Ivan Hargrave

Ivan Hargrave

Dirge

The Shadowbeast, this nickname was coined from the many petty street gangs who were unfortunate enough to make his acquaintance during his early day's as Dirge, afterward the myriad of people and places began collectively coining the name The Manic after his rash series of break-ins, thefts, and puzzling returns of most said thefts


Alignment: Renegade

Age: 23

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Hair: Light blond, usually kept messy or with a minimum of effort
Eyes: Light Hazel with very pale grey flecks scattered throughout
Height: 6, 3
Weight: 198 lbs

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Ivan is a thrill seeker through and through, he has no attachments to his past and therefore doesn't necessarily have a set goal in mind for his future, this makes him hedonistic on the outside, the only way he can make himself feel alive or feel that life is worth living is to find something that gives him a rush, something that tests his abilities, such as the theft of a priceless diamond, would attract him, however on the other side of the same coin he finds no value in material items or money, so he is just as likely to return the item (which usually makes for another adrenaline-pumping adventure and so is usually undertaken) as he is to keep the item for novelty purposes, though he has ended up returning everything he has ever stolen as his free-wheeling lifestyle makes it hard for him to hold on to personal possessions, he is confident in himself and his abilities, verging on cockiness, he is naturally charismatic and his manner of speech is witty and often littered with sarcastic quips, on the inside he is a somewhat confused and depressed individual trying to find his place in a world that doesn't seem to hold anything for him, he simply does not see any value in anything the world has to offer, he views life as fleeting and doesn't believe that the actions we take here have any real importance in the grand scheme of things.



To understand exactly who Ivan is we have to go back to a time before he even existed, Ivan was born to two young parents, James Hargrave and Madison Hartalin, James Hargrave was an easygoing slacker usually clad in grungy jeans, a wrinkled button up and large aviators, though this last item he rarely needed as his eyes were usually covered by his shock of long, unkempt brown hair, he sold Marijuana to support himself as he had a hard time holding a real job, he spent most of his days either with friends or at the music store and arcade, It was a sunny afternoon when he accidentally bumped into Madison, her perfectly ironed, plain white blouse, perfectly ironed plaid skirt, and perfectly kept, bright blond hair in stark contrast to his own appearance and as he looked at her, immediately knew he was in love, Madison was a hard-working and sweet young woman who supported her mother, her younger brother, and her stepfather with what money she made with her job at the local pet store, which was located across the street from the music store James had found himself perusing through this fine evening, James let his natural charm and sparkling wit (traits he would later pass to his son) come to bear and easily won Madison over, their relationship was as any other new and budding relationship was at first but soon turned into a tumultuous affair, unable to cope with his own life, which had been torn asunder following the recent betrayal of his best friend (which resulted in a loss of almost all finances from James) his mothers passing and subsequent guilt thrown upon him by his own step-father (which led to a deep-seated and unspoken depression) and the pressures of reality, which consisted of his recently impregnating his love of three years, Madison, and the disapproval from her family which soon followed, James Hargrave shot himself at the age of only twenty-three, leaving Madison, a year younger than he, alone and with child.

Ivan was born a bright and healthy young boy, He developed quickly and smoothly, learning with ease but being noticeably perceptive to his environment, while his mother worked two jobs as a waitress and bartender, her family having abandoned her after she went through with the birth of the child, Ivan spent most of his time in different day-cares as his mother worked most of the time, Ivan was an eccentric toddler, he understood things very well and communicated better then his age would indicate, his mother would joke that he developed the eyes in the back of his head early, as he was constantly swinging his head around to investigate every sight, sound, or smell he noticed, many of which escaped the attention of most others in his company, he was also unusually dexterous, able to unlock his playpen and even manipulate doorknobs before he was even a year old, which caused no end of frustration to his mother and his caretakers, by the time he was almost two he could manipulate simple tools such as forks and spoons and demonstrated the ability to use them properly, despite being unable to utilize them properly for lack of teeth, before three Ivan could manipulate the remote, the microwave, basically anything and everything he came into contact with.

Ivan was a healthy young six year old now, and as with all young, brash, six-year-old boys the world was his oyster, especially when he had the nimblest fingers of all his classmates (and pretty much anyone he had ever met) he took up violin after his mother procured and old hand-me-down from a co-worker, he also delighted in creating magic tricks (mostly small sleight of hands) and several other acts that he only accomplished through his incredible dexterity, such as impressive shows of coin-flipping and the like, his mother soon found another man with enough charm to win her over as his father had done, his name was Mark Thresser, a thirty-two year old construction foreman with a gruff demeanor and a young boy of his own, Owen Thresser, a boy of seven with senses honed to a sharpened point, Madison fell for Mark because of the security he could provide, but the first time Ivan set eyes on him he knew something was amiss, a month passed without incident, the man was silent, and his son even more so, both of them shutting Ivan out and paying him little attention, two more months passed in this palpable manner, until one night, after supper, Ivan left the table without eating the measly portion of spinach on his plate, his new step-father belted off a stream off obscenities before striking Ivan in the shoulder, sending him crying and shivering down the hall, he crawled underneath the bed, only to be joined a few minutes later by Owen, who was now trying also to avoid his own fathers now fully unleashed rage, terrified the boys held each other until they cried themselves to sleep, over the next few years Owen, Ivan, and very soon Madison all lived in fear of the man who delivered daily and nightly beatings on a whim and made death threats weekly at least, Owen and Ivan spent as much time as they could out of the house, and they became closer than brothers, they looked out for each other and soon the boys grew into their teens.

Ivans childhood laid the foundation, but his teen years would prove to be what ultimately shaped him as a person, now thirteen and entering high school Ivan and his brother Owen were staying with a different friend every week almost, only returning to their hellhole of a house to check on their mother or get any articles of clothing or personal belongings they might need, Madison was also out of the house most of the time, avoiding her hateful boyfriend but still in constant fear for the life of her and her boys (as she cared for Owen just like a son) they were both charming and intelligent young men and found it easy to integrate into high school life, they had a myriad of pretty girlfriends and were quite popular, though few had any clue as to what their home life was actually like and none had any idea as to the truth of the situation, tragedy struck once more as Ivan and Owen were trying to sneak in their bedroom window to procure a change of clothes, an argument had erupted between Madison and Mark, Owen, the older of the two and taking the mantle of leader of the duo, poked his head out from behind their door, looking down the hall to watch the scene, he motioned for Ivan to stay back, but as he did so a bloodcurdling scream rang through the house and through Mark's heavy breathing Ivan heard.. Nothing, Ivans mother lay silent on the ground, surrounded by her own crimson tide, a view that met Ivan as he pushed past his brother, he flew at the man nearly twice his size with malice burning behind his eyes, twisting the blood-soaked cleaver from the mans hand as easily as if he'd taken it from a child and murdered him where he stood, that night he and Owen ran as far and as fast as their legs could take them, they ran on and on until they could run no longer and finally, they fell asleep with nothing but the night sky to cover them.

Ivan and Owen adapted quickly to life on their own, picking up whatever odd jobs they could and occasionally turning to illicit activities to survive, they moved from their home in Arizona up into Utah, where they found work in several mom and pop restaurants, soon they migrated to Wyoming a little after Ivan's fifteenth birthday, where they worked as barbacks and fell into the wrong crowd, when their gigs as cocaine runners got to gritty for them they left for Idaho and quickly found their way down into Nevada, here at the age of seventeen Ivan began a lucrative business of selling marijuana, as his father had once done so many years ago, here the boys met Chadric Davison, a man who took them in and took care of them, he started as a customer but quickly became embroiled in the boys personal lives, despite their tight-lipped stance on their past, Chad soon became a father figure to the boys, but it seemed as if tragedy would never leave the brothers sides and Chad passed away from kidney failure without much warning, by now Ivan was a young adult of eighteen, Owen the same at nineteen, and without direction or any place to turn the boys did the only thing they could think of, they joined the military.

The boys lacked ambition, and their abilities lay dormant, seen only as good talent by themselves and those around them, they enlisted in the army but after taking their tests were recommended to become marines, which the boys accepted, the training was harsh but the boys had their "talents" and each other to rely on, they made it through, Ivan becoming a top-notch Marine Sniper and Owen becoming his spotter, the duo made a formidable pair and over the next two years they completed mission after mission with precision and speed, they never failed, they never gave up, and they never surrendered, they became decorated combat specialists, awing their superiors with their incredible display of skill, but the boys were free-spirits at heart and though they valued what their time in the military had taught them, they decided they could stay no longer, going AWOL the boys joined the Private Military Sector, working from their new base of operations located in Beijing.

With the boys enjoying a lucrative career as mercenaries they soon attracted attention, both wanted and unwanted, their talents and exploits attracted the attention of a group, or, more closer to the truth, a single deranged doctor, abducted and experimented on by the remnants of what used to be Project Purity the boys became something new entirely, Ivan awoke in a dank and dusty cell, all he remembered was being kidnapped suddenly by unseen forces and then brief flashes of incredible pain from those same unseen forces, he looked his body over underneath the rags, tracing his fingers over the faint scars which now lined his skin, he slowly learned and realized all the abilities the experiment had granted him, he now had prodigious strength, he moved with a fluid grace and speed he had never before seen a normal human exhibit, he had become more tough and durable and his already outstanding dexterity had been further increased exponentially as well as his reflexes and reaction time, he used his new found abilities to escape from his cell, but he could not bring himself to escape without his brother, after hours of raising the facility and using his powers to take down guard after guard he finally found his brother Owen.. Lying breathless on a medical table, Ivan checked his pulse, yelled, screamed, cried, but Owen still lay silent, cold, his unblinking eyes staring blankly at the ceiling, Owen had died undergoing the experiment..

Halfway through his twenty first year of being alive Ivan bolted from the accursed laboratory, he fled back to the states where he laid low for awhile, making sure whatever seedy group had taken him wasn't hot on his heels, after a period of mourning Ivan took up the mantle of Dirge, his super-hero alter ego, at first Ivan thought he might do some good by fighting crime, he performed daring acts of good across Nevada and California, but eventually the job of being a hero proved tedious and boring to Ivan, he enjoyed the thrill, but not so much the responsibility, so he began taking up anything he considered a challenge, it didn't matter if it was beating up bad guys or stealing priceless gems, if it got his blood pumping he did it, he lived on a whim and that's how he lives to this moment, wheeling across the states, free-spirited, humming his soft Dirge to any unfortunate enough to catch its tune.


Project Perfection enhanced Ivan's physical attributes exponentially, but most notably was the increase to his already prodigious dexterity and reaction time, He is an expert combatant, unmatched in his hand-to-hand combat abilities, Ivan's success as a fighter comes from what he likes to call his "zen state" when fighting Ivan simply lets go, the way he explains it his body is faster then his mind and if he were to have to think about every action he had to take in a fight he would be much slower, instead Ivan explains that he merely "reacts" to his opponents actions, his fighting style focuses on defense and redirection.


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FINISHED

Was it intentional you have 23 power points in your grid?

Yeah, got the ok from the big man himself

Hm, kay.

Approved then.

:nice:

Powergrid added. If you'd rather different colors you can ask anyone in the chat, and I'm sure they'd remake it for you.

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