Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2016 14:39:21 GMT -5
Full Name: Mason Walker
Gender: Male
Age: 18
Dorm: Lyra
Power(s):
In addition to healing, Mason also has the ability to control air through his movements. Through martial arts (most notably Ba Gua Zhang) he can control air as needed. Some examples of this are air blasts, air shields, and air scooters. These are used through the use of his limbs. Martial arts is the key to using air bending techniques (listed in Strengths). It's also important to note that weapons like Mason's staff are also able to produce offensive attacks (like an air slice). To Mason's knowledge, he was born with both abilities (a result of genetic experiments), and has worked with his father in developing them.
The mechanical on his air bending are fairly simple: he is able to both speed up and slow down air currents, winds fast enough to make miniature tornados (either for short range attack or short distance transportation), and as slow as stopping breezes. The fastest Mason has clocked in air currents is 120 KPH, though this proved too unstable for him to properly control, and as such needs to work on his control if he is to progress. When it gets out of control, Mason can potentially hurt others, but is more likely to hurt himself. That being the case, he only works with those speeds with a teacher present now.
On his own time he is able to get up to 65KPH comfortably. The faster the winds he creates, the more energy it takes. At it’s fastest speed, Mason can maintain a force (like a wind wave to push back enemies) for five minutes before he starts to get tired. At the same time, Mason has been able to completely stop winds or objects projected at him at around 32KPH. However, to conserve energy he prefers either to dodge the object entirely, or to simple use the air to push the target off course. Both of which are more efficient then trying to completely stop something.
In other words
“Air manipulation: by using circular, evasive movements, air benders build up a large amount of energy and momentum, which is released through powerful moves. It also allows for wind-based counter-attacks that knock opponents off-balance, mimicking the sudden directional shifts of air currents. Attacks vary from simple gusts of wind to miniature tornadoes and cyclones, maintaining the circular theme. Even a simple movement can create an air gust and air benders increase the power of their moves by performing larger sweeps and spins, using the momentum of their movement to produce larger gusts. This is also demonstrated with their use of staffs or fans to increase or create precision within the air currents. Similarly, air benders can also augment the momentum of thrown objects.”
The limit of air he can control, that is to say the amount he can hold as if an object, is fairly vast. Because air is such a light weight being a gas, he's never reached a limit that proved too heavy for him to maneuver with calm air currents (i.e breezes), of course, this could change if he's not at full strength. However, that’s not to say that the force for air can change that either. Fighting against extremely strong winds are too difficult for him. He has also never tried to collect a great amount of air either. Most of his fight style consists of evading and defending, choosing to use small burst of air to assist his fighting as opposed to use large amounts of air to attack. The key to air bending is flexibility and finding and following the path of least resistance. Air benders emphasize intuition and imagination; to an air bender, there is always another path to take, as air flows wherever it can. Instead of collecting a large amount of air at one time, Mason tends to use the air he needs to execute the move desired, pulling from the constant air around him if he needs more.
When he's using his glider, he controls the air around him to stay afloat, not needing pre existing wind to get started. Mason can fly as long as he has the physical strength to do that.He can fight against strong winds, but that takes more effort and energy. He does this by (slight) physical motions in his head, neck, and torso, bending the air around him to push him up and forwards to create the flying motions.
Both abilities come from a heightened level of spirituality, where Mason is able to take and use energy (from either himself, others, or the universe). While everyone has a relationship to this energy, Mason is able to understand and use them to use his healing and air bending abilities. When he meditates, for example, his healing abilities are heightened and more effective (though this energy heals him unconsciously, speeding up the healing process humans already naturally have).
It is with this use of energy that he controls both powers. It should be noted that though the key to air bending is movement, movement alone is simply not enough. He must active and consciously control his internal energy and focus it in a movement to control the air. As such, if someone where to control his body and force him to move under their control. he could fight effectively, but the person controlling him would be unable to force him to air bend.
Appearance:
Mason has light/tan skin (an olive tone from his Greek Mother), and tall, standing at 6'3". He's got dirty blond hair, green eyes, and a strong jawline. From the constant martial arts, Mason has a strong and lean building. While not hugely built like a body builder, it is clear that he can hold his own against most opponents. Of such a build, he is also quite flexible (as Ba Gua requires for advanced moves, and his air bending encourages flexibility). Mason used to have a typical hair style (being short and kind of messy), but has recently adopted the more trendy under cut hair style, in combination with his short cut scruff on his face. He also wear an industrial on his right ear, and has two tattoos (pictures below) on his right wrist leading to his elbow, and on his left ribs below his arm. His clothing fashion is typically trendy when going out, but his wardrobe mostly holds either "workout" gear or loose, casual clothes that make moving in quite easy. When going out to train or excursions, he usually carries a staff with him that doubles as a glider (able to have the air push or pull the cloth to change it from staff to glider). When in glider mode, he can use it to fly, manipulating the air around him to keep afloat and soar through the air as he desires.
NOTE: The reference picture below is a base for Mason's appearance. Because I am unfortunately unable to draw in real life, this was the closest picture I could find online from an artist much more capable then myself. The detail above should be applied to the image below if possible. Thanks!
Personality:
Mason is often quite, and well reserved when you first get to know him, but once he feels comfortable around you, he is often too talkative for his own good. To people who don't know him he's shy and soft spoken, but that's only an appearance. In reality, Mason has a rather pleasant nature to him, almost always respective to nature, others, and life. He likes to joke around and has an optimistic view. That's not to say he doesn't have a competitive side to him. Constantly looking to better himself, Mason loves competitions and will engage in anything that interests him, even if it's out of his league simply for the challenge. When he gets really into it, his mouth can run off sometimes, though he (almost) never intentionally offends someone. Typically his favourite contests are races or sparring, as they completely engage the body, provide an excuse to practice his abilities, and deal with other people. Feats of strength and physical competitions excite him most with friends (seeing who can climb a tree or cliff the fastest, or who can do the most push ups, for example). Basically, anytime a friend says “I bet I can _________ faster/more/etc.”, Mason is game! When he's in these situations, he usually puts on a cocky face to try and psych out the competition, though really he's not that full of himself. Confident, but not proud.
He also believes in defending those who can't defend themselves (typically kids of smaller physical stature, which was common for him growing up), which has gotten him into a number of situations and fights, but he believes in equality for others. Friendship is a big deal for him and he will willingly put himself in harms way to protect family and loved ones. Growing up he got into a number of fights when his friends got picked on by bullies. This happens most commonly with his friend Aiden. The two lived together as neighbours, and became fast friends being the same age.
Aiden was a small lanky kid: very bright for his age, but not very impressive physically. “Skin and bone” people would call him. His bright (and defiant) mind would more often than not get him in trouble with bullies, to which Mason would intervene. He usually fought Aiden’s fights for him, seeing him like a brother more than a friend (of course, not every fight ended in victory). Mason believes in letting people fight their own battles, but if he sees someone is out numbered or overpowered, he’s willing to jump in. He will not defend someone who deserves it (a bully or criminal, for example), or he doesn’t know the situation well enough (i.e he’s not just going to jump into a random fight on the street when he sees one. However, he might jump in if he hears someone crying for help—in which case he’s more likely to try and break it up as oppose to just fight).
Along with his (sometimes) brash nature, Mason is rather adventurous! He loves exploring, spending time in new environments, and trying new things. He's a kinetic learned, and learns the best by doing and experiencing, not by listening. Despite his fathers encouragement for the Serpens dorm, Mason thought himself a better fit for Lyra, content to explore philosophies and fiddle with his more creative side. Ambition and work have always come easy to him, but art and nature have alway interests him, so he wanted to cultivate those while at the Academy. Because his powers come from spirituality, he loves talking about philosophies , art, and abstract ideas, as well as meditating often. When he does art work, it is rarely of people and most often objects. Nature is his favourite to draw however, both plants and animals.
Mason also takes things personally though, determined to bare the weight of the world on his shoulders. He doesn't communicate emotional and physical distress, preferring to hold it to himself. He often dwells on things of a negative nature (typically) and has high standards for himself; being quick to beat himself up. While he's not a perfectionist, no one has higher standard for him than himself. He also doesn't fully think things through, not realizing that his actions have the potential to hurt someone, either in the near or far future. Bullies and those who abuse their power anger Mason, and his anger can get the best of him at times. When he's angry, he's not able to accurately function, and his frustrations (either with himself or others) can lead to an anger. If possible in a situation, Mason will try to walk away, but there have been times where he gets into fights because someone has angered him. When he appears to be holding onto too much, it is clear to others around him, despite him saying otherwise. When he's like this, its not hard to anger him.
His biggest fears are failure, and death. Both of which come from his mother, who thought so highly of him and his abilities, and who passed away in his early adolescents. While he accepts that he will himself die one day, he is more afraid that those he's close with will pass away before their time. His mother is still a soft spot and can cause him to snap on someone.
Weaknesses:
Emotionally, Mason's biggest weakness is that he is headstrong and quick to anger when overly emotional. He will defend his friends/loved ones without question and can let emotion rule his logical self at times. He can also be over confident at times, and can even let others pressure him into doing things he knows he shouldn't. Physically and in terms of his powers, Mason has a few big weakness. While his healing power naturally heals himself from cuts, bruises, his additionally healing powers (from infections and healing others, etc.) take a lot of concentration, focus, and effort. These powers are not well developed enough that his body can just do them, therefore it can leave him defenceless in a fight if he's forced to focus on that. In regards to his air bending, confined spaces pose the biggest threat.Because it is necessary for his body to move to engage his air manipulation abilities, the restraint of his body can limit the strength of his powers or making him unable to control it at all if he's completely bound. The power of his air bending comes from his physical strength, which is not necessarily muscles, but more in terms of energy. When he's exhausted, extremely dehydrated, tired from lack of sleep, etc., the strength of his abilities suffer.
Strengths:
Emotionally, Mason's biggest strength is his confidence. Having trained his abilities through his whole life, he knows his capabilities quite well and what he's able to do. He's also quite skilled and identifying his enemies and analyzing their strengths. Of course it's not perfect, he tends to rely one this fairly accurate skill.In terms of his powers, his air bending is at a high skill level from training, mastering the basics, but not at a master level yet. He has, at this level, become completely connected to his body (always able to know when he's feeling weaker, out of alignment, or how to subtly shift his balance). Even without the use of his powers, his body is in a prime mind/body/spiritual connection and because his air bending is a martial art, he can fight without the use of air control in both hand to hand combat, as well as weapons like the staff. Theoretically he could use other weapons, but he's not practiced in any by the staff (which is also the only weapons he can augment his air bending with).
Of his formal attacks he has mastered:
Air ball: An air bender can create a compressed ball of air by moving their hands together in a circular motion. This technique has many applications such as levitating small objects or trapping opponents. (though the larger or heavier the person/object, the harder it is to use).
Air blast: A more offensive maneuver involving a direct pulse or jet of strong wind from the hands, feet, or mouth. The force of the attack is generated more from the bender's own power, rather than assisted by momentum. The blast can reach further distances with greater accuracy and is used to inflict greater damage.The blasts can also be upheld for prolonged periods in order to push objects back.
Air cushion: Air benders can make a cushion out of air to break anyone's fall, including their own.
Air punch/kick: Another more offensive move than is typical of air bending discipline, air punches or air kicks are small, compressed formations of air that can be fired off the fists or feet of an air bender.
Air shield: The most common defensive tactic for an air bender involves circling enemies, suddenly changing direction when attacked and evading by physical movement rather than bending. However, an air bender can still deflect attacks as needed by throwing up gusts of air close to their bodies as a shield. This is rarely to stop attacks directly and more often pushes the attack aside and away, conserving energy and allowing them to turn the movement into an attack at the same moment.
Air swipe: The air swipe is both a defensive and offensive technique in which an air bender conjures a crescent-shaped wave of compressed air capable of deflecting colossal projectiles.
Breath of wind: Similar to the standard air jet, but created from the mouth and lungs. It requires extremely good breath control to employ effectively. Size and focus are easily controlled, from narrow jets that can strike targets as small as insects, to large gale force gusts capable of cooling magma into solidified rock (at his current level however, Mason as only masted being able to knock back people. Cooling magma is at a Master skill level, which is above him). By using this technique, the air bender can also magnify the sound waves generated by a whistle or another instrument.
Enhanced agility: Air movements can also be used as a levitation aid. Air benders jump high and far by riding on strong gusts of wind and can slow or deflect falls by creating cushions of air. The constant movement required by this art makes air benders naturally flexible and agile. Even without bending they can easily maneuver around an opponent by ducking, jumping, and side stepping, appearing to flow around their opponents without expending any energy at all, letting the opponent tire themselves out and thus creating exploitable openings. This conservation of energy combined with high stamina gives them an advantage in prolonged combat.
Enhanced speed: Air benders enhance their movement in battle; they can run swiftly by decreasing air resistance around them and even sprint across or run up vertical surfaces by generating a wind current behind themselves to propel them forward. (Though a possibility in the future, the following are too advance for Mason in his training). When used by a skilled air bender, this technique can enable the air bender using it to travel at a speed almost too swift for the naked eye to be able to see properly. A master air bender can use this technique to briefly run across water.
Suction: A technique used to bring people or objects toward the air bender.
History & Family:
Mason was born in London, England and grew up with an alternative childhood. Though his parents took every chance they could to tell him how much they loved him growing up, the busy schedules read otherwise to Mason. His mother Alethea (who he was closer with), was born in Greece but moved to England for genetic research where she met Mason's father, Oliver, working in the same department. The two of them ended up become part of the "Human Mythology" project (UK division) where they focused on the mimicry development of mythological creatures on humans. Oliver, a scientist, ended up volunteering himself for beginning experiments and gained the ability of water manipulation in its success. These projects were how the two met, and ultimately they worked together and lead the project as Head of Departments. Once Mason was born, the two of them noticed a chance in his genetic make up, different then that of a typical human and knew, long before he did himself, that he was born a "mythical human". This change in his genetics came from his father, who has his DNA modified in the "Human Mythology" project, and which he passed onto Mason. During his development though, there was a mutation in his genes and instead of water manipulation, it was air that Mason would be able to control.
Throughout his childhood, Mason grew up in seemingly two different households. He learned at a young age the work of his parents, and while he obviously didn't comprehend it at the time, he understood that it was important enough to keep them separate from him so often. Mason would usually see his father once a day for an hour (for daily training), but other than that could go weeks without seeing them (at an extreme). Mason could get lonely, but also grew up independent and mature for his age. He took a lot of solace from the friends he made, and took his time alone to practice or work on his art.
His mother was home more often than his father, and had a calmer temperament than his father who demanded nothing but the best from him. While it was with good intentions, the pressure put on Mason by his father ultimately put a strain on their relationship. There was still love between the two, but it was often underneath the expectations and demands, straining their relationship. Lack of communication between the two, and the stress of work for Oliver often lead to disputes between the two. After the passing on his mother, one of these disputes lead to a physical fight between the two.
When his parents weren’t home, Mason stayed (and practically lived) with the Thompson’s: next door neighbours to the Walkers. Mary Thompson (Aiden’s mother) worked a more typical 9 to 5 job and was home much more frequently than Mason’s owns parents. Because of this, Mary looked after Mason lovingly (at the request of his parents), and is how the friendship between Aiden and Mason began. When they stayed over, the two boys would share Aiden’s room together, Mary became a care taker for the children. Mason’s parents compensated by providing financial support to the Thompson family, and whenever their schedule’s would allowed, not only took Mason, but Aiden as well for sleepovers.
As he got older, his parents working schedule allowed him a lot of freedom. Since his parents worked so often indoors, Mason love to explore the wilderness and soon spent most of his free time outside. Growing up with science constantly in the house, Mason took a much stronger interest in art and philosophy. Most of the time he was a responsible young adult, but got into his fair share of trouble at school (often with fight when bullies picked on smaller kids or by skipping classes).
In his early teens, his mother got him a dog (German Shepard and Timber Wolf mix), and they two became fast friends. Often camping, hiking, and playing with each other. Like Mason, Lupo has a naturally curious nature, often running off to follow a scent, but ultimately has a gentle nature, getting along well with other dogs and people. Despite his curiosity, Lupo is very well trained and listens to Mason almost without question. Only in defence (for himself or Mason) has Lupo attack another animal or person.
During his final year of "normal" school, Mason's mother grew terminally ill. When he returned home to visit, he tried to heal her, but his powers weren't well enough developed to save another from a terminal illness. The death of his mother is personal to him and he carries blame for that. He is still on good terms with his father (especially since training stopped once he went off to school), but because of his school, and his fathers current position with the government (being one of the few global experts in human mythology), they don't spend a lot of time together anymore.
Mason tries to forgive his father for his actions to him as a child, but ultimately he blames his father for the death of his mother, thinking that he should have spent more time on her than him. In light of that, he also holds a great amount of guilt as well, both in terms of not being able to heal her, but as well as being the reason she was so frequently forgotten, He plans to get into the Academy so we can further develop his skill should he need to save others in the future, bearing the guilt of his mother.
Ultimately, the relation between Mason and his parents is a difficult one. One one hand, he loves them strongly, simply because they are family and he knows that everything they did for him was for his best interest. On the other hand, he holds anger and resentment towards them for providing him with such a complex childhood. Spending so much time with Aiden’s family, Mason resented that his parents couldn’t provide the same simple tasks that Aiden’s did for him. Because of their time together, Mason sees the Thompson’s as more then just friends, but as family.
In Character sample:
It was the last day of Mason's camping trip. It was the end of the summer, and the weather was the best it had been all week. He had gone camping with a few mates (who's idea it was) though on the last day, Mason decided to go on a hike—after packing up their site—by himself. He knew that his friend suggested camping to help get his mind off his mothers passing (who had passed away only a few month previously at the beginning of June). That summer he had been distant from his friends, claiming to be busy when they asked to hang out. It was clear that their intentions were only for the best, but Mason didn't feel right hanging out after such a traumatic experience and spent most of his free time with Lupo while his father worked. This camping trip had been sprung on Mason and they practically force him to come, which he ultimately felt grateful for. The fresh air did him well, and the pleasant weather helped him to feel like himself again.Mason sat on a tree branch, the gentle breeze passing through his newly cut hair, the afternoon sun warm on his face. The branch was higher than some of the younger trees around him, but not the highest on the tree. The view looked out onto the forest, and in the distance, the lake that his camp was set up at. He stared out absently, thinking about nothing in particular for the first time in a long while, simply enjoying the beautiful day. In the distance he could hear birds singingly as they passed by, and it was then that he decided it was time to head back to camp. Beside him on the brach was his staff, propped up between the branch and a small opening in the trunk. As he stood, Mason picked up his staff and spun it around, forcing the wings to appear out and turn his staff into his glider. He jumped from the branch and grab onto his glider, flying off towards the birds, and ultimately back towards the camp.
As he flew closer to the camp through the widely spaced trees, playing dodging the occasional branch, he hears barking and the laughter from his friends. Gliding closer towards the ground, Mason spins his glider turned staff rapidly so he hovers a few seconds before landing softly on the ground. From the trees Mason enters the clearing of the campsite to see his large wolf looking dog, Lupo, proudly bringing back a branch that he has been playing fetch with. When he see his owner, Lupo, dropping the branch, excitedly dashes towards and jumps onto Mason, the weight forcing them both of them onto the ground, and licks his face, causing Mason to drop his staff. "Hey buddy!" Mason laughs excitedly, trying to get his dog off him. "Missed you too pal."
Aiden, a neighbour and friend of Mason since they were kids, walks over to the pair and picks up Mason's staff. "You dropped your walking stick granddad," he says teasingly, though it's a bit tentative in fear it might upset his friend. Mason, managing to push his dog off him, grab his staff from Aiden. "Thanks mate!" Mason says with a reassuring smile. The remaining two friends Kathy and Clive, who had been playing fetch with Lupo previously, call over to the pair from her canoe. "Camp's all packed. Ready to go boys?" Kathy asks rhetorically as her and Clive get into one canoe.
Following suit, Aiden and Mason walk towards their canoe. "Come one boy," Mason says, snapping his fingers signalling to Lupo to jump into the middle of the canoe, which he does obediently. Aiden gets into the front of the canoe and Mason pushes off, jumping into the back. The two paddle for a bit, following Kathy and Clive back across the lake towards the Outfitters to return the canoes and drive back home. "Hey Aiden," Mason says breaking the relaxing silence. "Thanks for bringing me out here. I feel better. I know she likes it best when I'm happy. I appreciate it mate."
Picture:
Mason (training gear on the second and fourth image from the left):
(Artist: ichan-desu "http://ichan-desu.deviantart.com/art/LOK-OC-Earthbender-Phil-312709661")
Forearm Tattoo:
Rib Tattoo:
(Except the coordinates instead are: 51.5181° N, 0.0593° W
"Trendy" clothes Mason wears casually:
Glider:
Glider (air swipe):
Lupo:
(Artist: ichan-desu "http://ichan-desu.deviantart.com/art/LOK-OC-Earthbender-Phil-312709661")
Forearm Tattoo:
Rib Tattoo:
(Except the coordinates instead are: 51.5181° N, 0.0593° W
"Trendy" clothes Mason wears casually:
Glider:
Glider (air swipe):
Lupo: