Ego (Shian Shikai) [Villain]

THE BASICS

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Shian Shikai has a singular visible form that they always take when not affected by their own quirk. Their skin is exceptionally pale, and their hair pitch black. The expression Shian always wears is a slight smile which propogates to their eyes, making the smile almost appear genuine but most people view it in three different ways. To an optimist this may make Shian appear joyful, but to a pessimist the smile might seem sinister; those that don't often see it as creepy and unnerving. Their eyes are completely void of emotion, with the iris being completely black.

When it comes to clothing, Shian wears whatever fits their current perceived gender at the time. His primary outfit is a normal school uniform, pure black for boys, but Shian's female uniform is pink with a black skirt. The sleeves of the female uniform extends past her hands, disguising their movements. Underneath both the male and female uniform, Shian wears a form-fitting black bodysuit that ends at the neckline. Shian's hair only ever reaches the side of their face, ending perfectly where the neck begins. In the body shape department, Shian's body bears resemblence to both sides of the masculine, and feminine spectrum; when in women's clothing, their form appears to have the curves of a woman, but in men's clothing has the stocky figure of a man.

PERSONALITY

Shian's personality is rather hard to see. On the outside, they seem completely emotionless, never responding to negative or positive stimuli in different ways unless over-exaggerating it, and even then their face remains the same. While they dislike violence, seeing violence won't remove the smile from his face despite the beating that would follow. They are one to love the act of intrigue; plotting, unveiling mysteries, and in the same strange way, continuously wants others to seek their own mystery; after all, boring people are those you can sum up into a single word other than 'strange.' There are brief periods where Shian's entire persona changes, but when this happens it is very obvious that they are putting on an act, but most of the time feels oddly true to their current persona. Surprises are among the most hated things Shian has, and among those, he despises pranks of all kinds; the best kind of trick to pull on someone is a trick they never discover.

When it comes to interpersonal relations, Shian will talk and befriend those around them. It is almost impossible to tell if Shian ever means someone ill as they have mastered the 'poker face,' or rather only has a poker face. The only ways one can tell if Shian means ill is through the words they use during conversations. Those who are closest to Shian often end up being those Shian offers the most to, be it offering information of any kind, to even offering to burgle from. They don't believe in saving money, and if they ever end up with too much will either give it away or will buy seemingly random objects with it; these objects almost always turn into props that they use in interactions with others. Shian's most common question to others behind closed doors is if they can become them for a little bit of time, despite how strange such a notion is.

While Shian is still a bad character over-all, they will almost never harm an individual, choosing instead to flee conflict instead of coming to blows with others. Weapons are a strict taboo; Shian will never carry a knife. Even inside her own home, she opts to eat a completely vegetarian diet as this can be done without using a knife, choosing to buy specialized kitchen appliances to cut her food for her. Over-all, Shian's personality can only be described as 'strange,' just the way they like it.

BACKGROUND HISTORY

Shian Shikai was born to a pair that have no name, or appearance. Both their mother and father vanished when he was a mere baby, and her own memory does not extend back to a point in time where he could remember her parents. Instead of being raised by their parents, Shian was raised in a small orphanage alongside several other children. When asking about their parents, Shian was always met with shifty eyes and silent words, and eventually Shian simply stopped asking. Day by day, month by month, some children came, some children left, but Shian always remained. Each time a new child came to the orphanage, Shian would attempt to befriend them, until inevitably, they too left with another happy family. During these times, she found solace by sneaking objects away from others; the harder the object to take without being noticed, the better of a heist it was in Shian's eyes.

Changeling, Shian's quirk, always made it hard for him as a child to befriend others and was the core reason he was never adopted themselves. No matter how many times Shian tried, nobody wanted a child that couldn't interact with others. Many were afraid of the implications of the quirk, thinking Shian was just a ghost, while others simply left with how strange the kid was. Something was always wrong inside Shian's mind; they hated themselves more than anyone else, but the feeling of hatred was foreign. Instead, Shian focused on being the other kids as often as possible; after all, they were always the ones picked to leave, why couldn't he be one of them? By the time schooling started, Shian had already gained his trademark smile.

Throughout his school life, Shian learned his love of studying; not just studying in class but studying his peers. Each time something juicy went down in school, Shian knew why. When Lucy broke up with Frederick, Shian had weeks before seen the signs; he felt more like himself in other's skin, viewing the world from their perspective rather than his own. After all, Shian had never known themselves nearly as well as he knew the others around him. Over time, this view of the world spread deeper and deeper as it had over the years, leading Shian to be nearly incapable of seeing himself in the mirror as his true form. When it came to what he would do outside of school, nobody could really tell. Being absorbed by the investigator mystery novels he loved so much, he felt the need to replicate them in the real world; not as the investigator, but the criminal being investigated.

When Shian turned 18, she began her plans to start her first heist. While still being in school, Shian gained the habit of leaving early and investigating stores for things to 'steal' on the way home. He'd always top inside, look around, and buy something; the store owners never suspected him of anything as he always seemed like such a well behaved child. On his way home, Shian visited this store once more, but on the way, marked another shopper as his 'victim.' Passing by them, and touching their core from behind, Shian assumed their form and began his 'heist.' Having studied where the items he wanted to take were, he shuffled around the store before bumping into one of the clerks; specifically the person he knew that had the keys to all the display merchandise. With a slip of his hand, the key was quickly lifted from their pocket; a skill he had picked up from years of practice at the orphanage. Now with the key in hand, he could relieve the store of their most valuable possessions.

Stealing several thousands worth of jewellery, Shian left the store in their disguise; dropping the key on the empty front desk before simply walking out the way he came. Within five minutes of their 'escape' the alarms began blaring; a perfect distraction so nobody saw him morph. Pulling out the pocket watch he kept, Shian inspected themselves in the mirror and morphed back into themselves, pockets filled with expensive jewellery, but not enough to create obvious bulges. Gathering their backpack, they continued with their life normally.

A few weeks would pass, investigations would die down, and Shian would wait for a few more before finding ways to 'fence' the stolen goods. After receiving several messages from those wanting to purchase the goods, he chose the median to go to; someone buying for a low price, but not too low. The goods were stolen, their true value still low; nobody would pay such a high price for the stolen jewellery unless they were after the thief themselves, however, the man he ended up in contact with was looking for someone who could burgle again, and again. For once, Shian felt wanted. This man took him under his wing and began devising future heists.

Shortly after her graduation, Shian had nearly mastered the art of casing, and burgling thanks to her mentor, and has since then 'moved out' of the house. Now living alone, they continued to gather information, and perform minor burglaries to keep themselves afloat; certainly, nothing to become famous with. Then it happened; bomb threats across the city, with an explosion to prove it was real. Watching from the sidelines, Shian wondered how they had gotten everywhere, planting bombs where they shouldn't have been able to travel; they needed to meet this person. Once the bomb threats were over, they began to hunt down several ways to contact the rest of the villain underground; no more was Shian a simple burglar, they wanted to know more; they needed a reason to exist, and not just survive.

THE ARMORY

Modified Glasses Case - This glasses case has been modified to store a small lockpicking kit alongside a pair of sunglasses.
Sunglasses - These fit inside the glasses case alongside Shian's set of lockpicks. Blocks the sun; nothing special about these.
Lockpicks - A small set of lockpicks normally stored inside Shian's sunglasses case. Nothing special about these other than they can be used to open normal locks given enough time.
'Effects' - These are assorted cosmetics that are part of Shian's many 'disguises'. Fake mustaches, giant glasses, various masks, detective hat, magnifying glass, etcetera. Nothing here ever fits Shian's current outfit.
Pocket-watch - This bronze pocket-watch is always 8 minutes, 32 seconds off. It's chain is three feet in length, and can be opened to reveal a small vanity mirror built inside.

QUIRK & SKILLS

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CHANGELING

TYPE: Mutation
RANK/LEVEL: C
SUMMARY:
Shian’s quirk is named after the strange similarities it has with several bits of folklore from across the world, the Irish Fetch, the German Doppelganger, or the Japanese Ikiryō, each of which are known to take on the appearance of others and most often times are a sign of ill-omen. While witnessing Shian’s quirk in action does not cause any future terrible events, the fact it exists can cause those who are quick to believe folklore to be more wary. The quirk known as Changeling is often never called such, often being referred to by the mythological creatures that it can be compared to.

Changeling prevents the user from physically touching those who have quirks, from the most advanced mutations to the most simple of emitter quirks. When in physical contact with quirk bearers Shian’s form resembles that of a ghost or apparition, appearing physical but phasing through their physical forms with the only thing being unable to simply pass through someone being the clothing that Shian wears. This part of the quirk is not how this quirk gained its name, however, but rather what happens when Shian’s physical form passes through the core of someone with a quirk. The ‘core’ of another being is where their heart is located, or where it would have been normally located. This can also be referred to as the ‘heart’ chakra, or the anchor point for a human soul depending on your choice of philosophy or religious views. There are two effects that can occur when Shian’s body passes through this location.

The first effect that can occur is the most common effect. After coming in contact with a person’s core, Shian rapidly begins to take on the physical form of that person, replicating their visual identity to a near-perfect degree; the one thing on Shian that never changes is their eyes. Once they have assumed someone else’s form, Shian’s body no longer passes through others that have quirks. If Shian assumed the form of another and they bore a mutation quirk, Shian gains the ability to benefit from that mutation but remains untrained and must learn how to utilize it effectively.

The second effect that can occur, which is extremely rare, is when the person that came into contact with Shian is overtaken by their physical form. Instead of Shian replicating their visual identity and assuming it, the opposite occurs; the afflicted rapidly warps to assume the exact identity of Shian themself, over-writing their original quirk and replacing it with Changeling for the duration that this remains in effect. While this effect may last a long time, if the target regains their own self-view, and remembers ‘who’ they are on the outside the effect immediately ends. The entire second effect of the quirk requires the player of the affected character to choose to receive this effect.

The final portion of this quirk is the ability to change their own gender based on their own views of themselves. If Shian sees himself as a male, then he is a male. If she views herself as a female, then now she is a female; none of these changes affects their outward appearance, but do change the body to adapt to the new physical gender.

WEAKNESSES/LIMITATIONS:
Most weaknesses of having such a quirk become extremely apparent. No matter how much Shian wants to hide it, their form will always have Shian’s emotionless eyes. When in their normal form, they are unable to come into contact with any other being that bears a quirk; this means that those who do not have a quirk and remain, normal humans, are able to physically touch Shian despite their form, and are thus immune to Shian’s ability to adopt their physical appearance. Since Shian is unable to touch any being that has a quirk, they are almost completely unable to fight in combat situations unless adopting someone else’s physical form. This can be extremely difficult to perform as Shian needs to pass through a specific location of the body that is relatively easy to defend. This ‘pass through’ effect does not affect objects held by either side, meaning that the quickest way to physically touch Shian, is when using an object as a proxy.

When Shian adopts the physical persona of another person, they are only able to naturally retain this form for a few minutes (3 posts). After this time, Shian’s body begins naturally accepting the new form, disabling Shian’s ability to manually return to their original form, requiring Shian to focus to return back to their normal form. This focus must be maintained for a few minutes (2 posts) before Shian is able to return to normal. After adopting the physical appearance of another, or returning back to their own physical appearance, Shian is unable to change forms again for a small amount of time (1 post).

RANK/LEVEL: C+
SUMMARY:
Shian has been trained in the art of deceit, pickpocketing, and lockpicking. From their years of pickpocketing they have mastered the art of lifting objects out of small places without disturbing the area around them at a rapid pace, allowing them to remove objects from the pockets of others with ease, and without fear of being caught among many examples. The training they received from their master only amplified this ability of theirs, and added in the knowledge of how to break through any lock that allows a simple physical key to bypass, given enough time.


RANK/LEVEL: C
SUMMARY:
Shian's style of burglary doesn't involve waiting or staking out a location. Instead, they have entirely focused on being as silent as possible when traveling. Due to training and field use, Shian has achieved a rating where they are able to walk, and run at a leisurely pace without making a sound, and when doing so they leave little to no trace that they were ever there; this could be simply walking through a cramped room of objects without so much as nudging any of them at a much faster rate than those who would normally try.


RANK/LEVEL: C-
SUMMARY:
Throughout Shian's life, they have never felt proper in their own skin. Instead, they have practiced being others to a point where at will they can change their entire persona to the point where Shian's own underlying persona is completely hidden. This is mostly used when impersonating others. It's relatively hard to break their act when 'performing.'


RANK/LEVEL: C
SUMMARY:
Shian is much, much better at studying others during interaction, watching micro-movements of the face and small shifts in body language to determine whether or not someone is happy, sad, or mad about certain events. This can be a slight twitch of the nose when mentioning something unpleasant, to slight tenses when the flight or fight response is triggered, to even the natural relaxation someone may have when hearing the name of a loved one.

Delar

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