Individual
Character's full name: Thelma Rae Jones
Alias/ Nickname/ Code name: NA
Gender: Female
Age: 22
Date of Birth: 03/18/1996
Birthplace/ Home/ Place of origin: Charleston, South Carolina
Nationality: American
Ethnicity/ Cultural Heritage: Caucasian--Irish and Swedish, African--Nigerian
Appearance
Hair color and style: Dark brown, usually kept natural in an afro/twist out
Skin Tone: Golden brown
Eye Color: Dark brown
Height: 5’4
Build: Thelma is petite in frame. Her arms and legs have some muscle tone.
Visible mutation: NA
Scars/ Tattoos/ Piercings: She has her ears pierced once and a septum piercing that she wears occasionally.
Other features: NA
Everyday clothing style: Eclectic basics--lots of color and fun proportions
Uniform: NA
Sleepwear: Loungewear--t-shirt and bottoms that depend on the weather
Miscellaneous clothing: Thelma owns one formal black gown that she saves for special occasions.
Character
Personality: Thelma is confident--confident that you will love her, confident that she can make it, confident that what she’s got is worth a lot. It’s hard to determine if this confidence stems from her happy-go-lucky powers or from a time before them--her parents were very supportive. This character trait is one that many notices upon first meeting Thelma. It’s also very hard to get past this wall to get to the real person underneath.
She spends a lot of time frantic and rushing from place to place. Those that see her regularly might consider her a bit of a disorganized mess. Thelma has mastered the fake apology and uses it to soothe concerns about her lateness. The hustle is never over for her. That energy level can be exhausting to be around and by the end of a long day Thelma’s patience is gone and she turns into a cranky mess.
When she’s not putting on a show for people or running around, Thelma is a lot more reserved. She values her alone time and only true friends get to see her in those down moments. Most of her life feels very performative and she tries to keep it a secret that she is really only a person and not some confident robot.
Hobbies/ Interests: Watching animated movies, classic Hollywood, gospel music, going dancing
Job or part-time job and description: To pay rent Thelma does many things--including crappy acting jobs, ridesharing, food delivery, and occasional sign twirling. Her most steady job is the ridesharing. She is always open to small odd jobs as well and has worked in the past as an events waitress/hostess.
Fears/ phobias/ concerns: Thelma at her core is afraid of failure and the social implications of it. She has spent most of her life telling people that she is going to be an actor and a star and she is terrified that one day she’ll give up on that dream and everyone will judge her for it. She is also afraid of small spaces and babies kinda creep her out (how do they make them so small?).
Special talents: After years of acting classes and auditions, Thelma is good at speed reading.
Morality
Good/ bad/ neutral/ other: Thelma wants to be a good person and was raised within a clear moral system. However, she is also a bit self-centered and her moral compass struggles to pull away from the ‘me, myself, and I’ direction. Her powers feed directly into this struggle--is it really appropriate to use them? Ethically she struggles with the concept of impacting people’s feelings. In practice, on the other hand, she is tempted to use them due to their ease and addicting nature. Overall she is a ‘good’ but selfish person who spends a bit too much time trying to justify her actions to herself.
Mutations
Mutation description:
Good Vibes Only
Thelma has the ability to turn ‘on’ and ‘off’ an emotional manipulation field that elevates people’s happiness-inducing neurochemicals (DOSE--dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins). Her powers only impact people’s happiness-- they cannot make people angry, sad, or anything besides happy.
Strengths:
People who already have an emotional connection with or positive attitude toward Thelma are the most easily impacted. Due to the nature of her powers, Thelma is resistive to other empathic abilities (though not completely immune).
Weaknesses and Limitations:
Thelma’s powers are most impacted by two things: the number of people near her field and the existing emotions of those people. Groups larger than three individuals drain Thelma quickly. Likewise, inducing happiness in someone feeling another extreme emotion takes a lot of energy. For example, three neutral people take a lot less energy to impact than those same three people angry.
Overexertion causes physical symptoms, such as fainting and bloodshot eyes (which is why she is often seen in sunglasses). When Thelma overuses her powers she also receives a warning headache before she eventually passes out. If she pushed herself too far, Thelma could put herself into a coma.
Due to the nature of her powers, Thelma cannot use them on anyone out of her immediate vicinity. Obstructions such as doors and walls completely block her powers. Her range is a circular area seven feet from her person.
Her powers are weak on those with high mental stamina or psychic powers. They work best on humans and mutants with non-mental/psychic powers. It is also very possible to break from Thelma’s happiness aura--especially if she is distracted, overexerted, or attempting to use her powers on someone with too much mental strength/high emotions.
In terms of duration, Thelma can use her field for up to two hours a day (constantly or in small spurts) before she gets a warning headache. After two and a half hours, she faints. In order to recharge, she needs sleep, hydration, and food. If she is sick or weak for another reason, this time is duration decreased. People remain under her emotional manipulation field (everything equal) so long as she is conscious and has her field ‘on’. Once she has turned her field ‘off’, that influenced remain in the elevated state of happiness for no more than fifteen minutes and return to a normal (slightly confused) state.
Also, it should be noted that Thelma’s powers are addicting for her to use--she feels some of the same happiness that she forces upon others. For this reason, it can be difficult for her to resist using her emotional manipulation field in casual conversations. It sometimes controls her more than she controls it. This addicting nature can also impact those she uses it on, having unintended consequences. She also risks forcing hysteria on someone by overusing her field on them (repeated manipulation within 72 hours puts people in a danger zone for addiction/hysteria).
Physical Abilities
General Physical Capabilities: Thelma likes low impact workouts like pilates, yoga, and jogging. She is not at peak physical fitness, but can run a mile within twelve minutes and is flexible enough to move into an extended triangle pose easily.
Fighting Style: Does pilates count as a fighting style?
Fighting Style Pros/Cons: Thelma has no formal training in fighting styles. She works out but would have no idea what to do if someone attacked her.
History Of Your Character
Thelma Rae Jones was born to Jasper and Rosalie Jones. Her father worked as a children’s librarian and her mother was a beauty consultant at department store makeup counters. She was the only child the couple would have and grew up in a historic neighborhood in Charleston, South Carolina.
From a young age, she had dreams of being a star and her mother supported them. Thelma was in junior beauty pageants as a child and when she was in high school she was taken to auditions for local commercials. It was at an audition for a Charleston after-school special that Thelma discovered her powers.
It was finals week at school and she’d been cramming for her math final. Her mother had surprised Thelma with the audition and the young woman had agreed without checking the time. When her mother came to pick her up, Thelma realized that she was going to miss (and then fail) math. In the car, Thelma felt herself get nervous and panicky. She bombed the audition.
Somehow, Rosalie convinced the casting director to give the teen another shot. Thelma froze the second round. The panicked feeling mixed with frustration and angst--why was she even at a stupid audition when she ought to be back at school? Why couldn’t her mother just let it go? Why was the casting director so creepy with his clipboard and leer? Thelma felt a heat rise in her body with the emotions.
“Miss Jones, I’m waiting.” The man at the table shuffled his clipboard in an annoyed fashion.
The heat trickled from the crown of her head and down her spine and Thelma felt something inside her flip--like a switch. “I’m sorry. You’re going to love my next take.” The casting director smiled and seemed to be in a much better mood almost instantly. Thelma herself felt better as well--she did much better the second round.
She landed the role on the public television network. It would be a few months of the strange warming sensation before Thelma realized that she was a mutant. She told no one of this discovery and told herself that she’d never use it ‘for the wrong reasons’. This promise was pretty nebulous for a teenager and she gained some control and tested her limits during her remaining year of high school. The tempting lure of her happiness field was something she couldn’t resist.
She went to college in her hometown of Charleston, where she majored in acting. When the thespian scene wasn’t as grand as her dreams, Thelma decided to pack up her rusty Subaru outback and take the I-95 north to New York City. She left behind friends and family in exchange for roommates and a tiny bathroom. A year later she had not yet landed the ‘big break’, despite continuing to take classes, attending as many auditions as possible, and taking crappy side gigs to support her dream.
Roleplay
What’s your OOC alias?: Cat
Where did you learn about this site?: I was on this site years ago--when I was in high school/early college. I played Twyla Ashby and Van Sanders-Adamson
Do you have any other characters on MRO, if so who: No
Sample RP:
Her roommate’s cat twirled between Thelma’s legs as she tried to cross the kitchen. Her freshly popped bagel peeked from the top of the toaster. The young woman wobbled dangerously before throwing hands onto the counter to brace herself.
“Miss Kitty--I will feed you in a minute. Chill!” Her light southern accent made her words lilting. Miss Kitty ignored her and mewed loudly while rubbing more aggressively against Thelma’s bare legs. She straightened and changed course in the tiny kitchen towards the fridge. “Fine. Fine. Tuna, then breakfast. I’m already late, you know. And that jerk of an acting coach is still gonna charge me the full class…”
And she was indeed late. Thelma dashed into the cool lobby of the studio exactly twenty-three minutes after her class was supposed to start. Between the cat, her thick hair (which decided to break not one, but two ties that morning), and parking, she was flustered. The color high in her cheeks, Thelma quietly entered the classroom and tried to sneak to a seat in the back.
“Glad to see you finally showed up--class began over twenty minutes ago, Ms. Jones.” Her acting coach for these sessions was tall and angular and when he gestured her way the petite young woman felt even smaller….for a moment at least. He almost never smiled.
“I’m so sorry Mr. Adley…” She started. And then anger took the place of smallness. Thelma had shown up, which was more than he could say last week. Hadn’t he bailed on his students for an audition just a few sessions ago? The familiar warmth started in her crown and dripped down her shoulders. She took a few steps toward him, unafraid of his stern frown. “Is it okay if I stay?”
Mr. Adley’s demeanor changed. His body relaxed and his face loosened into a confused smile. “Of course, Thelma. Come on in.” He turned and continued whatever he’d been demonstrating before the interruption. A few would-be actors in the room shot her confused glances, but no one said anything. If they had she would have brushed it off anyway--”Confidence gets you everywhere.”
