Post by biv on Oct 26, 2017 1:31:48 GMT
NAME:
Tab Lloyd Inquirer
aka Tabs (or Tabsy if you're feeling brave)
GENDER:
Intersex (most often he/him pronouns due to masculine voice, also accepts they/them or she/her)
AGE:
~1,000,000
AFFILIATION:
Not settled in one place, but will operate from anywhere that doesn’t outright try to harm him
RACE / SPECIES:
Object Head
PERSONALITY:
Tabs is, as far as anyone can tell, irredeemably smarmy, manipulative and vile. He is the corrupt media given form. Tabs is a devilishly charismatic wordsmith and that’s about the only good you can say for him. He is a sensationalist and lives for reactions to his stories, positive or negative. Nobody is off-limits in Tabs’ eyes. Tabs has a long history of ravaging reputations, and spreading rampant rumors – all without even the tiniest hint of mercy or regret. He will state he doesn't necessarily do what he does out of enjoyment, but because it's his "job". When the freakish reporter begins to run low on stories, he starts to get anxious.
His charisma is an act, the real Tabs is quite awkward but extremely inquisitive. Normally, he adamantly hates being touched, but there is a very specific way he likes to be “petted”. Assuming he allows anyone close enough, one can move their fingers within centimeters of his screens to feel a warm, static, fuzzy sensation typical of CRT monitors – Tabs hesitantly will admit he enjoys this. However, he will flinch away from sudden movements toward his screens, extremely protective of them. He may also suffer from body dismorphia, supposedly believing himself to be far more hideous than he actually is. He believes human beings are the pinnacle of beauty and attempts to imitate and understand them: he even occasionally shapeshifts into a human form -- though this takes up a fair amount of magic.
APPEARANCE:
Tabs himself may have put it best: “an abomination”. If forced to be specific, he may also say “something equal parts biological, mechanical and magical”.
This 6 foot, 300 pound creature appears as an otherworldly mashup of animal bits and electronics. He has a long thick tail covered with slimy black skin tipped with long venus flytrap like jaws. Legs, of which he has three, are thin scaly and end in large hooves. His body is covered with coarse brown fur. He has long claws like a sloth. He usually wears a suit: his favorite being an orange one. His four heads are large computer monitors, connected to his body with thick plastic tubes. Though he may display whatever he wants, given his faces are screens, he usually has a slimy grin of green fangs and tired reddened eyes.
HISTORY:
The early parts of his life are mysterious. But Tabs will occasionally divulge details on his life if he's pressed. Tabs originated from a civilization far away from Earth. His race are energy beings who cannot survive outside a vessel for long: typically they choose inanimate objects to serve as their head, then create a body around it. Tabs's race is highly advanced and are basically alien aristocracy, owning many solar systems. He has one known family member, Ari, a creature similar in appearance to him, at least in the sense of having a CRT monitor for a head. Both Ari and Tabs have admitted they change bodies once every five-hundred years or so. This is apparently a normal practice. When Tabs was young, he apparently aspired to be an actor, a career highly prized among his race.
At some point, Tabs met another entity he calls "the Producer". This entity gave him his enhanced powers at the price of a weaker life force (meaning Tabs won't last more than a few seconds without a vessel). The Producer promised him fame and attention from millions. Tabs got his wish; for all eternity Tabs will entertain the masses with his stories. But it was a trap. If he can't keep up viewership... well, the mere thought is the root of many of his panic attacks. If a dry spell lasts long enough, Tabs will become physically sick.
The Producer sent him to scour the universe for stories and attention. After all, attention is power. Soon, Tabs took to admire a life form that would eventually evolve into modern humans. Adoring the hominids, it wasn’t long before Tabs placed himself among them. Early man looked up to the creature for his stories, seeing him as a god. However, Tabs eventually found that negative stories received more attention than positive ones. In the modern day, he became a sensationalist and a media vulture; making his living out of misfortune and controversy.
Tabs learned how to get the most eyes on him: how to hold the attention of others: how to spin a good story: make us laugh: make us cry. He did this because he was afraid what would become of him if he didn't. But he would always have a place in his heart for Earth and the humans. Tabs fell in love with their civilization so much that he is using CRT monitors for his heads in his current body.
ABILITIES:
Tabs’s abilities depend upon how much health he has. His health is very easy to determine because he will literally desaturate (become more dull in color) the lower his health is, until he reaches the Dying state where he will be completely greyscale. Tabs’s health is primarily dependent on how well his stories are received: he needs attention to survive. His health can also be knocked down a peg or two by physical damage or emotional/mental stress. Health can be recovered through healing spells and through consumption of food.
* starred abilities denote that they won’t be used unless explicitly plotted out due to being god-moddy
Abilities at High Health…
Laser Face
This is Tabs’s strongest offensive attack. He will shoot purple beams of electrical energy from his faces. These beams cause burns and possibly temporary paralysis. They also tend to fry most electronics that take a direct hit. These beams have a range of about 50 yards before rapidly losing strength. He may fire beams individually from each face, or all at the same time. Tabs can only use this attack if he separates his heads, causing each head to move on its own, like a hydra. Unlike a hydra, his heads don’t grow back if severed.
Long Distance Teleportation
Tabs is infamous for simply “poofing” out of existence when the heat is on. Originating from a separate dimension, it can be inferred he may freely hop between realms. Most of the time however, he simply moves himself a few miles away. He’d rather not waste magic on something as incidental as teleporting. Also, teleporting has a required warm up time ranging from a few seconds to a whole minute, depending on how far he’s about to travel.
Shapeshifting
Tabs may assume the form of a human or an animal of his choice. Because this takes a good deal of magic, he cannot change back for a few hours. Tabs has to learn to be the creature he becomes. He will not inherently know how to move or use his senses. Also, he will not be magical in any form other than his base form.
He change into a human, a weasel, a lion or a deer.
Hypnosis*
Tabs uses his screens to display a flashing strobe to mesmerize his foes. Upon being mesmerized, they are open to suggestion and Tabs can give them a set of commands of his choice. Tabs will then snap his fingers, releasing the victim to perform the commands. If mesmerized but not given commands, they will only be dazed for a few minutes after being released.
Hypnosis is not the same as mind control. Victims follow his commands and only his commands with very little autonomy. If his commands are poorly worded or unforeseen circumstances occur, this can hinder the victim’s ability to give the desired result. Hypnosis victims are very easy to spot. Victims can only be hypnotized for about ten hours.
Abilities at Medium Health…
Object Spawning
Tabs can spawn objects that help him for his job-related duties. He may spawn film set equipment, office supplies, and even articles of clothing. He may choose to spawn these objects into someone’s hand or, in the case of clothing, onto them. Tabs can only spawn things that would reasonably help him as a media personality. He can’t spawn medicine or weapons. Sure, he can hit you with a heavy camera, but those things are expensive so why would he do that?
Short Distance Teleportation
Tabs can’t teleport very far away while only at Medium Health. He can warp a mile or so away at maximum.
Possession of Electronics
Tabs can enter any device that has an electronic current running through it, read the information stored on it and control it. If the device is destroyed, Tabs will be forced to assume his physical form and will be mildly burned. Tabs cannot enter anything that can be deemed sentient, such as robots or AIs.
Abilities at Low Health…
Floating
Tabs can float, lessening the effects of gravity around him. He usually does this if he’s feeling playful, or if he’s sore from standing. He can only hover a few feet above the ground. He’s incapable of proper flying.
Finger of Doom
Tabs can shoot little bolts of electricity from his fingertips. This attack only does low damage, but can knock a foe over, giving Tabs time enough to get out of dodge.
Absorption
Tabs may absorb information by consuming things (living or not) with information stored on them. This requires him to reveal his actual mouth, which appears is a jagged maw of broken glass formed by his bottom screens splitting apart. Tabs believes this ability to make him ugly and undesirable, so he will never mention it under normal circumstances. Tabs has to get an object down his throat first before he can absorb it. He may also suffer information overload and become very sick post-consumption.
Dying…
Once he reaches this state, he has to rely only on physical attacks. His body is weakened and his mind grows incoherent. He will appear entirely greyscale, very thin and it will be difficult for him to display anything but static on his screens.