Jack Willard

Jack Willard is a time-displaced purple-band poster with the uncontrolled ability to influence the emotions of those around him.  When he finds himself in the present, he is sent to Maillardet's, where he is partnered with power-suppressing Rosario Galán-Grant for the third block.
==Biography==
===Early life===
Jack was born in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, on April 30, 1929. He and his father moved to Mobile, Alabama when Jack was thirteen years old. There, they lived with Jack's aunt and uncle, who had several children, including young daughters. His father had pulled him out of school when they moved, and Jack never went back. At fifteen, he decided to join the army.Abuelito
=== World War II ===
He was too young to serve, but he lied about his age and managed to charm everyone from his father to his commanding officers in order to enlist. Most of the boys in his unit were in their teens, although Jack was one of the youngest.quipquipquip: "Things To Know About Jack Willard"
In November 1944, Jack's unit deployed into the Hürtgen Forest. From early on, his division was plagued by troubles. The desertion rate was high, as was the number of self-inflicted wounds. The boys lacked training and proper supplies, and struggled with combat among the thickly-wooded forest. Jack had gone into the war full of patriotism and gung-ho attitudes; he believed that there were winners and losers and nothing in between, and he had no intention of being a loser. That was rapidly beaten out of him.
It was a time before the existence of posthumans were common knowledge, and Jack had no idea that he was anything other than an ordinary human. He had always been charismatic, "a man’s man, first to throw a punch and first to start laughing at a joke." Since his powers were largely passive, he had never realized how he was influencing people around him. But in the Hürtgen, Jack experienced fear and horror as he never had before, and he unwittingly projected that onto his comrades.
The effect was devastating. A third deserted, and those who were caught were rounded up and punished. After seeing an officer shoot a serial deserter, Jack began to lose confidence in the leadership, questioning why they were even there. During Thanksgiving, his division was caught in a bomb blast. Jack ran to help one of the injured soldiers, a boy called Newt, who babbled at Jack to leave him alone— before his eyes began to glow, and he inadvertently sent Jack skidding through time.
=== Traveling Through Time ===
Unaware of what had happened, Jack awoke to find the battlefield gone. He staggered to his feet and walked to the nearest town, not sure what he was supposed to do. When he finally found a woman who spoke English, he was shocked to learn that it was now November of 1956 and the war had been over for years. Thankfully, the woman — Mathilde Sehgers — believed his story. She offered to help him however she could, giving him food, clean clothing and a warm bed.
When Jack awoke on the third day, it was 1964. He stayed for three months this time, sheltered by Mathilde and her daughter Roosje. One day, while walking Roosje home from school, he felt the hooks dig into him again, and 1964 became 1970. He returned to the Sehgers' home to be greeted by Roosje, who was now older than him.
He continued to jump through time in this way, over smaller and smaller periods.  He watched Mathilde age and die. He watched Roosje grow up, get married, have two sons (one named after him), lose her husband and grow old. She died soon after he finally "settled."
By that time, he was only sixteen. He came to the Foundation's attention after losing control of his powers, causing wide-scale panic. When Belgian police arrived on the scene, they found most of the neighborhood out on the street, crying; after they took him back to the station, he inadvertently caused a riot. Eventually the Black Shucks had to be called in, and were forced to tranquilize him to quell the situation. He was brought to the Maillardet's Foundation, where to his surprise, testing revealed him to be a purple-band posthuman.
===At the Academy===
As an Alpha, and one with volatile powers, Jack needed to be trained to control his abilities so as not to be a danger to others. If he could not, he faced the prospect of medication and involuntary commitment. A solution presented itself in the form of Rosario Galán-Grant, a pink-band poster with the ability to negate others' powers. By pairing Jack with her for training, the Foundation hoped that he would be able to safely learn how to use his powers. Rosario agreed to work with him, and so Jack was placed with her in the third block. At sixteen, he was slightly older than most of his classmates, but he had a lot of catching up to do.
==Personality==
Jack struggles with depression and PTSD.quipquipquip: "Will you be dealing with issues like depression or mental illness in your book?"
Jack has not been romantically involved with anyone since he found out about his powers. Given the nature of his abilities, he can't be sure that somebody he is attracted to genuinely reciprocates his feeling: if he does not keep his powers tightly reined in, they will feel what he feels regardless. The thought of this sickens Jack, so he keeps his distance.quipquipquip: "Jack Willard: eighty-four year old virgin."
==Physical appearance==
Jack has curly blond hair and brown eyes.Traveller He is 5'10".quipquipquip: "How tall are the kids?"
==Powers and abilities==
Jack is a purple-band Alpha with the power of empathic emotional manipulation; he is able to make those around him feel the same emotions that he is feeling. He is classified as a purple-band rather than a pink-band because it is possible for him to control his power. However, he does not have much control over it yet, and his power can be unwittingly activated when he is experiencing extreme emotions and high adrenaline.
Jack is a skilled hand-to-hand combatant. He knows Morse code and can speak scraps of half a dozen languages. Living in the Galán-Grant household, he is currently learning Spanish with Libby's help.
===Weaknesses===
Jack's mental health struggles are not related to his powers, but the two feed into each other. When he is anxious or triggered, he has trouble controlling his abilities. Losing control causes him to become more anxious, making the situation worse.quipquipquip: "Jack's mental health challenges, are they separate from his powers?"
==Relationships==
===Rosario Galan-Grant===
Rosario can make Jack smile, even when he doesn't feel like it.
===Libby Galan-Grant===
Jack treats Libby like a little sister, watching TV with her, letting her climb on him, and following along with her Spanish lessons.
==Trivia==
*Jack is a Catholic.
*Jack's favorite color is blue.quiqpquipquip: "What are the kids' favorite colors?"
*If Jack were at Hogwarts, he'd be a Gryffindor.quipquipquip: "Hogwarts houses"
==Appearances==
*Origins
*Abuelito (POV character)
*Traveller
*Target Practice
*Spectral Evidence: Part One
==References==
Category:Alphas
Category:Characters
Category:Purple-bands
Category:Origins characters
Category:Traveller characters
Category:Abuelito characters
Category:Target Practice characters