Antlers
Pirouette
GreenGrenade
shylarah
Eddie Brock
Supermaxx
Captain Uni
Sep
AnciekW E N D I G O
E L W O O D M A L I C E E T - D O W D ◼ O C T O B E R ' 9 7 ( 2 0 ) ◼ M A L E ◼ H E L L I O N
"I'm still learning how to...talk to people. The supernatural...comes second."
▼ A P P E A R A N C E:
"I can look kind of...intense. It's not..on purpose.."
//STATS:
◼ HEIGHT | 5'11"
◼ WEIGHT | 121lbs
◼ BUILD | Lean. Elwood could stand to gain a few pounds.
◼ HAIR COLOR | Jet black.
◼ EYE COLOR | Deep brown.
//DESCRIPTION:
◼ WEIGHT | 121lbs
◼ BUILD | Lean. Elwood could stand to gain a few pounds.
◼ HAIR COLOR | Jet black.
◼ EYE COLOR | Deep brown.
//DESCRIPTION:
Elwood's minimalist, monochrome fashion sense is self-tailored to understate (or perhaps underscore) the unique peculiarities of his facial structure afforded to him by his mixed-race heritage - Egyptian on his father's side, and Native American on his father's. His sharp cheekbones and large eyes give him a naturally piercing, inqusitive stare, and many people have felt uncomfortable under his gaze, as if he were silently unearthing all of their secrets or, more accurately, sizing them up for a meal.
Due to his pre-existing condition, Elwood does tend to shy away from much of the social interaction his day-to-day offers him, seceding from others as his anxiety and possession overruns him - as such, his body language and general posture is nearly always reserved and defensive. There are very few people he is open with, and no one he completely relaxes around.
Due to his pre-existing condition, Elwood does tend to shy away from much of the social interaction his day-to-day offers him, seceding from others as his anxiety and possession overruns him - as such, his body language and general posture is nearly always reserved and defensive. There are very few people he is open with, and no one he completely relaxes around.
▼ B I O G R A P H Y:
"I don't like talking about...anything. Myself especially."
'In North American folklore, the Wendigo is a ravenous monster native to the northern forests of the Atlantic Coast of the United States.
The Wendigo may appear as a monster with some characteristics of a human, or as a spirit who has possessed a human being and made them become monstrous.
It is historically associated with cannibalism, murder and insatiable greed.'
- Cash Ahenakew, Critical Literacy: Theories and Practices.
"The Wendigo is a curse of hunger and corruption.
It is my family's.
It is mine.
It will not be the world's."
- Elwood Dowd
In the Nineteenth Century, shortly after the first European settlers came to North America, the Wolastoqiyik tribe came to a schism: a majority of the people accept the new travellers, joining their existing villages with the new settlements and starting a new trading relationship with the colonies, while a small faction saw no need to change their ways for the foreigners that now lived on their land. Eventually, neither side could reconcile with the other, and the faction chose to abandon their villages and move northwards in search of new country to live, holding on to their traditional ways. This faction broke off from the Wolastoqiyik people, and named themselves after their leader, Tobique Malecite. The Malecite tribe left 40-strong on a cold morning with the tools and provisions allowed for them, and trekked into the forest with the sun to their sides. They, or their descendants, would not be seen again for sixty years.
When the first few descendants of the Malecite people broke away from the treeline a decade or so before the beginning of the Twentieth Century, they propagated a vicious legend through the first settlements they stumbled into; gaunt men and women with sunken eyes and pale skin, with bellies distended from malnutrition, and a feverish gaze. Many tried to feed these poor wretches, only to find that they ripped and tore at the bread and meat with voracious and violent frenzy. Many died, unable to digest the food they gorged themselves on, or simply choking on hunks of unchewed food. Those that didn't often vomited up what they had managed to swallow; it was a lucky few that were taken in to medical facilities to be cared for and fed in a manner that would not kill them. The only survivors of the Malicite expedition were invariably young and hardy. No one knew what had happened in that forest for the last half-a-century; but many guessed and gossiped. The Malicite people, the three that remained, gave up their predecessor's prideful gestures, integrating themselves into the new, modern society that had developed in their absence - and so it was for another thirty years.
The Malicite line propagated itself singularly; while all three found themselves new partners, only one - Oro Malicite - succeeded in having children, and he passed his name onto a daughter, whom he loved very much, and cared for with every waking moment. Still haunted by the starvation and hunger he had suffered upon leaving the forest, Oro worked hard to provide his family and himself more than they could possibly hope to consume. In his waning years, Oro felt that hunger still, and ate more and more, terrified of feeling the cold, hollow pain he had felt in the forest, until one day, old and grey, Oro died, still reaching for another meal - and his daughter, the only living Malicite blood, began to feel a slow, creeping hunger descend upon her.
And so it was for another century - an endless cycle of hunger and birth and death and hunger, the spirit of the Wendigo passing on after every death to the youngest living Malicite - now Maliceet - before consuming them and repeating the curse. Strange characteristics were always matched with the sufferer - sharper teeth, darker eyes, gaunter frames, paler skin - and every Maliceet held the secret burden of the Wendigo within them, caging the beast while it wailed against their bellies. So it has been since Oro, and so it is now, in the time of Elwood; this raging creature snared within him, a starved, voracious monster desperate for meat. Elwood struggles everyday, but resists nonetheless, lest the Wendigo be unleashed upon the people of Crescent City. He has slipped, like many of his ancestors, but only once - and the blood he tasted will torment him until the end of his days.
For now, only Elwood's willpower, and his Maw-Maw, safeguard the people of Crescent City from yet another beast, in a world that already has far, far too many monsters.
The Wendigo may appear as a monster with some characteristics of a human, or as a spirit who has possessed a human being and made them become monstrous.
It is historically associated with cannibalism, murder and insatiable greed.'
- Cash Ahenakew, Critical Literacy: Theories and Practices.
"The Wendigo is a curse of hunger and corruption.
It is my family's.
It is mine.
It will not be the world's."
- Elwood Dowd
In the Nineteenth Century, shortly after the first European settlers came to North America, the Wolastoqiyik tribe came to a schism: a majority of the people accept the new travellers, joining their existing villages with the new settlements and starting a new trading relationship with the colonies, while a small faction saw no need to change their ways for the foreigners that now lived on their land. Eventually, neither side could reconcile with the other, and the faction chose to abandon their villages and move northwards in search of new country to live, holding on to their traditional ways. This faction broke off from the Wolastoqiyik people, and named themselves after their leader, Tobique Malecite. The Malecite tribe left 40-strong on a cold morning with the tools and provisions allowed for them, and trekked into the forest with the sun to their sides. They, or their descendants, would not be seen again for sixty years.
When the first few descendants of the Malecite people broke away from the treeline a decade or so before the beginning of the Twentieth Century, they propagated a vicious legend through the first settlements they stumbled into; gaunt men and women with sunken eyes and pale skin, with bellies distended from malnutrition, and a feverish gaze. Many tried to feed these poor wretches, only to find that they ripped and tore at the bread and meat with voracious and violent frenzy. Many died, unable to digest the food they gorged themselves on, or simply choking on hunks of unchewed food. Those that didn't often vomited up what they had managed to swallow; it was a lucky few that were taken in to medical facilities to be cared for and fed in a manner that would not kill them. The only survivors of the Malicite expedition were invariably young and hardy. No one knew what had happened in that forest for the last half-a-century; but many guessed and gossiped. The Malicite people, the three that remained, gave up their predecessor's prideful gestures, integrating themselves into the new, modern society that had developed in their absence - and so it was for another thirty years.
The Malicite line propagated itself singularly; while all three found themselves new partners, only one - Oro Malicite - succeeded in having children, and he passed his name onto a daughter, whom he loved very much, and cared for with every waking moment. Still haunted by the starvation and hunger he had suffered upon leaving the forest, Oro worked hard to provide his family and himself more than they could possibly hope to consume. In his waning years, Oro felt that hunger still, and ate more and more, terrified of feeling the cold, hollow pain he had felt in the forest, until one day, old and grey, Oro died, still reaching for another meal - and his daughter, the only living Malicite blood, began to feel a slow, creeping hunger descend upon her.
And so it was for another century - an endless cycle of hunger and birth and death and hunger, the spirit of the Wendigo passing on after every death to the youngest living Malicite - now Maliceet - before consuming them and repeating the curse. Strange characteristics were always matched with the sufferer - sharper teeth, darker eyes, gaunter frames, paler skin - and every Maliceet held the secret burden of the Wendigo within them, caging the beast while it wailed against their bellies. So it has been since Oro, and so it is now, in the time of Elwood; this raging creature snared within him, a starved, voracious monster desperate for meat. Elwood struggles everyday, but resists nonetheless, lest the Wendigo be unleashed upon the people of Crescent City. He has slipped, like many of his ancestors, but only once - and the blood he tasted will torment him until the end of his days.
For now, only Elwood's willpower, and his Maw-Maw, safeguard the people of Crescent City from yet another beast, in a world that already has far, far too many monsters.
▼ M O T I V A T I O N / O B J E C T I V E:
"It's difficult...to do the right thing. But I'm trying every day."
Elwood's primary and ongoing objective is the supression of the Wendigo Spirit that inhabits his body, preventing it from taking over his body and creating a new hunting ground in Crescent City. His Maw-Maw takes care of him, teaching him the history of his family and the curse that has plagued it for so long, and while he knows it is never truly possible, he still tries to have a 'normal' life as best he can. He struggles with the Wendigo's impulses and instincts, and is determined to do the opposite, and use his affliction for good. He also hopes to overcome his own anxiety disorder some day, but figures he has more pressing matters.
▼ A B I L I T I E S / S K I L L S:
"My family's legacy...it's...hunger. Hunger is the all of it."
//ABILITIES:
//SKILLS:
//LIMITATIONS:
//WEAKNESSES:
◼ WENDIGO POSSESSION | Like his mother before him and his grandfather before him, and on and on, Elwood is possessed by the spirit of the Wendigo, an ancient force from North American legend. While the spirit's full power is locked away by Elwood's resistance to being overrun, its mere inhabitance of his body lends certain boons and drawbacks.
◼ Supernatural Durability | The Wendigo's skin can be likened to ancient stone - old, superficially cracked, but immensely tough. While Elwood has absolute control, he retains only a small portion of the Wendigo's true invulnerability, as well as its resistance to cold temperature, but as the spirit wrestles more and more control over Elwood's body, the Wendigo's skin is soon able to withstand harder and harder blows, until it cannot be harmed at all.
◼ Supernatural Senses | As the Wendigo gains control, Elwood's senses are enhanced to more befit an apex predator. Eyesight gets more accurate and motion-based, and Elwood's hearing and sense of smell also dramatically improve. Elwood does not experience any of these improvements while he has full control.
◼ Supernatural Agility | As the Wendigo gains control, Elwood is able to utilize incredible bursts of speed to leap great distances, dodge incoming obstacles, or clamber up buildings. The Wendigo often employs this agility to perch in a hidden spot, remaining perfectly still before pouncing on unsuspecting prey. Elwood does not experience this enhanced agility while he has full control.
◼ Supernatural Strength | As the Wendigo gains control, Elwood's strength ramps up, allowing him to lift men single-handedly, stop cars and motorcycles, punch dents into brickwork, and smash through obstacles with frightening ease. Elwood does not experience this enhanced strength while he has full control.
◼ Supernatural Physiology | As the Wendigo gains control, Elwood's body twists and morphs to better suit the predator that is taking over. His mouth splits and enlarges, growing fangs while the jaw unhooks itself in order to open wider, while his pupils dilate and his sclera turns black. Elwood's limbs stretch out, his body becoming emaciated as mass is transferred, and his skin grows white and cold, while talons spring from his hands and feet. The stronger the Wendigo's possession becomes, the further the transformation goes, but these changes are lost as Elwood enforces his will upon the spirit.
//SKILLS:
◼ WILLPOWER | Long years of suffering under the Wendigo has sharpened the mind of every member of the Harjo family, Elwood included, and honed within them a sharp and powerful force of will, allowing them to resist the Wendigo's possession.
//LIMITATIONS:
◼ WENDIGO PSYCHE | As the Wendigo spirit gains more influence over Elwood's body, so does it gain more hold over his mind; the predator instinct of the Wendigo starts to overpower Elwood's humanity, and begins to become a threat to any living being in the vicinity. With effort, Elwood can wrestle control of himself back - but it's better if he never gets to that point in the first place.
//WEAKNESSES:
◼ FIRE | Fire - and, by extension, high heat - is the only thing that can harm a Wendigo, and does so at an accelerated rate. Furthermore, any burnt skin becomes vulnerable to further damage from any source.
◼ HUNGER | The Wendigo's Hunger is its defining trait, the reason for its existance, and its eternal purpose. Elwood feels this Hunger every second of every day, and as such has a voracious appetite, especially for meat - but he must be extremely cautious in indulging this appetite, as over-feasting is a prime trigger to give way to the Wendigo. When Elwood is not in control, the Wendigo will do everything possible to feed itself, and this drive can be easily exploited.
▼ N O T E S:
//SUPPORTING CAST:
//STOMPING GROUNDS
//PARAPHERNALIA
▼ ALLIES
▼ FRIENDS
▼ ENEMIES
▼ FRIENDS
▼ ENEMIES
//STOMPING GROUNDS
◼ NEW LILITH | Living with his Maw-Maw in his parent's old house (his mother deceased, and his father moved away), Elwood is only ever found at home, in his workplace at The Lamp, or in the grocery store in between.
//PARAPHERNALIA
◼ TBD | Test