HHShetland

X-Men: The Grinder Chronicles

It was quite obvious that the Freshman that Sumat had just met had no intention of stopping his questions any time soon. Sumat never knew how to properly react when this happened. On the one hand, the questions being asked were all perfectly valid, nothing stupid like 'do you eat Mice' or 'do you find Cobras sexy'? But on the other hand, too many questions in a row, from the same person, and formed from a false image of him, was tiresome. He already knew where it was going to go. The child would say 'why did you come here if you don't particularly care for your powers?', and he'd say 'I already told you' and then they'd respond 'That's boring, how dare you be different from what I imagined!' and then that'd be the end of that.

It was with great relief, then, that another Freshman approached his table before the first had the opportunity to speak. What made it infinitely better was that he actually complimented him on his dress sense. That was just a bonus, though; could have been an insult and he'd still have been glad his efforts were noticed.

"Many thanks." He replied to the new figure, putting on a smile of his own (inadvertantly exposing his fangs), and chuckling slightly to emphasise the upcoming sarcasm. "I now know that my efforts were not in vain."

As is custom when meeting a new person that gives you a positive impression of themselves, he took a look at the man, noticing that there weren't many ethnic minorities in the hall at the moment. He wasn't sure if he himself counted, since his own ethnicity was hidden by all the green scales and the accent.

"You needn't worry about my funds, though." He continued, in regards to the 'must have cost a fortune' remark, and brushing his collar slightly with one of his top hands. "I have my sources."

"Yeah, y'know he's the-"

"AHEM." Sumat felt it fit to cut off the other Freshman before he ruined this so-far decent social encounter, combining it with a wave of his lower left hand in front of the other man's mouth. Hopefully he'd get the hint.

Before he could continue, he noticed, at the corner of his eye, a great mass of heat heading in the direction of the entrance, combined with a lot of vibration in the same direction. He took a cursory glance over there and noticed that people were congregating around some... injured person. This made him grunt under his breath; what was it about accidents that everyone saw fit to gawk at?

He decided he'd simply ignore it, and hoped this new face would do the same.

"My name is Sumat." He said, his native accent briefly flaring up when he said his own name. He pulled his chair in with his lower arms, resting his upper arms on the table and leaning forward as a gesture of inquisition. This new face was giving off good vibes. "This gentleman and I were just discussing why the people here have... well, come here. Tell me, why did you choose to study here, mister...?" He trailed off, gesturing for the other man to finish his sentence for him.

X-Men: The Grinder Chronicles

@WanderingSpirit

I'm a little curious about your guy. If this library they have access to is located in their own mind, then why do they disappear instead of going into a little coma while they're reading? And if this library holds all the knowledge in the universe (that's the idea I got from reading the power summary, so I might be wrong), why did he even bother going to the Grinder? Or regular School, for that matter? I don't know, it strikes me as the sort of power that would turn someone into a near-omniscient being with a mindset remarkably alien to most people. That, or they'd go mad from being unable to comprehend the vast amount of knowledge available to them. Or maybe both. I get the feeling I've read it wrong, though. Be sure to correct me if I have.

And another thing, the 'Words of Power' ability; is there any restriction on what exactly he can make happen with these words? Because, energy draining or not, if there's no restriction he could easily say 'I want my enemy to drop dead', or something like that.

Forgive me if I'm sounding rude, that's not my intention at all. I like the 'library in one's head' idea, actually. I just think it might need tweaking. Though I'm not the GM, so I can't dictate anything.

X-Men: The Grinder Chronicles

@King Kindred

Oh yes, that's what I meant.

X-Men: The Grinder Chronicles

@King Kindred

On the topic of roommates, I was thinking of having Sumat in the same dorm as Alex, if only because their opposing attitudes on their upcoming learning experience could make for some juicy conversation.

X-Men: The Grinder Chronicles

Sumat Sajak may have been a four-armed reptilian thing from the slums of Ludhiana, but years of life and homeschooling in the upper-class splendour of South-East England had made him a man of respectability. Thus, when he had first arrived at his new (and somewhat undersized, but he could cope with that) dorm room, he had spent a good half hour making himself presentable for the official introduction to the University.

He would have looked rather out-of-place anyway, but this decision apparently hadn't helped him much. He had come to the introduction talk dressed in a smart black suit; custom-made, of course, to accommodate his extra limbs. Due to his cold-blooded biology, this was something he reserved only for when it was necessary. But soon after arrival, he was disappointed to find that most of the new students; and all of them probably younger than him; were swaggering about in skinny jeans and band t-shirts, amongst other things. Really, he might as well have not bothered.

And that wasn't all. While he certainly found himself admiring most of the faculty's dedication to their herculean task of integrating mutants into society, from what he could tell from the students' conduct soon after they'd finished, as he sat at one of the tables, sticking out like a sore thumb... it seemed to him most of the students were more interested in developing their powers than actually trying to integrate themselves into society, which alternately made him grunt in annoyance and chuckle at their naivete.

He especially didn't like the look of that punkish-looking girl who saw fit to burst in uninvited and start causing havoc for no discernible reason. At least the staff were quick to deal with her, and alert her to her hopelessly unkempt state in the process. Once that had been dealt with, he simply chose to sit and debate over whether he should get a drink or not, occasionally shuffling about to properly fit his tail through the hole that the back of the chair mercifully had.

"Uh... hey." A rather nervous-sounding fellow Freshman uttered into his ear... or he would, if he had ears in the conventional sense.

Sumat turned his head to the left, were the sound had originated from. Of course, since the room was so lively and filled with people, he could see heat all over the place, and his vibration sense was of no use to him. Good thing the fellow freshman's voice was loud.

"Hello." Sumat replied in his impeccable RP accent. To do otherwise would be too rude for him.

"Huh... thought you'd sound different." The other Freshman, casually-dressed like most of the others, seemed to blurt out unintentionally.

"...Well, what did you think I would sound like?" Sumat asked him, in as friendly a tone as he could muster. Valuable skill when you looked like him.

"Well, uh... you're the Raja Naga! World Mutant Wrestling? I was one of those weirdos who rooted for you when I wasn't s'posed to!"

Sumat internally sighed in irritation. It had been a few weeks since someone recognised him from the last pay-per-view before he retired, and he had hoped it would be the last. At least he got out before he had the chance to become ridiculously famous.

"That was five months ago, sir." He said, bluntly. "If you are indeed a fan of the spectacle, as you imply, you should know I retired soon afterwards."

"Uh... yeah, sure, I knew that. But I kinda thought that you..."

"You didn't seriously think that was real, did you?" Sumat cut him off, albeit softly so. Another advantage of his appearance; most people would have difficulty cutting someone off with a soft register. "There's no shame in that, it is very convincingly engineered, after all..."

"Oh, no! I knew it was all an act! I mean, heh, if I thought it was real I'd have feared for my life sittin' here, heheh... uhh, it's just, y'know, I wasn't expecting your voice to be so, uh..."

"-British?"

"Well... yes, that. So the whole 'India' thing was just an act as well, right?"

Sumat chuckled slightly; he was finding this young man kind of cute, in a naive and innocent sort of way. Probably wasn't, in all likelihood, but still.

"Easy mistake to make, but no. You see, I learnt my English in the UK."

"Ohhhhhh... so what are you doing here? You're like, ten years older than most of us."

"To learn." Sumat answered duly, clasping both his pairs of his hands together. "History, Literature, things firmly embedded in the, ahem, popular idea of what greatness means, if you'll forgive me for being so pretentious."

"Oh." The other Freshman said, apparently disappointed. "What about your powers?"

"Hmph." Sumat couldn't help but make that noise. He should have seen it coming, given what everyone else was chatting about. Sumat then took it as a good opportunity to clue the young man into the phase he was going through.

"I've known how to use my powers since I was six. Didn't really get me anywhere, that's for sure. Don't get me wrong, Sports Entertainment has its place, and if you're a fan, good for you." He paused and took a deep breath. "It's just not for me anymore."

X-Men: The Grinder Chronicles

From my experience, before. Of course, this particular university might work differently from reality.

That reminds me, do the characters take different courses based on prior choice? (For the non-superpower-related part of the learning experience, that is).

X-Men: The Grinder Chronicles

Sumat Ibras Akkarmoon Sajak (ਸ਼ਉਮਤ ਇਬ੍ਰਸ ਅਕ੍ਕਰ੍ਮੂਨ ਸਜਕ), Raja Naga by HHShetland (and yes, I copy-pasted that name...)

@Dark Eternity

I have a thing for long names, I've noticed. But I wasn't expecting you to insert the name in Punjabi as well. :V

PS, you might want to edit the copied app so that it says HHShetland (me) drew the image, so no-one gets confused.

X-Men: The Grinder Chronicles

I already ran this CS past Eternity and it was all good, but I'm going to post it here anyway. For the sake of evaluation and whatnot.
-------------------------

Name: Sumat Ibras Akkarmoon Sajak (ਸ਼ਉਮਤ ਇਬ੍ਰਸ ਅਕ੍ਕਰ੍ਮੂਨ ਸਜਕ)
Alias: Raja Naga
Age: 28
Gender: Male

Sumat is one of the unfortunate (or fortunate, depending on who you ask) mutants who possesses a very obvious physical difference from a normal human. Broadly speaking, his mutation makes him resemble a muscular, seven-to-eight-foot-tall four-armed Snake-Human hybrid, as shown below:

Appearance

The clothes he is wearing in the above image is his combat attire; he usually just wears a pair of cargo trousers (with a hole for his tail, of course). He can't wear proper shoes, and even if he could, he would never cover his toes (see below for why). He also tends to forgo shirts a lot of the time, because... well, he has four arms. He sometimes wears tank tops, though.

PS: I drew that picture myself, so you'll have to use your imagination to make up for the errors.

Powers:
Enhanced Strength: This may sound straightforward, but it is important to note that most of his extra strength is granted by his extra arms. If he purposely restricted himself to just one pair of arms, his strength would be on par with a non-superpowered champion weightlifter. So while he could pick up a car, for instance, it'd take some actual effort; he can't do silly things like rip fire hydrants out of the ground effortlessly, or fling about trucks willy-nilly. It should also be noted that his extra arms require a lot more energy than the average person, which means his craving for food is greater than most people's.
Enhanced Dexterity: This is more of a Required Secondary Power that enables him to multitask with his extra arms without tangling them up.
Snakelike Senses: As a result of his Snake DNA, he perceives the world in a similar manner as a Snake. He has a keen sense of smell, provided by his tongue, and can detect even slight vibrations on the ground and in the air with his sensitive toes (which is why he hardly ever covers them). He also possesses an organ hidden beside each nostril that enables him to 'see' heat, in the form of infrared radiation; including the body heat of warm-blooded creatures. Objects hotter than room/ambient temperature appear to him in sharper focus and leave a distinct, trailing outline which glows in the dark; the effect becoming more pronounced the hotter something is. If blinded, he could still navigate using his heat and vibration senses. As a drawback to all of this, his normal eyesight is rather poor; even with glasses on, he'd have trouble reading a presentation on the other end of a ten-row-long lecture hall.
Venom: It may take some work to bite a resisting target, but contained within his mouth are retractable fangs which contain a potent neurotoxin. It takes a particularly extended dose to kill somebody quickly, but even smaller doses may lead to severe brain damage, including epilepsy or dementia. Sumat prefers not to use his venom unless his life depends on it.
Skin Regeneration (AKA Moulting): Not so much a power as it is a necessary evil, Sumat occasionally has to shed his skin. He tends to get noticeably more irritable when this happens.

Bio: Born on the Indian side of Punjab to an impoverished and illiterate family, Sumat's mutations lead a few of the devout locals, including his own parents, to consider him a real-life Naga, and a potential avatar of one of the Gods of Hinduism. His arrival caused considerable uproar amongst the locals; as Naga are considered nature spirits capable of bringing both fertility and natural disaster, many were considering dropping him off outside the city limits to avoid the risk of a disaster, while others were keen on keeping him around. The debate was ended for them once news of Sumat's birth spread beyond the slums of Ludhiana and he appeared on Indian national TV. Sumat's family began to hide him away, but he was eventually discovered by a man who owned a popular Circus. The man offered Sumat's family over five million Rupees to buy off the now-five-year-old Mutant as a sideshow attraction. Despite his mother's objections, his father found the offer too tempting and accepted.

The living conditions at the circus were barely better than the slums, and his 'owners' demanded that he exercise frequently so he could perform crowd-pleasing feats of strength. Luckily for him, he was bought off again three years later, this time by a wealthy British-Indian Philanthropist who sought to raise him as a normal person. He moved to the UK with his new adopted father, who set about giving him a proper education, but was also forced to keep him largely isolated from the public, for they, too, would no doubt turn him into a sideshow again.

Ultimately, Sumat learnt most of the basics, including learning to write and speak English fluently (and with an impeccable accent, too). But his experiences back home had lead him to believe that he could only really achieve success as a sideshow attraction, and that 'mutant equality' was a PC lie. Thus, he moved to the United States... and became a Pro Wrestler, under the monstrous, boastful persona of 'The Raja Naga'. He had always kept up his exercise regimen since he left the Circus, so raw strength was in no short supply for him.

Despite, naturally, being the new 'Monster' on the scene and always being set up as the villain to destroy all who cross him but eventually be taken down by the hero, Sumat never really cared, as it was a living and that was all that mattered. As time wore on, however, he came to believe that maybe his adopted father had a point, that he was wasting his teachings, and that he was destined for greater things. So, as soon as the latest championship was over, he retired from Wrestling and appealed to the Grinder to enrol as a mature student, determined to act on his epiphany.

X-Men: The Grinder Chronicles

So if he were, say, injected with a deadly neurotoxin, would he inherit the ability to inject the antidote to said neurotoxin into himself? That could prove interesting.

I say this because I already made my CS but I PM'd it directly to Eternity, so... yeah. There is neurotoxin involved.

X-Men: The Grinder Chronicles

You know, I don't know much about X-Men, but this RP seems like it might be something I could get into; I have a character that could fit in well here, I think. I have some questions, though.

First, what's your stance on mature students? (I.e. students older than 20?) I assume you can get them here, since you get them in real universities; I've met one student at mine who's at least over 40.

Secondly, how much do you expect from us post-wise? Just to be thorough.