[ wip ] permissions

[aluminumandash]

BASIC INFORMATION

Name: Rust Cohle

Canon: True Detective

Age: 34

Bio: app

SYMBIOTE INFORMATION

[RHO] - [SELF-CONTROL ERADICATION]
At a touch, Rust can rupture a subject's self-restraint, bringing the strongest of their suppressed impulses to the fore (in more advanced stages of the ability, he'll be able to amplify that impulse as well). The effect is always abrupt—he can't slowly sap someone's willpower, only break it entirely. He has no control over what the subject might be feeling, and no ability (beyond what he'd ordinarily be capable of) to otherwise influence their behavior.

This can be used on adversaries—to push them to their breaking point, compromising them mentally or emotionally—or fellow hosts—to overcome mental blocks or give them a burst of strength (or to fuck them up, I guess, if Rust decides to be a huge dick). In either case, the subject will be physically exhausted once the effect wears off.

DRAWBACKS: Rust experiences what's basically an emotional hangover—he's stuck with the (generally less-than-pleasant) residue of whatever impulse he brought out in the other person, though it fades after 24 hours. Moreover, if he uses his power on a fellow host, he'll experience the same loss of control (regardless of whether it's consistent with Rust's emotional state at the time).

If he uses his ability more than once in a day, he will black out immediately. Said blackout will last one hour.

BROOD: [ALNITAK]
( Clarke Griffin | skaikru )
( Ryohji Kaji | ryohji )
( Matrim Cauthon | calhar )
( Hikaru Hitachiin | moremischievous )
( Hyperion Crius | premorse )

BROOD PERMISSIONS
The crushing weight of responsibility, and concomitant guilt. Rust feels responsible as a human being; he cares deeply about people as a species. His own cowardice. Crime scene photographs of dead women.

Translucent pages, long corridors, a mantra: The body is not one member, but many. Now are they many, but of one body.

Exacting honesty born of the terror of veering into falsehood. Grief so all-consuming it has ceased to register. Sophia. Two years old. Car accident. These facts are rehearsed.

NEST PERMISSIONS
Rust is intent, analytical, obsessive. Prone to black-and-white thinking, liable to either doggedly pursue something or reject it out of hand. There's a sense of observation, an unblinking stare and the determination not to look away. Events and interactions distilled to notes, notes scoured until they yield patterns. A wealth of knowledge derived from books, underlined and annotated, but at the same time an ingrained, physical knowledge of the laws of survival. The world as signs and traces, each detail potentially a message.

His mind is organized, but it's a self-imposed organization. Controlled, but control is something he practices—mindful of his own thoughts, his own functioning. Raised hands, a gesture of surrender. Dismantling your own violent inclinations, trying to keep yourself in line. Nihilism, the world stripped bare—suffering the only constant, death the only release. January 3.

In most cases, Rust will part with personal information—up to and including his daughter's death—willingly, though if it's something painful it'll generally come with a sense of disconnect, the mental equivalent of an out-of-body experience.

SHIELDS
At the moment Rust doesn't have any kind of regular shielding in place—if someone overreaches, he'll react accordingly, tailoring his walls to the situation and his perception of the other person's mental landscape. He has almost no experience constructing shields—feel free to bulldoze through them—but his mind is very disciplined, and it's safe to say he has a knack for it.

MENTAL LINK
A languid Texas drawl, the sheen of sweat on skin. Bracing air and visible breath. A hairpin turn, a twist of the knife, the world continuing inexorably on. Truckstop neon and the glow of a Xerox machine. Unremitting focus. Your own thoughts cast in someone else's words, comfort and provocation both. Crying from another room. The silence that prevails after a fresh snowfall. Sticks knit together with twine. The feeling of being on the brink: of revelation, of destruction. A paradoxical sense of passivity, the grim certainty that the only way to keep going is to remain still.

The Aurora Borealis. A jungle in flames.

PERMISSIONS

Physical Affection: PLEASE just don't expect it to be well received.
Physical Violence: Y E S if you want to break bones or something let's talk first, but feel free to take a swing at him.
Romance/Relationships: I mean. If you're into crippling depression by proxy.
Thread-jacking: I love it, but (I'm sorry) see note on network posts below. AND JUST BE ADVISED Rust's likely to be annoyed/treat it like eavesdropping.
Back-tagging: Absolutely.
Fourth-walling: No thanks.
Offensive Subjects/Triggers: NONE FOR ME but Rust is basically a vortex of every edgelord trauma and affliction you can think of (most notably: suicide, drug addiction, child murder). I'll warn for content, but if I miss something/there's something in particular you'd like a heads up about, please let me know!
Anything Else? Rust has synesthesia and it's been warped somewhat by the symbiote, so if any weird sensory input crops up in his tags, it's probably that and not me blithely ignoring your mental link info. Probably. Feel free to address it IC (or hit me up OOC if you have questions about it)!

ALSO AT THE MOMENT I treat gamewide mental link posts as though only top level comments (and threads with the OP, obviously) are accessible to Rust. This might be subject to change??? I don't know what I'm doing.

CAROLYN • SMUGFROG @ PLURK

( CODE BY WHAMBAM )

Comments

[aluminumandash]

POWERS AND SKILLS

• Survival/Wilderness Skills - Rust was raised in a remote part of Alaska by his father, a Vietnam vet who took self-reliance to extremes. From a young age, the skills necessary for survival in a harsh, inhospitable environment were ingrained in him: he knows how to track game and bow hunt, how to navigate without the aid of a compass, how to monitor and assess his own functioning and perform rudimentary medical procedures. Even when he's not in a survival situation, he's acutely aware of his surroundings.

• Police Training - Rust has roughly a decade of police work under his belt, in a variety of departments—vice, robbery, narcotics, and homicide. He's proficient with most firearms (he carries a Glock, but has no trouble handling a machine gun when the situation demands) and skilled at physical combat. He's well versed in investigative and interrogative techniques (in fact, he's almost preternaturally good at wringing confessions from suspects) and has supplemented this knowledge with a compendium of books on serial killers.

His time undercover lent itself to the cultivation of an entirely different skillset—he can lie convincingly on the fly, work up a concoction that when injected simulates track marks, ride a motorcycle, and do all sorts of questionable shit. He knows a fair amount of Spanish (very little of it polite) as well.

• Drawing - He's pretty decent.

[aluminumandash]

ABILITY PERMISSIONS

Is it okay for Rust to use his symbiote ability on your character?

Exceptions?:

Other Notes?:

Since there are consent issues at play and because it'll have a huge impact on all involved, I'll always give a heads up before Rust uses his ability on another host.