Name: Kayla "Valkyrie" Bennett

Age: 22

Gender: Female

Appearance: Kayla's appearance can best be described as angelic - as in, a mix of the modern depictions and the unsettling Biblical ones. Her most notable features are her three wings of various sizes, growing haphazardly from scarred points on her back. Her arms and legs also bear several scars, from training to use her most powerful form.

As well as causing this obvious mutation, the bonding changed her hair from brown to white and her eyes from hazel to gold, both of which contrast with her tanned skin.

When on duty, she keeps her hair tied back for practical reasons. She wears shorts, and backless short sleeved or sleeveless tops, in order to use her transformation ability more easily.

Personality: Despite the state of the world - or rather, as a defense mechanism against it - Kayla maintains a jovial attitude. Someone has to bolster the spirits of fellow survivors. She likes to play harmless pranks, and make jokes, although her humour can border on the dark.

While slow to trust strangers, she views her friends like family. She doesn't want to grow close to others, having lost many loved ones in the past, but she can't help it. She's incredibly loyal and protective - sometimes violently so.

Abilities/Powers: Through her wings, Kayla can channel power over air, creating strong gusts of it, or compressing it into shields and launchable blades. While she can't fly as such in the same way a bird does, she can use her power to launch herself into the air, and slow her falling.

In a pinch, she can make her wings grow up to twice their base size to boost her power, and sprout temporary ones on her arms and legs, although this causes bleeding and significant pain. She only does this as a last resort, or when in a protectiveness-fuelled frenzy.

If a wing is cut off, it will grow back over the course of around two weeks, although she doesn't yet know this.

Weaknesses/Vulnerabilities: As previously mentioned, she damages her body by using her full power, to an extent that may be fatal is said form is maintained for too long. In addition, injury to her wings weakens her ability to manipulate air.

A non power-related weakness is her extreme protectiveness. Paranoid about losing loved ones, she snaps a little if she thinks someone is in danger, even if the threat is more minor than she thinks. She does everything she can to protect them, losing all sense of reason.

Specialized Equipment: Since going all out injures her, she carries around a medical kit at all times. She also has a pocket knife she kept on her while travelling to Respite City.

Biography: Kayla grew up in one of North America's smaller settlements, along with her twin sister Kara, who was referred to as the older sister due to having been born a minute earlier. Said settlement, the ironically named Bastion, struggled to hold out. It was when Kayla and Kara were 16 that the city fell, leaving only scattered groups of survivors.

The Guardian leading the group the twins ended up in led them towards America's largest stronghold, Respite City. It was a long and perilous journey, with everyone having to watch each other's backs. Not just for abominations, but scavengers looking to fight over resources. Despite not being a Guardian herself, Kara did what she could to protect Kayla.

It was when they were nearing Respite City that an abomination struck. The guardian, Alistair, used his chitinous armour and spikes to defend the group, but perished in the struggle. Fortunately, he bought the others time to reach the city, and the battle drew the attention of other Guardians who managed to defeat the abomination.

The twins spent the next few years living as normally as they could, but were plagued with fears of the haven they'd found falling as Bastion had. Between this and her respect for Alistair, someone she'd grown to see as a father figure throughout their journey, Kayla volunteered to become a Guardian herself. Kara tried to talk her out of it, but Kayla, who'd always been the most idealistic one, was adamant. So, Kara decided to undergo the bonding process along with her.

The bonding was excruciating. For a time, it seemed almost certain neither would survive. However, one did - Kayla, albeit a little broken from her sister's fate and the respite's side effects. Under the soldier name Valkyrie, she now prepares to fight to defend the city and her remaining loved ones.

Fun Facts: In denial about her sister's death, Kayla hallucinates that Kara's still there, and never went through the bonding process. She talks to her, and is confused as to why others can't see her.

Name: Incurro II "Ink" Lysander

Age: 15

Gender: ♂

Ability: Cryptopsychology - Ink has a tattoo-like marking of an eye on his body. He can make it travel along his skin, albeit it's slow and highly sensitive to touch. The eye is capable of sight, and is capable of seeing abominations not visible to human eyes.

With the exception of abominations that can simply turn invisible, most creatures that can only be seen by his third eye cannot interact with the physical plane, phasing through objects and people, yet for some reason not phasing through the ground, even being able to jump and drop through floors of a building selectively. They are, however, perfectly capable of perceiving the physical plane, and can even try to interact with Ink upon noticing his attention. The resulting ruckus they cause can even attract the attention of other non-physical abominations, though they will generally dismiss it or even start fighting each other if Ink feigns ignorance, and most abominations don't seem to have the attention span to follow him around for long. Normal physical-plane abominations, including those that can go invisible, do not seem to notice any such commotion. It is not impossible that exceptions exist.

By consciously focusing on a particular emotion, Ink is capable of gradually attracting abominations on the other side. They do not seem to be aware they are being attracted, simply wandering to his vicinity and wandering off when he stops. Each of the basic emotions seems to attract different types of abominations. Over time, he has determined that anger is associated with aggressive abominations that tend to have a lot of horns and/or teeth, disgust is associated with insectoid abominations, fear is associated with intelligent and/or humanoid abominations, joy is associated with agile abominations, especially those with avian traits, sadness is associated with abominations resembling aquatic creatures, and surprise is associated with abominations that do not resemble life on Earth, often appearing inorganic. There seem to be more patterns, as he's accidentally attracted abominations with other unifying traits before. (plant-like, amalgamations, partially or completely skeletal, etc.) Their relationship to his emotions are a subject of curiosity and ongoing study to him.

Ink is capable of summoning abominations he can see by mentally designating them and "squeezing" his third eye, which he describes as being similar to trying to shut it tightly without an eyelid. Doing this seems to alert the abomination to his ability, and they will, without fail, immediately come up to him and try to enter his third eye by "melting" into it. The summon cannot be canceled once they make contact with his third eye, though this ability can be used to indirectly communicate its existence, which can get abominations to follow him around for a while. Although his third eye does not visibly change during the summoning, it will begin to "cry" a viscous black liquid, as if through the pores of his skin, which will soon morph into the abomination. Summoning them imparts them with a similar symbol of an eye somewhere on their body, but it does not have any of the weaknesses or functionality that Ink's eye does. Any abomination summoned by his ability will seemingly have an instinctual understanding of his ability, because they become begrudgingly hesitant to harm Ink unless he tries to harm them (in a meaningful way) or send them back himself. Other than that, they have absolutely no allegiance to Ink, but usually won't recognize the possibility that he intends to send them back from the start.

Ink has a number of theories of what his ability is, and what it could be able to do, but no matter what he tries, the creatures he summons never seem to act the way he wants them to.

Weaknesses & Limitations: Besides the aforementioned begrudging unwillingness to harm Ink, summoned abominations have no qualms pushing him around, hurting anyone around him, or even wrenching people out of his grasp. They tend to be violent and hostile, and those that aren't tend to be dangerous in other ways. It takes some luck to direct them towards an actual enemy, and the abominations intelligent enough to bargain with Ink tend to be duplicitous or conniving - assuming he can get past the language barrier to make a deal with them to begin with.

Additionally, damage to Ink's third eye is very painful, and will undo any summoning. Since it's only skin-deep, any superficial damage to the eye (e.g. a shallow cut, a visible bruise) will cause anything created by Ink's ability to melt into a viscous black fluid and inflict serious pain on Ink, sometimes even causing him to lose consciousness. Ink will be unable to move the eye or summon abominations while it is healing, and his vision through it becomes less precise depending on the nature of the wound, until it is healed. Although he recognizes the importance of utilizing this weakness to control his summons, the pain involved can lead him to hesitate or fail to draw blood. Summoned abominations will immediately notice failed attempts, and will generally take their chances trying to knock Ink out, ocassionally trying to kill him outright. Intelligent abominations may do one better and try to kidnap him. Abominations that melt back into black fluid will gradually reform on the other side. Abominations that (permanently) die in the physical plane are unaffected.

Ink is unable to discern between invisible abominations and abominations on another plane through sight alone. Ink cannot summon many creatures in rapid succession, with nothing happening on subsequent attempts. He can summon up to 3 with little time in between, but will take about 3 hours for each summon past that, wounds on his eye permitting.

Special Equipment: Ink, uniquely capable of studying abominations up-close, has been documenting his findings in a book he calls the Atramentomicon. At least, that's what it's labeled on the first page. If anyone asks, he'll just say it's a journal, which is technically true, since he tends to write about the feelings associated with each creature. It's full of drawings and zoological observations, and can help him remember the finer emotional details necessary to attract the same type of abomination. The pages are made of a rather stiff type of paper, which helps when he tries to use it to give himself paper cuts. He also keeps a small but very sharp folding knife on him, just in case.

Personality: Ink is pretty friendly, and for an introvert, he's pretty sociable too. Although he tends to avoid approaching others for no reason, he's the curious type, open to trying new things and attempting to befriend others with similar interests. He's a bit of an nerd and idealist, eager to go on and on about video games or indulge in the hypothetical, but that's not to be confused with naivety, as he is slow to trust others.

Biography: He was named Incurro the second, after his father, and is referred to as Ink or Junior by his family. He was born in the USA, but moved with his family to Italy at a young age. They lived largely by themselves, in a small bunker which clearly did not originally belong to them. Perhaps it was because he asked them while he was young, but he couldn't get his parents to say what happened to the original owners, and at this point it feels like dredging up bad memories. When he asked them why they came to Italy, his father said it's because it's what his mother wanted, while his mother said it's because something in the Adriatic Sea was calling to her. He later asked what was calling to her. She simply said, "the view".

Ink's mother had consumed respite, and like Ink today, she managed to avoid both dying and any extremely negative physiological impact. His mother seemingly gained the ability to not only communicate with abominations, but issue commands to them. It was a terrifying ability that allowed her family a sense of freedom in a world with very little of it to go around. Survival was no issue, and they were able to enjoy a abnormal sense of normalcy. These were her only abilities.

Although Ink never saw it, His father said that it had come at a cost. His mother could hear constant whispers with no discernable source. They weren't spoken in any language she could recognize, but at times they gave her what she described as a feeling of understanding; brief moments of unparalleled, otherworldly clarity, like a divine force was elevating her over the world to see through all of it at once, only to drop her back down into the muck and the stench, to rip these revelations from her mind and leave her reeling with but fleeting memories of having a perspective greater than that of a monkey with anxiety. She began to seek these moments out, to listen to the voices more closely. His father even caught her talking to something in a strange language he's never heard before. He knew what was happening wasn't good, and at some level he knew that she thought the same. Despite this, she never showed any weakness to Ink, never showed any loss of composure or lack of control. She was a great mother, in his opinion.

Ink never saw her last moments. Or, maybe he actually did, and just doesn't remember. It remains a strange hole in his memory that he can't recall no matter how hard he tries. He remembers the morning of that day. He had just woken up, and his father was in a rush to suit up and head to the sea. He said his mother had gone missing, and that he was going to go after her. How he knew she was at the sea, Ink didn't ask. He wanted to come with him, but was told to stay home. They were arguing outside of the bunker when they saw her, in the distance, floating up into the air. They both stopped to watch as she slowly extended her arms in opposite directions and the sea on the horizon parted in response. she raised her arms, reaching up with both hands, and the two sides of the sea formed enormous waves that towered above any of the manmade structures that had been left standing.

Ink remembers there was something more, then. Some sort of presence, rising out from between the waves.

Then, like a dream he never saw the ending of, he woke up on a boat headed towards America, their old home. His father was driving, his mother was gone, and a weird tattoo of an eye appeared on his chest, right over his heart. His father remains extremely cagey about the events of that day. No matter how much yelling, fighting, or crying he does, no matter how much he says things he later regrets, all his father will tell him is that his mother died that day, and that he "stupidly" ate respite in order to do "the impossible", "failing instantly". He didn't even know they had any respite he could have possibly eaten.

The situation made him angrier than he's ever been in his life and he took it out on his father while he was also at his lowest point. He eventually managed to make his father break down and cry during a fight, something he'd never seen before.

They didn't talk much for the rest of the journey after that. They somehow managed to travel all the way to Respite City without running into any abominations. His father told the city guard it was pure luck. Ink's not sure what to believe.

Well, Ink still believes his anger was justified; that he deserves to know the circumstances surrounding his mother's death and his own bonding. The sheer loss of it still weighs down heavily on his shoulders, but he knows his father isn't the one responsible. When he apologized, his father took it in stride, going so far as to say he was right to be angry. His father apologized for defending himself when Ink resorted to violence, which Ink didn't know how to respond to.

Ink was soon scouted to join the guardians. It's not often that a survivor comes to the city after already completing their bonding process, and their quality of life had dropped significantly since moving here. He had already cheated his way through the hardest part, and Captain Alias Grey made very tempting offers on the privileges he could receive as a guardian. Since he wasn't costing Respite City any actual respite, he could quit at any time, unlike other guardians. He came to have some regrets about his choice when it came to his training, but luckily he wasn't forced to train the utilization of his ability, and some aspects of the program were deemed redundant since he already completed his bonding. It might be because Captain Grey bent the rules, but his training time was ultimately cut down to only a year.

His father didn't approve, but his approval wasn't needed here. Even without the incentives, his ability was a subject of morbid curiosity to him. He thought it had just made him schizophrenic for a while, suddenly seeing things that weren't there out of a non-biological eye. It took him quite a while to gain a full grasp on its nature and functions. Although there was some controversies surrounding the nature of his ability, especially when he accidentally let an abomination out within the city walls, Captain Grey unilaterally overruled them, and since no one was hurt, he wasn't held culpable. Captain Grey seems to see his ability as useful, though to what end, Ink isn't sure.

Fun Facts: Wears hoodies in 90+ degree weather. Loves soda. Is currently being stalked by a bipedal cat wearing human clothing, visible only through his ability, who seems to be trying to teach him how to read and write R'lyehian. It's probably just trying to get summoned or something, but he doesn't mind taking R'lyehian lessons in his spare time. Progress is slow since they can only communicate nonverbally.

---

Name: Zoe Pelletier

Age: 18

Gender: Female

Appearance: Zoe is a thin young woman of average height with shoulder-length charcoal black hair and pale skin. Her most notable obvious feature are her eyes, which are an unusual shade of light red, and abnormally bright, as though overcharged with some kind of unnatural electricity.

The rest is hidden beneath a flexible, durable full body suit that she is almost never seen without. Specifically, almost her entire body save for her face is covered in jagged, zig-zagging marks the same color as her eyes, like the scars left behind by a lightning strike. They pulse with an inner light, increasing in frequency with Zoe's heart rate. Few ever get to see these, though, hidden as they are beneath her suit, which features two moderate canisters fixed to her upper back, constantly operating with a soft whirring sound.

When out and about around Respite Zoe sometimes wears normal clothes over this suit, typically baggy and oversized, but she's stopped bothering with that around the Guardians, who know of the condition the Bonding put her in.

Personality: Zoe is thoughtful and caring, a much better listener than she is a speaker. She deals with her fair share of problems, among them feelings of loneliness and regret, but she much prefers helping others rather than helping herself when it comes to emotional issues. She'll quickly attempt to change the subject when forced to talk too much about herself, unless she's pressed and cornered into it, which isn't likely to earn her favor.

She has quickly grown averse to physical contact with other humans, after the first few accidents that happened. She still hasn't forgiven herself for those. To compensate, she is devoted to her new line of work, determined to make something worthwhile out of the rushed decision she made to join the Guardians.

Abilities/Powers: Zoe's bonding placed, at her core, a powerful and chaotic energy that builds and builds without any natural means for her to dissipate it in a safe manner. It appears as crimson light blasting out in shockwaves with potentially tremendous force. It has no effect on her when released, but for everything else, carries enough force to obliterate entire rooms and people. Needless to say, it was paramount for the Guardians to find a way to harness her abilities, for their own safety.

Her suit was designed to do just that, and while it's not perfect, it works. The canisters on her back are actually plugged into her body, drawing and releasing the power in her blood to maintain a stable level. The rest of the suit works to contain her ability, all save for the palms of her gloves, which she has learned to direct the force out of. Abominations seem particularly weak to her energy. She can blast the smallest of them to pieces from a short distance with a well placed shot, while a larger one would require her to place her hands directly on it, releasing her power in order to damage, destabilize, and weaken the creature, rendering it more vulnerable to normal weaponry.

Problem being, of course, that she has to get pretty close to make any of this work. She passed her training courses, but is still largely human in terms of her mobility and physical toughness. The Guardians are working on the means to properly harness her power in easily portable means, but with little luck so far.

Weaknesses/Vulnerabilities: Her suit allows her control of her abilities, but she is utterly dependent on it. She can only spend around two hours a day outside of it without serious risk of detonating whatever room she's in. It's durable, but if it gets damaged enough in combat it can cease to function. She knows how to fix it if anything goes wrong, but it makes things complicated.

Her power is still unstable, even with the suit, which isn't perfect. Physical contact with her palms against anything can result in serious damage, so she has become extremely averse to touch.

Specialized Equipment: Apart from the aforementioned suit, Zoe always has a set of tools needed to fix it should it become damaged or require maintenance. She's working with the Guardians to develop a type of bomb that works with her ability, but as of now it isn't ready for field testing.

Biography: Everyone's got a sob story in Respite, and Zoe doesn't think of herself as being any different, though she used to think she was special, meant for great things, that the loss in her life was the first step on her hero's journey.

She came from a community near Toronto, Canada, the only child of a loving mother and father, the latter of which was in a position of leadership in the town. Her story is like many others: for a time she grew in peace and happiness, then the abominations wrecked what semblance of civilization she knew, and her mother didn't make it out. Both Zoe and her father made promises to themselves to carry on, make the loss mean something.

For her father, that meant working his way onto the city council in Respite, where they managed to relocate. He's close to his goal, cunning as he is, growing in influence every day. As for his daughter, she went and did the thing rash teenagers looking to make a difference do: she joined the Guardians. The training was rough, the Bonding rougher; Zoe's lasted a full two weeks, and the other Guardians believed she was done for.

But she pulled through, developed strange and mysterious powers, and promptly exploded the right arm of the man that first came to shake her hand. He wasn't the last person she hurt with her powers, but he was the first. Thankfully she never killed anyone, but there were a few very close calls, and a lot of property damage.

The Guardians contained her damage, got her the means to turn them on the abominations instead, and have started setting her loose. She's only taken down a few of the smallest ones so far, but it's clear to everyone that she has potential. The would-be councilman's daughter, with the power to fell giants. If she doesn't obliterate the city first.

Fun Facts: Zoe has terrible posture. She plays the guitar, but her last one blew up in her hands. She's more scared of touching cats and dogs than she is of people. She used to sleep on her back. Can't anymore, so now she sleeps terribly instead. Her suit keeps her at least somewhat clean in the event that she has to go on a long mission or something, but her absolute favorite part of any day is when she gets to take a shower. Still, she takes very quick showers.

---

Name: Dr. Devlin O'Dwyer

Age: 26

Gender: Male

Appearance: Devlin's elongated stature can be a bit intimidating at first. He is tall and slightly imposing, although his limbs are thin and his muscles lack the tonality of an athlete. Standing at about 6'7" (or roughly 200cm), Devlin often looks wraithlike as he typically wears long dark coats, a wide brimmed hat and a porcelain mask that serves to cover his facial disfigurement. His skin is pale; a result of his bonding and reclusiveness. Were he to disrobe, one would see a thin, white hairless body decorated in black, branching veins. Were one to remove his mask, the regret would be almost instantaneous.

Personality: Devlin's personality could be described as borderline bipolar. There will be moments when he is quiet, introspective, introverted and calculative. And, yet, there are other times when he is just the opposite: sarcastic, jovial, humorous and full of zest. The switch often depends on his level of adrenaline or sobriety. The mild mannered, sober Devlin is a far cry different than the Devlin you'll meet in battle or after imbibement.

Abilities/Powers:

Tendril Generation
Devlin has the ability to generate black tendrils from his body that can serve a variety of applications. Offensively, the tendrils can be used bluntly to bludgeon a foe or the tips can be focused and hardened like the tip of a needle to puncture an enemy. Defensively, they can be used to protect Devlin in a manner similar to a boxer covering his body with his raised fists; the tendrils can cover Devlin as a form of protection, though the effectiveness of the protection is hardly impenetrable. Additionally, these tendrils can aid Devlin's movement, allowing him to climb heights he otherwise wouldn't be able to or to traverse distances at speeds beyond his natural legs' capabilities. Each tendril can stretch out as far as 25 ft (or 7.62 meters) and the number of tendrils he can generate at once is indefinite. While the tendrils do not immediately heal from damage in real time, a damaged tendril can be recalled and a new, fresh tendril can be produced to take its place. Any damage taken by the tendrils are felt by Devlin in a similar manner as he would feel if any of his other appendages were harmed.

Weaknesses/Vulnerabilities:

Human Core Physiology
Tendrils or not, Devlin is still wholly reliant on his skills and training to be effective in combat and to survive. His ability does not make his core body any less fragile than it was before the bonding process. In concept, he's just a humans with extra limbs that he can call upon and therefore has all the same physical vulnerabilities.

Warped Psychology
Devlin isn't exactly a loose cannon, but in the heat of battle his adrenaline can raise exponentially which, in turn, leads him react in a far less predictable manner as his endorphins send him into a state of chaotic glee. Once in this state, his actions become less calculated and more instinctual which can, at times, be a boon.

His resting psyche isn't much less fractured. Often appearing stoic and uninterested, Devil has historically found it particularly challenging to gain trust and kinship, even from fellow guardians.

Specialized Equipment: While Devlin's ability certainly has its uses, if an enemy were to get within close combat range, Devlin would potentially lose his advantage. It is because of this that he keeps twin barong machetes on his person.

Additionally, Devlin's experience as a chemist has led to several formulas and concoctions that produce varying results. The inside of his overcoat is lined with several pockets, many of which house vials of useful ingredients or cocktails capable of chemical or medicinal reactions.

Biography: Popular, handsome, respected, the life of the party... Devlin was a man who thrived in any social circle that he stepped in. A chemist by trade, Devlin was very smart and inquisitive as he tried to find creative solutions to the world's Abomination problem.

A naturally gifted academic, Devlin soared through medical training, earning his degree and immediately putting his training to work to help with the frightful foes that has made our world their own. His various experiments had mixed results across the board and led Devlin to the only true conclusion: To help understand how to end the Abominations and harness the power of respite, he would have to risk everything and go all in.

He submitted himself to The Bonding in order to become a Guardian and get a more intimate understanding of the alien presences. Though he survived the process, it came at a cost. His mood had changed, his body had morphed and his face... his face had been ruined. Horror, shame and determination motivated Devlin to keep going. If it wasn't for the protection of mankind, it was for his own personal vengeance against the monsters.

Though parts of his scientific mind remained intact, his base psychology was forever changed. He was a monster now, just like them and he would punish the Abominations for it until his dying breath.

Age:
23?

Gender:
NONE -- He/They

Appearance:

That's right. Due to the Bonding, nothing remains of his flesh, but for a skeleton which has been colored neon hues, and a skull which holds three eye sockets. In the dark, the illumination from those empty eye sockets is a soft green. Oh, make no mistake, Bones tries to wear clothing but it gets expensive, due to the fact that anything in long-term contact with his bones degrades rapidly- becoming a tattered mess in two days. This is due to his constant state of "telekinetic repulsion."

Personality:
Madness? For quite some time, it was thought that the Bonding had failed- that he had been driven mad by it- yet. In the midst of their newly moody personality, the extreme amnesia which rendered them temporarily unable to communicate, and the occasionally violent moments of him throwing things around, it became apparent that he wasn't mad- no, well, not that kind of mad- but he was sane! Sort of. Bones- as he absolutely hates to be called- can be described as quiet, because manifesting a "sound" voice is an exhausting task. He's adept in several sign languages, though the missing face has thrust him into his own dialect, and will often make a lot of effort to communicate, as he's actually rather friendly- sometimes. Their moods can swing from friendly to hateful on a whim, but staying on his good side isn't difficult. Mostly. Their personality has dissolved into chaos that tends to be mostly functional but sometimes isn't.

Abilities/Powers:
ASCENDED Skeletal Body
Bones has become a skeleton! However, the skeletal remains have turned into a substance far harder than actual bone- possibly the toughest substance on the planet currently- and it is the only known substance immune to his primary ability. He feels no physical pain, no temperature changes, and no physical fatigue.

Telekinesis
The entire reason why Bones is well.. bones.. is due to his flesh having flown off of his body, due to the contact it had with his skeleton. The closer he is to something, the more powerful his ability to control the object with his mind, and the more powerful his telekinetic repulsion field. This unfortunately meant that the closest thing to his "self" which apparently is his "skeleton" was everything else attached to him. Most of his Telekinesis is based on throwing things away from him, but he is also able to pull things closer, and crush objects with his mind. Using such a power is extremely exhausting, depending on mass, quantity, how far something is moved, and for how long it is moved. He always has an "active" repulsive field that can be felt if his bones are touched- felt as in, will probably fling someone's hand away at best, and fling them across the room at worst.

Telepathic Reception?
Could be psychosis - could be something else - but he is capable of receiving memories that aren't his. They have absolutely no control over this and he rarely understands these are not his memories to begin with. There's something to that third eye that will probably remain a mystery. Either way, sometimes this "reception" can make him a master chef, an incredible engineer, a wonderful musician, a really great mother- it's completely random what ability he may "receive" but it's never a secondary power and can often be a delusion entirely. No, really- he once was a High Wizard of the 9th Circle and cast "spells" and none of them did anything. How. Embarrassing. The receptions and memories happen at random and leave just as quickly as they came. It's still very unclear if this is real or not.

Weaknesses/Vulnerabilities:
Telekinetic Exhaustion
Using his ability for too long will result in the loss of his ability temporarily. His personal telekinetic field will remain active, but he can't manipulate things that aren't himself, when tired. It will also result in more rapid memory loss, especially if he's pushed beyond his limit by moving something HUGE or crushing something very tough or too many things. He will flat out forget what he was doing and why, in such a case, with more severe cases resulting in the loss of the entire day's memories in an instant. The "recharge" time is six hours but can be longer depending on what caused the exhaustion. This can, in extremely severe cases, result in his skeleton becoming... disassembled, partially. How embarrassing.

Rapid Memory Decay
His memory is fourteen days long for minor events; one month for major events; and three months for people he's met. Without constant reminder he cannot remember things. This does not apply to physical tasks, abilities learned, or progress made toward learning things. Interestingly, he will often be able to recall information that he should never have in the first place- languages that have died or places that used to exist- with great detail. Could it be that his memories are replaced? Perhaps.

Spooky Scary AGONY
His entire body is a Phantom Pain. Sometimes the agony is so intense it is completely and utterly debilitating. This pain can happen at any time, can be his full body, or a limb, or multiple limbs at once. This pain is part of the cause for his moodiness, as who could possibly live with such chronic pains- without any means of relief- and not be kind of irritable? Then there's the matter of their appearance: it truly takes a special person to be comfortable around a walking skeleton. His social life has suffered as a result and he's rather bitter about it. The only people that remember his true name and identity won't tell him, but he's forgotten about that, because he's so lonely without friends or family, that all he wants is a HUG- but he can't have HUGS because he might send the person INTO ORBIT ACCIDENTALLY-

Can't Heal, Can't Swim, Limited Strength
If something actually ever manages to fracture or break his bones, there is no way he'll be able to heal. Of course, this means the bones will have to be reattached somehow- likely by metal- or scrapped altogether. He also can't swim anymore, due to the lack of all the physical surface area, and inability to build up the physical strength to swim. They posses the strength of an average adult without physical training.

Glowing Weak Point
Those glowing eyes of his give away the fact that the Radiant within Bones has coalesced within his skull. Destroying his skull, then scooping out the Radaint within, and destroying it thereafter, will absolutely kill him. And, of course, the option of not destroying the Radiant and keeping him simply removed from his body is a hell he doesn't want to think about...

Specialized Equipment:
Everything Breaks
So whatever he's given, it is generally not expected to return with him, but it is usually experimental. So far, the experimental "bodysuit" which boosts the range of his control has seen frequent use.

Biography:


Fun Facts:
Look at him.
Any number of insane rumors about what he is, what he does, and where he came from could have been heard. Of course, the main one being, that they may as well be an abomination, and can't be trusted.
... and also that they can help anyone hide a body.
Eugh, and he's so desperate to be liked, it's disgusting.
He sometimes reaches out toward people like a dangerous zombie and it's strange.
He's already out of his mind, why would anyone let him be a Guardian? Likely to turn traitor at any given moment, for sure! More of a liability than anything.

Name: Josefa "Jackrabbit" Juárez

Age: 27

Gender: Female

Appearance: At first glance, Josefa appears to be pretty normal, one of the lucky Guardians who managed to survive the Bonding without suffering some sort of horrible mutation. She's pretty average in fact, neither particularly tall nor noticeably short at 5'5" with dark hair and delicate features. While she does have scars across her knuckles this is hardly surprising to see on someone who grew up sparring with her family and then went into a workforce where combat was common.

Beneath her clothes things become more unconventional. Over her right shoulder is a simple tattoo of the crucifix while her left bicep shows a dove in flight, in memory of her father. Her back is marked not by ink but by injury, the scars there more serious than those on her hands. She sports dozens of healed-over pockmarks, left over from the time she was blasted in the back with a load of birdshot.

The most eye-catching part of her body is scattered across her limbs and torso, a side effect of the Guardian process. Josefa has several milky-white crystals embedded in her skin, near flush but protruding ever so slightly. They are usually hidden by clothing but if one were to look carefully they'd be able to see the outlines.

Personality: Jackrabbit is above all else, a professional. She spent years defending Respite against threats internal and external, a job that required her to be quick to focus and observant of the smallest details. While she's more than capable of acting friendly with her comrades sometimes this slips into a more reserved, almost cold attitude.

This is a reflection of her self-doubt. While she's unlikely to ever say so aloud Josefa worries that she might not stack up against the other superpowered freaks she works with. If she were to become the weak link she'd up endangering both herself and the team, to say nothing of Respite itself. She can't seem to shake the feeling that she became a Guardian to get out of her familial duty to "proper" law enforcement.

The stress of her duties and esteem issues drives her to blow off steam whenever possible. With her entry into crooked policing came the introduction to various vices. Josefa is a gambler, a binge drinker and a philanderer, a common sight in dive bars and other businesses with less than stellar reputations. Her commitment to duty keeps her in check when on the job but enough downtime will send her back to cards or into the embrace of prostitutes.

Abilities/Powers: -Speed: Jackrabbit's main ability. The Bonding process strengthened her legs and her core so that they could perform far past human capability. Her average running speed caps out somewhere around a hundred miles an hour but if she were to push herself to her limits she'd reach a hundred and fifty.

Along with this incredible speed comes the ability to make truly impressive leaps. While she doesn't have the maneuverability granted by proper flight Jackrabbit can clear buildings and other obstacles with little difficulty (although she runs the risk of landing in a sticky situation she hadn't been able to see.)

-Endurance: Running so fast for any extended period of time requires that Josefa be much more durable than a normal person for two reasons: so that her joints don't pop out of their sockets, and so that she can bound off walls without being reduced to a broken pile of pulp.

It's important to note that Jackrabbit's enhanced endurance applies purely to her speed and its potential side effects. She can run into a brick wall at top speed and be fine but if someone were to stab her in the back she'd bleed just like anyone else. She assumes that it's based on intent; someone intending to hurt her still can.

Weaknesses/Vulnerabilities: -Ridiculous Metabolism: In the wild a hare can eat up to a pound of food per day, an amount that might be somewhere around an eighth of their weight. Likewise, Josefa needs to consume about ten thousand calories a day, more than triple the amount recommended for an adult man. While she can survive on more human levels doing so will leave her in a greatly diminished state, her powers weaker and her energy levels lowered.

-Primal Fear: The two most common predators that a desert hare has to watch out for are snakes and birds of prey. Fittingly, Jackrabbit suffers from both Ophidiophobia, the fear of snakes, and Ornithophobia, the fear of birds. The latter condition is limited to large hunting birds, hawks and falcons and the like, but any snake is enough to set her off.

Manageable situations, such as when the source of fear is caged or far off, will make her visibly nervous but being near to either category will cause her fight-or-flight reaction to kick in.

Specialized Equipment: "Wolpertinger" Armor: Designed in part by her brother Marcos. Flexible enough that Jackrabbit can move at full speed and sturdy enough to withstand some punishment. Unless that punishment is coming from an Alpha abomination, then it's going to break very quickly. The Wolpertinger is always on Josefa's person, the diamond-like nodes across her body reacting to the Respite embedded in her in such a way that she can mentally activate it. Upon activation the armor "unfolds" from those nodes to rapidly cover her.

It comes with a shield because the only thing better than letting your armor take the hit is not letting it get hit at all.

-Harmonic Swordstaff: While an armored fist hitting something at a hundred miles an hour will do some serious damage there is always a way to improve. The Harmonic Swordstaff combines Renaissance-era weaponry with modern-age technology, the blade of the weapon infused with Respite so that it functions as an oversized harmonic scalpel, vibrating at around 55,500 Hz. Usually this rapid vibration wouldn't just cut through flesh but also cauterize it by the energy generated by the Respite keeps the wounds bleeding.

-Dad's .45 Josefa's father carried this relic during his time in Fort Worth PD, It passed down to her mother upon his death. When she joined the Respite guards the pistol was then given to her for use as a service weapon. It's not as flashy as her ultrasonic swordstaff and ammo is finite but it's served Jackrabbit well enough thus far. She uses it in her role as a Guardian while she's fast a bullet is always faster.

-Knife: Just a simple, solid knife for those situations that require something less over the top than the Harmonic Swordstaff.

Biography: Josefa Juárez was born in the district of Haven, a small borough in the wider Fort Worth area. Her parents, Mateo and Elena, had not intended to have children and they really didn't intend to have three of them but intentions aren't enough to avoid triplets. Alongside Josefa were Marcos and Gabriela. Now stuck in a too-small home with little in the way of support the parents did their best to raise two daughters and a son, just about managing to keep them as healthy as any other child in the post-respite world.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Juárez were members of the FWPD but while Elena’s duties were mostly investigative Mateo was directly involved with the frontline defense of the city. Mateo was killed in action while his squad was hunting a pack of abominations that had strayed too close to Fort Worth's water supply, leaving his widow and seven-year-old children.

Another day, another corpse for the pile. Alena refused to show weakness in front of her children, packing up little the family owned and setting out for a new town with less painful memories. The journey to Respite was tricky but manageable, the family settling into a small apartment while the mother went to work with the city guards.

With one parent dead and the other working a full-time job the triplets lacked stability, picking up different coping mechanisms. Marcos threw himself into his studies, working with Respite in order to improve the weapons and armor used to ward off the abominations. He had a sense of duty, determined to make a difference in the world. Gabriela was the delinquent, getting picked up time after time for vandalism and petty thefts to the chagrin of her mother. These minor crimes led to major ones, Gabriela leaving home in her teens and falling into Respite's criminal underworld as an enforcer, smuggler and occasional paid killer.

That left Josefa, the most aimless of the trio. She joined the city guard out of a sense of obligation to her parents as well as not having any better ideas. She was partnered with her mother as a rookie but began to branch out once she learned the ropes, given her own assignments with a series of partners. Josefa was a decent enough guard but still felt like she was without real purpose, walking her beat out of obligation. When Gabriela came back into her life with offers of valuable tech and other resources in exchange for tip-offs and the occasional get-out-of-jail-free cards Josefa was easily swayed.

The now dirty cop was a middle ground between her law-abiding brother and criminal sister, existing to play beige between black and white. This was not the existence she wanted. One night after a long shift and an even longer one at the bar she came to a brilliant conclusion: she would go sign up to be a Guardian.

The training was difficult, but she'd damned if she was going to wash out when there were teens going through the same program. With her combat experience, Josefa had an easier time getting through than others, making it to the crucial implanting process. The Bonding went relatively well, the side effects were definitely manageable. Instead of horrifying disfigurement or some sort of crippling madness Josefa instead had to learn to manage her increased appetite and new revulsion to snakes and birds.

She was a Guardian, and hopefully, that would give her the sense of purpose she craved.

Fun Facts: -Josefa's favorite part of being a guard was getting to play with the fun toys stored in the armory and that holds true now that she's a Guardian. She spends much of her free time on the range and will supplement her usual kit with an additional weapon or two when given the chance.

-Jackrabbit has never cared much for her namesake. Instead she keeps rats.

-She maintains an apartment away from the usual barracks, preferring to live in her own space where there are fewer people around to judge her.

Name: Emilia “Emmy” Reynold

Age: 14

Gender: Female

Appearance: Emmy stands at a whopping 5’2” with a slender frame and with one eye a bright green and the other golden yellow. Her hair is dark brown with little highlights of lighter brown to blonde mixed into it. The most noticeable thing about Emmy is that about half of her body is covered in dark green and black scales, with a large horn growing out of the right side of her head. Her ears have a noticeable point to them, closely resembling tales of elves people in the old world used to tell. Most of her face is free of scales except for her right eye, which is surrounded by scales. Since the bonding she has kept her right eye covered by her hair. She also has a long, lizard like tale that seems to have a mind of its own. She almost always has a hood of some sort covering her head as well, though this is not entirely new behavior.

Personality: Emmy is a very secluded and private person. She was born deaf and has always struggled to find a way to communicate with others. She does know sign language, but it is an increasingly rare skill, so she is often forced to communicate through writing. Her change in appearance after the bonding has only made her more insecure and unsure of herself, now fearing that she is constantly being judged for her appearance.

But despite her self-consciousness, there are few people more determined and hardheaded then Emmy. She will pursue what she wants with a single mindedness that borders on obsession. She is not afraid to defend those who can’t defend themselves and is fiercely loyal to those few friends she does make. She has a keen and intelligent mind and is actually quite funny and sarcastic when you get to know her. She is, however, still very much a teenager, and is prone to all the immaturities that come with youth.

Abilities/Powers:

- Vibrokinesis: All living and moving things give off vibrations. These vibrations are unique to each individual and often so subtle that they are impossible to see, hear or feel. Emmy can ‘feel’ these vibrations and instinctually interpret them. Often these vibrations are so vague Emmy can only sense approximately where a person might be located. Sometimes the vibrations can tell Emmy what emotions a person is feeling, or if their intentions are dangerous. In rare occasions, Emmy can pick up on an important fact about a person, if they are sick or in turmoil for example. This ability is limited when it comes to people, abominations however, are a different story.

Abominations give off such a distinct and strong vibration that Emmy can not only feel their location or emotion but can comprehend them on a fundamental level. While she doesn’t fully understand what this means, if she studies a particular abomination for long enough, she can learn to manipulate them through an, often haunting, melody that she can instinctually let out. This melody can cause an abomination to calm down, run away, or even attack another abomination depending on how well Emmy comes to understand their vibrations.

- Hardened Scales: The scales that cover the right side of Emmy’s body are harder and far more durable than normal skin. If the scales are damaged in some way they often quickly flake off and be replaced by new, softer scales that will harden again over a short time. Injuries on the right side of her body often seem to heal faster than normal as well. The nails on her right hand are far stronger than normal and are nearly as sharp as razor blades, meaning that Emmy is rarely defenseless.

Weaknesses/Vulnerabilities:

- Overwhelming Vibrations: If there are too many people or abominations gathered in one place Emmy can become overwhelmed and unable to focus on a particular vibration. This doesn’t only make her power useless but can also incapacitate her if she becomes to overwhelmed.
She Needs More Time: It takes time for Emmy to truly study and understand an abomination. The more complex and powerful an abominations vibrations are, the longer it takes for her to understand them. It can take anywhere from a few seconds to hours for Emmy to understand an abominations vibration well enough to manipulate them and requires her entire concentration to do so, often leaving her vulnerable.

- Squishy Left Side: The left side of Emmy’s body is completely normal and just as vulnerable as any other squishy human’s body.

- Puberty Sucks: It was hard enough being a teenager in the old world. Dealing with rapidly changing emotions, massive insecurities and an apocalyptic hell scape don’t make life any easier.

Specialized Equipment: Emmy always carries a pen and notebook with her to make sure she can communicate with others. She also carries a rather unique and ornate pair of 1911's that were her fathers, with which she is a fairly good shot. While they wont do a ton to the more powerful abominations, shooting one of the little ones enough times in the head is often good enough to finish them off.

Biography: Emmy’s life was never an easy one. Emmy’s mother passed giving birth to her, and Emmy spent much of her young life dealing with some rather troublesome health issues, not the least of which was being born deaf. Survival was already complicated enough, but not being able to hear or easily communicate with others only added an extra layer of hardship that most would not have survived. Her father, Jacob, was determined to see his daughter not only survive but thrive and did everything he could to ensure her safety and success. Though he’d never say where or how he got them, Jacob managed to find some old-world books on sign language and taught them to Emmy, as well as how to read and write.

When Emmy was 10, Emmy and Jacob moved to a small settlement not far from old world Columbus, Ohio called Stewards Rest. While there were only a few hundred survivors in their settlement, they were located close to a larger than normal outcropping of Respite that kept most of the smaller abominations away. The settlement was home to 5 or 6 Guardians, a fairly large number considering how small the settlement was, and was often visited by Guardians and traders from other settlements who were hoping to precure respite for themselves. Emmy always got the sense that people in the colony saw her as a burden, but for some reason Jacob was considered a valuable enough asset that the settlers never grumbled too loudly about her staying with them. For 2 years everything was fine, the settlement seemed to attract more and more people every day and Emmy and Jacobs life slowly grew more comfortable and even enjoyable at times.

And then the Alpha came…..

Emmy only remembers bits and pieces of that night. She remembers seeing hundreds of abominations. She remembers her father shoving a pair of pistols into her hands, and a backpack of supplies onto her back. She remembers seeing her father yelling at a small group of traders and pointing at her repeatedly before they finally nodded, agreeing to whatever his demands were. She remembers her father telling her that she had to go with them to someplace called Respite City and giving her a note with a name on it for someone he called her uncle. She remembers him lying….and saying that he would find her. She remembers the thing of shadows and nightmares the loomed over Stewards Rest. It almost looked like a man, but it had an enormous shadow behind it that turned everything it touched to dust. And she remembers eyes… Eyes so red and full of hate that they still haunt her nightmares.

Emmy never did find out what her father promised the traders, but whatever it was, it was enough for them to take her all the way to Respite City where she found her uncle who hadn’t even known she existed until she showed up on his doorstep. When she handed him the note her father had given him, she watched his face change expressions about 15 times before he finally sighed, grabbed a piece of paper, and wrote that she could stay with him.

Her uncle, a Sergeant in the guardians named Ramsey Reynold, was never exactly the…nurturing type, but he did do his best to give her what she needed. When Emmy decided that she wanted to join the Guardians and join them NOW and not after her 18th birthday, Ramsey flew into a panic induced rage refusing to even consider it. Emmy managed to sneak her way into a recruitment office and get signed up (some guardian recruiters don’t give much credence to a new recruit’s age). When her uncle found out, he nearly killed the man who signed her up, and was only stopped by Captain Alias, who somehow managed to not only calm him down but convince him to let Emmy join. She still has no clue how.

The training was difficult. Her relationship with her uncle was.. IS, complicated, as the two are constantly bumping heads. Even dealing with the changes brought on by the bonding have been difficult to deal with. But Emmy is determined. She will find the Alpha that took her home and her father from her, and she will kill, it and every other abomination that gets in her way.

Fun Facts:
- Emmy has discovered that musical instruments give off incredibly powerful and strange vibrations that can drown out the vibrations given off by both people and abominations.
- She can essentially FEEL music.
- She enjoys teaching others sign language, and has filled several notebooks with different signs in the hopes of helping others learn.
- She admires her Uncle for his strength and fearlessness, but will never admit it to his face.
- Do not...under ANY circumstances...call her Emilia

Name: Sergeant Ramsey Reynold

Age: 34

Gender: Male

Appearance: Ramsey has never been what you would call 'small'. He stands at about 6'3", with a powerful frame and muscular body. His hair has turned a whiteish-gray color from the bonding and his eyes are a pale brown. His body is covered by scars but his most noticeable one is a large scar that goes across his forehead down to his chin, and no, he wont tell you where he got it. He is very rarely clean shaven, although he does keep his facial hair to a low stubble. He typically prefers to wear simple clothing, such as a sleeveless shirt and jeans. He will wear his uniform but only when required. He is literally never seen without a cigarette or cigar and he usually carries a cup of flask with an 'unnamed liquid' inside of it (It's alcohol).

Personality: Sergeant Ramsey is a cold and distant man. He rarely tries to make friends, whether in the Guardians or not. His speech almost always has curse words mixed in it to act as 'sentence enhancers'. He's never really cruel, but is exceptionally blunt and will not hesitate to tell someone if they are being a dumbass. He has anger issues but has learned to control them for the most part and can often contain his more violent tendencies unless truly enraged. Ramsey is smart enough in day to day situations and is a rather talented tactician, especially when it comes to taking down abominations. While he doesn't care for many people, he is rather overly protective of his niece, as she is the only family member he has left.

Abilities/Powers: (A good description of your characters abilities. These can range wildly. There is a max of three different powers, and the general rule is that the more abilities an individual has the less powerful each ability is. Although its still possible to have one main, more powerful ability, and one minor ability that is harder to control. If you’re unsure about something don’t hesitate to ask.)

Weaknesses/Vulnerabilities: (This does not necessarily mean a physical weakness to green space rocks. Maybe your character is in a constant state of depression, maybe they have a drug addiction. This might not even be something that is brought on by the bonding process. Or maybe they do have an extreme allergic reaction to the color yellow. This is an apocalyptic world where every day is a struggle so put here anything that might make it hard to survive.)

Specialized Equipment: (This will include any specialized weapons, armor, or other gadgetry your character may use. For really special equipment that uses respite, think fallout type weapons. Energy weapons might be possible, but it would require a constant flow of respite as ammo, which would be incredibly rare.)

Biography: (Your character’s history, how they ended up in respite, and why they decided to try and join the guardians.)

Fun Facts: (Anything strange, interesting, or fun about your character that you want to establish early on)