Cassidy Madden
Gifted Factor
Street Fightin' Man
Description
~Brazen is an adjective that best describes Cassidy Madden. Clearly, this white boy is accustomed to the streets. He wears loose Polo jeans and $100 name brand t-shirts. He swaggers in a pair of superstar-endorsed Reeboks. But the sly and bold grin on Cassidy’s handsome face reveals that he is as laidback as he is fearless. The young man doesn’t touch his trimmed dark-brown hair. His grooming is evident also in his careful moustache and goatee, adding to his rakish charm. But it is in Cassidy’s eyes that flicker of vigorous drive that defines the young man’s ambition and potential. Potential energy: that’s what Cass is all about!~
OOC: Appearance 3
"Think you can beat me? Then get your ass in the goddamn ring!"
History
Rough & Ready
The Maddens were a decent-sized middleclass family to be born into in 1980, and Cassidy had the honor of middle child. Cassidy’s mom Corinne stayed at home to raise her three boys, John, Cass, and Damien (in that order). Cassidy’s father Gil worked for the truckers’ union as a labor representative. They had a nice home in the Glendale suburbs of Chicago, at least for the first nine years of Cassidy’s life. His father had to transfer to a new job in St. Louis in 1989. The home there was a townhouse in a section of town that quickly went downhill in class.
At least Cassidy pushed through high school, getting fairly decent grades. His family attended church weekly: dedicated Methodists. Cassidy’s brothers bought into religion, even as they moved on after school to become a factory worker (John) or mental health nurse (Damien). But it never caught on for Cass. He kept a lot of friends in school at least, mostly jocks (he played on the varsity baseball team), and roughhoused frequently. And Cass was never without a girlfriend of some sort – he was bold and “cute”.
But the most influential feature of his young life began not long after he first moved to St. Louis. Fearful of the bad influence the growing crime rate and gang formation might have on their sons, the Maddens encouraged them all to join the martial arts. Only Cass stuck with it though. Burt Stanson’s School of American Kenpo was just what Cassidy needed to anchor himself in something good as an adolescent. Sensei Stanson’s methods included smidgens from other forms, and it was a pidgin style he taught really. But Cass used it to excel at tournaments, even full-contact fighting. He acquired great self-control, proving to be a natural at centering his body and mind through meditation. Curiously, the more he fought, the more he was beaten, Cassidy seemed to bruise less and his broken bones and other injuries faded faster and faster.
Potential Energy
After Cassidy graduated from high school (class of ’98!), he obtained the independence for which he yearned. He tried his hand at community college, but discovered that he really had no interest in academics. At least he continued to study under Sensei Stanson. But to make a living for the next several years, he started street fighting professionally, just to pay the bills on his crummy little studio apartment.
And that was when Cassidy made a surprising discovery about himself. He found that meditation was the key to unlocking his true “fighting potential”. With long and deep enough focus, he found that his resilience and energy increased. (Note that Cassidy never accredited his talents to “psychic powers”. He always considered himself to be a “natural channeler”.) Cass began to spend all of his free time developing these abilities, discovering greater limits to his frail human body.
Unfortunately, in 2002 his personal gains contrasted with a major falling out with his instructor. Sensei Stanson learned that Cassidy was street fighting. Burt Stanson strongly disapproved of that. He was proud of Cass and his excellent fighting skills, but considered it an insult to use those skills to hurt people and thereby earn money. Cassidy tried to argue that fighting was all he knew how to do, but it didn’t impress the old instructor.
Kickin' Ass
With a shrug, Cassidy informed his parents he was moving out of town. They were fine by it, and hoped their son would find a real job soon. His girlfriend of the hour wasn’t so happy, but she’d get over it. So alone Cass moved to Kansas City. What stakes Cass had he used to set himself up with food and rent paid for for a couple months. He took that time to seek out local street fighting venues and make a few friends in the business, especially the gambling aspect of it.
For awhile, Cass found a little job to hold himself over. It was just bagging groceries. He lost that job in short order due to the many bruises that took longer to fade than a few hours. His employers didn’t want a brawler looking so “unprofessional” (because grocery-bagging was such a professional career!). But finally, he scored the connections needed to begin street fighting again. For a few years, Cassidy fought in the ABCs (Asian Battle Circuits) over in Little Asia. Once more, he was earning money the way he liked and knew how.
Unfortunately, Cass was too brazen and tactless for his own good. The attitude he showed everyone extended to the site operators of the ABCs. And they, unfortunately, were connected to the Triad mobs! Cassidy wasn’t hurt from the conflict…just scared off. He had nothing to do now but return to normal street fighting. He made money from the battering, underground fighting the gambling on the side more than prize cash. It was enough to get by at least. But despite his channeling talents, Cass knew he was really just gambling with his life.
Significant Other
Cassidy was being watched one night in the fall of 2006 while street fighting for money and reputation. Nineve Aloysha ni Varich, this Russian chick, watched him trounce his opponents and observed his unnatural ability to bounce back from his own bruises too readily. She hooked up with Cass to chat and train, even spar with the man. And then they ended up in the sack. Nineve recognized his potential as a Dreamer through his edgy fighting style and she found his psychic powers interesting. Once Cass was Enchanted, he was fascinated, too. She was a lovely and dangerous Sidhe, and he yearned to learn all he could about her and this world beyond even his psychic awareness.
Nineve
Weakness
Limited Tenacity
Cass is tough but not that tough. His fearless and brazen ways carry little tact. Frankly, he’s just going to piss off the wrong people. Whether that be fellow human beings or supernatural creatures, egos bruise easily on the street.
Likelihood of Corruption
Average.
Cassidy is as tough mentally as he is physically. But his psychic powers make him noticeable and even draw attention, like Nineve’s. Lucky for him, she chose to use him as a Dreamer instead of a Ravaging toy. But other supernatural creatures out there may not be so kind.
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