Russ

APPEARANCE: Character mine, Art by Ishi, Commissioned by Jeantall


BACKGROUND: Russ is a confident, impulsive, headstrong, easy-going, and generally optimistic man who wants to see the best in people. At times he can be stubborn in his ideals and is prone to making reckless and rash decisions which can land him in trouble, but he does with good intentions for the benefit of other people. In the heat of battle, he will mask his insecurities and fear with quips and witty banter to give himself and others around him a boost in morale to never give up the fight. If the situation becomes dire enough such as the death of an ally, a planet, or a city on the verge of collapse involving the safety of civilians, or if he experienced psychological or emotional trauma, that playful facade will fade away entirely and he will take the situation with utmost seriousness.

He has dreams of becoming a video game designer, if he couldn't reach that goal he would settle for being an employee at a comic book store, or working as an intern assistant for an electronics tech company. So many career options in life to make ends meet as long as the job is satisfying for his interests, but his heart lies in creating virtual entertainment.

He grew up in the "safest" parts of the crime-infested East City and lived a typical working-class lifestyle, he wasn't incredibly rich and he wasn't poor like most other kids in the neighborhood, its living conditions are manageable for anyone to survive long enough to reach adulthood. At home, Russ never gave his parents major problems and likewise, they never treated him poorly, raising him up to be an upstanding citizen. His earthling father Doriyoki, an inventor who has a passion for the gaming industry just as his son does. His Saiyan mother Patoa, a teacher with a passion for sports and martial arts. Naturally, both wanted their child to follow in their footsteps but they will love him no matter the career choice he makes. Russ often spends time with his father and he allows him to play with his virtual reality simulator helmet and watch him invent new ideas or work on existing projects every day, on the weekends he would watch his mother participate in fighting tournaments or watch any sports game she felt like indulging in.

While he enjoyed being at home and spending time with his pops, going to public schools is a different experience. During his younger years of school, Russ would get bullied for his blue hair. Kids would either make fun of him call him names, pick on him or even beat him up if he showed any sign of defiance, weakness, or merely existing as the geek he is. Some teachers would always assume he is a juvenile delinquent because they didn't believe his hair is a natural color and claimed he was setting a terrible example for the other kids. Regardless he does his schoolwork diligently and gets good grades as best he could. He has two good friends from his childhood Tysco and Morticia, they were the only people who didn't treat him like dirt because he was different and made the days of going to school far less of a nightmare.

Unfortunately, the happy times with his friends didn't last, for unknown reasons Morticia went off the grid and took all of the joy Russ had with her, at the same time a student named Pretzull appeared and decided to be the worst source of bullying for Russ because he was an easy nerd to mess with. Russ puts on a happy facade to carry him through the school days until he gets home to unwind his bottled-up sadness every day. His parents are concerned about his behavior but he would always tell them not to worry about it and that he's fine.

At the age of ten the persistent bullying affected his academic performance and his parents confronted him about it, he finally told them about the way people treated him and they enlisted him for martial arts classes after school to teach him how to fight. One day Russ got into a scuffle against Pretzull and defeated him outside of school using his newfound strength and confidence, the other kids ceased their horrible treatment of Russ and Pretzull begrudgingly left Russ alone for good. Things were starting to go well for the boy going forward, he can continue his work through school without anyone making fun of him, and he was genuinely smiling again for the first time since he met his childhood friends.

But life his other ideas...

Crime has risen considerably over the years and his parents wanted to move out of the city for their safety but Russ wanted to stay and finish his education. At the age of eighteen, Russ graduated high school and enrolled in a college of animation and game design, fueling his desire to become a video game designer and make a living. One of his first projects is to create a game about dinosaurs in space, a very strange concept but he and the group he is working with can make that work under the right execution. Russ came up with the idea of the dinosaurs being an alien subspecies and the main character being a space bounty hunter, he drew the concepts while the other team created the models and code to get it all working, it was almost complete and all they needed is a story for the whole thing to make sense to finish his first game.

During class, he found out his parents are killed in a robbery attempt by lowly earthing thugs forcing him to take time off from the project to grieve for his loved ones. He took it personally to find the punks who took away his family and beat them savagely until the police came to arrest them thanks to a tip from eyewitnesses. He had to eventually return to college to finish his work but without his parents being alive to support him he didn't have the motivation to complete his assignment with the group, the game was finished in time to earn his credit but the work was soulless, there is no joy from his achievement at all, the only thing on his mind is honoring his parents wishes somehow..if only he listened to them and agreed to move away they would still be alive.

For the next two years, Russ would partake in inventing stuff like his father for his school, sometimes selling inventions for a hefty price, he would also engage in sports and continue his training in the ways of battle to not only sharpen his own skills but to also wage war on crime so no one else will have to lose their family as he did.

Light Offensive || Zeni Shot
Russ points his index and middle fingers outward and shoots a yellow energy wave at his opponent.
Power: 40%
KP Cost: 2KP
Variants: None

Medium Defensive || Counterfeit
A green aura energy barrier surrounds Russ for protection, Russ will catch an energy wave from the opposition and convert it into his own power, sending the attack back at them in return. When facing melee fighters he will block and counter accordingly.
Power: 50%
KP Cost: 4KP
Variants: Reflective

Medium Offensive || Salary Cut
Russ creates a Zeni-shaped ki sword and cuts down on his enemies with three consecutive slashes, sometimes he will not use a ki blade at all, opting to empower his fist and feet with ki energy if he chooses.
Power: 50%
KP Cost: 4KP
Variants: Bleed

SPARKING Heavy Defensive || Here's your Change!
A more powerful version of Counterfeit, blocking, and counterattack will vary depending on the move Russ is dealing with, however, turning his opposing combatant's attack against them packs a lot more punch.
Power: 110%
KP Cost: 6KP
MP Cost: 5MP
Variants: Reflective, Reflective+

Utility Technique || Flight
Russ manipulates ki energy around his body to achieve flight

Utility Technique || Ki Sense
Russ's innate senses allows him to detect energy auras from other people.