Gwen Poole (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
variantcover) wrote2022-02-12 08:42 am
variantcover) wrote2022-02-12 08:42 am
Entry tags:
Metaheroes Info/Permissions
ABOUT
name
Gwendolyn “Gwen” Poole
codename
Gwenpool
aliases
Gwennie
Ghostface No-Pants Killer
Pink Ghost
canon
Marvel-616
canon point
Gwenpool Strikes Back #5
age
19
birthdate
12.20.1996
pronouns
she/her
sexuality
bisexual
family
Ted Poole (father)
Martha Poole (mother)
Teddy Poole, Jr. (younger brother)
Jeff the Land Shark (pet)
PERMISSIONS
BACKTAGGING: ✔
THREADJACKING: ✔*
FOURTHWALLING: ✔
ROMANCE: ✔
SMUT: ✘
MINDREADING: ✔
MANIPULATION: ✔
INJURY: ✔*
FIGHTING: ✔
KILLING: ✔*
*with OOC discussion
STATS
STR
12
DEX
13
CON
11
INT
9
WIS
10
CHA
15
HISTORY
“This world isn't fair, Teddy. But look. There's a better one, right in there. A shared escapist universe built by hundreds of human creators over decades... a singular linked vision. It's real! I can almost touch it! It's been calling to me! I know that!”
Gwen started her life as one of us, living in the "real world" where stories of superheroes, mutants, and magic powers were all fictional. She retreated to these stories to escape from her less than stellar life. Unable to graduate high school, friendless, jobless, at odds with her parents, Gwen convinced her brother Teddy to find a way to port themselves into the world of her favorite comics, where she styled herself into a hero in her own right.
PERSONALITY
They say you should never meet your heroes. Whoever came up with that phrase probably didn't mean superheroes, but then why would they? Superheroes aren't real. They exist in an entirely different (fictional) universe. Thing is, though, through the magic of comic books, it is sometimes possible to cross between universes. That is what Gwendolyn Poole did, after dropping out of high school, losing all her friends when they moved away to college, and being unable to hold a job without a diploma. Her life became a dull, lonely, sanity-destroying place, where her only respite was the escapist fantasy of superhero comics, movies, and video games. Gwen decided to literally escape her stupid, boring regular life, and find a way to transport herself into the universe of her favorite characters: Earth-616, home of the Prime Marvel Universe.
This shows just how driven and self-motivated Gwen is. No matter whether the thing she wants to do is impossible, implausible, or just plain unlikely, she'll find a way to make it happen. The problem is, she doesn't always stop to consider the consequences of her actions. Turns out, Earth-616 New York City is a lot more dangerous than plain old regular New York City. There are superhero v. supervillain battles on every other street corner, and explosions just, like, happen. A lot. Gwen quickly realized that if she was going to survive in this comic book universe, she had to play by its rules. She had to adapt, and make herself into a character who couldn't just be killed off. No more would she be Gwen Poole, the innocent bystander! She would make herself into a hero, despite the fact that her only superpowers are knowing everyone's secret identities and a general understanding of how comic book storylines work.
At first, Gwen lacked empathy, believing that none of her behavior really mattered, because the people around her who were dying or getting hurt weren't real people. Simply nameless creations of a comic book writer somewhere who only existed in ink and paper. What did that poor old woman matter? Or that cop, trying to stop Gwen from getting what she wanted? Eventually, Gwen was forced into realizing that if she continued along that path, sure, she'd have a long run with a ton of issues, but she would be a villain, not a hero. And in Gwen's black-and-white view of morality, that wasn't what she wanted. Ultimately, Gwen wants to do good. She wants to be the hero of her story. And so, Gwen was able to learn from her mistakes and treat the people of Earth-616 with more respect than ever before.
As Gwen learned and grew, she gained more control over the medium of the comic book universe she was in. She gained access to the "gutter space," the white space in between panels. She used this to defy the laws of time and logic, once again abusing her knowledge and power to get what she wanted. The people around her couldn't fathom what Gwen was doing, nor could they see where she went when she walked out of frame. From their perspective, all Gwen's talk about writers and editors was nonsense. Gwen was thought of as an unpredictable insane person. Gwen grew used to everyone thinking she was insane, and learned to either adapt what she said so her meta-knowledge seemed more believable, or, in other cases, embrace the persona of insanity and use it to her advantage. People weren't going to believe the truth, so might as well lie and tell them what they want to hear.
All-in-all, Gwen has learned some of her lessons, but she still functions in a very narcissistic manner. She has trouble viewing situations from any perspective other than her own, which ends up pushing away the few friends she's been able to make on Earth-616.
This shows just how driven and self-motivated Gwen is. No matter whether the thing she wants to do is impossible, implausible, or just plain unlikely, she'll find a way to make it happen. The problem is, she doesn't always stop to consider the consequences of her actions. Turns out, Earth-616 New York City is a lot more dangerous than plain old regular New York City. There are superhero v. supervillain battles on every other street corner, and explosions just, like, happen. A lot. Gwen quickly realized that if she was going to survive in this comic book universe, she had to play by its rules. She had to adapt, and make herself into a character who couldn't just be killed off. No more would she be Gwen Poole, the innocent bystander! She would make herself into a hero, despite the fact that her only superpowers are knowing everyone's secret identities and a general understanding of how comic book storylines work.
At first, Gwen lacked empathy, believing that none of her behavior really mattered, because the people around her who were dying or getting hurt weren't real people. Simply nameless creations of a comic book writer somewhere who only existed in ink and paper. What did that poor old woman matter? Or that cop, trying to stop Gwen from getting what she wanted? Eventually, Gwen was forced into realizing that if she continued along that path, sure, she'd have a long run with a ton of issues, but she would be a villain, not a hero. And in Gwen's black-and-white view of morality, that wasn't what she wanted. Ultimately, Gwen wants to do good. She wants to be the hero of her story. And so, Gwen was able to learn from her mistakes and treat the people of Earth-616 with more respect than ever before.
As Gwen learned and grew, she gained more control over the medium of the comic book universe she was in. She gained access to the "gutter space," the white space in between panels. She used this to defy the laws of time and logic, once again abusing her knowledge and power to get what she wanted. The people around her couldn't fathom what Gwen was doing, nor could they see where she went when she walked out of frame. From their perspective, all Gwen's talk about writers and editors was nonsense. Gwen was thought of as an unpredictable insane person. Gwen grew used to everyone thinking she was insane, and learned to either adapt what she said so her meta-knowledge seemed more believable, or, in other cases, embrace the persona of insanity and use it to her advantage. People weren't going to believe the truth, so might as well lie and tell them what they want to hear.
All-in-all, Gwen has learned some of her lessons, but she still functions in a very narcissistic manner. She has trouble viewing situations from any perspective other than her own, which ends up pushing away the few friends she's been able to make on Earth-616.
ABILITIES
Meta Knowledge: (Canon Power) Coming from the "real world," where everything we know to be fiction is still fiction, Gwen has a deep knowledge of pop culture, focused on but not limited to Western style superhero comics. She knows characters' names, backstories, powers, and publication histories.
Gwen's pop culture knowledge only goes up until media published in January of 2016, as that is when she transitioned into the Marvel-616 universe. I will never 4th wall someone's character without obtaining OOC permission first. Please see Permissions/Opt-In section below.
Format Manipulation: (Canon Power) In the Marvel-616 universe, Gwen is able to manipulate the format of the comic book by moving in and out of the "gutter space," aka the space between panels. This effectively allows her to teleport, time travel, and create multiple clones of herself. The changes she creates are not always permanent, for example if she drags an enemy into the gutter space and abandons them there, they will eventually reappear inside the comic again. How successful Gwen's schemes are is entirely up to the writers/editors at Marvel who are creating her. She knows this, and she has a love/hate relationship with them as a result.
Because Gwen will no longer be in a comic book universe, she will be unable to access the gutter space. At first she will think that she has just been completely cut off from this subsection of her abilities, but eventually my aim is for her to realize she has not just left a comic book, she has entered a new format: online journal-based roleplay. Once this happens, Gwen will develop the ability to manipulate the DWRP format the same way she would manipulate the comic book: by disappearing from one point in a thread and reappearing several comments back, creating a new branch in the timeline; by popping into other threads to steal an item she needs for her current thread; or by (temporarily) hijacking the game and introducing certain other fanfic/RP trope style elements. There is the potential for her to manipulate the format in other ways, that I will work with other players and the mods to implement when the time comes for that.
To prevent this format manipulation power from becoming too OP, I will be implementing the following limitations:
This power is limited by the number of weapons she has (three total) and the type of weapons they started as (one ranged and two melee). Gwen has to state out loud what she wants her weapon to transform into.
Pockets of Holding: (New Power) Any item of clothing that Gwen wears will be imbued with pockets, regardless of whether it had pockets originally. Moreover, those pockets magically expand to fit objects that would not normally be able to fit in the confines of a regular pocket. Once inside the pocket, items stored there enter a pocket dimension and have no volume or weight as visible from the outside world. Items stored in the pocket can be found and retrieved by reaching in with the intention of pulling that particular item out.
Living things can only survive inside the pocket dimension for a maximum of one hour. In order to store something in her pockets, Gwen has to be able to physically lift it inside, or allow for it to climb inside on its own. The one item the pocket cannot store is money; Gwen can only keep a maximum of $9.98 in cash in her pockets at any given time. If Gwen wears clothing with multiple pockets, there is still only one (shared) pocket dimension at any given time, and the pocket dimension is only active as long as Gwen is wearing the item(s) of clothing. Anything still stored inside the pocket dimension will come spilling out once Gwen removes that article of clothing.
Gwen's pop culture knowledge only goes up until media published in January of 2016, as that is when she transitioned into the Marvel-616 universe. I will never 4th wall someone's character without obtaining OOC permission first. Please see Permissions/Opt-In section below.
Format Manipulation: (Canon Power) In the Marvel-616 universe, Gwen is able to manipulate the format of the comic book by moving in and out of the "gutter space," aka the space between panels. This effectively allows her to teleport, time travel, and create multiple clones of herself. The changes she creates are not always permanent, for example if she drags an enemy into the gutter space and abandons them there, they will eventually reappear inside the comic again. How successful Gwen's schemes are is entirely up to the writers/editors at Marvel who are creating her. She knows this, and she has a love/hate relationship with them as a result.
Because Gwen will no longer be in a comic book universe, she will be unable to access the gutter space. At first she will think that she has just been completely cut off from this subsection of her abilities, but eventually my aim is for her to realize she has not just left a comic book, she has entered a new format: online journal-based roleplay. Once this happens, Gwen will develop the ability to manipulate the DWRP format the same way she would manipulate the comic book: by disappearing from one point in a thread and reappearing several comments back, creating a new branch in the timeline; by popping into other threads to steal an item she needs for her current thread; or by (temporarily) hijacking the game and introducing certain other fanfic/RP trope style elements. There is the potential for her to manipulate the format in other ways, that I will work with other players and the mods to implement when the time comes for that.
To prevent this format manipulation power from becoming too OP, I will be implementing the following limitations:
- Gwen is unable to access closed log posts/threads, and is unable to see network threads marked as encrypted or private. The only IC inbox threads she can see are ones she was involved in, either in her own inbox, or her tagging into another character's inbox. She will be unable to identify anyone who is posting anonymously or under a pseudonym without finding out organically who they are, the same as anyone else.
- She cannot access anything on the OOC or Mod comms. IC will remain IC, OOC will remain OOC.
- I will obtain OOC permission from all players involved before having Gwen "jump" into a thread she was not previously involved in. (She would do so either to teleport to a different location, or to obtain an item that was present in that scene, and bring it with her back to her current thread.)
- Any game-altering events run by Gwen will be limited in breadth and scope to ensure that players who are not interested in participating will have a comfortable way to opt-out.
- Gwen will not be able to change, rewrite, or retcon the actions, thoughts, or memories of other characters that exist prior to or outside of any game-altering event.
- Again, I will obtain OOC permission for all of Gwen's hijinks.
This power is limited by the number of weapons she has (three total) and the type of weapons they started as (one ranged and two melee). Gwen has to state out loud what she wants her weapon to transform into.
Pockets of Holding: (New Power) Any item of clothing that Gwen wears will be imbued with pockets, regardless of whether it had pockets originally. Moreover, those pockets magically expand to fit objects that would not normally be able to fit in the confines of a regular pocket. Once inside the pocket, items stored there enter a pocket dimension and have no volume or weight as visible from the outside world. Items stored in the pocket can be found and retrieved by reaching in with the intention of pulling that particular item out.
Living things can only survive inside the pocket dimension for a maximum of one hour. In order to store something in her pockets, Gwen has to be able to physically lift it inside, or allow for it to climb inside on its own. The one item the pocket cannot store is money; Gwen can only keep a maximum of $9.98 in cash in her pockets at any given time. If Gwen wears clothing with multiple pockets, there is still only one (shared) pocket dimension at any given time, and the pocket dimension is only active as long as Gwen is wearing the item(s) of clothing. Anything still stored inside the pocket dimension will come spilling out once Gwen removes that article of clothing.
FOURTHWALLING & FORMAT MANIPULATION PERMISSIONS
Gwen is a character from a universe like ours, who is an avid reader of comic books/viewer of movies and tv/player of games, especially but not limited to those featuring the Marvel Universe characters. The last time she was in the "real world" was January 2016, so if your character's canon point is newer than that, then you're probably safe. Gwen's focus is also on Western media— she is less familiar with Anime/Manga/JRPG games. But just in general, if it's something your average pop culture/comics nerd would know, then Gwen is likely to know it. Please note that just because Gwen knows a character's backstory/identity/etc., that does not necessitate that she will mention it to that character, or that it will be brought up outside of brackets/introspection.
When interacting with Gwen's fourthwalling, there are a few options available to you:
Comments are screened at first in case you would like to remain private.
HERE IS A HANDY-DANDY FORM:
When interacting with Gwen's fourthwalling, there are a few options available to you:
- FULLY OPTING IN - Gwen can know your character from their fictional canon, and can reference the truth of how she knows them when speaking with them.
- KNOW BUT DON'T TELL - the Marge Simpson approach. Gwen can know your character exists as fiction in her world (the extent of her knowledge is left up to you, please detail what you are comfortable with) but you would prefer Gwen not mention your character's fictional nature to them. In instances like this, Gwen will fall back on a line such as, "Knowing things about other universes is kind of my superpower."
- PARALLEL ALTERNATIVE CANON - Instead of recognizing your character as Dr. Alan Grant from Jurassic Park, Gwen will say that he reminds her a lot of Dr. Ellen Strant from Cretaceous Canyon. AKA, I will make up a fake "real world" canon that resembles but is not exactly the same as your character's canon.
- OLD SCHOOL ONLY - She knows Classic Doctor Who, but not the 2005 revival. (Again, any canons that came out more recently than January 2016 are immune to Gwen's fourthwalling.)
- JUST THE TROPES - She can recognize someone as being "Very Shounen Anime Protagonist" but will not be able to pinpoint what shounen anime they come from.
- THAT'S A NO FROM ME DAWG - A hard no on any form of canon/meta recognition. Most likely this means I will avoid tagging you with Gwen entirely.
- OTHER - We can discuss on a case by case basis what you do and do not want Gwen to know or mention.
Comments are screened at first in case you would like to remain private.
OOC
PLAYER CHRIS. TIMEZONE EST. CONTACT ![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
MILLENNIALFALCON / ©hris#1234. CODE.
no subject
I'm very down for fourth-wall knowledge and also for DWRP-format bullshit! I love weird shit in RP!
no subject
Thanks for commenting!