her aging grandfather had to train Yoko in all he knew as opposed to her father.

This didn't work out all too well as her mother was depressed after the death of her husband and Yoko's grandfather was only interested in training the girl. Yoko acted out in school as she openly resented the fact that her father was killed before she could even know him - and barely anyone made any attempts to rear her in - and took it out on whoever she could. So she grew up a rude and delinquent, but ultimately well-meaning, child. Despite her social skills being god-awful, the child was a prodigy with the blade - despite feeling unworthy to wield one that was even touched by her father, she merely stuck with the staff which she was talented with but nowhere near good with. Yoko completed her training around the time that her grandfather had finally passed away and his last dying wish was for her to recover Murakumo...

... and she promised to get it for him.

The only problem was that she had no clue where the hell the blade was, it was stolen when she was just a toddler! She searched for leads and put her training to the test against any willing Nomads or warriors... putting the family name out there that the latest and greatest Hatanaka had become a Nomad. That was when she finally got a lead on the sword: an American had stolen it from the other jackass that stolen it: something was fishy about all of this but Yoko was only interested in getting the sword back from him by any means necessary.

For better or worse, Jojo sticks out like a sore thumb due to a mixture of her "crazy ass genetics" and her own doing. Probably the first thing that people notice about Jojo is her height, she's just tall standing at six-foot even and very lanky and well-built. The girl hits the gym a lot because she has lots of muscle definition around her arms and legs and great abs. This is all because of a long life of athletism and working hard for the results she wants (oh yeah and genetics. Never forget the genetics). Not very curvy though, she's flat on both ends - she got a little butt due to squats but that's about it. This gives her a somewhat masculine aura that she hates but she knows she's at the stage of her life where she can't do anything about it. What doesn't help is her square jaw and sharp facial features (also gotten from her mother).

Next is her dreads.... she has a lot of hair due to those genetics and she has it twisted into dreadlocks that she dyes a forest green. She usually lets them hang but she ties it into a bun if she fights. Now Jojo is African-American with roots in West Africa and the Caribbean - her mother being half-Bermudian. She has brownish skin but wishes that she was a bit darker but the rest of her facial features are consistent with African-Americans and whatnot. Due to a lifetime of being a wild child, she has a bunch of different scars from getting hurt as a kid, some fights, and burning herself cooking.

In terms of attire, Jojo isn't exactly the flashiest dresser.... sure, she'll put on a dress on the right occasion but those instances are few and in between. She dresses for comfort 75% of the time and what's comfortable for her is gym clothes. Tight clothing such as bike shorts (that go a very short range), leggings, tank tops, athletic tees, sports bras, and so forth. It's to the point wonder if she lives in the gym! Jojo doesn't like jeans so you'd be lucky to see her in some but she does wear the occasional skirt (with bike shorts underneath). Now dressing to show out isn't her forte but expect her to whip out the big-name sports names like Nike, Adidas, and Kappa and even wear a dress if you got her in a good enough mood!

Oh yeah, and she loves to dress green.

A very chill and laid-back person, Jojo doesn't get super worked up over the little things anymore and focuses solely on the bigger picture. That bigger picture is her legacy... will she be able to reach fame or will she just be another footstep for someone else. A hard worker by nature; Jojo finds herself more at home working towards one of her many goals or just at the gym. However, she's very personable by nature and finds herself making friends very easily - though sometimes people get intimidated by her appearance and steer clear of the woman. Jojo is a very bubbly person and talks very fast with a hint of an accent which sometimes makes it hard to understand what she's saying. Though, sometimes she doesn't fully think about what she says before she says it and things start to get complicated. Either way, it's very hard to get Jojo angry unless you really try to. Due to her upbringing as a vagrant (as she calls herself) she learns not to get too attached to people - even as an adult she's still learning how to open up and let people in.

Jojo was the daughter of her mother Nakala Phillips - a legendary drill sergeant in the US Army - and her father Carl Jackson - the two had a complicated relationship so they were never together but Jackson remained a part of his daughter's life. Jojo was born in the Ramstein Air Base in Germany and her early life was one of traveling from place to place. On one hand, Jojo got to say that she lived in places like Hawaii, Texas, upstate New York, and Florida, and stayed in South Carolina for most of her mother's Drill Sergeant bid... on the other, she felt like an outsider in people's lives and learned not to make attachments. Nakala wanted a better life for Jojo than she had so she did all she could in the Army to make sure that the girl was happy - but also applying her version of tough love on the girl. She didn't want Jojo to grow up spoiled and lazy so Nakala made sure that Jojo was very... active, shall we say. Nakala taught her all the skills that she knew Jojo could apply in life such as cooking, and cleaning, and even taught her how to do her taxes! She made sure that Jojo wasn't on her ass on her phone or watching TV... she made sure the girl went out and played sports and volunteered on the weekends when she wasn't with her friends. The reason was a bit more than just not wanting a lazy daughter... she just wanted some free time now and then!

Now and then when Nakala was sent off to deployment or her father wanted her; she scrambled the money to send Jojo to Chicago. Her father was a boxing coach that trained Nakala... and Jojo got the bits and pieces of the relationship that her mother didn't talk about. However, Carl helped Jojo find a new passion and something that'd keep her busy than working in an animal shelter or picking the trash out of the river. Whenever Jojo was sent to her father, Carl, he trained her to be the best fighter she could be, and eventually, when she went home she started looking for boxing gyms. They were a bit expensive but her mother was happy that her daughter had found something to temporarily get her out of her hair on the weekday. Eventually, Nakala retired from the Army and settled down in Chicago.

That was when Jojo graduated high school and decided that college wasn't for her... she hit the gym pretty much every day she wasn't sick and worked her ass off getting in shape or she was training. She picked up a few jobs to cover her costs but that wasn't her goal... her goal was the Women's International Boxing Association - and through years of fighting underground, she eventually made it into the league in the Welterweight class fighting for America. It was a brutal and chaotic era of Jojo's life as she had to work her ass off to continue to compete as there were people with years of experience over her. It was an era of wins and losses, and asking herself "What the fuck is going on?" so many times.

Naturally, despite all of her hard work she hardly got the attention that her male peers got - she hated it but she understood life. Eventually, she managed to get to the Welterweight championships - and not just that, but the grand finals! It was her against Mother Russia as she was close to gaining the title that she felt she deserved after years upon years of hard work...

.... and she lost.

Russia took home the world championship as so many people that were rooting for her tried to comfort her but Jojo knew they were disappointed in her. However, the only person that scolded her was her mother... Nakala told her the only reason why she lost was because Jojo was so single-mindedly obsessed with the championship and nothing else. That Jojo needed to slow down and enjoy her twenties like Nakala herself did - balancing her job in the Army with still being a teenager! Go on vacation, go explore, go do something because all work and just work would drive Jojo crazy.

Carabo was a place Nakala liked as a youth, so Jojo just packed her things and went on what would hopefully be an amazing vacation without anything bad happening. Right?

Right?

Dialogue Color: Green!

Jojo's Themesong: Flow - Jourden

MAIN GOAL ⫻ Jasmine’s goal is to climb higher and higher in life using any means necessary. She sees someone doing better than her and she has no options to top them. She needs to best all of her rivals before she goes crazy. Silently her goal is to get over her inferiority complex somehow but unfortunately, she thinks it's by getting even better.

PHILOSOPHY ⫻ Jasmine wholeheartedly believes that everyone has a purpose; regardless of if you’re fulfilling it or not. Everyone has to be great somehow and in order to be great you must work towards it and give it your all. Nobody got to where they were by being lazy and neither will Jasmine.

SECRETS ⫻ Jasmine keeps her true feelings for Eleanor Black under wraps because she’s not sure how to process them. She just denies it for now.

SEXUALITY ⫻ Jasmine says that she’s straight but is truly unsure. She finds herself being attracted to both men and women… but she’s not exactly the type of person who wants a relationship. She sees it as a distraction from her goals - in fact, she’s never gone on a date, never been in a relationship, and never had sex. Her standards are way too high for most people anyway. However, this causes her to act out a little because she’s very sexually repressed.

FEARS ⫻ Jasmine fears the inevitability that she will never be good enough and for all of her training someone else will be better. What goes deeper than that is the fear that it’ll all be pointless in the end. That at the end of her story is not success but failure and its all a waste.

WHO IS ELEANOR BLACK TO YOU ⫻ Eleanor Black was Jasmine’s arch-rival. Eleanor was better than Jasmine in every aspect and Jasmine hated it. However there was a hidden admiration for Eleanor that developed into romantic feelings. Jasmine deep down loves her but she doesn’t know anything about love.

FLAWS ⫻ Jasmine… lots of toxic ideals embedded into her when she was just a wee lad. She believes that she can’t slack even for a second, and cannot take it slow or else she’ll fall apart. Ignoring everything about her mental health or problems in favor of chasing success at all cost. Jasmine has been on the brink of falling apart for awhile now and just keeps pushing. Thus, Jasmine’s social skills are not the best as Jasmine can only really see from her own perspective. So to say the least; she’s very stubborn.

Nyala was born in Germany to parents that were very important architects that made plenty of trips around the world for business and pleasure. That made the money flow in for the young Nyala and gave her everything she ever wanted. She was always a ball of energy... like, she was a limitless supply of it. Which caused her to act out without any real outlet. It would be years before anyone would even think of putting Jasmine in a sport. Which ended up being football (or Soccer you American-centric swine) and it ended up being Nyala’s passion.

Her parents were so happy that she came home with a trophy or a medal (and so was she!)… but so disappointed when she came short. Her father took her on a trip and told her if she’s going to get anywhere in the world she’s going to have to push herself to be the best. After all, he worked his ass off to get to Germany, worked his ass off to get a degree, and works his ass off to keep Nyala happy. So Nyala was not going to be a slacker, whether it was sports or academics.

In high school she was the star player in the girl’s football team… for a few months before she came; Eleanor Black. She joined the team and ended up being better than Nyala. Not just at football but everything: she was a better student than her, more popular at school, and just excelled. It forced Nyala to push herself further and further just to be better than her at something. Only to just come up short.

It was a trying time for Nyala, but she couldn’t help but have some type of… admiration for Eleanor. Even if she wondered if some of it was affection - the girl didn’t know how to process such emotions. She turned down every romantic gesture all because she didn’t have time to entertain everyone (and there were a lot). Even though Nyala wasn’t sure if she wanted to punch Eleanor Black in the face or kiss her, Eleanor showed her respect and kindness. Things that Nyala could not say she showed other people.

Nyala’s dream was to join the women’s football team and Germany and her father pulled a few strings and a scout looked her way. With hard work and dedication, Nyala managed to get on the women’s football team. This was amazing but Nyala soon realized that, while she was the top dog in high school, she was a little fish in a big pond out here. And this team was cutthroat.

Still, she was talented, skilled, whatever you call and that got her by… and of course Eleanor Black came along and joined the team. She was what Jasmine wanted to be: the star player instead of being… just there. As the years went by; Eleanor became a local hero, known minimally worldwide - And Nyala couldn’t take it. She worked so hard just to get bested by one person.

Eleanor Black took them to the world championship against Columbia and Nyala had to watch it all. When Nyala was out on the field, she did something hasty - in a stroke of finally getting her power back, Nyala tripped Eleanor right as she was going to get the winning score. Nyala laughed in her face… as she was pelted with trash and kicked off the field. Thanks to Nyala, Germany lost and she was urged to resign from the team. Nyala gracefully took her exit and retreated into the shadows, unsure of what to do with her life.

In a spur of what could only be impulsiveness, Nyala decided to start fresh in America - changing her name to something a bit more local… She liked the sound of Jasmine. She took the long ass flight to Clearwater, Florida which was a culture shock for Jasmine to say the least. She attended school supported by her parents, but school wasn’t for her. She had that drive, and while she was disgraced, she made sure to use that in the gym.

Making sure that she maintained that body, Jasmine spent countless hours at the gym and as a hobby built up a social media presence… and maybe thought that she could use her little bit of fame to become a fitness influencer. Except she wanted to be known for doing more than posing and taking pictures of her ass, she wanted to show that she put in the work.

But the butt shots got the likes.

It took her years but she finally found her place away from Eleanor Black… and she realized that even if she gets away from Eleanor Black, she’ll never “get away” from Eleanor Black. It was like she was the representation of all the heights that Jasmine was never going to reach. Jasmine lived with the fear of Eleanor Black was around the corner… and she still wanted her in that way.

One night Jasmine got drunk off wine and decided to stalk Eleanor Black on social media…. And couldn’t find her, maybe figuring that she had just deleted it. She looked her up to find… nothing. Which was odd because she was Germany’s darling. Whatever. The more Jasmine dug through the odder it seemed until she found out that the person she tripped was a different person altogether!

This was odd because she hated (secretly loved) Eleanor Black with all of her heart! But Jasmine definitely wasn’t crazy - she recalled events to the letter. It wasn't even Eleanor Black who Jasmine tripped but apparently a different broad altogether. She found the others who knew about her and agreed to meet in Quintin…

Jasmine is Blind.

Jasmine's based on a student I went to college with that roughly has the same backstory... with a lot of broad strokes. Also, Ethiopians don't really do the last name thing so Jasmine's father's name is used as her surname.