Altered States Application

[singleshot]

Character Information

Character Name: Napoleon Solo
Canon: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015)
Canon Point: Post movie
Character Journal: singleshot

Appearance: Solo is distractingly attractive in a classic movie-star sort of way. Strong jaw, cleft chin, bright blue eyes and naturally wavy black hair kept just a little long and perfectly styled. He's a little over 6' tall, broad shouldered and well muscled. He has an easy smile and a constant charm about him. He's very expressive, a consummate actor, and able to adapt his body language and expressions as needed.

PICS:
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Age: 34


History: At the age of 16, Napoleon voluntarily joined the armed forces (having lied about his age) and was subsequently stationed in Europe, from 1945-52, reaching the rank of Sergeant in the US Army.

In the span of that time, Solo took every opportunity in stride and managed to create his own. He saw the market for artwork in the wake of the war and made a profit on it, also endeavoring to learn multiple languages in the process. He had a successful enough enterprise that multiple nations banded together to create a task force specifically to shut down his particularly successful art thievery.

The CIA finally caught up with him at the age of 24, and instead of having him spend his 15 year sentence in prison, his enviable skill set put him in a different kind of bondage: the freedom to serve his term as an agent of the CIA. In the ten years he's served thus far, he's managed to continue a little bit of thieving on the side, as well as climb the ranks within the confines of the CIA structure: he's known by other agencies as the CIA's best spy.

In 1963, Solo is ten years into his "sentence" and finds himself in Berlin, on a mission to extract a German girl with a valuable connection to a missing nuclear scientist: Gaby Teller, daughter of Udo Teller. He succeeds, but not before having many a violent run-in with his soon-to-be new partner, Illya Kuryakin, the KGB's best spy.

It's not exactly a love match.

The two men circle each other, both with separate angles to pursue: Solo is to catch the attention of Victoria Vinciguerra, the villainess, while Illya is to play fiancé to Gaby, who all the while is playing them all for the sake of British intelligence.

Over the course of things, Solo saves Illya's life, woos the lady Victoria, only to be betrayed by Gaby and tortured cruelly by her Uncle Rudi via a specially-rigged electric chair, and subsequently rescued by Illya. The two team up with British Naval Intelligence officer Waverly, who informs them of Gaby's part in it all, and they set off to rescue her, and succeed. The nuclear weapons are dispatched, the Vinciguerras are collectively disposed of, and Solo managed to win a little more of Illya's sentiment by returning his father's watch to him, which had been stolen by Vinciguerra henchmen.

The two men share a moment over the smouldering remains of Udo Teller's nuclear research and seem almost amicable. Of course, that's when they're informed that their partnership is no longer temporary: they've both been loaned to the nationally-unaffiliated U.N.C.L.E. - The United Network Command for Law and Enforcement. And will be on their way to Istanbul tout de suite.

Of course, somehow that all goes to hell and Napoleon Solo finds himself in the Hudson River, 50-some-odd years in the future, instead.




Personality: Napoleon Solo is ambitious, charming, greedy, and incredibly emotionally detached. Essentially, he's the perfect thief. And also the perfect spy.

It didn't take long for Napoleon to realize there was a market to be conquered in the wake of the war. In the span of eight years he amassed enough of a reputation as an art thief to inspire the creation of a multi-national task force specifically to put an end to his endeavors. He not only created a successful criminal career for himself, he also managed to become fluent in five new languages over the course of that time. All for personal gain and ambition, as there has been no evidence that he had any outside motivation for doing so.

Even after the CIA caught him, Solo continued to excel, becoming arguably the CIA's best and most effective agent: all the while keeping a lucrative enough side business to warrant the occasional truffle purchase for his risotto. His handlers are aware, but turn a willingly short-sighted eye to his antics because of his effectiveness and value. Though he definitely continues to push the parameters when it suits him. All in all, what he does, he does for himself. He recognizes his responsibilities, but he chooses to accomplish them in his own way and his own time: and continues to be successful enough to be allowed his illusion of freedom.

Solo likes to be comfortable and elite, he knows all the right brands and exactly how to dress for the part and the occasion. He has an eye for the finer things, recognizing the label of a gold chain or a belt at a glance, and knowing which tie will work best with a suit.

He is also incredibly charming, quick with a smile and a clever greeting, a casual remark, and a thinly veiled pickup line. He's not hard on the eyes, by any means, and he wields this like any other weapon in his arsenal, setting both women and men at ease or on edge as it suits him. He can easily control and direct a conversation, with a quick quip or a string of sarcastic narratives or even a calming explanation. He easily exudes whichever character he's playing, though every face is still a little bit of himself: sarcastic, smart, flirtatious, arrogant, playful... and no small amount a complete jackass.

He is deeply self-aware and just as detached from his emotions because of it. This is evident in the way that any insult, true or false, directed at him is mostly met with a range of dismissal from a blank-faced acceptance to a nearly wicked smile, and countered with either exactly what the other party needs to hear to go on their way or to counter-attack with such clinical vehemence that the other storms off in defeat. Even in defeat he seeks to control the situation, when drugged he chooses where he will pass out; when tortured, he does his damnedest to control exactly how much he reacts, opting for just short of complete silence.

Solo doesn't really have friends. He's not an open book, he's not interested in making any ties that bind, and he's not particularly keen on others' expectations of him. He likes to collect things, but it's just as much a dragon's greed as anything: he sees the value in things that other people value and uses it against them, or to win their favor and trust. (Such as a gaudy bracelet from one wealthy matron to another, or an extremely sentimental keepsake, kept until just the right moment.) While he appreciates art, appreciates beauty, they're both tools to accumulate wealth, and wealth is freedom. Money buys him trinkets and trifles and truffles and little ways here and there to keep himself in the manner in which he prefers to live; even while essentially an indentured servant to the CIA, he still thieves on the side to pad his pockets.

Solo prefers the circuitous route: while not opposed to going in guns blazing and while not opposed to violence on principle, he will still endeavor to find a way around, a way unseen. He prefers stealth and anonymity, and this bodes very well for both a thief and a spy. As a thief, it assists him in, well, stealing. It's much easier when it can be done completely unnoticed. As a spy, it lends to falling into character: setting himself aside just as much as it takes to be convincing as whatever cover he's assumed that day or that mission.

Which isn't to say he won't take his pleasure even then. He's a hedonist, really, and his file will tell you he's a "serial womanizer" whatever that means. He doesn't get emotionally attached, what's the point, what with his constant state of anonymity and travel and lack of desire for commitment? He's not a cad about it, and if a woman isn't interested, he'd move on without a single slight against her. There are plenty of women willing to dally a little while and go home in the morning, and he absolutely endeavors to make sure they enjoy their time spent with him. Playing the part of an American business man abroad definitely has its perks.

He's not completely heartless, however. He doesn't show a tendency to harm for no reason, nor retaliation without sufficient reason. In fact, at one point, he almost leaves Illya behind to uncertain circumstances, but clearly has a moment. Maybe not a moment of conscience so much as a desire to level the playing field, but all the same, he goes back for the other half of his presently forced partnership and saves him from drowning. The two manage to get along much better in tandem from that point onward. Solo is nothing if not adaptable and enigmatic and capable of successful partnerships: he may prefer to work alone, but he can make the situation work for his own ends more often than not.

He has a remarkable resilience to psychological matters: at one point it is explained to him exactly why he is bound to an electric chair, that it is purely for the pleasure of his torturer. And not once does Solo give him any satisfaction in it, barely making a sound, only reacting in ways that were completely unavoidable due to the very physical nature of the torture. It's unclear whether he will carry any particular trauma from the experience, but he seems to store it away methodically and forcefully almost immediately.

In the interest of not talking in circles for pages on end, though I am absolutely happy to, let it be known that Napoleon Solo will always look out for his own skin first, his own goals, his own ambitions. He lives for his own pleasure. But a certain German spitfire and a surly Russian may have gotten under his skin more than he realizes.




Powers/Special Abilities:
Fluent Languages:
English, Spanish, Italian, German, Russian, Japanese

Conversational/Passable:
French, Mandarin, Cantonese, Portuguese, Turkish, Latin, frankly a little bit of everything.

Larcenist - Class A2, Safe Cracker - Level 9

Above-average skill in hand-to-hand combat, excellent skill with both handguns and rifles, both automatic and semi-automatic.

Above-average driving skills and knowledge of engines and mechanics.



River Power: http://powerlisting.wikia.com/wiki/Jinx

Jinx! As a passive aura at first, with a radius of about 10ft, until he figures out what exactly is going on, which may take awhile. Eventually, I'd like him to be able to control it, or at least find ways to turn it off and on; until then, also, I'd like his mood to potentially effect it, never quite turning it off, but definitely exacerbating the effects when he's in a bad mood? Potentially I'd also like him to be able to expand the radius, in the future. Once he starts actively trying to control it.

It'll be completely nulled when he's in proximity to Illya.