Name: Lausanne.
Age: 25+.
Contact: blackspire

Character Name: William "Billy" Russo.
Canon: The Punisher (MCU).
Canon Point: Season One, Episode 13 ("Memento Mori").
Appearance: Here.
Age: 34.

Character snapshot: Billy Russo was abandoned as a child and raised in the system, where he experienced a trauma that likely shaped the rest of his life. He joined the marines as soon as he could, wanting to make something of himself, and it turns out he was really good at it. Billy is cocky, fearless, and a good leader. He also has a lot of (probably) undiagnosed issues stemming from both his childhood and his experiences at war. This has shaped him into a man that is charming and calculating, but also dangerously close to the edge of losing it.

World description: Billy's world is pretty much exactly like the one we're all used to, with the exception that superheroes exist. He lives in New York where the Avengers fought off Loki's alien invasion, and where vigilantes like Daredevil find their home. That stuff isn't really on radar, though, and the way he lives, you'd think there was nothing different between the "real world" and the one Billy's set in. He doesn't need superpowers or high-tech suits to be a powerful and successful man. He just needs his own smarts and ambition.

History: Billy was abandoned as a young boy and went through various foster homes before ending up at a group home. There, at the age of eleven, a man attempted to sexually assault him and Billy ended up with a broken shoulder. Having once wanted to grow up to be a pro baseball player, that experience ruined the game for him, and Billy sought something else to do with his life. That's how he ended up enlisting in the marines. And it turns out, Billy was a good soldier. Fearless and with a strong endurance, Billy became a member of an elite (and illegal) squad that was formed for the sole purpose of taking out terrorist threats in Afghanistan, along with his best friend, Frank Castle. It was a brutal experience and Billy eventually requested a transfer out of it, then returned home for good. That doesn't mean Billy wasn't dirty, though. With money supplied to him by the people that set up the squad, Billy was able to found a company called Anvil, which recruited former armed forces members to supply private military or security services. He became very successful. Unfortunately, though, Billy's unclean history was soon revealed, including his overall involvement with not only the activities in Afghanistan but also his involvement with the death of Frank's family and other people to cover up any loose ends. Coming face to face at the end with Frank Castle, Billy was ultimately beaten by the man who used to be closer than family.

What are your character’s mental/emotional strengths?

Billy is very adaptable. This is a skill that he learned early in life, having to overcome the adversity that faced him as his mother abandoned him and he grew up in group homes. But his adaptability was truly tested and honed when he decided to join the US Marines. It was there that Billy really gained the ability to insert himself into any situation and thrive, becoming a respected Lieutenant and leading an elite special ops team. His adaptability is also evidenced in the way he found out how to keep thriving after leaving service: taking money from drug smugglers in the CIA and doing their dirty work for them.

He has a great capacity for Mind Over Matter. Billy is good at pushing through obstacles, particularly when it comes to pain. As part of his training for the marines, he had to go through a process called The Gauntlet, which saw him walking through a group of his fellow marines while they beat him or pushed him into the cold mud. Billy isn't fazed by getting shot at (he can and will remove bullets himself if he has to), and even in his final head-to-head fight with The Punisher, Billy still had the mental strength to overcome a situation that should have seen him dead. This extends to Billy's mental obstacles, too. Having had plenty of experience in high risk situations in both Afghanistan and Iraq, he's able to maintain his composure and think clearly enough to make in the moment decisions (such as when his team gets set up by Homeland Security and Billy was able to pivot to cover his actions).

He is also very charming. Billy has a natural and easy way of putting people at ease and drawing them in. Yes, he has a good smile and a nice face and he knows that helps, but his confidence carries it. He's very aware of how to use that charisma to benefit him, having no issues making a Homeland Security agent develop feelings for him so he could get close to her and stay one step ahead of her. Even when Billy is the reason her partner ends up dead, Billy dotes on her and cares for her, while she never suspects a thing. (Later, she tells someone that Billy Russo is the best liar she's ever met, because she's trained to catch people in lies and he never once let anything slip through the cracks). It's clear that Billy has no moral qualms using his charm to manipulate people. He even goes so far as to take it to national television, playing the hurt and confused friend to try and turn the public opinion against The Punisher, all to save himself from crashing and burning.

What are your character’s mental/emotional weaknesses?

Billy's morals aren't consistent. It's one thing to be entirely black or white or even completely gray when it comes to them, but Billy seems to flip-flop depending on the circumstances, which is when the threads start to unravel. He very clearly has no problems pulling the trigger on people, or doing more intimate kills, such as when he killed his former colonel's mistress and then shot the colonel on site or when he brutally stabbed a man to avoid arrest. Those are not things that make Billy lose sleep at night, but the line starts to blur when it comes to the people he grew loyal to in the service of the marines. Billy admits to Frank Castle that, while he knew that there was a hit on Frank and his family, Billy was unable to be a part of it because he considered the Castles his own family. It's this fondness for both Frank and their other close friend, Curtis, that ultimately led to Billy's downfall, because he allowed himself to see them differently and trusted them too much.

He has several sociopathic traits. There's not just using his aforementioned charm to manipulate or general lack of empathy, he also uses threats and aggression to control people, and has a tendency for physical violence (among other things). Billy shows on a couple of occasions that he knows how to play the upper hand against his superiors. When he's sitting with the agent who essentially built Billy up to what he is, Billy tells him point blank that he has the ability to undermine the man entirely without getting any mess on himself, and even insinuates that he's close enough with The Punisher that he can use that to his advantage. And despite Billy being very good with a gun - both at close range or as a sniper - he has a fondness for knives. He keeps one hidden up his sleeve and seems to prefer the close contact violence it offers.

The most apparent weakness Billy has, though, is his narcissism. He displays it not only in the general sense of the word, but also mentally. Billy came up from nothing. He boasts multiple times about where he's ended up in life, about being able to wear nice clothes and have nice cars, because growing up he could never even afford to have his own baseball glove. The money wasn't at all earned by him, but the way that people perceive him is critical to his way of life. It inflates his self importance and feeds into the mentality that he's untouchable by anyone or anything, and it's only when all of this starts to come undone - when people start to see him for who and what he really is - that everything goes to ruin for him. His narcissism is so prevalent that even Frank Castle knows that destroying Billy's good looks and confidence is a fate worse than death for him.

What events or circumstances in your character’s past have impacted them the most? (cw: sexual assault)

When Billy was around eleven years old, he was living in a group home for boys and was sexually assaulted by one of the volunteers. When Billy fought back, his attacker broke Billy's arm so severely that Billy had to have surgery to fix it. The man had referred to Billy as "pretty", and that's a word that he continues to hate into his adulthood, though he's learned how to essentially use his looks for his gain. Rather than be victimized and hide it, he takes control of his looks so others can't take advantage of him again for it.

Joining the Marines. It was the first time in Billy's life that he found a place where he truly felt like he belonged. Not only was it something he was good at, but the others there both accepted and respected him, and he became the best version of himself in the years that he served. It also gave him the first sense of family he ever had. He truly felt - and continued to feel for a long time after - that the men there were as good as actual brothers to him.

Kandahar was when Billy's military career took a turn. It was here that Billy become one of the leaders of a top secret, and very illegal, operation called Cerberus. The operation saw them going on near-suicide missions and pushing the limits of their endurance, and ultimately might have worn down on Billy's already admittedly unstable mental health. It certainly played a large part in desensitizing Billy to violence against innocent people. The operation was funded by smuggling drugs out of Afghanistan, and that same money was used to pay Billy off for his silence - the same money that ultimately built up Billy's life post-service, and money which he kept receiving even after.

Billy's fight with Frank Castle was the moment when all the plates stopped spinning. It was there that Billy was forced to really face that he was about to lose everything, but also learn that there are consequences to his actions. Not only was his face mutilated in the fight as a reminder of what he'd done and what he'd have to live with, the moment led to a real shatter in Billy's mental stability. Later, his therapist would go on to refer to his mind as a "jigsaw" that needed to pieced back together, and Billy has to live with subsequent nightmares and PTSD of that night.

What impressions do others tend to have of your character and how do those impressions differ from who your character truly is?

It may come as no surprise that people find Billy very likeable upon first meeting him. He's got a disarming smile and, despite wearing fancy suits and being a successful man, there's something about the ease with which he holds himself that makes him seem approachable. His voice, with it's obvious New York accent, helps with that relatability - to anyone meeting him, he's a guy who started out a poor kid and lived the American Dream. He's the guy that people want in their friend circle, who gives back to the veteran community but still knows how to go out and have a good time.

This all isn't too far off the mark - Billy does give back to veterans in whatever way he can, and he does have a good sense of humour that draws people in. But it should be evident by now that there's a lot of darkness lurking beneath that perfect-but-imperfect façade he wears so well. Billy does not care about being anyone's friend. Any relationships (outside of the ones from his days in the marines) are made purely for self-gain and are superficial at best. He doesn't care about anyone as much as he makes them believe. He's an incredibly accomplished liar and he knows how to reveal just enough of the truth while dancing around the important details to be believable. For example, he lets people believe he's never gone looking for his mother, while in truth he pays for her to stay at a sort of hospice. It's evident that the care there isn't the best, and Billy himself mistreats her while she's helpless, but he looks at it as both charity and payment in kind for her abandoning him. Unfortunately for most people, Billy is just normal enough that it's not hard for him to pretend (or believe) that there's nothing amiss with him.

What motivates your character?

Billy is motivated by self-gain and moving up in the world. He started his life off with nothing and experienced how cruel the world could be at a young age, and it's something that he still holds on to. He resents that part of his life, he resents that he can't let it go, so he strives in every way to prove to everyone that he beat what life threw at him. That's what drove him originally to join the marines. It was an option that not only allowed Billy to better himself, but gave him an opportunity to be the bigger man. By serving his country, he was showing the world that he wasn't going to let his trauma get the better of him.

Of course, this is also how Billy became a slightly less better man than he intended. With nothing to his name, the prospect of cashing in big was too good for him to pass up. With money and powerful connections, Billy could slot himself into a lifestyle that he felt he deserved but could never reach. And, yes, that money came with some heavy costs in the form of lives (even lives of people he cared deeply for). None of that matters to Billy in the end. As long as he's being perceived as being powerful and successful, he's willing to pay the price.

How does your character handle crisis or adversity?

He's been quite literally trained to handle crisis. As a lieutenant and a leader, Billy's job was to remain calm in high stress situations and adapt as needed, to ensure both success and the safety of his team. Like most soldiers, he actually thrives under the pressure. He's showcased this ability plenty of times, in the way he bides his time before delivering the final blow, or calmly talking to someone in the midst of being shot at, or even easily standing in the line of gunfire while staring down the shooter. Even at the time when he should have been the most frantic, he still managed to be mentally on point enough to deliver expert shots.

Of course, it's not just something he knows how to do in war-like situations. Billy carries it into his line of work in the "civilian" life too, where he runs security details and military contracts, leading by example of staying calm in the line of fire.

Skills, abilities, and physical weaknesses:

Skilled At:

Combat, both hand-to-hand and knife.

Marksmanship, can be a sniper but prefers close range.

Maintaining his composure, high endurance capability.

Lying, with the ability to fool even the most trained agents.

Physical Weakness:

Just survived a fight he should not have lived through, so his body has a lot of recovery to do.

Still just a human, so he has squishy, vulnerable bits.


Inventory:

Bullet proof vest.

Shirt.

Utility pants.

Boots.

What aspects of your character are you most interested in exploring in a horror setting?

I really enjoy the psychological aspect of horror, and Billy is a character that has a lot of trauma and mental fractures to work with. I'd really like to pick at all those insecurities, especially now that he's missing what he feels is such an important part of his identity, and lean into the paranoia and PTSD he's disposed to feeling now.

What is your character’s mental state upon entering the game?

In a couple words: Not Great. It's been stated a few times, but Billy's mental state was always pretty precarious. He has clear signs of potential mental disorders that, rather than treat, he either ignores or feeds. Unfortunately now, his entire mental state has been shattered. The narcissism that held him together has been completely fractured, which has left Billy feeling like he has nothing to hide himself behind, and he doesn't like the thought of people seeing him for what he is. His encounter with Frank Castle was also horrific and violent. It's something that, in the future, would leave him with amnesia as a result from brain damage, along with severe PTSD and fits of uncontrollable aggression. With the canon point I've chosen - right at the moment of this major event - you can expect Billy to experience both the PTSD and aggressive fits, along with moments of paranoia.

What unsettles and frightens your character? What sort of encounters would chip away at your character’s psychological stability?

Anything that might force him to relive past moments, not just the fight that left him the way he is, but something that would force him to really look at the horrible things he's done just to get ahead in life. Betraying his friends (if he allows anyone to get that close to him) would cause unease, for sure.

As for frightening, Billy suffers from nightmares of skulls and mirrors. Situations that put him with mirrors (looking at himself or having them break around him) would spike his anxiety the most.

What horrifying events or genre elements would you like to see utilized in the game?

I love the psychological stuff. I also love possession plots, or things like not being able to sleep / experiencing intense nightmares upon sleeping, ghosts (a solid classic), and phobias.

Test Drive Thread: Here.
Log Thread Sample: Here.
Log Thread Sample: Here.