Jackeroe Connick

[Jackeroe Connick]

The easy S T U F F . . .

Name: Jackeroe Innis Connick
Nickname: Jack, Jacky
Age: Thirty
Birthday: October 6th
Member Group: Teacher- Power Trainer
Power(s): Power Regulation- takes the powers of a nearby meta and fluctuates their power’s effectiveness; decreasing or increasing it up to 90%. At full power, it works for only an hour and a half. Can only work within 25 yards of the target; the farther you are, the less effective it is. If using on multiple targets, it can increase and decrease but only up to 90% altogether.

Side effects include headaches and energy fluctuation. For example: if Jackeroe decreased a person’s power, he’d become hyperactive and jittery due to absorbing their extra energy. If he increased someone’s powers, he’d be fatigued for using up his own energy.

Play By: Andrew Lee Potts <3

Let it F L O W . . .

Power Training 101: Short Answer Q&A

Use this list of supplied questions to help you whenever you have trouble with your students. One of the best ways to gain the trust of a volatile meta-human teenager is by proving to them that, whether your 80 or 21, you still relate to them. Take these frequently asked questions/ frequently used terms and write about your experiences that were similar to the material provided, along with any advice you wish to give, so you are better prepared in the future to give these lessons to your trainees. Don’t worry about condensing your answer or omitting anything- this does not need to be memorized word for word and can be revised. This is just to give a general idea for what to tell your students.

Introduce yourself to the trainee.

I’m Jackeroe Innis Connick. Yes, I’m mad as a box of frogs, and my students I’ve had so far have told me that I push too hard, expect too much, and I’m the best trainer they’ve seen. My Mom thinks she might’ve dropped me on my head as a child, my siblings think I have ADHD, and my ex girlfriends think I’ve got the personality of an air horn. God? I don’t know what he thinks.

...He might be trying to off me and I just don’t know it.

I’ll be funny with you, I’ll be serious with you. Mostly funny. I don’t play by the rules, and I won’t make you, unless you snitch on me and then I’ll have to get even. That’s how it is, kid. I’m here to help you out. I. Am here. For you. No one else. When it’s you and me, in this room, my cell is off, my door is locked, and nobody gets me but you, for however long it takes. And trust me... I can hold out for a while. I have snacks.

“I don’t think I can handle all this training right now. There’s too much going on in my life.”

I think in the beginning at Hammel, I was confused too. My sister tried to help me out when she could be around, but it was hard to look at people I was told all my life to hate and think of them all as friends. It was even harder to break me of saying ‘mutant’ instead of ‘meta’. But every day, I trained. I had to. I couldn’t sit in classrooms with other students, because I was a danger to those around me. I made teenagers whose powers were already unstable even more unstable. I was taught on a different schedule; by teachers who were either without powers, with non-lethal powers, or in full control of them and could work around my imbalances. I kept tipping their scale, and I hated it about as much as they did. I wasn’t allowed to sleep in a dorm with other students; I might hurt someone if, say, I made a telekinetic lose control. I was isolated.

After two years, I could function with other students. Was I fully trained, you ask? Hell no! I still had a long, long way to go. I could balance out my powers just fine, that was for sure, but that was just it- I was balancing them. I was surviving. Sure, I could’ve been on my merry way right there, in fact, Hammel said I was fine- I could graduate, leave at 18, go back home... But I wanted to stay. No, I had to stay.

All my life, I was always average at something. I wasn’t brilliant with anything I did. I was fine with it, too. I was perfectly fine with average grades, average skills. I mean, my life was far from average. I wanted average, laying it bed those two years, alone. But my power, this thing that had given me so much trouble, I realized, sitting in class one day, that it was the only damn thing I was good at. It made me feel like I had a handle on my life.

If you can control your power, you’re controlling something. That control may not seem like much, but it’s something. And you gotta take what you can get.

“This is too difficult!”

You want to know something? When I came to Hammel, I was trained more than you can even believe. Twice as much as you are now. Every single day, I trained. I had teachers who would use their powers, and I’d have to make their powers weaker or stronger. They tested my limits. They had to make me. Around normal humans, I was fine, but around other meta-humans, I was like a radioactive bomb. I won’t sugar-coat; it was very hard. I’m a social guy, so not being able to interact with anyone at first was the most difficult thing about Hammel, for me. I think the teachers felt bad about it too, because I couldn’t even be around a power suppressor, I seemed to override their ability and I made it less effective, or worse, black out the entire school with it. I was like a really crappy ace up their sleeve.

...That’s a joke, kid. Laugh.

It took two years of daily training to unravel my lack of training. It was a daily struggle. Some days I’d lapse and it felt like for every two steps forward, I was taking one step back.

But it was still a step forward.

So remember that. Even if we have our bad sessions, we’re still making progress. I’m not here to make things easy for you. I’m here to make you better.

“How am I supposed to deal with all of the people that hate meta-humans?”

...I don’t know. I suppose you could do what we all can do- you avoid them when you can, and when you can’t, you keep your head up and your back covered. It’s the best any of us can do, nowadays.

It was worse when I was a kid. I was a child back when ‘mutant’ was still the correct term to use for people like us. When I was about seven, my brother Asa had traded a wooden sword for ‘X-men’, which was, like, our holy grail. We never had a lot of comic books, because our parents never found them ‘useful’. But we ended up getting it, and we thought it was awesome. We would go out in the woods and play ‘mutants’, and we’d run around and pretend to have powers, which in retrospect is funny when you think about it. I was always either invisible or super-strong, because those were ‘cool’ powers. We didn’t mean anything by it, we were just kids.

So one rainy day, my brothers and I were reading about the X-men and my Pop comes home. Before we know it, he’s tearing the comic out of our hands and ripping it to pieces, telling us we don’t need to be reading about ‘mutant trash’. My Dad was one of those people that hated people like us. He did things to meta-humans that I’m not proud to admit to. He even was convicted of killing one, because the man took his job. That’s right, my father’s in prison, and I don’t think he regrets it. He taught my brothers and I, even when we were young, that anyone who was different- whether it was the color of their skin, their faith, or if they had powers- were bad and evil people. ‘The scum of America’.

I guess the nicest thing to tell you would be that everything will work out, and people won’t hate you, but that’s an awful lie. Anywhere you go, there’ll be people are going to hate you. They’re going to point at you, talk about you, and maybe even hate you. The only thing I suggest is that, while you don’t let it get to you, you be careful. Don’t be stupid. That’s the advice I’m giving you. That doesn’t mean hide yourself. That means don’t show off and expect everyone to be happy, and know that, in life, all actions get a reaction. Some are just bigger than others.

“My whole family must hate me.”

Okay, you want hate? My siblings and I have all been in agreement for some time that our Mother must have secretly hated us from birth. Mairead Calico. Asa Holland. Rhodes Brooklyn. Orleans Winter. Geraldine Lee. Those were my sibling’s names. Three girls, two boys. My Mom, had a thing for unusual names. Didn’t want us mixed up with all of the ‘Sarah’s, and ‘Tyler’s, and ‘Katie’s, and ‘Jacob’s. We were bullied in school for it, too! When I got to Hammel, I was made fun of for my full name! I introduce myself as ‘Jack’, now, but my name’s really ‘Jakeroe’. It sounds decent, now that I’ve grown up and into it, but still. Imagine a scrawny troublemaker, barely bigger then a stick, with that name. If I was in your class, you’d tease me too. Come on. Admit it. You want to laugh. You do, don’t you? Do it. Yeah, my siblings and I, we still debate on the worst name. So far, we’ve decided it’s a tie between me and Orleans, my brother. My sisters are voting for me.

On a serious note, though, it’s all in the family. And no, it can’t be your whole family. My parents, they were good, hardworking people. We’d get up on Sunday morning and go to Zion Lutheran church, and then we’d get together with my aunts and uncles for dinner and sit and have dinner with my Dad’s family, because I never met my Mom’s. When I was little, I always looked up to my Dad, not my Mom. Now, let me tell you the difference between them.

My Father, he beat the crap out of me when I told him I was a meta. I’ll admit it. See Yep. Dear old Dad. I made the announcement over dinner. Did not go over well. . He sprung up, tipped the table, had me up against a wall. He yelled at me, called me dirt, renounced me, disowned me. We got into a big fight. this scar, here above my eyebrow? He hit me there, and I went down. Passed out. Can’t remember a thing. Even my Mother doesn’t know what happened, because I smacked the hanging light and the bulb blew up. When I woke up, I was already in Hammel. I drifted in and out of it for weeks after that. They kept putting me under because I had taken a bad blow to the chest and I had three broken ribs. After Hammel, I only saw him when I testified at a hearing. I’ve never seen his side of the family again either. Not even a Christmas card.

...But yeah, my Mom, she’s great. She and Dad got a divorce, after that. She is an amazing woman. She can sew up anything you ask her to. She wasn’t like my dad. She’s sweet, and she loves everyone. When I left Hammel and came home, my Ma tackled me as soon as I got in the door, and I’ll be damned if I didn’t have a sibling on each limb. Even my older brother, who I thought hated meta-humans, was there. It was a party! I’m not exaggerating. They had decked the place out. I was stunned and ecstatic when I was escorted through the house, all my siblings tailing me like I was going to disappear in a second. There was only one problem.

Who. The hell. Was sitting. At our kitchen table?

Turns out, my Mom’s side of the family had decided to finally show up in my life. I never heard about my maternal grandparents as a kid. I just assumed they were dead and she was an only child or something. Well, turns out they weren’t dead or incapacitated. Quite the opposite, in fact. My Mother was one of three children, all girls, and her father was a meta from Germany who had left the country after World War II. That’s right, my Grandpa is a Holocaust survivor. Surprised? So am I. When he came over, his daughter had fallen in love with some radical from the west and ended up running off with him. (My Dad, by the way.) He kept in contact with my Ma and urged her to come back home, but she was terrified of my Dad. She wasn’t able to leave until what happened to me. So, yeah. Here I was, fresh out of Hammel, worrying about losing my family, and it turns out I had gained another side of it.

So who knows? I can’t guarantee that’ll happen to you, but after you’re out, you’ll be surprised at what happens.

“How is this going to help me after school?”

You have to face the world someday, whether you like it or not. I will tell you something- that world? It’s a scary place. It eats you up and spits you out like you’re nothing, if you aren’t careful. When I left, I didn’t want to be a power trainer right away. I went to college, and let me tell you, training actually prepared me for college. It gave me the power to sit down and actually do my work, instead of slacking off, leaving it for the last minute. This power training? This isn’t a last minute deal. This is all or nothing. This teaches you some important stuff. Self-control. Patience. Self-reliance. Perseverance. Yeah, I’m teaching you how to control your powers, but I’m also teaching you some life lesson here.

When I went to college, I doubled in English and Meta-Human History. I’ll tell you something now- our history isn’t pretty. And it’s gonna repeat itself if we aren’t careful. How is this going to help you after school? This is teaching you ethics. This is teaching you when to use your power and when not to. I’m not here to train just your power, I’m here to train your mind and make sure you don’t make a stupid mistake and get yourself offed by some drunken meta-human hating hick. You think there aren’t any out there? You’re kidding yourself. You better believe that I’m going to pound control into your skull, kid, or I will make damn sure you’re not getting out of here.

...Er, sorry. That came out way too harsh.

“At the rate I’m going, I’ll be here forever.”

Yeah, no.

No one stays here forever. I don’t even need to dispute this. You aren’t Dr. Campbell- we aren’t keeping you until you’re, like, thirty. You got it or you don’t, and trust me, if you’re with me, you got it. I am one of the few trainers that don’t pick my recruits- I take the oddest and most far out there I get handed to me. You think I got a choice? Nah. I get the most volatile, violent, top-priority kids. Which means, my friend, you, sitting in that chair right there, are likely in the top ten on my list. You know what that means? Yep- you have to be trained. Haha, we can’t let you out until your trained.

...And no offense, but I’m not training you for forever. So, let’s get started.

“Why do you even care?”

Well, for one, I’m paid to train you, so I figure I might as well give enjoying my job a shot.

...Kidding. God.

Why go I care? Well, I was in your position once. Sitting in this very room, actually. Yeah, this an old building, trust me. We don’t renovate it much. Some of the desks have been around since I sat in them. Yeah, that’s a scary thought, hmm?

When I was your age, I knew something when I was at Hammel. All my life, I was always average at something. I wasn’t brilliant with anything I did. I was fine with it, too. I was perfectly fine with average grades, average skills. I mean, my life was far from average. I wanted average, laying in bed those two years, isolated and alone. But my power, this thing that had given me so much trouble, I realized, sitting in my one-on-one class one day, that it was the only damn thing I was good at. I wanted to be good at it. I wanted to be the best at it. And I wanted others to have that feeling too. I couldn’t be the only one feeling it, right?

So, why do I care? I’ll let you figure that out yourself

“What happens when this is over?”

When Hammel said I was clear to go when I graduated, I told them I wanted to stay. Not everyone does that, and they don’t let everyone stay, I know. It’s up to you to decide. But they let me, for a few more years. I ended up working with the younger, more volatile students. I helped them with their powers as I worked with mine. I pushed to see how far I could go. I wanted to feel myself improve. I think if I had left Hammel straightaway, I’d never have the ability I have today, or at least, I wouldn’t have such a handle on it. If you don’t feel confident with your power, by all means, tell the officials so. Tell me so, even. This isn’t a race for who can leave and train fastest. This is about who can reach their highest potential. Make a goal. Pass that goal. If everyone did, we’d have a better world today. I think so, anyway.

But I did have to leave, eventually. I had to face the outside world someday. So when I was twenty-one, I left them. I think a few of my teachers were happy to see me go. Others, I’m not sure. I might’ve made a few of them cry, even. I guess the best you can do is to take your time. Life may be something you charge headlong into, but that doesn’t mean you should close your eyes and charge. Open your eyes, so you can hurdle the obstacles.

Yeah. That’s the best advice I can give.

Behind the M A S K . . .

Name: Fedora. BAM.
Age: I’m gonna be eighteen in April! What did you get me?!?!
RP Experience: Ten years soon. Damn, I feel old.
How did you find us?: I live here.

Show your S K I L L S . . .

“Once upon a time there was wonderful admin named Tony who had two beautiful assistants named Mads and Rae. And all of them were perfect and loved their members very much. And gave us all candy. The end. :3”

...I like this story.

[Admin!]

Accepted!
claims
You know what to do.