T H O R E A U
"Mother had a saying, something about how sometimes a favourable outcome requires a few ill-advised actions."
J O S E P H E D W A R D T H O R E A U â—¼ 0 2 / 0 8 / 1 9 9 4 ( 2 2 ) â—¼ M A L E â—¼ H E T E R O S E X U A L
"Yeah I know, I don't look like a Thoreau."
//STATS:â—¼ HEIGHT | 5'-10"
â—¼ WEIGHT | 164 lbs
â—¼ BUILD | Athletic
â—¼ EYE COLOUR | Deep blue outer iris with an inner ice blue iris
â—¼ HAIR COLOUR | Dark brown with hints of ruddy auburn
â—¼ ETHNICITY | Caucasian
//DESCRIPTION:Joseph has a slender frame that is covered in compacted muscle built up from years of exercising and toning his body. His torso and legs are built like someone who regularly competes in marathons and free running competitions while his arms and shoulders are built more like that of a boxer mixed with a martial artist. Joseph prides himself on being more balanced in his physique and as such has kept his flexibility and somewhat slender frame despite his well chiseled biceps and abdominal. Joseph is especially known for his keen piercing blue eyes. Deep blue with flecks of icy blue strewn throughout, Joseph's eyes are known for being able to look right through someone as though he is staring into their soul. Joseph has deep brown hair with strands of gold and auburn acting as natural highlights, these are most visible in bright light where as in dim and barely lit places, Joseph's hair can seem to be almost black. He keeps his hair anywhere from a short to medium length, often grooming it into various ways.
Joseph's general attire ranges from long sleeve mock tees to hoodies usually. Always paired with straight leg or boot-cut, dark-wash jeans. In collaboration with these, Joseph prefers to wear semi loose fitting tops in an effort to hide his more chiseled physique so as not to draw too much attention to himself. To that end he often will wear a t-shirt paired with a hoodie and jacket, or a long-sleeved shirt adorned with a hood and a jacket. Depending on the weather though Joseph may wear just a t-shirt, or a rolled up long sleeved mock tee. His outfit is almost always complimented with a leather jacket.​
"Words don't define us, actions do."
During the height of the Mavericks' career Joseph's grandfather, Forrest Emerson Thoreau was a officer with the Larissa Lilith Police Department, often providing support to the Mavericks themselves. Proud to call himself an ally to the Mavericks, Forrest often told a young Joseph tales of the daring heroics the vigilantes had once brought to Larissa and its surrounding areas. However, Joseph's father, Silas Edward Thoreau didn't see eye to eye with his own father and while Forrest had been aiding the Mavericks, Silas had been away at Harvard earning his law degree and developing a deep rooted seed of hatred against those who took the law into their own hands. Upon Silas' return to Larissa, the ambitious young lawyer set his eyes on the gross abuse of the law he considered the Mavericks to be. Appealing to the local district attorney, it was Silas who instigated the city's zero tolerance policy towards vigilantes and ultimately caused the Mavericks to vanish from history. Due in part to his contribution to the city's new anti-vigilante stance, Silas became a valued asset with numerous law firms trying to recruit the young hotshot. Having his pick of the crop, Silas settled in with Campbell and Reid quickly rising to partner over three short years. Eyed by the District Attorney's office, Silas was scouted to take over the position of state prosecutor. Settling into his new career with ease, Silas eventually met and impregnated a young woman by the name of Samantha Russells. Desperate to keep the bastard child out of public headlines, Silas married Samantha in a private civil ceremony. Nine months later, Joseph Edward Thoreau was born to his loving mother and career driven father.
Growing up distant from his father, Joseph spent most of his time with his mother and grandfather. His mother provided the love and care every growing boy needed while Forrest filled the void left by Silas and taught Joseph many numerous life skills. Drawing upon his years of experience as a former police officer, Forrest taught Joseph to listen to the beat of the city, to hear its voice and learn its rhythms. Due to the teachings of his grandfather, Joseph grew to a strong set of street-smarts, taught to remain constantly aware of his surroundings and how to read those within them.
But Joseph found he had trouble connecting to the city, especially on its crowded streets. Constantly overwhelmed, he found the only time he could clearly hear the rhythm of the city was from high above the street. Looking down on the world, Joseph learned how to pick apart the details and eventually found his groove. The city became his playground and Joseph would sneak out of the house to play among the roof tops. It was from this height that the corruption growing in Larissa first became clear to Joseph, he could see the city was sick and that the illness was only spreading. It was here that the idea to follow in his grandfather's footsteps was laid in Joseph's head, within him a fire had lit and the flames of passion ignited a need to help the people of Larissa, a need he wouldn't act on until quite a few years later.
Originally traversing them by climbing fire escape after fire escape before eventually growing bold enough to jump from roof to roof. From there Joseph's skills only continued to expand as Joseph learned to move more efficiently from place to place, learning the city from a whole new angle. At least he would have until his mother, Samantha caught Joseph sneaking in through a window one dark Larissa night. Never before had the boy seen his mother so scared as she checked him over for any sign of injury, acting as though he had been out re-enacting the stories of the Mavericks. Making him swear to never use the roof tops again, Joseph was literally grounded from that point on. But he learned to adapt, find new ways to hear the city as he moved through the crowded streets and eventually behind the wheel as his grandfather taught him how to drive and he succeeded in gaining his driver's license.
Despite never being the brightest in his class, Joseph never struggled through school. Maintaining above average grades and achieving honors upon graduation, Joseph had a wide selection of post-secondary institutions to choose from along with several sizable scholarships. However money had never been a concern for the Thoreau's thanks to Joseph's distant father. Deciding to take inspiration from his grandfather, Joseph turned his back on the numerous high brow institutions that had sent him accepted letters before deciding to pursue his education at the local community college. Enrolling for EMT certification, Joseph completed course after course until finding a career with the Larissa General Hospital as a paramedic. Never had Joseph felt so much pride as the day his grandfather shook his hand to congratulate the young man upon his first assignment. Silas however was disgusted with Joseph's career choices, his attitude towards Joseph causing friction between both Joseph and himself as well as Samantha and he. Combined with his constant distant behavior, Silas' negative attitude towards Joseph was the straw that broke the camel's back and Samantha and Silas divorced.
Having moved out during his time at college, the split did little to upset Joseph's living arrangements. His mother however relocated from the Olympus district to a country home in the more rural district of Mount Nysa. Making time to visit his mother over the weeks that followed, Joseph was rather confused by how little the divorce seemed to bother her. Silas on the other hand was working hard to keep the divorce out of his public image least it reflect poorly upon him.
On the night of the blackout, Joseph was awoken from his slumber in order to respond to an evacuation order at the Michaels' Nuclear Facility. Arriving at the scene just as the explosion rocked the area, Joseph's ambulance was rendered completely powerless. Nonetheless, Joseph wasn't deterred as he rushed the scene helping the wounded to safety until other first responders arrived. Working to clear the scene, Joseph worked into overtime, eventually being relieved after nearly eighteen long hours.
â–¼ A B I L I T I E S / S K I L L S:
"Time to level the playing field."
//ABILITIES:â–¼ ABILITY AUGMENTATIONâ—¼ STAGE 01 | Joseph possesses the ability to enhance the abilities of other gifted individuals. By laying his hands on another who possesses extraordinary abilities, Joseph can increase the potency of their abilities beyond what they are currently capable of. This increase only lasts as long as Joseph remains in contact with the ability's host and its effects almost immediately dissipate as soon as Joseph lets go. At this stage, Joseph can only boost the abilities of another in one aspect meaning if he increased the range of an attack, he could not increase its potency.
â—¼ STAGE 02 | As Joseph's powers continue to grow, his abilities are further able to increase those of another. The next growth in his powers allows Joseph to amplify all aspects of another's abilities. This means he increases the range, potency, duration and any other necessary aspects of the ability in question. Furthermore Joseph no longer requires physical contact with those he's familiar with. Joseph is able to form empathetic links with those who he's close to allowing him to amplify their abilities while they're nearby. However as with his early abilities, the effects are only temporary, wearing off an hour or so after Joseph terminates the link.
â—¼ STAGE 03 | At Joseph's peak, he is able to evolve the abilities of others to their fullest potential. This could lead to any number of outcomes and may even hurt the host as their powers become too unstable to control or contain. This effect can last for upwards of a day depending on Joseph's bond with the host, those he has an empathetic connection with will find themselves empowered longer than another gifted individual who Joseph has just encountered. That said, Joseph's ability no longer requires physical contact and can operate solely on a field of effect although he can choose his targets. Physically touching another increases the duration of the evolution and its potency. While the field of effect can amplify abilities and with sustained effect can evolve the host, physical touch from Joseph accelerates the process, making evolution almost instant.
â—¼ ABILITY NEGATION â—¼ STAGE 01 | Joseph's secondary ability is the ability to negate the abilities of another gifted individual. When in physical contact with another, Joseph can choose whether to enhance or negate their abilities. Instinctively his body will always go with negate out of self preservation meaning that if Joseph were touched or assaulted while asleep or unconscious, his body will negate the abilities of his assailant. The negation of the host abilities only is sustained so long as the host is in physical contact with Joseph. Once physical contact is terminated, their abilities are returned within seconds.
â—¼ STAGE 02 | As Joseph's ability grows, he'll be able to emit a small blast which can temporarily stun and negate the abilities of another. This blast will only negate abilities for several minutes, acting like a small taser blast. Repeated blasts will build up the duration of the negation but only to the extent of three hours. After this the host will recover unless Joseph incurs another attack upon them. Physical contact with Joseph has increased potency now, immediately rendering a gifted individual powerless for several hours.
â—¼ STAGE 03 | At Joseph's peak potency, his ability will be able to be projected in a field of effect, capable of rendering all gifted individuals in a set radius powerless. Furthermore, his offensive abilities will increase from a simple blast, to a prolonged beam or a wider-spread attack capable of targeting multiple foes. At this stage he is able to render most gifted individuals powerless for several days and may even be capable of stripping another of their abilities completely if prolonged physical contact is held.
//SKILLS:â—¼ MEDICAL TRAINING | As an EMT, Joseph is able to treat numerous injuries and ailment in the field. In addition to this, Joseph can sustain the life of a person, postponing death in the events of life threatening injuries until they can reach proper treatment. Notably, Joseph's skills are hinged on having the proper supplies although he can be pragmatic and use whatever is at hand when necessary.
â—¼ PARKOUR | Although rusty, Joseph taught himself how to parkour during his youth before being stopped by his mother. His body still remembers the movements and he has since stayed in good physical condition both for personal interest and due to his chosen career.
â—¼ DRIVING | Although Joseph isn't by any means a stunt driver, he is capable of driving most vehicles, including large vehicles such as ambulances. Even with such a large vehicle, Joseph is able to steer it an a manner that would be considered agile, capable of weaving in and out of traffic nearly as efficiently as the average motorcycle driver.
â—¼ SELF DEFENSE | In a city as dangerous as Larissa, one knows better than to work on the streets without some sort of defense training. While attending college, Joseph attended several self defense classes in anticipation of picking up patients in Larrissa's seedier areas.
//LIMITATIONS:Joseph's most notable limitation is the lack of effect on himself, he can neither enhance nor negate his own abilities. Likewise he can not use both of his abilities at the same, Joseph has to choose whether to enhance or negate constantly, he can't lay a hand on an ally to enhance while firing a negation blast at a foe. Furthermore, the effects of his abilities are not permanent, except in an extreme case when regarding his negation ability.
Range of effect is also a major limitation, as even at his fullest potential, Joseph only has a maximum area effect of a twenty five foot radius. His abilities are most effective with physical contact which combined with his lack of physical enhancement requires Joseph to constantly be pragmatic enough to get close to a foe.
//WEAKNESSES:Joseph has no physical enhancements of his own, meaning he's vulnerable to every conventional form of harm. His abilities can be interrupted by a strike to his nervous system such as electrical shock from a tazer. A sustained electrical field, even at a harmless voltage would interrupt Joseph's abilities enough to render them useless.
â–¼ M O T I V A T I O N / O B J E C T I V E:
"The city is hurting, it's time someone helped her."
Ever since he was young, Joseph has felt a desire to help others. This need was only further honed by his grandfather who was a retired member of the Larissa-Lilith Police Department. As an officer who had served during the Golden Age of the Mavericks, Forrest believed in heroes and Joseph inherited this belief but Larissa was long past the age of heroes and crime was beginning to resurface without any opposition. Taking to the streets as a member of Larissa's paramedics, Joseph decided to help in the best way he could by tending to those hurt in the rapidly growing crime wave.
"It's the people waiting for me at home that keep me going each and every day."
//SUPPORTING CAST:â–¼ ALLIESâ—¼ BERGERON, MILES | TBD
â—¼ PLATEADO, ARTURO | TBD
â—¼ PRINCE, EVELYN | TBD
â—¼ WILLIAMS, ANDREW | TBD
â–¼ FRIENDSâ—¼ THOREAU, SILAS | Joseph's father and Larissa's current District Attorney.
â—¼ THOREAU, FORREST | Joseph's grandfather and father figure. Forrest and Joseph have a bond that Silas is incredibly jealous of both due to his distance from his father and the attention stolen from his son.
◼ THOREAU, SAMANTHA (neé RUSSELLS) | Joseph's mother and one time lover to the billionaire Charles Micheals. Samantha had previously been involved in a whirlwind romance with the billionaire before being scorned and sent into the arms of Silas Thoreau. Finding herself with child, Samantha and Thoreau married giving birth to their son Joseph.
â—¼ TBD | Test
â–¼ ENEMIESâ—¼ N/A | TBD
//STOMPING GROUNDSâ—¼ SOUTH BEACH | Owning a condominium in the South Beach District of Larissa, Joseph spends most of his off time on the beach, catching a few waves and mingling among the night time parties.
//PARAPHERNALIAâ—¼ N/A | TBD
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