Henry Kgosi Ballo

[Henry Ballo]

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The Basics

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Name: Henry Kgosi Ballo
Nicknames: Goliath and "Giant." He prefers the second one.
Age: 17
Orientation: Heterosexual.
Desired Rank/Job: Student
Powers:-Non-Winged Flight-
Henry can float. At least, that's what he calls it. Technically it's flying Superman-style, no wings needed. He can't fly that high, as he can only handle the same elevation that human beings normally can, and nor can it be held for prolonged periods (maybe with more training.) This ability will eventually giving him osteoporosis. He's terrified of that, so he takes a lot of supplements in hopes of slowing that down.
Play By: Michael B. Jordan

The Details

Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Dark brown
Any Piercings? None.
Any Tattoos? None yet. He's not legal.
Any Scars? Also none.
General Appearance:
Henry is one scary man. Boy, really, but it’s hard to tell that from his physique alone. This is because of a couple factors. One: his height. Henry stands at the rather riveting 6’4” and hasn’t yet stopped growing. He’s also well-built. He used to play basketball, and while that hasn’t given him the frame of a bodybuilder, it kept him in good shape and gives him some pretty obvious muscles. And it also doesn’t help that he doesn’t smile a lot. In spite of being all of seventeen, he seems determined to be that old man who never smiles and never gives anyone any indication of what he’s feeling other than annoyance. His expression is usually very hard to read, with only an eyebrow twitch or maybe, maybe the thinning of lips or even an upturning of a corner of his mouth giving any indication of what emotion he feels. He likes it that way because people tend to leave him alone.

The only time you can catch Henry smiling is when among small children or maybe, maybe sometimes in class if the teacher is talking about something interesting. It makes him look very different. His whole face brightens up, and he does have a very nice smile with lots of white teeth (which is the only thing he’ll thank his father for at all). Sadly, that doesn’t happen a lot.

He keeps his dark hair close-cropped to his head because it’s low-maintenance that way and because he thinks he looks strange with it any longer. However, he does from time to time try to grow a beard. This is a mistake. In spite of being as tall as an adult, Henry should not attempt to grow any sort of facial hair. It looks very thin and strange.

But other than his height and the occasional attempt at looking older through a beard, Henry is very normal. He tends to stick to baggy t-shirts and jeans most of the time, and maybe a long-sleeved collared shirt and tie on a formal occasions (but never a full-blown suit as he has yet to buy one that actually fits him). He also only wears anything that would keep him cooler (temperature wise) than that because, to be honest, he just doesn’t think America gets that hot. The only time you’ll catch him in a muscle-shirt or shorts is when he’s just come back from the gym.
Personality:
Henry has been described as “prickly” by those who like him and “cold” by those who don’t. He’s never directly mean. That’s not his style. However, he’s also rarely ever nice. As mentioned before, he doesn’t smile much, and his conversations tend to be clipped and a bit frosty. He doesn’t make a lot of efforts to extend the metaphorical “hand of friendship,” that’s for sure, and seems content to spend his days alone. In a way, this is reflected on his manners. He is very polite, almost to the point of being annoying. If you are a teacher, he will “sir” or “ma’am” you to death, especially if you are attempting to either encourage him or pry into his business, in an attempt to get you to go away. He knows all the right phrases and all the right words that could make a man a charmer, but with him their only purpose is to get you to go away.

There are three exceptions to this. One of them is small children. Because they are much smaller than him, sweet, and innocent, big and tough Henry tends to turn into a softie. He’ll actually start smiling, will relax, and will be led around by the children without a care in the world, even doing ridiculous things for them. The second is young—and usually pretty—women. This, however, causes a very different reaction. Instead of becoming an actual human being with emotions, Henry tends to get very quiet and will, when spoken to, stammer. A lot. He will also revert to those perfect manners again, but this time it’s more chivalry, like opening doors and such. And the last are people who will actually talk to him as an equal and will teach him different skills. Henry is pretty bright and very curious about everything. So anyone who recognizes that will even have the privilege of not having to fight around his overwhelming politeness and one-word answers.

However, that said, although Henry is never overwhelmingly friendly, he will show a bit of an interest in anyone who has a good sense of humor. His cool attitude also disguises the fact that he’s pretty easily baffled by people who can talk and move quickly, and so it is pretty easy to suck him into the wake of anyone who has enough charisma to keep him intrigued. However, don’t expect him to serve as a bodyguard or even to defend himself. He may look tall and frightening, but although Henry isn’t afraid of intimidating people, he is exceedingly reluctant to get into a fight, and will do almost whatever it takes to avoid that situation. When people pick on him he tends to just walk away, and with others he’ll say scathing comments until they, hopefully, are left alone. Sarcastic, yes, but violence is a last resort and always will be, in spite of the fact he looks like he could hold his own. However, he is a very loyal man and if you do earn his respect, he will stay there for you until the end.

Your Vices

Likes:
Books
Languages
Logic
Chess
Being alone
Basketball
Africa
Summer
Tall trees
Being away from home
Small children
Dislikes:
The cold
His father
Being called Goliath (honestly, would you like it?)
English classes
Being injured (he gets really irritated)
People who talk too much
Not being able to play basketball
Small spaces
Being thought of as stupid
Being pushed into a fight with someone
Strengths:
Basketball
Flying (sort of)
Blocking out the sun (haha. Not really)
Being patient
Managing with small children
Seeming scary
Weaknesses:
Standing up for himself (for a big guy he doesn't know how to deal with bullies other than running away)
Figuring out how to interact in a group (one on one is okay)
Trusting people
Expressing emotions or thoughts
Dealing with women (he gets embarrassed and stammers a lot)
Fears:
He'll end up just like his father
He won't be able to play basketball again
Bees!
Secret:
He can actually use contractions. Shh, don't tell.

Family Ties

Father: Henry Patel
Mother: Tumelo Ballo
Siblings: Richard Patel (half-brother)
Any Other Important People:
Coach Maxwell Hardy

History

Henry Patel met Tumelo Ballo when they were both young. He was a young American man, the son of South African immigrants, trying to discover his heritage, and she was a pretty Tswana woman who had just immigrated to the city. Their affair was unintentional and not meant to last. She wanted to stay in Botswana. He wanted to go back to America. Eventually, he persuaded her, married her, and brought her back. That was a mistake. What had been a cute little affair in Africa couldn’t work for a prolonged period of time, and Patel found himself spending more and more time in the office as his fights with Turnelo became worse and worse. Both of them had quite a temper, and he quickly became frustrated with his Tswana bride. And eventually, without warning her husband, she bought a plane ticket and moved back to Botswana, and he didn’t follow her.

What neither of them knew was that Turnelo was pregnant. And around eight months later, she gave birth to a young boy. And because she had loved her husband, even if it hadn’t lasted, she named him Henry. And because she wanted him to actually learn about his culture, she also named him Kgosi, after his father, and let him keep her name.

It wasn’t easy for either of them. Turnleo took whatever job she could in the city, and even though Botswana was doing well, she had no training and very little education. They lived in the big city in ramshackle apartments, where she made sure Henry made it to school on time before running off to her own job. Henry had to largely fend for himself. All the same, he was pretty happy. His mother made sure he was well-educated, and although he was a shy child, he was sturdy and dependable and quiet. But with how hard his mother had to work, it was perhaps no surprise that, by the time he was ten, Turnelo had become quite sick. Within a few months, she passed away, and Henry found that he had been willed into his father’s—a man he had never known—custody. And needless to say, Patel wasn’t thrilled. In the ten years since Patel and Turnelo had separated, Patel had become a very successful businessman in New York with a new, blonde and pretty wife, and was not happy to have a son dropped into his lap. But when paternity tests proved that Henry was indeed his son, Patel recognized that it would not make him look good in his business partner’s eyes if he didn’t take in the boy, so he did so. Henry was left largely to his own devices to figure out how to manage with his limited English skills in a new school and in a new environment where he had every material thing he had ever wanted, but where people avoided him as best as he could.

He hated it. And so Henry started changing. Fast. Shy became sullen, quiet became resentful, and although his father punished anything that looked like rebellion, he learned that being overly polite baffled his rather straightforward father. That and a habit of not using contractions, one that he kept simply because it annoyed the very well-spoken Patel. And so he grew up and survived. His half-brother was born when he was twelve and promptly received more attention, but Henry was surprisingly accepting of this, because he’d found a new fact about himself.

He liked children. And soon he was doting on his brother just as much as his step-mother, and things seemed to be getting better. Part of this was the fact that Henry was progressively getting taller. By the time he was 14, he was already 5’11”, and his father no longer felt so comfortable picking on him. His height, however, caught the attention of a Coach Hardy from the high school, who promptly recruited the boy for the basketball team. The coach quickly became a surrogate father to the boy. He taught him more English, and for a while, Henry was actually…happy. His father was actually proud that he’d proved to be good at a sport, and he was doing better in school. And things might have continued that way had it not happened.

When Henry was just about to turn sixteen, the team made it into the state championships. It was the last few minutes of the game, and Henry was running up to the basket to make one last point. He jumped…

And stayed up in the air, eventually landing on the basket. Henry was a meta. And it wasn’t long before a Hammel recruiter came to cart him away. After all, people didn’t just fly normally. Coach Hardy was discouraged by one of his main players—who was also around 6’2” now—leaving, but promised to write. And his father took it surprisingly well.

“My son can fly,” he kept chuckling. “My son can fly.”

His father's high regard for his powers was enough to get Henry to hate his them, at least for a while. So for the first few months, when Henry turned sixteen, he was withdrawn. He didn’t cooperate much, used his superior height—now 6’3”—to intimidate most and only reluctantly working with trainers. However, recently he is starting to relax. He is gaining better control over his family and, with some over-the-phone encouragement from his coach, might be willing to make some friends. Maybe.

Roleplay Example

“Henry. Kgosi. Ballo.” The dark-skinned man enunciated his name with the calm practice of one who has had to do it many times before, and will likely be forced to do it again. He was standing at the counter, towering over the poor girl who sat behind it, attempting to register him. His long-fingered hand rested lightly on its surface, and his dark eyes scanned the information as she carefully put it into the system. “Kgosi,” he said abruptly, as he spotted a mistake, then sighed at the terrified look she shot him. “Yes, it is a very old-fashioned name, I am aware,” he said patiently, then moved his hand to lightly point to his name. “With a K, yes? K-gosi.” He withdrew his hand, and watching her instantly move back from her terrified hunch, grimaced. “I am sorry for the trouble,” he said, then added, a bit lamely, “truly.”

He knew the trouble was not why she kept looking at him. It was a tradition at this point. He would acquire a new job, a new position, and would promptly have to go through the whole spectacle again. The stares, the flinches…and so on. It was to be expected. Henry had been hired for security, and he certainly fit the bill. Standing tall at 6’7”, with a fairly muscled frame for beginning his forties, Henry was an intimidating man. His hawk-like, dark features, keen eyes and brisk, no nonsense voice didn’t exactly help. He was frightening. And while this allowed him to get paid ridiculous amounts of money, it was not so good for starting relationships with one’s fellow coworkers. Even other security men were afraid of him. It was irritating and frustrating, and with the night Henry had already had, it was not a good way to start the day.

Twenty-four hours in a small little box. Henry hated quarantine. He was always placed in a small, cramped and, in spite of advances in technology, smelly room where he could hardly move two feet before he bumped into something. It was similar to the worst stakeouts and hold outs that he’d ever encountered in his years working, which was why he could never quite get himself to fall asleep. A mixture of old combat-flashbacks and adrenaline left over from years before would keep him awake, staring at the walls, wishing there was some simpler way to get the same results without sitting for twenty-four hours in quarantine.

Ah, well. But such was life.

Henry finished his registration, nodded to the girl and tried to offer her a smile, even though he was sure it would simply make the situation worse. It did, and with a sigh, he left, heading for a seat to wait until the others were all done. He had no desire to walk out first. Best to find someone to follow.

What About You?

Name: Sara
Age: Nineteen (FWEE.)
Experience: Eight years now. .-. I feel really old.
How Did You Find Us? An ad a very long time ago.
Ready To Play? I'm going to go with my customary sort of.xD

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[Dryope *]

Accepted

I only have one minor comment, but it's not important enough to hold you up -- check and make sure his mother's name is spelled the same way throughout his history. Otherwise, you know what to do!

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