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Name: Otto
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Age: 18
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 150 lbs
Hair Color/Style: black scraggly facial hair and a buzzed head
Eye Color: dark gray
Build: somewhat scrawny looking, unimpressive
Origin: He's the son of a family of chain smokers.
PART II
Strengths & Abilities: The combination of a life of second-hand smoke and living in a trailer near a toxic waste dump has given Otto the ability to absorb and expel smoke as well as the ability to transform his body into a cloud of smoke which can move at the speed of a slow walk.
Weaknesses: Otto can only expel smoke he has absorbed into his body so he needs to fill up every so often. This is usually done by smoking which also cuts into his endurance/lung capacity. Due to his lazy nature, Otto has never really bothered learning to further his abilities beyond what he needed. Because of this, he has trouble keeping his "cloud" form during strong winds. If the could isn't contained in a 3 foot radius Otto materializes in the center loses any smoke he has absorbed up to that point. He must then find enough smoke to absorb to allow him to transform back (which enough smoke to densely fill a sphere with a 3 ft radius). The cloud smells of whatever smoke Otto has ingested so he's not entirely undetectable. Since he is most vulnerable during this form it is mostly used for "reconissance" or a last ditch effort to escape.
PART III
Otto is the son of Pete and Lila. As a child, Otto would travel with his father across the US in what was said by many to be the fastest semi in the mid-west. He didn't like it, but Otto couldn't help it that this was the only time he really could spend with his dad. What he despised the most were the smells. The cab, the small town diners and bars always seemed to have the noxious odor of cigarette smoke. It didn't end there either. The trailer he, his mother, and his 4 siblings called home contained a similar aroma. Despite its orange tinge, Otto spent most of his time at home outside playing in the water of a nearby river if only to free himself from the onslaught of smoke fumes. It was one of those days by the contaminated river that Otto was confronted by 3 boys at least 3 or 4 years older than him. He first noticed them when he felt the sting of the first rock as filled his head with the sound of a sharp "thud". Instinct told Otto to run, so holding the back of his head he sprinted as hard as he could through the trees that would lead him to sanctuary. Running as fast as his legs would move, Otto's breathing quickly began to shorten. As soon as he realized keeping this pace would be impossible, Otto collapsed to the ground. It was then, collapsed and gasping for air, that he began to notice white mist with each exhalation. Each breath only made him more fearful. "Am I going to die?" he thought. Otto held his breath waiting for the inevitable as the sound of rustling leaves began to close in on him when slowly he seemed to feel lighter. He opened his eyes to try and make sense of what was going on but his vision was blinded with fog. The smell was familiar, but the usual burning sensation in his eyes which accompanied it was gone. Through the thick haze Otto could make out 3 figures moving in his direction. "Crap, they've found me." Otto's only reaction was to close his eyes again and brace for impact. "Where did you go, Otto? We know you're around here somewhere." Thoroughly confused, Otto peeked at his perusers to find that they were on the move again questioning each other over where that sissy-boy could be. "I survive again," Otto thought to himself as he let out a heavy sigh. His vision began to clear and the weightless sensation faded. He was whole again and continued his dash home.
Once in high school, Otto began to realize how to control his gift though it may not have been the most responsible use of it. Grades were no problem for a student who could sneak into a teachers house swipe tests the night before. There was also an uncanny coincidence that the smoke alarm would go off whenever Mrs. Waltstein gave pop quizzes in 5th hour. No one really understood why a student with such a remarkable GPA would hang out with the type of people Otto was around. His friends were confused but usually too high to care that even though Otto seemed to smoke cigarettes like a chimney he never exhaled any smoke. "He's sooooo trippy, maaaan."
After graduation Otto felt empty. His grades were excellent, but he knew it was a sham. The scholarships and big name universities failed to attract any attention. His only wish was to drift in the wind like his dad blew in and out of cities and across the highways. His mother had other plans for Otto's future. "You ain't gonna live like no bum." Lila would remind Otto. "Looky here," she said holding up an envelope. "You're goin' and once you get a big job you're buyin' me one o' dem double wide traila's."
"LAU?" Otto read to himself. "Gifted? I don't think my gift is the kind they had in mind." After reading the letter, a wily grin appeared on his face. "Gifted... hehehe," he thought, his mind racing with excitement. "Sure thing, Mom. This sounds too good to pass up."
Edited by vodkamaru, 24 December 2007 - 03:40 PM.
