Dr. Alexander Mullur [Completed]

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The Basics

Name: Alexander Nikhil Mullur
Nicknames: Lex
Age: 39
Orientation: Pansexual
Desired Rank/Job: Hammel official: On-Call Doctor
Powers: Animal Communication and Control
Lex has the ability to communicate with and control avian species, but prefers to use his powers on more intelligent birds such as raptors (hawks, eagles, owls, etc) or corvidae (crows, ravens, rooks, etc). However, his skill is not passive, and takes a great deal of concentration to communicate and a greater deal to control. While his ability is activated he is unable to understand or communicate with humans, and depending on the length of time of its use, it could take several minutes before he regained human speech and/or understanding.

Avian communication differs greatly from human communication; it isn’t as simple as asking a raven, “hey, how are you doing?”, and getting a response. He speaks an instinctual language with the birds, allowing for the mutual understanding of intentions, fears, and desires. Control is more similar to the influence or manipulation of the animal’s basal instincts: aggressive responses, fight-or-flight response, territorial behavior, migration, etc. It is very easy to control a less intelligent species such as pigeon, but harder to communicate with; while more intelligent birds have the opposite problem: very difficult to control and easy to communicate with.

Lex is very well practiced in his ability, activating his powers with precise skill and control. However, this is a result from years of training, and as a result he has adopted some of the characteristics of the species he communicates with. He is solitary, possesses a peering and alerting glare, and has hoarding tendencies when it comes to reflective or gleaming objects.
Play By: Sendhil Ramamurthy

The Details

Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Dark Brown
Any Piercings? No
Any Tattoos? No
Any Scars? Nothing Noteworthy
General Appearance: Standing at 5’8” inches, Lex appears taller because of his wide, confident stance and the stern expression that mars his face near constantly. While he was a lithe and lean throughout his childhood and adolescence, the frequent training of his body in adulthood produced a muscular built and brought his weight up to around 170 Ibs. His black hair is cut a little above his shoulders, and he uses a massive amount of product to control his unruly curls. His eyes practically match his hair, being so dark a brown they practically look black, and have an almost peering quality to them as if he was always looking with scrutiny and awareness. He takes a rather laissez-faire approach to facial hair, some weeks being clean-shaven and others having a thick beard. Most of the time, however, he possesses a five o'clock shadow or the thin beginnings of a beard, as facial hair tends to grow very quickly, regardless if he had shaved that morning.

His work attire consists of solid colored dress shirts paired with either khakis or black slacks and wearing a white doctor’s coat over. He tends to wear dark or earth-toned clothing, even as his day-to-day wear which are normally plain t-shirts and jeans. While normally not a man of extravagance, he does enjoys buying and wearing jewelry as an exception, and often wears gold and silver men’s watches or the occasional ring.

His stoic expression is moved little by emotion, and his tone of voice could be described as a monotonous drawl that still has hints of an English-Indian accent despite not having even visited London or the UK for years.

Personality: While not even at the age of forty, Lex has prematurely developed “grumpy old man syndrome”, possessing a feverish dislike of anything pop-culture, a pessimistic view on human nature, and an inability to use anything modern or technologically advanced. He feels like the youth of today are over-privileged, lazy, and have a lack of respect for tradition, which seems quite the contradiction that not only does he work at a school, but prefers it over working in a traditional hospital setting.

Lex can come across as abrasive and cold. In his job this translates into poor-bedside manner; the man preferring to take a “tough-love" approach with his patients. He cares about their well-being, but easily becomes frustrated when they participate in dangerous or risky activity, do little to care for themselves, or expect medicine to be a magical cure for all ailments. He strongly believes in leading by example and therefore keeps healthy with good dieting, regular exercising, and a refrain from smoking or drinking. He is also a vegetarian for cultural and health reasons.

Despite his serious nature, he does have a good sense of humor, but his snarky, dry remarks can come across as insulting and condescending. He also has the habit of making self-deprecating comments in jest.

When angered he can lash out verbally and often says things that he doesn’t mean or regrets later. He can become flustered when he is proven wrong in public, when he is inept at a certain activity, or when he perceives someone is patronizing him or undermining his authority. Embarrassment is easily transformed into anger for him. Despite being recognized in his field as a capable internist, years of insecurity resurface often and are disguised as contempt, conceit, or pettiness.

He has a poor view on human nature, thinking it to be too complex and brimming with corruption, selfishness, and apathy. He thinks better of younger people as he thinks they have a modicum innocence, but knows that inevitably it will be stomped out of them before they reach twenty.

He is a solitary individual, preferring to spend the vast amount of his free-time alone. He loathes going to parties or crowded events, feeling awkward and out of place there. The Great Outdoors is where he feels most at home, and often enjoys hiking, camping, mountain climbing, and other athletic activities in nature. Despite his introverted nature, he is still a romantic person, but often struggles to find someone compatible with his lifestyle.

Lex has a great distaste for shortcuts and laziness. He wholly believes that if a task is worth doing, it is worth doing well. People who depend too much on their powers or natural/innate abilities are the bane of his existence. Rather, he admires hard work and achievements earned through blood, sweat, and tears rather than through genetics or inheritance.

Your Vices

Likes:
Shiny objects
Nature and the outdoors
Mountain Climbing
Alone time
Show tunes from musicals (he hates actually going to plays and musicals, however)
Working out
Classical literature/films
Gulab Jamun (Indian dessert)
Dislikes:
People who depend too much on their powers or innate abilities/skills
Parties and large/loud social events
Laziness and Shortcuts
Pigeons
Fantasy and Science-Fiction movies/books/tv-shows/etc
Technology
Pop culture
The smell of cooked meat
Strengths:
-Physical strength: through intensive training Lex has developed above-average upper body strength
-Quick reflexes: has quick fingers thanks to his medical practice
-Medical practices and knowledge: worked as a doctor for twelve years 
-Multi-lingual: speaks English, Marathi, and Punjabi
-Well-read
-Strong logical thinker and excellent at critical thinking
Weaknesses:
-Emotional intelligence: struggles to recognize others' or his own emotions and deal with them appropriately.
-Lack of creativity, innovation, or flexibility in thought
-Insecure and can lash out or appear conceited as a result
-Holds grudges and can be petty
-Is slow and not very flexible physically
-Gets motion sickness easily
Fears:
His family finding out who he truly is.
Fear of flying on an airplane
Secret: His parents do not know that he has left his hospital position, nor are they aware of his sexuality.

Family Ties

Father: Anand Mullur (69) Doctor
Mother: Shivani Mullur (65) Director for Nonprofit Organization
Siblings: None, but has several cousins.
Any Other Important People:
Cousin: Sonam Mullur (37) Doctor. - Cousin whom Lex's parents always compare him to.
Ex-boyfriend: Rodger Manning (38) Artist

History

Born on a cold winter night in London to Indian immigrant parents, it was expected of Lex the day he was born to follow in his father's footsteps into the medical field. Even his name, Alexander, was chosen as a way to improve his employment prospects just in case his employer was racist or prejudiced against foreigners. He was groomed for it since he could barely walk, being sent to a nationally recognized nursery schools and primaries schools between the ages of two and ten, as well as spending his weekends with piano tutors, going on excursions to museums, or spending his days indoors studying and reading. His parents thought poorly of parents who let their children terrorize the streets unsupervised, and therefore Lex's free-time was structured and constantly overseen by his mother or father. Watching children play from a ground-floor window in their house, Lex could remember feeling envious of the freedom they had, but never whined to or disobeyed his parents out of fear of disappointing them.

Despite being born abroad, Lex had strong cultural ties to India; his parents supporting him to learn Punjabi and Marathi by speaking both at home the majority of the time rather than English. While he didn't have the chance to visit India in his youth, his extended family from Mumbai visited annually. It was during one of these visits that Lex was introduced to his cousin Sonam, a boy of equal intelligence and potential to himself, and they quickly became rivals. Their families strongly supported the competition between the two boys, hoping push them both to achieve more; however, over time Lex developed bitterness for his cousin and an insecurity in his own abilities.

At the age of ten, Lex and his family moved from London to the United States; his father receiving a job offer as the Chief of Medicine for a hospital in Colorado. While Lex felt no connection to his home in England, and therefore felt no grief in leaving it, he was saddened by the thought of being further from his grandparents, aunts, and uncles in Mumbai. And it was during his travel to America that he learned he had a strong aversion to flying, as he was terrified that they were going to crash and he threw up several times on the flight, almost needing hospitalization for dehydration as a result.

Whether it was him aging and maturing or his parent's adopting a more American philosophy on parenting, Lex was given some slack in Colorado. Although he was expected to maintain his grades and fulfilling obligations when it came to extracurricular activities, chores, and persevering a positive reputation in their community, he was given more freedom than he had ever had before. He could spend the little free-time he was warranted alone, doing whatever he wished to do as long as it was legal. Therefore, Lex spent a lot of time in the woods near his house alone. His shy nature made it difficult for him to befriend a group of children who already viewed him strange being a foreigner, and his introverted nature allowed him to care little about it, preferring to keep to himself. He spent his afternoons before dinner swimming or skipping stones in the small serene lake that was about a mile away from his front door, or participating in his favorite activity; tree climbing.

It was during one of these climbs when Lex had just turned thirteen that his power had manifested. While ascending a great sycamore tree, Lex took a break midway on one of the wider, more study branches, where a mourning dove was perched close by. At first the boy paid the bird no heed; after two years exploring the woods he was quite used to spending time among all sorts of critters of varying shapes and sizes. This particular time, however, the dove was cooing adamantly and urgently as if it was crying out for something. And as Lex stared at it, curious of what it was saying, he could suddenly understand it. It was a mother whose nest had been invaded by a rat snake, and she was trying to attract the attention of her mate to help protect their eggs. Their communication only lasted seconds, and Lex was so surprised he practically fell out of the tree. The dove hadn't spoken English, Punjabi, or Marathi to him, nor was it any human language he knew, but rather as if he was speaking her language: one of instinct and nature. It was the sole time Lex was able to activate his power unintentionally, but still remains one of the most meaningful moments in his life.

When he returned home for dinner, he excitedly retold his experience to his parents who thought he was telling tales and grounded him for lying and tree-climbing, which his mother thought would result in him breaking his neck. Lex could remember going to bed that night with hot tears gathering in the corner of his eyes, knowing that what he did was real. The next day he went to school bragging about his powers in hope that someone would believe him, but was only met with mockery from his peers and a written warning from his teacher which was documented into his permanent record. His parents were furious at him when he came home that day with a white slip of paper explaining what he had done and requesting a signature, but no one could dismiss him when two weeks later recruiters from Hammel Institute came knocking.

For the second time in his life, Lex was living a familiar home for the unknown. While he was excited for the first time, this one was met with much more hesitation from him and outrage from his parents, who wished there son to be normal and worried what would their relatives think of such an embarrassment. Even now his extended family in Mumbai know nothing of Lex's powers or his education at Hammel. His time at the institute could be described as uneasy. While in enjoyed the newfound sense of independence and the perception that he was in control of his own destiny, it was difficult for him to open up to his classmates and he was struggling with insecurities that his powers weren't "as good" or "as cool" as others. The longer he spent at Hammel the more severe his self-inflicted isolation became along with feelings of self-doubt and shame. While he was able to control his abilities, and activate them at will, he didn't begin to truly value them until later in life.

When he graduated Hammel, he submitted to his parent's wishes and began his medical education, graduating top of his class in med school and accepting a position a highly esteemed hospital. As years passed, Lex worked up the ranks in the hospital, but also he begun using his powers more frequently, preferring the simplicity of the natural world birds lived in to the corrupt and hypocritical nature of the medical system he worked in. He begun to develop rapports with different species, learning that birds of prey and species in the crow's family appealed to his humanistic intelligence while still possessing the instinctual nature he had come to respect highly. Pigeons and gulls were the bane of his existence, however, possessing little intelligence yet were very easy to manipulate with his powers when he needed to. Lex had become enthralled with the avian life, and begun to neglect his responsibilities at work as a result. He had begun to see birds superior to humans.

One man, however, gave him hope for humankind and that was Rodger Manning, a young artist he had met while hiking in Montana. Lex was on the precipice of unemployment, the hospital warning him that if he were to have one more strike on his record it would result in the termination of his contract and the possibility of his license being revoked. Rodger was in the mountains searching for inspiration, and he found it when he passed by Lex, becoming at once enamored with the man. Soon after meeting, they entered into a contradictory relationship, Rodger, an idealist who believed in the best of everyone, and Lex, a realist, who believed humans were naturally corrupt and selfish. They were compatible in the fact that both were independent and had a liking for solitude as they would happily go weeks without seeing one another.

However, the five years when Rodger was in his life, Lex was happiest. He was able to drastically improve his performance at the hospital and avoid being fired. While he enjoyed using his powers for time to time, he no longer felt the urge to spend every waking moment among the birds. While he had to keep his relationship hidden from his conservative parents, he was for once content with his life.

Everything changed a few months ago when Rodger had ended their relationship and moved out of the house they shared. Lex, so caught up in his own happiness, was unable to see his loved one's discontent. Feeling unsupported and alienated, Rodger left the state to go find himself, and Lex was later informed he had entered into a new relationship within a month of end theirs. Lex was devastated, and after the break-up felt a sudden need for change. So, quitting his job, he fancied the thought of living as a hermit among birds for the rest of his life, but instead accepted a position with Hammel Institute, the place he had loathed as a student.

Lex feeling unable to tell his parents about Rodger or his new employment, is often stuck at dinners silently listening to his parents list the achievements of his cousin Sonham, who is now married with two children and has a position at a nationally recognized hospital in Mumbai, and urge him to find a wife before it is too late and no one would want him. For these reasons Lex has been drifting away from his parents, opting to ignore the majority of their calls and texts.

Roleplay Example

The pale eyed man standing in a tight black shirt that made some obscure reference to a British television show went by many names that day. The colorful three-by-four lamented card strung across his neck declared him as John Rawls, while the messages on his phone that buzzed and clicked near constantly-- the man being so technologically illiterate he couldn't find the silence switch-- were addressed to Locke. His true name, the one gifted to him at birth by a mother that was torn from him before he had the capacity to recognize her as kin, was so hidden in the darkest corners of his mind that he nearly forgot what it was. Now, he just goes as John. It was pure, simple, and most importantly, indistinguishable.

John idled by a merchant's table of the crowded hot room, glancing over at a shirt that read, "I AM SHERLOCKED" in big bold letters. He fancied the thought of purchasing it for its obvious reference to the name he had learned to adopt as his own, but knew that his associates would be less than please of him advertising his identity to the world. Letting his eyes pass over the shirts and other overpriced knick-knacks, to continue his search for his target.

He'd been sent to this bizarre event to kill or otherwise incapacitate a Mister Victor White who had made the unwise decision to stifle progress. It would be sad to think that Mr. White wouldn't have a place in the New World as his intelligence and skills as a hacker was exalted in the circles that John ran in, but opposing Hydra must have consequences.

The black object in his jean's pocket clicked cheerfully, and John fished it out strenuously, cursing the tightness of the fashionable pants. Undercover the man had to shed his usual tie and jacket attire for something more inconspicuous. An acute pain radiated through his left eye as he glanced down at the glowing screen; the recent surgery to his retinas to improve his vision still at the side effect of sensitivity to concentrated, bright lights.

Ignoring the needle-like sensations, he read the series of numbers that were attached to the message quickly. 1528989764321. It was a code that seemed like nonsense if lacked the knowledge. One S.H.I.E.L.D agent of unknown gender, approach with caution. If possible, capture, but do not kill. If unable, proceed with mission and avoid agent.

The mission is the priority, but John liked a good challenge. It's been a while since he had received a promotion, after all. Walking into the crowd, the man ran a hand through his blonde hair as he begun the search for an additional target. The game is afoot.

What About You?

Name: Parker
Age: in the 20's
Experience: I'm brand new on this site, but have been role playing for ~5-7 years.
How Did You Find Us? Recommendation from a current member (Jack)
Ready To Play? Born ready.

[Dryope *]

Accepted!

Don't forget to do your claims here and to have fun!