choudoku1080

[choudoku1080]

Chou Doku Bio + Power Info

Below the cut is an in-depth bio of Chou's life and an explanation of his mutation and other abilities.

Bio:

Born in 1799, his parents gave Chou his name because the day he was born butterflies swarmed the forest that was their home. The boy seemed to have a special connection to the insects and could often be seen chasing them, playing with them and forcing himself to sit still long enough for them to rest upon his fingers. His family lived secluded lives in a large forest in Japan. They grew and protected a wide variety of medicinal herbs and plants that were sold at markets to small villages outside the forest. It was while on their way home from such a trip that his family were set upon by bandits and only Chou escaped with his life, returning to the forest and his hidden home within. Chou grew with only himself and the butterflies of the forest for company. He developed abilities akin to magic-though it was merely the activation of his mutant abilities-crafting illusions and weaving dreams using the butterflies to aid him. A reputation grew of the forest being a cursed place where travellers would be easily lost and captured by dark spirits.

Left with little in the way of purpose Chou had no need to leave the forest and instead became an unofficial guardian, training his body, mind and illusory powers. Until an organisation seeking the herbs he grew and protected sought him out. Though he was able to dispatch many of them he was eventually overpowered and rather than being killed was offered a partnership with organisation, known as The Hand. Living a somewhat aimless life he accepted and proved so valuable to them that he was offered The Substance to extend his life so long as he continued to remain useful as they required. Eventually though, contact with the outside world had him curious to see more of it and using his abilities Chou had a set of the Hand’s envoys under his illusions to tend the plants in his stead.

From there he left and spent several decades learning more about the world around him, its history, its people, its languages. He found himself enamoured in the pursuit of knowledge and the rush of battle, seeking out training in both. With his abilities, money and comfort were easy enough to come by. For over a century he explored the world in depth, accruing wealth, skill, knowledge and (occasionally) dealing with the Hand if they found him. By this point he was respected by the organisation and would offer advice and aid as they needed it. They never referred to him by his given name, instead referring to him simply as Lord Butterfly as he could never let go of the butterflies who’d offered him comfort in his birthplace. They were often the form his powers took and one would be almost always perched on his shoulder, a comforting illusion all his own. His use of The Substance ensured his own longevity, barely looking  to be in his mid twenties despite his many years.

In 1955 he was approached by a being known as Romulus who’d heard of his abilities and wished to employ him as a caretaker and tutor. Living so long with little purpose aside from the protection of his forest he accepted and found himself in charge of a child, not even ten, named Akihiro. What began as a ‘job’ swiftly morphed into the affection a father would have for a son. He trained, cared for and loved the boy for years, finding pleasure in watching him grow and become confident in his abilities. But, in 1962 Romulus returned to collect his ‘solider’ and, knowing what he did of the man, Chou refused to give Akihiro up. A fight ensured and, despite his abilities, Chou couldn’t stand against th other and was left, beaten, bloody and on the cusp of death as Daken was taken from him. Only The Substance kept him alive and in the months that his recovery took any trail to follow the pair was long since cold… and Chou resigned himself to mourning within his forest. 

He moved through the years, now hard of heart and vicious in accruing wealth and environmental protection as the world evolved around him. Technology took a firm hold and he felt somewhat out of place. The Hand continued to visit him, requesting his assistance from the shadows and each time he accepted, never taking a position of leadership (despite being offered) but instead advising. When several Fingers of the Hand were lost in New York, the power vacuum was almost too easily filled and while he had no interest in leadership, taking a small portion of the power he’d helped create seemed fair. Chou was stationed within the city, managing both environmental and less than legal affairs when the world’s converged. It took time but he managed to escape the city and made his way to Gotham, which seemed to be the centre of all activity, and is determined to build his wealth and power up once more- he had nothing else to live for, but after so many years he refused to die.  

Powers & Abilities:

Illusion Technique

A combination of his natural mutation and years spent isolated in the forest training has given Chou power over illusions. His mutation attacks the mind of a person, forcing their brain send signals to their body to make the illusions seem believable. For example, he may cause a person to see a knife stabbed through their hand and the moment they see it their brain reacts as it thinks it should, igniting pain receptors and causing the person to feel as though they’ve been stabbed. His illusions are so realistic people have been driven to death by them and often the only way to escape his abilities is to ‘surprise’ the brain and cause it to override what it’s processing, thereby breaking the illusion.

Those with strong minds and psychic abilities would naturally have a strong resistance to his illusions and those who cannot see would not be as badly affected, however the illusions could easily hone in on a different sense such as sound, taste or touch to reinforce their effectiveness. Of course, Chou needs to be within sight of the person his illusions are affecting and must continually concentrate on them to keep them effective; otherwise they would break and the affected individual would be set free. Use of his powers is often given away by the appearance of ‘butterflies’ that glow a faint white and yellow colour and the sound of a bell, these are crutches he relied upon when first using his abilities and are believed to be signs of magic in Japan.

Skills:

Kunai Use

He is a master at close combat and throwing with kunai. Chou will often immobilise a target with his illusions and use his throwing knives to kill. However, when needed can fight hand to hand with them expertly.

Martial Arts

Chou has been trained in several martial arts in his travels of the world and has over a century of experience with battles, making him a versatile and dangerous opponent.

Intellect

Being over 200 years old, Chou has a powerful mind for strategy and scheming. Since he prefers to work from the shadows this is very useful for him.

Weaknesses:

Mortality

Despite having ingested The Substance, Chou is still mortal and can be injured and killed if wounded badly enough. He also does not possess any enhanced strength and would suffer against a skilled and strong opponent.

Endurance

Chou’s illusions (while powerful) cannot be employed forever and if already weakened or unable to concentrate he cannot conjure them at all, leaving him vulnerable.

[choudoku1080]

[choudoku1080]

blue makes me happy 

[choudoku1080]