(no subject)

[buffdebuff]

BASICS

name
Maximilian Edward Hart

alias
Just Maximilian, please.

division
research +
supplementary exploration

occupation
liminal human biologist
explorer

age & dob
//31, Aug 24, Virgo//

pronouns
he/him

family
Mother: Judith Hart
Father: Samuel Hart

CONCEPT

Tetchy nerd would rather catalog DNA samples than confront feelings, thanks.

POWERS

Emotion-Powered Buff/Debuff;
Maximilian has the ability to strengthen or weaken other liminals within approximately 10-15' of himself in any direction. This power is directly tied to his feelings about that person. If he has positive feelings, then their powers will be strengthened; similarly, negative feelings will weaken other liminals' powers. The strength of the effect is directly correlated to the strength of his feelings, and he has no conscious control over the ability.

The shape that these buffs take - whether they affect power, range, or duration of another person's powers, for example - doesn't seem to have any particular pattern or predictability. His power is moderately stronger through skin to skin touch and ends if he goes unconscious.

Human Mood Ring;
You know how a mood ring is supposed to change colors to show you how you're feeling? Unfortunately for Maximilian, the air around him seems to serve that same purpose (and he hates it!!). From a golden glow when he is delighted to an inky mist when his mood is particularly foul, Maximilian's feelings can be easily spotted.

PERSONALITY

Upon first meeting him, most people think Maximilian is a tetchy nerd. Honestly, it's not an inaccurate first impression, and further experience will only add nuance to what kind of tetchy nerd he is.

Even though he hardly seems to enjoy the company of other people, he also never seems to be alone — a fact he'll attribute to coincidence or professional courtesy, rather than his sincere desire to bounce ideas off of others. Despite his attempts to remain aloof, he loves trading both barbs and banter with those he considers equals. Those he considers unintelligent will get the nastier side of his sarcasm.

Maximilian is the type of intellectual that seems to thrive on stress as much as challenge. A perfectionist and a workaholic even when no one is asking him to be, he gets more caffeine than he does sleep. It does nothing to improve his mood. He seems perpetually certain that he's the only one that can do the job, whatever the job may be.

This smug attitude is at odds with a deeper self-consciousness. Just because he's sure that he's smarter and better than you doesn't mean he can't still doubt himself. Particularly on those nights he spends alone, putting work above sleep, he finds himself mired in dark thoughts about how he's just not enough, not smart or brave or powerful enough, to make a difference.

Because, at the end of the day, that smug stoic air hides a conscientious streak a mile wide. Maximilian wants to do what's right, contribute to the greater good, and help the people he cares about and humanity in general.

APPEARANCE

🧬 6'3" and thin, but more athletic than you'd expect at first glance.
🧬 Boy why are you so pale, please go outside more.
🧬 Most often wearing button down shirts or polos with slacks. Sometimes a nerdy t-shirt with jeans.
🧬 Typically clean but rumpled, in that "I don't stink, but I did sleep in these clothes" kind of way.
🧬 Wears glasses and needs them for both near and far sight.

HISTORY

🧪 His mom was a chemistry professor and his dad was a history professor, so he comes by his nerdery honestly. They aren't liminals, but support him and encouraged him to go to liminal boarding school once he discovered his powers.
🧪 Speaking of powers, Maximilian discovered he had those right around the time he hit puberty in middle school. There was a particular classmate he often butted heads with, and he discovered that if he sat in the front row during basketball games and thought about it really hard, he could make this other student flub their throws. What he didn't realize is that he was affecting that student's own liminal powers that were aiding them during the game. He also didn't realize when his slid sideways into becoming romantic, and during the next game he unconsciously boosted his classmate's free throw to Herculean strengths. The ball went out of bounds, hit Maximilian in the face, and sent purple blood splatter everywhere.
🧪 Then it was off to mutant school! His powers weren't particularly flashy, so he sort of blended in the background in that regard. Instead, he focused on academics, determined to be the top of his class, particularly in science. He ended up graduating valedictorian. This paved the way for him to continue with IRIS as a researcher.
🧪 He got further science education through IRIS scholarships. In exchange, he's a company man, working as a researcher often in the lab but occasionally in the field too.
🧪 During a particularly disastrous research expedition, Maximilian's powers ended up doing more harm than good. Because of a tiff they were having, Maximilian caused a coworker's powers to falter and their energy shield to fail. He and that coworker survived, but another died when liminal creatures broke through and attacked.
🧪 He requested a transfer from that outpost and came to Enodia to make a clean break. He was here during the blip and ended up rescuing a colleague, but it hasn't done anything to assuage his guilt about the one he got killed.

NOTES

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OOC

Cheryl . EST . Nicholas Hoult . /dropbox

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