FELIX RICHTER
The past is never where you think you left it Katherine Anne Porter
15 | 19 May | Male | Human | Student | Grade 10
At the tender age of 8 years, this news came as a shock and Felix didn’t want to believe them. He asked his Uncle Ben right away. However, so was overcome with grief was he that Uncle Ben couldn’t answer Felix dishonestly, and just wept. Uncle Ben never coped with the loss of his wife. The car accident was so sudden, and killed both his wife and their unborn child instantly. He didn’t know that she was expecting. Her friends said that she was going to tell him that night when she got home, but she never arrived. Uncle Ben turned to alcohol increasingly so after that. He found that it numbed the pain. Eventually he lost his job, and they got evicted from their nice, suburban home and were forced into community housing. It was at this time that Felix’s Grandparents cut off their son-in-law. They were unable to look at what he had become. It didn’t take long for the violent outbursts to start after that. At first Uncle Ben would come crying to Felix, apologizing after he had slept off the alcohol and sobered up. But one year after Felix’s Aunt’s death, he had stopped apologising, and never stopped drinking. By the time he was 13, Felix often skipped school. He always wore hoodies and long sleeved clothes which he’d try to hide the injuries on his face and body. Food was growing increasingly scarce and by the time Felix was 14, and Uncle Ben had turned to ice, there was never any food in the house. Felix learned to be light-fingered at this age. He hadn’t been caught yet, but he usually stole just food. And cigarettes. Some of his buddies got him to try some and after a while he became addicted. Felix didn’t often hang around his friends though. He was afraid they’d see the bruises. He often would go to the park, or sit under the bridge under the old highway, sketching in his book, sleeping or smoking.
The past is never where you think you left it Katherine Anne Porter
15 | 19 May | Male | Human | Student | Grade 10
APPEARANCE
Felix has dark olive skin and deep brown soulful eyes (his most striking feature) usually hidden beneath his dark hair. His hair is shaggy and a little unkempt, but it suits him. He is on the thin side and normally has dark circles under his eyes due to his sleeping difficulties. He is of an average human height for his age. His sense of style includes usually just a pair of dark jeans and simple tee. Recently, he has on occasion appeared dishevelled, like he has forgotten to brush his hair, or his shirt is on inside out.
PERSONALITY
Felix keeps to himself a lot of the time, and has learned how to be independent from a young age. He is extremely distrustful of people and has a hard time settling into routine due to his wandering spirit. He has an attitude where he just does what he wants, when he wants it (a bit like a cat) and doesn’t take rules very seriously. Felix is not a confrontational person. If backed into a corner then he might retaliate/fight back but he generally avoids that sort of thing. Felix has a soft spot for animals, and is usually really good with them. He enjoys art (usually just sketching), and music. He secretly would love to learn how to play an instrument one day. Due to his complicated past, he struggles constantly with his own identity. He has a strong desire to be free from the judgement, fear of rejection and shame that accompanies his history. Due to these constant burdens, he can sometimes seem cold, and stand-offish.
POWERS
Telekinesis. He just recently discovered his power through an incident with his uncle (see below for more details). He had always noticed strange things happening around him on occasion (for example when he experienced anger, things sometimes broke – like one glass or something small). Currently he is inexperienced with his power and has a great curiosity about it, but also a little bit of fear. He can only move small objects that he can see/are right in front of him or very close to him. His power requires him to focus and use his mind, however he (later) uses his hands to assist him as it gives him greater control/accuracy. His power has limits such as, he can only move objects that he can physically lift himself. And he can only move objects that are roughly in a 100m radius to him. He hasn’t discovered any of this yet, as he is at very beginner/basic level. Also for objects that are too heavy for him to lift/move (either at his level or because of the telekinetic limitations), he begins to experience headaches/migraines and then physical pain. This happens also when he uses his power too much (as he is inexperienced his power is like a ‘muscle’ and requires more training to improve it). It is possible for him to be able to move objects without him being able to directly see it (such as behind him) but that is a later development. As he has never met anyone else with powers (until he came to the Manta Carlos), his knowledge about his own power is extremely limited and has come through his own experiences. He constantly struggles with control of his power. His power is not as strong (yet) when he tries to focus to control it, than when he is experiencing an extreme emotion and has no control of it.
BIOGRAPHY
Felix never knew his parents. He only ever heard stories about his Mother when he was young from his Uncle Ben, whom he has lived with his whole life before coming to the Academy. Felix was told his Mother, Marie, was beautiful. She was a gifted pianist and was studying to be a nurse, though she never had a chance to graduate. His Grandparents only ever met him twice, once when he was born, and then again when he was 8 years old, at his Aunt’s funeral. His Grandparents were strongly religious and incredibly racist. He was the only person of colour in a Caucasian family, and they could not tolerate it.
Felix never knew that his mother was raped until that day. He had inherited almost none of his Mother’s features and they never caught the man who he came to realise was his father. It was on that day at his Aunt’s funeral that his Grandparents told him. They would glare at him with such hatred. When they looked at him all they saw was the embodiment of their only child’s assailant. They told him that he was the one who killed his own Mother as she gave birth to him.
At the tender age of 8 years, this news came as a shock and Felix didn’t want to believe them. He asked his Uncle Ben right away. However, so was overcome with grief was he that Uncle Ben couldn’t answer Felix dishonestly, and just wept. Uncle Ben never coped with the loss of his wife. The car accident was so sudden, and killed both his wife and their unborn child instantly. He didn’t know that she was expecting. Her friends said that she was going to tell him that night when she got home, but she never arrived. Uncle Ben turned to alcohol increasingly so after that. He found that it numbed the pain. Eventually he lost his job, and they got evicted from their nice, suburban home and were forced into community housing. It was at this time that Felix’s Grandparents cut off their son-in-law. They were unable to look at what he had become. It didn’t take long for the violent outbursts to start after that. At first Uncle Ben would come crying to Felix, apologizing after he had slept off the alcohol and sobered up. But one year after Felix’s Aunt’s death, he had stopped apologising, and never stopped drinking. By the time he was 13, Felix often skipped school. He always wore hoodies and long sleeved clothes which he’d try to hide the injuries on his face and body. Food was growing increasingly scarce and by the time Felix was 14, and Uncle Ben had turned to ice, there was never any food in the house. Felix learned to be light-fingered at this age. He hadn’t been caught yet, but he usually stole just food. And cigarettes. Some of his buddies got him to try some and after a while he became addicted. Felix didn’t often hang around his friends though. He was afraid they’d see the bruises. He often would go to the park, or sit under the bridge under the old highway, sketching in his book, sleeping or smoking.
On the day that the Academy came for him he had arrived home late in the afternoon. He was now 15. Felix hadn’t been at home for the last couple of days, and his Uncle Ben was in an especially bad mood. Felix had been beaten unconscious before, but this time Uncle Ben was in such a rage that Felix was afraid that his Uncle just might kill him. Felix couldn’t explain how it happened. He was staggering, trying to hold himself upright against the wall as his Uncle came at him. This was a man who was once a successful real estate agent. Now, he had become nothing more than a shadow of himself, no – not even that. The alcohol and drugs had changed him. Uncle Ben was a man who was unrecognisable of his former self. He was now always dishevelled, his body gaunt and he had deep bags under his eyes. He looked much older than he really was. His face had even changed. Felix’s ears were ringing and his vision swam. He had his arms up instinctively trying to protect his head from his Uncle’s onslaught whilst he desperately tried to make it to the front door. The metallic taste of blood lingered in his mouth and he felt a wetness seeping from his scalp and dripping down the left side of his face. One of his Uncle’s blows suddenly winded him and he dropped to the floor, gasping for air, a darkness seeping into his vision.
Rage and pain pooled in Felix’s eyes as he gazed towards the front door. That’s when it happened. If Felix had to describe it, he would say it was like an explosion. Like everything around him when incredibly white, blinding white, and then everything went dark.
The Academy found him in the ruins of a house, lying unconscious covered in dust and dirt. Uncle Ben's lifeless body was only a few meters away, crushed under heavy debris from the wreckage of the house. There was not a pillar nor a wall left standing. The Academy officials had quickly whisked him away before the authorities arrived.
OTHER
Felix is developing a mental illness (Schizophrenia) which he is not yet aware of. It is starting off slowly so he doesn’t even realise that he is sick even when others start to notice.
