Jovillule

VARIANTS IN REGARDS TO WtWB & DitA

So, Variants, right? You're probably brimming with questions about them about now and it's high time I man up and explain, so here you go. Feast, my darlings, upon the rotting corpse of diplomacy.

Variants came about some years after the chemical leak near Tracy, California. In short, they were people with a genetic mutation in their brain that gave them abilities greater than those of normal human beings. The ability to expedite and change the functions of cells at will, the ability to sway other people's emotions, and the ability to invade a person's subconscious were the most frequently noted cases, though nobody really figured this out until the first generation of Variant children stumbled across their abilities themselves. A classification system with three parts was put into place: part one was categorizing the Variant by type (Kinetic, Psychic, Empathic, or Receptor), part two was breaking that type down further into a specific subtype (Kinetics could either be Destructives, Healers, Alterers, or Enhancers; Psychics could either be Dreamers, Type A Telepathics, or Type B Telepathics; Empathics could either be General or Uncommon; and Receptors could either be General or Specialized), part three was ranking the Variant by class depending on their power and range of abilities within their subtype (Classes One to Five, Class One being the weakest and Class Five being the strongest).
In time, the Haven Mandate was put into place, rebellions and uprisings cropped up, the Variant Civil War and Variant Extermination Plan went down, and the world fell into a post-apocalyptic state of upheaval and gradual destruction.


KINETICS

HEALER KINETIC- Through physical contact, Healer Kinetics can close wounds and mend bones. Lower classes of Healers can’t avoid leaving scars, but class fours and fives are able to close a wound without a trace that it was ever there. Healers force the body’s cells into overdrive in order to rapidly accelerate the body’s natural healing process, and thus Healers will often leave people drained from the energy this requires, or have to heal in short bursts to avoid exhausting their recipient depending on the severity of the wound. No Healer, however, can bring back the dead or reattach a severed limb.

DESTRUCTIVE KINETIC- The direct opposite of Healer Kinetics, Destructive Kinetics can inflict wounds through physical contact. They can rend flesh, break bones, and rupture organs with just a touch. Depending on how a Destructive chooses to use their ability, this can be used as either a tremendous weapon, or a useful tool in surgical procedures and things of that nature. The way a Destructive’s powers work are essentially the same as all Kinetics’; they manipulate the body’s cells to their own will in order to expedite something the body already does naturally, or modify it. Destructives are often regarded as the most crude of all Kinetics, however, because of how straightforward their ability works in comparison to other Kinetic subtypes.

ALTERING KINETIC- Altering Kinetics possess the ability to modify the physical appearance of themself or others. This can be pigment-changing, hair growth, or minor bone-structure warping. No Kinetic can modify themselves too severely with just a snap of the fingers—it takes time and energy, and if they want to revert back to how they looked originally, they will have to manually change themselves again going by memory or photographs. The Altering Kinetic’s class determines how drastically they are able to modify themselves, though no Kinetic can change things such as organs or more delicate body systems without a serious risk of death.

ENHANCING KINETIC- Enhancing Kinetics are able to, as the name suggests, enhance the body’s physical abilities and functions. This can be increased strength, speed, or agility. This is accomplished by increasing heart rate and the speed at which blood and oxygen runs through the veins, concentrating their ability in the area of their body they want to affect. This will leave the Kinetic exhausted, however, once it wears off, and overusing the ability to the point of death is possible if one is not cautious.

PSYCHICS

DREAMER PSYCHIC- The Dreamer subclass of Psychic has the ability to tap into the unconscious minds of those around them, or those with whom the Dreamer shares an emotional bond. The Dreamer can only do this while asleep, and they cannot be woken up while inside of someone else’s dream. While in a dream, the Dreamer can alter the appearance of themselves, or the aspects of the dream itself. Generally, the person whose mind the Dreamer trespasses on is aware that the Dreamer is there, and they can speak to them or attempt to drive them out. The science behind Dreamers, like the science behind the Psychic category of Variant in general, is unclear, though suspected to have something to do with the temporal and occipital lobes.

TELEPATHIC PSYCHIC (TYPE 1)- Out of all Psychics, Type 1 Telepathics are the most prevalent. These Psychics can project themselves or just their voice into someone else’s mind just by looking at them. This only works if the one whose mind is being infiltrated is within sight, and it works best if eye contact is involved. Upper classes of Type 1 Telepathics are even able to control people to some extent by getting into their mind, or sift through their memories for specific things they are looking for. Upper classes generally also have a larger range when it comes to long-distance control, just as long as the person is visible. Lower classes may only be able to project their voice or thoughts over a short range, however.

TELEPATHIC PSYCHIC (TYPE 2)- Type 2 Telepathics are significantly more dangerous and versatile than Type 1s are. These Telepathics are not only able to project themselves or their voice into the mind of a person, but are also able to operate without visibility and over distances up to 150 miles. As long as a Type 2 Telepathic has seen a person before, they can choose to jump into their mind whenever they so please so long as they are within the Psychic’s usually wide radius. As far as abilities determined by class go, Type 2 Psychics follow mostly the same guidelines as Type 1s; upper classes have been reported being able to sort through memories, force people to submit to their will, or even permanently drive people to madness.

EMPATHICS

GENERAL EMPATHIC- The more common subcategory of Empathic, General Empathics possess the ability to sway the emotions of the people around them whichever way they choose. This versatile and manipulative ability has garnered all Empathics the title of “Least Trusted Variant” due to the fact that, while under the influence of an Empathic, a person is unable to recognize that their emotions are not theirs. General Empathics each have a certain radius of control depending on their class, as well as a certain number of people they are able to influence at once. Lower classes may be able to only manage one or two, while upper classes have been known to hold sway over crowds. The science behind the abilities of an Empathic is hazy and widely unknown, though believed to originate, like Psychics, from certain areas of the brain that have been mutated by the Variant gene.

UNCOMMON EMPATHIC- The less common subcategory of Empathic, Uncommon Empathics possess abilities very similar to their counterparts. The only difference marking Uncommon Empathics from General Empathics are the conditions needed to use their Empathic abilities. Some Uncommon Empathics are only able to operate over phone lines or through a screen, whereas others can only sway people to a specific emotion. The ability levels determined by class are relatively the same as General Empathics regarding strength of influence and number of people able to be influenced.

RECEPTORS

GENERAL RECEPTOR- Receptors are by far the rarest sort of Variant; they are virtually powerless compared to Kinetics, Psychics, and Empathics. The only ability Receptors possess is the ability to sense who all around them is a Variant, as well as their type and class. Receptors can feel the energy given off by other Variants, and from it determine the level of their power. The only exception to this is that Receptors cannot sense other Receptors. Receptors are not ranked by class, as no Receptor is stronger in their abilities than another by any significant margin.

SPECIALIZED RECEPTOR- The abilities of Specialized Receptors are relatively the same as those of General Receptors. The only major difference is that Specialized Receptors can only detect either a: a specific type of Variant, or b: a specific class of Variant. This may manifest as a Specialized Receptor being able to sense specifically Kinetics and nothing else, or a Specialized Receptor being able to sense specifically class 5 Variants and nothing else. Their range is significantly larger than that of General Receptors.



VARIANT CODES

Variant identification codes that were used by the government and at Havens were formatted as follows: (V/**/#/--/STATE/*###)

"V" begins each code, as it stands for Variant. The two letters following the "V" signify the type and subtype for the Variant (eg: A Destructive Kinetic would be labeled as DK, or an Uncommon Empathic would be labeled as UE) The number before the dash indicates the Variant's class. Following the dash, the two-letter abbreviation of the Variant's home state would be put in, followed by a letter and number code as a way to keep track of the specific individual.
EXAMPLES: A Class 3 Healer Kinetic living in Arizona, first documented of their specific qualities would've been labeled (VHK3--AZ A001)
Similarly, a random Class 4 Type B Telepathic Psychic living in Virginia may have been labeled (VTBP4--VA G421)


LIVING AS A VARIANT

Those who had the genetic brain mutation that made them a Variant faced their own advantages and disadvantages in their mind, body, societies, and lives. For starters, most types of Variant had a natural genetic advantage against non-Variants, and thus could outcompete almost any non-Variant in endeavors of strength or cunning. Because of this, they were often regarded as untrustworthy, and a fair number of people didn't want to associate with them at all.
The average lifespan of Variants are significantly shorter than non-Variants, due to the mutation's presence and effects. Usually, Variants will reach age 50-55 before dying of age (though in the world they live in, it is far more common to die of disease, crime, or deprivation before anyone dies of age). They are also slightly more prone to out-of-the normal biological defects or attributes, such as gigantism or dwarfism, blindness/deafness/muteness from birth, warped bone structure or underdeveloped limbs/organs, auto-immune, and more.
Before and during the Variant Civil War, Variants were widely discriminated against. Many lived in hiding or on the streets posing as non-Variants, and many became involved in rebel groups or fell into Havens. Variants had to endure being separated from their families, being watched constantly, and an attempted mass genocide before the government collapsed and they were able to live semi-freely in a world that apparently would rather die by its own hand than accept them. Many still harbor a bitterness towards non-Variants.


VARIANTS IN WtWB

[Paracosmic]
Xavier Green- (VGE5--CA R105)
Demitri Rithory- (VDP3--TX C971)
Silus Ozwald- (VEK1--AZ A083)
Damen Koffers- (VDK3--TX E645)
Octavian Garner- (VHK2--TX J483)

[Nocte Daemonium]
Indigo Nell- (VDP4--TX I891)
Lucifer Levine- (VAK1--TX K412)

[Coyote Bones]
Virgil Levine- (VAK2--TX J738)

[Salvator]
Calligar McCulloch- (VTAP5--TX A095)
Vivienne Caster- (VDK5--AZ A107)
Corrin Arden- (VHK5--TX A113)
Keith Haler- (VHK4--NM A049)
Knox Wroughtman- (VSR--OR B007)