Brian "Short-Fuse" Muller
{ "There's nothing a few words can't solve. Words and some good ol' plastic explosives!" }- General Characteristics -
Brian Muller
| {Nickname/Callsign} |Short-Fuse
| {Age} |35
| {Gender} |Male
| {Face Claim} |Clint Eastwood
| {Dialogue Color} |Red
| {Appearance} |For a man who's perhaps spent more time underground than on the surface, you might be surprised to see that Brian "Short-Fuse" looks more like a man and less like a mole. That however is mostly due to him having been more of a mercenary than a miner the past years. Brian can stand at 5'7" when fully stretched out, head up tall and chest out and all that, easily distinguised by the old military helmet on his head.
As for the rest of "Short-Fuse"'s appearance, his face bears the mark of hard labour, scars across his cheek and nose. His hair is usually dark blonde, though it is often mistaken for brown or black due to all the dirt, which isn't helped by its bushy nature and concealment under the helmet. His tired eyes are blue, his nose a little crooked after countless accidents. He sports what can be best explained as old military fatigues combined with satchels and bandoliers for ammunition, components and bombs.
- Psychological Profile -
You might ask why Brian's nickname and most used name is "Short-Fuse" out of all things, and that indeed is a good question. He himself claims it is because of past events, but others will say it is because of less physical attributes. Brian has the tendency of getting overly-excited and overly-aggrevated in situations that might call for more cool-minded thinking, both overlapping each other. Don't be surprised if he'll throw up his arms to welcome some stranger, or throw a bundle of dynamite at a small critter. His mind rarely works in small doses, rarely.
Then again there is that wide smile on his face that shows the more desirable side of him. Even for his few loose bolts, he's deep down a friendly man who keeps his friends close, his best friends closer and his enemies caved in a deep cave. If you're on his good side, you've got a friend for life who'll do pretty much everything for you. A little unhinged and nutty friend, but in the Apocalypse one really can't be picky, right?
| {Fears/Limitations} |His happy face might give one the impression that there's nothing that can make this man distraught. On the contrary, that smile hides over the many scars that the other's can't see, but are deeply woven into him and his life. Scars of pain and sorrow that simple things can bring him to tears. Reminders of lost lives or horrible events that he won't speak of without serious persuasion. But what good would that do?
One such thing is water; not just your normal puddle of water, but when you can stand knee-deep in it. That scares him more than most things after having nearly drowned on several occations in various mines. The darkness, warped sounds and painful filling of his lungs has scared him for life of it happening again. Good thing they won't have to cross an ocean any time soon, right?
One might also add a fear from giant ants that frightened him as a child and attacked him as an adult, and he'll do anything to either get as far away as possible from one or blow any ant he sees from the face of the Earth!
| {Place of Origin} |Brian Short-Fuse used to have a place he called home. It was down in the deep south, what once used to be Texas to be exact in a small settlement located near an old mining complex. That was many years ago however, and since regaining his freedom from slavery he felt he was rootless, causing him to wander even more before he eventually joined Talon Company. It was a decent enough way of living, giving him food on the table and people to call friends. But more than that, they gave him a reason to blow shit up again.
| {Background} |Where does the story of a bit nutty demolition expert start? Why is he in Necropolies? How did he end up there? Why is he so attached to explosives? To use the old cliché, we have to go back to the very beginning, when Brian still wasn't called Short-Fused. Well, not too long before that at least.
We have to begin in what used to be called the state of Texas in the southern United States. Well it is probably stilled called Texas now, it certainly was called that when Brian was born and grew up down there. He was born to a pair of average parents who owned a little outside of a town. The farm itself isn't what is interesting, but rather the town; Goldhill. Before there was a settlement to speak of, there was a large mining complex resting beside a hill, long abandoned. Brian was told that the mine layed untouched for many years after the Great War, but was eventually turned into a mining-town when it was discovered the mine still had coal in it. Now there wasn't any gold in it, contrary to what the name might suggest, but coal was still worth something.
Problem was that the mines were best suited for workers of small size, and that meant short adults and children were the largest share of the miners. That included Briad. From an early age, he can't remember for the life of him remember how old he was, Brian was sent to work in the coal mines of Goldhill. The labour was hard and dangerous, especially for the youngest ones. There were many a times when Brian was sure he wasn't going to make it out alive. One such incident involved him being sent down to one of the deepest layers of the mine to retrive a forgotten lamp. All went okay enough, only a few bruises and cuts, until he saw the lamp still lighting up the end of a tunnel. Running forth to grab the lamp and get out as quickly as possible. Brian didn't pay attention where his feet was going, or if there was a floor to land his feet at all, because suddenly he felt the world collaps underneath and envelope him in cold, dark water.
Brian survived the incident, but only because of a veteran miner happening to cross path with a child drowning in mining water. And Brian never trusted water like that ever again, but the old miner he found something he didn't think to find down in those dark mines; a friend. He became what one could call a guardian of sorts for Brian, keeping watch over him and teaching him all the tricks he knew. He even gave the young miner an old and dirtied book that he himself couldn't read, but hoped Brian would have more use for. Lucky for Brian he had been taught to read by his parents, one of the few in town. And even for lucky for him the book was about creating explosives. And he loved it.
Many years down the line Brian, now known by his nickname "Short-Fuse" after his initial trials with controlled explosions down in the mines, was one of the most experienced miners in Goldhill. He was respected too, although he had gotten a few loose screws after all those explosions a tad too close for comfort. At the age of 25 he had a good life in front of him, perhaps even a girlfriend he put up with his shenanigans. The future looked promising for all in Goldhill. And oh boy where they wrong.
It was at that time that their little town was attacked by raiders. Bad raiders, vicious and too many for the town guard to hold back. Brian himself was in the midst of the desperate defense of Goldhill, armed with his trusted shotgun and an seemingly endless supply of dynamite. Perhaps the raiders wanted to get a slow and painful revenge on the guy that blew their own guys to pieces, or maybe they already then knew that this guy was worth it? Regardless of their motivations, Brian was one of the few people who ended up being taken away as a slave. Most either got away from the slaughter or was thrown into it, but he and several others were taken away.
Short-Fuse, the only name he was called by now, was taken north to be sold and re-sold to various groups of slavers. And this was when Short-Fuse really began to live up to his name, growing a distinct divide between his good and bad side. Being a slave was not easy, that's for certain, but his roughened body and knowledge of mining and explosives made him a slave a few steps up the proverbial foodchain. He was even made to lead a small group of slaves in an old mine far north of Texas. That was a stupid idea on the slavers' part. Armed with no shotgun, but a enormous supply of explosives and hatred for those who wipped him, hit him, abused and used him. It was bloody, but after years in captiviy Short-Fuse...Brian was once again a free man.
But a free man does not a happy man; Brian was further away from what he had once called his home than he could imagine, and without any friends he ended up wandering for a while. To where he didn't know, but he did fear roaming south due to the slavers he hadn't brutally blown to tiny pieces still being alive there. That meant that north was the way to go. And so he did for many years until he decided to settle in with a group of mercenaries that welcomed him somewhat reluctantly at first. But once they learned that his explosive side could be used for their own good, he stuck with them. And he was happy to be with such company that allowed him explosives again, which will be interesting to see how he uses on their way to Necropolis.
- Survival Characteristics -
Explosives expert: Short-Fuse has more or less mastered the art of making, using and disarming explosives over the years. Starting with guesstimating the right lengt of fuse on a stick of dynamite (Hence his nickname), he's evolved into being able to gather and make the needed ingrendients of many forms of explosives. That involves knowing how to use them efficiently and how to disarm them; Frag mines, grenades, dynamite, C4, makeshift IED's and small nuclear bombs, you name it. And of course this skill can be used outside of combat. You never know when you need to disarm an atomic bomb or blow up a bridge.
"I bet I can squeeze through that with ease. 5 caps, deal?": A combination of squeezing through confined spaces as a child and malnourishment as a slave, Brian has gotten good as getting into spaces that are too tight for most people. That includes the ability to climb in said tight-spots, and to bend his body more so that most people, which would certainly have given him a space in a pre-war circus.
"No, I'm sure it was this way. That rock is not shaped like brahmin-dung like the other, trust me.": Working in the confinements of the deep mines of Goldhill, Short-Fuse got good at navigation the tight and seemingly identical tunnels down there. He is able to notice small landmarks in order to remember where they have been before, and a somewhat good instinct on which direction they should go next.
"Sure I like explosives, but one should know when tools are important. To make more explosives of course!": Yes Brian knows how to use a wide variaty of tools, many of which he's come across over the years and some that he just guesses how to use. He prefers a good ol' stick of TNT, but knows when a hammer or screw driver is better.
| {Possessions} |- Cherry bombs, two lunch boxes, fuses, various miscellaneous items for creating bombs.
- Belt holding hammer, screwdriver, pliers, etc.
- Food and water
- Lighter
- Googles and thick gloves
- Flashlight
- Wire-cutting knife
- Spool of wire
- Detonator
And here is where any skill your character may have that is either directly or indirectly related to combat would go.
Demolition Expert II: Now of course not using explosives in combat does have it advantages; less chance of blowing people to smithereens and bringing down the whole building on you. And Short-Fuse accknowledges that. But frankly he feels experienced enough to know what he's doing. If a shotgun doesn't work, why not use the rest of the arsenal? Besides if you don't run away from incoming grenades or a big bomb, you probably deserve to die in pieces.
Shotgun Bonanza!: There aren't many weapons Short-Fuse has used (besides explosives), but the one he knows every way in and out of his the shotgun. He's a crack shot with it, able to plant fairly accurate shots from the hip.
"Come on you pansy." Brian has felt pain before, quite a lot actually. Being a bit too close to explosions, falling debris in mines, fistfights with drunk miners or getting hit by his slave-owners, Brian has gotten used to more pain than most people would prefer. That's not to say he isn't physically affected by his injuries, but he'll more likely than not shrug it off and keep on fighting. He's had worse.
"Anticepate this, you gook!": Let us be honest about one thing; Short-Fuse is far from the most stable person in the room. And that's exactly why you really can't be ready for what he's going to do next. For all you know he'll give you a hug, shoot your legs off or blow up the whole room you're all in. Or he might do something completely different, who knows?
Fist-fighting: There was plenty of fist-fighting back in the Goldhill mines. The bar too...a lot of fists flying around in general to be honest. Perhaps that's why Brian knows how to throw a punch?
| {Gear} |All combat and survival gear, as well as anything that they would consistently wear on their person.
- 12 Gauge Hunting Shotgun
- 12 gauge shell-boxes
- Military helmet
- Combat armour
- 15 sticks of dynamite
- 5 fragmentation grenades
- One bottlecap mine
- 5 fragmentation mines
- Gas Mask with filters
- 5 Stimpaks
- 5 Rad-X
- 4 Rad-a-way
Member
FourtyTwo
rocketrobie2
