BMDR - Carl Freeman


Name: Carl Freeman Gender: Male, Bisexual Age/DOB: ~16, aged, unknown dob, likely 2028 Origin: Repurposed Earth, BMRC, but likely conceived in Europe Family: Mother Chell, father Gordon Freeman, named after Carl Sagan; has extended relatives in the form of the ELLs and some Color Guard, as well as Angel, Joshua, and Gareth; Branwen and he get together RY11 with son Brad Other: A very welcome addition to the Pantheon, Carl is well liked, and is quite the popular nerd even among the refugees Height: 6'1" Weight: 135* Icarus treatment lightened his structure and dramatically increased his muscularity and strength, as well as his overall agility and dexterity, durability, and health Hair: dark reddish brown, darker at roots, thick and fluffy, kept short but grows quickly, keeps a nice trimmed beard Eyes: light and clear aqua green, does require reading glasses, under bushy eyebrows Appearance: fair skinned that tans well, slightly less 'roguish' as Gordon seems to be, but more overtly muscular across his whole body and not just his upper body like dad; Boldly dresses in stylish vests and shirts, but also is frequently found with a mechanic's overalls and heavy gloves and boots, welding mask, and the like; doesn't wear ties, but definitely likes looking dapper; has a quiet but chilling voice, when he speaks people listen Icarus Processing: yes, at age 3, (aged to about 10 years) he was given both infusions of Pythagoras 'juice' and the full Icarus processing and downloads. This markedly increased his physical prowess, he's about 3x as strong as a normal person, but also at least that much faster, and can perform balance and acrobatic feats that hardly an ELL can resist. His aim and precision with his hands is quite remarkable, and his flexibility is nearly 4x better than others. It did also increase his Vortal abilities to a modest extent though his parents already have a good amount to donate.	Image Credits: Doll Divine Prince Maker
Genetic Abilities: as his father is a 'Vortal battery' with some strong 'Jedi powers', and his mother is innately gifted with pathing and mechanical aptitude, it is no surprise then that Carl is a brilliant engineer that can sense and manipulate devices around himself with ease, as well as strongly sense other Vortal presences. His psychic suite of empathy, telepathy, and vortal sight are quite strong, able to sense Pantheon minds from around 500 meters, and strongly communicate at 100 or less. He is able to sense where powers have been used, showing up in his vision as glowing traces and auras, and match who-did-what-where with ease. His command over machinery must come with physical contact, but it can be remotely: he can use a keyboard that's wireless if it has a dongle connected to a machine somewhere in range, and sense through it at the machine source. Mainly his skill is in coding and reprogramming virtually anything that has code, but he is a masterful tinkerer - sometimes to the degree that his devices only work for him. This is... oddly, echoed in one or more versions of Cave Johnson's alternates (the Wizarding version, in fact). He can easily detect where a broken part is, what is or is not responding correctly, mistakes in code, and one of his favorite pranks is to fuck with the lighting in distant rooms just by touching a light switch in his own dorm... Notably, when he is around, other machine-types are markedly stronger, and they all seem to communicate better with not only their devices, but one another.
Skills or Profession: An engineer just like his folks, Carl knows his namesake is a high bar, but he's long surpassed it. He has worked on refitting Combine machinery for current use, and thus on the Rookery is more than eager to start messing with them there - he was born on Repurposed Earth after their reign ended, so he's had time to study it there, and apply that knowledge to the Rookery. Unlike both Chell and Gordon, he's quite comfortable with public speaking and loves to chat up the other engineers and even some of the more philosophical of the group. Interested in ethics, he knows that sometimes what he has learned about Armacham, Aperture, the Combine, and even Lane himself, is just a bit at odds with how things really should be among humans. The skill downloads he got while in Icarus and being aged include basically all the math in the world, chemistry, physics both practical and theoretical, rocket science, engineering (civil, electrical, metallurgy, etc), pretty much anything that a guy with a wrench and Vortal powers could want. He's branched out a little on his own, but in very specific ways - he likes reading about ancient philosophy and fashion. Where his sister has tackled the teleporting tech, he's got a grasp on manufacturing, observation, and maintenance. He can, however, follow her with ease, if he's got a Portal gun.
Personality: animated and much more outgoing than either of his parents, mostly because the mood of the entire Refugee City was considerably higher than in eras before his birth. As the younger sibling of Angel, he knew he had some rivalary ahead! They don't compete so much as collaborate, and compare notes. Though he does love cleaning up and looking sharp, he is hardly at all afraid to get dirty, and enjoys slumming it while working on a big project, because he knows that soon enough he'll be getting a nice hot shower, and clean clothes await. He is every bit as popular as his namesake, from the science group, and quite the catch for anyone else.
Events or History: When the Combine fell, it was because Gordon, Chell, and the others in Europe got the Combine systems subverted and used against them. The celebration that was held around the world... was very likely his origin. It was already known that ELLs were fertile, so it shouldn't have come as any sort of surprise to anyone that this pair had finally gotten busy. He does regret not being able to meet his grandmother Clio, but he believes every bit of the stories that his dad tells of her. With the Rookery, it's also no surprise that not one but two dragons have come to this young man. It seems to run in the family, after all. He resides more than part-time in the Rookery, but heads over to the Borealis on a regular basis to make sure that everyone is kept up to date, and to deliver items or machinery and repair parts.

Dragon Name: I'haeryok, 'Ihae', understanding, comprehension Gender: Female Size/Shoulder/Length: Small, 6' s / 28' l / 40' ws Colors: face, body, tails, limbs and wing fingers smooth glossy brown with graphite black markings; upper body, neck, wing fronts glassy* golden yellow, with creamy yellow flight feathers, and silver wingsails; glassy white-silver mane, tail, and leg floof; ivory antlers, black claws and hooves; deep indigo eyes changed in this dimension Features: Holiday Deer Justice Dragon, as shown Powers: Winged Flight, as a feather-winged dragon, she's got more lift than many with only leather wings. However she's not remarkably durable in flight, and prefers to remain near the ground in any case. She's speedy enough, but needs rest after a decent distance (around 25 miles), and then she's off again. So it would be easy for her to rush between the Rookery and the Ranch, but less so from there to the Mansion. She can lift a decent amount of weight, however, up to three humanoid sized weights, without this affecting her flight or speed on the ground. Communication - understand languages, cause cheer, musical assistance; her abilities with comprehension, as her name implies, are stunning. She speaks clearly and while she can use 'the big words', she prefers to convey what needs to be said in as plain and clear wording as possible. While she isn't a 'brainy scientist' type, and doesn't necessarily know what any of the theorems or background information does, Ihae is quite capable of passing along very exacting cyphers and code. Her power over music and mood however are equally valued among the Rookery and Borealis crews, since it's easy for the Rookery refugees to be overwhelmed by their circumstances, and also for the Borealis workers to become a bit stir crazy. She can lighten or stabilize the moods of up to 10 people at once, provided they can hear her voice. The shifting of her shiny gem-like fur and feathers causes more of a chime and hum than the bells that jingle around her neck or legs, but all of them mix to create delightful music with which she can cause folks to dance or hum along, passing time or doing work with a smile. Order Magic, this power is quite strong, though she hardly has much need to use it these days around the Rookery. With it she can tell deeper motives and truth from lies, and extract truths from those that want to withhold it. In the Rookery, at best, this is used to maybe determine who ate all the donuts, or who left the microwave on high... Light Magic, able to cast a soft golden-white light, which she can use to illuminate very dark corridors or rooms, though it only extends about 2 meters away from any part of her - she can focus it more strongly on her white tail tips and move them closer to where they're needed. Ihae can leave a sparkling trail behind her while running around a place - easy for people to follow if they know what to look for. She can also briefly blind anything with visual light sensors, though she can only do this a few times a day. Size Shift, also hardly ever used, but she's thinking about trying harder because then it'd be easier for her to ... well, to ride Charger with Carl! Others in her nest are able to grow or shrink tremendously varied heights, but Ihae can only shrink down to around 4' at the shoulder. This is however more than small enough to be picked up by a strong armed human, or carried by virtually any other dragon. Parentage: Liaxeri and S'onmul, with plentiful siblings around the Rookery Origin: Healing Den Holiday Giveaway, notably this dragon has a split 'Alternate Universe' version who is held by Trix, this causes her to be a bit freaked out for a moment or two every morning: which world is she in? She seeks out Charger, Carl, and the rest to confirm where she is. Other Info*: Ihae has found new purpose at the Rookery, as many of her siblings. She is quite good at helping out with translations and relaying messages, and is likely to be relied upon to bring complicated code from one person to another if they lack other means. She loves watching her bond friend working, and can use her light to help!

Dragon Name: Charger Gender: Male Size/Shoulder/Length: Medium-Large (long) 9' s / 80' l / 80' ws Colors: base brilliant orange, slightly yellower toward nose, much more red-orange on tail, with a medium tone at rump; swish markings in a butter-goldenrod yellow that streak over wingtips, elbows and wing arms, down neck with strips crossing it, around chest, sides, legs, and tail in fancy patterns; wingsails are very transparent and grade from a soft orange to pale pinkish peach at edges; horns are striped crimson and dark red; eyes are peach Features: typical Whiptail Powers: Winged Flight, Charger is good as his little friend is, with bursts of speed, but he can also keep a good distance flight up at a much slower pace. He's a great heavy lifter, but does pay attention to the strain that his wings may be under, and won't lift things if he thinks he can't handle them. When Charger balks at an item, Carl knows not to push it, and to find someone else to help. However, that 'too' heavy limit is nearly a full freight car! Communication and Learning, paired up with Ihae, Charger has begun to truly learn how to understand human speech, and definitely has a grasp on body language of those little two-legged creatures all around the place. Since he's larger than most, and particularly with that long tail, he has to be quite careful around big groups or small people, so he knows how to recognize a terrified child's scream, from a screaming laugh down the hall. It can't really be said that he knows 'tricks', he does what Carl likes him to do, that's all he has ever wanted. Rush, Charge, Bash! Charger can get a really good head of steam up on the ground, and if there's not much in the way he can easily outpace a Hunter and then turn on a dime to whip his tail around and bash the crap out of it. He's not relied upon as a combat dragon, but there have been quite a few scouting parties that they've encountered that have never reported back to their Combine keepers because they've been smacked into pieces by this dragon. He can and has taken out a Strider with one hit of his tail, pouncing on them from above, but he does also require some amount of repair and recovery afterwards - his tail did break that one time, so it's good that there are dragon-healers on hand these days to fix the damage done. He has not shied away from this afterwards, though, he's gained confidence, but not over-confidence. Parentage: Unknown wild Whiptails, not related to any on the Rookery Origin: Adopted from and species by DragonsAndVideoGames on Deviantart Other Info: Interestingly among the few Whiptails that is larger than his other bond... He was not named for his bashing or rushing ability, but instead the distinctive orange-yellow coloration of the HEV suit charging units on every Black Mesa wall!