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What a marshmallow. You should hold out for someone with a stronger stomach. |
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— Himself |
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Jacob Black is a member of the Quileute tribe in La Push, Washington. Publicly, he's just a normal teenager who grew up with only a passing interest in the native traditions of his people. Few know that he is also a skin-changer, a powerful shapeshifter capable of taking on the form of an enormous direwolf, and is committed to a sacred trust, handed down by his people for generations: Protect the land and its people from supernatural threats, especially vampires.
Personality
Jacob exhibits the easy confidence of someone who has come into his own power and learned his own worth, making him often come across as brash and cocky, though he also has the instincts and cunning to know a real threat when he encounters one. He can be hot-headed, wearing his heart on his sleeve, but he is a man fundamentally driven by his caring for others. This was at one time fixated on Bella, but between her rejection of him and his increased time spent among the pack, his fellow wolves have become in truth his family, the ones he is most loyal to and loves the most. He has the heart of a warrior, the spirit of a leader, and the drive to protect those who are most vulnerable to the dangers of the supernatural world.
Background
Born to Billy and Sarah Black, Jacob had a healthy and normal enough childhood in La Push, Washington. His two older sisters, Rachel and Rebecca, were protective of him, and his two best friends were Embry Call and Quil Ateara V. Unfortunately, at age nine, Jacob lost his mother when she was killed in a car crash. His sisters took this harder, but Jacob recovered well in large part thanks to the two of them looking out for him. In time, both sisters moved away, and Jacob was left to take care for his ailing father. However, Jacob loved his father, a respected elder of the Quileute tribe, and did not resent caring for him.
In his high school years, Jacob developed strong feelings for a childhood acquaintance named Bella Swan. He tried various methods of winning her affections, but she seemed to only have eyes for Edward Cullen. However, she also apparently enjoyed stringing Jacob along, which caused him no end of heartbreak. His father tries to use Jacob to warn Bella about what Edward is, but Jacob remained somewhat in the dark about the realities of it all. When Edward and his family left, Jacob was left to comfort Bella, and the two forged what seemed to be a strong friendship, perhaps verging on something more.
Then it all changed. Jacob underwent his transformation into a lupine shifter, becoming one of Sam Uley's pack. Learning the truth about his own heritage and the Cullens' true identities, Jacob tried to warn her off yet again, and he and the pack defended her from attacks by other vampires. When Bella enticed the Cullens to return, Jacob was again alienated from her, but he did his best to keep Edward from turning Bella into a vampire. However, in the end Bella remained with Edward, leaving Jacob heartbroken and alone, only to return to his pack.
SIGNATURE ABILITY
Born Alpha
Jacob was born to be an alpha wolf-shifter. This isn't quite the same thing as being an alpha werewolf, but it does grant him some special abilities, as noted in his powers. Beyond that, it also means that at times he can suddenly display leaps in ability as a shifter. For instance, he manifested his status as an alpha and broke away from his old pack, despite having previously submitted to the authority of Sam Uley. In times of great need or duress, Jacob can "leap ahead" and discover new control and mastery over aspects of himself as a shifter, which might otherwise be extremely difficult or impossible for him to accomplish. This does not grant him any special powers, in and of itself, but it does allow him to, under the right circumstances, learn new powers quickly that he might otherwise learn under other circumstances or with greater time. He also tends to pick up on the ability to use and control his powers very, very quickly in such cases. His bloodline is also unusual in that he's closer than most other shifters to other forms of werewolves, most specifically the Children of the Moon, which adds to his flexibility in terms of what abilities he can learn.
SKILLS
Jacob Black's athleticism is greatly bolstered by his wolven nature, but even without it, he would still be an extremely gifted athlete. He can run, jump, climb, swim, lift, tumble, and otherwise perform all of the notable athletic feats at a very high level of expertise.
Driving - Competent Level
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Jacob has honed his skills as a driver, most particularly as a rider of motorcycles, on the winding and often wet roads of upstate Washington. As a result of this and his keen reflexes, he's very capable on the road.
Fighting - Competent Level
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Jacob lacks the expertise of a truly experienced fighter, but he has the instincts and reflexes of a champion. The only snag is, this is true in his wolven form. When forced to fight in a human form, he tends to only operate at Novice level.
Jacob isn't especially book-inclined, and even the oral histories of his people, while interesting to him, appeal less to him than action. Still, he is somewhat well-informed on the supernatural world in a limited way, even if much of it pertains to his own immediate backyard--and, of course, with hunting vampires.
Mechanics - Competent Level
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Jacob is capable of building and repairing any non-computerized automobiles, particularly motorcycles. He is skilled enough that he could easily work as a mechanic if he needed to.
Survival - Competent Level
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Even in human form, Jacob would do well in the wilds. Of course, in wolf shape, he is quite the dangerous predator, capable of existing entirely as a wild animal for indefinite periods as he so chooses. When in familiar territory and in wolf form, he effectively functions at Expert level. In strange territory as a human, he is reduced to Novice level.
ABILITIES
Power: Alpha Voice - Supreme Level
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While Jacob is extremely loath to employ this ability, he is the Born Alpha of his pack. That means that, as a pack leader, he can compel his pack members to obey orders, even against their will. Despite having this power, he is unlikely ever to use it for compulsion. Instead, it allows him to demonstrate his power as an alpha via voice. As a Born Alpha, Jacob is even sometimes able to exert dominance over other alphas. (Exerting dominance does not force them to obey him, necessarily, so much as it lets him assert his status.) The effectiveness of this ability depends on that Alpha's willpower and inner strength. To a limited degree, Jacob may also dominate non-werewolves who lack sufficient mental defenses, much in the way certain werewolves can dominate the will of some humans or animals. This is usually sufficient to give them a single command that would not go completely against their nature, so for instance, he could not (and would not, anyhow) instruct someone to injure or kill themselves.
Despite having this power, Jacob has sworn never to use it on members of his own pack.
Power: Body Heat - Basic Level
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A Quileute wolf-shifter has a natural body temperature of about #-1 PERMISSION DENIED. This allows them to endure extremes of temperature, staving off cold and tolerating heat, far better than a normal human. The elevated body temperature also makes it harder for them to become sick, as the germs and pathogens adapted to human hosts generally do not tolerate their body heat. Of course, this comes with the drawback that their body heat is high enough to cause alarm if they are ever checked over by a human doctor.
Thanks to intimate contact with his mate, Jason, Jacob has picked up some of the qualities of the Children of the Moon. This strain of lycanthropy prevents him from aging beyond the physical age of twenty or so. His regeneration prevents any damage to his cells, routinely restoring them, making him functionally immortal. He requires respiration in order to remain active, but he cannot die from lack of it. Likewise, if frozen or even burnt to a charred state, he will become active again when the effect ends and he is able to heal. Along with immortality comes a flawless memory, allowing him to easily retain all that he learns over his potentially long years.
Power: Regeneration - Enhanced Level
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Jacob's Enhanced-level regeneration allows him to recover from nearly any wound. He heals so fast that broken bones knit faster than they can be set, which can be a complication, but even if he is seriously injured to the point that a human might be crippled, he can bounce back quickly, though at times he still requires proper medical care. In addition, each time he shifts his body regenerates itself on the cellular level. This does not instantly heal injuries, but it does effectively "reboot" his aging process. (This refers to the cellular decay of growing old, not the process of growing into a mature adult. He effectively remains in the peak condition of an eighteen-year-old.)
Power: Senses - Enhanced Level
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The senses of a Quileute wolf-shifter are enhanced far beyond the ability of any average human. They can hear things like a person's heartbeat and tell if they are nervous and possibly lying and clearly hear the murmur of a quiet conversation several rooms away. They can see over long distances and also possesses excellent night vision. Through scent, they can track a person, even if the trail is days old; they can also isolate specific individual scents in a larger group.
Power: Telepathy - Basic Level
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When in wolf form, Jacob can communicate with any other wolves in his pack via telepathy. In fact, he cannot avoid doing so. In wolf form, he shares his thoughts and memories freely with the pack, even if he might prefer to hide them. As a born pack alpha, Jacob is also able to communicate with other alphas, even if they're a different type of shifter. No other psychic or magical powers have been demonstrated that are able to disrupt this connection, though he must be in wolf form to access it.
Power: Vanishing - Enhanced Level
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While in his wolf form, Jacob is able to draw upon the Quileutes' ancestral power of astral projection. In his case, modified by his werewolf traits, he is able to physically vanish from perception, fading partly into the Ways. While in this state, he is completely undetectable to physical senses of any acuity. However, supernatural senses that can perceive the Otherworld at even Basic level have a chance, if a small one, to detect him. Enhanced senses of this type would have a fairly even chance. This ability does not actually allow him to traverse the Ways or to increase his travel speed, though it does allow him to evade detection and to pass through unwarded solid objects.
Power: Wolf Form - Enhanced Level
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In wolf-form, Jacob possesses the following traits: Enhanced-level Strength sufficient to crush stone in his jaws, Enhanced-level Agility, Enhanced-level Toughness and stamina sufficient to resist most mundane forms of trauma, Enhanced-level Senses akin to those of a wolf that enable him to track by scent and hear over great distances, Enhanced-level Claws/Fangs that allow him to tear through most conventional materials, and Enhanced-level Travel Speed, allowing him to run at over one hundred miles per hour.
ADVANTAGES
As potentially cheesy as it is to note, Jacob is widely regarded as highly attractive in a conventional masculine sense. Between having naturally handsome features and being in extremely fine shape, he certainly holds a certain appeal.
Jacob can rely on the other members of his current pack through thick and thin. They are his brothers, more than any other family, and they look out for one another.
The Quileute tribe values its protectors, and Jacob is one of them. As such, as much as he works to protect the tribe, the tribe works to protect him. It is an ancient relationship, built on blood and mutual need. Also worthy of note, Jacob's father is an important figure in the tribal leadership.
WEAKNESSES
Jacob's brand of shifter carries a curious trait: At some point in their lives, they will meet someone upon whom they will imprint. This person will then become the central figure in their lives, surpassing all others, and the shifter will do or become anything that person needs them to do or be. Jacob has imprinted on Jason Christopher Lupus. As a result, Jacob will now do anything to see to Jason's best interests, including self-sacrifice.
Jacob is loyal to a fault. Now, this carries all of the usual drawbacks, such as it being possible to use his loved ones against him, but it also means that he's got a bit of a blind spot where they're concerned. He'll endure no end of abuse and ill treatment, just because he cares for someone, and he's been demonstrably fairly thick-headed about knowing when to let go in the past.
To a human nose, Jacob actually smells quite nicely of woods and pine. However, to most vampires, he carries the "reek" of lupine shifter, which they often call a "dog smell" or worse. This makes it easy for those with enhanced senses to track him via scent.
