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[bravidiocy]

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Name: Jen

Age: 30

Contact: blackskymetro#3175 at discord

Character(s) in game: n/a

Permissions: here

→ CHARACTER INFO

Character Name: Tomas Ortega

Age: 35

Canon: The Exorcist

Canon point: Episode 9 as he engages with the demon

History:

-Tomas was born in Chicago, the younger brother to Olivia and a set of unnamed parents. When Tomas was six years old his parents divorced. His sister stayed in Chicago but Tomas was sent to Mexico to be raised by his grandmother. His grandmother was the one to raise him, and the one that Tomas credits with his choice to become a priest.

-Later, as an adult he returns to Chicago to attend seminary in order to become a priest. While in seminary he meets a woman named Jessica. She helped him with his English and he helped her to learn spanish and during this time the two developed romantic feelings for one another. However, because Tomas was determined to follow the path of priesthood things ended between them. Jessica goes on to marry another man.

-During this time, his grandmother fell ill and begged Tomas to come home. He made the choice to stay away and pursue his goals and she ended up dying alone, something which left him with heavy guilt. He began to tell people that she always wanted him to become a priest, that she saw him becoming the first Mexican Pope. He continues telling this lie for years, until he nearly believes it himself.

-As a priest, Tomas is assigned to St Anthony’s parish in Chicago, a struggling ward that he is tasked with revitalizing. While there he begins exchanging letters with Jessica. It starts innocently but it slowly shifts to something more along the lines of emotional infidelity. He begins to be known as a rising star within the church for his efforts to bring people in his community back to the church and eventually becomes involved in planning to bring the pope to Chicago.

-At the start of the story he is approached by one of his parishioners, Angela Rance, who is concerned that her daughter Katherine might be under the influence of a demonic spirit. He is skeptical but agrees to have dinner with the family to observe her behavior and see if there is anything to Angela’s worries. After the meal, Tomas is directed to a home for sequestered priests by Mr. Rance who was used as a mouthpiece for a divine bit of direction. It is during this period that Tomas begins to have dreams of a man failing to exorcise a child named Gabriel, visions that are too vivid to be his imagination.

-When he visits the St Aquinas he meets Marcus Keene at the home and realizes that this is the same man he has been having dreams about. He pleads for help and is turned away, being told to go back to his peaceful life. Dejected, Tomas continues his investigation of the Rance family on his own and comes to believe that it is their daughter Casey and not Kat who is possessed by a demon.

-Eventually Marcus breaks into Tomas’s apartment comes around and begins to help Tomas to gather the evidence they need to petition for an exorcism. They get proof, provoking the demon to communicate through her, but Tomas’s superiors in the church deny the necessity and, because of demonic corruption within the church, excommunicate Marcus to boot. Casey continues to deteriorate and Tomas decides to risk his career in the church by assisting in the exorcism because he believes that this is what he has been called on by god to do.

-They work at the exorcism but Tomas is compromised by the demon who uses his feelings for Jessica and his guilt to get a foothold in his mind. Marcus kicks Tomas out and when he finds Jessica on his doorstep the two end up having sex. A double whammy of adultery and breaking his vows of chastity, which adds another layer of guilt.

-The entire case is complicated when Kat calls the police, thinking that Casey was being tortured. Casey escapes, still possessed. Tomas helps to organize a search for the girl, though it is Marcus who eventually finds her and continues the work of exorcising her in secret. Tomas helps where he can but when it looks like Casey is close to giving up he brings Angela into things to help give Casey the will to fight back. They reach a point where it seems like the demon has been vanquished, only for it to have instead taken over Angela instead.

-In the aftermath, Tomas cuts off his illicit relationship with Jessica who ends up returning to her husband. Said jilted husband tries to torpedo Tomas’s career in the church only for the highter ups to sweep everything under the rug to protect their ‘rising star’. While Tomas grapples with his disillusionment with the church and the fact that they are willing to ignore his wrongdoing, a possessed Angela orchestrates the deaths of almost all their allies in Chicago. Tomas is given a sign from god that sends him running to the Rance household just in time to prevent the demon inside Angela from killing her family.

-Tomas attempts to exorcise her on his own and is nearly killed in the process. He is made to face the lies he has told everyone, including himself, and ultimately overcomes the demon and realizes that he is indeed meant to be an exorcist. He drives the demon from Angela successfully. He ends up asking Marcus to train him to be a true exorcist and the two end up leaving Chicago to continue their work.

-Six months later, Tomas and Marcus end up in the pacific northwest and are called to the home of a girl named Piper who has exhibited a great many signs of possession. They uncover the truth while they investigate that Piper is being abused by her mother who has been drugging her to make it look like her daughter is possessed for the attention it brings. They end up saving the girl and she is sent to a foster home on an island that is run by a man named Andy Kim.

-Once on the island to check on the girl, Tomas ends up suspicious that something may be going on and he convinces Marcus of this as well. In the course of their investigations, Tomas ends up being subjected to visions of the demon residing on the island as it possessed various people over the years and made them kill their children. It turns out that Andy Kim is possessed and the two begin the work of trying to save his soul from the demon that not only wants to claim his life but that of the multiple foster children in his care.

-Tomas tries to fight the demon on its own ground by giving it access to his mind to draw it out. The fight is hard and towards the end when things are looking grim Tomas makes the choice to offer himself in trade to try and save Andy’s soul. Andy manages to surface before the demon can fully take Tomas for itself and warn Marcus. The elder priest ends up killing Andy to save both of their souls.

-In the aftermath, Marcus steps back from exorcism and has Tomas team up with his old partner Mouse to continue doing their good work.

Personality:

Impulsive - Tomas strives to do the right thing when it comes to the people around him. He tries to follow instructions, to do as he is told but he often ends up following his gut instead of listening to what he is told. Sometimes this means he engages in an exorcism that the church forbade and sometimes that means he willingly opens his mind to a demon even after Marcus has told him repeatedly that this could risk his immortal soul.

Determined - Once he sees something as his responsibility, Tomas will follow that path even if it leads him right off a cliff. This means that he doesn’t back down from a challenge, and that he will keep coming back for more even when the world has told him otherwise. It’s part of why he left his entire life behind in order to become an exorcist. He sees this path as the one meant for him and he will do whatever it takes in order to accomplish what is needed of him.

Hot Tempered - Tomas has a short fuse at times, especially when he is in a situation that leaves him stressed out or resentful. This manifests with him snapping and impulsively lashing out, though the fires die down as quickly as they are ignited and leaves him feeling guilty. The problem with this is that Tomas tends to bury his resentment until it all bursts out at once. More often than not he ends up being the one burnt.

Curious - Tomas has a habit of pushing at the boundaries of what people tell him is possible and following threads. He doesn’t back down when the answers are hard, doesn’t take no for an answer and tries to find the truth that’s been hidden away.

Brave - Tomas is willing to face down evil without a second thought, even when he is inexperienced and doesn’t know what he’s doing. He is willing to put his own immortal soul at risk if it means that he can save another soul. Even when the odds are against him he doesn’t hesitate to fight back with everything he has if it means that he can gain some ground against the evils of the world. It’s what let him have the courage to turn his back on his life and start a dangerous career as an exorcist.

Suitability:

Tomas has a bad habit of throwing himself into dangerous, supernatural situations. He would gladly offer his services to the ADI if it meant that he could help people. He’s not a fan of the apocalypse and would do everything he could to help prevent it.

Powers/Abilities:

Tomas is, for the most part, a normal human being. His only thing that might be considered an ability is that he can go into a trance that allows him to open his mind to spirits to try and face them on their own ground. Otherwise everything he can do is god acting through him.

Entity Affinity:

Tomas would likely have an affinity for the Stranger or the Distortion due to his tendencies to open himself up to inhuman entities that affect his mind and play on his perceptions and what seems real. He has been warned repeatedly of the potential consequences to his soul but he persists and it has very nearly gotten him killed on more than one occasion.

Inventory: Cell phone, priest collar, vial of holy water.

Samples: Here & here!