Post by loki on Nov 12, 2008 23:38:39 GMT -7
The Handler
Name: Gibwanasii (Anishinabe for 'hawk of winter')
Nickname: The hawk man or 'Big Bird' - and Squishy
Classification: Lycanthrope (Hawk)
Gender: Male
Age & Birthday: 314, April 20th (he looks to be between 25 and 30)
Appearance: First thing one notices about Thane is the fact that he is tall - as in pushing 6'5" tall; and he looks as though he should weigh about 250lbs., but the scales put him at around 180lbs. Second thing you'll probably notice are the large, chestnut-feathered wings adorning his broad back; the primary feathers lighten to a tan near the tips, and the appendages themselves are further mottled with soft white and red spots throughout (more red than white). His wing span has been measured at 18 feet on the dot. His hair is jet black, long, thick and wavy, reaching to about the middle of his back in length, ergo he frequently keeps it tightly braided so it stays out of the way. A few pieces not long enough to make it into the braid hang about his face. Cut it? Never! As far as Thane is concerned, it's an expression of who he is, and even goes so far as to wrap the base of said braid with a beaded leather thong ending with one of his own feathers.
Chocolate-brown eyes flecked with gold rest beneath a stern brow, and if one looks at him profile-wise you will see that the lenses protrude much further than on your average man. His exceptional vision is attributed to this feature. A sharp nose and chin give his face an angular look, while his jawbone sweeps back to meet his earlobes in almost perfect alignment; this angle continues on as his ears are ever so slightly tapered, seemingly elven but not quite.
Thane's complexion is tawny and weathered, befitting a man who has spent much of his life outdoors. Numerous scars line his wirey arms and muscular torso, including one over his left eye obtained while teaching a young girl of his tribe how to properly cast a fishing line; she had whipped it back and caught the skin of his cheek with the hook, ripping through the flesh of cheek and brow as she attempted to cast (Thane just counts himself lucky that she didn't take his eye).
Thane's hawk form is that of a red-tailed hawk. His body is about the size of a pony, with a wing span pushing 20 feet. His plumage matches the hue and patterning of his wings in human form, but he also has a lighter red-feathered belly and his tail feathers lighten from dark brown to a fox-pelt red as they travel away from his body. He sports a wickedly curved beak and razorsharp talons strong enough to crush a man's skull. His beak and legs are lined with scars.
Attire: Casually, Thane very much prefers to go without a shirt, as even those he has specially tailored for himself feel too constricting around the base of his wings. While working, Thane typically dresses in specially tailored dress shirts with the sleeves rolled past his elbows, brown or black dress pants and a well-worn pair of brown leather chopper boots. On a mission out in the field he trades in the dress pants for jeans and chaps, and his dress shirt for a sleeveless spandex deal. He also dons a massive leather overcoat specially designed to help him conceal his wings from the unsuspecting mortals - oh the boots stay, he almost never parts with them.
And he sleeps naked; you have been warned.
The Creation
Name: Thane Whitefalcon
Power List: Flight, above average sight and hearing, and shapeshifting.
Detailed Power:
Flight - Thane is capable of flight in either form, thanks to the broad wings adorning his back, and has hollowed bones even in human form. However, his flight capabilities in human form are awkward and he doesn't like to ascend higher than a couple hundred feet.
As for carrying capacity, in human form Thane can carry up to 20lbs of extra weight comfortably, and double that if he really pushes himself. In hawk form his flight muscles are much stronger and he can carry up to a maximum weight of 125lbs.
Acute Sight/Hearing - Thane's vision has been classified as 20/100 by the BPRD, meaning he sees things that are 100 feet away as well as you or I would see them at 20 feet (provided you have 20/20 vision). His hearing is also very acute, and he can pick up on sounds that many would miss; for example, even with a television set at moderate volume, he would be able to hear a whispered conversation in another room with the door closed (some words might be lost, be he would be able to gather the overall subject of the conversation).
Shapeshift - Thane is able to take the form of a hawk that is roughly the size of a pony. He can take this form only for a limited amount of time though (approx. 20 minutes), then he must revert to his humanoid self and rest for a bit, as maintaining his hawk form is taxing.
The Potential
Alignment/Occupation: BPRD field agent
Weapons: Thane's hawk form is his weapon; he refuses to use guns, blades or anything else - although he has been taking self-defense classes since joining the Bureau.
However, if a special weapon is needed to take out a nasty Thane will - reluctantly - concede.
Personality: A man bristling with energy, Thane prefers action to idleness to the point that he will take trouble over boredom. He also loves confrontation, and will spark up at the slightest altercation just for the rush it provides. That isn't to say Thane is a bully or a warmongerer, he just loves the opportunity to add a touch of - what he calls - free spirit to someone's day and bust up monotony; not to forget that he is a hawk and simply has an aggressive nature. It's a predator thing. A saying Thane is quite fond of, though he has no idea where he heard it, is "Give me sweet love or bitter pain; never curse me with mere contentment".
Consequently, Thane is also quite passionate, and unlike the majority of men has no problems discussing his feelings. He is very expressive, and has a full range of facial expressions, hand gestures, and will sometimes even ruffle his wings when trying to get his point across. Fortunately, this also means he's a terrible liar, and often won't even bother trying to fudge the truth.
Pride and honour are also pivotal in Thane's life, so he probably wouldn't lie if given the opportunity. If Thane makes a promise, he has every intention of keeping it. And while he has come to realize the importance of sly, underhanded methods in some situations, Thane refuses to rely on such tactics himself nor does he condone them. In relation to this, Thane hates bullies with a passion and will always stick up for the little guy, no matter the odds (in fact, he has a tendency to call someone being a bully 'Starling', and views it as a grave insult).
Furthermore, hawk-blooded as he is, Thane is just as likely to hiss at someone for startling him or mouthing off as he is to actually say something. And if he's silent during a conversation, it's quite easy to judge his mood by how puffed up his feathers are.
He also has a habit of calling his fellow male BPRD agents 'brother'.
Skills: Aside from being fluent in Anishinabe and French, Thane is a skilled orator and rarely fails to convey his passion to an audience when giving a speech. Ergo, the Bureau usually enlists Thane when a pep talk is needed, or something of the like.
Thane is a talented leatherworker and crafts everything from clothing to bullwhips. Every year at the local Pow-Wow he sells some of his best work.
Perhaps it should also be mentioned that he rolls a great doobie (but never on the job or on site; he isn't that dumb).
Strengths:
o Thane is a perpetual optimist and will rally those around him if he notices morale is falling.
o To say Thane is confident in himself would be a bit of an understatement, but he falls far short of conceited.
o His keen senses of sight and hearing.
o Flight has many practical uses.
Weaknesses:
x Sometimes Thane just doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut.
x As Thane is impatient by nature, he is prone to making rash decisions.
x Since his hearing is so sensitive, loud sounds can be painful to him.
x Having hollow bones does mean they break easier than human bones.
x Thane does not take insults lightly.
x He is also mildy claustrophobic.
Likes:
o Spicy food
o Canadian beer
o Scrabble (yes, the board game)
o People with a sense of humour
o Strong, black coffee
o Raw meat and fish
o Flying
o Sunny days
o Open and honest communication
o Philosophical debate
o Birds (most of them, anyway)
o Trees
o Nature hikes
o Marijuana (mostly for 'shamanistic' purposes)
o Old documentaries
o Lots of space
o Being with friends, co-workers and acquaintences
Dislikes:
x Monotony
x Stuffy people
x Hypocrites
x Liars
x Thieves
x Sneaks
x Tight spaces
x Overcooked meat
x Loud noises in general
x Bullies
x Starlings
x Blue jays
x Lectures
x Cages
x Seeing a bird in a cage
x Stormy weather
x People who can't take a joke
The Story
History: For a very long time, Thane Whitefalcon was one of the Ojibwe people's most closely guarded secrets. His tribe, the Huron tribe, were indigenous to a region of northern Ontario between the north shore of Lakes Huron and Superior.
It was the dead of winter when Thane was born, and the moment his head breached the birth canal a hawk wheeling overhead let loose a piercing shriek, and a gust of wind kicked up. This prompted the elders to name him Gibwanasii (pronounced giibb-WAH-NAH-see), which means hawk of winter in the Anishinabe tongue (AH-nih-shih-NAH-bee), the language of the Ojibwe tribe. Even at birth, the child had dark brown eyes, and large, conspicuous bumps rested on either side of the infant's spine just before his shoulder blades. Some feared that these were signs that Gibwanasii was deformed or somehow retarded, but the elders saw differently. To them, the hawk and the gust of wind were signs that this was a child blessed by the spirit of Mother Nature herself. For wasn't the woman-who-fell-from-the-sky made pregnant by the west wind when it blew into her body? The elders were certain that the wind was a spirit leaving the body of Gibwanasii's mother, its task complete.
Sure enough, Gibwanasii grew healthy and strong, and the bumps on his back became glorious wings by the time he was 6 years old (they were still small and the feathers mere down, but you can imagine the uproar this still caused). He was revered as a deity by his people as they believed him to be an avatar of the great hawk spirit himself. And with the current influence of the white man and their infection-like expansion across the land, the Ojibwe fervently needed something positive to believe in. When it was discovered that he could actually change his form into that of a giant hawk, it encouraged their belief in him all the more.
Gibwanasii became the Ojibwe's secret weapon against the white man. When they encroached upon the tribe's land, hunting their game and killing their people, Gibwanasii's snapping beak and rending talons would quickly convince the white men to wreak havoc elsewhere.
But of course, it was inevitable that the white men would claim the land, and hunts for the fabled 'devil-hawk' became more and more frequent. So to keep their god safe the Ojibwe ceased the raids.
Flash forward a century and a few years to the war of 1812. Gibwanasii's power and longevity ensured he still had a healthy following, but worship of the hawk-child faded as Christianity took a firmer hold and evil upon evil befell the Ojibwe people. Most native peoples now turned their hopes toward Tecumseth, a powerful chieftan who made a pact with the British that would see the return of much land to its rightful owners: the aboriginals. And the peoples' hearts soared all the more when Gibwanasii concealed his true nature and fought alongside Tecumseth. So it was a painful death for the peoples' hopes when Tecumseth was killed and the British/Canadians won the war but did not uphold their side of the pact. No, they just took more land and continued to oppress and assimilate the native people.
Feeling he was somehow to blame, Gibwanasii left his people and took to a life of roaming. What kind of god was he if he couldn't protect his people and give them what they desired most?
Legends and stories of the fabled hawk-god faded into obscurity.
He eventually took the name Thane Whitefalcon (not liking the sound of 'Winterhawk', or even 'Whitehawk'), and conformed to society like the rest of his people. Still, Thane maintained a strong sense of justice, and raged at the poor treatment of his people; segregated to 'reserves'; children stolen away and placed in special schools; the supply of alcohol that destroyed any sense of self; and the countless crimes that went unpunished due to the fact that it was a native individual accusing a white individual. Thane took vengeance for his people where he could, but if he wanted his existence to remain unnoticed there was only so much he could do.
Come the second millenia, Thane has changed much. He still holds his core beliefs and idioms, but he's known for sometime now that he's not a god, nor does he think aboriginals are being treated unfairly.
Still, Thane reads the newspaper everyday and can't help fuming at the injustices he reads about, knowing he can't join any law enforcement. well, that is, until he heard about the BPRD.
A pair of ordinary-looking individuals who just so happened to be speaking in whispers near him as he sipped his coffee one day about an organization tied to the FBI who sought individuals like him with supernatural powers to combat evils way worse than human criminals.
Whoa. Wait. Back up. There are others like him?
Well, maybe not exactly like him, but it didn't matter; Thane became determined to seek out this organization and join their ranks.
Now here he is, a bonafied member of BPRD, and he couldn't be happier.
It's approved on my end. 