✖▐ Rory Harlowexxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Johnny Carcosaxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Johnny Carcosaxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxx▃▃ ✖ ▐ B i o g r a p h y ↓ ▃▃▃▃▃▃ ▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
xxxxxxxxxxxxN a m e → Rory Chase Harlowe
xxxxxxxxxxxxC o d e n a m e → Johnny Carcosa
xxxxxxxxxxxxA l i a s e s → The Demon of Blackstone, The Mouth of Madness, The Cursed Orphan
xxxxxxxxxxxxB i r t h d a y → August 20
xxxxxxxxxxxxP l a c e o f B i r t h → Providence, Rhode Island
xxxxxxx▃▃ ✖ ▐ A p p e a r a n c e ↓ ▃▃▃▃▃▃ ▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
xxxxxxxxxxxxG e n d e r → Male
xxxxxxxxxxxxA g e → 20
xxxxxxxxxxxxH e i g h t → 5'7"
xxxxxxxxxxxxW e i g h t → 140 lbs.
xxxxxxxxxxxxH a i r → Black
xxxxxxxxxxxxE y e s → Brown
xxxxxxxxxxxxC o m p l e x i o n → Pale
xxxxxxxxxxxxB u i l d → Thin
xxxxxxxxxxxxN a t i o n a l i t y → American
xxxxxxxxxxxxN o t a b l e F e a t u r e s → Dozens of tattoos throughout his body.
xxxxxxx▃▃ ✖ ▐ R e l a t i o n s h i p s ↓ ▃▃▃▃▃▃ ▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
xxxxxxxxxxxxT e a m → Alpha
xxxxxxxxxxxxR e l a t i v e s → Angelique LaLaurie (Mother; deceased), Henri Harlowe (Father), Sutter Pickman (Adoptive father), Amber Ward-Pickman (Adoptive mother), Layla Pickman(Adoptive sister)
xxxxxxxxxxxxF r i e n d s →
xxxxxxxxxxxxE n e m i e s → .
xxxxxxx▃▃ ✖ ▐ H i s t o r y ↓ ▃▃▃▃▃▃ ▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
xxxxxxxxxxxx Rory Harlowe did not always have the best of childhoods. His mother died in childbirth. His father was driven mad by the screaming of the baby Rory- later theorized to be an early manifestation of his mutant powers -an tried to kill the child right there in front of the nursing staff in a blind fury. His father would be sent to mental hospital over the incident, and Rory was put into the foster care system for much of his childhood. He found himself moved from home to home for much of his childhood. Any homes he was sent to over time would inevitably have either the foster parents or the children around him suddenly become unsafe to be around under sudden mysterious circumstances; Rory would later discover this was a result of his power manifesting without his knowledge or control, as he had a tendency to speak when he slept, and frequently did so in the language his mutation gave him access to. He spent much of his childhood moving from foster home to foster home throughout the New England region.
Naturally, this constant changing of atmosphere and people in his life caused Rory to retreat inward, often preferring to be by himself and do his own thing. Changing schools frequently made it easy to be an outcast, and with the knowledge that his next new foster home was right around the corner he rarely bothered to try making any friends. He quietly kept to himself most days. It was lonely for him, but it was oddly comforting in a way to be free of the expectations of others. This did have an adverse effect on his social skills, but he felt it was better that way than constantly gaining friends only to lose them weeks later. By the time he was nine he had figured out that at the very least was causing some people to act erratically around him, as he had a few minor incidents of his power acting up while he was still awake. This caused him to become even more reclusive, frequantly avoiding talking to anyone out of fear they would start acting irrational or violent around him. He began sleeping with a gag over his mouth to keep from talking in his sleep inadvertently.
A few months later, he was finally adopted into a permanent family. He was found by a wealthy man by the name of Sutter Pickman, who had been investigating rumors of an orphan who was cursed and brought misfortune to those around him. Sutter had a soft spot for those often deemed peculiar by society at large, and his wife and he had been looking to adopt since their daughter had grown to adulthood, so he'd sought out the child eventually took him to their home. Rory's new home was much bigger than any he'd ever been in, but its inhabitants were nice enough- if somewhat strange -and welcomed him with open arms. His new adopted father was an eccentric millionaire who made most of his fortune largely through a lot of luck with his investments, but spent most of his time collecting strange antiques and artifacts- especially those considered to be haunted or cursed -to display in his personal museum in the mansion. His adoptive mother- Amber Ward-Pickman -was a renowned painter known for painting scenes of the macabre, and who liked to tell people she'd sold her soul to the devil for her talent and the ability to portray the end of the world through her art; to this day Rory can never tell if she was serious or not. His adoptive sister- Layla -was a fake fortune teller who liked to use confidence tricks, sleight of hand, and cold reading to milk money out of the unsuspecting; Rory would learn a lot from her. There was also the help: Delia Bosmenier, a Cuban maid and practitioner of Santeria, as well as the mute groundskeeper Judas Albrecht. Despite being a large enough mansion to house many more, it was only those five, and Rory who lived there; though Rory often swore he could hear sounds coming from the unoccupied rooms.
His new family quickly thought of Rory as one of their own, and he assimilated quite well into the often eccentric band of people. Over time he began to open up more to his new family, and finally felt like he was accepted. He was home schooled, learning many important life lessons from his new parents. His adoptive mother in particular fostered a love of creativity in him, instilling in him a love of art and expression. He never took to the paint brush like she did, but he did find an old camera in the house that has been glued to his person ever since. He was even allowed to convert one of the many guest rooms into a makeshift dark room. His father taught him to appreciate old and strange things. His sister taught him how to read people and take advantage of them. All of these were valuable skills Rory would come to appreciate, and he would grow to truly love his family.
All the while he tried his best to take even more precautions with his emerging powers, so as not to ruin the first good thing to ever happen to him. By the time he was seventeen, he'd established a life for himself in Pickman Manor. But only a few days after his birthday, he found that he could not speak English. No matter how hard he tried, he could only speak in that alien tongue that tormented him so much. Knowing he could no longer hide his secret from the rest of the family, he gathered them all to reveal to them his secret. He communicated to them via text messages, then later displayed his power by whispering a small word into his father's ear. It was brief, but the power did induce in the man a panic attack of the kind he'd never experienced before. Strangely, the family did not immediately recoil at the revelation. They explained to him that they accepted him for who he was regardless of what he could do. His father assured him that he knew experts who might be able to help him, and that he would do all he could to help him.
Over the coming weeks, Rory had met with his promised expert, a school headmaster who went by the name of Xavier. He assured him that he was indeed a mutant, and that he could help him if he desired it so. He agreed to go to Xavier's school to train his school. It took several months before he even trusted himself to speak freely again, but eventually he got the hang of his strange powers. It was refreshing to be in a place where he was not the only freak around. He has been in Xavier's school since.
xxxxxxx▃▃ ✖ ▐ P e r s o n a l i t y ↓ ▃▃▃▃▃▃ ▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
xxxxxxxxxxxxD i s p o s i t i o n → Rory is a bit of a weirdo, to put things mildly. Living in a new foster home every few months for much of his life caused him to retreat into himself, often preferring to be alone, avoiding any fleeting connections that would surely be severed as soon as he had to move on to a new home. While he does not intentionally drive people away, he frequently tends to be on his own simply out of habit. He has what most would consider strange interests, which usually acts as a barrier to forming connections with a lot of people. It was not until he was adopted into the Pickman family that he felt it was okay to finally open up and form connections with people, feeling normal for once among the quirky residents of Pickman Manor. While he is much more open to people since being adopted, he still feels something of a barrier between himself and most of the world, and can sometimes seem like he is retreating into his shell once more when in reality he simply sticking to old habits; he is still quite friendly to most people. He tends to avoid eye contact most of the time, though he usually appears far more confident when speaking behind the lens of one of his cameras. He can be rather cynical and sarcastic, and will rarely have the first word in a conversation unless it's to make some sardonic remark on a ridiculous situation. He suffers from anxiety and can be prone to anxiety attacks sometimes as a result sometimes, but is still rather high functioning, especially with the proper medication. He is sometimes prone to going on long rants, especially when discussing things he is interested in, and these alongside doing photography are among the few times he ever shows any real passion.
xxxxxxxxxxxxL i k e s → Jazz and classical music, gloomy music, the morbid and macabre, collecting strange and antique things, taxidermy, film photography
xxxxxxxxxxxxD i s l i k e s → Pop music, bigots, conservatives, overly aggressive people, modern cars
xxxxxxxxxxxxO t h e r → Rory is pansexual, as well as polyamorous.
xxxxxxx▃▃ ✖ ▐ M u t a t i o n: Multidimensional Speech ↓ ▃▃▃▃▃▃ ▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
xxxxxxxxxxxxD e f i n i t i o n → Rory can willingly open his vocal chords so that when he speaks, his voice becomes multidimensional in nature. The end result is something resembling a language that humans were never meant to hear that he has taken to calling Aklo, after the language found in the writings of Arthur Machen. Whenever a human hears his voice when this power is active, whatever barriers in their minds keeping them sane suddenly dissolve, driving them to madness. This can trigger an episode for anyone suffering from a mental illness(such as PTSD, schizophrenia, etc.), or simulate the experiences of mental illness on those with a sound mind, forcing his victims to lose their grip on reality whether they are susceptible to such disorders or not.
xxxxxxxxxxxxS t r e n g t h s → Rory can affect the intensity of the madness he projects depending on the volume of his voice, as well as how long he speaks in this language. Speaking for only a few seconds in a whisper can have the effect last for a few minutes at most with only mild effects(minor hallucinations, slight paranoia, etc.), while shouting for ten minutes into a person's face could last for as long as an hour or two and have severe lasting effects on their mental health(catatonia, extreme hallucinations, severe paranoia, etc.). The effect of his secret language can work differently depending on the person listening, simply due to how unique a single brain can be; one person can suffer from extreme paranoia, while the person beside them might suddenly find themselves in a state of manic depression.
xxxxxxxxxxxxW e a k n e s s e s → The most obvious weakness is that he requires the use of his mouth to use his powers. If he is rendered mute somehow, whether due to physical trauma or because he is gagged, he can no longer use his power until the condition is made better. Any kind of noise-cancelling devices such as ear plugs or overwhelming sound render his powers moot, as the recipient needs to be able to hear his voice for his power to take effect. His power does not discriminate, so he cannot choose to only affect his enemies; any allies nearby are just as affected by his voice as those he means to use it on, as long as they can hear it. These powers can have the unintended effect of making any potential victims of his significantly more violent against him or those he is with.
xxxxxxxxxxxxO t h e r → For some strange reason, when using his powers his voice seemingly cannot be captured by recording equipment; any audio or video footage of Rory speaking Aklo appear as if he is saying nothing at all, and no sounds appear to be coming from his mouth. This is also true of broadcasts of his voice that are aired on a delay. That being said, live broadcasts of him speaking Aklo, such as through live video feeds or loudspeakers, work as normal; this means he can use loudspeakers to amplify the effects of his voice.
xxxxxxx▃▃ ✖ ▐ P o w e r G r i d ↓ ▃▃▃▃▃▃ ▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
xxxxxxxxxxxxI n t e l l i g e n c e → 5
xxxxxxxxxxxxP h y s i c a l S t r e n g t h → 3
xxxxxxxxxxxxS p e e d → 3
xxxxxxxxxxxxA g i l i t y → 3
xxxxxxxxxxxxD u r a b i l i t y → 3
xxxxxxxxxxxxE n e r g y → 3
xxxxxxxxxxxxP o w e r M a s t e r y → 8
xxxxxxx▃▃ ✖ ▐ M i s c e l l a n e o u s ↓ ▃▃▃▃▃▃ ▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
xxxxxxxxxxxxU n i f o r m → [x]
xxxxxxxxxxxxE q u i p m e n t → Rory prefers not to fight, but when he is forced to he prefers to keep things horrifically simple: He uses a steel baseball bat he affectionately calls "Diplomacy." He also carries a switchblade as a last resort he calls "Failed Negotiations."
He also keeps several dozen pairs of earplugs on him at all times in his pockets to hand to his allies just in case he needs to use his powers near them.
Outside of combat he almost always carries a Rolleiflex 2.8 F twin-lens reflex camera from the late 1960s and many accompanying rolls of film.
xxxxxxxxxxxxN o n - m u t a n t R e l a t ed A b i l i t i es → Film Photography (Master), Grifting (Intermediate), Sleight of hand (Intermediate)
xxxxxxxxxxxxO t h e r → He has a pet cat named Arkham, and a tarantula named Scarborough Fair.
