Post by Dante Castillo on Dec 1, 2019 18:15:41 GMT -5
The Basics
Name: Dante Rivas Castillo
Nicknames: N/A
Age: 16, almost 17
Pronouns: He/they
Orientation: Questioning
Desired Rank/Job: Student
Powers: Electrokinesis - He possesses the ability to control, generate, and absorb electricity. However, he has great difficulty in controlling his power. He tends to short circuit many electronics, especially when his emotions get the better of him, and he’s been known to accidentally shock people either by touching them or just standing too close. Because of his powers, he does not like swimming and tries to avoid water at all cost, sans showering (he’s mastered the five minute shower), static makes things cling to him, and he tries to avoid electronics. However, being at a school, he knows he’s bound to have to use a computer and other devices, so he makes it a habit to wear thick rubber gloves in the hopes that it will keep him from frying the computer.
Play By: Froy Gutierrez
The Details
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Blue
Height: 5’5
Any Piercings? None
Any Tattoos? None
Any Scars? Various
General Appearance: Given that his father is white, Dante’s skin tone is much lighter than those he grew up around. Sofía always told him that he closely resembles his father, even the freckles that dot the bridge of his nose. Blue eyes stand out against the dark brown hair atop his head that’s normally a little disarrayed, given the electricity his body houses makes it a little wild.
He isn’t one that goes to the gym so he is soft around the edges. He enjoys walks, and there’s always the mandatory gym classes, so he’s getting some activity, but not enough for a chiseled physique. Doesn’t bother him one bit. Besides, if they knew how amazing his abuela’s cooking was, they’d understand.
Being mostly unable to control his powers puts a weight on his shoulders. Dante doesn’t walk with confidence; he’s timid and it shows with how he shrinks away. He tends to not face people or walk beside them because of it. Instead, he keeps behind and at a distance. The fear of accidentally zapping someone is always at the forefront of his mind and so he’s constantly aware of where he is in relation to others.
He doesn’t consider much for fashion. Essentially anything he can find in a thrift store is what he wears. The ends of his jeans and cuffs of his sweatshirts are frayed. Aglets on shoelaces are broken or missing. Shirts are faded. He doesn’t mind, though, since generating electricity can sometimes singe his clothes.
Personality: Dante tries. He really, truly tries even though more often than not he fails. He used to be more happy-go-lucky; he used to be more adventurous. Being happy has become more challenging over time. Life wasn’t too kind to him before he manifested powers, and it certainly hasn’t gotten any easier, so it wears him down to the point that all his smiles are tired ones.
He shies away from people who aren’t his mother and abuela. It isn’t that he fears them - no, what he fears is hurting them. All the accidental zaps he gives people certainly aren’t enough voltage to cause harm other than startling them, but he fears that one day it will hurt a person, and then where will that get him? Prison, he assumes. And given the fact that his emotions can sometimes vary that voltage unintentionally, he fears it could get bad fast.
Learning is difficult and easily frustrates him. His mother always said to give himself time, especially since English is not his native language, but he can’t help feeling… slow. Dumb. Most of it is because of the language barrier, but he also struggles with a “general slowness” that he claims is just “his stupidity,” though his mother will sadly admit that she fully believes it is shaken baby syndrome.
Aside from his intellectual disability, he has low vision in his right eye, also a lasting effect from trauma during infancy. The left eye is fine, and so he has a habit of turning his head to properly see people, and always places himself to the right of the group. Dante does what he can to keep himself safe from accidents like falling down stairs, but it’s happened a few more times than he wants to admit to.
Your Vices
Likes:
- Colorful things
- Silly cartoons
- Ice cream
- Mexico
- Flying in airplanes
Dislikes:
- Accidentally hurting people
- Reading, writing, book learning
- Quiet time
- The fact there’s no truly authentic Mexican food around Pilot Ridge
Strengths:
- Sincerity
- Devotion to those he cares about
- Coloring
- Doodling
- Complimenting people
Weaknesses:
- Gullible
- Self esteem
- Controlling his powers
- Public speaking
- Gets frustrated easily and cries
- Low vision in right eye
- Learning disability
Family Ties
Father: Zach (otherwise unknown)
Mother: Sofía Castillo
Siblings: None
Spouse/Partner: None
Any Other Important People: Abuela (Susanna Castillo)
History
TW: Sex work, violence against infant
Sofía made her living by prostitution in the violent streets of Acapulco, Mexico. Being a port city, different cartels wanted control for drug trafficking, so she catered to a wide variety of affiliations, even the occasional white men who thought they could get their share of wealth from the ports.
The only reason she knew who was likely the father of her son was because Dante was evidently half white. However, that also meant others noticed. One of her regulars, who was particularly possessive of her, grabbed the infant by the neck and shook him; Sofía, sobbing, begged him to stop, and the man only complied after hurling the infant through the air.
She kept a close eye on Dante as he grew and began to notice the effects the physical trauma had on him: he couldn’t quite see objects on his right side, and he was slowly developing mentally. While other kids were beginning to read, Dante was still fussing and not speaking. Since there wasn’t much help she could get in Acapulco, she did what she could, patiently drawing letters in the dust of the abandoned hotel room they called home and trying to persuade him to mimic. Often she bribed him with toys she found in the trash, and before long he was muttering syllables and could finally say “mama.”
Sofía’s mother, Susanna, lived in southern Texas, and would occasionally visit. Every time she would ask her daughter to come back with her, Sofía would shy away, saying she was nothing more than a whore and nothing awaited her in America. Susanna even tried to play the card of raising Dante in Texas; it took a few trips and pleadings but eventually Sofía yielded, and they moved to Texas when Dante was thirteen.
Hardly a few months later, just as Dante turned fourteen, his powers manifested. He’d been trying to press the buttons on the old television when an electric current ran through him and fried it. Frightened, he fell back; his abuela heard the noise and came running, stunned to see a burnt television.
From that point onward it was difficult for the boy to control the electricity. He’d zap things and people he simply stood next to, he fried his friend’s phone, and it was only three days before Hammel came looking for him. At first, the boy didn’t want to go; there was no way he would leave his mother and abuela. They promised they would keep in contact via letters, mostly so that he wouldn’t have to worry about burning up a computer or phone for email, but they gave him an email address just in case he did want to do that instead. They would make the move when they could.
Susanna had just enough money to make the move to Pilot Ridge after her grandson had been there for one year. Dante was extremely grateful to have her and his mother in town nearby as he tried to complete everything the school asked of him, struggling profusely. The school even helped him (and his mother) to get a visa so that he could remain legally, and for that he was grateful. But his grades still slipped and electricity still worked randomly, and the boy was frequently frustrated to the point of crying.
Pilot Ridge is vastly different from Acapulco. Frankly, he’s anxious due to the current president and animosity toward Mexicans, but the people of Pilot Ridge are kind and the fact that it’s a sanctuary city is comforting. As much as Dante misses his home, he realizes that home is wherever he, his mother, and abuela are, and for now it is alright.
Now, if he could finally control his powers...
Player Information
Name: Paint
Age: 25
Player Pronouns: He/she/they, any (but she if you’d like)
How Did You Find Us? Am here
Other Characters: Dr. Jay Murdoch
