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Name: Ax
Age: 30+
Contact info:

intercession

Character: Paige Elisabeth Guthrie, AKA: Husk
Canon: Marvel Comics (Universe 616)
Canon Point: Dawn of X, post Crucible (X-Men issue 9)
CRAU, Canon AU: N/A
Character age: 25

Canon Abilities/Powers:

Paige Guthrie is a Mutant, possessing an X-Gene, an evolutionary advancement in humankind. The X-Gene gives mutants supernatural powers that are sometimes unpredictable. Paige's mutation allows her to "husk out." This process involves ripping off an outer layer of skin and revealing an under-layer made out of a material of her choosing. This material must be something that she is aware of the chemical composition of, but other than that there are no limits. The under-layer grants extra powers based on what she has chosen. For example, she becomes inhumanly strong and durable if she husks into stone, unbreakable if she becomes diamond, and she can throw around fire if she becomes magma. Some examples of other uses have been wood to fight vampires, rubber to bounce projectiles off her body, and glass to become difficult to see. This transformation lasts for 1 hour, or until she decides to return to normal, by peeling off that layer to reveal a new one. Wounds that happen to the under-layer heal unless they are very deep.

Paige is also a learned woman. She is a master hacker, talented enough that Nick Fury and the Avengers have tapped her for work with S.H.I.E.L.D. to ferret out holdings of secretive villain organizations. She was in the final year of her Ph.D. in Psychology before Charles Xavier called her to action on the mutant nation of Krakoa, but had completed her Master's degree in Educational Counseling and Psychology.

Finally, Paige is a current member of the mutant hero team called the X-Men. She has undergone extensive psychological and physical training under the tutelage of Charles Xavier, Emma Frost, Sean Cassidy, and several other mutant luminaries. She is a physically capable woman, and she is both daring and decisive, having led small teams of young mutants in crisis situations.

What is their greatest negative emotion towards an object, situation, or person in their past?:

Paige's greatest negative emotion is feeling that she is inadequate, so the person she has the greatest negative feelings towards is herself. Paige is a mutant born into an entire generation of mutants, and she has always struggled to find a way to stand out and leave her mark. Her elder brother Sam (AKA Cannonball) had achieved a somewhat legendary status among the X-Men by the time her powers manifested, and when they did she launched herself at the opportunity to learn and study at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. She was given an opportunity, instead, to study under Emma Frost and Sean Cassidy at the Massachusetts branch campus as a member of Generation X.

She pushed herself incredibly hard to succeed, hurling herself at every single challenge that she thought could stand in the way of her goal of joining the X-Men. She studied accents to try and get rid of her Kentucky drawl, and tried even harder to distance herself from life as a rural farm-girl. She taught herself computer programming and hacking, she studied non-stop, and she got up every single day at the crack of dawn for physical training. Her time with Gen X was marked by internal and external conflict. She was an oddity to her teammates, because she was always trying to learn and grow, and none of them could really understand why she pushed herself so hard. Most of them came from wealthy backgrounds, or were the only child, or simply didn't care about studying and were only there to get control over their powers and she resented that a bit. Moreover every single one of them thought she had nothing to prove and that she was being a little overzealous unnecessarily. This drive and ambition they didn't share kept her a little distant from them and left her overexerting herself. In short, she was basically competing against herself, against a perceived hurdle that wasn't even there.

This continued into her adult life, when she finally joined the X-Men and was subsequently placed on a lineup that consisted of primarily veteran members. She was often left in awe of Angel, Nightcrawler, and Wolverine's experience, subjected to chauvinistic jokes by Iceman, and even belittled by other members for being blonde, referred to as "the cheerleader" on more than one occasion, and generally treated more like a mascot than a member. She dealt with a lot, and her self-confidence suffered for it. Even though she excelled, the environment poisoned her sense of accomplishment and she saw herself as lesser. "What am I even doin' here? Am I really just a cheerleader or something?" she asked herself more than once.

Eventually she was placed in a different position with the team by Xavier, working with other members, and found a place as a teacher at Kitty Pryde's Mutant Academy and later guidance counselor prior to Krakoa. This gave her an opportunity to step back, to let wounds heal, and to realize that she was not only good at things, but that she was exceptionally gifted. She had some bumps along the way, but Paige has made her peace with herself and her place among her peers. Her confidence is now a part of her, and she's no longer ruled by these negative emotions.

How strongly do they feel about the negative subject matter, on the scale of one to ten?:

I would say five. She recognizes these negative emotions, but she has moved beyond letting them rule her life. She is honestly more embarrassed by her teenage years and the chip that she had on her shoulder. These feelings do come up sometimes, and they inform who she is, but Paige (especially with years of study as a therapist) is able to recognize them and move beyond them. They could surface again, with enough of a bad time, but for now she feels confident and adequate, like she is doing Enough.

What is their greatest virtue?:

Paige's greatest virtue is her tenacious work-ethic. When Paige Guthrie wants something, she reaches for it, and she does not let go until she has it or she is dead. She stubbornly refuses to give up on basically anything, and this never-quit attitude has definitely been a boon over the years. Paige's first major appearances all involve panels of her running on a treadmill while studying computer programming, or staying up late reading technical manuals for IT hardware, or pointedly ignoring classmates badgering her for working too hard. This is something of a recurring theme for her, and in her evaluation reports (published at the end of certain issues) all of her instructors note that she is an incredibly hard worker.

She battered her way through barrier after barrier, going from a poor Kentucky farmgirl to a world-renowned white hat hacker, a well educated student of psychology, and an X-Man. She was put down by peers because of where she was from, made fun of for her drive to succeed, and even patronized by men who claimed to love her, and she didn't let any of that be more than a bump in the road to her success. She wasn't a particularly gifted student, and she doesn't possess any of the supernatural intellect that a lot of superheroes have, but she worked hard, and it paid off. She's basically the perfect example of a heroic Hufflepuff, to use a Harry Potter analogy!

Her hard work led to success, and even then she aspired to be more. As an X-Man, Paige went from being sidelined often to being considered a veteran combatant able to be trusted with the most important missions her team participates on. She contracted with the international defense organization S.H.I.E.L.D. to help unravel a complex network of Hydra (basically Nazis) double agents, and was trusted enough to work alone in that capacity, and to be granted the trust of the organization's leader, Nick Fury. This wasn't because she was naturally gifted, or because she had special connections, or because her mutation gave her some special edge, she was brought on board because she was smart and qualified and because she'd earned her reputation by taking the long, hard road to earn it. That's why I say that her greatest virtue is her work ethic. Overcoming adversity through hard work is just how she does things!

How aware are they of their virtue, on a scale from one to ten?:

10. Paige is well aware that she's a hard worker, and she prides herself on it. She cultivated this part of herself, and considers it a bit of an equalizer for her. Her feelings of inadequacy drive her to keep working hard, and that's the one way that she personally knows works for overcoming those feelings. She's done a lot of self reflection on it, and she's been told that she's got an incredible work ethic by people she respects, so I feel she is perfectly aware that this is a big part of who she is!

Items:
1) A suit of clothing. Basically a jacket/body suit that's easily removable.
2) A single Krakoan Gateway seed. A flowering plant seed, basically, though it's power to create a gateway to Krakoa will be rendered inert.
3) A Starkphone loaded with music. Starkphones are basically smart-phones that have an incredibly long battery life and can self-charge without needing a plug. Nothing fancy.

Samples:

TDM top level
TDM thread with Sabriel.
Meme thread with Dani Moonstar

Special notes Nada! Paige is very simple!