InsaneJournal

[ CHARACTER INFO ]
Birth Name: Mercedes Joanna Elizabeth Maclay. No longer uses her real name.
Nicknames: Mercy. Has concocted many aliases over the years.
Codename: Nightshade.
Age: 29, as of November 21, 2008.
Gender: Female.
Ethnicity: Irish/English.
Mutant Abilities:

Umbrakinesis is the manipulation and facilitation of shadow and darkness; the ability to direct particles/photons of light away rather than draw them in to create light.

As an Umbrakinetic, she is able to cast, blend and move shadows psionically. In rare circumstances a user would be able to create 'perfect darkness' - if conditions are optimal. Be that as it may, it is exceedingly difficult to control as it requires extreme, intense focus and precision to be able to master or effectively harness such an ability.

It is considered to be a defensive ability by many. However, in her case, it can be used in an offensive manner, as she tends to blind her enemies, causing disorientation and confusion; she accomplishes this by directing shadows to press in on them, which in turn causes the light around them to be blocked out.

Obtenebrative Teleportation - Some umbrakinetics can use darkness or shadow for the means of teleporting over short distances at a time by mentally deactivating light particles and converting said particles into a dark version of a wormhole (which is simply a ray of light increased in mass and bent or distorted somehow)... Indefinite travel, however, is unlikely (due to the energy that would have to be used in order to accomplish this.)

Shadowmelting - This aspect of Umbrakinesis allows the user to meld with shadows and thereby grants the user the ability to 'appear out of nowhere.' Very useful if one requires stealth.

#Shadow-Morphing - This would allow one to dematerialize and/or manipulate or move objects with solid tendrils of darkness/shadow; she has already begun exhibiting signs of this particular ability.

Affiliation: HFC.

[ APPEARANCE ]
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 128 lbs.
Hair Color: Brown.
Eye Color: Brown.
Defining Traits: Tattoo on left arm.
Clothing Styles/Colors: She is a big fan of the non-color black and leather; so suffice it to say, there are a plenty of both within her wardrobe. She favors more comfortable fare when she's not at 'work' - such as tank tops, jeans, and gym shoes.
Other: N/A.

[ PERSONALITY ]
General Likes: Sketching, knives, guns, crossbows, tattoos, hard liquor (rum and tequila especially), loyalty, people who speak their mind (mutants, anyway), bad boys (and girls), nighttime, cigarettes, sex (kinkier the better), aligning herself with power, Kat Von D, LA Ink.
General Dislikes: Humans (but will work along side them if it suits her goals), sugary alcoholic beverages, too much light, daytime, wishy-washy people, disloyalty, her parents, organized religion, most illegal drugs.

Skills Mastered: Stealth, murder, torture, tattooing, sketching, hand-to-hand combat, shadow puppets, handling her liquor, etc.

Astrological Sign: Scorpio on Cusp of Sagittarius (November 21) - Scorpio/Sagittarius people tend to be concerned with deeper and focused learning. They are versatile and progressive, but at times they can be impatient and pushy if something isn't getting done the way they want. Those who wish to change a Scorpio/Sagittarius mind often have trouble because they can never be sure what their motivation is; they are too complex and sometimes too secretive to be understood easily.

Scorpio is ruled by the planets Mars and Pluto. In ancient Roman mythology, Mars (and his Greek equivalent, Ares) was the god of war, and ancient astrologers assigned both Aries and Scorpio to this Planet. Pluto (and his Greek equivalent, Hades) was the god of the underworld, and when the planet Pluto was discovered early in the 20th century, astrologers assigned Scorpio to it. Scorpio's modern ruler, Pluto, represents death and endings; it's the sign of rebirth and regeneration.

Sagittarius is ruled by the planet Jupiter. In ancient Roman mythology, Jupiter (and his Greek equivalent, Zeus) was the king of the gods. Jupiter represents expansion in all its forms, including the mental outreach so prominent in Sagittarians, but it also may invite excess. It is the planet of luck, and many people born under Sagittarius do experience good luck. Scorpio/Sagittarians are interested in thought and outreach. They are intensely powerful, good-humored and generous.

Sexual Orientation: Bisexual.

Positive Traits: Loyal (to those who she feels deserve her allegiance), creative, sociable, hard-working (but knows how to have fun), honest, reasonably intelligent.
Negative Traits: Bossy, highly competitive (and combative), stubborn, excessive swearing, grudging, blunt, tends to play down her intelligence, flirtatious - to the point of overstepping her bounds.

[ ETC ]
Family:

Charles Maclay (father, deceased)
Mary Alice Maclay (mother, deceased)

Personal History: "We are born a sin," or so that's what my parents led me to believe for most of the years of my adolescent life. Yeah, they were the crazy, overzealous religious type, and they spent most of their time trying to get me to follow on the same, wayward path they had embarked on.

I tried to be a good little girl.

I tried to believe... but I guess I was born with a naturally skeptical mind. I guess you could say I'm not the type that readily swallows whatever is shoved down my throat. I'd rather find things out for myself.

I dared to question their beliefs and I often found myself bent over their knees because of the attitude I had adopted.

It sucked, sure. But, I'm not the type to bend to someone else's will unless I want to and that doesn't happen often (if it all). Not even if they threaten to beat the shit out of me. I'm not afraid of a few bruises.

I guess you could say I'm kinda picky in that respect. Heh.

None of this matters now, though. Why? Because, they're dead and I think the world happens to be a better place without them in it.

I guess I could tell you how and why they had died, but in the long run, it doesn't really matter.

They're dead. They're gone. They're buried, and they aren't coming back.

But I will tell you this: They died as a direct result of their actions.

--

I'm different.

They didn't like "different." They thought I was unnatural; a spawn of Satan. I guess I should give them a little credit for not throwing me out of the house when they found out I was a mutant, but I'm not going to. I probably would've been better off if they had.

Instead, they just tried harder to get me to "repent" for my sins.

You know, I never really understood how you can do that when there was nothing to repent for. I mean, it's not like I woke up one morning and decided, "Hey, I think I'm going to be a freak of nature today and develop "inhuman" powers to piss God off!"

If anyone should repent, it's them for passing along the 'freak' genes to me.

Again, it doesn't matter now.

Point is: I'm okay with who I am. And fuck those who think I should think otherwise.

Extra: When the news of a cure for the Upir Virus reached her ears, Nightshade had no immediate plans to take it. However that all changed once Christian Holland (Aegis) had offered her a proposition to come work for him as his bodyguard/chauffeur (Mercy Graves-style) once he had officially inherited his father's company. Nightshade eventually opted to take the cure to be able to do her job properly.

PB Image Link: Eliza Dushku