Profile
- Paul “Polun” Hyde
- ANTAGONIST “The Creator” Archetype
- Age 33
- Gender Male
- Pronouns He/Him
- Birthday July 10th
- Residency Tartarus
- Weapon Machine Gun
A futuristic machine gun that will shoot hyper-concentrated acid out of its four needle shaped barrels instead of bullets. It has a radiation symbol on it, a symbol that has become the trademark of Hyde’s weapon collection.
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Extrovert
Introvert
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Intuitive
Observant
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Thinking
Feeling
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Judging
Prospecting
About
One of the rarer human residents of Tartarus, Polun Hyde has become one of the most infamous drug and weapons dealer in the entire underground city. He is known for his surgical skills however, he is also known for his lack of self restraint, recklessness, being incredibly unpredictable, and well, his insanity. Polun does not believe he’s insane, he believes all those unethical experiments, all the murder, it’s all justified by his scientific research. People who have called the doctor insane to his face have rarely come out without a lost limb. His overall reputation is one of infamy even if he’s just a human.
The second half of the scientist, who prefers to call himself the ‘original’ of the two, goes by his birth name; Paul Hyde. Paul is much more reserved, conscientious, and overall in control of himself and his impulses. He holds the same curious desires as his parasitical counterpart, but recognizes his delusions from when he was in that state. Paul is your classic nervous and socially awkward nerd and he is much more caring, kind, and cautious than Polun.
Positive Traits
- Curious about the workings of everyone and everything around him
- Extremely intelligent
- Determined when it comes to problem solving
- Very quick on his feet
- Straightforward with what he thinks
- Creative with his tech and weapons designs
Negative Traits
- Curious about the workings of everyone and everything around him
- Ignorant of his own issues and the feelings of those around him
- Closed off, occasionally rude
- Polun is delusional (untreated mental illness, refuses to acknowledge it)
- Polun is also EXTREMELY emotionally childish
- Paul refuses any help from anyone… ever
Likes
- SCIENCE OF COURSE!! Mostly biology and chemistry
- Reading, learning, logical subjects
- Experimentation… however gorey that may be
- His pet rats
- Classical music and electro swing
- Nayeli (future girlfriend… they are adorable)
Dislikes
- DEATHLY terrified of snakes (phobia)
- Fire
- Calling him insane or talk of asylums / shock therapy
- Overly emotional people
- His eyes / veins
- Being alone
Appearance
Polun is nearly never seen without his usual scientific wear! He wears a long, off white lab coat with green pockets and green triangular markings near the end. To add some originality, he says. The back of his lab coat also has his trademark radiation symbol and he has a small greyish belt around his waist. He always has his black rubber gloves on, which causes most people to wonder how he hasn’t died of heat stroke yet. On top of that, he has shoulder pads with the number ‘84’ on each of them. These can open and release toxic gasses. Below his lab coat he wears a black sleeveless shirt and khaki, baggier pants along with some black combat boots. No one’s ever really seen him like this though and it’s due to this next design bit; Polun is insecure about his greenish skin and his extremely visible bright green veins. This is also why he hides his synthetically green eyes behind his goggles as well. Finally, he has fluffy, messy and incredibly unkempt brown hair.
Paul has the same skin, vein and eye details as Polun because they’re the same man, however he is a little less insecure about his new features than his other half. He is most commonly seen wearing black pants with the same combat boots as Polun, but with a blouse and dark green sweater vest instead of a full lab coat.He also wears glasses instead of goggles and his hair is ever so slightly better kept. Paul is working on regaining his confidence in his appearance, but his eerie green stare doesn’t seem to help out. He does occasionally wear Polun’s outfit, but only when he’s on missions or experimenting.
- Hair Dark Brown
- Eye Bright Green
- Skin 1 Regular Skin
- Skin 2 Infected Skin
Design Notes
- It may be hard to see but his skin is two different colors! Regenerated skin / tissue is a green tone because his parasite cannot replicate regular skin to perfection. His eyes and brain can’t regenerate, which is why most of his face has not been wounded and stayed a regular color. (See more in abilities)
- Polun will almost never go anywhere without most of his body covered - he’s a very insecure guy, even if he plays he isn’t.
- His blood and organs are also green due to his regenerative abilities and parasite!
- His shoulder pads are numbered 84
- Polun has a gas mask that can attach to his goggles as well for when he is using gas-based weaponry
Trivia
- He sleeps about three hours on average per day, and not consecutively
- Hyde has several pet rats that he loves very dearly and refuses to hurt in any way.
- He learned how to play the violin as a kid and Polun can still play due to subconscious muscle memory (he’s got no clue why)
- He is French-Canadian and can actually speak French
- He has the entire periodic table and 100 digits of pi memorized, both for fun
Scientific Explanation
Hyde’s parasite is a mutated version of a very real parasite called toxoplasma gondii, classified as a toxoplasmosis and protozoan parasite. It was transmitted through his blood and to his brain, and there it spread and caused its host to experience various symptoms. T. Gondii would usually be caught and healed quite simply, but due to this one’s mutation and certain aspects about Hyde himself (See backstory), he was not able to catch it before it was too late.
Head
Having infected his ocular lobe and a good portion of his frontal lobe, the parasite has affected the way its host sees and perceives things. Hyde’s eyesight has deteriorated and, when he is without antipsychotics (Polun), he has no recollection of his past before arriving at Tartarus. The parasite also causes Polun to hallucinate and experience symptoms comparable to bipolar mania and hallucinations / delusions comparable to schizoaffective disorders. He is also very often paranoid and jumpy.
Body
Due to his parasite spreading down his spine and into the rest of his body, Hyde now has the very odd ability to regenerate tissue, blood, organs and even whole limbs extremely rapidly. These regenerated parts are a green tone. This is an ability because of the parasite’s need to keep its host alive for as long as possible.
Hyde, especially Polun, never goes anywhere without his trusty goggles, and for several good reasons. Not only do they help with his vision, but they also have multiple other features that have come in hand quite often.
Features;
- Hyde’s goggles act similarly to a phone. They can display information on the lenses, such as time, maps, downloaded info usually provided by Hyde himself, and can help with inputted language translations. These windows can all be manipulated by a direct link to Hyde’s gloves.
- His goggles also help during fights or moments of blindness. They’re able to identify heat signals through gas / fog / etc and they’re able to place a target on beings. This proves to be quite helpful, because Polun hallucinates and can’t always identify reality from his mind’s tricks.
Overall, they are a very important piece of equipment to the doctor and he either always has them on or has them in his pocket. His glasses are a substitute for when Paul specifically isn’t on any missions. Polun likes to keep them on at all times. He sleeps with them.
Hyde’s weapon collection is most impressive, but also very deadly. They all have his trademark radiation symbol on them. First and foremost; his shoulder pads can slit open and release gasses. These chemical compounds range from harmless sleep gas to high density chlorine gas. This is why Hyde also carries around a gas mask that may attach and secure itself to his goggles.
He also has gas bombs… and regular bombs. Hyde does not care about lessening the amount of property damage on missions, which is why he’s also been seen using bazookas and other high power machinery to get where he wants. Did I mention he names his weapons?
An extremely big, extremely heavy foldable bazooka that shoots what Polun likes to call ‘mini-nukes’.
A rifle that shoots regular bullets, but is linked to Hyde’s goggles to better his aim.
These are only ever used as a last resort, but Hyde is also able to wave around his scalpels, scissors and knives in an attempt to defend himself. He also usually has syringes filled with hazardous materials.
A
Relationship: Nayeli
Ever since joining the Dual Monarchy, Hyde has watched Nayeli from afar, quietly crushing over her even if Polun has claimed being above silly schoolboy affections. He knows something about him sets her off, and he’s too awkward to confront her even as Polun, so he does his best to avoid her instead of talk to her.
B
Relationship: Jules
Hyde knows Polun is Jules’ worst nightmare of a teammate, and Polun enjoys pretending it’s his favorite pastime to annoy the elf. However, deep down, a part of him wishes that… maybe they could be friends? No, that’s silly, and Polun surely is above emotion. He doesn’t care.
C
Relationship: Zelmira
Zelmira being a fellow human smartass, you’d think Polun would like her more. You’d be wrong. In fact, it only makes him want to further prove his superiority by surpassing her when it comes to the sciences.
D
Relationship: Nyx
Polun tends to avoid talking to Nyx, on account of having killed her mother. Granted, the two had hated each other, but it had still caused Nyx pain and Polun hates being around emotion like that. So, he leaves the emotional regulation to Jules… much to his own conflicted jealousy though.
E
Relationship: Fax
Hyde doesn’t have a strong enough word to describe how much he despises that imp. The older Mythos seems to enjoy toying with the doctor, preying on his evident weaknesses and treating him like the emotional child Polun is. Needless to say, neither halves of Hyde like the man and both would wish him dead given the opportunity.
F
Relationship: Ignus
Polun had always thought it fun to toy with and bully Fax’s nephew. It was like getting revenge! But eventually, when Paul came along, Hyde grew closer to Ignus, treating him almost like something of a son.
- Piranha
- Machine Gun
- Shoots: Concentrated Acid
- Type: H4SO6
Information
The weapon Hyde nearly always seems to have with him is styled as a machine gun with four syringe shaped barrels, to better arm the concentrated acid shooting out of them. This acid comes from a tank at the back of the gun. While the barrels spin, the chemicals in the tank mix faster and become incredibly concentrated and dangerous, able to pierce through skin like paper and through thick clothing like chiffon.
It, like all other of Hyde’s weapons, bears the radiation symbol on its side. Hyde made this weapon when he first got to stay at the Labyrinth (bar in Tartarus), so much before joining the Dual Monarchy (See backstory). Other criminals have learned to fear the sound of bubbling chemicals and spinning barrels.Character Details
A quick clarification for all before we get into the good stuff; Paul and Polun are the very same man. They, like the novella they were based on, are merely halves of the same man. Polun is Paul’s morbid curiosity, his need to discover, his lack of emotional maturity… but also incredibly mentally ill because of the parasite. Paul is Polun’s self restraint, his reservations and his self control. Of course, Paul is also just on antipsychotics and does not fall to mania.
Another quick thing; if you are not yet familiar with the world of the Dual Monarchy; it is cyberpunk-fantasy. Humanity is incredibly technologically advanced, non humans (Mythos) exist and Hyde was born into it all. Cool? Cool. Here’s the good stuff.
Childhood
Paul Viktor Hyde was born in Canada to a mother named Marie Marek and a father named Albert Hyde, two loving parents. His older sister, Stella Hyde, was also there to watch her younger brother come into the world she’d already known for three years. It was to the family’s surprise that they learned their youngest child had an immune system problem known as XLA, which would cause Paul to get sick easier. Albert had always been a nervous parent when it came to raising his children right, so he decided he and Marie would homeschool Paul till highschool, when children weren’t quite so dirty.
And so, Paul grew up sheltered within his own home. Safe from sickness, but also unable to learn how to communicate with others. His mother would occasionally bring him to the university where she worked to listen in on more advanced classes and Paul quickly took an interest in mathematics and science. In fact, he was so interested that roadkill and dying animals didn’t phase him. They fascinated him, if anything. He wanted to poke them, prod them, see their insides maybe… Until he learned that wasn’t right. It was not long after that his parents realized he had savant syndrome rooted in arithmetics, able to memorize numbers and equations like it was nothing. His parents couldn’t be more proud, and Paul got through his school like it was nothing… while also lacking friends there too, still not having learned to communicate like his sister did so flawlessly.
Infection
Paul was 21 when he moved away and started his university studies in medicine. His future was looking bright, his grades never stooping below a 90 (except maybe in gym) and his undying interest in science never faltering. Of course, he was occasionally lonely, still not having been able to connect with his peers even as an adult, but he’d convinced himself it wasn’t important. Schooling went on as normal, Paul got older, and eventually, during an internship, he found an odd looking orange rose. Of course, being as interested as he was in science, he decided to try and study the plant from closer, pricking his finger in the process and licking the wound immediately after.
How could such a small movement have such an impact on a man’s life? Maybe if he’d learned how to ask for help he would’ve sought it during his week of fever. Or maybe the week after that, when he’d started forgetting where he’d placed objects. Or the month he stayed locked in his dorm, taking classes through hologram and fearing what was outside his door. In his walls. What breathed at night next to his ear, what would stand in his doorway and stare at him while he slept.
Infection 2: Less paranoia, more science!
Paul was becoming paranoid, his hallucinations setting in and, due to his inability to connect, he never sought any help from classmates. Eventually, one came looking for him. Gaia, the first ever person Paul killed, had only wanted to see if he was alright. He’d killed her in fear, that is, until his delusions convinced him it had been for science instead. Because he’d liked it nearly as much as he adored his craft.
Over the next month, Paul began to forget why he’d even been scared in the first place. The experience had been liberating, and he could live with a few hallucinations. He forgot his family’s faces, his childhood, most emotional memories had been replaced with new… research. Paul was soon caught and tried for several murders, all resulting in a mangled, unrecognizable corpse Paul would affectionately call his experiments. After an evaluation, a trial filled with people the man didn’t recognize, and some snapping about it not being murder, Paul was found guilty, but got off with an insanity plea.
Galen’s Institute
White uniforms, white lab coats, white hallways and white padded rooms. The Institute was not a place of comfort as most people there were criminals of the worst sort and the government did not particularly care for their well being. Here, Hyde began to forget himself as well. His patient number, 084, had been what he was most referred to by his doctors. Dr Seong attempted therapy, but eventually, his coworker, Dr Coffey, decided for a more direct approach.
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) or shock therapy was a dead practice in this world as well. Galen’s, however, had been researching it for the last few years, and as regular antipsychotics didn't seem to work on 084, Coffey saw it as their next best option, despite Seong’s warnings. It did not help. In fact, every time it was done, 084 only seemed to get more reckless, more delusional and more manic. Over time, 084 devised a plan and after his fifth ECT session, he killed Coffey and set the asylum on fire, only barely escaping by the skin of his teeth.
Tartarus
After watching the building burn and making sure none of those god forsaken patients or employees escaped, 084 found a hole in the ground near the Institute and slipped down.
What he found underground was Tartarus, a refuge city for Mythos and criminality. Covered in mud, blood, and ash, 084 aimlessly made his way through the streets till he arrived at a bar known as the Labyrinth run by a greed demon named Edmonia. She decided to let him stay, on account of her best employee, Tiny (a minotaur), asking her to keep him. 084 promised to offer her a portion of his pay as soon as he could get to work.
Upon asking his name, he looked at his patient number, already forgetting where the clothing had come from, and recalled the 84th element of the periodic table; polonium! That was it, his name. Polun Hyde.
Stella’s Arrival (No longer backstory, actual character arc)
After a lot of story stuff that would take much too long to explain, five years after his supposed death, Stella finds her younger brother with a crime gang. He’s different. Manic, explosive, unpredictable, nothing like the nervous little boy she knew before. After noticing his skin, she concluded something out of his control must’ve been wrong.
Stella was not a scientist. She had a communications degree, which caused most of human society to look down on her… including this “Polun” guy. So, she got help from Siku and Zelmira (Dual Monarchy members) and together they figured out the problem; Hyde was infected with a parasite. They created an antidote specifically for him and, well, once injected, it worked. Paul took two days to rest, but eventually recalled himself, his family, his name… the asylum. The new clearance of mind was both a relief and a different kind of pain, but he was thankful. To remain as he was, he needs to take the antidote every 12 hours or immediately after seeing too much gore, as it will trigger hallucinations and mania.
Current Day
Paul is usually the present half, taking his antidote regularly and trying to stay away from blood and gore. He despises Polun more than he would anyone else. Polun is everything he’s ever done wrong, at least, according to Paul. And it hurts to find joy in being free like Polun is. Plus, Paul has all this new asylum trauma to get through and… it’s not pretty.
Polun finds this new Paul guy to be the bane of his existence. Before he came along, Polun was doing fine! He was happy, he was experimenting, and he certainly wasn’t LONELY! At least… he thought. Paul ‘coming back’ has made Polun realize certain things about himself and it very much displeases him. Perhaps one day the two halves can learn to accept each other and grow into a single better person.
Hello - Polun
I’m REALLLLYYYY not in the mood for this right now, what did you wanna buy, dickweed? … You don’t know who I am. Wow. I’m Doctor Polun Hyde, your very best chemical weapons and drug dealer, also a surgeon. I’m a genius, so, I multiclass.Hello - Paul
Wha- oh GOD you scared me. Hi… Oh, I’m Paul, actually. Not the other guy. I mean, I’m still the other guy, but I don’t consider his name to be me, you know?... Uh, anyway…Experimentation - Polun
Ohhh you wanna talk about my experiments? I LOVE talking about my experiments. I love science. Did you know that? Which one could we start on, oh my gosh! There #43, that was a sloth demon, and then there #98, that one was an elf, and-Experimentation - Paul
Please. Don’t.Paul - Other half
Polun is just a huge thorn in my side. He treats the entire world as his plaything, and not to mention he doesn’t even try to keep his ego under wraps… He’s a horrible person. He’s the reason I never made friends as a kid, he’s the source of my issues. I wish he’d never existed.Polun - Other half
… Who??Chat: Rats - Paul
I have seven of them. This one is named Remy… When I was young, I had a rat named Henry. Looking back, I should’ve really gotten him a friend. Rats are social creatures, you should always get at least two rats if you're looking to adopt these adorable guys.Chat: Rats - Polun
RATS ARE SO COOL! I love rats! I love them they’re so smart and they’re so cute and they’re my favorite animal in the whole world! People say I look like a rat sometimes. Do you think so? I don’t. I look like a human.Chat: Asylum - Paul
I’d rather not think about all that. It was just a very… uncomfortable time. Yes, that’s it. Uncomfortable. Did you want some coffee by the way?Chat: Asylum - Polun
I don’t remember that.About Nayeli - Paul
N- Nayeli? She’s taken a liking to me, I suppose. She’s fine. Good at her job, good at… most things she does… Um, so, did you come here for more Fog?About Nayeli - Polun
She’s an idiot and I hate her. She teases me and I’d like to strap her to my operation table and split her chest open. Study her heart… She’d have a nice heart I think… Hmmm, her blood would be purple too… ANYWAY I hate her.About Stella - Paul
I am quite literally forever indebted to my sister. She saved me when no one else tried, she cared enough about me… If she didn’t exist, I would’ve probably… I mean, I don't have any friends other than her and…About Stella - Polun
It’s her fault I’m broken now. Before she arrived, I was fine, and now I’m always sad and lonely and forgetting weeks at a time because of that stupid other guy that keeps coming back! I never thought I’d say this but I hate needles because of her!Rain - Paul
I quite like the rain. Where I used to live, it snowed more than it rained, which is fine, but I much prefer the pattern of drops. And watching them fall. I’m so glad Tartarus has a HoloSky, I don’t think I could exist knowing I’d have to go to the surface to see the rain again.Friends - Polun
A distraction. A waste of time, space and emotional energy, which I already don’t CARE ABOUT! You’re funny. Friends aren’t a necessity to survival like food, water and air. I’d like to study your brain, see why you’d think those accessories are soooo important!Favorite Food - Paul
I am the stereotype of my country… My province has a meal called poutine. It’s fries, gravy and cheese curds. It’s a delicacy and probably my favorite dish. That or raclette… Oh, when did I last eat actually? I keep forgetting to do that.Snakes - Polun
The lowest of all life forms. I HATE snakes. They’re long and skinny and slither around everywhere. They’re gross and scary. I can’t even appreciate their biology! That’s how weird they are! DON’T BRING ONE NEAR ME.Advice - Paul
Relationships… They’re good. I’d be lying to myself if I said I hadn’t desperately wanted to reach out while I was in- while I was losing my mind. But there had been no one to reach out to. So please, just be a little smarter than I was. Well, emotionally. You’re not smarter than me academically… That sounded like a brag hold on-
