She harboured a certain amount of envy towards Rattle, knowing that not only was he close with at least part of his family, but they were for the most part still alive and in his life. She had long ago severed her relationships with hers, and burned many bridges, and now she was as lonely as she had ever been. It didn’t help, either, moving to an entirely new city after things went a bit south in Toronto; New York was unfamiliar territory, and as much as it was one of the most populous cities in the world, it had felt entirely empty.
Until, of course, she realized he was in town.
A smile played at her ruby-red lips as she listened to him. “Maybe one day you and your sister will come to terms with things,” she shrugged, “But, its a mother’s perogative to try and make peace between her children. At least she’s trying — that’s more than I can say for mine!” Lore’s eyes wandered to look longingly out the bus window, watching as the crowded city streets passed by.
It didn’t take long for him to get to the point - why was she here? Toronto had been as much her home as Vancouver ever was, and she’d sworn up and down to him that she would never leave. And yet, here she was - of course he’d be curious. She stood up from the seat she was at and went to sit on the one just behind him, leaning over the back of the driver’s chair with her chin resting on its top. “Career change,” she began, reaching a hand over the chair to rest a few fingers gently on the crook of his neck and shoulder, tracing small circles. “And I finally got my divorce settlement, after a year of fighting for it. So I figured it was time for somewhere new.”
“I doubt it,” he began, his tone turning slightly bitter as the conversation tilted towards his sister. There was a great, yawning chasm there that stretched for miles and was impossibly deep between Rattle and his baby sister, a chasm that would probably never be bridged. “Mom can try but she’d probably have a better chance at gettin’ blood out of a stone.” Because some bonds can never be broken and some family issues can never be overcome.
“An’ really Lore, I’d absolutely love for her to stop tryin’.” He let out a weary sigh, idly scrolling through the settings menu of his RV to get it ready to park up. “Don’t think she quite realizes that she’s just gonna end up with more heartbreak at the end of it, not less.”
Watching her move in his mirror and instinctively leaning into her touch and letting those small circles she was tracing ease out some of the tension he’d built up, he let out a thoughtful hum. “So you’re a completely free woman now then?” He met her eyes in the mirror, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. “An’ you come to the city filled with millions of eligible bachelors - or bachelorettes, if that’s your thing.” There was the glint of devilment in his eyes for a split second at his teasing before he dropped his gaze back to the touch screen of the RV. “Can’t say you’re lackin’ in ambition. You even know where to start in this city, or do you already have a job lined up?”
No wonder he couldn’t leave the bus parked in the streets. Looking around, she realized just how damn big it really was — the front of the bus, with the bench she sat on and a small galley, was much larger than the kitchen in her small apartment. She wondered how long he’d been on the road for, knowing that the last time they’d hung out in Toronto he had his own place. This seemed more Rattle, though — more unpredictable, more mobile, and quicker to give him a change of scenery.
She smiled in his direction. “Not yet,” Shaking her head, she ran a hand through her hair, browsing out the window. “Sounds wonderful. How is your mom?” Lore had never met his family, but she was sure they were just as interesting as he was.
“Well then, presumin’ the weather holds we can do the whole tourist thing.” Not that he was anything close to being a tourist but the least he could do was show her some of the prettier spots of the city. The question about his mother caught him off guard and he frowned at the road momentarily before blinking up to look at Lore in the mirror. “Oh yanno; short, bossy and constantly babbling about the Avengers.” He stifled a snicker and shook his head. Ever since the alien invasion it was all she ever talked about, that and boasting about having been to look at Stark tower. Rattle hadn’t got the heart to tell he he’d played at one of the man’s parties. “Other than that she’s yet again been tryin’ to fix the yawning chasm between me an’ m'sister. I keep tellin’ her she’s fightin’ a losin’ battle but no, she keeps tryin’ anyway.”
The main artery that took them to the RV park was flowing slowly but steadily and Rattle followed a coach all the way through the turnoff (because if anyone knew a way through traffic it was bus drivers). “To be honest, I never really expected you to leave Toronto an’ I was gettin’ ready to head back up there before I got word you’d migrated south of the border.” He chewed on his bottom lip absently as he flicked through several screens on the windshield HUD while in the queue leading into the RV park. “Why are you here, Lore? It can’t just be for the change in scenery.”
She always thought he was a gentleman — mores than the ones she was usually introduced to. He treated her well, was a good source of conversation, and more or less behaved appropriately. Sure, he could be aloof and mysterious and hide behind his club persona (she still hadn’t discovered his actual name), but you couldn’t be a perfect social animal all the time. She got it. She understood it - it was part of why she enjoyed spending time with him, when the chance presented itself.
“I’m sure it will,” She sighed. Home was a term she hadn’t really known for a long time. “I do enjoy NY - its big, that’s for sure. But its vibrant. I like that.” As they set off, she went to sit down on one of the long, leather-covered benches up near the driver’s seat, taking off her shoes and tucking her feet behind her, leaning so she could watch him drive. “So where are we headed?” She hoped it was somewhere they could just relax, be themselves, and catch up.
“I gotta park this rig, can’t go leavin’ her on the streets,” he said, heading towards the route he needed. Eyes drifting to the mirror momentarily as he watched Lore kick off her shoes and settle onto a bench. He wasn’t entirely sure why he’d become so fond of the woman so fast, it wasn’t like him to drop his guard and let someone in so quickly - and even then there was so much she’d probably never know about him. Why she even wanted to in the first place was beyond him, given the fact that she wouldn’t like what she’d find if she did know the truth.
“You seen New Jersey yet?” It was said with a cocky half-smirk in the mirror before his eyes twitched back to the road. “‘Cos that’s where we’re goin’” He turned a corner onto the main circular road that ran around Manhattan Island. “There’s an RV park down on the harbour, got a great view of Lady Liberty herself. I’ve already got a spot reserved there, only brought this thing up through the city 'cos my Ma wanted to see it.”
The fact she had dressed down for the occasion was a sign that she really did feel comfortable around him - she didn’t feel the need to glitz it up, to spend hours doing hair and copious amounts of makeup, or finding a man-killing dress to wear. Rattle made her feel like herself, something that she hadn’t experienced with anyone in a long time. In truth, she was a fairly private woman and could come across as uptight, but with Rattle, she was 100% relaxed.
She grinned at him, biting her lip and blushing as the parrot piped up. Lore moved to stand behind the driver’s seat, manicured hands resting against the top of the chair, hmming for a moment, putting the accent back on to respond to him: “Whatever the gentlemen is offerin’,” a laugh escaped her lips and she placed a hand against his shoulder, squeezing softly. “Its not bad - it certainly isn’t Toronto or Vancouver, but I do like it here. How have you been, Rattle?”
The word ‘gentleman’ broke Rattle’s composure momentarily and he shot her an alarmed expression in the mirror he used to keep an eye on the interior from where he sat. “Gentleman?!” Barking out a laugh which he tried (and failed) to stifle. “If y'think you’re riding with a gentleman then y'r on the wrong bus.” Because while there were numerous kind words you could use to describe Rattle, gentleman was not among them. Not unless you squinted really hard.
“Ah, she grows on you. Bit like Toronto did on me.” But then it wasn’t really the city in that circumstance, more like the people in it. Well…person. “She’s loud, she’d dirty, she’s big. New York’s everythin’ a city should be and yet also a warning of how they can end up. But eh, it’s home.” Finding a clear path, Rattle pointed his RV in the direction of wider roads and more forgiving traffic. “I’ve been…” he hesitated for a moment, frowning as he checked his navigation cameras on the HUD. “Busy, I think is a good word for it.” Though 'lonely’ would also fit.
She expected him to swing up on his motorbike, the loud rumble of an engine rousing her from her thoughts. Instead, however, the situation was entirely different — a large black and purple RV crawled down the street, struggling to make the tight turns and corners. Immediately the colour scheme was recognizable — Rattle. Just enough extravagance to obviously be him, but understated enough to be relatively low-key.
He was every bit as charming and delightful in his greeting as she could recall; a grin crossed her ruby-red lips and she stomped out the cig, then walking across the pavement towards the land yacht, stopping just outside the door of the massive vehicle. “Maybe I am,” she feigned a Southern Belle accent, “Would you mind takin’ this little lady on board and helpin’ me find what I’m lookin’ for?” She smirked, walking up the steps and into the RV.
Rattle’s smirk turned into a shit-eating grin as Lore put on the southern drawl, eyes drifting down to take in her casual clothes for a moment as she climbed the steps. Seeing her in something other than a dress was still something of a novelty, one he was growing to enjoy - the dresses were pretty, sure, but there was something infinitely nicer in seeing her in something that actually looked comfortable. He closed the door behind her, his smile turning easy and casual with a contented hum. he was more than happy to get his rig onto wider roads.
“Depends on what the little lady’s lookin’ fer,” he said, turning off his hazards and pulling out. Behind him, the african grey parrot in the back had launched into a repeated bounce of ‘prettyprettyprettypretty’ but Rattle just ignored him. “Wasn’t quite expectin’ to hear you’d moved into my home town. How’s the city treatin’ you, Lore?”
She waited for him rather patiently, leaning back against the brick wall outside her apartment building with a lit cigarette in hand. It had been quite a few months since she’d seen the DJ - at least, it had been since she’d lived in Toronto and he’d done a short stint there. That was four months ago now, and things had changed rather dramatically — SHIELD was no longer, and her divorce settlement finally sitting comfortably in her bank account, she’d been able to just up and leave.
Lore had contacted him. If anything, that reminded her how much she cared for Rattle, considering that her reaching out wasn’t usual practice. She’d told him she was in Manhattan, and if he was in the area, she’d like to see him - he’d agreed, thankfully, but whether or not he would actually show was another question altogether. Lore certainly hoped so - Manhattan may have been big, but it was a damn lonely place.
When Rattle had received the phone call it was the last thing he was expecting. If anything, he was waiting on word from one of his friend who was a skilled hacker - one who had been busy erasing every one of the S.H.I.E.L.D files of his that had leaked onto the internet. So when the phone rung with her specific ringtone, Rattle let it go for a little while before picking up.
And she was in luck, all things considered. He was in Manhattan both visiting his mother and playing a couple of gigs, so stopping by the address she’d given was easy. Getting his damn bus down the street, however, was not. It wasn’t that the road was narrow, there was plenty of room, but the corners were tight and the RV had a stupidly large turning circle. Still, he managed and as he approached the given address, he saw Lore standing waiting. Thought he couldn’t really be sure if ‘patiently’ was the right word. The coach lurched to a stop opposite her, both hazards on so the cars would pass by rather than back up behind him; the door sliding open without a sound to show him sat in the driver’s seat wearing a cocky grin. “You waitin’ on someone, darlin’?” It was said teasingly in a drawl, his teeth dragging over his bottom lip, his smile never fading.
Rattle. Fandomless OC from an as yet untitled, unfinished novel set in a dystopian future. Initially created in 2012, assigned a Sebastian Stan fc in 2013, adapted & brought to tumblr as a 1x1 in 2014. Rebooted July 2018. Inspired loosely by Marvel's mutants & Infamous Second Son.
Drama. Hate it. I don't give a shit about what fc you use or what topics you roleplay on your blog. Hate callout culture too, as well as tumblr's increasingly puritanical bullshit. I won't follow anyone who calls for content policing, bullies, political shitposters, social justice nutjobs who see everything through a problematic lens. Fuck off and let people roleplay in peace.
Courtesy. Behave like an adult, respect the common rules of roleplay (no powerplaying / godmodding / metagaming), don't pressure for replies and talk to me if you have a problem. Despite the tone of these rules, I don't actually bite.
Following. I'm private and selective not because I'm 'elitist' or some bullshit like that, but for my own mental health. I'm a full time carer for my dad who suffers with severe Alzheimer's, I can't follow everyone and I have to pick and choose carefully. Don't take it personally if I don't follow you, it's all on me.
Shipping. It's nice, sure, but it gets very boring very quickly. If chemistry is there then I'll consider it, but Rattle himself comes with several issues regarding intimacy before he'll even consider sex. On that note, I don't smut. I'll do foreplay and heavy petting but it'll timeskip when it comes to penetration. I always tag with a basic #nsfw.
Triggers. I'm tokophobic - that means a fear of pregnancy. I need pictures and written content tagged. If it's not tagged and it ends up on my dash, I will unfollow without warning unless you're an established partner. I will tag anything on request but the following will already be tagged: drug use, suicide & suicide ideation.
Fandoms. He's fandomless but can be adapted to fit several fandoms easily, He has a verse where he has no powers if need be. However be aware that I'm just not familiar with a lot of fandoms.
Interactions. I'm canon, OC, and rule 63 friendly. I'm not interested in personified inanimate objects, animated characters with no irl fc, or child-of oc's. I will follow well-constructed multimuse blogs. I'll only follow sideblogs on a case-by-case basis. I won't follow dash only. If I can't find your rules or any roleplay, I won't follow.
Posts. I prefer multi-para and novella, with or without icons. Always move asks to a new post, always trim your posts (or ask me to do it if you're on mobile). I don't care about reblog karma. I don't like big gifs. I would far prefer a plotted thread over one that's 'just wing it'. Unplotted threads tend to get dropped.
Mun. Call me Banni. I'm 31, English, and really don't care what pronouns you attach to me. I've been doing this rp thing since 1998 and I'm permanently tired. I won't follow anyone under 18 or who doesn't have their age listed. I'm also very lonely, and given the tone of these rules I'm not surprised. I promise I'm more chill than this ooc.
--Last updated 23/07/2018 I hold the right to ignore any of the above at my own discretion.
STATS
ABILITIES
BACKSTORY
TRIVIA
Basics
Name: Luke Anton Turner Alias/Stage Name: Rattle Nickname(s): Rat, Glowstick DOB: 27th July, 1984 (34) Nationality: American Heritage: Russian, Scottish, Welsh Place of Birth: Queens, NYC
Stats
Gender: Male Species: Mutant Eyes: Grey Hair:Dark pink/purple Brown Height: 6ft Weight: Undisclosed (underweight) Build: Mesomorph; athletic, lean.
Scars: Operation scars on right shoulder, left forearm, right shin, and left knee. Tattoos:Full sleeve, right arm. Piercings: 10mm plugs, both ears. Tongue stud, silver.
Mental Health: Depression & Anxiety, diagnosed 2009, unmedicated. Hair Style: Short, often styled; never longer than 3-4"; occasional buzzcut. Facial Hair: Usually stubble, occasional full beard; rarely clean shaven.
Mutation: Plasma Iokinesis (plasma manipulation, often mistaken for light manipulation, manifesting in pink or purple light)
Relationship Status: Single Orientation: Biromantic Demisexual (Kinsey scale 2)
Pets: Mojo, 12yr old African Grey parrot
Life
Current Residence: No fixed abode Living Situation: 2016 Custom Prevost "The Residency II" by Outlaw Coach & matching stacker trailer (in black and purple). Transportation: 2015 Kawasaki Ninja 300 (in purple and black with purple LEDs)
Residences Owned: 3 (Toronto single bed apartment, Swiss Alps chalet, Ibizan beachside villa)
Education & Occupation
Education: Bachelor's of Science(chemistry); Bachelor's of Liberal Arts(music) Occupation: Music producer, EDM DJ, freelance audio/visual consultant Spoken Languages: English, Russian, conversational and basic Spanish, basic ASL
While it looks like neon, and is called that as shorthand, Rattle’s power is not in anyway related to the element. Instead, the light he emits is a form of pure energy that’s generated internally and emitted in rapid pulses and controlled by his adrenal glands.
Furthermore, the energy that's created by the internal light can lead to him igniting and controlling the ionized gasses around him in a form of plasma manipulation - much like effect inside of a plasma globe.
Often triggered by strong emotions (happiness, distress, fear, arousal et al) he’s often seen to glow in some way, be it very minor and only noticeable in the dark or very strongly and visible in bright daylight.
While in reality every fibre of his body glows, the density of skin and muscles determines how brightly it shows - naturally, those areas that are softer and less dense glow brighter. Fingertips, the skin between his fingers and fingertips, the center of his palm, the insides of the wrists, elbows, armpits, behind his jaw and extending up behind is ears, his teeth, the roots and tips of his hair, the lower sides above his hip bones, along the depressed ridge of his spine, the juncture between thigh and groin, the backs of his knees, inside of his ankles, between his toes and tips of toes all glow the brightest. Additionally, his eyes tend to shift from grey to purple with an noticeable glow in the pupil when he’s actively using. There’s also a very strong smell of ozone, especially if he’s surrounding himself in it.
Capabilities
Ionisation/Plasma Generation - plasma on earth, while it exists, it's too rare in the atmosphere to be of any use, Rattle's mutation negates this because he can generate it himself.
Electric-Fire Manupulation - Electricity(naturally occurring), extremely hot flames are all sources of naturally occurring plasma; Rattle can control these to a lesser extent.
Plasma Aura - A very basic, rudimentary deflective shield that covers him like a second skin; usually reactive and instinctive rather than controlled.
Ionikinetic Combat - Theoretically, were Rattle the type to fight, he could utilise the ionic energy to enhance his combat abilities. He's already proven that high emotional stress can produce 'laser-like' beams of burning energy. However, he has no experience and hasn't developed his skills far enough.
Pulse Manipulation - Again, theoretical. Targeted ionic pulses that would disrupt both technology and the abilities of other powered individuals within a certain radius. With enough practice he should be able to shut them down entirely, though he's unaware he can do this - the most he knows is that he can occasionally cause his equipment to freak out now and then.
Magnetic/Electromagnetic Manipulation - Ties in with the above. He's hardly Magneto, but with practice he'd be able to exert minor control over metals and create localised EMP pulses.
Light Writing/Graffiti - Perhaps the one thing Rattle has practiced, he can create glowing trails that look like long-exposure photographs in real time. They can be placed on any surface, don't burn, and last for a few hours before fading completely; they're usually shades of pink, purple and blue, but occasionally yellow finds it's way in there.
Note
Please understand that Rattle, for the most part, has repressed and downplayed his abilities since they manifested. Just because he should be able to do something, doesn't mean he can. Most of his powers are based off instinct, self preservation, and are triggered by hightened emotional states. He has potential if he were willing to learn, but he's not so hot on that.
Warnings apply for death, suicide & drug use
Rattle’s life can, perhaps, be best described as a series of unfortunate events. While there has not been anything massively traumatic in his life like a mass murder of his family or any kind of serial and prolonged abuse, he has had as many struggles as any other human on this planet.
He was born into a poor family to a Russian immigrant mother and a father who was a teacher at a local junior school. They didn’t have a lot, the house was small and run down but they were happy - and when his baby sister came along, the young family seemed complete. He was bullied as a child but no more than any other poor kid with second-hand clothes and slightly buck teeth - and having a parent for one of his teachers didn’t really help matters.
The first real blow to the family came at age 12, when his father was accidentally caught in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting between a pair of local gangs. The only parent that was earning enough to keep the family afloat now gone, they were forced to move into a smaller, cheaper apartment in an even poorer neighbourhood.
When Rattle was 15 his powers first manifested. He caught a group of older boys picking on his best friend and, while no one died, one of other kids came away with serious burns. The fallout was understandably large, but seeing as no one believed that Rattle had ‘fired lasers’ it was mostly swept under the rug. But not for Rattle, who had turned from someone who went looking for a fight to someone scared of his own shadow - now afraid of what he could do to people.
His life progressed normally, he learned his powers, finished school, went to college like a normal teenager. Then his best friend killed himself aged 20, just as Rattle was starting a promising (if stuttering and littered with failures) musical hobby. To cope, he tried the usual outlets; drink, pills, weed which kept him buzzing just enough to come out with material that got him noticed on the EDM scene.
By the time he was 24 he had dropped out of a music course at NYU and headed out to Ibiza and the European club circuit. That was where he first started on cocaine. A night’s hard partying after signing his first contract to produce a very famous pop artist saw him accidentally overdosing a month after his 25th birthday.
Rehab (and subsequently falling off the wagon) went largely under the radar and his work behind producing a string of popular hits for big names increased his net worth exponentially. With his excess income he bought his mom a new house in a nice neighbourhood and his first home - a somewhat basic RV (compared to what he has now, at least).
His name starting to get noticed, especially after his own remixes and standalone tracks started to appear, led to further collaborations and projects. Now in his 30’s with a net worth in the tens of millions, he walks an increasingly thin tightrope between keeping himself controlled and his powers hidden, his drinking and drug use under control (though he’s not touched coke since the overdose), and keeping his name (and brand) respectable. It’s not easy - and he fears the fall.
• He is constantly evolving in musical style and while he may have started out in the drum and bass genre, he’s now currently in the retro-electro and synthwave scene after having spent a few years with electro house and big room. He will occasionally still play heavy sets and has even been known to dabble with hardstyle and the darker witch house genres.
• He’s never tried to get a handle on his powers, preferring to pretend they don’t exist. This often means that they’re triggered by emotional responses and very strong emotion can literally cause him to glow. It’s why he tries to remain as chilled and impassive as possible.
• While he can glow ‘at will’ it takes a lot of effort. If you’re in the dark and need a light, it’s easiest to either startle him or assault him. Please avoid punching the face if you must do this.
• He has issues with static electricity buildup caused by his powers, this can lead to him accidentally shocking both other people and himself by accident.
• His music sets are known to be very light show heavy and are not advised for anyone that is photosensitive.
• His sister, Kristina, hates him and keeps threatening to tell his mother about his mutation - something she knows nothing about. He pays his sister off to keep her silence. He doesn't really mind because while she may hate him, he still loves her.
• He's only ever had one romantic partner which ended in disaster as the girl freaked out when he started to glow. She doesn't blame him, however, and they parted on good terms with her promising to keep his secret. She has, so far.
• He earned the name 'Glowstick' before his powers manifested, as he has clicky joints and his best friend said he must be filled with glowstick juice. The name stuck.
• He prefers female vocalists on his tracks, he finds them more versatile to work with.
• He can play piano, drums, guitar and violin but cannot read sheet music. He learns by listening and mimicking.
• After his mutation initially manifested, his hair slowly turned from brown to a dark pink colour, bordering on purple. He dyes it back to brown aggressively, usually weekly because the colour tends to bleed through, especially when he washes his hair.
• He had a vasectomy in 2013 and is certified sterile, his reason being is that he doesn't want to pass whatever mutations he's got down to a kid.
Let's make one thing clear, Rattle is not a superhero, before you get the name of the verse wrong. He's a mutant, or a metahuman, that can quite easily pass for a normal person on the street and that's exactly how he wants it to stay. He still makes music, still does the same things, the setting's just different.
For Marvel, he's mostly part of the x-mcu universe covering the whole x-men films and fox shows like The Gifted. I'm not ruling out playing with mcu muses but I'll be playing it that he looks nothing like Bucky Barnes.
For DC, I know nothing beyond the films & the CW tv shows but I'm willing to learn.
