"This should only take a few seconds. It will hurt."
_____Basics
Name: Balder Holt
Nickname: None
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Occupation: Hitman
_____Body
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 163 lbs.
Build: Although he's a far cry from a tall, dashing hero, Balder does look like one - only shorter. He is just barely average height with a fairly sturdy build and toned muscles. Even so, he is very capable of strength and maneuverability (although the former more so than the latter).
Posture: Stiff. Whether he's on his guard or decidedly uncomfortable, Balder doesn't relax.
Skintone: A nondescript Caucasian skin tone, neither pale nor tan. It simply is.
Markings: Two dot-shaped scars, one above each high point in his tailbone. Some jagged scarring along his left ribcage and a neat incision on his right knee.
_____Hair
Hair color: Deep, dark brown.
Texture: Straight, thick.
Length: Layered to longer lengths in the back with bangs reaching just below his cheek bones. It's against regulation to have it any longer than it is now.
Style: He doesn't style it. Wash, lightly dry, comb, thoroughly dry. Repeat as needed.
_____Face
Face: Angular cheekbones and jaw, and yet a rounded nose.
Expressions: Few and weak. When he's content and feeling near-normal, an almost unnoticeable smile finds its way onto his face. If he's angry or focused, his eyebrows come down somewhat. With the sunglasses on, it's impossible to know Balder is feeling or thinking.
Eye color: Brown and deeply emotive, they scream what his expressions whisper. Their color is darker around the edge of the iris and richer toward the pupil. His iris has a starburst pattern as well.
_____Dress
General clothing style: Think dark and close-fitting, then you've got his basic wardrobe.
Hats/headwear: They're restrictive and uncomfortable. He never wears them.
Shirts/tops: His shirt is unimpressive and the double holster is standard issue. Balder owns one soft, dark blue jacket that he often wears. Two zippered pockets as well as the zippered front make it appear commonplace, but it does have its secrets. For example, the a hidden holster built into the inside left side of the jacket was a custom addition. As in this image, there is a buttoned collar base as well.
Pants/bottoms: Black cargo pants that hang closely to his skin.
Shoes: He was strongly advised to own these boots for his work, and so are the only shoes he has.
Piercings: None.
Other: He would be nervous to be seen without his heavily tinted sunglasses. The only time he takes them off is when he's asleep or showering.
_____Personal Traits
Personality:
At a quick glance, Balder is the perfect image of a hitman. When he's not following orders, he's waiting on the next command - one he will carry out with ruthless proficiency. Even when in the presence of other experiments, he is quietly watchful. No one is truly an ally, save for his leader. What more could one want from a murderer?
But upon a closer look, one will notice that something is off with his heartless facade. Whether it be a volatile outburst of rage or a hesitant, naive moment, Balder cannot always keep his thoughts and feelings in check. When he is alone, he cautiously indulges in them, but in front of others... He does everything he can to stay in control and still doesn't always succeed. In his eyes, it's a vulnerability to show emotion before someone he is not about to kill.
Strangely, his victims are the people he trusts most, the ones he knows very well. He knows their habits, their friends and family, their history, and exactly what they will do when he tries to kill them. This is what makes up the bulk of his social life. Needless to say, he has a bit of a time interacting normally. At 19, he is just starting to understand what a joke is. In a few years, he may know how to respond to one.
Habits: Collecting mementos of his victims' lives, walking aimlessly when he has no assignments to complete
Mannerisms: Watching people, standing at the fringe of groups, going about his activities in silence
Gait: Measured, as if every step he made was observed.
Likes: Raspberries, bats, beaches
Dislikes: Coffee, harsh light, storms
Fears: Expressing emotion, being incomplete
_____Background Information
Biography:
He doesn't remember much. It's as if his life was a story he read a long time ago, so long that he only recalled it in dreamlike segments. His first bike ride, a family vacation or two... The memories were but blurs to work around. Yet the one that always returned with aching clarity was his arrival at the facility.
It was late spring, warm. Finals were just ending at school. He didn't have any on the last few days, unlike his classmates. It was one of the reasons that he got a summer job sorting files at some cryogenics place. Not particularly interesting work, but at least he didn't have to worry about offending the customers. And so he indulged in his curiosity. It was while passing by a room where the bodies were kept that Balder stopped to test the door. He was in no hurry and it was unlocked. That's how he found out that the chilled crypt was dark, despite his expectation of sharp, sterile lights. His hand crept along the cold wall, images of frozen heads gracing his thoughts, until he found a switch and flipped it.
He found nothing so mundane as a frozen head. Balder discovered the preserved remains of failed experiments, gruesome and nightmarish, no longer human in any sense of the word. The folder fell to the floor as he turned to run. Faster than he ever had in his life, an attempt to put what must be a lie behind him, and he very nearly made it.
If not for his false co-workers, he would have. They had greater strength, better speed, and a handful of other powers that he had no hope against. From start to finish - when he was turned in to Leader, when it was decided that he would be a subject, when he went on the table, right up until he began training to better understand how to destroy - Balder didn't stand a chance. Beaten psychologically to hide all emotions, obey every order, and show no mercy, he was secretly desperate to please anyone by the time he was to be trained... He was fifteen then, but he acted as if he were years behind.
His memories now are of learning how to control his powers. The fights against dummies, other young experiments, failed experiments, the resulting injuries healed by Yua back when she was practicing, and the brief moments with Leader where he dreaded repercussions and beamed inwardly at praise. His first assignment took place when he was sixteen, with a couple of scientists and their children as his marks. They were dealt with in cold, brutal efficiency. And whatever his life was before, it was derailed. It slipped from his memory, allowing him to become someone else entirely. He was Balder Holt in name only and regardless of his wishes, he belonged to Leader.
_____Miscellaneous Information
Abilities:
- Destruction:
Weaknesses:
- Surprises:
Song: Little Lion Man (rock cover) by Mike Couche and Jeffrey Zeitler
Voice: Clear, but low and quiet regardless of noise level. It also has a whispering, slightly hesitant aspect.
Handwriting: Right-handed. The letters are all somewhat square and he writes rather slowly to keep them in a straight line and legible.
Orientation: Straight
