ewan mcgregor. 51. cis man. he/him. ┊┊ cerberus corp has been watching VIRGIL RUSK. some of the public has dubbed them BESPOKE because of ADAPTIVE MONSTROUS PHYSIOLOGY/REGENERATION gifted by AN EXTRA ORDINARY INCIDENT THAT FUCKED UP AN ORDINARY DAY. having been an extra ordinary since 2021, they’re doing a good job at hiding A LACK OF CONTROL, SENSORY SENSITIVITIES, DEPENDENCE ON CERBERUS CORP R&D, and THE RISK OF COLLATERAL DAMAGE. when they aren’t working their day job as a DESIGNER, they are fond of PAINTING and are never seen without HIS SUNGLASSES; his eyes are where his mutation shows first. at first glance they seem PASSIONATE & CREATIVE, though their close friends know them to also be CRITICAL & VOLATILE. they consider themself a CIVILIAN. ┊┊ gray. they. 32. pst. none.
001. GENERAL
name Virgil Rusk
nicknames If you know, you know. If you don’t, safely presume you’re not allowed to invent your own.
age 51
date of birth may 22, 1972
zodiac gemini
place of birth Fort Worth, Texas
current residence New York City, though he has properties elsewhere, including a small ranch back home in Texas and and what he considers a tasteful, old-fashioned yacht.
gender cis man
pronouns he
sexuality homosexual
occupation Designer, publicly. Secretly, a “contractor” for Cerberus Corp, developing agent costumes to suit individual powers.
faceclaim Ewan McGregor
height 5’10”
tattoos Jesus - take a man to dinner before you dig up all his youthful indiscretions, why don’t you?
piercings Ears, though he doesn’t wear anything in them so much as he once did.
distinguishing features Preference for sunglasses, even indoors, especially at night. If you’ve gotten a too-close look at his eyes at the right moment, you might have caught a peculiar red-gold gleam in the back of his pupils - a tapetum lucidum, like an animal. This is only visible in dim to dark spaces with some source(s) of light, which the tapetum reflects.
positive traits Creative. Passionate. Generous. Energetic. Attentive to detail. Charismatic. Kinder than he pretends to be and warmer than that sleek, sharp-edged surface suggests.
negative traits Critical. Volatile. Perfectionistic. A workaholic. Contrary. Weaponized bluntness. More bitter than he wishes he was and more insecure than he’s been in decades.
labels / tropes Power at a Price, The Mind is a Plaything of the Body, Does Not Know His Own Strength, Not Quite Back to Normal, Stepford Smiler, Gone Horribly Wrong, Control Freak, Death Glare, In With the In Crowd, Married to the Job, Not in My Contract, Big Fancy House, Brutal Honesty, Genre Savvy, Insufferable Genius, Jerk With a Heart of Gold
likes Making things, just the wonder of turning an idea tangible. Lately, excuses for avoiding social functions. Skyscraper and mountainside views. People-watching. Art, especially very textural pieces.
dislikes Failing. Delegating. Repeating himself. Fucking meditation. Animals (they tend to react oddly to him, these days). Most of the noises your average cellphone makes. Those tacky scents everyone wears too damn much of. Bright lights, the loud kind. Pressure - which he used to love, or claimed to, anyway.
fears Losing control (in any sense). Loneliness. Change. Being stuck. (See, contrary.) Small spaces, including crowds and corners.
hobbies Painting. Sculpture. Reading. Photography. Mountaineering - no, really. Swimming. Sailing. Motorcycle tours, when he has the time, which is never lately.
habits Smoking. Scotch. Worse things, before his “heart attack.” Hand-talking, moreso in rare casual moments. Drawing while other people talk.
002. EXTRA ORDINARY
near death experience…
He doesn’t want to talk about the why, okay? (Stress. Spiraling thoughts. A bad day. That’s all. That’s it. And some ill-timed cocaine, maybe, sure.) Okay. But the what, well. Virgil's near-death event was a heart attack, a very normal way for a fast-living, never-off perfectionist with bad habits to go. Only, he didn’t. His mutation erupted, saving his life… and ending a few dozen others before Cerberus agents were able to subdue the frantic, destructive creature he’d become. This was a shitty first impression for everyone involved - including his monster, which, as the R&D team at Cerberus can attest, always manifests in a state of extremely dangerous distress. It tends to head directly for the nearest way out, and will throw itself at just about anything - or anyone - that gets in the way. Just hope that’s never you.
power…
Virgil can’t really use his abilities; he’s trying to avoid that at all, and it seems Cerberus agrees this is for the best. Any substantial stress or injury can kick off a pretty gruesome transformation into, well - something that’s not him. This mutated form will continue to mutate the longer he stays in it, reacting to the threats and circumstances it encounters - meaning the shape it takes is not entirely consistent. Based on the limited “stress testing” Cerberus attempted, it usually manifests as a chimerical Abz J. Harding grade horror. At first, it’ll be only slightly larger, overall, than Virgil; the more damage it sustains, the more it has to regenerate, the more aggressively it’ll scale up. Its strength and speed increase proportionally, and coupled with those talons and fangs, it’s well-equipped to make a mess.
drawbacks / vulnerabilities…
It’s all one big drawback, baby, as far as Virgil’s concerned. But to get specific, despite his regular “prescription” from Cerberus, he’s finding himself very sensitive to sensory input - bright light, loud noise, harsh smells, and some “off” tastes, in that order. So long as his power’s suppressed, he’s also prone to joint and muscle aches and general restlessness, up to and including insomnia, distractibility, and moodiness. Everything’s overwhelming, in other words. Any powers that push those buttons are going to be an issue. An EO that can actually “nudge” someone else’s powers or state of mind could be incredibly helpful or a major problem, depending which way they’re poking him - or his monster.
If he does get to change at all, how badly he’s affected by the turn back to his usual self depends on how long it’s been and how the turn came about. He’s got limited data on this, and none of it is promising. There’s the pain, which is excruciating. And the indignity. Disorientation! Vertigo! Nausea! Especially if he ate while transformed. He has difficulty remembering what went on, and what he does recall is disjointed, filtered through a different brain and body. Other vulnerabilities include the simple fact that once he’s turned, he doesn’t seem able to think clearly or really control his actions; his monster runs on instinct, and can’t be reasoned with. Not that it tends to inspire people to try diplomacy, which is unfortunate, as it reacts very badly to violence. So, what to do? A whopping dose of force to overwhelm his regenerative abilities/metabolism and a load of sedatives is all Cerberus really has to answer this question, for now, anyway…
cerberus corp…
Oh, no - he wasn’t “recruited.” Virgil was blackmailed, far as he’s concerned. It wasn’t like he could say no, sitting in a Cerberus Corp containment cell, faced with the hopeless-seeming horror of his situation. But as far as any of his agent “clients” know - those who didn’t respond to the disaster that started all this, at least - he’s just stopping in as a favour. Him and the founders go back, he says. And he just loves a challenge. Couldn’t resist. They’re only keeping these collaborations hush-hush for the sake of security, you see. Again, unless they were involved in containing what happened the first time his powers manifested, only high clearance Cerberus personnel would know he’s extra ordinary at all. Of course, the lower-level agents he costumes might have suspicions… especially as his mutation continues to be difficult to manage.
codename…
He’s heard it said around Cerberus; they have to put something on the paperwork, he supposes, and it’s better they use some ridiculous codename than his real one. If he ever hears his actual name in the mouth of a goddamn Cerberus agent, he’ll sue. That doesn’t mean he prefers that moronic sobriquet some shitheel came up with. Don’t call him that. Don’t call him anything, frankly. Forget he was ever here.
003. EXTRA
I’d love to put out connections for the following! THE HANDLER This is who deals with Virgil on Cerberus Corp’s behalf, arranging his “contracting” schedule and informing him of any adjustments needed to either his designs or his “prescription”; they might have been involved in corralling his monster after it first erupted, or may only be familiar with his powers through the testing notes Cerberus provides. Up to you! Either way, this is a testy dynamic to say the least. He’s been a hell of a handful for the year and change they’ve been “collaborating.”
Please don’t hesitate to propose connections! I’ll come up with more later!













