merle

Name: Merle

Meaning/Pronunciation: 'blackbird' or 'bright sea' • MURL

Gender: Genderless

Age: n/a

Grade: Grade Nine, Freshman

Dorm: Cobalt

Height: 6'0" inch. • 182.88 cm.

Appearance:

Personality:
Knowledgeable • Spending most, if not all, of their time studying a variety of different topics, no matter relevant or how unneeded the information is. They crave knowledge, how did everything end out how it has, how people think it may end up in the future, how everything works. Merle is your go to person for random and seemingly useless encyclopedic knowledge. They're street and book smart, but still manages to not know everything, especially about people and their psychology.
Kindhearted • They're empathetic, they see all that's bad and instead of getting put down by it or joining in on the negativity, they try to put more goodness in the world. Often people nice to people even though they don't deserve it, though it makes them seem rather naive due to their sympathetic and pacifistic nature, they aren't. They're nature is to be insensitive and such, but despite their actual nature and the cruel nature of the world, they better themselves.
Selfless • Though it is not in their species nature to be such, they are selfless to a fault. They care for other people, even if all those people do is put them down, making them an easy victim to abuse. They put themselves in dangerous situations to save others, almost as if they're careless for their own life.
Observant • Being that they are one that usually goes ignored and/or unnoticed, due to either them being mute or that they are a shadow or both, they make a point to look for the most minute details. Tending to see things that not most others see. Preferring to do so then rather looking at the larger scale of things, which can be overwhelming at times.
Fearless • Credit to their species, being embodiment of fear themselves, they have a rather hard time experiencing said emotion. Which could give reason to why they are so careless of their own life, for they have no fear. No phobias to speak of, no person able to sneak up and scare them (that's usually what they do, albeit usually unintentional). They instantaneously see the fears of everybody, but decides not to act on it. Though I suppose I can't say they are completely without fear, as they do fear being forgotten.
Musical • Though they cannot make any sounds themselves, Merle is very fond of any music, usually nodding their head along to a tune nobody else can hear. They are naturally drawn towards music, and take to most instruments easily.

History: n/a



Name of Species: Shadow People

Baseline Dimension: Shadow People don’t have any specific dimensions, not having a permanent solid form they are able to appear in any way they please.

Baseline Appearance: They are always completely black, their eyes are usually bright white or yellow in color. They don’t have a specific form that they take, it’s case by case, sometimes they stick to one form and other times they won’t.

Culture/Origin of Species: Shadow People are silent creatures, they are either mischievous or indifferent. The mischievous ones are usually the only ones that people ever see, as they often partake in their antisocial habits, such as scaring people and traumatizing them. The others just mind their own business, never to be seen. Rare occasions do they actually interact with society, probably the only reason they are ever known at all.
Shadow People have been around as long as there has been something to cast shadows, and as long has there have been fear in the world. Despite being embodiment of terror, they've never played a big role in history, and they usually go unnoticed most of the time. Though on occasion when they were spotted, creeping along the shadows, usually they were just written off as nightmares, maybe even hallucinations.

Traits:
Self-Sustenance • Shadow Persons don't require the need to sleep, food, drink, though they can still choose to do so if they pleased. Since they don't loose energy like humans, and don't need to regain it in the same way, they actually have a +1 increase in stamina.
Intangibility • Being made of pure shadows, they are able to faze through anything, physical attacks don't effect them in this state. They can toggle between a physical state and this.
Shadow Teleportation • They are able to teleport to any shadow within a 10 meter radius of them, but it requires a lot of energy, so it isn't typical mode of transportation.
Shape-Shifting • Shadow people are able to look however they please, there isn't a limit to the size and shape of what they can do, they don't often change their natural coloring due to it removing their natural camouflage and because it takes more energy to do so.
Painlessness • Shadows don't feel pain, neither do they feel cold, heat, etc., even when in physical form, they just don't have the ability too. Though this doesn't mean they can't be injured, but they are more durable, having +1 towards resilience and more resistance towards the elements.
Presence of Fear • Anybody with the ability to feel fear that is in a 10 meter radius of a Shadow Person, gets a sense of dread, chills up their spines or equivalent, something so terrifying yet they can't place. Despite this overwhelming aura, it can be nigh impossible to place where it's coming from. Along with horror and fear of imminent death, it decreases their speed by -1. This ability can't be turned off.
Fear Reading • Upon looking at any individual, they are able to instantly know of their deepest darkest fears (and any other fear actually), which allows them to morph themselves into looking like what their fear is. It doesn't effect themselves since they don't have the ability to feel fear or at least not strongly.
Invisibility • They can make themselves completely invisible at will, only way you could tell one is nearby is by their presence. Along with that, they aren't able to make any sound, with their body, at all even if they wanted to. Shadow Persons naturally go unnoticed, only particularly observant individuals or people of their own kind notice them when they aren't doing anything to gain attention.
Swiftness • Being elemental beings, they aren't confined to the same weariness and gravitational pulls of physical beings, giving them a +1 to speed and the ability of flight.

Flaws:
Light • This is their ultimate weakness, they need light for life, but it can also be the death of them and probably the only thing that can kill them. Since light casts shadows, they need it to exist, but since it also rids shadows they will slowly die the longer they're in sunlight (other light sources are less potent, but still deadly). Their strength, speed, stamina and resilience decreases by -1 while in the sun or any other light source.
Intangibility • Though intangibility is a very useful ability, it's also a weakness, as this is their default state and it takes energy to stay in a tangible state. If concentration is broken, due to the environment or if they've remained tangible too long, they'll revert to their original state and be stuck that way until they regain energy or compose themselves.
Darkness • Since shadows need light to be made, complete darkness or near complete darkness prevents them from being able to form.
Silence • They naturally go unnoticed, people just assuming the fear they emit as something conjured by their own brain, it can be hard for them to gain attention if they wanted to. They can't talk, if they want people to hear what they want to say they'll either have to use sign language or write it down on something. Neither can they make any noise whatsoever, which can be a good thing, but if an emergency came up they couldn't make any loud noises by clapping or whatever. They'd have to physically grab something and hit it against something else, or something of the like.