Black Tie

Real Name: Cilian Blanc
Renegade Name: Black Tie
Title: The Gentleman, Inkjet
Alignment: Renegade
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Race: Half French Half Vietnamese
Hair: Black
Eyes: Caramel (Become completely black when power is in use)
Height: 6'2
Weight: 155lbs

Costume design/appearance: A naturally handsome man, he tries his best to find equally nice clothing to compliment his aesthetic value. He is often found wearing clothing in darker hues (Blacks, Greys and navy blues) and is never seen without some type of formal attire i.e. dress coat, trench, tie. A man who believes that first impressions really do count, his style is expensive and pristine, being tailored to the highest calibre. His only accessory is a black leather wristwatch, used to make sure he is impeccably on time when he has something important to do. This formal attire of his is almost perfect in disguising the various tattoos on his body which are constantly shifting and changing. However because he is a bit of a showman, it is not uncommon to see him without Balizarde, a silver rapier, that for the most part, is used for show and is only wielded when absolutely necessary...for he does not enjoy cleaning blood off one of his most favourite things.



Personality: Unlike what his apparent narcissism might suggest, Cilian is a polite, eloquent and witty person who is a prime example of someone that 'goes by the flow'. Although polite, he does have quite a perverse sense of humour and will often make subtle biting comments where in some cases, the person doesn't even know they are being insulted. He retains a level of humbleness and isn't overly arrogant about his strength and he acknowledges that there will always be more powerful super-humans out there. Slow to anger and annoyance, if someone were to provoke him he'd simply rebut with a witty remark or a smirk often enjoying the verbal banter that would often ensue from doing so.

He does come with his flaws though, his blasé attitude towards the mundane activities of normal life often make him come across as lazy and unmotivated and it is only through direct challenges will he ever put in 100% effort. Furthermore he struggles with communicating deeper emotions with people, often avoiding any serious conversation for fear of exposing himself.

When in combat situations, Cilian, under the guise of Black tie tends to avoid causing any major damage, usually going far enough to enjoy the experience without exerting too much energy, he often surrounds himself with his minions which fight for him whilst he'll stay back and say something subtly offensive. The slightly eccentric Cilian also seems to like making an impression on opponents. Though he tries to talk his way out of fights, he does insist on fighting when the situation is particularly grave. When in close range combat he'll often use Balizarde, much to his chagrin for he hates using it, he is a fluid and graceful fighter, light on his feet he'll slash at his opponent in both elegant and unconventional ways. Self-preservation is key to him and it is not uncommon that he is acting through an ink clone and through this can get some understanding of who or what he is fighting.

History: Born into a middle-income family on the outskirts of Paris in 2004, Cilian was the middle child of three children and the only boy. His father, a skilled painter and his Vietnamese mother, who before relocating to France with her then young husband was a renowned actress, raised their children on a set of values which revolved around respect and honour. During his childhood his parents supported his love for art and fencing and he in return excelled in both areas, furthermore, in his early schooling years he was classified as a child with a very imaginative and sharp mind with the only thing holding him back being his lack of motivation. Although blessed with a loving family and good schooling, normal life never really suited the young boy and he would often become restless. It wasn't until he was 13 did his ability start to manifest. Whilst drawing in the middle of class, the human figure on his maths test waved back at him; surprisingly the ink figure did not scare the young Cilian for he resonated with it, as if it was a part of him and he, part of it. His once mundane life was transformed as he began to develop and understand this strange ability of his; at face value it was as if he could control ink, manipulating it into various forms and creatures, the once motionless facets of his imagination were now living creatures that were no longer confined to paper or the occasional maths test. But his power was much more than just controlling ink it was to impart pieces of his very conscious and soul into these ink creations. He could split his very mind into his creations, whether they be simple human clones or monstrous creatures, they shared his intellect and were not entirely mindless slaves, rather semi-intelligent creatures all connected to the main power source, Cilian. One theory of why he can extend his soul into ink of all things is that it was the one thing that resonated with him as a child, other than fencing he was almost always drawing, so his conscious latched onto the one thing that he was most familiar with.

As time went on he had graduated school as an honorary student for his outstanding art and well rounded grades, and this captured the attention of various people in the surrounding areas. One in particular was a local mobster, Jacques Delon, who wanted the gifted youngster to join his gang. Although apprehensive at first, Cilian accepted the offer after weeks of thinking believing that the experience might not only be amusing but also provide him with the money to spoil his two sister whom he loved greatly, Mélanie and Alice. The self titled 'Jackals' committed various crimes ranging from thefts to the occasional murder and their volatility was something that many feared for they knew how to make ones life a living hell. As time went on however Cilian became increasingly bored with the constant failures and brutishness of the criminals, their petty crimes and wars with neighbouring gangs were something that he tended to avoid,and due to this eventually detached himself from any serious commitment to the Jackals and once again absorbed himself in his superhuman abilities, becoming ever more adept at manipulating the ink and testing its limits.

It was around the time of his 19th birthday that tragedy struck the young superhuman, and it was then that he began to understand the very nature of his power. Jacques, noticing that his youngest and brightest ‘brother’ was slowly slipping away from his influence, was becoming more and more paranoid that Cilian was working for another gang or even worse, a government agency. His attempts of enticing the young man with local prostitutes and cocaine did not work and soon enough Jacques convinced himself that his most prized member was betraying him and that the punishment was to be severe, a punishment meant for a person who rejects their brothers in favour for the 'high life' with his well off family.

The retaliation was swift and in a matter of minutes Jacques and his jackals had stormed the Blanc household butchering the father in front of his wife and daughters and proceeding to torture the women in the most vile manner known to man. The gang was merciless as they ignored the pleas escaping the girls lips, killing them off one by one until all that was left of the family was a bloody mess, they believed whole-heartedly that once Cilian's family was eliminated he would have to rely on his 'brothers' to support him and that such an incident would make him a man apparently exposing him to the 'real world'. However the gang's twisted mindset was obviously flawed in the fact that a superhuman exceeds the happenings of such a 'real world' and that they were in all sense of the word extremely unprepared for what would occur next.

Cilian, hearing that something was happening in his town, rushed to his home to find the lifeless bodies of his family strewn across the floor, their corpses desecrated and humiliated. His once beautiful sisters now lay dead at the feet of Jacques who stood with arms outstretched, the blood of the Blanc family dripped off his fingers as he grinned ravenously at his youngest member. Cilian was frozen, shaking, as he registered what had happened, he noticed scratch marks on Jacques face and knew that one of the most heinous crimes had been committed in his very household, his sisters had died an excruciating death and he was to blame, the fear they must of felt was his fault, the terror his mother went through was his fault and as these thoughts burned their way into his mind he finally snapped. Pure, uncontrollable wrath permeated throughout Cilian's very core, his eyes darkened leaving only black orbs and his whole mind exploded throughout the room detecting every ounce of ink amongst the bloody mess. Jacques by now blinked in bewilderment and shock as Cilian raised a hand towards him, clenching his fists as he did so; and in that split second the tattoos all over the gangsters skin melted into his body, leaving behind bloody blotches reminiscent of the designs they were before. A gargled cry escaped his lips as the ink tore its way through his blood system reaching his heart and transforming into every single dangerous object that Cilian could think of piercing the man's body from the inside out. Jacques collapsed to the floor, mouth gaping as dark brown mixture of blood and ink seeped it's way out his every orifice.

Cilian's revenge was unexpected and emotionally disturbing, he finally understood another facet of his power, he could do much more than create life..he could destroy it as well. Every member of the jackals met a similar end and it was after the very last gangster collapsed in a bloody mess that Cilian left France, vowing to never return as it only brought back the memories of his family and the life he once had.

As he left his painful past behind, Cilian created the perfect cover for his immense sadness, he still socialised with people but refused to make any emotional bond with them. The guilt of his past causing him to retreat back within himself leading him to rely more and more on his ink creations to compensate for his lack of any real family, these creatures regardless of their form or function were a part of him as he was part of them.

Power grid (minus 2 for flight)
INT: 3
STR: 2
SPD: 2
END: 2
EP: 7 (5 - manipulation 2 - Soul Seperation)
FS: 5

(Colour: black and white..)

Powers
- Ink manipulation - Black tie can control ink in its various forms, i.e. within pens, books, or tattoos on ones body...even octopi, and manipulate it to his will. Often he will draw something using ink to serve a purpose for later, if it is a pre-planned drawing for example it will assume the form and abilities of what it resembles, e.g drawing of a lion will behave and have the same abilities as a normal one, just that it is entirely black and made up of ink. Because of his affinity with ink it has allowed him to create near perfect clones of himself and squadrons of 'ink minions' that serve as defence or an accessory when dealing with larger groups. His control over ink has also allowed him some level of flight over short distances (Imagine how the deatheaters fly around in the Harry potter films). His body is also covered in tattoos and with the exception of his face the ink from his body can manifest into something when needed.

Ink minion - This is a basic creation and one that is used most frequently and the only creature to have a set level of power, all other ink creations abilities and strength ultimately depend on how much of his soul resides in them. These are his primary attackers with no part of his soul within them. Strong enough to provide a challenge for an average human male they heed to his will automatically and although weak on their own, when in groups prove to be highly annoying and a great interference to any superhuman or otherwise gifted individual.


Power grid
INT: 0
STR: 2
SPD: 2
END: 2
EP: 0
FS: 3

- Soul seperation - Black tie has the uncanny ability to impart varying amounts of his soul into his creations, depending on their role they can be simple grunts that heed to his every command or clones which can take on his activities throughout the day. He can act through these ink creations when he himself is not bothered to do something, seeing what they see and imparting more of his skill into them. The more of himself that he puts into his creation the more powerful it tends to be. This power does have its drawbacks though, separating too much of his soul is exhausting, sometimes causing severe headaches leaving him more vulnerable so once his creatures have served their purpose he often goes out of his way to re-absorb the ink and part of his soul; furthermore if one of his creations is too far away and out of his reach it will simply dissipate with part of his soul, leaving him disorientated, how long this lasts depends on how much of his soul resided within the creation.

The amount of his soul that he imparts into his creations ultimately dictate their overall power in a situation for example: if they are simply manipulated ink with no part of his conscious within them they will be mindless weapons used in combat.

0% soul - simple manipulated ink, he cannot see through them or act through them, just manipulate them like his ink minions.

5% - 10% soul - With this amount of soul within a creation Black Tie will be able to see through them and use them as scouts.

INT: 1
STR: 0
SPD: 4
END: 1
EP: 0
FS: 0

20% - 40% soul - This amount of soul will grant the creation some level of observation skill, reflexes and combat abilities, often assume the form of large animals or hybrids. If used for an extended period of time he will begin to get fatigued.

INT: 1
STR: 3
SPD: 3
END: 2
EP: 0
FS: 3

50% - Commonly used when he is acting through an ink clone, these are semi intelligent creations capable of speech and are proficient at appearing as the real Black tie. Because their body is made up entirely of ink they can assume a liquid form which is partially invulnerable to attacks below Lv 4 on the powergrid. How far away the clone is ulitmately depends on the severity of his migraines, so if the clone were to travel some distance Black Tie will often surround himself with a group of ink minions just in case.

INT: 3
STR: 1
SPD: 3
END: 3
EP: 1
FS: 4

70% - Similar to an ink clone these creations can perform day to day activities and easily assume the Black tie persona. Although they themselves cannot manipulate ink they can 'mutate' their own form to produce ink weaponry such as blades or tendrils and produce wings allowing them some level of flight. Black Tie will most likely be hiding away when using this creation, for he is quite vulnerable when acting through a more powerful clone, if used for over 20 hours Black tie could possibly fall unconscious for he has stressed his brain too much. If by any chance these clones identity have been compromised or they are close to defeat they will often flee to Black tie to be absorbed back into his body..to fight another day.

INT: 3
STR: 1
SPD: 3
END: 3
EP: 5
FS: 4

100% - Never been used before and hopefully never will be, this will only be ever be utilised when faced with certain death. Black tie will impart all of his soul into an ink creation leaving his human body behind; once this done he cannot return to his previous body and will reside within a mass of ink, capable of manipulating his own structure but forever losing his ability to seperate his soul. This form will be capable of flight, assuming liquid form and a type of slow regeneration.

(Minus 2 for flight)
INT: 3
STR: 1
SPD: 3
END: 3
EP: 7 (2 - regeneration 5 - Manipulation)
FS: 4

Abilities
-Gifted swordsman - As he was trained from a young age to use a rapier, whom he affectionately calls Balizarde, he is a talented swordsman, fluid enough to easily cut down armed street level thugs and also to provide him with a backup option if his ink creations were to fail him.

-Experienced thief - Even though he regrets joining the Jackals he did learn a few things when he was part of their brotherhood,he gained the uncanny knowledge on how to break into the simplest locks to the most complex vault systems with relative ease.

Example:

Cilian floated through the crowded city streets of New York, the atmosphere was so different, so foreign that he actually stopped in the middle of the street to just take in his new surroundings. There was no fear of this new country, rather an increasing level of giddiness as he absorbed the sights, smells and people of America. These people had no idea about his 'Black Tie' persona, and in a sense that was a good thing, hopefully he could just relax in the Hilton or something and not worry about any gangs or superhumans who might just wreck his day.

Rearranging his scarf, Cilian decided that it would be the perfect time to experience some classic american Cuisine, a corndog. The lady selling it gave him a warm smile, he returned the gesture, laughing in his head at her seemingly tacky tramp stamp that existed on her lower spine, he registered the shape of the illustration and concluded it must be a butterfly or a moth, how original he thought to himself as he was handed the greasy snack from the seller. 'Bon apetit' he whispered as he tentatively bit into the oily yellow lump of corn. It was a strange and new experience, much like moving to one of the biggest cities in the world. He just hoped that it wouldn't be ruined by prying government agencies or egotistical heroes who might just possibly come to knowledge of his gift. Because really, he would have much more fun experimenting with food rather than dealing with other 'special' people.

Approved. I like the picture for the minion.

Unapproved for edits

Reapproved