Profile
Richard is the perfect all-American man. Why it took him so long to get married is anyones guess--he has the money, the looks, and overflowing charm that would make anyone want to even be a summertime fling of his. He's popular in his neighbourhood, at work, around town--is there anything he can get wrong? Well, if you count eating the occasional neighbourhood cat as a character flaw, then there may.
Husband of Vickie Bladgen, Richard enjoys hosting house parties with his wife, playing golf with coworkers, and settling down with a nice book to read in the evenings. Despite his plate always being full, he has a sort of...restless energy about him, that none can truly place.
- His eye colour can be anything, but is usually a reddish-brown.
- When not styled his hair can fall in front of his forehead/eyes a little (flushed emoji)
- He has no blemishes or wrinkles anywhere, not even dark circles under his eyes, except occasional scarring around his joints
Not only does Richard's personality seem to be perfect, he seems to look like a perfect man, too. Uncannily so.
He's quite tall for the time period he exists in, and his body type is a fairly medium build. He's lean, but not super muscular.
Full bug/monster ref.......eventually......
- Socializing
- His wife : )
- Reading
- Going on nature walks
- Self care
- Making friends : )
- Looking at Vickie's paintings
- Dogs (most animals, for that matter)
- Sudden noises
- Bright lights
- Cigarettes/Cigars
- Violence : (
- Driving (if he can help it)
- Hot summer days
Richard is an incredibly charming person. He follows the same routines he's had for as long as anyone in the neighbourhood has known him. He's up early, off to work, then home in the evening. He stops and chats when he can with his neighbours, and has quickly become Mr. Popular around town. Men want him at the next barbeque, and women get disappointed when they see the wedding band on his left hand. If there's anything to hate about him, it's how perfect his life seems for a man who seemingly came out of nowhere.
Not everyone is blinded by his seemingly flawless personality. There are some who find some mannerisms...off-putting. He's too perfect. And when he does make mistakes...they're strange. He gets some common sayings and euphemisms wrong, behaves oddly in certain social situations, and refuses to talk about his past other than the bare minimum.
Ask any Tom, Dick, or Harry around the block. They'll tell you about the man who's up with the sunrise, will wave to you as he gets the morning paper, hold the garden gate open for the milk man, keep his home's white picket fences pristine, and make friends seemingly everywhere he goes. What they can't tell you, though, is anything beneath the surface. Ask them about his parents, his childhood, his education--no one really seems to know, nor did they ever think to pry.
Blinding charm is a powerful thing. Most only notice his fangs once they're sinking into their neck.
- Dextrous
- Can lift multiple times his own body weight
- Highly resilient
- Doesn't feel pain
- Fast learner
- Intense fear of fire
- Requires a safe, quiet place to heal
- Changing forms requires time and energy
- Struggles blending in in unfamiliar environments
- Requires immense caloric intake
Richard's unique...entirely human physiology lends him a set of abilities, each differing in how easy they are to use, or any drawbacks they may have.
Mimicry His main, and most deadly ability. He can take the form of not just any human he observes, but through exposure to hundreds of humans over the course of his life, he can now "create" new looks from mixing and matching different traits he's observed. His current, favoured form is this. Changing forms requires quite a bit of energy, and at MINIMUM 24 hours of uninterrupted rest.
Voice imitation Similar to, but separate from the above ability. He does not have to take on another humans form in order to copy and project their voice. He can do this with the most success of humans he's spent a significant amount of time around.
Hyperflexibility More notable in his true form, he can fit into almost any size opening, similar to an octopus. Despite his body appearing rigid in nature, impervious to most firearms, it can fold and bend enough should he need to compress himself. He can bend beyond the normal range of movement in his human forms as well, due to not truly having a human skeleton.
Night vision Self explanatory. He does not need light to see, and has a variety of other sensory organs that enhance his ability to locate prey.
Subject #: Subject #: 81
Entry Date: February 28, 1951
Threat Level: S+
Special Containment Procedures: Subject 81 is contained in Subterranean Base November-19, basement lab ██████████. Subject 81 is kept in a reinforced concrete 7m x 7m x 7m containment chamber. Armed guards are to be in place at all times in order to prevent unauthorized access to the facility. Ventilation inside Subject 81's containment chamber is not necessary nor permitted. There is one window to Subject 81's containment chamber used exclusively for research and observation purposes1. The window is comprised of shatter-proof glass and is 3 layers thick, with blast-proof steel shutters on either side that can be activated should personnel feel threatened. When research or observation is not underway the shutters are to remain down. The only opening to Subject 81's containment chamber is a 30cm thick blast-proof steel door, airtight and to be kept shut at all times unless research or feeding procedures are underway. Access to Subject 81 must be requested 6 months in advance and is restricted to Level 4 senior researchers and above. Unless approved research procedures are underway, no personnel are permitted to engage in contact with Subject 81, and all attempts at conversation made by Subject 81 must be reported to supervising staff.
Temporary Containment Procedure Update: Subject 81 is currently uncontained and its location is unknown since its breaching containment on ██████████, 1953. Possible events caused by Subject 81 have been identified in civilian media. While unconfirmed, personnel who have accessed bodies of recovered victims have noted marks of dentition and acidic decay that appear similar to records of Subject 81. In all of such victim cases, the families of those who possibly came into contact with Subject 81 testified to last seeing them with a young man, with further descriptions varying slightly (in terms of height, eye colour, hair colour, etc). Personnel based in ██████████, United States, are currently following an individual suspected of being a new form of Subject 81. Suitable recovery procedures have not yet been finalized.
Note: Research has shown that Subject 81 has an aversion to fire, and seems to be the only thing capable of deterring an attack. It expresses fear regardless of size of the flame, and will recoil and attempt to get as far as possible from the fire or personnel wielding it. For this reason it is recommended that security personnel are issued flamethrowers as well as emergency fire starting kits if containment breach occurs.
Description:
Physical: Subject 81 is an organism of unknown origin that is capable of taking the form of any human it observes, as well as coming up with new forms from combining traits of different humans it observes. When not in human form, Subject 81 appears as a large centipede-like creature. It is approximately 11 metres in length, with a broad "chest" area from which stem 4 pairs of tentacles, approx. 1.7 metres in length each and smooth in texture with irregular sharp “teeth” at the ends. Its "waist" is slim, and its lower body has 6 pairs of shorter legs similar in morphology to a spider. Its body ends in a broad tail with a bifid stinger, whether this stinger contains venom or is utilized in any way is unobserved. Its mouth has 2 pairs of pedipalps that are used for both sensory and predatory purposes. Its mouth is circular in form with 2 rows of teeth with identical morphology. In this form it is capable of scaling walls, remaining on ceilings indefinitely, and fitting into small openings at least 30 cm in width. It doesn't remain in its true form for long periods of time, and seems to prefer to copy healthy adult male individuals, but is capable of appearing in other forms as well. It has not been observed to take the form of a child, despite being shown imagery of children. Subject 81 changes forms by creating a chrysalis-like structure around its body and remaining there for a period of 1-4 days. After this dormant period has ended, the subject will destroy the chrysalis and emerge in human form. It is unable to generate clothing, and will attempt to seek some out in order to blend in with others. It cannot change forms instantaneously, and upon wishing to change forms, will shed all generated flesh and repeat the dormant stage. Collected matter from Subject 81 shows that it is genetically human, but different pieces of matter collected from the same shedding event do not contain identical DNA. Subject 81 currently takes the form of a caucasian man in his late 20s to mid 30s with short brown hair and a medium build. His choice of attire leans towards that of someone upper-middle class. Recorded forms while in captivity include U.S. Army Sergeant First Class ██████████, a male civilian game show host (after being exposed to television), an amalgamation of traits from various security personnel, and senior researcher ██████████.
Cognitive: Subject 81 is highly intelligent, and while in human form, will attempt conversation with personnel. It has only been recorded as having a mastery of English, and has been noted to get visibly distressed when personnel hold conversations in other languages in front of it. However, it seems to learn from repeated exposure to language, as shown in behaviour examination #7, when two researchers communicated in French in front of Subject 81 for the second time in a behavioural exam, and Subject 81, instead of showing distress, started to attempt to include itself in the conversation using extremely rudimentary French, despite it only being its second exposure with no translations provided between instances. Research personnel are now no longer permitted to use French in tests to attempt to restrict further learning by Subject 81, and the same restrictions will be applied to any other language Subject 81 starts to attempt to communicate in. Subject 81 is always polite, and prefers to use proper grammar and English even when exposed to conversation between researchers using slang. It is highly personable and charming, and will eventually lead researchers to let their guard down around it, making them become more lax about containment procedures. After forming “friendships” with specific personnel, conversation will subtly lead to the subject attempting to convince personnel to release it from containment, or to enter its containment chamber. Such conversations have led to 3 near containment breaches. Upon staff being prevented from opening Subject 81’s containment, it becomes visibly frustrated, and will insult intervening security before regaining composure.
Diet: Subject 81 is exclusively carnivorous, showing a preference for human prey. It does not show a preference for live or dead prey, but will avoid any meat that shows signs of contamination or decay. It is an adept hunter, and prefers to silently ambush its prey rather than confront it. Human prey item presented to the subject survived for 20.3 seconds, before Subject 81 [DATA MISSING], partially pre-digesting the prey item before consuming whole. Subject 81 since is fed every other month with an assemblage of animal carcasses, following specific nutrition procedures outlined in its own document provided to appropriate personnel, to avoid spread of knowledge of how to access the subject’s containment.
Addendum 81.1: Discovery
Subject 81 was discovered on ██████████, 1950, in a new housing subdivision in ██████████, United States. Prior to discovery, residents of the neighbourhood began to report pets, such as dogs and cats, going missing around the area. Local authorities assumed this to be coyotes or other local predators, and encouraged residents to keep animals indoors. On ██████████, a college student returning home was reported missing by her parents. This led to a full investigation of the area, but the victim’s disappearance was not tied to the previous animal disappearances in the area. Two weeks later, local realtor ██████████ reported to local pest control that one of the show houses for the subdivision was getting complaints from potential buyers about an odd smell, like rotting flesh, as well as staining and discolouration on areas of the floors and walls. Upon investigating, pest control called local authorities to report the findings of several animal carcasses within the walls and floors of the home, as well as what they believed to be human remains. Informants within local government reported this to project supervisors, and the case was quickly taken over and reported to local media as a unique case of predator assemblage. Personnel investigated the home for a total of 3 days before locating Subject 81 in its dormant state in the attic. Subject 81 was relocated to containment while dormant. After 2 days in containment, Subject 81 emerged from dormant state in the form of the local realtor who made the initial report.
The text in this section has been reformatted by authorised personnel. Full access requires higher security clearance.2
Attempted recall interview of Subject 81 post most recent transformation, 1952.
Date: ██/███/1952
Interviewer: ████████████
Interviewee: SN-81
[BEGIN LOG]
Interviewer: The tape is recording. We can begin. (Noise from the recorder being placed on the table)
#81: Excellent. I do enjoy our talks. By the by, are you doing alright? You look...tired.
Interviewer: I'm fine. Let's start with the recall. We want you to walk us through your thought process when you change forms.
#81: My thought process? Why, isn't that a little intimate, doctor? Is there a problem with the way I look? Is it offending?
Interviewer: ...Not at all. In fact, we showed you that game show to see who from the recording you'd take the most interest in. It's not surprising you picked the host, but we want to know why. Why not any of the contestants? An audience member?
#81: You're making it sound like it's something I should be ashamed of, doctor. I'm getting a little embarassed with that intense gaze of yours. You saw him, did you not--well, I suppose you're looking at him right now, too.
Interviewer: (Interjecting) You took some liberties with the coloring due to the recording having no color though.
#81: --Well, yes. But I'm finding it easier and easier to improvise. Besides, I think I decided nicely, considering all you give me is one flimsy mirror. Anyways. You saw him. I liked his voice. All the others stared at him. The lights were on him. There was something...
Interviewer: (Writing as they talk) Something...?
#81: (Sounds of restraints straining) ...Doctor, you're not wearing your wedding ring. Where did it go?
Interviewer: What--back up. Away from the glass. I'm wearing gloves, how did you--?
#81: (Interrupting) You did take it off. (#81 frowns, a sad inflection in its tone now) You can tell me anything, doctor. It's not like I'm getting out of here to gossip! Now come on...what has he done now?3
Interviewer: I've never mentioned my husband around you before.
#81: You didn't have to. Talk to me.
Interviewer: Let's get back on track.
#81: Talk to me, ██████.
Interviewer: You just-- (Away from recorder) He's--I mean, it's getting too forceful. Another researcher needs to do the interview. I don't know how the hell it--
#81: (Almost inaudible)...should go slower next time...
[END LOG]
Interviewer's Note: After the recording stopped, #81 continued to ask increasingly concerning questions about my personal life. I wish to be moved to a different assignment.
Addendum 81.2: Observation Log
EXPLANATION...UHH
Observational Log #.OL.# SUMMARY
Subject: SN-81
Preface: IDK THEY PUT HIM IN A ROOM N MADE HIM PLAY AMOGUS OR SMTH
Observation Notes: HELP GIRL IDK IM BURNIN OUT
Footnotes
1. If this privilege has not been revoked for any reason, within the view of the window is a standing mirror (185cm tall) for Subject #81 to look at itself.
2. This document may be censored further without notice at any given time.
3. #81 should have had no knowledge of the significance of a wedding ring, nor interviewer ██████████'s spouse and their relationship details. This has never been a topic of conversation in its vicinity.
- He has some strange scarring around his joints, and his eye colour seems to change ever so slightly from time to time.
- While a very social person, he definitely doesn't avoid personal downtime. He's very involved in self care.
- Despite appearing quite fit, people don't usually see him eat in public. He never seems to be hungry.
- Even though it's quite common for men his age and around his office, Richard doesn't smoke. He avoids it like the plague.
- While he has his driver's license, he prefers to walk when he can.
- Vickie's cat, Midnight, hates him. The feeling is mutual.
- He's very sensitive to the heat and cold, even gets a little bit whiney at times.
They met later than most couples around their town, but hit it off almost instantly. Even though they might not spend a lot of time together, he seems perfectly adapted to get along with her.
He does his best to correct any behaviours she may find off-putting. Wants to be his best self for his wife, after all!
Across the street neighbour, mysterious young widow, and best friend of Vickie Blagden.
He tries to get along best he can with Molly, but everything he does seems to at least vaguely annoy her in some way.
