el nysa: app;

OOC

Handle: Karin
Contact: noodle; lampshading; discord: kanoodle#6449
Over 18? Yes
Characters Played: None!

THE CHARACTER

Character Name: Peter Jason Quill
Series: Marvel Cinematic Universe / Guardians of the Galaxy
Canon Point: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, while fighting with his father, Ego
Character Age: 34
Background: There’s another name you might know me by!

Personality: Peter Jason Quill is an asshole.

Or at the very least, he was raised to be an asshole. Immediately after the death of his mother, Peter was kidnapped as a boy from Earth in 1988 by a gang of space mercenaries called the Ravagers. The captain of the pirate gang, Yondu Udonta, brought Peter into the fold and taught him the tricks of the trade; Peter is told from a young age that they only keep him around because he’s small, capable of fitting into small spaces, which was the first of many problems in a lifetime of issues. Twenty-six years pass under Yondu’s wing, and Peter kind of became a selfish, apparently self-serving jerk. He has no aversions to committing crime, up to and including killing; in fact, he seems to take some pride in his work, taking on the alias “Star-Lord” and hoping to make a name for himself. When he finally does come into his own, it’s as a hero and the leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy.

To the uninitiated, Peter can seem pretty easy to read, and for the most part he wears his emotions on his sleeve. Peter looks to be the carefree type – the kind of person who never really takes anything seriously or considers things like “responsibilities” as largely optional. An irrepressible flirt, Peter is charismatic, gregarious, and confident to a fault. He tends to talk too much, making up stories or referencing pop culture from his childhood that no one really cares about, much less wants to hear. In the face of danger, he’s never afraid to make a joke or sarcastic quip (or challenge his enemies to a dance-off). Because of that, people tend to think of him as an idiot, a fool, or an easy mark.

In reality, Peter frequently puts his wits to good use, spotting weaknesses in his opponents and figuring out how to use them to his advantage, or using the tools at his disposal to get himself out of tricky situations. He knows the various uses of his weapons and gadgets, which allows him to utilize them in unexpected ways. A gravity mine meant to extract items can just as easily be used against people, or a jet-attachment can give his jumps more power and can easily be used to shove enemies away or to empower his kicks.

Peter has faith in his skills, which translates to the way he holds himself and the way he speaks with others. He has a swagger and charm that speaks to his confidence, which helps all the more when he needs to turn on the charisma. While he acknowledges that he may not be as strong or as durable as his new teammates – he accuses Gamora, at one point, of preferring that he be “the weak one” – he’s at least comfortable enough in his position to (un?)officially lead the team. That said, Peter’s confidence can teeter into the wrong side of pride. While he’s not so proud as to not ask for help, or to not recognize the skills of his teammates, he refuses to budge in certain matters. For instance, while trying to escape an enemy fleet, Peter refuses to allow Rocket to pilot their ship through a quantum asteroid field. He feels his own piloting skills far exceed Rocket’s, and rather than concede and allow Rocket to pilot, Peter stubbornly puts his foot down, fighting for control and putting the entire ship at risk.

Peter has always had something of an altruistic streak. As a kid, he would defend helpless animals against bullies; and as an adult, he found himself risking life and limb several times over in the span of only a few days to help a ragtag group of criminals save the galaxy from some crazy, nigh unstoppable dude called Ronan the Accuser. He’s a strange mix of self-centered and selfless (he characterizes himself as “an a-hole, but not 100% a dick”) in that he’s perfectly okay in riding the grey area between morality and immorality. He’s far braver than most people would give him credit for – but that same bravery tends to make him reckless. He has a tendency to talk or act before he really thinks on the consequences, which leads to Peter leaping before he looks more often than not, and also leads to a puzzling fondness for Heroic Sacrifices™. Peter frequently puts his life on the line – braving the vacuum of space, taking on the all-consuming energies of a destructive Infinity Stone, or staying behind to battle an actual god to a standstill so his friends can escape, just to name a few examples – to protect his companions and, by proxy, the people of the galaxy.

Of his companions in the film – that being an assassin, a thug, a maniac, and a tiny tree toddling his way through his terrible-twos – Peter is the most well-adjusted and, for lack of a better term, “normal.” That isn’t to say he doesn’t have baggage of his own, though. His biggest issue is his insistence on living in the past. He clings to the few belongings he had on him on the day of his abduction and protects them fiercely, preserving his last connections to Earth. Twenty-six years pass, and he still owned the clothes he had on his back when he was a child, still had the gift his mother gave him on her deathbed (unopened, until only recently), and still had his Sony Walkman and the accompanying cassette tape, “Awesome Mix Vol. 1.” The Walkman and the tape were also gifts from his mom and are his most prized possessions; he basically listened to them everyday for the past twenty-six years. He keeps the more painful memories of his past close to his heart. The closest he gets to telling anyone of his history in the first film is when he speaks with Gamora, and rather than mention the moment of his mother’s passing, he dithers and instead calls it “the day [he] left Earth.” At the end of the first film, though, it seems he’s slowly learning to move forward with his life, as shown when he finally opens the gift from his mother, left wrapped and untouched for nearly three decades. (Surprise, it’s a brand new mix tape: “Awesome Mix Vol. 2.”)

Powers/Abilities:

• Charisma: Despite his tendency to babble, he’s frequently able to talk his way out of most sticky situations. Failing that, he plays the part he’s expected to play, feigning ignorance, weakness, or ineptitude long enough to set his hastily cobbled-together plans into motion. He’s a pretty good actor when the situation calls for it, slipping into roles and changing his speech and mannerisms as needed: with a businessman, he’s polite and complimentary (though he can never quite repress his tendency to be a smart-ass); with a blood-thirsty killing machine, he points out his own battle-scars; with a Ravager, he mimics their speech patterns and speaks the language of cold, hard cash; and with the High Priestess of a pretentious, self-aggrandizing alien species, he’s deferent, attentive, and charming.
  
  
• Combat: While he might not have top-of-the-line training, Peter is able to fight his way through ostensibly overwhelming odds. He's quick on his feet and resourceful, and what he lacks in formal training and brute strength, he makes up for in speed and utility.
  
  
• Dexterity: Peter is adept at sleight of hand tricks, swapping items for duds, swiping items from under someone's nose – tricks that require misdirection and quick hands. He can pick locks, as well.
  
  
• Marksmanship: He's shown using a variety of firearms with impeccable aim. Pew pew.
  
  
• Piloting: Peter is the best pilot in the galaxy, hands down, no contest. Peter is knowledgeable on the strengths and weaknesses of different types of ships and is capable of piloting them with a high amount of skill. At one point in the first film, he’s shown to pilot a construction/mining ship, and then using the gripping claws of that ship to pilot a second ship, because why the hell not? Peter is also able to fly his preferred ship, the Milano through a pitched battle, and (to an arguable degree of success) through a quantum asteroid field.
  
  
• Enhanced Durability: Peter is largely human, but his half-Celestial side allows him to withstand conditions a normal human couldn’t. He recovers quickly from what appear to be devastating blows (getting thrown into stone walls, falling from several stories, being slapped out of midair by a weird tentacle monster, just to name a few examples). He’s also shown to endure and survive the vacuum of space for a very short time, and he’s able to withstand the power of an Infinity Stone without assistance for far longer than any mortal before him.
  
  
• Molecular Manipulation: As part of his Celestial background, Peter currently has the ability to manipulate matter; the primary application for this, as shown in the film, is the ability to gather stone around himself, using it to empower his attacks and to shield himself. He’s also able to use this particular ability to fly, or to launch himself at high speeds.
  
  
• Energy Manipulation: Again, thanks to his Celestial side, Peter can summon energy into his hands – called simply “the Light” – to form simple constructs. Primarily, he’s shown to make a ball. Impressed yet?
  
  
• Self-Augmentation: Using his connection to the Light, Peter can empower himself to superhuman levels, increasing both his strength and durability. Doing so allows him to survive smashing through stone, plummeting hundreds of feet, and to punch the ever-loving hell out of would-be megalomaniacs.
  
  
• Immortality: As long as the Light exists in Ego’s core, Peter will effectively remain immortal.
  
  NOTE: These powers are not applicable, since the Storm would have destroyed the core of Ego's planet.

Power Nerfs (if applicable): At the canon point I’ve chosen, Peter has very little idea of how to use the powers granted to him by his Celestial heritage. As such, most attempts at using his abilities will be clumsy or unsuccessful.

Also, “immortality” as expressed in the film is pretty vague, and I’ve interpreted it as being long life, rather than true immortality. Peter still runs the risk of being killed, but, hey, if he manages to not get shot or stabbed or sickened, he’ll live to the ripe old age of who-the-heck-knows.

Inventory:

• His clothes
  
• His quad blasters (a pair of guns capable of firing plasma and/or electricity)
  
• His helmet

Incentives:

• The protection of his loved ones and their loved ones – specifically, the members of his team and anyone they might care about. Because Peter’s selfless like that.
  
• The ability to help protect the universe at large. Because Peter’s brave like that.
  
• Some sort of monetary compensation. Because Peter’s greedy like that.
  
• The recovery of his Sony Walkman and his mother’s mix tapes - Awesome Mix Vol. 1 and Awesome Mix Vol. 2. Because Peter’s sentimental like that.

SAMPLES

Sample A [TDM Top Level]
Sample B [PSL]