Maru [Magic 8 Ball]

[vile]

Player Nickname: vile

Name: Maru Satou
Codename: Magic 8 Ball
Age: 30
Date of Birth: July 20th 1988

Height: 5'6
Weight: 125
Hair Color: Black with grey streaks
Eye Color: Dark grey that appears black on occasion
Place of Origin: Las Vegas, NV
Nationality/Race: Asian
Classification/Origin of Powers: Metahuman

Status: Refugee
Occupation: Student. Education has been put on hold but is a residency away from becoming a doctor.

Personality Profile: The desire to help others and make the world a better place is the only real constant in his life. The darkest of nights and worst of situations fail to shake his core. Unable to complete his residency has only put a slight damper on this. He still helps where he can even if it's a minor gesture.

Mindfulness grants Maru the serenity to deal with the strangeness of his life now. He strives to remain calm in most situations and approach tense moments with a grounded mindset.

Physical Description: By far the most interesting thing about the unkempt guy are the scars on his upper face. Just above his eyebrows are two horizontal scars that match the with of his eyes. A single similarly sized vertical scar divides the top of his forehead in a classical 'third eye' position. Unsurprisingly, or surprisingly, for those not aware of their existence, they open at will. The eyes match his normal set in color, shape, and focus.

Second most interesting thing about him would be a smaller second pair of arms that nestle close to his body most of the time. This hides them reasonably well. Better than it should, perhaps, like something weird is going on. They're weaker than his regular set and currently hinder more than help with magic. Perhaps with time he'll perfect his art and coordination enough to make proper use of them.

Silhouette isn't one to spare a second glance to: average height, on the thin side, but overall on the plain side. Maybe if he'd eat more often, trim his mess of a beard, or do something with the shoulder-length hair, other than pin it up in a tangled manbun, Maru could potentially be an attractive fellow. The drab grey patches and streaks in his dry black hair just seem to fit the overall lack of care. Maru's skin is like that of a wheat bread left in the oven too long: on the darker end of 'medium', dry, and has an almost unpleasant rough texture to it.

The lack of care extends to his wardrobe. Generic enough that everything matches but it's all clearly second-hand stuff. There's general wear and tear on everything from shirt to shoes. Colors stay on the muddy side.

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General Power Information: What's really going on here?

Ability One: Eye see all: The extra eyes see. Not what's right in front of him then and there but instead similar worlds just next to ours in the cosmic sense. Dimensions just next door. The things going on in those worlds may mirror our own or be radically different. The more dimensions Maru focuses on the more he sets himself up for failure. By picking one similar to our own, like a mirror image that's slightly off in the future, he can predict events before they happen.

Ability Two: Beginner's magic: Weak spells are totally doable for a novice. Anything else is more likely to result in catastrophic failure. Simple illusions, sprouting a flame, or speeding up the germination and growth of a seed are within reason. Attempting to warp that seedling into a full-fledged tree might backfire into a hulking dryad who doesn't appreciate the laws of nature being cast aside. A small gust of wind, some snowflakes, generating a warm patch of heat are the kind of simple tricks Maru is reasonably capable of.

Looking into the future: Improved/improved magical talents and a specialization. Teleportation or moving between the world's he sees interests him but isn't currently a priority.

Drawbacks & Weaknesses:

Eye see all: Sanity is a delicate thing and Maru is still relatively new to the mind-bending shenanigans going on. Some dimensions are nice and others a literal Hell and it takes a lot of sifting through them to find one that could be helpful in any given situation. Due to the high stakes Maru isn't terribly likely to spend enough time searching to accurately find one that represents the future. The end result is 'good enough' and could depict an outcome that's radically different from what really goes down in the dimension he's properly in.

Viewing too many dimensions too quickly can overwhelm his novice mind. It could result in fainting, disorientation, seizures, or worse. The end-game threat being a total mental break, being lost between worlds, simply death.

Unable to actually go to another dimension. Mostly a non-problem except in situations where he finds himself in a really bad situation and has his eyes on another place where he makes it out in one piece. Frustrating but unfortunate.

Beginner's magic: As mentioned in the power section the more powerful the spell the more likely it is to not go as planned. It could fail entirely or backfire in a spectacular fashion.

There aren't many spellbooks in circulation and fewer people to teach the mystic arts so he's not likely to make significant progression anytime soon.

Skills: Archery, medical training, survival skills. High tolerance to pain and can endure difficult circumstances fairly well.

Background: From a young age Maru always had an interest in medicine. The drive to do better and improve himself made the years of school an easy task. For the most part his life was little more than class and work while leaving a meager amount of time for himself. No relationships, no pets, no substantial hobbies. So just before enrolling to become a resident at a LA hospital he decided to live a little but follow the path he was on.

Missionary work in Southern Africa. It seemed like a superb idea. Vaccinate the masses, slow or stop the spread of disease, educate children and adults alike. What he thought was a good and relatively cheap way to see the world backfired big time. Not everyone supported the Missionaries and their push to convert the masses to Christianity. In the dark of night the encampment was attacked and those who weren't killed found themselves thrown into a vehicle and stolen away.

After the rough kidnapping he found himself in a similar situation as before. The circumstances were different, of course, and treatment more severe. Take care of the sick and infirm. It was a stressful time. Weeks passed and he waited for an opportunity to escape.

A rival group, or the initial one he signed on to help, surged in. Startled but not petrified he grabbed a pack of supplies. A bow and quiver of arrows were also within reach near the exit. A method of defense was better than none especially with no time or opportunity to be picky. Maru saw the chance to take cover in the bush and wait for the fighting to cease. He was spotted and fled for his life as gunfire followed. A cave or dugout caught his eye and he dove blindly in. Once more he was thrown into enemy territory.

The tunnel went on for a dozen meters before he reached the end. He fell unceremoniously on dessicated ground. The entire land was dying yet inhabited by monsters and Gods. Survival in the war-beaten savanna would have been difficult but this dawned world was a greater threat than an the automatic rifles he fled.

Time flowed differently there. What should have been days felt stretched into years. Terrorized by hyena-faced specters, hunted by huge eagle-men in the skies, surrounded by ravenous plant and creatures alike. All of them in a constant state of hunger and desperation to continue on in a ruined world. The bow and arrows came in useful and he learned to use them quickly.

Meat tainted by decaying magic and corrupted flora enabled him to survive long enough to find willing help. A sorcerer taught him enough about magic as to reign in and control it before casting him back into the world he called home.

Now he tries to find his place in the world and comprehend all that he went through.

Criminal Record: None

Quirks, Extras, Random Character Facts: Phobia of animals and animal-like mutants. Includes shapeshifters when they're in an animal form. Eagles, eagle-like, and hyena or hyena-like invoke a much stronger reaction.

Mother was Hawaiian and father Japanese. They met when he went on vacation to Hawaii and eventually married and moved to the US mainland.