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[theycalledmeacurse]

PLAYER INFO
Name: Amy
Contact: PM or taintedcrimson
Are you over 18?: Yep!

CHARACTER INFO
Character Name: Rogue / Marie D'Ancanto
Canon: X-Men Films
Canon Point: Days of Future Past: The Rogue Cut (during rescue from the lab, between the building blowing up and reaching the jet)

Appearance:


Age: 34

Setting:

The world of the X-Men is much like our own, except for one small difference: Mutants exist. Though mutants have existed for thousands of years, the rise of nuclear power accelerated their appearance in the early twentieth century, and by the 2000s they were known and feared by the public.

Mutants are human beings with a genetic mutation that grants them inhuman abilities and/or physical differences. Telepathy, magnetic manipulation, flight, enhanced healing, teleportation, blue skin... The list of possibilities is endless, and there's no telling what 'gift' a mutant might receive. These mutations often manifest at puberty during periods of heightened emotion, such as a first kiss, though there can be children born with physical mutations as well.

As per usual, humans fear that which is different, that which they do not understand. Children are cast out of families, people are persecuted in the streets, and it's often only those who can 'pass' for human who are able to live normal lives. That's why Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters exists -- a boarding school for mutant children who have dangerous gifts they need to learn to control, or who just have nowhere else to go.

Prominent mutant Charles Xavier worked to change the tide of opinion in the public forum while secretly starting a team of X-Men, mutants trained to fight to keep people safe, human and mutant alike, in the hopes that one day the two groups can live together in peace. But while groups like this exist, there are also groups like the Brotherhood of Mutants, formed by those mutants who believe themselves superior to baseline humans and fight for that supremacy.

By the time of Days of Future Past, the world has given up on trying to live together. Baseline humans declared war against mutants, first by putting the most dangerous into prison campswith a Registration Act, and then hunting down everyone else. Those who fought back were destroyed by the Sentinel, giant robots designed for the purpose of taking care of the mutant problem, no matter what stood in their way. To that end, they've decimated the world, cities left in burning rubble and mass graves being utilized daily. The human race is dying because of fear and hatred, but still mutants fight for their right to live and try to put an end to the war.

History:

Canon History. Because Days of Future Past takes place roughly seventeen years after the end of X3, I use the following headcanon as a bit of filler for the in-between. The major developments in the war are mentioned in DoFP itself. Also, Rogue is from the alternate cut of the film, aptly titled The Rogue Cut. Released on DVD a few months after the theatrical version, TRC added 17 minutes of previously unused footage, including a subplot involving Rogue, whose role was reduced to a brief cameo in the theatrical release. This is considered an official canon release, though some games have treated it as an AU.

Not long after taking the "Cure", mutants everywhere began to have their powers reactivated, and some time later Rogue resumed training with Xavier after his return to the mansion. She learned how to partition her mind and lock away the more unsavory personalities she'd absorbed over the years, but true control over her powers eluded them. Rogue became a teacher at the school, teaching French and self-defense, and was a full member of the X-Men.

Early Days of the War: The Mutant Registration Act finally passed, allowing the government to begin collecting information on the sizeable mutant population in the US. The rest of the world quickly followed suit with similar registration programs. The Sentinel Program was launched to help deal with the more 'dangerous' mutants.

The X-Men were forced to flee the mansion when the government declared that all mutants were to be detained and imprisoned, and resistance would be met with lethal force. Shortly after, all humans who aided mutants were imprisoned or killed as well.

Sentinels began exercising extreme force in their hunt for mutants, destroying buildings to deal with the mutants inside and even entire cities. The X-Men split up to cover more ground as they sought to find a way to save mankind and end the war. Rogue went with the younger X-Men, who she'd taught and trained with over the years.

A number of years before DoFP, Rogue was captured and taken to a prison camp for processing like other mutant prisoners. When her DNA was scanned and matched to Xavier's own records (now in the hands of the government), she was moved to Xavier's mansion, which had been transformed into a high-security facility for further development of the Sentinels. She was experimented upon as a means of studying her mutation in the hopes of utilizing it through the Sentinels to take the powers of all remaining mutants. The lab where she was kept was housed in Cerebro so even a powerful telepath like Xavier would not be able to locate her -- because of this, she was believed to be dead by many.

When Kitty was injured while projecting Logan into the past in order to change the timeline, Bobby revealed to Xavier and Magneto that Rogue was indeed alive, and the three of them rescue her from the mansion compound in order for her to take Kitty's place.

Personality:

When people look at Rogue, they perceive her to be beautiful woman with sad, haunted eyes, who can flirt with the best of them. By turning on that southern belle charm, she convinces the unsuspecting to agree to almost anything, and doesn't seem the least bit sorry for any deception caused by those feminine wiles. This impression isn’t exactly wrong. She knows she has a talent for putting people at ease, but she often does it to help offset any unease caused by her mutation, as People who hear that she can kill them with a touch aren't usually the friendliest. It's also a way for her to pretend, just for a little while, that she's a normal woman and not one who will forever be set apart for the safety of others.

Depending on the situation, Rogue can seem either distant and standoffish or overly friendly and charming. Often the two go hand in hand, her polite nature warring with the way she physically holds herself back from others. And no matter how she acts physically, she always seems to be holding back emotionally, as well as just generally holding back information from others. This might lead others to assuming she's cold and uncaring, or that she doesn't want to form connections with others, which is the farthest thing from the truth. If she holds herself back, it's out of fear of being rejected and hurt again rather than a desire to actually keep herself distant from others. She longs to be close to her chosen family, to feel like she's really accepted by them, but some part of her always feels like the freak among freaks and that colors her interactions with others. She also feels that if she shared her thoughts and feelings as easily as others did, that others would find her to be burdensome. It's not that she assumes the worst of others, she just can't always move past the possibility that history will repeat itself and she’ll again be rejected by those closest to her.

Despite her fears, Rogue is sassy, stubborn, and strong-willed, refusing to be pushed around or bullied by others. When she first meets Logan and stows away on his truck, he doesn't take it very well and leaves her in the middle of road. She asks where she's supposed to go, and upon his response of "I don't know" she asks for the clarification of "You don't know or you don't care?" She also stubbornly points out that she'd just saved his life, not hesitating to talk back even when she'd just seen him nearly shishkabob some men with his metal claws.

It perhaps wasn't the smartest move, but it proves that she can be a little reckless, not fully considering all the repercussions of her actions. She'd just seen the man beat the tar out of someone and then slice a shotgun in half with metal claws, while she was a seventeen-year-old girl with no real ability to defend herself other than a power she was afraid of, yet she still took the risk despite the fact that she had no idea what he would do when he discovered her.

That recklessness only extends to herself; she wouldn’t do anything to overtly put someone else in danger. In fact, she is fiercely protective of people she cares about, as well as those who just need protecting -- she will come to the aid of anyone in need, even if it looks to be a losing battle, because it's the right thing to do. That's why she alerted Logan to the danger in the bar, despite the fact that he'd clearly proven that he could handle himself. She's a passionate person, willing to risk everything for her 'family' and those that need her help.

Keeping her team, students, and friends is a driving force in her life. After being rejected by her parents, the X-Men and the other mutant students became her family. They look after and protect each other, and it becomes her personal mission to make sure the children at the school have a better childhood than she ever did. It was that need to do everything she could to keep her loved ones safe that kept her going through the worst of the war, and that had her willing to sacrifice her life in the mountain temple

She’s the adventurous sort, willing to do things she’s never done before and go places on her own. As a teenager, she planned out a trip to Alaska for after her high school graduation, and it was this plan that she followed when she ran away from home. Hitchhiking alone across the US and Canada, she ends up in some rather unsavory places, but she doesn’t let her fear get to her. This is because she does what has to be done, regardless of her fears or doubts. When the X-Men were trapped inside the Alkali Lake facility and time was running out, Rogue took the initiative to fly the X-jet closer to the facility, despite clearly being terrified while doing so - Storm had to basically pry her hands off the controls. When she was rescued from captivity for the sole purpose of taking Kitty's place in holding Logan's mind in the past, she was not swayed by Kitty's mourning of the recently deceased Bobby and stepped in immediately to absorb Kitty's power and take her place at the table; even Magneto seemed a little surprised by her determination.

Some of that determination comes the guilt she feels deeply for the people she cares about who have been hurt by her powers, and the compassion she has for others who have been harmed simply for being mutants. She frequently has nightmares that have been 'inherited' from others, including Magneto from during his time in Auschwitz and Logan from his experiences at Alkali Lake. If she doesn't make an effort to stabilize herself mentally, these stressors can take a toll on her ability to keep the psyches in her mind at bay, leading to rare periods where the stronger psyches supersede her own.

Guilt is a major motivator in Rogue's life. She feels guilty for hurting others with her mutation, and for not having control of her mutation when there's no good reason for her not to. Apologies are a constant when it comes to her mutation, whether it be when she accidentally touches someone or absorbs too much, or when her mutation is an inconvenience, such as when she makes an attempt at having a romantic relationship. To alleviate that guilt, she makes an effort to always be useful, from helping in the kitchens at the mansion to learning to fly the X-jet and teaching at the school. She tries to atone for the hurt she's caused by balancing it with good deeds, though she's not sure that's even possible after everything that happened during the war.

Running is her first instinct when she feels unwelcome and unwanted. When her mutation manifested and she put a boy into a coma with a kiss, she didn't stick around to wait for her parents to kick her out; at the first sign of them regretting having ever adopted her, she packed a bag and left. After borrowing Logan's power to heal herself at the mansion, she was easily manipulated by Mystique into believing that the faculty and students at the school were afraid of and angry with her, and it took only a few choice words to send her running again. It was only when Logan promised that she wouldn't be alone that she agreed to return to the mansion at all.

Her life has been a lesson in dealing with adversity, her status as a mutant giving her years of experience in being persecuted, feared, and hated simply for being born different from others. While many of her kind dealt with that adversity by becoming hostile and turning to hatred themselves, she has tried to be a better person for it, dedicating herself to helping others and keeping the peace. No matter how terrible her life might become, she keeps moving forward, striving for something better. Now, after everything she’s lost in the war, the one thing she wants most from her new life is to find a Home again. Not just a place to rest her head, but somewhere she feels safe, accepted, and at peace with herself.

Canon Abilities/Skills:

ABSORPTION Upon skin-to-skin contact, she absorbs the life force, memories, emotions, abilities, personality, and outward physical characteristics of other sentient beings. No upper limit has been determined for the number of beings she can simultaneously imprint. Absorbing psyches more powerful than her own can result in Rogue’s psyche being supplanted for a short time.
ABILITY BORROWING Generally for every 1 second she touches someone, she is able to use their abilities for 60 seconds. This can be mutations and powers, or enhanced physical or mental abilities.
PSYCHE COPYING After the immediate absorption wears off, a copy of the other person's psyche is left in Rogue's mind; these psyches are fully formed, and Rogue is able to communicate with the ones who aren't hostile or overly resistant.
LANGUAGES Rogue is fluent in English and French, though her French is often heavily accented. She also knows bits and pieces of Russian from spending time with Piotr/Colossus, and some German from having Erik/Magneto as a prominent psyche in her head.
PILOTING/FIGHTING Because her power is not an 'active' one, during her time with the X-Men she put great effort into being a 'useful' member of the team. This included learning to pilot the Blackbird jet and a handful of other aircraft, and also became proficient enough in a number of fighting styles to lead her own self-defense course at the school.

NOTE ON HER MUTATION VS THE SYMBIOTE Based on my understanding of how the symbiote protects the hosts and prevents them from harming/killing each other, I'd like to amend how Rogue's mutation works specifically in regards to others in the Nest. With mod approval, I'd like for her to be able to touch other hosts and not absorb them immediately upon contact. Rather, I'd like to utilize a level of control of her mutation seen in the comics, where she can choose to absorb the other hosts if they willingly allow her to, but only their non-symbiote special abilities/skills. This change will allow her to have a semblance of a "normal" life with the Nest, which she'll be grateful for and will make her more likely to heavily invest herself in missions.

Also, Rogue has a few hundred psyches crammed into her head thanks to 17 years of actively using her mutation. These psyches will continue to exist within her mind, but will not be connected to the symbiote or the Nest. Other hosts who enter Rogue's headspace may experience their chatter and even encounter a few of the psyches, but the psyches will not be able to influence the hosts in any way or vice versa.

ON STATION 72
Symbiote Specialization: Rho
Symbiote Ability: Metal Manipulation

BASIC | Rogue is able to sense the presence of and physically manipulate metal in her surroundings, including reshaping and weakening the metal. This takes considerable effort on her part and cannot be sustained for a period longer than 60 seconds or used more than once per day. Because of the focus required, this ability can only be used within a 10 foot radius.

DRAWBACK | The drawbacks of this ability include extreme fatigue from severe iron deficiency (for up to 2 hours) and a pervasive heavy stiffness in her body, as if her bones were lined with metal (for up to 6 hours).

INTERMEDIATE | Rogue is able to sense the presence of and physically manipulate metal in her surroundings, including reshaping and weakening the metal. This takes a moderate amount of effort and can be sustained for up to 90 seconds. Because of the focus required, this ability can only be used within a 20 foot radius.

DRAWBACK | The drawbacks of this ability include extreme fatigue from severe iron deficiency (for up to 4 hours) and a pervasive heavy stiffness in her body, as if her bones were lined with metal (for up to 4 hours).

ADVANCED | Rogue is able to sense the presence of and physically manipulate metal in her surroundings, including reshaping and weakening the metal. This takes a negligible amount of effort on her part and can be sustained for up to 120 seconds. Because of the focus required, this ability can only be used within a 30 foot radius.

DRAWBACK | The drawbacks of this ability include extreme fatigue from severe iron deficiency (for up to 6 hours) and a pervasive heavy stiffness in her body, as if her bones were lined with metal (for up to 2 hours).

Inventory: The grey uniform from the lab.

SAMPLES
Samples: Rogue + Rocket | El Nysa

Rescue Write-up:

[ Her chest aches as she runs, from the fear of the Sentinels pursuing them, from the pain of losing Bobby to those metal monsters, to the physical fatigue she feels from the exertion. How long has it been since she last ran? When she'd been captured, most likely. So many years kept locked away in her metal prison, and now with the heat of the explosion behind them thanks to Erik's careful planning, she breathes in fresh air and sees the dark of the night sky above them. There are others here they have to avoid though, and for just a moment Erik lets go of her, just long enough to take care of the soldiers--

But it's long enough for something else. At first she doesn't realize there's a difference, her adrenaline so high that all she can do is run in a desperate attempt to get to the jet she knows is waiting. As the seconds crawl by she begins to notice the feeling clawing at her, the danger closing in behind her, isn't simply from a soldier wanting to recapture a prized asset. Death is closing in, and there's a metal fence in between her and true freedom, a fence that her hands try and fail to properly grasp. ]

I can save you, but you have to come with me.

[ The voice is strange, foreign, and so is the person making the offer. A stranger standing in a war zone, offering her salvation. ]

Will Erik and Charles get away?

The Enemy only wants you. They'll be fine.

[ To go with a stranger, to give up on the hope of possibly saving this world, of saving the people she cares about... The people who didn't care about her. It's a split second decision, but she lets go of that fence and turns to her rescuer. ]

I'll go with you.