Post by John S. Derringer on Aug 23, 2016 0:02:34 GMT
JOHN S. DERRINGER |
Basic Info
Name Johnathan Sherbet Derringer Alias Derringer Height 5’8”, 173 cm Build Lean Age 35 Gender Male (♂) Race Human Pun Starting Earth Colour Rufous (a81c07) Theme
Personality
An Evil Soul
John Derringer is a man tainted by corruption and ill nature, lending him a malevolence which is unique in its own right. Indeed, while he might walk under the banner of malicious intent, he’s not the one to boast of his accomplishments or revel in the fact that he is evil. Indeed, John’s more reserved than that, and while he would never openly state that his intent is of darker origin, he also would never deny such a thing if questioned about it.
Sharpshooter
Derringer’s greatest characteristic is his precision; not just in the literal sense, but in a metaphorical one as well. Armed with a silver tongue, this man can quickly discern weaknesses in a person’s emotional armour, and tends to be rather good at manipulating others indirectly through use of suggestion and wordplay. This doesn’t always go according to plan, for some people are far too hotheaded or stubborn for him to work his magic, but such talent has gotten him far.
Unusual Boundaries
As far as enacting evil is concerned, there are some things which Mister Derringer just will not commit to. Averse to perhaps the most serious of crimes, any form of murderous intent is never on this smooth talker’s list of daily jobs, and would rather do his work without having to draw. The second crime to which he does not devote himself is usually labelled as the definition of sinister intent: John would never dare take candy from a baby, and would sooner return a stolen lollipop to a crying child than let a bully get away.
Xenophobic
Oddly enough, Johnathan Sherbet Derringer finds the presence of inhuman entities rather distasteful. Indeed, he finds it difficult to treat anything that is not human or made by human hands (Androids are an exception to his rules) with respect, though he’s also not the type to go out of his way to make a point. In a sense, his distaste is a passive fear - an understandable one - instead of a supremacist ideology. Either way, John’s patience clearly wears thin when with an alien audience. This also extends to Zoanthropes, whom he privately refers to as “Boosted Animals”.
Dislikes “Parlour Tricks”
Sherbet may be capable of harnessing Ki as others do, but the gentleman’s style is something rather unusual. He actually finds the archetypal use of Ki - the energy blasts and the protective spheres - to be rather mundane and boring, and will not hesitate to exaggerate the sense of boredom induced upon him when witnessing such things. His preference is the use of Ki not as a direct weapon or armour, but as a means to reinforce equipment, hence his use of various devices. From time to time he might be pleasantly surprised, however.
Appearance
General
Standing at a rather unimpressive height of 5’8” (173 cm), John S. Derringer is nothing spectacular when it comes to physical appearance. Indeed, compared to the average human, he’s not at all abnormal; a lean and sharp physique and light skin tone are the basics of his form. In terms of proportions, he is quite balanced, with his body not favouring any particular region.
Face & Hair
Derringer’s visage is defined by a moderate Northern complexion, with an oval outline and keen jaw with soft squaring towards the cheekbones. Sharp lips and a softly aquiline nose define his appearance, alongside his steely blue eyes. His hair is a deep auburn, forming natural and uneven curls about his head, and is often kept cut to his chin.
Attire
John is usually seen wearing dark grey dress trousers and a white, short-sleeved shirt. Over his shirt a set of black fabric suspenders (braces) connect to his trousers. Black socks and polished leather dress shoes finish off his general choice of garb. Starting from an inch or so above the elbow, Derringer’s arms are wrapped in white linen bandaging of sorts, covering most of his forearms up to the wrist. A dark brown jacket of sorts is often included, resembling a sort of lengthy trench coat, but equipped with a hood. Holsters sewn into the coat’s interior store various piece of equipment, while a pair of metal frame glasses (often pocketed within their case) are sometimes worn.
Handguns
Stowed within the confines of his jacket, John Sherbet carries with him a pair of standard .22 pistols. There is nothing special about them from a mechanical perspective - they’re nothing more than standard issue sidearms, such as those used by police forces. They have simple light grey casings and such, and while they may not have extraordinary properties, John does use them as conduits for his Ki abilities; each bullet fired can carry with it the energies of his own life force, lending him a connection to his arms that is typically unheard of in normal humans.
Background
Childhood
Johnathan Sherbet Derringer - originally known as Herbert Limon (Junior) - was born to a family of farmers in the Western Frontiers of Earth, growing up in the countryside and generally out of harm’s way. Not exactly a prestigious family, these cattle farmers took life in their stride, working long and hard days to provide for themselves. That’s about all John remembers of his earliest years in life, save for being taught the basics of cattle farming.
Closing in upon his early teenage years, it was beginning to dawn on Master Herbert that tending cows all day was not exactly an interesting way of life. For one, he wasn’t really any good at it, with many a cow (and even their calves) being reluctant to follow him. While his father wanted the youth to overcome such challenges and follow in his footsteps, John wanted something more; he wanted to advance beyond the basic farmer’s life and head to the big city in search of fame.
Teenage Years
Finally, at the age of fifteen, Herbert Limon Jr decided to pack up and leave his home behind. Accomplishing such a task with ease thanks to him being generally smarter and better at persuading people than the average farm boy (and making sure to partake of what would be some extremely unsuccessful cow tipping on the way out), the youth left for West City on what would be the start of a rather interesting adventure.
As to be expected, arriving in the big city was quite the system shock to the teenager, and finding a place to fit in was even more difficult. But, thanks to some surprisingly well-developed smooth talking skills, John at least managed to find himself board for the first few months. It wouldn’t last, however. No matter what kind of job he tried, he found himself rather poor at it; his manipulative use of wordplay was not exactly as good a customer service tool as he might have liked, and a lack of stable income turned into the accumulation of debt.
And, with the garnering of debt came the eventual eviction from his place of stay. Herbert Limon was now nothing more than a kid on the streets, and the next few years were tough upon him. On many an occasion did he consider returning home, but always found himself deciding against it. He had, after all, come to the city to find a new life - a new name. Yes. That was what he needed.
Derringer Rising
Forgoing much of his family’s name, save for the conversion of his forename into the middle name of Sherbet, the young man instead adopted the nomenclature of Johnathan (John) Derringer. Under this new guise, the former farmer began to walk an entirely different path than that which he had initially desired; but the end point on that path would still be the same.
Resorting to a life of crime, Derringer’s surprising streak of daylight robbery soon drew the attentions of West City’s police forces, and soon he was on the run again. Managing to escape the city limits without being arrested or properly identified, the young criminal decided to turn his back again on a place of difficulty and head north. At the age of twenty, he found himself in North City.
It was here that he would meet an unexpected match - a group of criminals whose dealings were so heavily instated around the city that few dared to interfere with them. Indeed, it was thought that even the police forces of the North were subject to various aspects of funding and bribery by this small but elite group of evildoers. Derringer would fit right in!
It did not take long for him to rise up the ranks, either. Though his appearance suggested someone mediocre and weak, his mental fortitude and speedy learning skills made him a valuable asset to the group’s higher ups, and within five years time he was privileged to join the ranks of their elite agents. Admittedly, they were not superhuman, but they were all Ki users or geniuses of varying calibres.
The Six Shooters
Derringer was one of six individuals who served the criminal guild, often acting as a sort of mediator between the organisation and other establishments. Indeed, the man’s ability with words made its mark on many a patron and enforcer loyal to the group. However, while he might have been the best talker, he was anything but the best fighter. His cohorts were far superior to him on the combative front, demonstrating proficiency in martial arts and Ki.
John was not so enthused by the idea of Ki - he saw such flashy displays of energy usage as wasteful and distasteful for the organisation’s purpose. They were a group that thrived in the shadows of the political underworld, not some show off cult. Still, he needed to learn to fight, for the world was getting increasingly more challenging. He would do so, but through a different medium than the others.
Colt, Luger, Mauser, Smith and Wesson all took it in turns to teach Derringer how to manipulate his body’s life energies, but the idea never really stuck. For one, much like many other things in his life, he wasn’t explicitly good at it. Two, he much preferred the feel of a pistol’s grip in his palm, and it would not be long before he found a better way of fighting that suited him.
Big Things, Small Packages
Though it took a few years of training and experimentation, John Derringer finally found his calling in combat. Though he still much preferred not to engage in unnecessary acts of violence (especially not murder), the man once known as Herbert Limon had found a way to manipulate his Ki and use it as a power source for more material arms.
A surprisingly good shot with a pistol, not to mention finding other interesting ways to bend his Ki, the underworld agent’s former lack of fighting ability was replaced by an unnatural capability. Backing bullets with sheer force of will instead of the typical energy blasts, the formerly useless handguns quickly turned into something more effective against enemy organisations and members of the police forces.
It might not have been enough to transform him into an exceptional combatant, but Derringer’s one blaring weakness had been compensated for. Unfortunately, it was not enough to cover for the growing strains of the criminal underworld under the rule of Premier Vi-Poi. Strengthened police forces and threats from other planets were growing, peaking in the arrival of the Saiyajin Solar Empire and their invasion of Earth.
Russian Roulette
With tensions running high all across the world, and more people backing the law, the criminal gang was at a near breaking point. Ironically, it was because of turmoil within their ranks that things were growing most difficult, and the gang’s leaders - one by one - started to part ways due to the chaos. Mauser was the first to drop, slain during the SSE’s attack on the planet, and Colt was soon to follow when he decided to retire in his old age.
The third to vanish was Luger, whose death came about from his bad habits and poor lifestyle. Smith and Wesson fought back to back against a rival gang, the latter falling and the former vanishing after the Ki smoke had cleared. Derringer was the last man standing, the weight upon his shoulders great, and in the palm of his hand was the ultimate choice. Keep the business running, or let it die?
Techniques & Abilities
OFFENCEZilveren Kogel [N1]
“Silver Bullet”
Using one of his handguns, John fires a bullet empowered with his Ki at the target, causing the projectile to detonate upon impact (or when it exhausts itself) as a result of the power stored inside. The blast is small, but packs a punch, dealing damage equal to 33% of John’s Power Level. It can be charged to increase the power.
SUPPORTSpook [SU1]
“Phantom”
Deploying a small explosive, Sherbet creates temporary cover for himself in the form of a thick cloud of wispy black smoke. The smoke cloud is not large and dissipates quickly after being displaced by any degree of force, but its presence allows for him to dodge attacks beneath 100% of his Power Level. (This is a flavoured form of Afterimage.)
UTILITYLicht Stap [UT]
“Light Step”
An ability similar to the power of flight demonstrated by more proficient Ki users, this technique allows Derringer to walk and run across almost any surface imaginable, seemingly defiant of gravity’s pull. With it, he can scale the walls of buildings and other such seemingly impossible surfaces. (This is a flavoured form of Flight.)
Items & Gear
1,000 Zeni
One-Use Space Pod