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 | | Subject: Gabriella Guinario Sun Mar 18, 2012 4:03 am | |
| • Gabriella • Marietta • Guinario •  Name: Gabriella Marietta GuinarioNickname: Gabby, Gabbeh, Gabbatron, Gabbinator, Artemis, Boost, Accidental Genocide Machine, Gabpocolypse, Gatastrophe, Magic Italian GirlAge: 22. Date of Birth: February 26th, 1995 (Arrives on Terra from the year 2017)Weight: 125Height: 5'4"Eye color: BlueHair color: BrunetteRace: Human with AbilitiesResidence: Currently HomelessNationality: St. Louis, Missouri, USA, Earth (Italian Heritage)Affiliation: NoneOccupation:UnemployedPlay By: Anna Popplewell• all in the details • Appearance:Gabriella is 5'4", 125 lbs. She has dark brown hair and blue eyes (though she was born with brown eyes, and they changed color with the manifestation of her power). She has a slender build, but is very well-endowed for her size. Time spent in the wilderness has made her extremely athletic and fit. She has a lean physique, sun-tanned skin, and the delicate features of a young woman in her prime. She normally wears dark, loose-fitting clothing that allows for easy movement and concealment.Personality:Gabriella is soft-spoken and a romantic at heart. She spent her childhood hoping to one day be whisked away by Prince Charming on a white horse. Reality has done a lot to shatter those dreams, but she still clings to hope that there is some good in the world. Her time in isolation has led to a great deal of loneliness, and she struggles with depression and guilt, while trying to force herself to maintain a positive outlook.
She bears a great many burdens on her shoulders, and is always haunted by the memories of the hundreds of people she has accidentally gotten killed with her power. She constantly struggles against depression, and is recovering from a long time drug addiction. These trials and dark secrets of her past give her a tragic outlook on life.
Despite this, she is strong and brave in the face of danger. After having faced death as often as she has, she no longer fears its embrace. In truth, a part of her would welcome death, and so she is always ready to rush headlong into danger.
There are some who might consider Gabby an extremist. While she believes she works for a good cause, she was trained in the institute by people who are willing to do ANYTHING it takes to accomplish their goals. They believed that no sacrifice was too much for the greater good, even if it means innocent lives are lost. Gabby has struggled to maintain a more open minded perspective, but the loss of the woman she loves added a deep pain and cynicism to her outlook.
Gabby considers magic and supernatural powers, including her own, to be a danger that needs to be controlled or contained. Mages, people with abilities, and supernatural creatures need to be licensed, studied, and controlled. Laws must be passed to regulate the use of magic, and impose penalties on those who could be a threat to others. Strong powers should be limited to the hands of the privileged few who can understand and control them properly. The government should police the use of powers to minimize the risk to innocent lives. Any threats that cannot be contained or controlled should be eliminated in order to protect the innocent.Abilities:Mana Amplification:
Gabriella exists as a natural well of constantly flowing mana, which amplifies any magical, supernatural, or energy-based abilities around her. Some might consider her to be a walking Ley-line nexus. Others might see her as a valve through which mana pours from the beyond into the physical world. This flow of energy is continuous and exists beyond Gabby's control, though over time she has gained a limited ability to influence it.
The mana flow has a variety of specific effects, as follows:
Mana Sense: Because she is constantly tapped into the flow of mana, Gabby can sense the way mana moves in the world around her, as a type of sixth sense. This allows her to sense when a Mage, magical creature, magical object, active spell, or other supernatural or magical effect is anywhere around her. She can also sense the amount of mana that is flowing from herself into someone or something around her, and tell when that mana level reaches dangerous levels. This includes being able to innately sense how 'out of control' someone is (i.e. when a mage is controlling their power, the flow is stable, but when they are overwhelmed and losing control, the flow is unstable).
This sense, combined with her extensive experience being around augmented magic, has given Gabby an innate understanding of how magic works. She can often deduce the effects of a spell or power, find exploitable weaknesses in it, or predict how her boost will affect a specific individual.
Boost: With direct physical contact, Gabby's energy begins flowing at an accelerated rate into anyone or anything around her that has magical, supernatural, or energy-based abilities or properties. This massively amplifies the powers or properties of the boosted person or object, often with hazardous results. First, the subject is forced to 'switch on' their power (just as a torrent of water could cause a dam to burst). The power cannot be turned off by any means while it is being boosted (the subject must sever contact with the boost before they can shut down their power). Second, the boosted power becomes difficult (if not impossible) to control. Short exposure increases the chance that the power can be safely controlled, but extended contact leads to a continual flow of mana, and the more mana flows into the boosted subject, the stronger the effect becomes, and the harder it is to control.
There is a 'bleed off' time that it takes for a boosted subject to expel the built up energy. The normal rate of expulsion is equal to the rate of build up (i.e. if you spend thirty seconds being boosted, then sever contact, it takes another thirty seconds to expel the built up energy). Skilled individuals can increase or decrease the rate of expulsion, allowing them to either hold on to the extra energy slightly longer, or expel it faster to free themselves of the energy.
Gabby can vary the energy flow into a touched individual, but she cannot turn DOWN the energy level transferred via touch; she can only increase it. So, when in direct physical contact, the energy level starts at VERY HIGH, and can be increased from there (at great risk).
Boosted subjects experience Feedback (see below).
Aura: When subjects are outside range of touch, they may be subjected to Gabby's Mana Aura. This is the natural flow of energy through Gabby, into the world around her. Just like with physical contact, contact with the aura greatly boosts the mana flow to an individual, but the rate can be controlled more easily this way. The aura is a constantly active effect, and Gabby cannot shut it off (since she is a victim of her own power, boosting herself so that she cannot close the dam). She can, however, vary the range. The 'natural' range of the aura is twenty feet in all directions. She can vary its range anywhere from five feet to one hundred feet, but the more she increases or decreases the size, the greater the strain on her part (See 'Side Effects' for details). In extreme cases, she may be able to very briefly push the aura beyond a range of one hundred feet, but doing so causes extreme strain, and will most likely knock Gabby unconscious, possibly driving her comatose, and likely causing serious brain damage.
The energy flow into the aura varies with a subject's range to Gabby. The further a subject is from her, the less energy they receive, and the closer they are, the more they receive (with touch contact giving the highest level of boost). Gabby can vary the energy flow with strain and effort (See 'Side Effects' for details). If she merely lets the energy flow naturally, it rests at NORMAL levels. She can vary the flow anywhere from TRICKLE to VERY HIGH. She cannot boost higher than VERY HIGH without physical contact (though prolonged exposure can push the levels past this point).
Mana effects become boosted when they enter the range of the aura. Spells cast from outside the range have their normal effect at first, but become boosted as soon as they cross the aura's threshold. Spells cast from inside the aura are immediately boosted, even if they are aimed outside. Effects that 'link' a subject across a distance (such as telepathy or a sustained energy beam) allow the aura's boost to flow along the mana channel created by the link, extending the boost across the entire length of the link. Such a link must be severed in order to end the mana flow.
Gabby can vary the mana flows in different directions at once, with concentration. For example, if there are three people within range, she could choose to give one only a TRICKLE, one a NORMAL boost, and one a HIGH boost. The more directions she divides the flow, the greater the strain (See 'Side Effects' for details).
Flow Rates: The following summaries show the effects of Gabby's boost on a subject, based on the amount of energy she is giving them. The aura can range from TRICKLE to VERY HIGH. Physical touch can range from VERY HIGH to CATASTROPHIC. Note that prolonged exposure gradually increases the energy level, so spending several hours receiving a TRICKLE of energy will slowly build the power level up until it eventually reaches VERY HIGH. Even the aura can eventually reach CATASTROPHIC, if a subject remains within range for too long. The accumulated energy can be 'reset' to zero by cutting off contact with the boost and expelling the remaining energy.
TRICKLE: Minor energy flow. Easy for the subject to control. Examples: A fireball becomes slightly larger, a super strong man can lift slightly more, a healing effect cures slightly larger wounds.
LIGHT: A noticeable flow of energy. Can be controlled with effort. Examples: A fireball grows noticeably in size, a super strong man can lift heavy weights with one hand instead of both, a healing effect can cure a gunshot instead of a cut.
MODERATE: A strong, steady flow of energy. Takes great care to control, like driving a vehicle at high speeds. Examples: A fireball becomes dangerously explosive, a super strong man can lift heavy weights with just his pinky, a healing effect can cure major wounds with ease.
NORMAL: A torrent of energy. Can only be controlled with extreme skill, like a professional driver trained to drive at top speeds. Examples: A fireball can now consume multiple subjects at once, a super strong man can break through solid steel, a healing effect can regrow lost limbs.
HIGH: An overwhelming amount of energy. Cannot be fully controlled, but only 'guided', like a pilot deciding where to crash a plane for the least damage. Examples: A fireball can consume a small building, a super strong man can lift large trucks, a healing effect can bring someone back from the brink of certain death.
VERY HIGH: Dangerous levels of energy. Cannot be controlled, and the effects can barely even be 'steered', like trying to stay on a bucking bronco at a rodeo. Examples: A fireball can consume a two story house, a super strong man can lift a Mack Truck, a healing effect can bring back someone recently dead.
EXTREMELY HIGH: Completely out of control energy. The subject is now being tossed about by their own power like a ship being thrown by tidal waves. Examples: A fireball blazes out of control in a massive explosion, a super strong man can level a building with a punch, a healing effect can raise the dead.
CATASTROPHIC: Magic that has gone past 'Critical Mass'. The effects of the power become unpredictable and fatal. Examples: The mage casting the fireball explodes, leveling a city block, a super strong man causes a localized earthquake with a stomp, but his heart explodes in his chest, a healing effect overloads and reverts the subject's age to an infantile state.
Feedback: Boosted subjects experience feedback on the mana flow, which has several negative impacts. The most noticeable is a headache that comes with being boosted. The intensity of the headache varies from a slight twinge when receiving a TRICKLE of power, to a severe migraine at NORMAL levels, to fatal brain damage at CATASTROPHIC levels. This pain often interferes with a subject's concentration, making it even harder for them to control their boosted power.
Additionally, the effects of the power itself can become dangerous when boosted. Obvious examples include fire or lightning magic going haywire and causing major damage to all around them. Even seemingly harmless powers can become lethal when boosted (such as X-Ray vision generating lethal doses of radiation, or simple illusions becoming so real that they can cause actual physical harm). The subject using a boosted power can be harmed even if they are normally immune to their own effects (so a pyrokinetic could still get burned if the fires get so hot it overwhelms their natural defenses, or a super strong person could find their muscles bursting inside their body).
Even when it doesn't become fatal, the feedback often leaves a subject extremely exhausted. This is especially true of most subjects who become tired even after normal use of their power; someone who can usually use their power for an hour before succumbing to fatigue may pass out from exhaustion after only a few minutes, due to the added strain of using the boosted power.
Side Effects: Controlling either the power output or range of the aura causes Gabby a great deal of strain. When she is at NORMAL power levels and the aura rests at its natural twenty foot range, she experiences no side effects. Increasing or decreasing either the aura strength or size causes increased strain. The more the size or flow shifts from its natural state, the greater the overall strain on Gabby, especially if she is varying the flow and size at the same time.
The strain gives Gabby headaches, which increase to migraine levels when the strain increases or is held for an extended time. She can also experience nosebleeds, dizziness, disorientation, extreme fatigue, nausea, seizures, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound. When pushed too far, the strain will knock Gabby unconscious. When pushed to true extremes, it can put her into a coma and cause major brain damage.
Limitations: Gabby needs to concentrate continuously to maintain any degree of control over this power. Extreme emotion (most notably sadness, fear, anger, lust, or love) can cause her to lose control. This loss of control usually results in an unwilling increase in the amplitude of the boost. Also, any effect that could break Gabby's concentration can either revert the boost to its NORMAL levels, or cause brief increases in the power surge. Examples include sudden shocks or surprises, physical harm or pain, loud noises and commotions, or anything else that interferes in her concentration.
Skills:Archery: Gabriella is a skilled archer, having trained with a group of elves for an extended period. She has also carried a bow through many battles against everything from vampires to demons. She possesses no 'supernatural' ability with a bow, but is highly skilled by any normal human standards. Her skill level would be considered on par with Olympic competitors.
Weapons Training: While she always favors a bow, Gabby's agency training included experience with a wide variety of 21st century weaponry. Her main expertise is in archery, but she is competent and proficient in the use of a large number of other weapons, including military grade weapons.
Wing Chun: Gabby has had several years of strenuous training in Wing Chun martial arts.
Tracking: Living in the wilderness, Gabriella learned a great deal about tracking and hunting. She can follow someone's trail under most conditions, and 'read' tracks to tell her how many people passed, their approximate height and weight, etc.
Stealth: Key to survival, she has learned how to move silently and without being seen. Again, she has no 'supernatural' abilities in this regard, but training with elves has taught her a great deal about moving about undetected. Only someone with very sharp eyes and ears (or supernatural senses) would be likely to find her.
Wilderness Survival: For quite some time, Gabriella has hidden herself away in the wild, due to her fear of being around Mages and People with Abilities. In that time she has learned a great deal about living off the land, finding food, identifying poisonous plants, etc.
Parkour: (Also known as 'freerunning') Being on the run in the wilderness, Gabriella has had to learn to use her small size and swift feet to her advantage. She has therefore learned the art of movement and using the terrain and obstacles to her advantage. Skills such as jumping, climbing, vaulting, rolling, swinging and wall scaling are all employed. When in danger, this enables her to map out a path around, over, and under any obstacles, whether they be fallen trees and boulders, or parked cars and abandoned buildings.
Poetry: While not seen as an 'important skill' in the modern world, Gabriella spend a great deal of time in her youth studying and writing poetry.• the tale of a lifetime• History:Gabby has led a tragic life. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in the year 1995. She first manifested her power at the age of seventeen, but had no knowledge of how to control it. The boost accidentally overloaded an empowered person causing an incident that killed her entire family. It took months after the incident before Gabby even understood her own power enough to realize that she was to blame.
In her grief, she fled into the wilderness, living in isolation for a time to avoid people with powers. She was eventually adopted by a tribe of nomadic elves, who took her in and taught her their ways. With them she learned archery and survival skullsx learning how to live as one with the woods. She also began understanding how her power worked, but was unable to gain full control over it.
Over time, there were multiple incidents where she accidentally overloaded an empowered individual, causing catastrophic events that costs dozens of lives with each incident. Eventually came a day when one of these incidents destroyed the whole tribe.
The leader of the tribe was an elf maiden named Callia Gainsborough. During Gabby's stay with the tribe, the two girls had fallen in love. Callia was one of the only survivors of the incident, but she didn't blame Gabby, because she knew the power was something Gabby couldn't control. Putting the tragedy behind her, she stayed by Gabby's side. They became lovers, and Callia was a constant guide and teacher who helped Gabby through her toughest times. Unfortunately, they constantly carried the burden of knowing that Gabby's power could bring death again, and more than a year later, Callia also became a tragic victim of Gabby's power.
While living with Callia after the destruction of the tribe, Gabby joined an institute that specialized in training people to control their powers, and in using those powers to neutralize supernatural threats. Her progress in gaining control was slow, up until Callia's death. After that loss, compiled atop all the other losses she had suffered, she resumed her training with a renewed vigor.
For the next two years, she devoted herself to nonstop training. She has since achieved a much stronger degree of control. She has strengthened her mind to endure the pain and strain that come with using her power, and has not caused an accidental death since. She rose in rank from a mere constable to a junior agent in the institute. She has battled against vampires, werewolves, and armies of demons, along with a wide variety of supernatural threats. She is an exprienced warrior and hunter, devoting herself to hunting down and destroying anything that could bring death to innocents.
Notes:Gabby is from an alternate dimension, and a version if Earth with a very different history than that of Terra. She will be arriving through one if the Rifts from the year 2017 in her home dimension. There may be unforeseen side effects and consequences when her aura augments the function of the interdimensional rift, which will be developed and explored in the thread.
Last edited by Gabriella Guinario on Sun Mar 18, 2012 3:35 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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