IndividualCharacter's full name: Jamison Eliem Cooper
Alias/ Nickname/ Code name: Paradox
Gender: Male
Age: 32
Birthday: October 15, 1977
Nationality/ Ethnicity: American (Euro-mutt, Italian being the biggest portion)
Birthplace/ Home/ Place of origin: Cheyenne, Wyoming
AppearanceHair colour and style: dark brown, short, with tasteful sideburns
Eyes: Brown (they can appear to be any color, however)
Height: 5'11”
Build: medium- fit
Visible mutation: His face physically shifts based on people’s expectations of him. This includes face shape, eye color, facial hair or lack thereof, etc . The hair on his head does not change.
Scars/ Tattoos/ Piercings: Abstract black tattoos on his hands, his own design
Other features:
Everyday clothing style: Simple, yet well-made clothes. He likes to dress up occasionally; collared shirts, pants, an occasional vest or tie and jacket.
Uniform: (if applicable) none
Sleepwear: Pajama shorts with little animals on them, especially penguins or giraffes
Miscellaneous clothing: A whole array of colorful socks, some patterned, some plain
CharacterPersonality: (How you character behaves, social tendencies, quirks, etc.) He tries to find as many ways to express himself as possible, subtly because he also doesn’t want to stand out. Jamison is very confident in himself and in what he says, even though the two are complete opposites. He knows his limitations and occasionally enjoys finding creative ways around them. He’s secretly a romantic.
Jamison is dyslexic, so he feels that words lie to him as well.
Hobbies/ Interests: Painting, especially watercolors help him relax. He is able to express his feelings in colors, but not words. Most of what he does is abstract. His paintings are unaffected by his compulsive lying as long as they don’t contain symbols or words. They are true pictures of his emotions, and bear striking resemblances to the emotion clouds he sees.
Job or part time job and description: Jamison has a hard time holding down a job, so he mostly does odd jobs and favors to get by.
Fears/ phobias/ concerns: He’s afraid of getting caught in a lie, but also of people knowing the real him. Jamison’s gotten so used to being Paradox or other personas that he’s picked up, that he hides behind those roles.
Special talents: (not related to mutation)
MoralityGood/ bad/ neutral/ other: Neutral, but he can get into his fair share of trouble. Sometimes, not of his own making.
MutationsMutation description: Paradox is a lie. He is physically unable to tell the truth in any form of communication, written, signed, or spoken. He plays a character to go along with the face he wears. Convincing others of those lies is imperative. Normally, he is very confident in himself, which helps to convince people, especially when they already want to believe him or want him to be a certain way.
One day a month, or so, he is able to tell the truth if he chooses. (See “Truth Day” in Strengths)
The physical manifestation of his mutation is that Jamison’s face is ever changing (also a lie). While he is interacting with someone, his face shifts based on the perceptions and preconceived notions of that one person. Once he meets someone, he looks the same to them on future occasions unless their perception of him has changed drastically or he is focusing on someone else and their expectations.
Strengths:
*Jamison’s lies relate to his face-shifting and monitoring others’ emotions. If he assumes a character, he must lie to continue the projection of that character. The more he lies, the more solid that character becomes and he can assume that face/ character/ person when he wants to (for brief periods).
*A well developed alias that he has been using for a year or more, Jamison can project for several hours at a time. One that he has only assumed once or twice can only be projected without influence for 15-20 minutes.
*“Truth Day”- From when the full moon rises to when the moon rises the next night, Jamison is not prevented from speaking the truth. He can choose to lie, like anyone else, but doesn’t have to. He can choose whether to wear his natural face or one of his aliases on this day.
*Neutral statements or questions aren’t affected by the compulsion to lie.
*Jamison’s face physically changes, constantly. He can feel it happening like a tingle in the area that is shifting, but it’s not painful.
*He has the ultimate disguise, as no one can see the true him. His face appears to them based on their expectations and the lies he tells them, or the person he is projecting himself to be. He plays the part of that character with his actions, as well.
*The more convincingly he plays a part, the more of that character he can retain for use later. He can will himself to look like that person for a period of time outside of the influence of the people around him. (So he can force himself to ignore the draw of people’s expectations for brief periods, but only when he plays a part. If he tries to be “himself” he is still open to the influences of others.)
*The change is very quick, hardly noticeable even if someone stared at him while it happened.
Weaknesses:
*If he tries to tell the truth, what he actually says is twisted to make it untrue, though typically in kind of an awkward way. He’s learned that it’s better just to lie intentionally.
*Trying to remember each and every lie that he’s told everyone gets exhausting!
*His lies must be believed. If he fails to convince other people of those lies, he loses the ability to speak on the subject they were discussing. If they grow suspicious of him, he starts rambling or stuttering.
*Only one person at a time can influence the way his face shifts.
*He can’t stop himself from shifting. He cannot chose what he looks like (ie. pick a face out of a magazine and pretend to be that person). The changing happens randomly and constantly until he speaks with someone and the change is directed by them. Every person has an idea in their head about the ideal person, their character, and behaviors. Jamison is drawn to try to become that person for whoever he is interacting with. Thus, he looks different for every person when he first meets them.
*The rest of his body doesn’t shift.
*Jamison also can’t tell exactly what he looks like to another individual, when he looks in a mirror he sees his true self. Photos capture whatever his face looks like at the time, so he avoids having his picture taken whenever possible because he never knows how they’ll turn out.
Secondary Mutation description:
Perception sensitivity: Jamison can read a person’s basic emotions or surface thoughts, as they pertain to him, while he can see them. Jamison only sees thoughts and emotional states that relate or could possibly relate to him. For example, if someone was considering robbing a bank that he was in, he would be able to detect ill intentions in that person. Their emotions appear as colors and abstract shapes in a cloud over their face. With practice, he has learned to interpret what these ‘pictures’ mean and what the person he is interacting with expects him to do in response. His interpretations shape how he behaves towards that person.
Strengths:
*He can see/ understand the thoughts and emotions of people around him- that is anyone in visual range if any of their thoughts affect or include him. The cloud is a basic overview of what they are thinking, summed up in colors and shapes.
*He can tell when someone is trying to hide something from him or lies to
him. He sees on their cloud that they know they are lying, being tricky or deceitful, malicious, etc.
Weaknesses:
*Jamison can only see thoughts that pertain to him.
*He can really only focus on a few individuals at a time.
*His interpretations of the colors/ what they are thinking can be wrong because colors are rather non-specific. Some of it is guess work, some of it is intuition. Accuracy of reading improves the more time he spends with a person, the better he knows them, and the fewer the number of people he is trying to read.
Fighting Style (if applicable)
Fists/ hand-to-hand combat. Basic weapons training with an M16 A2 Rifle, bayonet, and grenades from his military training. He prefers not to use weapons.
Strengths: His punches pack quite a bit of punch. Jamison has gone through basic combat training for the army, marines, navy, and air force several times each and keeps the practice up in his free time. He is able to take on a single man or a small group, armed with knives or dull weapons (bats, lamps, etc.).
Weaknesses: Obviously won’t do much against mutated attacks or mind probes/ mental attacks. He could see mental attacks coming, or rather the malice behind them and dangerous intent thanks to his clouds, but wouldn’t be able to do anything to prevent it.
Faction Allegiance Unaffiliated
History Of Your Character:Jamison’s always known that his sense of morality didn’t match up with his words and sometimes, his actions. He was raised by his father who was in the air force and thus, constantly moved from place to place. He idolizes his father as a paragon of nobility, honor, and honesty, but always felt like a disappointment to him because of his own shortcomings.
Roleplay
Where did you learn about this site?: Katrina
Do you have any other existing characters, if so who:
KaiSample RP:Jamison met and held the Lt. Commander’s steady gaze, willing him to understand and accept what was happening. He didn’t waver, even as a pale cloud materialized in the space between them, hovering over Lt. Commander Wallace’s face.
“Private Matthews,” he addressed Jamison by one of his aliases in a curt tone, “I will ask you one last time, and I expect a straight answer. Why, when we contacted your bank to set-up your direct payments, did they tell us that there is no ‘Kevin T. Matthews’ with an account there?”
The pause during which Jamison was supposed to answer only stretched out for a few awkward seconds before Lt. Commander Wallace fired the next round at him. “Private, why did you supply us with false information regarding your bank account and social security number? Why did you lie on your application and initial paperwork?” Each question seemed to take more and more effort for the Lt. Commander. He was clearly getting worked up, but there was nothing that the man across the desk from him could say.
Jamison had no way to contradict Wallace or set the record straight, as he’d been asked to do at the beginning of their meeting. At this point, he could only sit in silence and wait, knowing from experience how the rest of this would all play out.
Wallace sat back and regarded him again. “You’re bright, Matthews. One of the most promising new recruits we’ve had all year. You’ve never been late nor reprimanded for any unbecoming behavior. I just don’t get it.” The bewildered expression was replaced by his business face, once more.
Here it comes, Jamison thought, dismissal.
“I’m afraid that the army just can’t use you, son. I wish it weren’t so. We could… well, never mind that.” His eyes filled with something. Compassion, maybe? Or regret that he was bound by strict rules? Either way, he cleared his throat and continued. “Clear out your things and speak with Marsha in accounting. She’ll see that you get your pay for the last two weeks. In cash.” Under his breath he added, “Right thing to do… only way…”
He stood and faced his superior officer/ former superior officer and saluted him one last time. “Thank you, sir,” he said with a straight face. It was a pleasure serving under you, he wanted to add. He let his hand fall back to his side, turned, and walked out of the office.
His face said ‘stoic’, but his heart crumpled just the slightest amount at his fifth dismissal from the army. He squared his shoulders and walked straight past Marsha to explore civilian life. For the time being he was sick of South Carolina. His destination was New York City this time. He might as well enjoy it for as long as it lasted before he moved on to the next place.
