P a u l o V. M e i r e l e s XIX aka Mr. Ninteenth
◄ 35 ▎ MALE ▎ 5ft 7in ►
◄ 35 ▎ MALE ▎ 5ft 7in ►
P R O F I L E
Upfront, his accent catches the ears for its heaviness-- having come from a family that adamantly stuck to their historically cultural language of Brazilian Portuguese. Easy-going, patient, with a seriously stubborn streak, Paulo is a reliable and helpful person, with a smile that comes easily. From holding the door open to carrying boxes up stairs for neighbors, there's no one who can speak a bad word about him, except for his grandmother-- she considers him to be too soft hearted and gullible.
Indeed, he does believe people to be honest, good-intentioned, and has been burned for it far too often. Despite that, he's not developed into the jaded cynic such betrayals warrant-- and oh has he been gravely betrayed, taken advantage of, and used in the past. Still, he trusts easily, moves in line with his own good-intentioned moral code, and keeps himself humble. While he'd rather sit in the background and enjoy conversation, he isn't shy about coming forward or introducing himself.
With this all said, one can easily understand why he is an almost zealous 'Child of Mars'. Though he is not chosen and only attends communes as time and money permits, his reverence for 𝚃𝚣𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚐𝚘𝚛𝚐 is quite intense in the, "Branded An Image Of The Saint Into My Chest," kind of way. On top of this, he will stubbornly defend his arguments, even when he knows he's wrong, out of pure pride alone. Sometimes he will even try to follow through with one of his meticulous plans even when it clearly has fell apart. When angry, in any case, he becomes cold and silent-- walling himself off from others-- in a manner which can be annoying and petty, especially when he indulges himself in an, "I told you so," moment.
D A Y S - G O N E
Growing up with two parents, an extended family, and with two-ish meals on the table was a blessing during his childhood. Born and raised in New Brazil, Paulo saw a peaceful childhood-- lower class and poor, but peaceful. Sure, there was the need to move whenever their house became uninhabitable-- the lack of water sometimes-- but his parents did as much as they could to keep him fed, clothed, and educated. The lack of money is what Paulo speculates to be the blame for his being the only child. Both his parents took whatever low-end labor would hire them and barely made enough to support themselves. While they didn't say it outright, Paulo often knew he was something of a financial burden-- and likely the result of an unplanned pregnancy.
As a result of struggling so, he worked hard to find ways to feed himself, to study under whoever would let him, and did his best to take care of whatever shack his family holed up in, while his parents were away working job two or three. When he finally came of age, having learned all he could, and with a goal in mind, Paulo went off to get his first job as a mechanic. Nearly all the money he made, he sent back to his family-- his parents, grandparents, uncle, and aunts. Mechanical knowledge lead him on a course to electrical work, then plumbing, and then finally to sewer maintenance.
It was risky work but worth it. Maintaining the underground functions of the city, knee deep in corrosive sewage or discarded whatever, was always going to be worth the risk for the pay. Paulo considered this "making it big", since the job netted him five figures a year. With this kind of money, he could finally afford to move his family into a proper apartment. With a promotion on the horizon, he continued his hard work, even if it meant going on jobs solo. And as he fell down into the sewage, knocked back from the concussive force of an explosion in Tarkari Square-- falling helplessly from the top of the open manhole cover-- Paulo's only thought was that he really was just an average guy with an average life.
M E M O R I E S
P a u l o V. M e i r e l e s XVIII -- Father --
Firey tempered, strong-willed, but quite nurturing, he's a man that was raised by an iron fist. How his family ended up nearly on the streets is a story of war, sorrow, and debt from previous generations. War and bad investments claimed his father and grandmother before him, and he did his best to pick up the pieces-- but the sins of the family finally ended with him, though it cost him a price he won't speak of. He raised his son to be better than himself and it's not a secret. Paulo 19 is quite close to him.
T a u l u z T. P h a s e - M e i r e l e s -- Mother--
Silly, quite patient, and very sociable, she served as Paulo's main disciplinarian, oddly. Punishment and lesson learning were all done in the, "I'm very disappointed," manner, which stood out quite often, due to her rarely seen frown. Most of her early life was as a child of some oddball Waterbandits. Eventually she struck out on her own and ended up falling for a janitor that frequented the same streets she did. Her lessons to her son are some of the guiding principals upon which he bases his morality. Paulo 19 would kill for his mother if need be.
P á s s a r o D. M e i r e l e s -- Grandmother --
Strict, steely, and cold aren't words often used to describe grandparents, but most grandparents weren't survivors of war and conflict. Her parents died when she was young, so she had to fight for everything she had, having made a good life for herself, until she met her husband. Not only does she blame herself for not having left him but, she blames him for taking every hard-eared anything their family ever had, and throwing it into oblivion, leaving her to care for her two sons-- one of which carrying his name-- alone. At some point, she showed Paulo 19 a soft spot, and hasn't been able to live it down. To this day, she smiles at him when no one else is around, and has neither confirmed nor denied that she murdered his grandfather in cold blood.
P a u l o V. M e i r e l e s XVII -- DECEASED Grandfather --
Raised by an alcoholic, abusive, war veteran, to become an alcoholic, abusive, war veteran. The only thing Paulo 19 knows about him is a quote from his grandmother-- "The bastard died as he lived- covered in blood, vomit, and pissing himself."
P O W E R S
ACID BODY / ACID MANIPULATION / TOXIC VAPOR PRODUCTION
Similar in chemical composition to Fluoroantimonic acid, Paulo's is body has become a neon-green substance similar in consistency to gelatin. He can "spew" parts of himself forth as a form of "attack", manipulate said acids or lesser acids, and turn liquids into acid to absorb into his body with contact. Naturally, the powerful acid he is composed of produces highly toxic vapors to inhale, resulting in permanent damage or death. The vapors are produced in response to the acid's exposure to flame and his discovery of the fume production was on accident-- the light on his blow-torch had been switched on upon his fall into the sewers, resulting in probably the quickest extermination of mars-rats in history.
Limitation:
The entirety of his body was turned into this goop, aside from his skull, which seems to be the point from which the rest of his acidic body is formed. Put simply, he has a fixed quantity of acid he can produce, and it is equivalent to the interior of his suit or container. Which, it was luck that he was contained in his waste-treatment suit upon transformation, because he cannot maintain his shape outside of it for long, and will easily disperse into a puddle until his skull is placed into a new container.
Weaknesses:
Pure water contacting his body results in VIOLENT EXPLOSIVE chemical decomposition until his acid is neutralized. If this happens to his skull? He dies.
Holes in his suit that cause him to leak out of it, and "melt" into his surroundings, will deplete his ability to move as more of him leaks. He can survive only for a limited time solely as a skull but, if this lasts long enough for his skull to dry out? He will die.
If he uses too much of "himself" to attack others? He could die. There is a regeneration period of 6 hours for him to adequately "refill" to the capacity of his current suit. If he is ever placed into something larger, it could take days-- a smaller container would take minutes. Care must be taken to maintain enough of his acid to keep his skull adequately moist if not submerged entirely.
He's as strong as the average person but lacks the skeletal structure of one, meaning he can rag-doll around, and twist in ways the average person can't. This means the only thing standing between him and death is the strength of his container.