Name:
Edward J. Yates III
Age:
23
Gender:
Male
Ability:
Xacrokinesis
Fear. Anxiety. Terror. Simple tools to Edward, who uses them much like a carpenter would a saw or a hammer. His craft, Xacrokinesis, is the ability of controlling--though to a greater extent, reading and manipulating--one's fears. A most terrifying craft, to be sure, as it allows Edward to peel away at a person, exposing the soft underbelly of their self, and place a knife at the weakest point of their mind.
To put simply, Edward's power allows him, for the time, to delve into the human psyche and read the inner fears held within. However, at this time, his ability is limited to direct touch, due to a limited understanding of his abilities, and requires a few seconds of contact in order for him to read the person's fears. However, once he has read the person's fears, Edward can then play upon those fears, drawing them to the surface and even, though only slightly, manipulate them. Furthermore, Edward is able to artificially stimulate a person's emotions, again, through direct contact, causing them to overflow with a feeling of anxiety or paranoia. While Edward currently has no control over it, sometimes, Edward is able to give shape to a person's fears, though only within their own mind.
Eventually, as his power matures and his understanding of it grows, Edward will like to be able to read people's fears and implant paranoia without requiring direct contact. Furthermore, he would eventually like to be able to control the "physical manifestation" of a person's fears, and further it by actually giving those fears the tools needed to inflict physical harm. The idea is based off of the concept of mind-over-matter, where the mind is stronger than the physical body, and, in this case, would refer to the body receiving physical harm due to the harm the mind "thinks" it is receiving. Basically, the mind "thinks" it is being harmed by a "physical manifestation" of one's fear within their own mind, and, as such, the body reacts as if it were.
Personality:
At first glance, Edward comes off as a very kind, warm person, physically reflected in his warm smile and soft eyes. His words bring a feel of comfort and calmness to those who hear them, like the lovely pluckings of a harp's strings. He always seems ready to lend a helping hand whenever he is able and shows no feeling of burden in doing so. A sweet voice and a sweet personality, Edward is a person most people seem to like to surround themselves with.
However, should one really look at Edward, should they peel back the surfaces and look deeper into Edward, they will find that he is, in fact, too kind. The more one watches, the more they would see how Edward comes off as acting--over-acting, in fact. The kindness comes off as too warm, too forced, and generally just creepy. And as that perception of his kindness twists and warps, the rest of Edward's supposed personality comes off as disturbing and distrustful.
Thus, that leaves the question: If Edward is acting, what is the real Edward like?
Appearance:
While standing at a tall six foot five inches, Edward does not present even the slightest of imposing figures. His body is of moderate built, nothing on the scale of a body builder, but certainly enough to keep him from looking sickly, and has a very slight tan hue to it. Messy, dirty-blonde hair sits atop his head, the sides reaching his ears and the bangs slightly in his eyes. Blue hazel eyes peer out from beneath his hair, warm and kind. Along his chin is a short, blond goatee, cleanly shaved and kept along the front edge of his chin.
Edward's wardrobe is fairly simple, not usually subject to change, and is usually picked out like clockwork. His ensemble starts with a simple, mono-colored turtleneck, usually a shade of red, gray, black, or blue. Next, Edwards wears a matching jacket and pants set, normally tan, dark blue, or black. To finish his ensemble, Edward wears a pair of black shoes, the heels slightly worn. On the bridge of Edward's nose sits a pair of eyeglasses with a thin, black metal frame; rectangular lenses, covering only the bottom two-thirds of Edward's eyes; and an amber tent to the lenses.
Background:
With his pleasant and kind demeanor, one would never guess that Edward has had a very dark, rough life. Born as the middle child of three to an aggressive alcoholic and weak mother, Edward entered the world destined for hardships. His mother made a fairly good living, so the family wasn't poor or without its basic needs, however, Edward's father always took a good portion of his wife's earnings--those that she had not hidden away--and frivolously spent it on beer and other alcoholic beverages.
Growing up as a child, Edward was terrified of his father, linking the man's constant shouting and abusive behavior to that of a monster. And really, he was one. His father took his wife's money to fuel his addiction, then returned only to beat her. His mother's screams and cries of pain filled the house every night and Edward was forced to go to sleep to the sounds, like a twisted, mutilated lullaby. Soon, however, Edward's father began beating him as well, repeatedly calling him a "demon" and a "monster". When his mother would comfort him afterwards, she would simply say "Everything will be alright. Just put a smile on."
In school, Edward excelled in his studies, mainly because it was a cheerful distraction from what waited for him at home. He was the top of his class throughout elementary and middle school. However, throughout all of his school years, Edward made not a single friend. They all kept their distance from him, as if he were a Leper. Edward assumed they simply didn't like him, but couldn't help but feel they were afraid of him. And not just the students, but the teachers as well. But, Edward simply ignored it, rather enjoying school than ponder depressing thoughts.
One day, a teacher noticed one of Edward's bruises on his arm. After taking him to the nurse's office, it was quickly discovered that his body was covered with bruises from his father's beatings. When asked, Edward told the nurse that the bruises were nothing, just the end result of a small accident. However, with more pressing, Edward finally told the truth of his father. The police were quickly dispatched to Edward's home to arrest his father. Edward, feeling he had betrayed his family, escaped from the school and ran back to his home.
When he arrived, Edward saw a horrid sight. His father was on the ground with a large pool of blood forming around his head. The two, small bodies of his brothers, who had stayed home due to a cold, were on gurneys, a white sheet covering the entirety of their bodies. One of their arms fell to the side, covered in bruises and blood. A group of paramedics wheeled out his mother on another gurney, her faced bloodied and barely recognizable. As they passed Edward, his mother whispered her last words: "Everything will be alright. Just put a smile on."
When he reached college many years later, Edward found what he was missing in grade school. He became fascinated in the field of psychology, especially the concept and understanding of fears and anxieties. He later branched into the field of criminal psychology, applying what he had learned about human fears and terrors to the minds of murders and madmen. He made many groundbreaking arguments and discoveries concerning how a criminal's fear influenced their actions and ambitions, whether they actually knew it or not.
However, Edward has mainly used his teachings to uncover a fascinating bit he had somehow knew since he was a little child. He could control fear. It started simply with how the criminals he had been interviewing reacted to him, seeming nervous or uneasy around him. From there, his study delve deeper and deeper, uncovering that he could actually read and manipulate one's fear. Since then, he has devoted all of his time toward uncovering and mastering his ability of Xacrokinesis.
Theme song: