Canon-point and Head-canon... (Spoilers)
Mar. 1st, 2030 02:44 pm...Or why I do not use Prototype 2 and consider it part of my canon."
So, this is going to be a spoiler-heavy post, as I will lay out why I pulled Alex from the end of Prototype, the first game, and am not considering Prototype 2. I will disclaim that I have not played in full Prototype 2, nor am I denying it might or might not be a good game--simply laying out that I do not consider it for this RP or for my Canon and Head-canon.
( Prototype 1--Anti-Hero Alex and my head-canon. )
( Prototype 2--Alex as the big bad villain. )
Please, as always, be intelligent and polite with criticisms or questions at least. That's all I ask.
So, this is going to be a spoiler-heavy post, as I will lay out why I pulled Alex from the end of Prototype, the first game, and am not considering Prototype 2. I will disclaim that I have not played in full Prototype 2, nor am I denying it might or might not be a good game--simply laying out that I do not consider it for this RP or for my Canon and Head-canon.
( Prototype 1--Anti-Hero Alex and my head-canon. )
( Prototype 2--Alex as the big bad villain. )
Please, as always, be intelligent and polite with criticisms or questions at least. That's all I ask.
The Return Journey Permissions
Dec. 23rd, 2021 02:33 amOUT OF CHARACTER
PLAYER: Lin
PRONOUNS: She/Her
CONTACT: plurk=shinotenshi22 or PM this journal
THREADJACKING: Ask first
CANONPUNTURE: Please no.
BACKTAGGING: Sure
CONTENT WARNINGS: Sexual trauma/sexual horror, gratuitously gory body horror descriptions,
IN CHARACTER
CHARACTER: Alex Mercer
CANON: Prototype
AGE: 29
DESCRIPTION: Caucasian male standing 5'10"/178cm, brown hair (not that most people ever see it under the hood) with piercing silvery-blue eyes. Alex is rarely seen without his leather jacket and a hoodie--hood up. Those who look closely at him might notice his skin is slightly pallid and some faint darkness around his eyes as if he were sick. He often slightly hunches over, and seems as if he's always loosely on guard.
DEMEANOR: Quiet, suspicious, paranoid, skeptical, curious, inquisitive, thoughtful. He doesn't tend to speak a lot unless spoken to, and then will hold the conversation only if it keeps his interest. His skepticism and suspicious nature tend to result in a lot of snark and sarcasm.
He's not very approachable or open, but with the right people--once you gain his trust, you have it. He won't necessarily harm others, but he's learning to at least look out for people besides himself and those he cares about. It's still often grudging though, unless it's an emergency and someone's in danger. Then he's a little more likely to intervene, especially if it's someone who can't defend themselves or an innocent.
If he does actually like and trust you, he enjoys more intelligent conversation, and both loves and hates philosophy. He's trying to figure out his place in the world, after all.
ABILITIES: Let me just link you to his main page.
OFFENSIVE SUBJECTS: To Alex? Using innocents as unknowing and un-consenting guinea pigs in scientific experiments.
INTERACTIONS
MAGIC: Easily susceptible to, and skeptical of, magic. He has no defenses against it. Much like with Mental below--if you're using something that'd get in his head, please PM or talk to me. His head is not a good place to be...
MENTAL: Alex is stubborn and very strong willed, but has no other defenses. That said, if you're trying to use a mental power on him please PM me or talk to me. His head is complicated and not a good place to be.
MIMICRY: Expect him to be confused by it.
INTIMACY: It takes a lot to earn his trust, and he's not very touchy-feely.
VIOLENCE: SURE THING! It's how he solves most things. Given his abilities are turned off most likely, if you'd severely injure him or kill him please discuss with me first.
OTHER: SPOILER!--BIG SPOILER-- Alex looks human, but...isn't. His state of being is actually pretty complicated, so if you have something special you'd like to try or detect or figure out, please let me know and we'll work something out.
OPT-OUT
Do you want to opt out of interacting with me or my character? Please reply below with your name and character journals.
PLAYER: Lin
PRONOUNS: She/Her
CONTACT: plurk=shinotenshi22 or PM this journal
THREADJACKING: Ask first
CANONPUNTURE: Please no.
BACKTAGGING: Sure
CONTENT WARNINGS: Sexual trauma/sexual horror, gratuitously gory body horror descriptions,
IN CHARACTER
CHARACTER: Alex Mercer
CANON: Prototype
AGE: 29
DESCRIPTION: Caucasian male standing 5'10"/178cm, brown hair (not that most people ever see it under the hood) with piercing silvery-blue eyes. Alex is rarely seen without his leather jacket and a hoodie--hood up. Those who look closely at him might notice his skin is slightly pallid and some faint darkness around his eyes as if he were sick. He often slightly hunches over, and seems as if he's always loosely on guard.
DEMEANOR: Quiet, suspicious, paranoid, skeptical, curious, inquisitive, thoughtful. He doesn't tend to speak a lot unless spoken to, and then will hold the conversation only if it keeps his interest. His skepticism and suspicious nature tend to result in a lot of snark and sarcasm.
He's not very approachable or open, but with the right people--once you gain his trust, you have it. He won't necessarily harm others, but he's learning to at least look out for people besides himself and those he cares about. It's still often grudging though, unless it's an emergency and someone's in danger. Then he's a little more likely to intervene, especially if it's someone who can't defend themselves or an innocent.
If he does actually like and trust you, he enjoys more intelligent conversation, and both loves and hates philosophy. He's trying to figure out his place in the world, after all.
ABILITIES: Let me just link you to his main page.
OFFENSIVE SUBJECTS: To Alex? Using innocents as unknowing and un-consenting guinea pigs in scientific experiments.
INTERACTIONS
MAGIC: Easily susceptible to, and skeptical of, magic. He has no defenses against it. Much like with Mental below--if you're using something that'd get in his head, please PM or talk to me. His head is not a good place to be...
MENTAL: Alex is stubborn and very strong willed, but has no other defenses. That said, if you're trying to use a mental power on him please PM me or talk to me. His head is complicated and not a good place to be.
MIMICRY: Expect him to be confused by it.
INTIMACY: It takes a lot to earn his trust, and he's not very touchy-feely.
VIOLENCE: SURE THING! It's how he solves most things. Given his abilities are turned off most likely, if you'd severely injure him or kill him please discuss with me first.
OTHER: SPOILER!--BIG SPOILER-- Alex looks human, but...isn't. His state of being is actually pretty complicated, so if you have something special you'd like to try or detect or figure out, please let me know and we'll work something out.
OPT-OUT
Do you want to opt out of interacting with me or my character? Please reply below with your name and character journals.
The Return Journey Application
Dec. 20th, 2021 06:33 pmOOC Info
Player: Lin
Contact: Plurk![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
shinotenshi22, or PM this journal
Age Confirmation: 39
Other Characters:
IC Info
Character: Alex Mercer
Canon: Prototype
Canon Point: End of first game.
Age: 29
History:Alex Mercer spent the first 9 yrs of his life in poverty, shuttled from foster-care to foster-care, until his mother was released from prison when he was 10. He was better off before being placed back with his mother, and acted as the only parental figure for his sister, Dana. His intelligence and aptitude for science lead him to take solace only in his work. He couldn't care what people thought of him, didn't trust anyone, and had no friends--he was borderline sociopathic. Graduating with a doctorate in genetics from Columbia University, he soon found a position as Head Researcher on the Blacklight Project for the corporation, Gentek. Working with viral samples provided by the government, Alex and his team soon engineered a very potent and particularly virulent virus that was codenamed "Blacklight". He was years ahead of his competitors and an asset to the corporation.
However, he was viewed as a liability by Blackwatch, an elite black-ops group designed to combat exotic threats. Officially, Blackwatch does not exist--and has jurisdiction and priority over the US Army and marines when they are called in. They do have a professional branch, Gentek, associated with them. In time, Gentek became scrutinized with an investigation proposed--and Blackwatch, fearing a leak, proceeded to cover it up and shut it down. Alex, being paranoid, began his own secret investigation that eventually led to him deciding to flee for safety. He escaped to Penn Station, where he was cornered by Blackwatch agents. He'd brought insurance with him, in the form of a sample vial of the Blacklight virus--and when cornered, smashed it on the ground in frustrated spite before he was promptly shot and killed. Unfortunately, he'd caused everyone in the station to start becoming infected which became the beginnings of a biological apocalypse in Manhattan. As he died, Alex collapsed on to the viral sample, infecting him as he died.
Next thing he knows, Alex is waking up in the morgue as he was taken back to Gentek straight from Penn Station and his 'death'. He has no memory of what happened, and no clear memories of his previous life. The two men about to cut into him for autopsy fled, and Alex is confused by why they were terrified of him. Running after them, he realizes quickly that Blackwatch is not his friend when he sees them shoot the scientists as they attempt to escape. He's quickly noticed, and then confused as he's shot--but his body regenerates the wounds instantaneously. Fleeing, he surprises the soldiers and himself when he clears a several-feet high fence around the facility in a single bound.
From there, he found himself trapped in Manhattan, with strange new abilities, and a determined desire to track down those responsible for his situation, and uncover the truth about what happened to him. He's wanted by the Blackwatch group as well as the US Military, determined to eradicate the virus and the growing number of infected civilians. Soon learning the location of his sister, he goes to reunite with her. He's hoping she has answers, and arrives to find her about to be taken by Blackwatch. Dana is terrified, witnessing Alex impale the soldier holding her with his fist, but he convinces her to help him anyways.
The two flee to Dana's safe-house, where she has a laptop and notes he'd sent her weeks prior, asking her to investigate Gentek. She didn't know what had happened to him, but she did tell him everything he told her prior to his vanishing. She insisted the two of them work to uncover the conspiracy, as her words occasionally triggered flashbacks in Alex. Heading to his apartment, he went searching for clues--but Blackwatch was waiting, and triggered a bomb laid in wait. Alex survived the explosion and subsequent plummet down to the streets without a scratch.
The flashbacks were painful to him, and he returns to Dana who shows him files of a woman, Elizabeth Greene, who seems to be the center of it all. Heading to Gentek, Alex finds her waiting for him, saying "The time for waiting is over..." before she frees herself, knocking him across the room into a wall, and then disintegrating another wall. She sent mutant-beast like hunters after him when he escaped, and she herself took charge of the infection.
Dana continues to assist him in searching out clues and targets. Alex also locates his ex, Karen Parker, who promises to try and cure him. She sends him to collect samples of the virus, but when he arrives inside a hive and is ambushed by Captain Robert Cross, he realizes she's betrayed him. Cross used both his own soldiers and infected to battle Alex, and while Alex wins--Cross mentions "Penn Station" and triggers a flashback; while Alex is dealing with that flashback, Cross injects him with a parasitic biological weapon designed to deal with the Blacklight virus.
Alex flees, but he is unable to use any of his abilities aside from superhuman strength and speed, and escapes Blackwatch to head back to Dana. She directs him to Dr. Bradley Ragland, who the director of Gentek (Dr. Raymond McMullen) is keeping an eye on. Formerly working for Gentek, Ragland had quit when he was unwilling to work on the Blackwatch initiated projects. Dr. Ragland can likely lead them to McMullen.
With the help of Dr. Ragland, Alex finds a cure for the parasite that infected him, restoring his powers and abilities, and gaining two new ones. He's also placed as a #1 Terrorist threat due to treasonous activities against the United States. Alex then returns to Dana, who is then kidnapped by a new kind of Hunter-infected. Alex persues, but is unable to rescue her. Returning to Dr. Ragland, Alex locates and kills the leader-hunter that took Dana, and penetrates the core Hive where she is being held. There, he confronts Elizabeth Greene.
During the struggle, Greene seems to best him, but Alex injects her with the syringe containing the parasite extracted from him. This hurts her, and breeds a new hunter entirely, as she retreats. Alex manages to defeat this new supreme hunter, and rescue Dana--but as he's fleeing, he doesn't notice the clawed hand rising from a pile of biomass. He takes her to Dr. Ragland, as she is in a coma, and Ragland promises to watch over her.
The conspiracy unfolds further, and a mysterious contact helps him start to uncover the truth about the virus, Mercer, and Elizabeth Greene. Greene was the only survivor of a test-outbreak at Hope, Idaho, in 1969. The virus (Redlight) found a perfect host in her, and she and her newborn son were taken as military assets and held in isolation. The government was inspired to work with Gentek, and Greene was held at Gentek and studied by scientists, leading to the Blacklight Project and hopefully to lead to a new biological weapons program. This was the project Dr. Alex Mercer had been working on and subsequently died for. The man who's been uncovering this is actually the Blacklight Virus, having copied Alex Mercer when he died, down to the genetic level.
The military soon reveals a new weapon against the virus; a biological agent known as Bloodtox, which is designed to kill the virus and its hosts. The chemical is deployed across the city, driving the infection underground where it begins amassing and concentrating beneath the surface. The unknown contact directs Alex to aid the military in pumping the bloodtox into the ground, hoping it'll drive the infection out into the open once more where it could be fought directly. Greene, now as a new form of viral organism, comes to the surface to fight Alex. He kills "Mother", and consumes Elizabeth Greene.
Attempting to confront Dr. McMullen, who was the head of Research and Founder of Gentek, Alex became engaged in a grueling battle with the marines and Blackwatch. Finally confronting the man, he is denied the answers McMullen holds when McMullen shoots himself in the head before Alex can consume him. Soon thereafter, the mysterious contact reveals himself to be none-other than Captain Cross and reveals plans that Gen. Randall (the Blackwatch leader) has to nuke Manhattan to stop the infection. Alex is directed to General Taggart, whom Cross has been ordered to capture, and is attempting to flee the city. General Taggart is Alex and Cross's ticket on to the USS Reagan, where Gen. Randall is now stationed and preparing their final assault.
Finding and consuming Taggart, the pair confront Randall, but Alex is soon betrayed as the Supreme Hunter had survived. Consuming Cross at some point, it has been using Alex, and now intended to consume him in turn, then wait for things to quiet down before restarting the infection. Alex manages to defeat the Supreme Hunter and with only minutes before the bomb goes off--takes a helicopter and drops it into the Atlantic. The bomb detonates at sea, but Alex has been unable to escape the blast radius. Somehow, he survives--as non-descript piles of biomass and wreckage on the city shore. Consuming a crow, he is able to reform himself into human form shortly thereafter.
Looking out over the water, Alex thinks to himself "I looked for the truth, found it. Didn't like it, wish to hell I could forget it. Alex Mercer.... This city suffered for his mistakes... for what he did at Penn station and whoever he was, that's a part of me, 'cause when I close my eyes, I see the memories of a thousand dead men, screaming as I take their lives. Moments I'll relive forever. What have I become? Something less than human, but also something more." before walking off into the city. Later scenes imply Manhattan is in a recovering state, the virus almost completely destroyed.
--Obviously for the game I would not use that last paragraph, as he'd likely be intercepted by the Navarch while 'dead'.
About: Alex as he is, is struggling to first clean up mistakes that both are and aren't his own, but also to figure out how he fits in with humanity. For that matter is humanity worth it? Does he want to fit in? It's interesting that virus!Alex actually seems to have more of a conscience than real!Alex ever did. (Remember real!Alex unleashed the virus while Dana was in the city--she's the closest thing he seems to have had to a morality pet, and he still put her in direct danger.)
To me, it's almost as if all the people he's consumed--many of whom are not the best examples of humanity themselves--are infecting him in turn. He has all their memories and skills, and he can hear them/experience them still in his mind. So now you have this new life-form, who's trying to figure out their place in the world. Taking responsibility shows growth, and it could simply be an act of enlightened self-interest. (Stop the virus, stop the hunt, make it safer for himself) But even if it is, enlightened self-interest isn't a bad thing. It can lead to great good as the person realizes 'what's good for others is also good for me'.
The virus!Alex already shows signs of remorse, and wanting to do better--which then gets written away in between-game comics and in the 2nd game which is why I ignore it. I prefer to take this individual who's had very little good in his life at all, and is trying to develop a conscience and figure out where and how he fits in in life. He has many skills and abilities at his disposal---does he have a responsibility to use them for good? Does he want to use them for evil? Does he want to give a shit or not? It's a fascinating struggle for me.
Essentially, the only guide he has is 'humanity' but what makes one human? Does he WANT to be a human? Does he want to fit in with them at all and why? It's a way to explore further 'nurture' aspects vs. nature and I also find that interesting to play off of. Alex is still paranoid, has no reason to easily trust, and can still be terrifying and predatory if needed. He can and will use people, but what motivates him might change. How would he change if encouraged in better ways?
Interacting with the world, especially finding himself on the Peregrine and with the Navarch, he’s going to be skeptical. It will take a lot for him to believe this is really possible. But at the same time, he’s been through a lot that shouldn’t BE possible, and he did say ‘yes’. He’s coming willingly into this, because there is a chance it can help him stop the infection.
The most important person in his life is his sister, Dana. She helps him unravel the conspiracy, and his direct actions lead to her getting hurt and captured. Further, I find it reveals a lot about the relationship, that Alex (virus) while thinking he was real showed more emotion towards Dana and more care about her than is implied by actions (releasing the virus, sending Dana documents) that the real!Alex took. This is a key difference and in some ways a sign to me of the conflict again of nature vs. nurture that I’d love to explore.
At first, he’s on a quest for answers--but then when Dana is captured, she becomes his priority and her status at the end of the first game is left unanswered. Is she okay? She’s in the care of Dr. Ragland, but still in a coma… Was she infected by Greene at all? What happens to her? For a chance for her to be safe and okay; this one important person to him who’s been through this difficulty and discovery with him and on his side the whole time--he’d take a shot at redemption.
Skills and Abilities: Basic Abilities: Alex Mercer isn't human; he is the Blacklight virus that excels in mimicry and retention of information from its host. Every particle of him, including his clothing and equipment, is composed of viral Biomass, and manipulated at will. He can further absorb the organic matter of other living creatures, converting it to more biomass--this is known as Consuming. This can regenerate his health, and upon consuming an individual, grant him access to their knowledge and skills (such as piloting an APC with hundreds of moving parts) as well as their physical form. He can also shift his body into various weapons, including an armored form that makes him something of a human tank.
His basic physical prowess includes: Shapeshifting, Superhuman Strength, Superhuman Speed, Superhuman agility, Superhuman endurance, a healing factor, and Superhuman senses. Being composed entirely of viral biomass, he has no weak-spots like vital organs or bones anymore.
Superhuman Strength: Alex is capable of great feats of strength like lifting an armored personnel carrier or the remains of a tank, and throwing it great distances, or carrying it while running and jumping. A glancing blow from him can kill most humans and normal infected. He's capable of punching through most anything (like a 2 foot steel door).
Superhuman Speed: Alex can gain running speeds that overtake most vehicles. He's also been shown to be able to run up the sides of buildings easily and at odd angles.
Superhuman Agility: Alex is capable, with flips, rolls, and dodges, of moving over and around almost any obstacle in his path--from cars, to buildings, to light-posts. He can leap several stories high, and can cling to walls or run up vertical surfaces easily, often for hours. He's also capable of short periods of gliding, by making his biomass lighter in the air; ejecting small amounts of it will also give him more propulsion.
Superhuman Endurance: He can survive falls and impacts from great heights, with no scratches and bullets going right through his body. He can withstand direct hits from rockets, hellfire missiles and tank shells, which cause only moderate damage. Other superhumanly strong attacks (like Hunters or D-code soldiers) cause him the most damage. Because of this stamina, he can be active at any time without tiring.
Healing/Regeneration: Alex regenerates easily, and properly nourished--can heal in a matter of seconds or minutes from small wounds, without a need to consume anything. He can even regenerate his entire physical form: examples include being shot point blank in the face, or being blasted to small amounts of bio-mass piles and the biomass of a crow. His immune system is such that repeated exposure to things (like bloodtox) gives him growing immunity. He was unable to counter a parasitic cancer introduced into his system without outside help.
Superhuman senses: Alex's vision and hearing is enhanced, allowing him to see beyond the visible spectrum and hear across great distances even with physical insulation. Sub-abilities of this include Thermal-vision, allowing him to detect heat-sources, and Infected-vision, which allows him to see other infected, and tap into the viral hive-mind of Elizabeth Greene's offspring.
Shape-shifted Skills: These include the Disguise, Musclemass, Claws, Blade, Whipfist, Hammerfist, Shield, and Armor abilities.
Disguise:
Alex is a capable of shape-shifting completely into any human he's consumed, as that assimilates their DNA into his own. It's a complete copy, voice and all--and while it's more difficult to shape-shift into people he has never consumed, he can probably do that too. This only works for human targets. If he uses this for infiltration, any actions he takes that might compromise his disguise make it harder for him to stay hidden.
Musclemass:
Musclemass is a basic strength augmentation ability, as Alex shifts more bio-mass and power to his arms, leading to them growing slightly larger and more pronounced along his forearms. Even though it boosts his strength further, to immense proportions, it doesn't change any of his basic abilities. It's most effective when used against living targets. The musclemass does slightly increase his speed, with no negative impact on his agility.
Claws:
The claws are formed by shifting biomass along Alex's arms to result in four-bladed 'talons' at the end of his arm, small spikes of biomass resulting along the rest of his arm. They're used effectively in close combat, are razor-sharp, and the fastest of his weapons. His speed and agility are not affected, and he has shown some limited degree of dexterity and manipulation with the claws themselves.
Blade:
The blade takes the place of Alex's arm, bio-mass shifting such that a large, razor-sharp, scything blade takes over the limb. It's a fast and strong thrusting and cutting weapon, while being the strongest of Alex's basic attacks. It has a short radius, but makes up for that by being able to damage vehicles as well as slice through living matter easily.
Whipfist:
A thin, flexible, blade-edged arm that can be used to attack at extreme range, or whip through entire crowds of enemies. Alex's arm transforms to be composed of thin and flexible biomass that is capable of being hurled at great ranges. On the end, it has 4 small claws, almost like shorter versions of his talons from the claws-ability.
Hammerfist:
Shifting a large amount of bio-mass to his hands to make them Hammer-like, Alex can easily pound vehicles into submission, including tanks, with this ability. The Hammerfists are the slowest of his abilities, and somewhat hinder his speed and agility in minor degrees. They can be pounded on the ground to create small craters, and thus generate shockwaves.
Shield:
The Shield will absorb damage on impact, preserving Health completely—until it breaks. Once broken, the Shield must regenerate before it will once again repel damage. A large amount of biomass is shifted to Alex's left arm and molding it into a nigh-impenetrable black-biomass shield. If standing still, it appears as a mass on his shoulder, while being shown active when running/sprinting/jumping. It can be used as a make-shift battering ram, Alex mowing down things in his path while running. Once it breaks, he'll take a small amount of damage, but the shield regenerates near-instantly.
Armor:
Alex forms full-body-armor by having layers of hardened-black-bio-mass encase his form. His speed and agility are mildly compromised in this form, due to him now being a walking tank. It severely reduces most damage he takes, and can be used in conjunction with his other abilities.
Other Skills: Alex has at the very least a genius-level IQ, earning himself a doctorate in Genetics and pioneering work on a military biological weapon where his work was years ahead of his nearest competitor. During the outbreak in Manhattan, to uncover and unravel the conspiracy, Alex consumed military commanders and soldiers, and others connected with Gentek.
He is capable of wielding various military weapons including assault rifles and grenade launchers, and of piloting M1 Abrams tanks, Thermobaric tanks, M2 Bradley Armored Personnel Carriers, an AH-64D Apache Longbow Gunship (helicopter), and a UH-60 Blackhawk Transport helicopter. He likely CAN learn to pilot and/or drive vehicles without consuming people, but the fastest way for him to gain expertise is by consuming targets.
Why does your character need to be redeemed? First, I am a sucker for a good redemption arc, especially for villains-->anti-villains-->anti-heroes--->Heroes. (Although if they stay an anti-hero that's also good too.)
Alex is already on his way to beginning his redemption, but lacks guidance. All the memories---his own and others--he has don't exactly show the best of humanity. Very often they show the worst. But in the game itself we SEE the virus!Alex takes actions that indicate at least the beginnings of a sense of responsibility to fix what he caused. Why? What benefit is it to him?
To me, it's a case of nature vs. nurture and we've got a good idea of how 'nurture' turned out in the Real! Alex Mercer. Here, we have this new life form, patterned after Alex Mercer and with all of his experiences, skills, memories--but also with a chance to be different. He's encouraged by Ragland and Dana, even if it's only a little bit--and I'd love to explore that more. At first I see him learning to act in enlightened self-interest, and develop that tiny conscience more.
Mostly, I want to do better than give him all the terrible things that happen to him and lead to the 2nd game, where he decides humanity isn't worth saving at all. Yes Humanity can be terrible---he's seen and been part of that, but he also gets glimpses that it can be more. HE can be more. I very much want to explore that with him, and find where and how he fits into the world now.
Charges: Briefly list the crimes that led to your character's incarceration on the Peregrine.
--Mass murder/serial killing via consumption. Unleashing a massive biological weapon on a major city (Manhattan, New York).
Pick and Choose: This section has a 600 word limit.
– Does your character think they were right to do what they did?
Yes and no. Yes because in many ways, it's gotten a lot of nasty shit out in the open where it can be excised. The infection can be healed and cut away, both literally and figuratively. No, because it was an absolute disaster with no plan. Alex went in trying to find answers to his scrambled memories, and uncovered a few major conspiracies, killed a number of people, and unleashed a deadly viral weapon on a major city leading to more death and destruction. In some ways though, there was no other way TO do this---it had to play out this way, due to circumstances beyond his control and his own fractured memories and journey. WITHIN his control, he thought he was doing the right thing--and when it became clear it was the wrong choice, he then set about trying to fix it.
Graduation: He'd go back, and continue helping to blunt the infection, perhaps team up with others who are working outside the major corrupted systems to do so. He'd definitely want to take care of Dana and help Dr. Ragland.
I also would not mind him trying to help others as a warden, once his task is taken care of.
Sample:
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Player: Lin
Contact: Plurk
shinotenshi22, or PM this journalAge Confirmation: 39
Other Characters:
IC Info
Character: Alex Mercer
Canon: Prototype
Canon Point: End of first game.
Age: 29
History:Alex Mercer spent the first 9 yrs of his life in poverty, shuttled from foster-care to foster-care, until his mother was released from prison when he was 10. He was better off before being placed back with his mother, and acted as the only parental figure for his sister, Dana. His intelligence and aptitude for science lead him to take solace only in his work. He couldn't care what people thought of him, didn't trust anyone, and had no friends--he was borderline sociopathic. Graduating with a doctorate in genetics from Columbia University, he soon found a position as Head Researcher on the Blacklight Project for the corporation, Gentek. Working with viral samples provided by the government, Alex and his team soon engineered a very potent and particularly virulent virus that was codenamed "Blacklight". He was years ahead of his competitors and an asset to the corporation.
However, he was viewed as a liability by Blackwatch, an elite black-ops group designed to combat exotic threats. Officially, Blackwatch does not exist--and has jurisdiction and priority over the US Army and marines when they are called in. They do have a professional branch, Gentek, associated with them. In time, Gentek became scrutinized with an investigation proposed--and Blackwatch, fearing a leak, proceeded to cover it up and shut it down. Alex, being paranoid, began his own secret investigation that eventually led to him deciding to flee for safety. He escaped to Penn Station, where he was cornered by Blackwatch agents. He'd brought insurance with him, in the form of a sample vial of the Blacklight virus--and when cornered, smashed it on the ground in frustrated spite before he was promptly shot and killed. Unfortunately, he'd caused everyone in the station to start becoming infected which became the beginnings of a biological apocalypse in Manhattan. As he died, Alex collapsed on to the viral sample, infecting him as he died.
Next thing he knows, Alex is waking up in the morgue as he was taken back to Gentek straight from Penn Station and his 'death'. He has no memory of what happened, and no clear memories of his previous life. The two men about to cut into him for autopsy fled, and Alex is confused by why they were terrified of him. Running after them, he realizes quickly that Blackwatch is not his friend when he sees them shoot the scientists as they attempt to escape. He's quickly noticed, and then confused as he's shot--but his body regenerates the wounds instantaneously. Fleeing, he surprises the soldiers and himself when he clears a several-feet high fence around the facility in a single bound.
From there, he found himself trapped in Manhattan, with strange new abilities, and a determined desire to track down those responsible for his situation, and uncover the truth about what happened to him. He's wanted by the Blackwatch group as well as the US Military, determined to eradicate the virus and the growing number of infected civilians. Soon learning the location of his sister, he goes to reunite with her. He's hoping she has answers, and arrives to find her about to be taken by Blackwatch. Dana is terrified, witnessing Alex impale the soldier holding her with his fist, but he convinces her to help him anyways.
The two flee to Dana's safe-house, where she has a laptop and notes he'd sent her weeks prior, asking her to investigate Gentek. She didn't know what had happened to him, but she did tell him everything he told her prior to his vanishing. She insisted the two of them work to uncover the conspiracy, as her words occasionally triggered flashbacks in Alex. Heading to his apartment, he went searching for clues--but Blackwatch was waiting, and triggered a bomb laid in wait. Alex survived the explosion and subsequent plummet down to the streets without a scratch.
The flashbacks were painful to him, and he returns to Dana who shows him files of a woman, Elizabeth Greene, who seems to be the center of it all. Heading to Gentek, Alex finds her waiting for him, saying "The time for waiting is over..." before she frees herself, knocking him across the room into a wall, and then disintegrating another wall. She sent mutant-beast like hunters after him when he escaped, and she herself took charge of the infection.
Dana continues to assist him in searching out clues and targets. Alex also locates his ex, Karen Parker, who promises to try and cure him. She sends him to collect samples of the virus, but when he arrives inside a hive and is ambushed by Captain Robert Cross, he realizes she's betrayed him. Cross used both his own soldiers and infected to battle Alex, and while Alex wins--Cross mentions "Penn Station" and triggers a flashback; while Alex is dealing with that flashback, Cross injects him with a parasitic biological weapon designed to deal with the Blacklight virus.
Alex flees, but he is unable to use any of his abilities aside from superhuman strength and speed, and escapes Blackwatch to head back to Dana. She directs him to Dr. Bradley Ragland, who the director of Gentek (Dr. Raymond McMullen) is keeping an eye on. Formerly working for Gentek, Ragland had quit when he was unwilling to work on the Blackwatch initiated projects. Dr. Ragland can likely lead them to McMullen.
With the help of Dr. Ragland, Alex finds a cure for the parasite that infected him, restoring his powers and abilities, and gaining two new ones. He's also placed as a #1 Terrorist threat due to treasonous activities against the United States. Alex then returns to Dana, who is then kidnapped by a new kind of Hunter-infected. Alex persues, but is unable to rescue her. Returning to Dr. Ragland, Alex locates and kills the leader-hunter that took Dana, and penetrates the core Hive where she is being held. There, he confronts Elizabeth Greene.
During the struggle, Greene seems to best him, but Alex injects her with the syringe containing the parasite extracted from him. This hurts her, and breeds a new hunter entirely, as she retreats. Alex manages to defeat this new supreme hunter, and rescue Dana--but as he's fleeing, he doesn't notice the clawed hand rising from a pile of biomass. He takes her to Dr. Ragland, as she is in a coma, and Ragland promises to watch over her.
The conspiracy unfolds further, and a mysterious contact helps him start to uncover the truth about the virus, Mercer, and Elizabeth Greene. Greene was the only survivor of a test-outbreak at Hope, Idaho, in 1969. The virus (Redlight) found a perfect host in her, and she and her newborn son were taken as military assets and held in isolation. The government was inspired to work with Gentek, and Greene was held at Gentek and studied by scientists, leading to the Blacklight Project and hopefully to lead to a new biological weapons program. This was the project Dr. Alex Mercer had been working on and subsequently died for. The man who's been uncovering this is actually the Blacklight Virus, having copied Alex Mercer when he died, down to the genetic level.
The military soon reveals a new weapon against the virus; a biological agent known as Bloodtox, which is designed to kill the virus and its hosts. The chemical is deployed across the city, driving the infection underground where it begins amassing and concentrating beneath the surface. The unknown contact directs Alex to aid the military in pumping the bloodtox into the ground, hoping it'll drive the infection out into the open once more where it could be fought directly. Greene, now as a new form of viral organism, comes to the surface to fight Alex. He kills "Mother", and consumes Elizabeth Greene.
Attempting to confront Dr. McMullen, who was the head of Research and Founder of Gentek, Alex became engaged in a grueling battle with the marines and Blackwatch. Finally confronting the man, he is denied the answers McMullen holds when McMullen shoots himself in the head before Alex can consume him. Soon thereafter, the mysterious contact reveals himself to be none-other than Captain Cross and reveals plans that Gen. Randall (the Blackwatch leader) has to nuke Manhattan to stop the infection. Alex is directed to General Taggart, whom Cross has been ordered to capture, and is attempting to flee the city. General Taggart is Alex and Cross's ticket on to the USS Reagan, where Gen. Randall is now stationed and preparing their final assault.
Finding and consuming Taggart, the pair confront Randall, but Alex is soon betrayed as the Supreme Hunter had survived. Consuming Cross at some point, it has been using Alex, and now intended to consume him in turn, then wait for things to quiet down before restarting the infection. Alex manages to defeat the Supreme Hunter and with only minutes before the bomb goes off--takes a helicopter and drops it into the Atlantic. The bomb detonates at sea, but Alex has been unable to escape the blast radius. Somehow, he survives--as non-descript piles of biomass and wreckage on the city shore. Consuming a crow, he is able to reform himself into human form shortly thereafter.
Looking out over the water, Alex thinks to himself "I looked for the truth, found it. Didn't like it, wish to hell I could forget it. Alex Mercer.... This city suffered for his mistakes... for what he did at Penn station and whoever he was, that's a part of me, 'cause when I close my eyes, I see the memories of a thousand dead men, screaming as I take their lives. Moments I'll relive forever. What have I become? Something less than human, but also something more." before walking off into the city. Later scenes imply Manhattan is in a recovering state, the virus almost completely destroyed.
--Obviously for the game I would not use that last paragraph, as he'd likely be intercepted by the Navarch while 'dead'.
About: Alex as he is, is struggling to first clean up mistakes that both are and aren't his own, but also to figure out how he fits in with humanity. For that matter is humanity worth it? Does he want to fit in? It's interesting that virus!Alex actually seems to have more of a conscience than real!Alex ever did. (Remember real!Alex unleashed the virus while Dana was in the city--she's the closest thing he seems to have had to a morality pet, and he still put her in direct danger.)
To me, it's almost as if all the people he's consumed--many of whom are not the best examples of humanity themselves--are infecting him in turn. He has all their memories and skills, and he can hear them/experience them still in his mind. So now you have this new life-form, who's trying to figure out their place in the world. Taking responsibility shows growth, and it could simply be an act of enlightened self-interest. (Stop the virus, stop the hunt, make it safer for himself) But even if it is, enlightened self-interest isn't a bad thing. It can lead to great good as the person realizes 'what's good for others is also good for me'.
The virus!Alex already shows signs of remorse, and wanting to do better--which then gets written away in between-game comics and in the 2nd game which is why I ignore it. I prefer to take this individual who's had very little good in his life at all, and is trying to develop a conscience and figure out where and how he fits in in life. He has many skills and abilities at his disposal---does he have a responsibility to use them for good? Does he want to use them for evil? Does he want to give a shit or not? It's a fascinating struggle for me.
Essentially, the only guide he has is 'humanity' but what makes one human? Does he WANT to be a human? Does he want to fit in with them at all and why? It's a way to explore further 'nurture' aspects vs. nature and I also find that interesting to play off of. Alex is still paranoid, has no reason to easily trust, and can still be terrifying and predatory if needed. He can and will use people, but what motivates him might change. How would he change if encouraged in better ways?
Interacting with the world, especially finding himself on the Peregrine and with the Navarch, he’s going to be skeptical. It will take a lot for him to believe this is really possible. But at the same time, he’s been through a lot that shouldn’t BE possible, and he did say ‘yes’. He’s coming willingly into this, because there is a chance it can help him stop the infection.
The most important person in his life is his sister, Dana. She helps him unravel the conspiracy, and his direct actions lead to her getting hurt and captured. Further, I find it reveals a lot about the relationship, that Alex (virus) while thinking he was real showed more emotion towards Dana and more care about her than is implied by actions (releasing the virus, sending Dana documents) that the real!Alex took. This is a key difference and in some ways a sign to me of the conflict again of nature vs. nurture that I’d love to explore.
At first, he’s on a quest for answers--but then when Dana is captured, she becomes his priority and her status at the end of the first game is left unanswered. Is she okay? She’s in the care of Dr. Ragland, but still in a coma… Was she infected by Greene at all? What happens to her? For a chance for her to be safe and okay; this one important person to him who’s been through this difficulty and discovery with him and on his side the whole time--he’d take a shot at redemption.
Skills and Abilities: Basic Abilities: Alex Mercer isn't human; he is the Blacklight virus that excels in mimicry and retention of information from its host. Every particle of him, including his clothing and equipment, is composed of viral Biomass, and manipulated at will. He can further absorb the organic matter of other living creatures, converting it to more biomass--this is known as Consuming. This can regenerate his health, and upon consuming an individual, grant him access to their knowledge and skills (such as piloting an APC with hundreds of moving parts) as well as their physical form. He can also shift his body into various weapons, including an armored form that makes him something of a human tank.
His basic physical prowess includes: Shapeshifting, Superhuman Strength, Superhuman Speed, Superhuman agility, Superhuman endurance, a healing factor, and Superhuman senses. Being composed entirely of viral biomass, he has no weak-spots like vital organs or bones anymore.
Superhuman Strength: Alex is capable of great feats of strength like lifting an armored personnel carrier or the remains of a tank, and throwing it great distances, or carrying it while running and jumping. A glancing blow from him can kill most humans and normal infected. He's capable of punching through most anything (like a 2 foot steel door).
Superhuman Speed: Alex can gain running speeds that overtake most vehicles. He's also been shown to be able to run up the sides of buildings easily and at odd angles.
Superhuman Agility: Alex is capable, with flips, rolls, and dodges, of moving over and around almost any obstacle in his path--from cars, to buildings, to light-posts. He can leap several stories high, and can cling to walls or run up vertical surfaces easily, often for hours. He's also capable of short periods of gliding, by making his biomass lighter in the air; ejecting small amounts of it will also give him more propulsion.
Superhuman Endurance: He can survive falls and impacts from great heights, with no scratches and bullets going right through his body. He can withstand direct hits from rockets, hellfire missiles and tank shells, which cause only moderate damage. Other superhumanly strong attacks (like Hunters or D-code soldiers) cause him the most damage. Because of this stamina, he can be active at any time without tiring.
Healing/Regeneration: Alex regenerates easily, and properly nourished--can heal in a matter of seconds or minutes from small wounds, without a need to consume anything. He can even regenerate his entire physical form: examples include being shot point blank in the face, or being blasted to small amounts of bio-mass piles and the biomass of a crow. His immune system is such that repeated exposure to things (like bloodtox) gives him growing immunity. He was unable to counter a parasitic cancer introduced into his system without outside help.
Superhuman senses: Alex's vision and hearing is enhanced, allowing him to see beyond the visible spectrum and hear across great distances even with physical insulation. Sub-abilities of this include Thermal-vision, allowing him to detect heat-sources, and Infected-vision, which allows him to see other infected, and tap into the viral hive-mind of Elizabeth Greene's offspring.
Shape-shifted Skills: These include the Disguise, Musclemass, Claws, Blade, Whipfist, Hammerfist, Shield, and Armor abilities.
Disguise:
Alex is a capable of shape-shifting completely into any human he's consumed, as that assimilates their DNA into his own. It's a complete copy, voice and all--and while it's more difficult to shape-shift into people he has never consumed, he can probably do that too. This only works for human targets. If he uses this for infiltration, any actions he takes that might compromise his disguise make it harder for him to stay hidden.
Musclemass:
Musclemass is a basic strength augmentation ability, as Alex shifts more bio-mass and power to his arms, leading to them growing slightly larger and more pronounced along his forearms. Even though it boosts his strength further, to immense proportions, it doesn't change any of his basic abilities. It's most effective when used against living targets. The musclemass does slightly increase his speed, with no negative impact on his agility.
Claws:
The claws are formed by shifting biomass along Alex's arms to result in four-bladed 'talons' at the end of his arm, small spikes of biomass resulting along the rest of his arm. They're used effectively in close combat, are razor-sharp, and the fastest of his weapons. His speed and agility are not affected, and he has shown some limited degree of dexterity and manipulation with the claws themselves.
Blade:
The blade takes the place of Alex's arm, bio-mass shifting such that a large, razor-sharp, scything blade takes over the limb. It's a fast and strong thrusting and cutting weapon, while being the strongest of Alex's basic attacks. It has a short radius, but makes up for that by being able to damage vehicles as well as slice through living matter easily.
Whipfist:
A thin, flexible, blade-edged arm that can be used to attack at extreme range, or whip through entire crowds of enemies. Alex's arm transforms to be composed of thin and flexible biomass that is capable of being hurled at great ranges. On the end, it has 4 small claws, almost like shorter versions of his talons from the claws-ability.
Hammerfist:
Shifting a large amount of bio-mass to his hands to make them Hammer-like, Alex can easily pound vehicles into submission, including tanks, with this ability. The Hammerfists are the slowest of his abilities, and somewhat hinder his speed and agility in minor degrees. They can be pounded on the ground to create small craters, and thus generate shockwaves.
Shield:
The Shield will absorb damage on impact, preserving Health completely—until it breaks. Once broken, the Shield must regenerate before it will once again repel damage. A large amount of biomass is shifted to Alex's left arm and molding it into a nigh-impenetrable black-biomass shield. If standing still, it appears as a mass on his shoulder, while being shown active when running/sprinting/jumping. It can be used as a make-shift battering ram, Alex mowing down things in his path while running. Once it breaks, he'll take a small amount of damage, but the shield regenerates near-instantly.
Armor:
Alex forms full-body-armor by having layers of hardened-black-bio-mass encase his form. His speed and agility are mildly compromised in this form, due to him now being a walking tank. It severely reduces most damage he takes, and can be used in conjunction with his other abilities.
Other Skills: Alex has at the very least a genius-level IQ, earning himself a doctorate in Genetics and pioneering work on a military biological weapon where his work was years ahead of his nearest competitor. During the outbreak in Manhattan, to uncover and unravel the conspiracy, Alex consumed military commanders and soldiers, and others connected with Gentek.
He is capable of wielding various military weapons including assault rifles and grenade launchers, and of piloting M1 Abrams tanks, Thermobaric tanks, M2 Bradley Armored Personnel Carriers, an AH-64D Apache Longbow Gunship (helicopter), and a UH-60 Blackhawk Transport helicopter. He likely CAN learn to pilot and/or drive vehicles without consuming people, but the fastest way for him to gain expertise is by consuming targets.
Why does your character need to be redeemed? First, I am a sucker for a good redemption arc, especially for villains-->anti-villains-->anti-heroes--->Heroes. (Although if they stay an anti-hero that's also good too.)
Alex is already on his way to beginning his redemption, but lacks guidance. All the memories---his own and others--he has don't exactly show the best of humanity. Very often they show the worst. But in the game itself we SEE the virus!Alex takes actions that indicate at least the beginnings of a sense of responsibility to fix what he caused. Why? What benefit is it to him?
To me, it's a case of nature vs. nurture and we've got a good idea of how 'nurture' turned out in the Real! Alex Mercer. Here, we have this new life form, patterned after Alex Mercer and with all of his experiences, skills, memories--but also with a chance to be different. He's encouraged by Ragland and Dana, even if it's only a little bit--and I'd love to explore that more. At first I see him learning to act in enlightened self-interest, and develop that tiny conscience more.
Mostly, I want to do better than give him all the terrible things that happen to him and lead to the 2nd game, where he decides humanity isn't worth saving at all. Yes Humanity can be terrible---he's seen and been part of that, but he also gets glimpses that it can be more. HE can be more. I very much want to explore that with him, and find where and how he fits into the world now.
Charges: Briefly list the crimes that led to your character's incarceration on the Peregrine.
--Mass murder/serial killing via consumption. Unleashing a massive biological weapon on a major city (Manhattan, New York).
Pick and Choose: This section has a 600 word limit.
– Does your character think they were right to do what they did?
Yes and no. Yes because in many ways, it's gotten a lot of nasty shit out in the open where it can be excised. The infection can be healed and cut away, both literally and figuratively. No, because it was an absolute disaster with no plan. Alex went in trying to find answers to his scrambled memories, and uncovered a few major conspiracies, killed a number of people, and unleashed a deadly viral weapon on a major city leading to more death and destruction. In some ways though, there was no other way TO do this---it had to play out this way, due to circumstances beyond his control and his own fractured memories and journey. WITHIN his control, he thought he was doing the right thing--and when it became clear it was the wrong choice, he then set about trying to fix it.
Graduation: He'd go back, and continue helping to blunt the infection, perhaps team up with others who are working outside the major corrupted systems to do so. He'd definitely want to take care of Dana and help Dr. Ragland.
I also would not mind him trying to help others as a warden, once his task is taken care of.
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