Steve the Optimist
From Handbook of the Union Universe
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| Steve the Optimist - ever the student! | |
| Steve the Optimist | |
| Player: @Steve the Optimist | |
| Origin: | Magic |
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| Archetype: | Controller |
| Level: | 8 |
| Primary Set: | Illusion Control |
| Secondary Set: | Storm Summoning |
| Epic Set: | N/A |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Stephen Llewellyn Price |
| Identity: | Steve Price |
| Aliases: | None |
| Species: | Human |
| Date of Birth: | 7th May 1984 |
| Age: | 23 |
| Height: | 6'5" (196cm) |
| Weight: | 196lbs (89kg) |
| Build: | Slim |
| Eye Colour: | Blue-grey |
| Hair Colour: | Brown, dyed purple |
| Skin Complexion: | Light |
| Distinguishment: | Spectacles, sparse goatee beard, hair dyed purple |
| Medical Status: | Healthy (albeit short-sighted) |
| Financial Status: | Student-chic! (i.e. poor) |
| Religion: | Raised Jewish; currently Spiritual Humanist |
| Sexuality: | Homosexual |
| Marital Status: | Long-term relationship |
| Known Relatives: | Not known |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | British |
| Ethnicity: | Caucasian |
| Legal Status: | Citizen |
| Place of Birth: | Canterbury, England, UK |
| Education: | Bachelor's Degree in Classics; Mystic Apprenticeship |
| Occupation: | Student teacher |
| Group Affiliations: | The Confraternity of Stars |
| Base of Operations: | Paragon City University, Steel Canyon Campus |
| Residency: | Apartment in Gimry Ridge, Steel Canyon |
| Known Powers | |
| Illusion Magic, Weather Manipulation, Minor Teleportation | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Conversant in French, Latin and Classical Greek; | |
| Equipment | |
| Spectacles; several lexica and grimoires of arcane subjects; black leather trenchcoat; hematite ring | |
| Awards and Collections | |
| ' | |
| Licenses and Certificates | |
| Standard Hero License | |
| IC Accessibility of Article | |
| Any government/police database | |
Steve the Optimist is a well-meaning but somewhat inept apprentice magician, working as a part-time teacher at the Paragon City University.
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[edit] Affiliations
The Confraternity of Stars - Steve's current Super Group. Resembles a laxly-structured brotherhood of magical (and magic-inspired) good guys. Steve acts as the Confraternity's primary researcher, since he has easiest access to the City's mystic libraries (as well as the most academic training).
The Ogden Institute at Exeter - Self-titled "Britain's Premier Organisation for Education in the Arcane and Esoteric Arts", the Institute is the brainchild of the inestimable (and thoroughly mundane-seeming) savant Dr. Ogden. Linked (ever so slightly) to the University of Exeter, students need to have proven their merit by applying for one of his Classics courses there before being admitting to the Insitute. As such, it is extremely exclusive.
Sirius Moonshadow - An old friend from back in the UK, known to Steve during his time at the Ogden Institute. A dragon with a long and noble heritage.
Sally Mansfield - A good friend from university, Steve advised Sally to join the Confraternity of Stars when she came to live in Paragon City.
Chaz Pope - A colleague from a previous job, and one of the deciding factors in Steve striving to become a hero himself. Still currently on his lunch break.
[edit] Personality
The name - or at least epithet - says it all. Steve is optimistic. He believes in the good of humanity, and good for all humanity. Note that the term "humanity" encompasses all sentient beings, really. Even villains. And Rikti, provided they're not shooting him (and even then, he can appreciate they're just somewhat misled). Steve believes that the current world is the best that we can hope for, and is quite willing to fight to keep it that way. He wants to aspire to (and help others aspire to) the very pinnacle of what they can achieve.
Steve is personable and empathetic, and probably the most easily-encountered member of the whole Confraternity (seeing as all heroes tend to visit the University's Steel Campus at some point). He has a tendency to involve himself in other people's ideals and struggles, and Sirius has warned him against inviting too many "trouble-makers" into the Confraternity (such as Chaz and Melina Swift).
Had he been an individual whose powers came from his inner nature (such as, say, a mutant), he would probably have been an Empathy Defender. Because his powers were taught, sometimes he is in conflict about their use. For a Controller, Steve is remarkably bad at controlling things; his weather magic is not only inconvenient at times, but also looked down upon by practitioners of the "higher" mystic arts. When she was still in residence, the mystic Visionaire would crack belittling jokes Steve's "inept" weather magics, although she meant no especial malice by it.
Nevertheless, he tries to remain resolute that he's doing right. Whether he's good enough to be a "real" hero will remain to be seen.
[edit] Motivation
Steve has a very prominent code of ethics by which he tries to live. He believes wholeheartedly in the right for every living sentient being to maintain a good quality of life, unhindered by the whims of malvolent individuals. By maintaining a career as a hero, Steve can make sure that he does all he can to live by this code of ethics, as well as helping others achieve the best they can as well.
Additionally, as a student teacher of Magical History at the Paragon City University, he is intrigued by mystic and arcane mysteries. Short of relocating to the Occult Studies Annex at the Salamanca campus (which his partner refuses to do, thank you very much), Steve investigates all disturbances of an esoteric nature he hears about. His friends and allies within the Confraternity tend to give him a lot of help in these matters.
[edit] Powers
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[edit] Primary Powers
[edit] Illusion Control
Blind:
Deceive:
Flash:
[edit] Secondary Powers
[edit] Storm Summoning
Gale: Having learned to speak Boreas' Retort when threatened, Steve can blast a great rush of frosty North Wind, sending his foes flying.
O2 Boost: The Gift of Zephyr uses the gentle West wind to invigorate another living being. Such life-giving air can restore and awaken any ally.
[edit] Additional Powers
[edit] Teleportation
Recall Friend: Steve is learning the Pathways of Wyck, and is beginning to grow conversant with the Astral Plane. He can utter the Inestimable Word of Recall to draw an individual through the twisted conduits of Astral Space. This he can perform only with an individual to whom he feels particularly close.
Teleport: Steve has learned some of the more reliable trods and airts of Wyck, the spiritual pathways of the Astral Plane. He can take brief, short-distance forays through this other-realm in order to step out in a completely separate place, without passing the space between.
[edit] Abilities
Speaks conversational French. Reads Latin and Classical Greek easily. Very good at researching obscure subjects quickly, provided he has access to a large enough database of knowledge (i.e. a library, a police databank, etc.). Makes a remarkably palatable chilli con carne.
[edit] Vulnerabilities
Being merely an apprentice in the arcane arts, Steve has no combat training and is especially vulnerable to damage in battle. On a more esoteric note, Steve is far too trusting of all individuals he meets; he doesn't really believe villains can be thoroughly bad, but that they are merely misunderstood. He is also extremely candid, and tends to tell (all the wrong) people too much information. Also, he is very short-sighted, and cannot see easily (i.e. at all) without his glasses.
[edit] Equipment
- Spectacles - for that he can see.
- Several lexica and grimoires of arcane subjects - Although they are "for my seminar students, honest!", Steve often has the literary materials needed to bodge some minor cantrips together with little prior preparation.
- Black leather trenchcoat - along with the goatee for the dated "Generation X" look.
- Sturdy "Doc Marten" leather boots - with steel toe caps for the kicking of bad guys.
- Hematite ring - worn on a chain round his neck; a gift from his current partner.
- As a gift from his comrade Sirius, Steve owns a blessed truesilver axe that has the power to lay the undead to rest.
[edit] Character History
UNDER CONSTRUCTION - TO BE EXPANDED LATER
Childhood in London, England. University career in Exeter, and affiliation with Ogden Institute (and meets Sirius). Meets current partner in Exeter. Receives invitation to Paragon City from Derek Amberson. Moves to apartment in Steel Canyon, on placement at Paragon University.
[edit] Trivia
- Dyes his hair purple on a regular basis. This was originally done as part of an in-joke at university, but subsequently has become a custom. Not being a professional hair stylist, it usually looks like a sloppy amateur job, with his natural hair colour poking through in places.
- Always seems to get roped into talks about Gay Rights when visiting Pocket D, even though he has no time for such "political bumph".
- Once had a brief dalliance with the bass player Andy Johnson. Although Steve thinks no more about it, Andy was deeply moved by the experience, and still has (somewhat twisted) emotions towards the hero.
- Steve's current theme music (for he changes his musical tastes about once a month) is "Jeenge" by Infected Mushroom
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