Character Name: Wilbur, Sample #9 (formal)
Gender: Self-identifies as male, but may freely assume male or female forms while shapeshifting.
Age and Date of Birth: 0-2 (Tokyo City)
Used Canons: Anime
 

Appearance: In his true form, Wilbur resembles a disgusting, slimy and amorphous mass of writhing and crawling creatures that resemble slugs and worms. As he cannot possibly interact with human society without resorting to trickery, Wilbur prefers to assume the forms of beautiful, well-groomed individuals who stir and elicit emotions with their mere presence. He tends to favor male forms over female.


Personality: The definitive attribute of phobians is a slavish devotion to their psychic gluttony. Wilbur takes a hedonistic delight in consuming excess mental energies, often requiring him to disguise such antics with the pretense of patronage at a cafe or restaurant. Once he has sated the urge to feed for a short while, his other personality traits can come into their own. But no matter how quickly he grows, Wilbur's appetite will always outpace his phsyical size.

Having been subject to an extermination campaign by the ruling class of the Dark Kingdom, Wilbur displays an intense desire to adapt and overcome any threat to his livelihood - actual or perceived. He is megalomanical and egocentric, believing himself an heir to the vast and limitless potential of the late Queen Metalia. Once you get past his ultimately self-serving nature, Wilbur displays a subtle charisma that is propped up by his cunning intellect.

Wilbur respects the rule of law and order as opposed to mindless and thoughtless chaos, yet seeks to corrupt those institutions that are not under his control. Any creature whom he cannot charm, bribe, or dominate is seen as a potential threat.

Finally, Wilbur is a coward and prefers not to get directly involved in a conflict; his servants are better suited for such dirty work. He is willing to make exceptions for exceptional circumstances, such as being hungry, being trapped, or taking care of certain problematic individuals. Fighting fair simply doesn't exist in Wilbur's playbook, either; he will ruthlessly crush his foes with trickery and deception wherever possible. Honor and chivalry are as useful to him as Maraschino cherries - while sweet and colorful, they are useful only when added as a garnish to his next meal.


Any Unique Abilities/Skills: Wilbur has an eidetic memory, able to recall the smallest figments of information. He is also a very fast reader, averaging 1000 words per minute.

 
History:  At the earliest stages of his existence, Wilbur was a phobian - a parasitic creature marked by its strong attunement to psychic energies. The name came into existance when it was discovered that the phobians preferred to feed upon such energies, specifically those that were generated by strong emotions in sentient beings. Though nearly any emotion can be consumed for their nourishment, phobians relish the taste of fear above all others.

To fully awaken and thus pursue her own goals of conquest, Queen Metalia demanded sacrifices of human energy. Her servants had begun to implement their collection strategies, but their schemes and malevolent thoughts began to attract phobians. In the hierarchy of the Dark Kingdom, these creatures were the bottomfeeders. They were born of Earth leeches and worms, but twisted by Metalia's foul presence into disgusting, ravenous creatures who desired to do nothing more than reproduce and gorge their vile appetites.

Two fundamental problems were to blame for the phobians' poor reception in the Dark Kingdom. They were unwittingly competing for Metalia's energy supply, and their unrestrained appetites made them unpredictable and dangerous. Queen Beryl soon realized that the threat of the phobian menace was their willingness to do anything for food. They began to infect and fuse with her servants, raising havoc within the Dark Kingdom for cheap thrills and and cheaper meals.

Beryl would not tolerate the phobians' subversion any longer, but a delicate situation had arisen. The Shitennou were busy scouring Earth for the Legendary Silver Crystal, and the minions under her direct command were deemed too valuable to risk contamination. Fortunately, the answer to the Queen's infestation problem came in the form of a brash young man freshly recruited into the Dark Kingdom from the North American sphere of influence.

The dark queen was quick to seize this opportunity, offering Jasper Franklin an opportunity to serve a greater cause. He would take up a special role within their domain, hunting down the phobians and culling their numbers. Furthermore, this appointment granted him authority second only to her Shitennou when executing her will. Jasper accepted the charge, aware that his prestige would only last while there were vermin to dispose of.

Jasper carried out his orders, preserving a few of the phobian specimens that appeared to be more promising than the vulgar masses. Together, with a human scientist by the name of Graffias, the pair plotted to use the creatures against the political institutions of Earth. Graffias desired more knowledge of these phobians, while Jasper instead sought entertainment and an opportunity to demonstrate his skills before the Dark Kingdom's elite.

Wilbur was a unique phobian who came to life in these gloomy times, designated as Sample #9 within the depths of Graffias's laboratory. Born of Graffias's genetic engineering and Jasper's ambitions, Sample #9 was the pinnacle of their research! But before they could fully begin to test its potential, Jasper was given an ultimatum by Beryl. The Dark Kingdom janitor was to suspend his use of phobians as terror weapons on Earth and finish developing a permanent solution to the phobian problem. Having no other option than to comply, Jasper ordered Graffias to assist him with disposing of the remaining specimens.

Sample #9 inherited several psychic powers and vast intelligence from the genetic tinkering that granted it life. For all this power, it had no chance to save its kin from impending doom; it could only fake its death and watch the slaughter unfold. The chimera phobian sample soon fled the lab into the sewers of Tokyo, to hide itself from the public. There, it would continue its twisted path of evolution, occassionally venturing out into human society to observe and to gather information.


Other Noteworthy Facts: Wilbur is defined by the traits of gluttony and greed. He lives to feed on the energies of other creatures, though is not above consuming their phsyical bodies if he thinks it will further his own interests.

Wilbur is fond of literature, and has taken his namesake from the novel Charlotte's Web. He is fascinated by spiders, taking offense to any display of their mistreatment.

He holds a deep grudge against Jasper Franklin for his part in facilitating the phobians' extinction.



Storyline Specific Information:

Hotline Tokyo:

Powers:
Eternal Hunger- Wilbur feeds directly off of the energy residue generated by emotions, and has evolved to the point where he does not have to directly attach himself to a host to sate his appetite. Instead, he can sense the presence of such energy within a short distance of his being. Any creature within 40 meters of Wilbur can be subjected to his feeding - a painless affair which will leave the target feeling either faint or euphoric based on the nature and quantity of the drained emotions.

Wilbur derives sustenance proportional to the strength of these stolen energies, drawing them into his body in a process that is functionally similar to a human breathing in air. In order to acquire these energies, however, he must be able to sense them first. While Wilbur can also detect the emotions of nonhuman creatures, he prefers the taste of sentient beings over animalistic minds.

Wilbur is also able to consume and digest organic matter to fuel his foul growth, and may utilize excess calories to help maintain his shapeshifting and regenerative abilities.


One Thousand Faces- Having evolved into a shapeshifter, Wilbur can assume the form of nearly any known creature as long as he has sufficient biomass. Aberrant, unnatural appearances (true form aside) are also possible, but require a greater expenditure of energy to maintain as opposed to humans, humanoids, or animals. Wilbur can also also alter the form's inherent strength or agility for the sake of appearances and to conserve energy levels.


Regeneration- Wilbur cannot be killed by exsanguination alone, and is able to heal quickly from physical trauma through a combination of psychic energy and nutrients. As Wilbur is attuned strongly with negative emotions, his ability to regenerate will be heavily taxed or nullified when struck by positive energy.


Telepathic Dominance- One of the more insidious abilities of the phobians is their ability to meld with the flesh of a host and influence their actions. Wilbur has transcended this phsyical limitation, able to establish a connection with weak or vulnerable minds by merely being within their presence. Often, Wilbur will engage his targets in conversation or some other type of interaction in an effort to further weaken their mental defenses and leave them exposed. When Wilbur connects to the minds of others in this fashion, he can read their surface thoughts and exploit them accordingly. It is possible for Wilbur to extract a person's deepest secrets over the course of time, but he must devote significant amounts of time and effort to draw them out without harming the dominated individual.
 
As exercising a constant influence over other beings is a taxing process, Wilbur prefers to leave telepathic triggers dormant within the minds of those he is able to invade. When the trigger is activated through a code word or phrase, the victim becomes receptive to Wilbur's directives and will act upon them accordingly. In this way, he can fashion an army of thralls and then summon them into service to act on his general orders without wasting energy on what he deems to be crude puppetry.

Wilbur may also imbue his servants with stolen psychic energy, granting them mystical powers of their own. The exact effects vary based on the individual. Wilbur cannot influence the type of powers that are expressed, but he can remove them at any time. It is this very promise of power, along with the threat of revocation, that Wilbur uses to corrupt and hold dominion over singular individuals who prove to be valued assets in his villainous schemes.


Mimicry- Wilbur's shapeshifting powers are not all limited only to physical appearances; he may also expend energy to duplicate a magical power that he has witnessed within the range of Eternal Hunger. He cannot retain knowledge of multiple counterfeit powers; only one can be kept at a time, and only for a few hours. It is noteworthy that the ability to use such stolen magic does not grant Wilbur any inherent knowledge of their function beyond what he observes.


Devouring Winds- Wilbur's last line of defense. By expending a great amount of energy, Wilbur unleashes his psychokinetic potential in the form of a turbulent windstorm with gale bursts strong enough to rend unprotected flesh. While maintaining the storm, Wilbur may direct the formation of slender vortices of air that carry the destructive potential of tornadoes.


Weapons or Magical Items: No significant weapons or artifacts. Wilbur is a scavenger by necessity, however, and will not overlook any item that falls into his possession; nothing is too mundane or worthless for him to exploit. He may also acquire resources from his thralls.
 

RP Sample:
You're hungry, aren't you?

There she was, the slender mistress dressed in black and red. Her eyes met with those of Wilbur, and in that instant he could read her thoughts like a children's storybook.

This lady, although very beautiful, had only two ambitions of her own. She was no different than the other thousands of living entities he had witnessed, but Wilbur couldn't begrudge her for being hungry at all. It was a craving that they felt on a regular basis. The other concern belonging to the lady in black brought about a brief episode of survivor's guilt within Wilbur. Nevertheless, he found her hourglass figure quite wonderful to behold.

Why not come with me for dinner? I'll cover the bill.

Wilbur stretched out his hand towards a tiny spider. She dangled on a line of gossamer for a few moments, then slowly lowered herself onto his palm.

After a few days of work, this villain is ready for review!

I love how much detail was put into this! Antagonist profiles are fairly rare, so it's always fun to read them xD He's very interesting too, you've put so much thought into how he works and all he can do. It's very cool hehe

I do believe everything seems to be in order! =]

Approved!