Name: Conner Waters



Appearance: Conner is tall and lean, standing at exactly six feet tall. He has slender well defined swimmers body that he is very happy to show off. He spends plenty of time out in the sun, and thus has a lightly tanned skin complexion. He has a boyish heart shaped face, with big brown eyes, and a small nose. He keeps his brunette hair spiked up in the front, a style he thinks is cool. He can most often be seen with a grin on his face.

As for clothing, even though Conner comes from a wealthy family, he doesn’t dress the part. He wears simple T-shirts and jeans all the time. He also likes to wear tight fitting tank tops to show off his physique at times. When it’s cold out, he’ll wear a light blue hoodie. Footwear consists of a reliable pair of blue and white sneakers, or sandals. He dresses for comfort more than for fashion. He does like the color blue, and incorporates that into his wardrobe.

Gender: Male

Age: 18

Occupation: Surfer/Surf Shop Employee

Plant Essence: Seaweed

Superpower(s): Conner has control over water. At the moment, he can only move small amounts of water, and can’t pull moisture from the air. Only control existing sources of water. He can splash people in the face with water from a water fountain. With time, his powers will grow.

Personality: Conner is a spontaneous and outgoing young man. He likes to have fun. His favorite activities are surfing, swimming, playing video games, and reading comic books. He enjoys socializing with others and being the center of attention. He is an handshaking, touching kind of guy. He openly expresses affection through hugs, holding hands, as well as stroking and grabbing shoulders. He particularly likes flirting with attractive guys. He makes friends easily, and will happily chat up strangers if they interest him somehow. He enjoys social situations, and believes that everyone else would too. He's likely to convince people who he perceives as being lonely to come along with things like 'come on, you'll enjoy it!' or 'you don't know what you're missing!' While he does need to spend time alone once in a while, he gets bored if he does it too long. He values all his relationships, and will happily stick with anyone he considers a friend.

He can often be found with a smile on his face, even during stressful situations. He often makes jokes, when the situation is tense to lift people's spirits. He may tease others in a 'playful' way, and expect them not to 'take it so seriously.' He does feel bad if somebody does actually get their feelings hurt by what he says. Sometimes his attempts at humor are read as him not taking the situation seriously. While he does joke around a lot, he is capable of getting things done. He just doesn't feel the need to be so dour about it. He often suggests that others not be so serious.

Conner enjoys showing off his skills for others in order to get praise. He is prone to bragging about the things he is good at. He does it in a 'look at this awesome thing I can do!' way, rather than an 'I'm better than you.' way.

He likes to live in the moment rather than dwelling on the past. This means Conner is not the best when it comes to organization, or planning. Due to his lack of planning ahead, it makes him impulsive, and he tends to jump into things without a second thought. He gets bored when he is not sufficiently stimulated, and will complain about being bored. He is also not the most tidy person. He does clean up his mess after the fact if it's pointed out to him, but he has trouble avoiding making a mess in the first place.

Growing up a member of a rich family that has high standards, and a seemingly perfect older sister has given him a number of insecurites. He’s always worried about not being good enough, and that he doesn’t belong anywhere. He feels like he has something to prove. He wants to have a purpose in life. He tries to hide his worries behind a mask of cheerfulness, but they’re always there. It manifests as envy torwards others he thinks are better than him.

History: Conner grew up in an upscale area. Comner was the youngest son of the wealthy and prominent Waters family. His parents were quite strict, and they had high standards for their kids. Conner had an older sister named Arianna, and she was the the apple of the family’s eye, at least it appeared that way to Conner. She was beautiful, talented, intelligent, and it felt like she could do no wrong. To him, it always seemed like anything he could do she could do better.

In his teenage years, Conner gave up trying to live up to the high standards set by his sister. He only did just well enough in school to get by, and spent a lot of time slacking off. He would often act up in class, and get himself into trouble. There were days where he would cut class to go to the beach and surf. Surfing was one of his favorite activities. It was definitely something Arianna wouldn’t do. He enjoyed the thrill and adrenaline high of catching a big wave. That, and he also flirting with the hot guys in swimsuits on the beach.

He continued coasting through life trying to have as much fun as possible. Even though his grades weren’t the best, he was rather popular with other students, and had a few close friends. His parents wished he would put more effort into his studies, and better represent his family name, but Conner didn’t really care to try. His sister was obviously the shining star of the family, so why did they need him for?

He managed to graduate with just good enough grades to pass. He continues working as an Employee at a local surf shop, and isn’t sure if he wants to go to college or for that matter, what he wants to do with the rest of his life.

Conner discovered his powers while surfing, naturally. He was able to move water when he was paddling out to sea. He had superpowers. He read about people having them, but never in his life did he think he’d get them too. That was something Arianna didn’t have. If she did, she didn’t tell anyone about them. While these powers are awesome for sure, but besides getting people wet, there wasn’t much he could do with them right now. So he kept them a secret until he had a better handle on what they could do.

Miscellaneous: He’s gay!

Appearance:

Gender: Female
Age: 21
Occupation: Nighttime Waitress
Plant Essence: Rafflesia kerrii
Superpower(s):

Scent Creation: This has two applications, one passive and one active:

Passive: By exposure of bodily fluids - such as sweat, blood, or saliva - Kerri releases the scent of rotting meat, unwillingly, as the fluids evaporate upon making contact with the air. As her body heats up, or the most time she spends in an area of extreme heat, the worst the smell becomes; easily nauseating all but the most iron-willed or those without a sense of smell.

Because of her current lack of control, she habitually chews flavoured gum and sleeps in a shower.

Active: By forcing the growth of the parasitic Rafflesia Kerri flowers on her own body, she can set the bulbs to bloom, or detach the bulbs, and use them as a biological grenade to take root in another living being - using their flesh and blood to bloom.

Regardless of how it is done, drawing on multiple blossoms can cause downright bio-hazardous levels of smell that can trigger intense nausea, cause unconscious, and other physical reactions without an extreme strong resistance or no sense of smell.

However, because this takes Kerri’s flesh and blood as nutrients, she is unable to support more than five blossoms at the moment.

Vermin Control: This is an Active power, as Kerri focuses on a singular command, while heating her body up or producing a bulb, which then becomes a scent that attracts a species of vermin within the area, such as rats or flies. Because this isn’t direct control, but instinct influence, Kerri can only issue very simple commands, such as: Swarm, Attack, and Seek.

Because of Kerri's immense dislike of her power, Kerri tries to avoid using this power until she is unable to handle the situation. However, vermin are instinctively drawn to her, as she reeks of rotten flesh and blood, and can be commonly found tracking her down whenever she starts to sweat.

Personality: Prior to developing her Powers, Kerri, while not the brightest flower in the patch, was personable enough, and open to conversation with her nighttime regulars as she was trapped in her dead end job as a waitress. However, once her Powers bloomed, ironically, her personality wilted with it. Socially withdrawn due to her smell, Kerri finds it hard to attempt to converse with even her regulars, as she focused on staying cool, and almost impossible to make new contacts.

History:

A sickly child, Kerri was never one of high spirits, but was never starved for attention. Private schooled through most of her childhood, Kerri didn’t do the teenage rebel phase with any true passion, but simply to pass through peer pressure, and the look stuck. Although her health recovered as she reached adulthood, but, the damage done would stay with her, making her prone to sickness with the weather change, as well as having impacted lung capacity, so she becomes easily winded.

Uninspired by much, Kerri dropped out of her private college in the middle of her first year of a “recommended” degree in Literature Studies for a dead end job - waitressing for a Mom n’ Pop dinner - and vanishing from existence, as far as her friends and family could understand. For five years, Kerri bussed tables and took orders for nights on end, until she started to get a summer cold...

At least, that’s what she assumed.

A week of the scent of death and decay took her in a nightmare, as her Flower Power developed without any more warning; uncontrollable growth of rotting smelling flowers covered her skin, vermin of all form invaded her motel flat like a plague, and her sweat was becoming a slimy goo. By time her fever broke, Kerri’s power had solidified in its current state.

Through only the effort of living in a rundown motel flat, some serious deep cleaning, and a routine of sleeping in her shower, perfumes and deodorant, was Kerri even scraping back some of her substandard lifestyle. However, she withdrew even further into herself...

Miscellaneous: Kerri never goes by her first name, Rachael, with strangers or ever close friends, and always makes a point to emphasize, “It’s Kerri with an I, not a Y. I’m British, mate, not Irish.”

She's had two months of "practice" with her power, thanks to her living arrangements and generally unfriendly disposition.

Name: Mara Harrington

Appearance:


Gender: Female

Age: 22

Occupation: Cafe waitress/assistant

Plant Essence: Lemon tree

Superpower: Mara's plant affinity, oddly enough, granted her electric powers. This is because lemons are high in electrolytes, and can be used as simple batteries. Since she's at a low level right now, she can only produce a weak charge, and she doesn't have great control; when she's particularly angry or afraid, she tends to spark accidentally. With practice, she'll be able to produce electricity at a higher voltage, and gain better control over it.

While shocks from external sources don't injure her, they do disrupt and weaken her power for a short time.

Personality: As you'd expect, Mara is more than a little sour. She's long since given up trying to please people, and doesn't suffer idiots well, responding with a glare and a snarky comment. She particularly dislikes people who brag about their abilities, and who act like they're better than others.

Grouchy as she is, that isn't to say she lacks energy. If something needs to be done, it's best to do it oneself. That and, instead of dwelling on problems, she prefers to either fix them or keep distracted. She advises others to do the same, albeit in a heavy handed way.

Although she claims to look out for herself first and foremost, on occasion her actions prove otherwise. If someone's being picked on, she won't just sit by. Anyone who can get past her cynical exterior will have a loyal friend, although her protectiveness can prove a good or bad thing depending who you ask.

Unknown to most, she has a soft spot for animals, and a passion for gardening. One of the few times she's completely relaxed is when she's tending to plants, especially fruit ones.

History: The youngest of three siblings, Mara was the only one who never developed an animal affinity. From a young age, her sister could breathe underwater like a fish, and her brother could grow bird wings at will. Mara did everything she could to connect with animals, from feeding birds to befriending stray cats, but years went by with no sign of her manifesting an ability.

Envying the praise her siblings received, she tried to earn the same appreciation, to no avail. She'd sell lemonade in the summer, homemade thanks to the family's fruit trees. She'd bake goods using homegrown produce. Yet, surrounded by talent as she was, it wasn't enough. It didn't help that her siblings bullied her relentlessly, and her parents didn't do a great deal about it. Eventually, she stopped trying to please others, since her efforts didn't work. Better to focus that effort on herself, and on living beings besides humans. Not just animals, but plants, since they couldn't judge at all. The fruit she harvested seemed like a thank you for caring for the trees and shrubs, which was more than what she got from anyone else.

She remained the only one seemngly not destined for greatness. Her brother went on to work in search and rescue, and her sister found a calling in marine conservation. Mara, meanwhile, struggled after moving out, and ended up with a low paying job in a cafe. At least it was a change from family life, but the inevitable reunions were stressful at the best of times.

It was during one such gathering that Mara's essence finally manifested. An argument broke out over dinner. Mara tried to rein in her anger to keep things from escalating, but they did, in an even worse way than she expected. Sparks flew around her, literally. The next thing she knew, a fire was spreading through the dining room. Luckily everyone got out in time, and the emergency services put out the fire before it could do extensive damage. Still, it wasn't exactly how Mara envisioned gaining a power, or what her family had hoped for.

Especially as it wasn't an animal essence. At first it seemed like an electric eel affinity, but there were hints that it wasn't. One was that her power wasn't necessarily touch-based. The other was, as well as the smell of ozone, using it left a distinctive zesty scent. It reminded her of a dream she'd had two weeks prior, that she'd brushed off as random wackiness - one where she'd watched lightning strike the ground, and a lemon tree spring up from the spot where it had hit. Considering her brother and sister had reported dreams hinting at their powers, was this just a coincidence?

The event Mara yearned for her entire life has left her in a difficult situation. Since plant essences were unheard of until now, she must turn to others like her for help. The problem being, any further control lapses won't mesh well with people who can summon vines, branches, and other flammable vegetation...

Miscellaneous: She's only known about her power for a month and a half.

Name: Muriel Shropshire
Appearance: A young-looking woman wearing something loose over a swimsuit.
Gender: Female
Age: 75
Occupation: Librarian (Retired), Activist, Drug dealer
Plant Essence: Rubber Tree
Superpower(s): Rubber Body
Personality: Old hippie given a second youth
History: "It was such a strange dream... at first I just thought I'd taken something else along with my kidney pills, and that would be that. It's not something I usually do by accident, but every few weeks, a little drop of something I'm not supposed to have... anyway, we weren't talking about that. When I woke up, I thought I was still dreaming! I thought I'd forgotten to take out my teeth, but there they were in the glass of water... and back in my mouth! And my hair was long and bright, and my joints were loose, and my back didn't hurt, and my skin was tight again, oh I couldn't believe my eyes! It made me want to dance down the street!

Well, that's where the trouble started. Even around Florida, someone dancing down the street whooping with joy draws attention. So a pair of policemen came along and didn't ask so much as snatch my purse and look for my ID. Well, they found it, but it looked nothing like me any more. And I might have had a few leaves of something I was going to make into brownies. So I was arrested as a thief and moral menace, shoved into the back of their car and taken to the jailhouse.

Well, it's been a while since I needed to run from the narcs, so my skills are a little rusty. But as I was squirming in the cuffs, trying to jiggle the lock, my hand squeezed right out! Like toothpaste from a tube! I was shocked, and somewhat worried, so I squeezed it right back in there again and started making a proper plan. Well, I say 'proper'. It was just thrown together, really.

Anyway, I waited until they put me in the holding cell and none of the cops were watching. Then I broke their security camera, which I bet they thought was too high for anyone to reach, pulled the fire alarm, squeezed through an air vent an inch wide and ran away. I borrowed some clothes from a beach shop, hurried back home to grab my important things, and disappeared into the beach crowds.

That does leave me in a pickle though. When the police try to return a little old lady's purse, they won't find her anywhere. And when they find out that little old lady has record for vandalising straights-only resturaunts, and whites-only bathrooms and selling certain flowers I'm not supposed to... they probably won't think twice about just declaring me dead, stealing my house and calling it a day.

Well, it's not the first time I've been a beach bum. I've got a new youth, a shopping bag full of drugs and jail cells can't hold me, I'm sure this will be quite the adventure!"

Name: Alonzo Solandis
Appearance: Alonzo is fairly tall and lanky giving him a permanently teenager look. He looks as though he never really grew into his limbs, and can be slightly clumsy at times. He does keep himself fit, but isn’t all too much to look at until you catch sight of his tattoos. He’s turned himself into a living canvas - with art inked into most available space. His forearms are near completely covered - the left with runes and a compass done in blackwork, and the right a stormy sea, hiding a kraken under the waves. More tattoos trail up over his shoulders and back, but those he doesn’t show off unless asked.
He has bleach blond hair, cropped close at the sides and longer on the top that he claims as natural, but his dark brows and the peroxide on his bathroom cabinet say otherwise. He has piercing blue eyes, that are occasionally obscured behind a pair of large, round glasses.
He has a single piercing in his tongue, but not many people realise.
He can usually be seen dressed in comfortable hoodies, sweaters and jeans - usually in shades of blue and beige.
Gender: Male
Age: 20
Occupation: Artist
Plant Essence: Lavender
Superpower(s): Alonzo has a healing aura about him. He can heal minor wounds with a well-spoken word. He’s tried this power on most scrapes, scratches, even a stomach ache or two - but he can’t figure how to make it work for himself.
He can also calm situations by speaking, although this doesn’t work as well as he often hopes - he’d much rather no one get hurt in the first place.
Personality: Alonzo is incredibly soft spoken. He is rarely confrontational and is kind to a fault. He sees the best in people even when they don’t necessarily deserve it - this causes him to become a bit of a pushover in certain situations and is often walked over in arguments. He is polite and civil a majority of the time, and isn’t quick to anger.
He can be somewhat snarky and scathing when comfortable with people, or when talking to himself and so one can often hear him swearing softly under his breath when he thinks no one can hear him. He can also be self-deprecating at times, not trusting himself or his own skills and abilities.
History: Alonzo grew up with his grandmother in a quiet part of town and to most he was a pretty unassuming and inoffensive kid - but he was his grandmothers world. His parents wanted nothing to do with him when he was born so he was handed over to his closest relative. His grandmother was a pagan, and taught him all she knew about herbs and spices and what they could do for him if he set his intentions right. She passed on her love of cooking and Alonzo tried to incorporate what he’d learnt - setting intentions in his cookies and sigils into his bread.

When she passed away, Alonzo was untethered. Lost and without direction. He threw himself into his passions, often disappearing for weeks at a time and barely speaking to anyone. He discovered his powers in the months after his grandmothers death; he was on his way to the art store when he watched a small child slip and fall in front of him. He rushed over and was greeted by teary eyes, with grazed knees and sore palms from the pavement. He murmured his sympathies, brain whirring with how to find the little boys mother when the tears stopped, palms lost their redness and the grazes all but disappeared; leaving behind a smudge of dirt and the faint smell of lavender.

The encounter stuck with him for weeks afterwards and no research could be found. His first thought was maybe animal essence but it didn’t match up to anything he could find online about animals that could heal themselves. And it still didn’t explain the lavender.

He kept it quiet until the broadcast on tv. He stood in his living room with painting forgotten on his easel, listening quietly before making a beeline for his laptop and his grandmothers notebook. He flipped the page open to lavender, one he knew all too well but had never thought to check before. He bought the conference ticket with money he made from selling a few of his paintings, finally freeing up some space in his spare room and jittery with anticipation for meeting others like him.

Miscellaneous: Solandis means ‘delicate flower’ in Old English!
He’s also super queer but doesn’t shout it from the rooftops.

Appearance: Danielle is rather plain and average looking, never one to stand out in a crowd. She is not ugly, but "pretty" at best. Her hair is grown out long and is a strange blond that almost appears almost green in poor lighting, but golden in sunlight. Her skin is pale and somewhat translucent, making injuries and blemishes more apparent. Her eyes are hazel, some parts more gold and other parts more green in appearance. She has a small rump and chest, and slightly round belly.
She usually wears plain, modest, but feminine clothes, particularly in natural shades of white, yellow, green, blue, and brown. Her hair is either worn down or tied in a loose braid. She rarely accessorizes, but if she does she wears natural gemstone jewelry or real flowers. Her hair and clothes are often covered in dandelion seeds.
Gender: Female
Age: 18
Occupation: Student, 12th Grade
Plant Essence: Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
Superpower(s):
Dandelion Whispers: With the use of magic or science we don't understand, Danielle can subconsciously send and receive messages through dandelion seeds. These messages can manifest as voices, images, dreams, or other sensations such as scents and tastes.
- Dandelion seeds naturally gravitate toward Danielle from other sources or toward its recipient if sent by her. She does not and cannot control them consciously.
- Dandelions seeds may pick up any thought or feeling (not just the ones directed at them) but they seem to gravitate toward people with strong emotions.
- Dandelion messages are strongest/clearest if in direct contact with its source/recipient, but simply being near it is enough to recieve/emit its signal.
- Like carrier pigeons, it takes time for seeds to find their recipients.
- Simply being within 2 ft of somebody is enough for a seed to emit or receive a signal.
- The power seems to have an effect up to a 2 mile radius around Danielle.
-Messages usually only capture a sentence or two, or a vision/dream up to around 30 seconds long.
- If a dandelion message sender is willing and intentional, Dani can tell who the message came from. If the message sender is unwitting and/or unwilling, Dani can receive a message but can't tell who it came from.
- Danielle does not make or produce dandelion seeds. She must either carry some with her or rely on those found in her environment.
Light as Air: Danille can make herself light as a dandelion seed, yet maintain her mass. This makes is possible to leap to great heights and almost fly as she floats on a breeze.
Solar Power: Danielle's powers seem to be fueled by light from the sun and moon. She is strongest on sunny days and moonlit nights. During the winter and stretches of cloudy weather, she feels weaker.
Personality: Danielle is a dreamer, always with her head in the clouds and a wish in her heart. She enjoys reading, painting, drawing, and just being in nature, stargazing, and cloud watching. Dani adores animals and could watch them for hours, but is afraid to touch or play with them.
When interacting with other people, Dani is soft-spoken and polite. She is never one to raise her hand or voice. She is a good listener but never has much to say--or rather has trouble finding words. She dislikes small-talk and avoids social interaction, especially conflict. She is always the first to back down from a fight or argument. Despite her social avoidance, she still needs friendship or she will suffer from loneliness.
History: Danielle's parents divorced while she was very young and she never got to know her own father. She grew up with her mother and three siblings in a trailer park, always afraid.
Her mother was loving and gentle, but she fell for the kind of men who would get drunk and beat her and her children. Her family was poor, and so Danielle was bullied at her small town New Hampshire school for being "trash." Home was no better because she was tormented by her mother's abusive boyfriend. She would run away to the woods and hide for hours to escape the yelling, crashing, and thudding back home.
On her 17th birthday, after an especially bad day, Danielle found herself clutching a dandelion, crying a waterfall as she blew the fluffy white seeds away. She wished for a new life and for powers like she had heard and read so much about, so that she could make a difference in her family and others' lives.
Around a month later, Danielle began to have strange, vivid dreams, all involving dandelions. The dandelion seeds would tickle her face and gather around in swarms and lift her into the sky and heard toward the sunset, echoing her voice and wishes as they carried her away on a warm breeze toward the sound of crashing ocean waves.
It was only just a week ago Danille learned that she and her family would be moving to the boyfriend's hometown in Florida. She would be leaving the only place she ever called home, her friends (if she could even call them that) and the forest she had grown so fond of. Now, like in her dreams, she will make her way toward the sunset and a new life...
Family:
Fauna Dallon (mother, 37) - a wonderful and caring mother when sober. Irrational and irresponsible when not. She is a codependent woman. She married Daniel Dallon, her high school sweetheart in a shotgun wedding and and broke his heart only two years later.
Daniel Dallon (father, 44) - a man who worked too hard and too much. Lost his family as a consequence.
Abagail Dallon (eldest sister, 19)
William Harrison (mother's boyfriend, 38)- charming, humorous man by day. Abusive alcoholic by night.
William Harrison Jr. (half-brother, 11)
Destiny Harrison (half-sister, 10)
Miscellaneous:
Speech color- Khaki
Zodiac- Pisces
Sexuality- Heterosexual, but not ready for or interested in romance yet.

Name: Arthur Luna

Appearance: Arthur is quite small, both in height and build. Standing at 5’5’’ and weighing 130 lbs, Arthur is something of a shrimp. This isn’t helped by his total lack of toned muscles, with his torso being completely flat and his arms and legs being small and stringy. Arthur’s skin is a pale white as he tends to avoid the sun. Arthur’s oval like face is covered in long black hair that goes all the way down to his neck. He also wears a pair of black glasses over his hazel eyes.

Arthur tends to dress eclectically as he doesn’t subscribe to any one style. As such he can been seen often in a variety of colours, fabrics, and other styles of dress. Usually multiple shirts are worn at once and a sweater as well most times. Arthur tends to prefer long pants rather than shorts, as well as running shoes instead of dress shoes. Arthur has also been experimenting with gender non-confirming clothes, mostly keeping to feminine colours and styles of shirt at this time.

Gender: Male

Age: 20

Occupation: Receptionist/Hobbyist Podcaster

Plant Essence: Ipomoea alba aka Moonflower

Superpower(s): Moonflower is a species of flower that blooms at night and closes back up during the day. In relation to this Arthur now possesses an involuntary transformation during the night. Currently this causes Arthur to become even more pale in skin pigment, for him to grow an inch in height, and possess heightened speed, strength, and reflexes. Once it becomes day again Arthur loses the enhanced abilities and returns to his default body. In the future Arthur will get taller when he transforms, with maybe even more visual changes, and his enhanced abilities would increase to a superhuman level.

Personality: At first glance Arthur seems to be the quiet guy, mostly falling into the background in most situations. However, if you get to know him he begins to bloom, revealing a very passionate and talkative individual. Once a conversation begins with Arthur it tends to go on for a long time as he sometimes doesn’t know when to stop.

Coming out of a sheltered past, Arthur is always trying to experience new things. To that end he associates with a varied type of people. He has also been experimenting with his sexuality, but currently does not want to use a label. He has also gotten into many fandoms, which has helped him meet new people, and given him a lot of references to use in conversation.

Arthur also has a tendency to help out others in need. This could be as simple as buying groceries for the struggling single mother next door, to helping a friend get sober. Arthur also would like to think that he would defend someone in a fight, but he questions this with his current physique, leaving that up to the realm of superhero stories.

History: Born in a small town of which his mother was mayor, Arthur had a sheltered childhood. Arthur was the middle child of three, and was quite often expected by his parents to both follow in the footsteps of his older brother and be a good example for his younger sister. For the first few years Arthur did as his parents asked, only engaging with others they approved of. But as Arthur got older it became harder for his parents to control him.

It was at the age of eight that first saw someone with animal powers. In his small town no one had powers, and the adults didn’t talk about it, so mention of powers was restricted to stories traded by the children. Because of this Arthur was sceptical of their existence. But that was changed when he saw a man who had just been kicked out of the town’s only bar, launch into the air and fly away on wings that appeared out of nowhere.

Arthur decided to keep this sighting from his parents, figuring it would just get him into trouble. Wanting to learn more about the animal powers, Arthur turned to the public library for information. Going on the public computer, Arthur looked up all he had wanted to know, wondering if he could give himself powers, maybe get rid of his nearsightedness and sensitivity to light. Noticing what Arthur was searching, the librarian approached him, offering his assistance. Arthur accepted, quickly learning that the librarian was different that the other adults in town.

Arthur would spend a lot more time over the years at the library, looking up topics that he wouldn’t dare search on the computer at home. His view of the world began to expand, as he started new hobbies like rollerskating, playing board games, and working at the town’s community garden. It was quickly becoming apparent to Arthur’s parents that he was a free spirit, so they worked to corral him in. As Arthur’s brother left for college in the city, his parents encouraged him to follow suit. Arthur said he would think about it.

When Arthur finally graduated from his local high school, the issue of college was raised again. Arthur declared that he too would move to the city, but unlike his brother he would take a year long break to discover himself before applying. This made his parents irate, but Arthur’s brother was more of the mind that at least he is planning to go to college. Thus he helped Arthur moved to the city.

Once Arthur made it to the city he quickly became a part of the community. He made friends with the other tenants in his apartment complex, he found a local gaming group, and found a new community garden to work at. Job hunting did not go well initially, but after two months Arthur got a position as a receptionist at a doctor’s office. Things were going well, so well that Arthur pushed back attending college by another year. In the mean time he started a podcast with a few of his friends, hoping to make it big.

Arthur’s family’s patience was quickly running thin, eventually running out when Arthur postponed another time. His parents stopped talking to him, his brother questioned if he had any intention of going to school, while his sister just did what her parents said and didn’t speak to him.

This sent Arthur into a bit of a spiral. He began to question all of his choices, hoping that he was making the right ones. It was a few weeks later when Arthur was working in the community garden by himself around twilight. He had just finished watering the vegetables and was sitting down on a bucket, watching the moonflowers. Arthur had always liked watching them bloom as the night came. However this time, something else changed beside the flowers.

Arthur felt a slight pressure as it seemed liked his body was getting taller. The feeling ended just as the moonflowers finished blooming. As Arthur got up to leave the garden, he noticed that his skin was paler than usual. Not thinking much of it, Arthur began to jog back to his apartment. Without thinking, he immediately began sprinting, making it back home in record time. He then went to bed, and when he woke up the next day, found that his skin had gone back to normal.

For the next few nights Arthur would notice the skin pigment change, the increased height, and stronger physical abilities. After a week Arthur began to question what was happening to his body at night. At first he considered that he might have animal powers, but he couldn’t think of an animal that would match his powers. So he went into researching animals in his free time, trying to see if that could answer his question.

Miscellaneous: Arthur is queer, but is still figuring things out and as such isn’t using labels yet. Arthur has been sensitive to sunlight since he was a child, causing him to prefer to remain indoors. He also tends to revamp his wardrobe every few months, as he loves buying a lot from thrift stores. Arthur also hosts a podcast with two friends. What the topic of the podcast is, I currently don’t know. I welcome any suggestions.

Name: Ryker Burke

Appearance:
Ryker stands at about 5’10” with Brown hair and Amber eyes. His body is athletic and muscular, as he must be to do his job. He has a few scars that could be seen on his arms and face, but many more on his body and back. The way he carries himself it’s clear he was a soldier.

Gender:Male

Age: 28

Occupation: Detective

Plant Essence: Peppermint

Superpower: Ryker has the ability to cool anything he touches, and can make it so cold it can freeze as if he dipped the object in liquid Nitrogen. He currently can't control his ability, which really comes from his fingertips. So he wears gloves to block it so he doesn’t accidentally freeze someone.

The air around him always seems a few degrees cooler, and his skin is cold to the touch as if he was standing out in a blizzard for too long, this causes his skin to be a bit numb...and because of this he has a higher tolerance to pain. This is also bad, because while he may brush it off as a small thing, or not even realize how bad it is... until he suddenly gets woozy from blood loss. His breath is cold as well, and sometimes you can see a puff of his breath if he was standing in a freezer even if it’s 100 degrees out.

With practice he would be able to control it without worrying about gloves, how cold it gets, and how far it can expand. As of now, it’s about a three foot radius from the point he touches that can freeze. It's also nice touch he smells like peppermint every time he uses it.


Personality: Ryker is a very intelligent and observant person. Who is quick to pick up something with what seems like little effort. However despite his natural athleticism and smarts he believes in working hard for what you want. There are many hours of training and learning when people are not watching.

He is kind, and respectful, with the habit to address everyone as Sir and Ma’am. He is quick to make friends, and is always willing to help complete strangers. As if they were close friends. He has a mischievous side to him as well, often joking around even while working. He also is known to always have gum on him, specifically peppermint. In his pockets, car, desk, home. While really odd, it became a joke for everyone that knew him. He claims it's just something he picked up while in the military to deal with stress.

While fighting though, he seems like a completely different person.

History: Ryker grew up in a Military/police home. So it’s clear where he got his strong sense of morals from. However he wasn’t always like that. He was a little cheeky rambunctious kid who always got into trouble all the way through his teens. But he got his act together just before joining the military.

He excelled while there, making three close friends that became his brothers after a small conflict turned bad for them. The short story, which is all he would say always if asked. They were captured and tortured, for a few weeks before managing to escape. No matter how many times, he won't go into details.

After the military the four stayed in touch, he became uncles to their children, despite not being related by blood. He also joined the police force and became a K-9 officer. Where he and his partner Sascha, did really well for five years, somehow managing to be a part of some big busts during that time. One of them, almost killing his Partner. While she managed to live, she was retired from the force and he decided to become a detective after that, not wanting another dog.

A few months later, he found out one of his brothers was killed in a car wreck, along with his wife. Their 10 year daughter, Everly was also in the wreck, but managed to live. He took a few months off to take care of his brother's funeral and arrangements, he also took custody of Everly, as he was named the GodFather in their wills.

About three months ago, when he came back to work, his fellow officers pranked him by filling his desk with hundreds of packets of gum, as well as placing a large Peppermint plant in a pot on his desk. After all the joking was done, he decided to keep it in his office. It was after that he started to have strange dreams of peppermint plants freezing over by themselves. Over the next week he Catch himself looking at Peppermint plant for no reason at all thinking about the dream. That it would just stick with him. He felt a sudden surge of cold surrounding his chest. Then slowly spread throughout him. He didn’t think much of it, as he got up and left, he didn’t see his chair’s arms were cracked and frozen.



Miscellaneous:
-always has a pack of gum, but not always chewing gum.
-Sascha usually follows him around everywhere.

Kael O'Conner

Appearance:
Kael is one of those "he looks like everyone" kind of people. He's pretty average in height at 5'10" although his dad always pesters him about why he didn't grow taller, like that was his fault. As I said before, he looks like all other white kids with brown hair and brown eyes, so he's always trying to look different. This means his hair is usually in weird shapes, none of them ever last more than a day before he changes them. He's somewhat muscular and has a somewhat handsome face, like the face you'd see on any other somewhat handsome guy who supposedly looks exactly like him.

Gender: Male

Age: 18

Occupation: Veterinarian (entry level, he's just an assistant)

Plant essence: Venus flytrap

Superpowers:
His skin can become sticky enough to trap people when he gets nervous or excited, he can close his mouth with enough force to crush a walnut, he always smells sickly sweet (like Pepto-Bismol,) he can somewhat control some bugs. (he'll get more powers over time)

Personality:
He is a class clown, and loves making people laugh. His jokes often take on a flirty edge with girls, but he's pretty good at talking to them without hinting he likes them. He also is described often as a serial killer. This is due to his straight face when lying, smiling when he gets in trouble, and eating French fries with a fork. When he got his powers he started having strange feelings towards other people, like wanting to kill them, but he hides it well... mostly...

History:
He was born a poorer family in Atlanta GA. When he was nine his sister lily was born, and immediately Kael knew he would do everything he could to protect her. Kael grew up leaving school everyday just to head to the machine shop where his mom worked. He and Lily would try to lift their mom's spirits while she worked on new designs, hoping to get them patented. Once their dad was done with work he would drive to the machine shop and pick them all up, since the family only had one car.

In fifth grade Kael's mom created a new drill-bit design, which gave them enough money to send her back to college. Soon the O'Conner family had enough money to live in a nice house, and buy another car. Kael was often picked on during school, but he never hit the bullies back, instead he did much worse things, things that would get him sent to the principal if they found out.

Three days ago he had a dream that a large plant was growing near him. It's roots started reaching up out of the ground until he was trapped. Then the roots went into his mouth... He awoke not being able to breath, until he calmed down and realized he wasn't choking. When he looked in the mirror however, his face seemed green, and his teeth seemed different.

Name: Felicia Vespa
Gender: Female
Age: 24
Occupation: Landlady
Plant Essence: Robinia pseudoacacia - Black Locust

Rose's Thorns: It's said that every rose has its thorns, and Felicia's thorns mean business. They can grow from shoots that extend out from inside her sleeves or up from the ground to create a hedge around her, then quickly retreat. They vary in size, from that of small daggers to a size small enough to pick locks.
Current Mastery: Can make a set of "grass knuckles," or snag an ankle with an underground shoot.

Toxic Love: Everything Felicia produces is toxic. Shoots, wood, bark, thorns, leaves, flowers, fruit and all. Even her bodily fluids are poisonous. The range of symptoms include anorexia, depression, incontinence, abdominal pain, weakness, paralysis, and cardiac arrhythmia. They are debilitating, but very rarely lethal.
Current Mastery: Can't control which symptoms manifest. Doesn't actually know this power exists, as its effects are still too weak. Exposure might give you butterflies, but won't send you to the hospital. Yet.

Mother's Resentment: Felicia is tough—unnaturally so. Certainly, her own poisonous fluids do not harm her, but her body will also toughen up in response to trauma. Punching her is as effective as punching a tree. Literally, her skin takes on the texture of bark and the hardness of wood. She punches above her weight as well. Her strength increases while in direct sunlight, but rapidly depreciates in the shade.
Current Mastery: The effects of her decade-old smoking habit have begun to reverse themselves. A natural night owl, Felicia hasn't yet made the connection between this and occasional exposure to sun.

Personality— You know her type. An ill-tempered woman who communicates primarily in short phrases of three-to-four letter words, the most polite of which sounds an awful lot like "your rent is due." But in the Smoky Mountains area of eastern Tennessee, Felicia is known as "that quiet biker girl who drives the old ladies to the grocery store." It's true—behind a layer of toxic levels of sass and "intolerance of other people's B.S." hides a dependable soul who only shows her soft side to those she deigns to be too pure, vulnerable, or naive to take advantage of her kindness. If she sees trouble, she'll put on her best Karen act and become an even bigger source of trouble, hiding her intentions behind a veil of narcissism. She puts her entrepreneurial skills to good use, capitalizing on opportunities only someone like her could.

History— Felicia comes from a rich family, which with the benefit of hindsight, she would describe as "a family of well-adjusted psychopaths, with a worthless Wall Street Baby at its head." The family matriarch, Felicia's mother Rosa, was particularly vicious towards her for not fitting in with the rest of the lawyers, doctors, and politicians—all of which were, at least at home, devoutly Catholic. As for Felicia, it's as the song on the radio goes: she'd lost faith in science, the holy Trinity, and the people on TV, including those aforementioned politicians. Over time, she developed a hair-trigger sensor for all manner of abuser language, gaslighting, and mind games, and is deeply skeptical of everyone and everything that evokes it.

So, when one day Felicia just up and vanished with the money she was supposedly going to use for college tuition, no one batted an eye, except perhaps to gather in some half-baked prayer that she wouldn't do anything to embarrass the family. Rather than going to a university, she packed her bags and just told her driver to take her as far away as possible, as fast as possible, avoiding any major cities along the way. After an entire day spent in a car, she woke up from her nap and asked where she was, which was Knoxville, TN. She decided that was good enough, and started looking for opportunities to grow some new roots in the area. After a few months, she found a mark: a gated community of retirees who were unwilling to leave, even though the place was floundering under incompetent management.

She bought it, hired new staff, and improved the living conditions of her new clientele, earning her a lot of respect in the small community in Sevierville, which she then moved to. It seemed her new life would run smoothly, until one day she suddenly started having horrible nightmares, wherein she'd find herself being buried alive in a pit of snakes, which would bite at her hands and not let go. When she woke up, she'd find unexplainable puncture wounds on her hands, with no sign of snakes anywhere. Not on or near her, her bed, bedroom, house, or even, as her gardener assured her, her property. Dare she resort to calling a priest? Hardly. She simply dealt with the disturbingly mysterious malady, until one day, it happened while she was awake. While reaching for her coffee, she felt a sharp pain, which at first she thought was simply due to her missing the handle on her mug and bumping it with her thumb, but after looking, she saw that her hand was nowhere near her mug. Instead, grasping the mug was a ring of vines covered in thorns, one of which was puncturing her thumb. After reeling her hand back, spilling coffee on it and burning it, the thorns retreated into her arm, like some kind of Spider-Man special effect. What.

But, Spider-Man... maybe she was on to something. Animal-based superpowers were a thing, apparently. Nobody else in her family had them, but she could simply be the first. Nothing strange about that, but as for what kind of animal it could be... unless it was snakes? Ugh. Why'd it have to be snakes? Regardless, she'd have to master this new power at least a little before she'd feel comfortable leaving the house again, so she did just that for as long as she could get away with lying to her employees and clients about her newly found passion for quilting—and she was going to be self-taught, mind you.

Finally, the day of the Miami researcher's fateful discovery came. Felicia missed the broadcast on American Morning—being a night owl—but she caught the articles and memes afterward, and she knew she'd have to go to the summit. Even if all she got was a bunch of lies from talking heads in suits, knowing what lies they'd cooked up this time would itself be useful, or so she'd convinced herself. It's not as though she had many opportunities to gather information about this. Still, there was no way she would be so forthcoming as to show off her powers for a mere Benny. She certainly wasn't in the market for an Avengers-style cast of characters to add to her contacts. This was strictly... reconnaissance. Right.

Miscellaneous— Bisexual. Her name means "Successful Wasp."

Plant Facts:

• The "Rose's Thorns" picture is actually the Honey Locust tree. The Black Locust's thorns come in much smaller pairs, at the base of the leaves.
• It's speculated that the Honey Locust's massive thorns evolved to deter prehistoric mammals. They aren't very useful as a defense against small animals. Thus, Felicia shows her soft side to small animals, and people who remind her of small animals.
• The Black Locust is actually toxic, with the exact effects described in Felicia's "Toxic Love" ability. In reality, horses are most vulnerable to its poison, as they tend to eat the shoots and chew its bark. Human cases of Black Locust poisoning are rare and unremarkable.
• The Black Locust can tolerate poor quality or disrupted soil, and even the pollution of big cities—but not the shade. Its wood is also among the most durable in the US. This was used as the inspiration for her "Mother's Resentment" ability, which increases her tolerance of poisons and general hardiness, while in direct sunlight.
• The Black Locust succeeds by colonizing poor soil early, growing with weed-like speed to shade out its competition. The nitrogen-fixing bacteria in its roots then allow other species that it gets along with to move in. This inspired her entrepreneurial sense, occupation as a landlord, and design as a front-line fighter.
• Pseudoacacia means "false acacia," so Felicia's personality is a little two-faced.
• The Black Locust is both native and very desirable in some areas of the US, but is considered invasive in others. Make of that what you will.