shylarah — Roleplayer Guild

@Oak7ree So...Bolivian Army Ending, or mutual destruction?  The opening post says that the Westminster team took out a Nazi team, but Bolivian Army sorta implies that the enemies survived and the good guys didn't.

Other than that, sheets are pretty much done.  I'll be changing the final bit for the Westminster League based on your reply.  Probably go with an explosion to do mutually assured destruction.  <3

Name: Valentine "Belasý" Siskin (nickname means "Blue" or "Sky-Blue")
Gender: female
Age: 25/26 (born March 19, 1916)

Appearance: Belasý is fairly average height, with a well-toned physique that is a little on the soft side.  Her skin is sun-bronzed but will lighten a few shades over the course of the winter months.  Her eyes are a startling blue that would be the envy of any Aryan supremacist, and frequently hold a nervous or uncertain expression.  Her hair is dark brown with a slight natural wave and she wears it long, often using it as a barrier to separate herself from others.  She also frequently bites her lip, or plays with her hair.  She uses subtle makeup, nothing eye-catching, and likes having her nails painted.

In a similar vein, Belasý has a fondness for cute or pretty clothing.  She likes dresses, though nothing too fancy.  Simple and classy is best, in her opinion.  However she is aware of what clothing is appropriate for a situation, and her everyday dress is on the higher end of casual.  She likes loose cut or flared pants, long sleeved shirts, and oversized jackets.  She almost always wears a bracelet on her left wrist, just simple shells and deep blue glass beads -- her favorite color.  It was a gift, and she values it highly.

Personality: Belasý is a withdrawn individual, reluctant to interact even with those she knows.  She prefers to let her brother do the talking, and will go so far as to practically hide behind him.  She doesn’t say much, avoiding eye contact and physical proximity to others.  She is generally nervous or even frightened in social situations, and often uncertain of where she stands with other people.  When on missions she does somewhat better, able to hide her nerves, though the shy demeanor remains if she's not taking charge.

Despite her introverted nature, she can be a sweet person.  For her very few friends, she is willing to go far above and beyond what she would do for herself.  She has a good sense of humor though it rarely shows, buried underneath uncertainty and a lack of confidence off the field.  On the rare occasions when she is pushed into losing her temper, she can be fiercely protective and often unreasonable.  Her protective side can also be seen in silent disapproval, or when she simply moves between the one she wishes to defend and whatever she is trying to ward off, creating a wordless but stubborn barrier.

She is not generally violent, but when it comes to the Axis armies she has little mercy.  They threaten the lives of those who have done nothing, and need to be dealt with.  Nazis especially she hates, as that first facility was unofficially associated with what eventually became the Nazi party, and she feels they ruined her life and killed her father.  Furthermore, she actively dislikes powered individuals, particularly herself.  She sees them as threats to society and believes that if they do anything to harm civilians, they must be removed.  She is reluctant to use her own power unless there is no good alternative, and in training scenarios it’s not uncommon for her to choose injury over a powered defense.  She accepts injuries without flinching in many cases, and her pain tolerance is high.  She also has good self control in general, but the switch from calm to out of control is abrupt instead of gradual.

Superpower: 
hydrokinesis - Belasý is able to control water and direct it to follower her will.  She cannot create water, nor change its temperature, and must have a source of some kind, be it a lake, a puddle, water vapor, or even the liquid inside of living cells.  Pulling water from the air is not possible where it’s very dry, and in most cases will only yield a small quantity -- a glob perhaps the size of her fist.  Pulling from living sources, particularly animals, is generally more difficult and a slower process.  Once the water is separated and under her control, she can shape it as she wishes and move it around.  This includes using it as an offensive and defensive weapon, as a small jet of water under pressure can have surprising cutting power.  She can control it as ice or steam, if it is already in those states.  Steam is fairly easy, ice is a bit harder.  Other applications of this power include purifying some quantity of water (time consuming, done by moving the water and leaving the impurities which are not under her control behind), making or calming waves in bodies of water, and some interesting applications underwater -- such as trapping bubbles of air under the surface.  Belasý’s control is fairly good, but she lacks the power her brother displays, and instead must use her skills wisely, if she wishes to have a significant effect.  Brute force is not an option, and her strongest ability in terms of force is actually a shield formed of two layers moving in opposite directions, and it functions more to turn objects aside than actually stop them.  If sufficiently upset, angry, or otherwise emotional, her ability is not entirely stable and water sources around her may react violently.  Bel was most likely born with this gift, though it first manifested when she was six.

Other:
As a child she was much bolder, outgoing and even bossy.  Some of the bossiness remains, but only on the field.
Hates and fears superpowers, including her own -- especially her own.
Does not seem to have a romantic interest in anyone.
In general, Izkry is the one she loves and trusts, and he is best able to understand her.  A single word, slight gesture, or subtle change of expression can convey a lot between these two.  Without him around she tends to be even more awkward than usual, if that’s even possible.
She does not answer to Valentine, Val, or any variant thereof.  She /might/ if Izkry called her that, but he never does.  Nor does she ever call him anything other than Izkry.
Can use her left hand for some things, though she is not fully ambidextrous.
Superb cook.
Fluent in several languages and picks up others easily.
Keeps a large canteen of water with fine grit on her in field settings; the cap is modified for rapid access.
Excellent sniper and marksman.  Prefers her lightly modified Karabiner 98k (carbine) with scope.

Name: Johan "Izkry" Siskin (nickname means Sparks)
Gender: male
Age: 22 (born Nov 14, 1919)

Appearance: Izkry is a tall young man, over 185cm (6'1") when he doesn’t slouch.  His light brown eyes approach amber, bright and lively, and he has a broad, easy grin that often puts others at ease.  He wears his blond hair spiky, and keeps it cut short save for a slender braid at the very nape of his neck.  He’s slightly tan in the summer, what with the sun and spending much time out of doors, but he loses that in the winter months.  His time in the Swiss army has him riding the fine line between athletic and just plain thin.  Izkry has a faint but noticeable scar on his right temple just at the hairline, a memento of a childhood injury that needed stitches.

Casual clothing is the rule of the day for Izkry.  He hates suits and other formal attire.  Tshirts and jeans are where it’s at, maybe slacks and a button down if he wants to dress a bit better.  He would rather parade around in a revealing dress than put on a tie.  He favors brighter, cheerful colors, particularly sky blue, yellow, and orange.

Personality: Izkry is cheerful and laid back, preferring to go with the flow.  He neither angers nor takes offense easily, and he tolerates others' quirks and shortcomings without giving it much mind.  He is friendly and generally smiling, always looking on the bright side of things.  His upbeat personality is nice to be around, and his good humor frequently rubs off on those around him.  He loves socializing and is happiest in a room full of people talking, laughing, and otherwise having a good time.

He does not like killing, though he understands it is sometimes necessary, particularly when defending something.  He managed to avoid much of the brainwashing that the German facility tried to impress upon him, though he is quite loyal to people he knows, and is willing to do a lot for them.  The idea that some people are better than others makes no sense to him -- after all, wouldn’t it be better if everyone helped whoever they can?  He likes his power, and the insight it gives him into mechanics, one of his passions.  He’s a sucker for a person in distress, particularly the elderly and children.  He doesn't like seeing people upset, and will provide a listening ear or a shoulder to cry on for just about anybody.  These traits, along with his ever-present cheer, make him very likable and he makes friends with ease.

Although he is younger than his sister, he still looks after Bel as if he were the elder.  He allows himself to be used as a crutch, keeping others at a comfortable distance for her, and doing most of the communicating.  He loves her dearly, though he wishes she would open up and hopes she someday will learn to rely on him less.  Still, he doesn't have the heart to force her.

Superpower:
technomancy/technopathy - Izkry has an electrical affinity and a sensitivity to machinery.  While he is capable of generating a lightning bolt that can strike up to a few meters away, this attack is not particularly accurate, and he cannot limit what is hit.  He can deliver a considerable electric shock by touch, from just enough to be noticeable to enough to incapacitate (though generally not enough to kill outright).  While he can restrict the generation point to a specific portion of his body, he cannot limit where it goes.  If he shocks someone touching him, and there’s another person touching that person, both will get shocked.  The single exception to this is his sister, who he can avoid hurting as long as he doesn’t use too much power.  He can generate current to power devices, or fry circuitry with a touch.  Physical contact also allows him to feel if a device is in good repair, and if not to tell what’s wrong with it.  This ability is very finely tuned with electronics, but will work in a broader sense for most machinery.  If he touches a machine, he can then control it -- but this takes all of his concentration, and he is completely vulnerable while doing so.  A side effect of his power is a complete immunity to electrical shocks.  He likely was born with this power, though it only manifested following testing when his sister was discovered to have powers.

Other:
Oddly enough, Izkry was actually rather shy as a toddler.
He’s bi, but with a definite preference for guys.
Izkry is exceptionally good at understanding Belasý, to the point where it looks like they have a mental connection.  He can understand her gestures and expressions like none other, and it only takes a slight motion for her to communicate a great deal.  This also means she has trouble keeping things from him.
He answers to both Johan and Izkry.
Plays guitar and a little piano.
Excellent driver, and very familiar with the workings of cars and a variety of other engines.  His power helps, but it’s not the only thing he has going for him here.
Excels at tinkering and repairwork, likewise aided by his ability, but not limited to that alone.  He has a fondness for dismantling and reassembling pocketwatches -- he's done it to his own a few dozen times.
He is not nearly as good a soldier as his sister, nor as good a fighter.  He's not terrible, but definitely nothing exceptional.
His best "weapon" is (ironically) a whip or lasso, a skill he picked up on his own because of his fondness for American Wild West novels and movies.  In combat situations he carries a 7ft (just over 2m) bullwhip with shortened handle made of synthetic fiber with metal threaded through it to allow transfer of electrical current, and he can use this to great effect.

Johan and Valentine Siskin were born to Armin Siskin, a decorated German military officer.  He enlisted prior to the first World War and served during most of it, quickly proving himself to be an exemplary soldier in combat.  He was eventually promoted to sergeant, and greatly respected by his fellow soldiers.  When his lieutenant and a number of other commanding officers died in a particularly vicious battle in late 1916, Armin found himself promoted to fill the vacancy while in the field, and eventually was elevated to captaincy.  He was badly injured near the end of the war and honorably discharged.  By then, much of his once-bright patriotism had dulled to disappointment and a desire for a quiet life.

Valentine was conceived while her father was home on leave and born in July of ’16.  Her little brother followed about a year after the end of the war.  Even though the country was in a depression following the sanctions imposed by the victors, Armin always believed that better days would come.  The family of four did not have much, but on the whole they were happy.

When Val was six and Johan three, a bully decided to pick on Johan.  They were out on a frozen river, and the ice was uneven.  When the older boy pushed the child down, he hit his head hard on the edge of a large fallen tree limb sticking up out of the ice.  Upon seeing the blood, Val was absolutely furious.  She said something unkind, something threatening -- and the power she didn’t know she had broke the ice, sending both boys into the frigid water.  She managed to grab her brother by the hood and keep him above the surface until someone could pull him out, but the one who’d been causing trouble went under.

By the time they could get him out from under the ice, the boy had drowned.

Things changed dramatically from that day forward.  Val herself became an entirely different person.  And within a month, armed men working for an unofficial military program to train powered children came to collect both the girl and her brother.  Armin and his wife did not wish for them to go.  He had no desire for his children to become soldiers, or tools for the government.  A quiet life, that was what he wanted, both for himself and for his family.  But it was not to be.  The children were taken, and it was the last he saw of them for a number of years.

The facility was nothing like the two were used to.  Johan adapted quickly, even though he didn’t really like some of what he was taught as he grew older.  Valentine did not, refusing to speak to people, and refusing to use her power, even when the alternative was injury.  She took far better to much of the military training, but on the whole she was seen as something of an uncertain asset at best.

Meanwhile, their father was livid.  He had done his duty, had served his country -- had been nearly killed doing so, and yet now they wanted to take his children from him?  Unacceptable.  And while he had never once thought of speaking against the German government outside the privacy of his home, he had heard others blame everyone and everything for the trials they now faced.  Quietly, discreetly, he contacted those he thought might be willing to help him.  He knew there would be only one chance, and so he had to make /sure/ they would succeed.  It was eight long years of plotting, planning, and quietly gathering what he and those he persuaded to join him would need.  He managed to stay in occasional contact with his children by way of an uncertain guard he’d known in the war, who admired Hauptmann (Captain) Siskin der Polarfuchs, and sympathized with the man’s desire to get his children back.

In very early spring of '31, Armin and his group made their move.  The attack was swift, almost surgical, with the tactical brilliance that had earned Captain Siskin his nickname of Polarfuchs.  A number of the team were killed, but they’d known there would be a poor chance of survival going in, and they managed to destroy a respectable chunk of the facility in the process.  Val and Johan were not the only powered children freed; Val had quietly figured out who there might be interested in leaving and she’d helped handle organizing things on the inside.  The group made for the Swiss border on foot, by car, and by train.  It was not an easy trip, but between the tail end of winter and the start of spring with its rain and mud, as well as Armin's understanding of tactics and misdirection, they managed to reach the border.

Crossing was harder.  The guards there had been alerted of the fugitives, and told to keep an eye out.  An encounter with an unexpected patrol turned to tragedy, resulting in the death of one of the children and several of the adults.  Armin, knowing that the group would be done for if the reinforcements called caught up with them, entrusted the children to his former sergeant and a couple others.  The remaining men he took to lay a false trail.  It was the last time Val ever saw the man, and she believes him to have died, along with most if not all the others with him.

In Switzerland, they met up with sympathetic locals who helped them link up with the powered community there.  The adults went their separate ways, with the sergeant keeping the teens with him.  They eventually settled near Geneva, in a small apartment, and with the consent of the teens all three enrolled in a nearby boarding school for youths like them.

The sergeant was kind but never replaced her parents for Val, though Johan barely remembered them.  Both gained their nicknames at the school from a young teacher whose parents were Slavic Jews, Iskry for his power, and Belasý for her eyes.  It was this man that finally convinced the young lady to learn proper control of her power.  She never did learn to like it, but at least she could use it when she wished -- and more importantly, maintain control even when upset.  As the Nazi party took power and threatened war with various countries, including Switzerland, Belasý wished to oppose them.  She continued to practice her skill with firearms, and in CQC, things she'd never entirely given up since coming to Switzerland.  She enlisted, her brother with her because he felt they should stick together.  Because of their powers, they were assigned to a special unit of the Swiss army.  Though mostly kept in reserve, Belasý's skill with a gun did find them sent to take out high ranking officers or other significant targets from time to time, as well as participating in a few skirmishes on the Swiss-German border.

When the call came for powered individuals to join the Westminster League, the pair heard the news.  Switzerland was officially neutral, so they were not offered the option of joining, but Belasý was dead set on going somehow, and with a bit of negotiation they were officially discharged, though with the consideration that they’d be allowed to take something equivalent to their previous positions back if they wished upon their return.  The pair immediately set off for Great Britain.

They were members of a small force sent to operate behind Nazi lines in occupied France.  However the team was not particularly well prepared, some of them new to combat, and not given training to work together beforehand.  An encounter with German supers proved devastating for the small group.  Izkry and Belasý were spared this, having split off to serve as designated marksman and spotter.  Bel made a good accounting of herself, but the Germans were well trained, and proved too much for the Westminster League's ragtag team.  She saw a few of them severely injured or killed outright, and when one of their opponents figured out where she and her brother were shooting from, Bel decided that discretion was the better part of valor.  There was no way she and Izkry could take out the Nazi team alone, and with one, maybe two of their comrades on their last legs the sibling pair eliminated the super sent after them and pulled back.

They returned when the Germans departed to try to help survivors, but were unable to locate any.  Left on their own, the two slipped fully into their cover identities of Germans visiting France, and eventually made it back over the border into Switzerland, identifying themselves to a patrol to gain safe passage.  They returned to Britain for debriefing, but after the failed effort and with limited funds, the Westminster League was in no shape to prepare a second venture.

The Siskins were not left at loose ends for long, however.  When the Americans started a superpowered program of their own, the survivors of the British group were extended an invitation, which they readily accepted.  They just hope this team is better prepared.

pictures

Freddie eventually had enough of the toy and just flopped down in the middle of the room, like a marionette with its strings cut.  Lee just grinned down at him.  "You're such a goof, aren't you?" she asked the cat.  The room felt cheerful as she handed Axel the phone, and watching in bemusement as he treated it more as a toy.  She didn't know what to think of that, and wasn't quite sure how to go about asking what the heck he was doing.  She took it back with an uncertain smile, trying to phrase a question that wouldn't be too rude.  Instead she was stunned as he kissed her hand and left before she could recover.

By the time she had the sense check the hallway, he was either out of earshot or not interested in answering her soft call.  Either way, the result was the same.  "What an unusual fellow," Lee said to her cat as he blinked lazily up at her.  "I hope he gets back to his friends okay.  ...I can't figure out if he jumped or not.  I really do hope he'll be okay, whatever his story is."  With a sigh she went to see if the lasagna had cooled enough to eat.

---

The next day was Wednesday, what Lee thought of as her "young adult day".  When Axel spotted her studio that afternoon there were only a couple people present, mostly older teens and college students, talking softly.  It was a nice place, though it had clearly been fixed up a handful of years earlier.  Large windows covered most of the front, and a double set of doors kept the outside weather from getting in.  Beyond the second set of doors lay the studio itself, with a small area for people to sit and watch to one side.  The rest was wooden floor and mirrored walls complete with a barre.  Lee was nowhere to be seen, but one of what were apparently early arrivals looked up at the two newcomers.

"Heya, you here for class?  Miss Lee's in the office right now, but she should be out real soon.  Changing rooms are thataway if you need 'em."  The blonde girl looked from Axel to Calamity.  "You guys ever swing before?"

"Axel?"  Cecilly stepped out of a door into the sitting area, a trio of slim CD jewel cases in one hand.  "Nikki, give these to Jareth to cue up.  He knows how to do it."  She held the discs out to the girl who took them with a grin and headed off.  "I didn't expect to see you here.  What brings you?  Is this the friend you mentioned?"  Lee offered the other woman a hand.  "A pleasure to meet you.  I'm Lee Roseberg.  I guess Axel must have mentioned dropping in yesterday."  A hint of laughter played across her face at the subtle joke, but she said it partially in hopes of gauging just how much Axel's friend knew about what happened.

shylarah Member

the crazy one

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