OOC:

Player Name: Kate
Age: 28
Contact: eyefloss#1321 @ discord

IC:

Name: Nicolas Brown
Canon: GANGSTA
Canon Point: Chapter 31, after meeting up with Delico and Yang to take down Mikhail and Erica
Age: 34

Spoken language(s): English, primarily communicates using JSL
Username: a0
To the Mods: Nicolas is a half Twilight - a race of metahumans within the GANGSTA universe that are the descendants of soldiers experimented on during a fictional war. They're born with enhanced abilities that put them over humans in terms of raw physical strength and speed, but their abilities come with a price - called compensation in the manga. Nic's was his hearing, and is the reason he was born deaf. In addition to that, Twilights are dependent on the drug that created their ancestors - Celebre - and will die without it.

Overdosing on Celebre increases a Twilight's base speed and strength, which something Nic does pretty frequently.

NOTE: He'll be coming in with both bottles he needs to survive, but he will need some way to get more to stay alive. I'm fine with regular doses he needs to moderate if the NPCs wouldn't feed his habit of OD'ing.

History: Here.
Personality: At first appearance, Nicolas strikes many as the strong, silent type - and not simply because of his deafness. Despite being fully capable of reading lips and vocal speech, he rarely makes an effort to speak - even to those he’s on good terms with - unless it’s out of anger or necessity. He has little patience or pity for those who don’t use sign language, his preferred method of communication, and while he’s shown to teach at least one person actively, he’s not so accommodating for most. It’s not unusual for him to completely ignore those around him who try to engage him with speech out of both spite and for his own amusement. Speaking requires a great amount of effort on his part, it isn’t something he enjoys or does lightly. If he doesn’t have to do it, he won’t.

He comes off as taciturn at best, aloof and disinterested at worst and he likes it that way. Preferring simplicity in all forms, Nicolas willfully avoids attachments in both his professional and private life when able. Being a Twilight is already exceptionally dangerous and isn't something to involve others in lightly so in attempt to protect both himself and others, he acts standoffish and apathetic. He deliberately makes it difficult to know him, though he seems perfectly content with learning about others - from a distance. He’s the type to observe, to people watch for a long period of time and then engage in small ways, not to warmly greet a stranger. Even those he’s known for some time know little about him from his telling, his past heard about through word of mouth or others around him.

Described frequently as being ‘grumpy’ and a ‘meanie,’ Nicolas’ almost permanent expressions of emotionless or scowling certainly lend to that. His humor tends to be sarcastic, bordering on dark, frequently making jokes about being unable hear things when sounds are noted, or grinning as he hurts someone he believes deserves it. He’s not conventionally kind - he enjoys picking on those around him, teasing friends and strangers alike for laughs, and would certainly never be mistaken as a warm individual. That said, it doesn't take much to break through his shell and become someone he cares for, however bad he may be at communicating it. Nicolas is a kind person at heart and reacts well to kindness shown to him in return, whether altruistic or otherwise. Twilight mistreatment is rampant throughout Ergastulum despite that the city was originally created for Twilights, and being able to see beyond what he is is a deciding factor on how fast Nicolas will warm up to a person.

Once he has grown fond of someone, however, it doesn’t negate that he hardly expresses feelings of how important they are to him. He prefers to do that through action - stocking up on a specific drink he knows that person likes when they visit, lending a handkerchief to someone in need, steadying them through their withdrawals. Perhaps it’s to make up for his lack of desire to speak, or maybe because he’s all too aware of how rare kindness is in a place like Ergastulum, but Nicolas is not shy about showing affection in small ways - as long as it’s through action, and as long as he isn’t called on it. He clearly expects little in return for his actions, and is quick to disappear or tease if it’s pointed out to him. It’s simply something he does; for strangers in need, for kids he has no connection to, and for his friends.

That said, his devotion can be detrimental - both to himself and those around him. He’s not the sacrificial type, but it’s clear his loyalties run deep and he takes it hard when someone gets hurt because of his action or inaction. His reckless behavior often leads him to biting off more than he can chew, especially when it comes to fighting. Initially placed as a mid-level Twilight based on their ranking system, Nicolas has only moved up to the ranks of A-0 by frequently overdosing on Celebre uppers - medication that is used to boost a Twilight's speed, strength, pain tolerance, and generally makes them psychotic. This practice is dangerous and not recommended with exception of extreme emergencies at best, and a slow form of suicide at worst.

Twilight life expectancy is already significantly shorter than a human's and instead of cherishing the precious few years he may have left, Nicolas seems content to use them in the service of others, even if they might not be in the most morally correct way. His sense of self worth has been terrible since childhood and while he seems to have mellowed out more as an adult, there's still a noticeable amount of considering himself 'lesser than' humans. That isn't to say Twilight abuse or his shortened lifespan are something he openly wallows in, but it is a point he is quick to remind those of around him whenever it comes up. He has no hope that efforts to improve Twilight conditions will matter - they’re all dying anyway, so what’s the point?

Still, for someone who regularly points out how useless caring about things - Twilights and the abuses they face, people - Nicolas cares quite a lot. He’s frequently dragged into the thick of things with Twilight politics - partially because of proximity to people who have more clout than him on the matter, and more so because even though he insists all endeavours to aid Twilights are fruitless, he wants to help. He’s shown intervening several times on the behalf of other Twilights, coming to their defense and stepping in in the only way he knows how, by beating off their attackers. He still believes that it’s a pointless cause and regularly tells the ‘Normals’ in his life as such, but this is probably another way to distance himself from those around him and to keep them from getting involved in something dangerous that they don’t understand.

Obedience and deference to humans is expected within Twilight society to their detriment, but Nicolas doesn't always abide by Twilight rules. In fact, he's shown to break them - usually when a job calls for it - with little care or thought to those it could adversely affect. He's something of a rebel when given the chance and tries to follow what instinct tells him to rather than what is necessarily demanded of him, usually when he's throwing himself into some dangerous situation. He has something of a chip on his shoulder, a need to prove to both himself and others that he's not merely some Twilight dog who will bark when asked.

Unfortunately, this can lead to him getting out of hand. Nicolas is violent and unpredictable even without the addition of Celebre, tending to enjoy the fights and revel in bloodshed far more than should be considered normal. He openly enjoys torturing people he believes deserve it, and won't hesitate to attack anyone - no matter their rank, age, or gender - if given a reason. Part of this can be attributed to the nature of Twilights, part of it to his child soldier upbringing, and a greater part to Nicolas just getting worked up when something gets his blood pumping. It takes a considerable amount of damage or coercing to convince him to back down when he starts getting manic.

Still, for all his flaws, Nicolas is a remarkably human guy. He genuinely likes to tease people, friends and strangers alike, deadpan snarks despite his reluctance to speak with the best of them, and enjoys reading in his down time. He may be grumpy and otherwise short when conversing with people - especially if they mention his height - but he's someone who cares deeply about the struggle Twilights go through and people who need looking after, whether he wants to admit it or not.

Abilities/Skills: Enhanced strength/speed: Even without the addition of Celebre, Nicolas is still incredibly fast and strong. He's shown using his sword to cut deep into a concrete wall when fighting another Twilight, and regularly flash jumps, disappearing and reappearing near his enemies during fights.

Accelerated healing: Twilights are made of tougher stuff than regular humans, taking blows that would be considered fatal for most people. That said, they can die and don't have instant healing powers. Nic's shown to recover from bullet wounds in less than a week, shrapnel blowing up in his face in weeks, and broken arms and ribs in the same amount of time.

Swordsmanship: He's had a sword in his hands since before he was twelve and it's his preferred weapon of choice.

Hand-to-hand: Not his preferred method of combat, but he definitely knows it and will use it in a pinch if his katana isn't available.

Enhanced smell/sight: While the exact limits of this aren't really explained, Nic's nose is capable of picking up the smell of blood from blocks away, and differentiating between Twilight and human. For all intents and purposes, I'll just stick to him being able to smell really well. He's also able to see from some distance away.

Sign language/lip reading: His preferred method of communication. While his eyesight is inhumanly good, he still has trouble parsing out what people are saying when they talk too fast - case in point with Doug.

Samples: tdm