000. samir "sami" osman ˗ˏˋ⚡︎ˎˊ ˗
{ waleed zuaiter. male, he/him. } psst! hey, don’t look now but isn’t that [ samir "sami" osman ] ? i said don’t look, geez! doesn’t it remind you of the clip with that unidentified permuted person [ stopping a runaway car by short-circuiting the wiring and then ducking back into the crowd ] ? people in the comments are calling them [ buzzkill ], and saying their permutation is probably [ electrokinesis ]. i guess it sort of looks like them, if you squint. but i'm not sure, internet sleuths don’t exactly have a high success rate when it comes to identifying people from [ cctv ] footage. and the person on the video doesn’t look like a [ 58 ] year old who would list [ steel-toed boots, scuffed and bloodstained; flexing hands to try and get the nerves to stop firing; wrapping wounds with bruised knuckles and a beer; sighing heavily before running to help ] as their interests on alterego. what? don't look at me like that — i got curious! besides, if that even is them in the video, it probably means they don't want to go viral.
001. general ˗ˏˋ⚡︎ˎˊ ˗
name: samir "sami" osman nickname/hero alias if applicable: buzzkill faceclaim: waleed zuaiter age/date of birth: 58 / mar. 4, 1968 gender & pronouns: male / he & him orientation/marital status: straight / divorced distinguishing features: dark- but graying- curly hair, stubble at the edges of his jaw, calloused and scarred fingertips from permutation use. occupation: electrical contractor / freelancer for b.y.o.h. power: electrokinesis height: 6'0" place of birth: chicago, illinois family: yusuf osman (father), sana osman (mother), ex-wife, elder child, younger child [adults - tbd.] current residence: the bronx, new everwick city.
002. iconography ˗ˏˋ⚡︎ˎˊ ˗
character inspirations: ethan hunt (mission: impossible), batman: the dark knight returns (dc comics), jack abbot (the pitt), clint barton (marvel) character tropes: the reluctant hero, afraid of their own strength, can't stay normal, resigned to the call zodiac sign: pisces mbti: istj positive traits: hardworking, strategic, respectful, resilient, reliable, practical. negative traits: stubborn, reserved, judgmental, reluctant likes: stability, keeping his loved ones safe, early morning coffee, spending time with his kids, autumn weather, disappearing after a byoh request, being perceived as normal, being praised as "buzzkill" (secretly) dislikes: pain from using his permutation, being asked to take a natl. stress reflex test, overly publicized stewards, recovering from a fight, publicity in general, being alone. fears: his family/friends finding out that he's permuted, getting ranked by the f.b.a.i., the pain of his permutation becoming disabling, accidentally misusing his permutation. habits: having tea in the morning, passing out on his couch, listening to old music as he walks to work, smokes casually after a long day. hobbies: working out at a nearby boxing gym, reading, cooking meals he remembers his family making, walking around the city after a workday. pets: none, doesn't want any, but would probably enjoy having a cat.
003. extras ˗ˏˋ⚡︎ˎˊ ˗
bio:
samir osman had never wanted to become a steward.
born march 4, 1968, mere days before the violet sun radiation event, his early life was shaped by the new relationship stewards had with the public and the government. he'd manifested his permutation at only a few months old- flickering the lights of their small apartment when he cried as a baby- and his parents, arab immigrants who had come to the us only a decade or so prior, had little faith that the government would treat their son with any sort of humanity after seeing the world's reactions to older permuted people- and to themselves.
his childhood is spent trying to understand and control his permutation, practicing and honing his skill just so he could keep his head down. by the time national stress reflex tests become common at schools and workplaces, he's already gotten a decent handle on his permutation. he'd mostly used it to make sure the lights stayed on at home, maybe play a few tricks, but had no intentions of using it for anything remotely heroic- it was a secret kept between him and his parents, and had it instilled within him that it would always be better that way. his family's beliefs became instilled within him: the government isn't trustworthy, they don't like people like us, and they certainly won't like someone like you.
sami was twenty when people stopped seeing those affected as "permuted" and began seeing "superheroes". as any twenty-year old boy would, a part of him yearned to take advantage of his potential, get tested, and see how fame could treat him. the man his parents raised was more fearful of the risks; of how a mistake could cut power to a hospital or stop the current from reaching someone's heart; of how letting them make him into figure could make him less of a person.
so he keeps his head down.
sami goes into a trade, meets a girl at a friend's party, and settles down. he gets married, keeps steady work, and has two kids by thirty. normalcy is easier to maintain like this, with a wife who has no idea about the permutation in his dna, a steady job that has nothing to do with what he could do, and kids who he'd hope will see him as a hero, even without knowing about the permutation.
he'd expected to live life like any other person his age after that- work normal hours, put his kids through school, retire with his wife and never use his permutation for anything more than flicking on a light without stepping over to the switch.
but things never really tend to go as planned.
he and his wife separate when his kids are in their late teens- mostly mutual, even if he's still holding out some hope of a reconciliation- and then his kids move out for college. he's proud of them, he is, but college isn't as cheap as it used to be, and with alimony payments on top of that...
sami started out on bring your own hero at fifty-two, intending to keep it as small and quick as possible- he's middle aged, was planning to retire, and has spent his whole life avoiding heroism- he doesn't trust the f.b.a.i., doesn't want to become famous, and had only joined to avoid picking up a second job that'd be more demanding than this.
it was supposed to stay small- registered with a basic name related to his permutation like volt or lightning, kept his eyes hidden under a hat, hood, and half of his face covered behind a mask, and planned to delete the app once his kids’ tuition was paid off. but six years later, he finds that he's still doing it, still responding to requests even if a part of him dreads opening the app every morning.
"buzzkill" was the invention of some user online two years in, disappointed at his lack of spectacle; it makes him smile a little every time he sees it.
that type of career, though, at his age, isn’t without its consequences. sami has always been aware that his permutation can affect the human body, but he never imagined that it’d affect him. if he overuses the current, that energy stays in his system. his nerves misfire when there's too much electricity left over; a sharp shock of pain that’s practically random and enough to make him physically flinch. after straining the current, his muscles might twitch or spasm. and even without all that, he knows he doesn’t heal the way he used to.
heroism doesn't come naturally to him, and he'd rather stick to small favors rather than being a savior, but after six years of standing on the first step to public stewardship, he’s become less able to stand by when he knows he's got the ability to help. but as people start taking more notice, and his permutations begin taking a toll, he's starting to really consider just giving the whole thing up.
and yet, he still hasn't.
wanted connections:
open to all types of connections but mainly looking to explore platonic dynamics! also really excited to plot sami's relationships with other, more public-facing stewards, considering his opinions on the whole thing- but here are some ideas I had in mind:
the mentee? sami's a father, and seeing younger stewards working on the streets is fundamentally against everything he's believed all his life. so he tries to be mentor to this person. the problem? he's fifty-eight and has very little experience in real stewardship. more often than not, he's the one getting advice from them, and not the other way around
the double lifer sami still works a day job as a contractor outside of his freelance work for b.y.o.h. this person saw him or hired him to do work for them, maybe at a workplace like valerian or soma or a common area. then, they saw him when he was doing work for b.y.o.h., and started connecting dots. whether they use that information to try and support or destroy him is up for plotting ;>
the (almost) friend sami hadn't intended to stay at b.y.o.h. long, and mostly avoided making friends because of that. but as he's spent longer doing work on the platform, he's started seeing and speaking to this person more. still, he hasn't really let himself get close- he's not willing to really open up with them, but they're trying to change that.
the kids sami's kids! i'm gonna keep this very loose because it would vary a lot per muse, but sami cares a lot about his children and wants nothing more for them to succeed (i mean, he joined b.y.o.h. to pay for them to go to college). would love to explore the dynamic between him and a kid who wants to go into/has gone into professional stewardship, or just him and a kid with a permutation (esp if it manifests later in their life!)
+ more to come with inspo!
memes:
+ more soon (wip!)
