Name: Christian Bennet "Tian" Kemberley
Age: 18
Birthday: July 25th
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Unknown*
Religion: Nondenominational Christian
Category: Student
Class: High School Sophomore
Appearance Description:
Personality Description:
Christian Kemberley generally exhibits happiness, or at least a particular sense of contentment with his situation and surroundings. He is bouncy, bubbly, and usually in good spirits, with a spark in his eyes and a light flush in his cheeks. Christian is also rather curious, loving to investigate new people, places, and possibilities – though he tries to be careful and not disturb others in his explorations. However, Tian is often on the clumsy side of things, without a certain finesse that blesses more skillful people… so others often may end up disturbed anyway, or at least with wide eyes all up in their faces.
Tian is a firm believer in the Christian religion, though he isn’t the most habitual when it comes to praying every day and the like. Still, even with his beliefs in mind, he isn’t one of those in the religion that constantly preach and condemn those that don’t listen to his words. Instead, he maintains a generally accepting state of mind – lest it be religion, race, sexuality, or anything of the sort – and only brings up his religion when the time is right. Pressuring people, Tian thinks, is not the way for change. It is exhibiting the morals and beliefs he himself has, and letting people come into it on their own, with Tian as only a subtle helper along the way.
Something that will come across as incredibly apparent from the time you meet him, is that Tian absolutely loves people. He enjoys the company of others, constantly striving to make friends when he can. He loves to laugh and spend time with these people, becoming immersed in everyday life in order to keep his head above the waves and maintain the happiness he loves to feel.
However, this doesn’t mean to say that everyone has always liked Tian. On more than one occasion, others have found him annoying, and he can hardly count all of the people who have shown him dislike. This also doesn’t mean to say that Tian likes everyone, too. Though he generally tries to give everyone multiple chances, and would rather just be friends with someone than judge them, he has come to really show disdain for those who treat him poorly… though, he supposes, that is natural.
Tian has indeed been bullied in the past, from passing taunts to physical things, due to his small size and somewhat… eccentric personality. However, he doesn’t usually like to dwell on this fact, especially in public. The past doesn’t mean that SA will be the same, after all, and so Christian is embracing the change and a new mindset. Still, though… it has had some side effects. Instead of making him a tough, Thou-shalt-not-phaseth-me sort of macho man, he has instead become a slightly shy (while still very extroverted) and skittish little thing. He startles easily, though he rarely experiences true fear (other than his people paranoia described later), and generally flinches a bit when someone other than his mother raises a hand to him – though he has been trying to suppress this with his arrival at the Academy.
While still a very friendly and people-loving boy, Tian treads carefully around strangers until he can tell if they are friends or foes. Should someone actually begin a fight, he moves into a submissive state of mind in terms of body actions. Christian is too small to actually fight back, so he has discovered that if he acts injured and even smaller than before, the outcome will be more in his favor. Later on, once his opponent leaves the site, he may rise from the ground with his head high and his old smile on his face, showing he is okay and that really, he won despite his bruises. He won, because he outsmarted them, and he took the higher ground rather than stooping as low as his assailant.
Finally, and perhaps the only positive outcome of it all, is the fact that Tian is less sensitive than he may appear. While he takes criticism from friends a little too hard sometimes, the words of someone who would love to bring him down don’t really affect him as much. Like his mother, he takes such hardships with a spoon full of sugar, smiling back at his adversaries with a lip-curling grin that isn’t quite so innocent. He doesn’t let it get to him there. Later may be another story, but while on the metaphorical battle grounds, there are times that this little kitten may grow claws and strike back.
Nevertheless, to those that Tian does form a bond with, he is a very trustworthy friend to have. Even the juiciest secrets he keeps to himself, even when it is difficult to bear the weight of them all. Though he may not always give great advice, Tian is good at staying quiet and listening when the time is right, and offering his opinions when they’re wanted. He truly does care about those he comes to call his friends, and defends them to the best of his ability when the time comes to do so – though he does admit to being cowardly sometimes.
Still, he is a gullible one, and his beliefs in others can be shaken with the right words and timing. Christian is slow to trust despite his friendliness, and until he is past a certain point in believing in someone, he can slowly be pulled from another’s side. The teen goes as far as to get paranoid at times over the idea of people leaving or lying to him, among other things, and when faced with evidence that someone may, it is almost terrifying. He tries to backtrack, so that if he is left again, it won’t hurt as much. Even worse than this, though, is when he doesn’t catch the warning signs, and a person he trusts and cares for simply goes away… It devastates him. All that Christian asks from people without fault is honesty, even when the truth is painful. He would rather know things upfront than live a blissful lie.
In all honesty, Tian comes across as a very innocent individual. He tries to see the good in people, and is an optimist most of the time. “Lewd†actions and the like leave him in a blushing and stuttering mess, for the child-like teen has absolutely no idea what to do in response to those. However, he is rather conflicting when it comes to how dirty his mind really is. His second job being as a shabby, run-down bar at night, Tian has been subject to many a catcall and wandering hand. It was also at this bar that he learned to dance, and well at that - though he dances much dirtier than he realizes he does. He is aware of much more lewdness than he lets on, though his personality simply leaves him appearing innocent. He may know exactly what groping and grinding is, and he may have done it before for... reasons that are far different than the reader is thinking, but such actions still leave him embarrassed and blushing.
Let it be known that embarrassed Tian is a very interesting creature.
Also, let it be known that he knows what groping and grinding are, but so long as he and the toucher are dancing, he'll continue moving to the beat of the song instead of causing a scene.
However, and despite his naïve appearance, on the moments he lets this side show, Christian has proven to be wise beyond his years. Though he doesn’t necessarily know the answers to the world’s great problems, nor even how to give advice on a schoolgirl crush, he has a greater understanding of things than he shows. Every now and again, he has his deep moments, in which the more thoughtful gears of his mind begin to turn and he exhibits a maturity most may end up thinking is lost upon him.
Other times, he may show a glimpse of a deeply ingrained sadness within his chest, but most often he suppresses this daunting emotion in favor of a joyful and upbeat mood. Sometimes, though, he finds he cannot escape it, and may go as far as spending a day closed in his room, watching TV or writing a long letter to his mother.
Surprisingly enough, it takes a lot to make Christian cry. When he does, it’s not as though a dam has broken, either. He’s tough in taking pain of both kinds. When it comes to a true and honest cry vs only a few tears, Tian can only remember doing so once in his life… though he may reluctantly admit to a few tantrums when he was little…
…And despite his supposed ‘innocence’, Christian is not as pure as he himself likes to believe he is. In truth, bubbling from within his core is a destructive and boiling anger. Angry at his father for leaving in the first place, at the students for treating him like dirt, at the entire world. A part of him, one that he keeps buried deep within his chest, is completely and utterly enraged with everything around him. He is usually slow to anger, incredibly slow, but when the fury begins to leak from within him, he is powerful and destructive, the flames of madness fueling his literal fire. This anger is psychotic, dangerous, indiscriminate, and as inevitable as a ticking time bomb without a wire to cut. He is going to snap, but when, only the events of life can tell.
Powers:
Christian, being a late bloomer in terms of finding his powers, only just discovered them recently. As such, they are currently undeveloped, faulty and prone to… accidents. He is still learning how to control them. However, Tian’s potential for power is great, and as time passes, his powers continue to grow in number and intensity, as does his currently inadequate control over them.
A weak Fire Manipulation is far from his full potential… After all, within him is a simmering phoenix, waiting to let its flickering flames bloom into something beautiful. Christian just doesn’t know it yet.
Currently Minor: Fire Manipulation
For the time being, Christian only has the ability to create and manipulate a small amount of fire. Far from shooting flames out of his fist or impersonating a dragon in his breath, Tian can hardly do more than stream it through his fingers and play with a few licks in the air without it spluttering out. Even these manipulation take effort and concentration on his part, though he is slowly getting better.
Despite this, he can occasionally create more fire than his usual small streamlets. However, this creation isn’t on purpose at all; when he wants to make a burst, it just doesn’t happen… and yet, with one small sneeze, he may look down to find a half-charred sheet of homework. Without concentration, even his small amount of fire will spark both out and out of control, and more than once he has burnt his fingers with his own flames. He can’t even heat up a bowl of soup without literally burning it due to his utter lack of control – and soup is liquid…
Father: David Kenneth Kemberley
Mother: Cassandra Rae Kemberley (née Banes)
Biography:
In all honesty and truth, the story of Christian Bennet Kemberley isn’t anything special – not really. He hasn’t been subject to some devastating, world-shattering event, nor has he had tremendous luck with anything save for developing powers. Neither sunshine and rainbows, nor storm clouds and lightening, Tian simply isn’t anything special.
Christian Kemberley was born to an originally married couple, his mother by the name Cassandra Rae and his father, David. His father worked hard for a living, for he was an educated man, but with education came expenses, and with the economy limited what he could find in their general living area, David was stuck with something inadequate. With the arrival of their son, he and Cassandra’s small but comfortable way of life became strained, the family now living with few peasantries. David made ends meet, kept bills paid and enough food on the table to keep his wife and his baby healthy, but it was difficult.
Life soon found him with two jobs and a child that was not far from entering school. He and Cassandra Rae more than once would have to give up what they wanted, often needed, in order to keep Christian alive and thriving – lest it be time, sleep, or sometimes even food. Tian was blissfully unaware of their struggling position in his young years, simply happy to have loving parents, a place to sleep and play, and nice-tasting food. However, unknown to the little boy, the fight to make money and pay off college debts was creating a rift between David and Cassandra Rae. While Cassandra was focused on staying home and caring for their child day in and day out, stressed and worried for his sake, David was sleeping less and less, devoting his days to working and trying to get ahead. Eventually, the strain was too much. The once-loving bond between David and Cassandra Rae was officially broken with signed divorce papers on the coffee table and the sudden absence of a body in their bed. David had left, unable to take it any longer, and so uneducated Cassandra was left with the bills of a house, a job to find, and a nearly school-aged child to raise on her own.
In this unfortunate sequence of events, a lesser woman would have broken under the pressure of it all. However, Cassandra took it all with a spoon full of sugar. Though it took a few weeks of living off reserved savings – David had left her that much, as he wasn’t a horrible person – the mother eventually did find a job for herself. It wasn’t a particularly high paying job, but it was enough… just enough to survive on. They ended up having to move from their small home into a rented half of a two-family house – the mother was just happy to not be on the streets. Christian was able to attend public school with even a bit of school supplies to help him along. He and Cassandra began to regularly eat less, though wasn’t for lack of effort in trying. She worked as hard as she could to provide for the child she loved so dearly, but at the tender age of six and a half, Christian was forced to discover what it meant to have an empty belly.
However, a year and a half after David’s disappearance, Cassandra began to receive checks deposited into her bank account. Though it wasn’t an incredible amount of money, the difference in pay was enough that the now eight-year-old Christian no longer had to wear taped-up sneakers or go to bed with only one daily meal in his belly. A few months after the checks started coming, Cassandra received a letter. It had seemed that David was the one depositing the money. He still wasn’t very well off himself, but he had found a place to live and a job enough to pay a bit of money to her for a sort of child support, even if he no longer had any custody over Christian. A rift continued to exist between the divorced couple, David still too busy to be part of a family, and Cassandra Rae still unforgiving over the abandonment he had struck their family with. However, as time passed and many letters were sent, they were eventually on somewhat friendly terms. David was still unable to see Christian, but they had exchanged a few short letters – after all, by the time he was allowed contact with his son, the boy was only eight and a half.
Even with the checks coming in, life was still rough for Tian and his mother. They had enough for food, bills and other necessities, but the boy’s only toys were those at school and the outdoors that sparsely surrounded their home. School life was hard, Christian only average in his mental abilities and struggling to balance his home life and school work at the same time. A lack of proper nutrition – they had enough to eat, but not to eat enough – stunted his growth in his younger years, leaving him shorter and significantly smaller than the other students. This, combined with his quiet and shy personality, made him a target for the crueler of the others. He would often come home with jumbled papers and missing homework, only hurting his grades more, not to mention the bruises that occasionally dotted his skin.
However, on the positive side, he continue to grow closer and closer to his strong mother, and eventually began speaking regularly to his father. The man even came to visit a few times by Christian’s 12th year, Cassandra reluctant to allow the man back into her life but trying to do what was best for her son. The money increased little bits here and there as David got raises in his job, and Cassandra Rae could eventually eat enough and clothe her son in newer garments.
At age 12, David had gotten his student loans paid off. He had found a sufficient job in the same town that Cassandra Rae and Christian lived in, and moved back as soon as he could. Though the money intake remained the same, Christian’s bond with his father began to improve bit by bit, as did his parents’ with each other. Though Cassandra was still a bit skeptical of the man she once called her husband, David was adamant about repairing things, though at the time there was no talk of getting back together. The man was so adamant that Cassandra Rae eventually allowed him back into her life as well, even if begrudgingly and only as a friend, just to stop his nagging.
Although his family life was slowly improving, Christian’s school life was not… not really.
The boy, with his increasing friendliness and bubbly attitude, made himself a large circle of friends. Most days, he had a boy to sit by in the cafeteria, or a girl who would gladly slide him the homework numbers if – and when – he inevitably fell asleep during math. These friends only nurtured his kindness and apparent innocent disposition, while his religious mother continued to strengthen his relationship with the God they believed in. Tian was able to get by with average grades, much better than his near failures in elementary school. Still, all of the friends he made were more aquaintances than anything. They were people he sat with, talked to on a mostly daily basis, but it was only that. No one truly knew Tian, and Tian didn’t truly know anyone either. He was alone in that regard, save for his mother… And not once had he ever had a friend over to his house.
However, as his circle of his friends grew, so did his abundance of enemies. Many a student considered Tian’s “ignorance†and “loudness†annoying, many of these excluding him from events and making snappish remarks when he tried to speak to them. The more cruel and daring of the students, or even the posh when it came to his clothing ‘choices’, though, did more than make snide remarks. The snobbish few commonly pointed his shabby appearance and “totally obvious†social position. Meanwhile, the violent bunch targeted Christian for his small size and weakness. They would knock his books to the floor, hide his backpack, and even physically attack him just for the hell of it, thinking it made them look strong and dominant.
Too many days, Christian would walk home with a fresh bruise blooming across his cheek, or a busted lip still dripping blood down his chin. However, he always did so with a smile on his face, masking his pain and rage with the happiness he preferred so much more to negativity. He took the hits and never fought back, instead crouching into a small ball and just letting them go at him like a punching back, as he came to learn that it made the damage lessen. Once they left, he would rise, holding his head up triumphantly and smiling blindingly at the onlookers that usually hung around. He showed them all that he was stronger than they gave him credit for… But because of his defiance, the attacks just became more and more frequent, harsher… and though he pretended everything was okay, lied even to himself, on his weakest nights he could feel the rage begin to broil.
Despite his constantly worsening school situation, Christian was still dedicated to his mother. At the age of fourteen, he was finally able to find a job that would take someone as young as he. The work was hard, tedious, and tiring for someone so small and badly nourished as he, but Tian persevered, finding strength within him from his mother who had given him life. He worked in yards after school, pulling weeds, trimming bushes, mowing lawns and hauling broken limbs. On top of his injuries at school and general fatigue, Christian collapsed several times on the job, but the pay was enough to make a difference… Eventually, he and his mother could actually afford to eat three meals a day, no matter how small they were. He hated his job, but for this small contribution… Tian refused to quit it.
At age 15, luck for once was on Christian’s side. He had rolled in home on a Thursday night, utterly exhausted from work but amazingly without homework to complete. He quickly spotted his parents – both of them, together – sitting upon the couch… just a bit too close for their nowadays-friendly relationship. As he approached, they both gave him a big smile… And that night, he discovered his parents had gotten back together, though they were taking slow for a while. Oh, he was so happy that night. The new-old-relationship gave him hope, hope that things might just be okay in the end… because Lord knew he was without hope back then. He was so very happy, because his family might just be whole again… But at the same time, that same old anger was still growing. He would never have had to lose hope about his family, if his father had never left. He and Cassandra Rae would never have had so much financial trouble, would never have had to starve for months on end, if he hadn’t left… But as usual, Christian just suppressed it, forgot it. That night was a happy night! And it could be a lot worse… right? So why was he being so selfish…?
A little over a year after luck had hit him for the first time, it decided to strike again – though it was in a very… indirect way. His day, before the wonderful little addition to his life, the now-16-year-old Christian Kemberley had somehow upset one of his more physical assailants and was confronted after school. How he did so, he wasn’t all that sure, though he can remember something about the teen’s girlfriend. Whatever the reason, Christian hadn’t been listening all that well… Why? Well, because the boy he pissed off was, as said before, one of his more physical attackers…
That day ended up as the worst physical beating that Christian had ever received. The last thing he can remember about it was a final fist rocketing towards his face, and after that, total blackness…
Tian awoke around one in the morning, wracked with the pain and hunched over in the middle of an alley. His left wrist and three ribs of his had been broken, as he was reminded of by the dull throbbing of his entire body. Christian’s sun-kissed face, once a mostly creamy tone, was colored instead in a flourish of black and blue. Blood from his crooked nose and cracked lips covered was smeared across his face, and for the first time, Tian was not smiling after the attack.
He can remember vaguely being in a state of shock for a few minutes, before he slowly became aware of a few lone tears rolling down his cheeks. He didn’t sob – he refused to give the absent attacker so much of a win – but with the pain and humiliation so strong, he couldn’t help but to choke up. With the rage finally unable to be suppressed, he can remember a horrible scream raking through his dry throat… and a surge of power flooding throughout his being.
The sudden sensation silenced his ragged voice, his blackened eyes widening dramatically. He then became aware of a heat sparking on the ground around him, and looked about, shocked at what he found. Little blooms of fire were flickering around him, burning the dry grass nearest to him. Christian, desperate to discover if he caused it, tried to flood the power throughout him again, but he targeted it to his fingers. Immediately, a spark exploded from his fingertips, singeing his skin in its unpredictability but still he laughed. He laughed to loudly and boisterously, overjoyed, because he had powers. All those rumors of the kids who had powers… They were real. He was real. He had powers… and for once in his life, he was actually worth something! Maybe he wasn’t worthless… weak… Maybe he had a chance…
At roughly 1:15 AM, Christian once more had a smile upon his face as he walked home… because once again, he was the one who won the fight.
A month and a half after the incident – which was spent with casts; hospital time; and frantic, worried parents – Christian Kemberley received a letter to Starlight Academy. With the reluctant permission of a worried Cassandra Rae, they spent the next week packing his things and making sure his newly healed wrist was alright…
…and then, Tian set off.
And he welcomed his new life.**
Additional Information:
*Unknown in the sense that he really doesn’t know just yet, and it may be decided IC. He hasn’t had any romantic experiences except for “crushes†that may not have been crushes at all. He has no idea, as he’s completely clueless in that area.
**I really wanted to end it there, because the flow of the story was perfect, but he does still keep in touch with his mother and father, and will most likely be visited by them. His arrival will also be roleplayed.
Age: 18
Birthday: July 25th
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Unknown*
Religion: Nondenominational Christian
Category: Student
Class: High School Sophomore
Appearance Description:
- 5'5"
- Very slim and slight build. He a somewhat underweight, but it isn’t all that noticeable with his choice attire. He also has a small bit of muscle, despite his lack of weight etc., from odd jobs back in his old town.
- Despite his light weight, he still has a little bit of stubborn chub that rounds his cheeks, giving him a more youthful appearance.
- Skin color is fairly obvious in the picture
- Hair is a burnt orange color – notice the use of ‘orange’ instead of ‘ginger’. While close to a light shade of natural redhead, it is a slightly more unnatural shade.
- Eyes.
- Doesn't yet have a particular choice clothing style, as he hasn’t had many chances to get out and really shop in his life. However, he does *think* he loves hoodies and converse…. Though he may be wrong about that… His clothing are also generally loose save for some working outfits, etcetera.
Personality Description:
Christian Kemberley generally exhibits happiness, or at least a particular sense of contentment with his situation and surroundings. He is bouncy, bubbly, and usually in good spirits, with a spark in his eyes and a light flush in his cheeks. Christian is also rather curious, loving to investigate new people, places, and possibilities – though he tries to be careful and not disturb others in his explorations. However, Tian is often on the clumsy side of things, without a certain finesse that blesses more skillful people… so others often may end up disturbed anyway, or at least with wide eyes all up in their faces.
Tian is a firm believer in the Christian religion, though he isn’t the most habitual when it comes to praying every day and the like. Still, even with his beliefs in mind, he isn’t one of those in the religion that constantly preach and condemn those that don’t listen to his words. Instead, he maintains a generally accepting state of mind – lest it be religion, race, sexuality, or anything of the sort – and only brings up his religion when the time is right. Pressuring people, Tian thinks, is not the way for change. It is exhibiting the morals and beliefs he himself has, and letting people come into it on their own, with Tian as only a subtle helper along the way.
Something that will come across as incredibly apparent from the time you meet him, is that Tian absolutely loves people. He enjoys the company of others, constantly striving to make friends when he can. He loves to laugh and spend time with these people, becoming immersed in everyday life in order to keep his head above the waves and maintain the happiness he loves to feel.
However, this doesn’t mean to say that everyone has always liked Tian. On more than one occasion, others have found him annoying, and he can hardly count all of the people who have shown him dislike. This also doesn’t mean to say that Tian likes everyone, too. Though he generally tries to give everyone multiple chances, and would rather just be friends with someone than judge them, he has come to really show disdain for those who treat him poorly… though, he supposes, that is natural.
Tian has indeed been bullied in the past, from passing taunts to physical things, due to his small size and somewhat… eccentric personality. However, he doesn’t usually like to dwell on this fact, especially in public. The past doesn’t mean that SA will be the same, after all, and so Christian is embracing the change and a new mindset. Still, though… it has had some side effects. Instead of making him a tough, Thou-shalt-not-phaseth-me sort of macho man, he has instead become a slightly shy (while still very extroverted) and skittish little thing. He startles easily, though he rarely experiences true fear (other than his people paranoia described later), and generally flinches a bit when someone other than his mother raises a hand to him – though he has been trying to suppress this with his arrival at the Academy.
While still a very friendly and people-loving boy, Tian treads carefully around strangers until he can tell if they are friends or foes. Should someone actually begin a fight, he moves into a submissive state of mind in terms of body actions. Christian is too small to actually fight back, so he has discovered that if he acts injured and even smaller than before, the outcome will be more in his favor. Later on, once his opponent leaves the site, he may rise from the ground with his head high and his old smile on his face, showing he is okay and that really, he won despite his bruises. He won, because he outsmarted them, and he took the higher ground rather than stooping as low as his assailant.
Finally, and perhaps the only positive outcome of it all, is the fact that Tian is less sensitive than he may appear. While he takes criticism from friends a little too hard sometimes, the words of someone who would love to bring him down don’t really affect him as much. Like his mother, he takes such hardships with a spoon full of sugar, smiling back at his adversaries with a lip-curling grin that isn’t quite so innocent. He doesn’t let it get to him there. Later may be another story, but while on the metaphorical battle grounds, there are times that this little kitten may grow claws and strike back.
Nevertheless, to those that Tian does form a bond with, he is a very trustworthy friend to have. Even the juiciest secrets he keeps to himself, even when it is difficult to bear the weight of them all. Though he may not always give great advice, Tian is good at staying quiet and listening when the time is right, and offering his opinions when they’re wanted. He truly does care about those he comes to call his friends, and defends them to the best of his ability when the time comes to do so – though he does admit to being cowardly sometimes.
Still, he is a gullible one, and his beliefs in others can be shaken with the right words and timing. Christian is slow to trust despite his friendliness, and until he is past a certain point in believing in someone, he can slowly be pulled from another’s side. The teen goes as far as to get paranoid at times over the idea of people leaving or lying to him, among other things, and when faced with evidence that someone may, it is almost terrifying. He tries to backtrack, so that if he is left again, it won’t hurt as much. Even worse than this, though, is when he doesn’t catch the warning signs, and a person he trusts and cares for simply goes away… It devastates him. All that Christian asks from people without fault is honesty, even when the truth is painful. He would rather know things upfront than live a blissful lie.
In all honesty, Tian comes across as a very innocent individual. He tries to see the good in people, and is an optimist most of the time. “Lewd†actions and the like leave him in a blushing and stuttering mess, for the child-like teen has absolutely no idea what to do in response to those. However, he is rather conflicting when it comes to how dirty his mind really is. His second job being as a shabby, run-down bar at night, Tian has been subject to many a catcall and wandering hand. It was also at this bar that he learned to dance, and well at that - though he dances much dirtier than he realizes he does. He is aware of much more lewdness than he lets on, though his personality simply leaves him appearing innocent. He may know exactly what groping and grinding is, and he may have done it before for... reasons that are far different than the reader is thinking, but such actions still leave him embarrassed and blushing.
Let it be known that embarrassed Tian is a very interesting creature.
Also, let it be known that he knows what groping and grinding are, but so long as he and the toucher are dancing, he'll continue moving to the beat of the song instead of causing a scene.
However, and despite his naïve appearance, on the moments he lets this side show, Christian has proven to be wise beyond his years. Though he doesn’t necessarily know the answers to the world’s great problems, nor even how to give advice on a schoolgirl crush, he has a greater understanding of things than he shows. Every now and again, he has his deep moments, in which the more thoughtful gears of his mind begin to turn and he exhibits a maturity most may end up thinking is lost upon him.
Other times, he may show a glimpse of a deeply ingrained sadness within his chest, but most often he suppresses this daunting emotion in favor of a joyful and upbeat mood. Sometimes, though, he finds he cannot escape it, and may go as far as spending a day closed in his room, watching TV or writing a long letter to his mother.
Surprisingly enough, it takes a lot to make Christian cry. When he does, it’s not as though a dam has broken, either. He’s tough in taking pain of both kinds. When it comes to a true and honest cry vs only a few tears, Tian can only remember doing so once in his life… though he may reluctantly admit to a few tantrums when he was little…
…And despite his supposed ‘innocence’, Christian is not as pure as he himself likes to believe he is. In truth, bubbling from within his core is a destructive and boiling anger. Angry at his father for leaving in the first place, at the students for treating him like dirt, at the entire world. A part of him, one that he keeps buried deep within his chest, is completely and utterly enraged with everything around him. He is usually slow to anger, incredibly slow, but when the fury begins to leak from within him, he is powerful and destructive, the flames of madness fueling his literal fire. This anger is psychotic, dangerous, indiscriminate, and as inevitable as a ticking time bomb without a wire to cut. He is going to snap, but when, only the events of life can tell.
Powers:
Christian, being a late bloomer in terms of finding his powers, only just discovered them recently. As such, they are currently undeveloped, faulty and prone to… accidents. He is still learning how to control them. However, Tian’s potential for power is great, and as time passes, his powers continue to grow in number and intensity, as does his currently inadequate control over them.
A weak Fire Manipulation is far from his full potential… After all, within him is a simmering phoenix, waiting to let its flickering flames bloom into something beautiful. Christian just doesn’t know it yet.
Currently Minor: Fire Manipulation
For the time being, Christian only has the ability to create and manipulate a small amount of fire. Far from shooting flames out of his fist or impersonating a dragon in his breath, Tian can hardly do more than stream it through his fingers and play with a few licks in the air without it spluttering out. Even these manipulation take effort and concentration on his part, though he is slowly getting better.
Despite this, he can occasionally create more fire than his usual small streamlets. However, this creation isn’t on purpose at all; when he wants to make a burst, it just doesn’t happen… and yet, with one small sneeze, he may look down to find a half-charred sheet of homework. Without concentration, even his small amount of fire will spark both out and out of control, and more than once he has burnt his fingers with his own flames. He can’t even heat up a bowl of soup without literally burning it due to his utter lack of control – and soup is liquid…
Father: David Kenneth Kemberley
Mother: Cassandra Rae Kemberley (née Banes)
Biography:
In all honesty and truth, the story of Christian Bennet Kemberley isn’t anything special – not really. He hasn’t been subject to some devastating, world-shattering event, nor has he had tremendous luck with anything save for developing powers. Neither sunshine and rainbows, nor storm clouds and lightening, Tian simply isn’t anything special.
Christian Kemberley was born to an originally married couple, his mother by the name Cassandra Rae and his father, David. His father worked hard for a living, for he was an educated man, but with education came expenses, and with the economy limited what he could find in their general living area, David was stuck with something inadequate. With the arrival of their son, he and Cassandra’s small but comfortable way of life became strained, the family now living with few peasantries. David made ends meet, kept bills paid and enough food on the table to keep his wife and his baby healthy, but it was difficult.
Life soon found him with two jobs and a child that was not far from entering school. He and Cassandra Rae more than once would have to give up what they wanted, often needed, in order to keep Christian alive and thriving – lest it be time, sleep, or sometimes even food. Tian was blissfully unaware of their struggling position in his young years, simply happy to have loving parents, a place to sleep and play, and nice-tasting food. However, unknown to the little boy, the fight to make money and pay off college debts was creating a rift between David and Cassandra Rae. While Cassandra was focused on staying home and caring for their child day in and day out, stressed and worried for his sake, David was sleeping less and less, devoting his days to working and trying to get ahead. Eventually, the strain was too much. The once-loving bond between David and Cassandra Rae was officially broken with signed divorce papers on the coffee table and the sudden absence of a body in their bed. David had left, unable to take it any longer, and so uneducated Cassandra was left with the bills of a house, a job to find, and a nearly school-aged child to raise on her own.
In this unfortunate sequence of events, a lesser woman would have broken under the pressure of it all. However, Cassandra took it all with a spoon full of sugar. Though it took a few weeks of living off reserved savings – David had left her that much, as he wasn’t a horrible person – the mother eventually did find a job for herself. It wasn’t a particularly high paying job, but it was enough… just enough to survive on. They ended up having to move from their small home into a rented half of a two-family house – the mother was just happy to not be on the streets. Christian was able to attend public school with even a bit of school supplies to help him along. He and Cassandra began to regularly eat less, though wasn’t for lack of effort in trying. She worked as hard as she could to provide for the child she loved so dearly, but at the tender age of six and a half, Christian was forced to discover what it meant to have an empty belly.
However, a year and a half after David’s disappearance, Cassandra began to receive checks deposited into her bank account. Though it wasn’t an incredible amount of money, the difference in pay was enough that the now eight-year-old Christian no longer had to wear taped-up sneakers or go to bed with only one daily meal in his belly. A few months after the checks started coming, Cassandra received a letter. It had seemed that David was the one depositing the money. He still wasn’t very well off himself, but he had found a place to live and a job enough to pay a bit of money to her for a sort of child support, even if he no longer had any custody over Christian. A rift continued to exist between the divorced couple, David still too busy to be part of a family, and Cassandra Rae still unforgiving over the abandonment he had struck their family with. However, as time passed and many letters were sent, they were eventually on somewhat friendly terms. David was still unable to see Christian, but they had exchanged a few short letters – after all, by the time he was allowed contact with his son, the boy was only eight and a half.
Even with the checks coming in, life was still rough for Tian and his mother. They had enough for food, bills and other necessities, but the boy’s only toys were those at school and the outdoors that sparsely surrounded their home. School life was hard, Christian only average in his mental abilities and struggling to balance his home life and school work at the same time. A lack of proper nutrition – they had enough to eat, but not to eat enough – stunted his growth in his younger years, leaving him shorter and significantly smaller than the other students. This, combined with his quiet and shy personality, made him a target for the crueler of the others. He would often come home with jumbled papers and missing homework, only hurting his grades more, not to mention the bruises that occasionally dotted his skin.
However, on the positive side, he continue to grow closer and closer to his strong mother, and eventually began speaking regularly to his father. The man even came to visit a few times by Christian’s 12th year, Cassandra reluctant to allow the man back into her life but trying to do what was best for her son. The money increased little bits here and there as David got raises in his job, and Cassandra Rae could eventually eat enough and clothe her son in newer garments.
At age 12, David had gotten his student loans paid off. He had found a sufficient job in the same town that Cassandra Rae and Christian lived in, and moved back as soon as he could. Though the money intake remained the same, Christian’s bond with his father began to improve bit by bit, as did his parents’ with each other. Though Cassandra was still a bit skeptical of the man she once called her husband, David was adamant about repairing things, though at the time there was no talk of getting back together. The man was so adamant that Cassandra Rae eventually allowed him back into her life as well, even if begrudgingly and only as a friend, just to stop his nagging.
Although his family life was slowly improving, Christian’s school life was not… not really.
The boy, with his increasing friendliness and bubbly attitude, made himself a large circle of friends. Most days, he had a boy to sit by in the cafeteria, or a girl who would gladly slide him the homework numbers if – and when – he inevitably fell asleep during math. These friends only nurtured his kindness and apparent innocent disposition, while his religious mother continued to strengthen his relationship with the God they believed in. Tian was able to get by with average grades, much better than his near failures in elementary school. Still, all of the friends he made were more aquaintances than anything. They were people he sat with, talked to on a mostly daily basis, but it was only that. No one truly knew Tian, and Tian didn’t truly know anyone either. He was alone in that regard, save for his mother… And not once had he ever had a friend over to his house.
However, as his circle of his friends grew, so did his abundance of enemies. Many a student considered Tian’s “ignorance†and “loudness†annoying, many of these excluding him from events and making snappish remarks when he tried to speak to them. The more cruel and daring of the students, or even the posh when it came to his clothing ‘choices’, though, did more than make snide remarks. The snobbish few commonly pointed his shabby appearance and “totally obvious†social position. Meanwhile, the violent bunch targeted Christian for his small size and weakness. They would knock his books to the floor, hide his backpack, and even physically attack him just for the hell of it, thinking it made them look strong and dominant.
Too many days, Christian would walk home with a fresh bruise blooming across his cheek, or a busted lip still dripping blood down his chin. However, he always did so with a smile on his face, masking his pain and rage with the happiness he preferred so much more to negativity. He took the hits and never fought back, instead crouching into a small ball and just letting them go at him like a punching back, as he came to learn that it made the damage lessen. Once they left, he would rise, holding his head up triumphantly and smiling blindingly at the onlookers that usually hung around. He showed them all that he was stronger than they gave him credit for… But because of his defiance, the attacks just became more and more frequent, harsher… and though he pretended everything was okay, lied even to himself, on his weakest nights he could feel the rage begin to broil.
Despite his constantly worsening school situation, Christian was still dedicated to his mother. At the age of fourteen, he was finally able to find a job that would take someone as young as he. The work was hard, tedious, and tiring for someone so small and badly nourished as he, but Tian persevered, finding strength within him from his mother who had given him life. He worked in yards after school, pulling weeds, trimming bushes, mowing lawns and hauling broken limbs. On top of his injuries at school and general fatigue, Christian collapsed several times on the job, but the pay was enough to make a difference… Eventually, he and his mother could actually afford to eat three meals a day, no matter how small they were. He hated his job, but for this small contribution… Tian refused to quit it.
At age 15, luck for once was on Christian’s side. He had rolled in home on a Thursday night, utterly exhausted from work but amazingly without homework to complete. He quickly spotted his parents – both of them, together – sitting upon the couch… just a bit too close for their nowadays-friendly relationship. As he approached, they both gave him a big smile… And that night, he discovered his parents had gotten back together, though they were taking slow for a while. Oh, he was so happy that night. The new-old-relationship gave him hope, hope that things might just be okay in the end… because Lord knew he was without hope back then. He was so very happy, because his family might just be whole again… But at the same time, that same old anger was still growing. He would never have had to lose hope about his family, if his father had never left. He and Cassandra Rae would never have had so much financial trouble, would never have had to starve for months on end, if he hadn’t left… But as usual, Christian just suppressed it, forgot it. That night was a happy night! And it could be a lot worse… right? So why was he being so selfish…?
A little over a year after luck had hit him for the first time, it decided to strike again – though it was in a very… indirect way. His day, before the wonderful little addition to his life, the now-16-year-old Christian Kemberley had somehow upset one of his more physical assailants and was confronted after school. How he did so, he wasn’t all that sure, though he can remember something about the teen’s girlfriend. Whatever the reason, Christian hadn’t been listening all that well… Why? Well, because the boy he pissed off was, as said before, one of his more physical attackers…
That day ended up as the worst physical beating that Christian had ever received. The last thing he can remember about it was a final fist rocketing towards his face, and after that, total blackness…
Tian awoke around one in the morning, wracked with the pain and hunched over in the middle of an alley. His left wrist and three ribs of his had been broken, as he was reminded of by the dull throbbing of his entire body. Christian’s sun-kissed face, once a mostly creamy tone, was colored instead in a flourish of black and blue. Blood from his crooked nose and cracked lips covered was smeared across his face, and for the first time, Tian was not smiling after the attack.
He can remember vaguely being in a state of shock for a few minutes, before he slowly became aware of a few lone tears rolling down his cheeks. He didn’t sob – he refused to give the absent attacker so much of a win – but with the pain and humiliation so strong, he couldn’t help but to choke up. With the rage finally unable to be suppressed, he can remember a horrible scream raking through his dry throat… and a surge of power flooding throughout his being.
The sudden sensation silenced his ragged voice, his blackened eyes widening dramatically. He then became aware of a heat sparking on the ground around him, and looked about, shocked at what he found. Little blooms of fire were flickering around him, burning the dry grass nearest to him. Christian, desperate to discover if he caused it, tried to flood the power throughout him again, but he targeted it to his fingers. Immediately, a spark exploded from his fingertips, singeing his skin in its unpredictability but still he laughed. He laughed to loudly and boisterously, overjoyed, because he had powers. All those rumors of the kids who had powers… They were real. He was real. He had powers… and for once in his life, he was actually worth something! Maybe he wasn’t worthless… weak… Maybe he had a chance…
At roughly 1:15 AM, Christian once more had a smile upon his face as he walked home… because once again, he was the one who won the fight.
A month and a half after the incident – which was spent with casts; hospital time; and frantic, worried parents – Christian Kemberley received a letter to Starlight Academy. With the reluctant permission of a worried Cassandra Rae, they spent the next week packing his things and making sure his newly healed wrist was alright…
…and then, Tian set off.
And he welcomed his new life.**
Additional Information:
*Unknown in the sense that he really doesn’t know just yet, and it may be decided IC. He hasn’t had any romantic experiences except for “crushes†that may not have been crushes at all. He has no idea, as he’s completely clueless in that area.
**I really wanted to end it there, because the flow of the story was perfect, but he does still keep in touch with his mother and father, and will most likely be visited by them. His arrival will also be roleplayed.
Name: Christian Bennet Kemberley