August Blackwood

―August Blackwood to Fjor Grayson.

**August Blackwood** is a character in *Gen X*. He is a second year at Exousia University. He returns to the university with excitement, being able to escape the constant nagging of his parents. Despite his charismatic attitude, he was raised to be a soldier, being weaponized to the point he grew numb to concepts and situations that others would consider traumatic. Because he isn't a hero, he limits himself and the usage of his powers, limiting the amount of voices he regularly hears.

## Background

In a small town called Gatlinburg, Tennessee, lived a mute boy and his ex-military parents. It was his first day of kindergarten, he went on the bus. That was the first time he heard voices, not in his head, but in the other children’s heads. Distressed, the bus driver asked him what was wrong and August finally spoke. Stop. And that's what the bus driver did. The bus was found flipped over in the middle of the road, and half of the bus including the driver didn't make it. His parents found him unscathed and in one piece. They then found that what they forged their son to be was finally coming into play.

They took him into intense training and mental practices, and blade training for years August felt like he lost his voice just as soon as he discovered he had one. 13 years later, his efforts to get out of his parent's house paid off. He was accepted into Exousia University. He told his parents he was going to crime-fighting, but he truly was denied and had to apply for law. But he was tired of training and going by his parents' wishes, he just had to keep this front he was aspiring to still be a hero. Going on a year now, and the telepath keeps to himself despite his “double life”.

## Personality

August is a private, yet friendly person. He has this charismatic attitude and extroverted energy. He keeps his collected and content attitude no matter the situation, which makes him hard to read. He does his best to get his work done while enjoying the experience of college as well.

## Powers and Abilities

―August Blackwood.

* **Telepathy**: August possesses the power to communicate, broadcast, and read the thoughts of others. It gives him access to perceive the thoughts of others and detecting the presences of other minds through extrasensory means nearby. This is his main way of communicating, he mainly uses his mental voice for most conversations.
	+ ***Mental Detection:*** This ability allows him to sense the presence of another superhuman mutant within a small but as yet undefined radius of himself by perceiving the distinctive mental radiations emitted by such a being.
	+ ***Psi Link:*** The ability to develop a mental link with any person which remains as a connection to that individual.
	+ **Verbal Mind Compulsion**: August, with his natural voice, can give out commands to living beings nearby. As long as they hear him, they are influenced by his voice, and their eyes developed this cloudy white while under control. Using just a few words, these commands can vary from temporary to permanent means.
	+ ***Mind Blast:*** The ability to place large amounts of information in another's mind.

* **Enhanced Dexterity**: August can control his movements and muscles more precisely than humans at the peak of their species, making them unable to be clumsy or fumbling. He can slip through a network of lasers, reach through dangerous narrow tunnels, keep perfect balance, or juggle effortlessly without ever tripping or wobbling. He can even move their finger or toes effortlessly, with tendon strain no longer being a problem.

## Weaknesses

* **Mental Focusing**: August must press on the side of his head to direct a strong mental influence on another, if not, his mind will contact those within his radius.
* **Overexertion**: Focusing too hard and too long on another’s thoughts can cause a mental strain on August. The verbal commands vary depending on the impact of the word’s effects. Too much mental concentration, commands on others, and even mind reading can cause brain aneurysms and major headaches that cause his blood vessels to pop and on rare occasions he’ll go faint.