"Waitโฆ huh?"
Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games | Of Montreal || That Time | Regina Spektor
๏ผฎ๏ผก๏ผญ๏ผฅ
Dylan Ashe
๏ผฎ๏ผฉ๏ผฃ๏ผซ๏ผฎ๏ผก๏ผญ๏ผฅ๏ผณ
Asshole โ Mother Only; only half-lovingly
๏ผก๏ผง๏ผฅ
22
๏ผค๏ผก๏ผด๏ผฅ ๏ผฏ๏ผฆ ๏ผข๏ผฉ๏ผฒ๏ผด๏ผจ
February 2nd
๏ผฎ๏ผก๏ผด๏ผฉ๏ผฏ๏ผฎ๏ผก๏ผฌ๏ผฉ๏ผด๏ผน
American
๏ผฅ๏ผด๏ผจ๏ผฎ๏ผฉ๏ผฃ๏ผด๏ผน
Canadian-American
๏ผณ๏ผฅ๏ผธ๏ผต๏ผก๏ผฌ๏ผฉ๏ผด๏ผน
Homosexual
๏ผค๏ผฉ๏ผก๏ผฌ๏ผฏ๏ผง๏ผต๏ผฅ ๏ผฃ๏ผฏ๏ผฌ๏ผฏ๏ผต๏ผฒ
Dialogue: #252830
Thoughts: #868686
๏ผก๏ผข๏ผฉ๏ผฌ๏ผฉ๏ผด๏ผฉ๏ผฅ๏ผณ
Shapeshifting: Dylanโs ability grants him the power to alter his mass at will, rearranging himself into a stunning variety of people and objects. His transformation is a sight to behold if youโre looking closely enough to catch it; his skin and clothes ripple and flip in on themselves, limbs contort, stretch, or shrink in seconds, and where a lanky, goofy man-child once stood, instead stands a beautiful young woman, or perhaps a Pomeranian, or a tuna fish sandwich โ because hey, why not? The world is Dylanโs oysterโฆ or heโs an oyster. Whatever. As he would say, โI turn into stuff.โ
While his powers are impressive, they do have their limits. The more extreme the difference in size, the more difficult and longer the transformation will take, as Dylan has to compress or expand his actual cellular structure in addition to completely reconfiguring it into a new material. Heโs also unable to change states of matter, and must stick to solid objects. In terms of replicating the appearance of other people, if Dylan lacks intimate knowledge of the person, heโs unable to make a perfect copy; the careful eye of a loved one or close friend will fairly easily discern the ruse. The shape of their eyes, a little bump on the bridge of their nose, the little curve of their smile โ one often doesnโt realize how incredibly complex the human face is until they try to recreate it. For the most part Dylan doesnโt shift into real people, but rather takes bits and pieces heโs seen and creates an amalgamation of parts to create a random, generic face that doesnโt run the risk of being found out by someone who knows the copied face well. Plus, itโs just flat out more fun to create a brand new person and identity on the spot, which the kind of trouble Dylan gets into frequently demands.
When Dylan becomes an inanimate object, such as a garden gnome or a picture of a kitten, destroying that object will revert him back into his human form and temporarily disable his ability to transform. However, when taking on an organic life, such as a person or an actual kitten, Dylan commits to that creatureโs life force, and any pain or harm that comes to it affects him just the same. Every part of Dylanโs transformation exists solely due to his actual body. When he whips out a badge when disguised as a cop, that badge is made up of his body altered at a cellular level. It is thus imperative that Dylan keeps all parts of himself within a relatively close radius and transforms back should the pieces start to get dangerously far away.
๏ผก๏ผฐ๏ผฐ๏ผฅ๏ผก๏ผฒ๏ผก๏ผฎ๏ผฃ๏ผฅ
Weight: 157 lbs
Height: 6 feet
Hair Color: Brunette
Eye Color: Brown
๏ผณ๏ผด๏ผน๏ผฌ๏ผฅ
With how often Dylan finds himself shapeshifting, he has come to love and cherish the simplicity of his own body and style. Brown hair, brown eyes, no particularly striking features โ he almost blends in better as himself than anyone he could imitate. He keeps his hair messy, his outfits plain โ why spend time getting all dressed up when odds are itโs not how heโs going to look a few hours later? Besides, dressing his tall, gaunt body feels more like trying to drape clothes over a broomstick. Best to just keep things simple. A simple t-shirt and jeans will do it, perhaps an old jacket if itโs chilly out. Despite the massive wardrobe at his disposal due to his power, rarely can one find Dylan particularly dressed up. Heโs sure to avoid the kinds of people and places thatโd make a stink over appearance anyway. The city is full of enough people trying to stand out; as Dylan would put it, โIf I really wanted to be a special snowflake, Iโd turn into a fucking snowflake.โ
His facial hair still grows in a bit patchy for his age, perhaps the only thing that truly annoys him about his true form. Perhaps also how thin he is, which seems to stretch his height and make him border on gangly. Other than that, average suits him well. He fancies himself a blank canvas on which to project his โartโ, if you will, so he feels tattoos and piercings are out of the question. Not that his mother would let her handsome young man โmutilate the body I spent 20 hours pushing outโ anyway.
๏ผฐ๏ผฅ๏ผฒ๏ผณ๏ผฏ๏ผฎ๏ผก๏ผฌ๏ผฉ๏ผด๏ผน
Having so few relationships and not allowing people in has made Dylan almost callous at first, for lack of a better word. At the superficial level heโs a time and half, but the walls shoot up at the first sign of potential intimacy. Heโs quick to deflect serious discussion with a lewd quip. Friendships remain fleeting and subject to change based on convenience. Looking out for number one, an inherited talent no doubt, comes as second nature; shit like honor and self-sacrifice is outdated anyway, right?
Perhaps Dylanโs just redirected his passion for others into more satisfying things like art, and more importantly at the moment, alcohol. Since dropping out of college the previously aspiring art major has become quite the lush. He could likely talk your ear off about any of his favorite Renaissance painters, he just might mix up some dates and namesโฆ And hey, get him drunk enough he might even show you some of his own work, which so far hasnโt done much for him but decorate (read: clutter) his small apartment. Hyperaware of the potential to come off as pretentious or snooty, heโs also well-versed in just about everything pop culture, so hit him up about anything from celeb feuds to obscure memes to that business about other Gifted showing up dead. Anything topical and distracting is great conversation fuel and though he couldnโt care less, the less he has to reveal about himself the better.
Dylanโs aversion to intimacy and his general disregard for others (and at times himself) donโt exactly make him the poster boy for commitment, but sometimes he can play up the sad, starving artist clichรฉ to at least get laid every once in awhile. Heโs self-aware enough to not take himself too seriouslyโฆ or anything too seriously for that matter.
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โค Alcohol: Not so much a like as it is a need at this point.
โค Weed: Because why not spend the weekend cross-faded?
โคAlone Time: With all the time he spends at bars and drunkenly wandering the crowded city streets, itโs rare he catches a minute to himself. He takes advantage when he can.
โคArt and Music: When heโs sober enough to create or appreciate any of it โ he was an art major before he dropped out of school. Sings terribly but shamelessly.
โคOffensive Humor and Foul Language: โWhatโs the difference between jelly and jam?โ
โคNihilism: Why waste energy caring so much anyway?
๏ผค๏ผฉ๏ผณ๏ผฌ๏ผฉ๏ผซ๏ผฅ๏ผณ
โค Prudes: The more uncomfortable you are, the worse heโs going to get.
โคArrogance/Pretentiousness: Because who the hell do you think you are?
โคHard Drugs: And sometimes his mother by association.
โคItalian Food: Fuck spaghetti.
๏ผฑ๏ผต๏ผฉ๏ผฒ๏ผซ๏ผณ | ๏ผจ๏ผก๏ผข๏ผฉ๏ผด๏ผณ
โคDrunk Shifting: When heโs really trashed he might hiccup and suddenly be a different personโฆ or item.
โคPunching: Maybe a bit of a nervous habit, heโs often punching his fist into his other hand, occasionally throwing a few out into the air in front of him. If he had the muscle to be even mildly capable of doing any damage, it might be unsettling.
โคOrigami: Just a little something he picked up, quite a few napkins at local bars have idly been transformed into little birds, frogs, and other creations.
๏ผด๏ผก๏ผฌ๏ผฅ๏ผฎ๏ผด๏ผณ | ๏ผณ๏ผด๏ผฒ๏ผฅ๏ผฎ๏ผง๏ผด๏ผจ๏ผณ
โค Artist: As a (former) art major, Dylan possesses immense artistic talent. His main medium was paint and canvas, but heโs fairly skilled in a variety of forms. He has an eye for what looks good and what doesnโt, and to a certain extent it helps make his shapeshifting a bit more convincing, or at least prettier.
โค Conversationalist: Charming his own goofy way, Dylan can be quite the smooth talker and has weaseled his way out of many a bad situation, as well as make more temporary friends than he could conceivably remember, even if he werenโt drunk when he made the majority of them.
โค Camouflage: A pretty obvious talent considering his special ability, but even beyond his appearance, Dylan knows how to read a room and make himself fit in. The ability to shapeshift is useless if you donโt know the right thing to become after all.
โค Observant: Dylan watches others carefully, a forced habit to help better his imitations. He can pick up on the subtler details, be it in facial expressions and nervous habits or little designs and insignias on inanimate objects.
๏ผฆ๏ผฌ๏ผก๏ผท๏ผณ | ๏ผท๏ผฅ๏ผก๏ผซ๏ผฎ๏ผฅ๏ผณ๏ผณ๏ผฅ๏ผณ
โค (Mostly) Functional Alcoholic: Since around 17 years old Dylan has been drinking, but since turning 21 and having much easier access in conjunction with his untimely departure from university, his consumption has increased significantly enough that it can certainly be considered a problem.
โค Self-Serving/Disloyal: Dylanโs lack of intimate connections and unwillingness to create them make him more or less a fair-weather friend. His loyalties are certainly malleable when it comes to his own personal gain.
โค Shift Disruption: Having an alternate form disrupted completely disables his powers for a period of time, and he is susceptible to the same pain of any organic life he takes the shape of, making transformations into small or fragile things quite dangerous.
๏ผฆ๏ผฅ๏ผก๏ผฒ๏ผณ
โค Intimacy: Shocker, huh? Even times when he might want to let someone else in, Dylan tends to find a way to demolish any prospect of real closeness. Better to push them away than to lose them.
โค Being Trapped: Playing into the fear of intimacy, he hates the idea of being stuck anywhere, be it physically captured or feeling an obligation to stay somewhere.
๏ผฆ๏ผก๏ผญ๏ผฉ๏ผฌ๏ผน
Belinda Wade Ashe: Mother, Gifted, 45
๏ผจ๏ผฉ๏ผณ๏ผด๏ผฏ๏ผฒ๏ผน
It wasnโt until he was about twelve that his motherโs alcoholism and depression progressed into a cocaine addiction. She grew small and flighty, always running about, her hair a disheveled blonde halo, makeup rare. Dylan didnโt know who this woman was, but she was wild and interesting at best, and utterly terrifying and dangerous at worst. But it was this woman that would show him his gift.
โHey! Come hereโฆ yeah you asshole!โ She called at the then 12-year-old, as though his name was on the tip of her tongue, but she lacked the interest to find it. โCheck this shit out.โ She half-dragged him over to their kitchen sink and turned on the water. She closed her eyes and stood there for a long while, the mess of a woman and her pre-teen son in complete silence save for sound of the stream from the faucet. Dylan began to worry sheโd fallen asleep standing again and reached out to her, but she slapped his hand down and quieted him. โLet me fucking concentrate.โ The next moment wavering balls of water were floating in circles around the young boyโs head. They began to waver more quickly and suddenly splashed to the ground. The two stared blankly at each other to the tune of running water for what felt like a small eternity. Then Dylan ran up to his room and slammed the door.
It would be a few days before theyโd acknowledge it. There wasnโt ever a real conversation, just a silent knowing. And she began to explain to him how, what it felt like to tap into that power, that somewhere deep inside him he might have something like it. And thus, his cracked out mother taught him to unlock his own ability. And he slowly but surely saw her come back to life.
Belinda managed to get clean and the help she so desperately needed, and Dylan suddenly seemed to have a mother again, along with a secret that connected them. They practiced together, testing the limits of what they could do. Dylanโs interest in art blossomed and by the time he was off to college at NYU he could fool himself like he came from a semi-normal home, be it without a very present father. However, at the end of his first year his father passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack. In the wake of his death, his mother relapsed and drained a massive portion of the money he left them in just a little over a year and a half, leaving Dylan unable to continue his degree, his relationship with his mother strained at best, and him following in his motherโs footsteps as an alcoholic.
Now, when heโs sober enough, Dylan manages to work a couple of part time jobs to keep up his drinking habits, pick up a few art supplies here and there, and pay the rent in his shitty apartment. Heโs let any real relationships pretty much fall off, and only occasionally checks in with his mother to make sure sheโs still alive or whatever she wants to call it. He gets solid practice with his ability avoiding paying his tab at bars and anyone he mightโve pissed off while drunk. Lacking in purpose and funds, Dylan lives one day (and rum and coke) at a time.