[hider=Ted Bauer][CENTER][h1][img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/b3RmLjk2LmZmYjZjMS5WR1ZrSUNZZ1JHRnliR1Z1WlEsLC4w/valentine-redwood.regular.webp[/img] [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrM66OPeMoE[/youtube][/h1][/CENTER] [i]“Partner, from what I'm seeing it looks like all of us have got some serious Mommy issues."[/i] [table][row][/row][row][cell] [center][img]https://i.pinimg.com/736x/9d/dc/e2/9ddce2a11ca0ef73159759ac580f04c2.jpg[/img] [sup]_______________________________________________[/sup] [sub]Theodore Robert Bauer He/Him [b]|[/b] 31 [b]|[/b] Dutch & German American[b]|[/b] 6’1” [b]|[/b] 190 lbs [sup]_______________________________________________[/sup] Bravado [sup]_______________________________________________[/sup] Skills & Talents[/sub] [i]"You always gotta shoot for the moon. Could end up becoming an astronaut. Pretty sure I saw that on a poster once."[/i] [sup]___________________________________[/sup][/center][hider=] [sub] [b][Cowboy Shit] ⫻[/b] Growing up on a ranch, Ted has a general knowledge of animal husbandry, horseback riding, lasso throwing, shit shoveling, and other various rooting, tooting, pistol shooting bullshit. He’s outdoorsy enough where he can start up a bonfire with a couple of sticks, but possesses enough of the spirit of Texas to want to do it with a can of gas and a hunting rifle. [b][Texkwondo] ⫻[/b] Ted is a blackbelt in…something. His stepdad signed him up for martial arts lessons at a studio called Texkwondo in a strip mall outside of Odessa. His teacher wore an American flag gi, drank Busch light at practice, and said the best way to win a fight was to pull a gun, but still, Ted can throw some cool looking roundhouses. [b][Stupid Grit] ⫻[/b] Ted has a history of doing stupid things because someone bet him that he couldn’t and somehow surviving because he's too dumb to die. This fearlessness alongside his other skills helped land him a gig as a stuntman working around the Austin film industry. He’s mostly done commercial and TV work. [b][Teddy the Kid] ⫻[/b] Ted is great with children and after some encouragement from his wife has regularly done volunteer work for schools and camps. He’s actually lowkey incredible at keeping kids in line while still encouraging them to have fun. [/sub][/hider] [/cell][cell][sub][b] Appearance[/b][/sub] [sub][sup]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/sup][/sub] [i]"I swear that I was bigger in Texas."[/i] [indent]Ted’s new body ain’t much different than the old one in the sense that both of them can wear cowboy boots with zero irony and still somehow pull it off. Perhaps that’s just a perk of, as Ted puts it, being born so damn good lookin’. He’s got bright blue eyes that are in a permasquint that makes it look like he’s in a deep concentration when really he just refuses to wear his glasses and can’t deal with contacts. His jawline looks strong as long as it's bulked up by his gingery beard, and his nice tan does a good job of masking the freckles on his face. As for his brown hair, Ted is frankly surprised to find out that he has some–he’d started shaving his head at the first sign of balding hit him in his early twenties, but Teddy must’ve paid for a real high quality hair transplant. Full head of hair aside, there’s a couple of other things about Teddy’s body that Ted finds a little offputting. For starters, his hands are too smooth for someone who should’ve been working with them all his life, and Ted’s missing some of his favorite scars he used to show off as conversation pieces. While he’s still rocking that cowboy chic of double denim his clothes are all a bit too stiff like they’d just come off of some shelf instead of living in his closet for the past ten years and somehow his boots are unscuffed. Most notably of all, Teddy’s been skipping a few days at the gym. While this version of Ted is still physically fit with some decent definition, previous Ted swears that he was pushing two-twenty worth of perfectly carved, Grade A Texas beef. Ted’s got a lot of bass in his voice and the roughest hint of a country accent, coming through a bit more in his choice of colorful vernacular than anything else. He’s accompanied by the faintest scent of stale cigarettes masked beneath an expensive cologne. Ted doesn’t wear any jewelry other than a wedding ring and an expensive wristwatch. He moves with a swaggering confidence like he’s meant to be right where he’s at, even if where he’s at right now is inside of the body of some carpetbagging, shitdealing politician instead of the goddamn A-lister he was rounding up to become.[/indent] [/cell][/row][/table][sub][b] Psychology[/b][/sub] [sub][sup]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/sup][/sub] [i]"I’m just tryin’ to be a better man."[/i] [INDENT][b]MAIN GOAL ⫻[/b] While it would’ve been sweet to score a gig in a major Hollywood Blockbuster, Ted’s career is second to his personal life. He wants to be a father more than anything. Well, except for getting everything back the way it used to be, but c'mon, that's a given. [b]PHILOSOPHY ⫻[/b] Nothing comes to those who wait. Get out there and do something. To quote an old proverb from Ted’s childhood, “get busy living or get busy dying.” [b]SECRETS ⫻[/b] Ted and his wife Rita are separated and it’s his fault. A playful, flirty friendship with one of the makeup artists on a small film he worked on went a bit too far after a wrap party that involved a bit too much tequila, the wrong advice, and some real sweaty mechanical bullriding. He cheated on his wife, the guilt soon being too heavy of a weight for him to hold and prompting him to quickly confess his infidelity to his wife. This confession ended up being the only thing keeping Ted’s wife from immediately filing for divorce. [b]SEXUALITY ⫻[/b] Ted loves the ladies and the ladies* love Ted. [right][sub]*Not all ladies[/sub][/right] [b]FEARS ⫻[/b] Y’know that phrase if you’re bored, you’re boring? Ted absolutely hates the idea of being seen as boring, feeling that it’s on him to captivate and entertain those around him. He doesn’t like the idea of silence, because silence allows for self-reflection and it’s in those moments where Ted starts to see how paper thin he is behind his tough exterior. [b]REPUTATION IN SHADOW ⫻[/b] He’s a local legend in his hometown of Odessa, with all the boys back at the bar trading stories like the time Ted jumped from one moving truck to another or the time Ted climbed up to the top of the clocktower just so he could say he took a piss off of it. In Austin it’s a bit more mixed. He’s decently respected amongst the teachers and leaders in the community for the volunteer work he does with the kids, but some of his fellow stunt performers view him as unsafe and unprofessional to work with. Saying he can ramp a car no problem despite having never done it before is one thing when he’s with the boys in a Walmart parking lot and another thing when he can entirely fuck up a production. [b]FLAWS ⫻[/b] Ted is reckless. Why worry about potential consequences when he has confidence in his success? This devil-may-care attitude is largely thanks to a great sense of machismo instilled in Ted by his stepdad, who took his job as being a positive male role model for the boy very seriously by telling a seven-year-old to man up and stop being such a pussy. Now a proper manly man, Ted recognizes the misogyny behind his old man’s sexist remarks and fully condemns them, despite regularly falling into the trappings of unintentional chauvinism himself. [/INDENT] [sub][b] Backstory[/b][/sub] [sub][sup]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/sup][/sub] [i]"Life’s a lot like bullridin’. Sometimes you gotta let it buck you around, sometimes you gotta grab it by the horns and wrestle it to the ground, and sometimes you get thrown off of that sonuvabitch and end up in the hospital with a couple of broken ribs and a real nasty scar and your momma is there and she’s sayin’ that you ain’t ever gonna ride no more and you better start studyin’ up so you can get into a community college and…I lost the metaphor, what were we talkin’ about?"[/i] [indent]It was just Ted and his ma for the first seven years of his life in Odessa, Texas, so when she remarried his stepdad felt like it was his husbandly duty to make sure his stepson didn’t turn out to be some kind of sissy. Ted was worked real hard on his stepdad’s ranch to put some hair on his chest and in return for the free labor his stepdad always took anywhere from five to even ten minutes out of his evening to spend some time with the boy and teach him some lessons about what it meant to be a real man. When the ranch failed years later and stepdad’s funeral had to be a closed casket on account of a sizable chunk of him was still decorating the ceiling of the barn Ted made sure not to cry. Surely the old man would’ve been proud. His teen years were spent horsing around with the boys when he wasn’t fooling around with the girls. He had a bit of a rascal’s reputation, always getting in trouble for the stupidest shit possible and always getting off with just a warning. Some think that people went light on him because they felt bad for the kid who lost not one but two dads and didn’t want to cause Mama Ted any more problems. Others are pretty sure that Ted was just too well-liked to ever get into any real trouble. Of the kids growing up in Odessa, he was one of the few who ever seemed to have aspirations bigger than moving down the block and getting real into methamphetamines. Ted went to college in Austin to study film and more importantly stay close to his then-girlfriend and it was there that he’d meet his future wife through a mutual friend group. Ted would say that he knew right away that she was the one, but for Rita she absolutely hated him at first. She couldn’t stand his boisterous personality, his childish dream of becoming a stuntman, or his frustrating ability to get good grades despite never seeming to study or do homework. It was only after they spent more time together with friends that she started to warm up to him, the turning point coming when she saw how good Ted was with children when her sister showed up with Rita’s nieces to crash a tailgate. She assumed that because he was good with kids he couldn’t be such an immature piece of shit after all, not realizing that kids could relate really well with immature pieces of shit. Regardless, they started dating and things went good. Real good, actually. Everything followed the formula after college–move in together, get engaged, and get married. Ted was happy, but life wasn’t perfect. Rita was able to get a job as a kindergarten teacher, but his work for a while was pretty inconsistent where they mostly relied on her to front the lion’s share of the bills. Even once he started landing more frequent stunt gigs after one of his college buddies landed a spot at a local production company there were issues. Namely, when they were going to start having children. They had both said before they got married that they wanted a big family, but now Rita was hesitant. She wanted to wait until they were sure they were ready; Ted was pretty sure that nobody ever felt like they were ready until they rushed in. Things spiraled from there. It became a running argument, something that would slip its way in when they were having dinner or during pillowtalk. The blowoff happened the night they were supposed to attend a wrap party for an indie film Ted’s friend had produced. Rita was dragging her feet about going like she always did, so Ted made the casual comment that they should take every opportunity they got now to go out because when they had kids it would be a rarity. One thing led to another and when Ted wouldn’t back down Rita finally snapped at him: “You know why I don’t want a kid? Because it feels like I'm already living with one.” Ted went to the party alone and woke up the next morning in another woman’s bed. He didn’t try to hide what he’d done when he got home to Rita. The worst part about coming clean to her was how she didn’t even seem mad. She’d just nodded her head like she knew it was bound to happen one day and told him to pack a bag. They’d been separated for a few months now, with Ted doing his best to try and save the marriage that he royally fucked up and Rita being an absolute stonewall when it came to communication. One day, he got a text from her saying, “I made up my mind. Can we talk?” and refused to elaborate until they spoke face to face. Ted was on his way to see her. Up until he’d gotten that text message it felt like his world was falling apart, but when she smiled at him when he opened the door at the bar where they had their first date he felt his first true moment of hope in months. Hope that blackened as she started to reach for something in her purse–and then the world decided it was done waiting on them and went ahead and fell apart anyway. [/indent] [sub][b] Abstraction[/b][/sub] [sub][sup]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/sup][/sub] [i]"Keep back, Darlene. Don’t want you gettin’ hurt now."[/i] [indent][b]TYPE ⫻[/b] Aberration (Afflicted) [b]ABSTRACTION ⫻[/b] The Heartbreaker, a manipulative curse that relentlessly "helps" its victims now only so that they can suffer a greater loss. [b]ABSTRACTION DESCRIPTION ⫻[/b] The Heartbreaker curse was created in Kindle more than a millennium ago by a Blue Lux user jealous of their rival’s success. The curse was simple in concept: ruin a life when it would be the most heartbreaking. It manifested a person who would come into its victims life, help them accomplish their goals, and just when they reached the pinnacle of their success and power the curse would strip it all away, ensuring that the victim’s suffering would be greater than if they had never got what they wanted in the first place. The curse worked phenomenally with just one hitch: the creator had failed to create an end for the curse. Thus, once finished with its first victim, the curse simply moved on to the next ambitious person. It would physically manifest itself as whatever the victim seemingly needed at the time: a friend, a lover, a mentor. Just agreeing for some help was all that was necessary to be cursed by the Heartbreaker. Wherever it went the cycle would continue: a sudden turn of good fortune inevitably followed by an absolutely soul-crushing defeat or betrayal. Ironically, the creator of the curse would meet their demise at the hands of their own creation when the magician they met while seeking to find a way to dispel their curse turned out to be none other than the Heartbreaker. With nobody even aware of its existence, the Heartbreaker has been free to wreak havoc throughout history, meddling in the affairs of the rich, the poor, and everyone in between. Wherever there is someone who is ambitious, powerhungry, desperate, or even just downright foolish the Heartbreaker is soon to follow, latching on to its next victim the moment it’s finished with its current one. Currently, the Heartbreaker is afflicting Teddy Bauer. [url=https://i.pinimg.com/736x/c2/f0/39/c2f039c64dd4aeb558515edd564a6ff3.jpg]This iteration of the curse has manifested itself as an overly protective, manipulative, and jealous young woman who goes by the name Darlene.[/url] She has integrated herself an intern working for Teddy who may or may not also be his mistress. Darlene had only just recently targeted Teddy before the Linebreaker Event occurred, and was currently in the honeymoon phase of the curse where she was trying to help Teddy in his political career. Now that she is stuck with Ted, Darlene is currently in a weird state of existence with someone who technically shouldn’t be cursed, as her agreement was made with Teddy, not Ted. She doesn’t know what would happen to the Heartbreaker if she fails to follow through with fulfilling the curse, and she doesn't plan to find out. [b]Manifest Pixie Dream Girl ⫻[/b] Darlene is incorporeal by default but she can manifest to make herself physical. She can demanifest to make herself incorporeal again. Alternatively, while incorporeal she can demanifest further and make herself completely invisible. While incorporeal or invisible she can float. Darlene can extend her ghostly nature to Ted if she is “touching” him. Ted can briefly extend this intangibility and invisibility to another person by “touching” them as well. If Ted does this, the effect ends on him and the other person after a handful of seconds. Anything Darlene, Ted, or the third wheel are wearing or carrying manifest and demanifest alongside them. [b]Scheme Queen ⫻[/b] A demanifested Darlene can reach inside of a person’s head and begin rooting around through their thoughts and memories. The Heartbreaker curse allows Darlene to have a permanent mental link with Ted, giving her access to his surface thoughts, an inherent knowledge of his location, and allowing her to establish a two-way link so they can communicate mentally. While this two-way link is established the pair are capable of knowing exactly what the other one is about to do, allowing them to operate together perfectly in tandem. While this link is established, Ted can also open links to other people. If Ted does this, Darlene can suppress her link, making herself mentally undetectable as she eavesdrops. [b]Damsel Indefinite ⫻[/b] Darlene is tireless. As long the Heartbreaker curse remains and Ted lives, Darlene will continue to manifest. She is neither a person nor an apparition, and while she can appear to be killed or even sealed she is never truly gone. Due to her unusual nature, mental abstractions affect her on a case by case basis, but typically they just wouldn’t work. As long as Darlene exists, Ted is protected by the Heartbreaker curse. Anything that would cause a disease or heighten a preexisting condition are held in a stasis, and while Ted can still be injured he will always make an eventual full recovery from anything that isn’t usually fatal as the curse dampens the injury. He still ages, but outside of some graying and wrinkles he won’t have any adverse effects while Darlene remains. [b]LIMITS ⫻[/b] Although she is a magical manifestation that doesn’t require the things a normal human being would, Darlene is roughly as strong as an average woman. She does a pretty decent job of pretending to be a person, but an astute enough observer will notice uncanny aspects about her that can make her presence unnerving. Certain beneficial abstractions like healing and boosting might not work as intended on Darlene due to her unusual nature. [b]Manifest Pixie Dream Girl ⫻[/b] Manifesting and demanifesting is an all-or-nothing situation, so Darlene can’t manifest just a part of herself. Incorporeal people can only float as fast as they can normally move. Ted can only be demanifested for as long as he is “touching” Darlene, and Darlene’s inherent jealousy forces her to let go of Ted after a few seconds whenever he “touches” somebody else to daisy chain the demanifestation. Someone who is invisible and tries to manifest always becomes briefly visible first before becoming physical, allowing others a window of opportunity to react to their sudden appearance. An Emotional Field of a person benefiting from Darlene’s incorporealness would prevent them from manifesting inside of something, shunting them beside the thing, while an Emotional Field would also prevent Darlene from manifesting inside of someone. Certain abstractions can still affect someone that is demanifested. Strong enough electrical interference and certain magical means can force somebody to manifest. [b]Scheme Queen ⫻[/b] An Emotional Field blocks any kind of unwanted rooting around unless they're bearing the Heartbreaker curse. Ted can only link with people that he can see, and the link breaks if he is visually separated from them for more than an hour. [b]Damsel Indefinite ⫻[/b]Typically, the mental abstractions that don’t work on Darlene would be ones that attempt some kind of mind or emotion control. If Darlene was sealed she will remanifest by Ted after a minute. If Darlene was killed she will remanifest at her remains after a minute. When the Heartbreaker’s curse ends on a person, so does its protection. Over a short period of time a person succumbs to the effects that were kept in stasis by the curse: their immune system suddenly gets attacked by diseases that had been lying dormant for years, any sprains or deteriorating joints suddenly flare up, and the negative effects of aging hit at full force. While the Heartbreaker’s curse isn’t intended to kill someone, this rapid fall in health can be life-threatening. [b]WEAKNESSES ⫻[/b] (DO NOT FILL THIS OUT, I WILL PROVIDE IT FOR YOU) [/INDENT] [sup][b] Other[/b][/sup] [sub][sup]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/sup][/sub] [i]"Actually, President Ted’s got a pretty nice ring to it. Maybe once this is all sorted I’ll run for SAG-AFTRA office."[/i] [indent]Ted’s Counterpart Teddy is a State Senator, which is like a real Senator because nobody actually gives a shit if they go missing or drowned by mommy ocean. Teddy was stupid enough to think that he could become President, and Darlene was going to help him climb politically until he got into the White House. Judging by his party affiliation, it’s unlikely that Teddy got married to a kindergarten teacher who got reprimanded for turning a lesson on sharing into an anticapitalist rant. [list] [*]Ted’s favorite flicks are Rush Hour 2, John Wick 2, and Lethal Weapon 2. Teddy’s favorite movies are Rosemary’s Baby, Sound of Freedom, and Lethal Weapon 2. Darlene has never seen a movie, as she is both a magical construct and accurately pretending to be someone who is part of Gen Z. [*]Ted has real strong opinions on pickup trucks. Teddy has real strong opinions on “family values”. Darlene was never intended to be able to have actual opinions due to the nature of her being the creation of a curse and all, but she really thinks smoking looks cool and that maybe you should try it. [*]Ted knows it's wrong, but he actually prefers Kansas City BBQ over Texas BBQ. Teddy says he likes Texas BBQ, but he actually hasn’t had red meat ever since his doctor said it could cause a gout flare up. Darlene doesn’t eat food, but if you were to smoke something, you should really just smoke a cigarette, after all it’s just so relaxing. [*]Ted doesn’t smoke. Teddy does and also has been speaking with a lobbyist working for Philip Morris to open up a plant in Odessa. Darlene will go get you a pack right now, seriously, you look stressed. [*]You had a long day and deserve a break. [*]C’mon, one won’t kill ya. [*]Fine then, how about vaping? [/list] [/INDENT] [/hider]