[ APPLICATION ]

[amygdalae]

PLAYER

Name: Knightblazer/KB
Age: 23 24
Contact: knightblazer, or PM to this journal!
Other Characters: N/A
Interests: Exploring Bruce's relatively unique position in the world of Thedas, and how his own emotions and experiences play into shaping him further in a setting like this. But on the bigger picture, how the Inquisition will function without the PC lead, and how things will change from that point on to affect everything else. Basically just everything okok.

CHARACTER

Name: Bruce Banner (AU Name: Robertson Breuse Ballard; only retained Robert(son) in the Circles, and upon fleeing bastardized his middle name to 'Bruce' in order to hide.)
Canon/OC: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Journal: amygdalae
Race: Human... ish
Nationality: Ferelden
Occupation: former Circle mage, now apostate; self-studied surgeon
Age: 32 at game start

History

CANON HISTORY

• The original Bruce Banner; Bruce Banner from the original source
  
• That other Hulk movie we don't talk about; The Hulk (2003 film, for reference)
  
• In where Bruce looks suspiciously different from his present self; The Incredible Hulk (2008 film)
  
• "We're not a team, we're a time bomb!"; The Avengers (2012 film)
  
• A team now broken; Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015 film)
  
• Bruce Banner across the universe(s); Bruce Banner in the MCU continuity

AU HISTORY

9:8 - 9:15 DRAGON

• Born in a village in Ferelden, to non-mage (and devout) parents
  
• Manifested his magic at the age of five. Mother was accepting, but his father didn't take it well; he fell to alcoholism and started to abuse both mother and child.
  
• When Bruce was seven, his father hired somebody to perform a blood magic ritual on Bruce to get rid of his magic. He also murdered his own wife for blood used in said ritual.
  
• What happened during the ritual is a blur - Bruce blacked out, and when he came to his entire house was blown apart; everyone else was dead (to his knowledge), and Templars were everywhere. He was picked up by them and then whisked to the Circles.

9:15 - 9:35 DRAGON

• Under the Circles, Bruce prospered. His Circle was firm but he lived by the rules, knowing what could happen to him outside.
  
• The Fifth Blight happened; after the Blight, Bruce dedicated himself to helping the Templars - deciding to find a way for Templars to use lyrium in a safer and more effective manner.
  
• To progress in his research, Bruce transferred to a Circle in the Free Marches, and put under the direct supervision of the Knight-Commander there.
  
• Tensions rose when it was clear that Bruce's research was not progressing well, and the Knight-Commander considered pulling the plug.
  
• Wanting results, Bruce used himself as a test subject for his experiments. However, everything went horribly wrong.
  
• Bruce was ready to turn himself in, but discovered the truth behind his research - the Knight-Commander was ready to use the results to form an army in a war against the mages.
  
• To prevent that, Bruce took all his research and fled, turning apostate.

9:35 - 9:40 DRAGON

• Bruce constantly kept moving to avoid capture while he desperately tried to cure himself.
  
• Suddenly, one of his contacts said they had found a working cure. Bruce went to see this person - but it turned out to be a trap, and was captured.
  
• While being brought back to the Circle it was discovered that the Knight-Captain had tried to do the experiment on himself, which had gone wrong and now was wrecking havoc on the town.
  
• With little choice, the Knight-Commander let Bruce go so he could go and deal with the other.
  
• Massive fight against the abomination, which led to part of the town being destroyed; it was eventually subdued and Bruce fled again before the Templars could catch him.
  
• Tired, hopeless and full of despair, Bruce tried the nuclear option - making himself Tranquil. Unfortunately, it did not take.

9:40 DRAGON - PRESENT

• Unable to commit suicide or become Tranquil, Bruce moved on to helping people with his skills as a surgeon.
  
• This continued until the Breach exploded up in the sky; news of the newly-formed Inquisition then started to stream in.
  
• Eventually Bruce went and offered his services to them. He does not tell them that he is a mage - only a surgeon, and nothing more.

Personality



Bruce, in a nutshell, is a contradiction of a man trying to do as much good as he can in the shitty circumstances given to him. He's a mage who doesn't like to use magic, a man who seems calm and gentle but is in reality an abomination that's bonded to a rage demon.

A deeply private person, Bruce is professional to the people around him, and anything beyond that goes into the realm of awkward socialization. He always keeps a distance from them emotionally, not allowing himself to get close to anybody for fear of harming them. Although he may seem easygoing and approachable, Bruce tends to keep a lot to himself; rarely does he actually speak his mind, not wanting to attract attention he'd rather avoid. With his professionalism, however, it means that Bruce is very objective with the things that he does. He doesn't let outside influences affect him, and he can keep his focus very well. It helps with a lot of what he does, be it research or work, although at times he can get so focused that he doesn't even notice what's going on around him.

Bruce takes a long time to warm up to anybody or trust them, but once somebody has his trust and friendship Bruce is extremely loyal to them. Come hell or high water, if somebody close to Bruce is in danger, Bruce will do everything he can to save them, even if it means endangering himself. It's a trait Bruce himself is well aware of, which is why he is very reluctant to let anybody close - doubly so because of the demon inside of him.

It’s presence in Bruce's life makes up a huge part of who he is now - its mere existence has brought a huge guilt onto Bruce's shoulders that weighs him down heavily and influences a lot of what he does now such as avoiding the mage/Templar conflict, and helping the injured and sick. With the demon inside him Bruce has had to learn control, keeping himself and his emotions in check, and that control is a mask of its own. The reason why he’s so amiable, so calm and composed is because he has this control. Even with all of the pain, fear and anger he feels inside from the injustices he suffered, Bruce continues to hold himself tightly on this leash, for he knows the consequences of losing control all too well.

Because of the demon he has hurt so many others, and the weight of that is something not even death nor Tranquility can absolve him of. The demon, to him, is a manifestation of just how terrifying magic can be if abused, which is why he doesn't use his magic, and why he detests fighting and bloodshed - he's seen and has become the worst of it himself, and Bruce resolves to try and break away from that, in any way that he can.

Opinions & Affiliations

• Chantry: Formerly devout like any other Ferelden, now an atheist. He acknowledges the existence of Andraste and her actions in history, but the Maker is a different story altogether. If there is indeed a greater power, then things wouldn't have escalated to this.
  
  
• The Qun: Inherently uncertain due to their stance on mages, but as long as the indviduals he meets isn't going to try anything like that onto him, he can deal with them.
  
  
• Templars: Wary wary wary. He understands not all Templars are cut from the same cloth, but past experiences has him wanting to avoid them if possible. At this point its just a natural habit.
  
  
• The Circles/Circle Mages: Respects the ones who knows how to move on from their Circle life now that things have come to this, and for those who still cling to it he judges them a little... but he'll do his best to help any mage in general.
  
  
• Dalish/City Elves: Respects (and a bit of pity for the City Elves) them for the most part, but stays away from them unless he knows he's welcome; he knows that they're wary of humans for good reason and respects those boundaries.
  
  
• Mage/Templar War: thanks Anders Perhaps inevitable, but at the same timne the events that led up to it could have been avoided. Now he's just sorry for all the innocents who are caught in the crossfire, and angry at the ones who didn't think of that.

Adaptation

The translation from the Hulk - a 'ragemonster', as described in canon - to a rage demon is obvious enough at first sight, and the rest of Bruce's adaptation is built around that idea. The reason I decided to make Bruce a mage is simple: logically Bruce can't 'accidentally' have a demon inside himself unless its through his own means, and the only way to be able to summon a demon is with magic. Thus, he becomes a mage.

There are also other reasons: in comics Bruce's father starts to abuse him because Bruce displayed high intelligence at a young age, prompting his father to think he was abnormal. I've translated this over to Bruce having magic, since its not like being smart would actually trigger anything in this scenario. Given the way magic is handled in Thedas and the suspicions around it, I felt that it would be adequate.

As to Bruce studying lyrium, that is a translation from him studying gamma radiation. Gamma radiation even in our own time is a dangerous thing, and I felt that lyrium would be an adequete replacement for this, since like with radiation lyrium can be dangerous when not handled well. Its also a translation from his project in canon that ended with him becoming the Hulk - the movie mentioned that what he was told was finding ways to improve radiation resistance in soldiers; so thus in this adaptation, it turns into helping Templars with their lyrium usage as I want to keep the continued line of lyrium study.

Finally, since Ross and the people he worked with were all from the army and he had to run from them 9and authority in general), it made sense that Bruce would work with Templars in the adaptation, and it fits well with the part with him going on the run since that could translate to Bruce being on run from Templars and the Chantry itself in theory, since him being an apostate is against what the general wants just as in canon.

Strengths & Weaknesses

For easier reading I've categorized Bruce's abilities into three tiers: the first is abilities that are strictly normal/human, the second things that come due to his condition and the third abilities that stem when he's transformed.

TIER ONE: HUMAN

• accomplished Circle mage; Bruce has been in a Circle since the age of 7 up until he fled from them, and thus has received all formal education and training required in being a Circle mage. He's branched out on his own a little since then as well, but generally as far anything related to the Circle education is concerned, Bruce is accomplished in those.
  
  
• academic smarts; One of the reasons why Bruce had been so accomplished in his Circle life is due to his brilliant mind. Having lived in the Circles for so long, Bruce has spent most of that time learning, understanding and the using magic and its many paths. He's able to quickly understand theories and concepts when he reads it or its explained to him, and with sufficient practice can use it himself. He's a fast learner, and can pick things up quickly when he's especially motivated to do so.
  
  
• expertise in healing skills; Bruce's research back in the Circles has had him reading up a lot about healing spells and their related studies. As such, his expertise lies most in the healing arts, and while he's read about Spirit Healing specializations, he does not have enough knowledge in it to be able to perform any of those spells.
  
  
• potion brewing; An add on to his expertise of the healing arts. Bruce has also been trained in making potions back in the Circle, and on the run he's taught himself even more in order to keep up appearances of his cover as a surgeon. His primary expertise in this is making healing and regeneration potions, but he's also able to make other brews, provided he has the ingredients and the method of concoction.
  
  
• surgical skills; Initially Bruce picked this up in the Circle so that he could understand the anatomy of humans better to supplement his research, but in the years of real-life experience Bruce has become somewhat proficient in his skills as a surgeon as he goes around to help people with said skills. He's able to do most forms of trauma surgery available and has some experience in treating illnesses as well - though not as good as say, a real professional. But he's a quick learner.
  
  
• survival skills; There's no use being on the run if you can't fend for yourself. In all his years of fleeing the Circles Bruce has picked up a fair amount of survival skills in order to keep himself alive, so if he's stranded and left alone he's able to take care of himself until help arrives.
  
  
• magic control; Bruce's training in the Circle, coupled with the time he spent trying to keep a check on the demon inside of him has allowed Bruce to control his magic with precision. He's able to cast spells with maximum efficiency, and even with the complication of lyrium in his blood Bruce has since learned how to control his mana/magic well enough so that it doesn't affect what he casts.
  
  
• human limits; For everything that Bruce has and is able to do, without transforming he's about as strong as a normal human - that is, one who is not used to physical combat. Anybody who can fight decently can easily take him out if they wish to, and Bruce doesn't have the stamina to maintain himself in a fight for long. His unwillingness to use magic also puts him at a disadvantage, since it means he can use his spells to get himself out of trouble (unless his hand is forced).

TIER TWO: ABOMINATION

• inability to become tranquil; from personal experience Bruce has discovered that he is unable to make himself Tranquil. The reasons for these are unknown, nor does Bruce want to think too much into it. But the fact is that he's tried, and knows this as fact - however painful it may be.
  
  
• unable to be possessed by other demons/spirits; as Bruce is already bonded/possessed by one, other spirits and demons are unable to possesses him, for better or for worse.
  
  
• able to withstand fire, weak to ice; as unique as the demon bonded to Bruce is, it is still in the end a rage demon all the same, and thus possesses the same characteristics as one.
  
  
• fire boost, ice/water weakened; due to the demon's inclination to fire, its reflected onto Bruce himself. Thus, all of his fire type spells are inherently more powerful and destructive (roughly 2x the damage), but use the same amount of mana as a normal spell would. In exchange, however, all of his ice/water spells are weaker (about 1/2 of its usual damage and effect), and requires more mana (about 1.5x going with stats) in order to cast.
  
  
• lyrium in blood; A side effect of the experiments that caused Bruce to gain the demon bonded to him. His blood is constantly mixed with a fair amount of lyrium, and exposure to it will cause all the bad effects that people exposed to raw lyrium would be.
  
  
• immunity to lyrium; because Bruce already has lyrium in his blood, he would have an immunity to lyrium similar to that of dwarves, but at the same time this immunity would also mean he's unable to take in any benefits whatsoever from drinking lyrium potions and other such things.
  
  
• faster mana regeneration; with the lyrium already in his body, Bruce regenerates mana faster than the usual mage - about 25% faster.

TIER THREE: DEMON

• transformation; when Bruce loses himself to his anger, or when his own life is threatened, the demon inside of him takes over and begins a frightening metamorphosis. Using the energies of the Fade the demon effectively crystallizes the lyrium in Bruce's blood and pulls it out from him to form a shell of pure, raw lyrium, where it protects the body of its host and acts through this casing.
  
  While the lyrium is still attached to Bruce it functions and acts exactly like how lyirum would be, but the moment its separated from Bruce - broken off, extracted or otherwise - it dissolves and vanishes back into the Fade, leaving no trace behind. (In terms of looks, think red templar behemoths, except more Hulk-looking and being green in color.)
  
  
• increased strength/durability; While in this form the demon has incredible strength, able to smash through most things with little effort, with the lyrium shell making it durable and sturdy. It would most likely take several Qunari just to get it to slow down substantially.
  
  
• regeneration; With the demon in charge it's able to use the Fade to its own means, and thus its able to heal up the wounds that Bruce suffers while in this form, most especially the wounds he get during his transformation. Its also able to regenerate any broken parts of its lyrium casing, protecting its host body by whatever means necessary.
  
  
• standard demon weakness; As unique as it is, the demon is still a demon, and thus holds all of the usual weaknesses a demon has. It's just a lot more durable than the usual demon - more of a damage sponge that can strike back hard.
  
  
• time limit; As strong as the demon is, the unique condition its bonded to Bruce somehow prevents the demon from rampaging for too long. At the most the demon can only be up to a maximum of 30 minutes - but its more than enough time for it to cause some serious damage.
  
  
• post-transformation recovery; The transformation, as one would expect, takes a lot of energy out of Bruce, and though the demon is the one who maintains it thereafter he changes, the aftereffects still take a heavy toll on him. Once he changes back Bruce is unable to use any magic for at least the next 24 hours (possibly more, depending on how long he's transformed for), and even basic body movement will prove to be a challenge for him until he manages to get a decent amount of rest.

Inventory

• one dagger (iron), tucked at the side
  
• light armor worn on self
  
• a bag, containing the things listed below:
  
• one book about surgical procedures and such, filled to the brim with handwritten notes
  
• one book about potion brewing and such, filled to the brim with handwritten notes
  
• one personal journal, filled halfway with Bruce's own handwriting
  
• writing equipment
  
• surgical kit
  
• a bag of herbs, most of which is elfroot
  
• potion kit (only restricted to making healing potions)

Motivation

Helping the injured and hurt by offering his services as a surgeon - as long as there's people who needs to be fixed, Bruce will continue to stick around. While Bruce is leery of being too close because of all the Templars around, he figures as long as he sticks to just his surgeon stuff he should be safe. He'll pointedly stay as far away from the fighting as possible.

But on a more personal note, he might also secretly make use of the Inquisition's growing resources to try and see if there's anything he can do to help his condition. He doesn't expect this to be a fast project, but hey, he's got time.

SAMPLES

TDM 1 and TDM 2!