Wicket
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Contents
Brief History
Early Life
Connor Gateman was always the Strange kid.
His parents were always concerned about him, as even in his toddler years he was infamous for interacting with people who weren't really there. Peek-a-boo as a baby, to hide-and-seek as a five year old, to life-lessons and discussions by the age of ten. His parents submitted him to a large amount of psychological tests over the years, but other than the strange answers he gave regarding questions about his supposed interactions, he came back as a normal and rather healthy child.
In the eyes of his parents, however, things became more and more serious by the year. In middle school, Connor spent his weekends "making the rounds" on his bike, stopping at abandoned houses, and seemingly helping invisible people with various menial tasks, from tending gardens and mowing lawns to patching roofs and fixing drains, because "no one else was around to do it." His parents began looking into the matter on their own, and found out that many of the places that Connor visited turned out to be places where the residents had recently passed away, and were even more surprised when Connor began referring to the dead residents by name.
Their concerns growing, Connor's parents sat him down in order to talk things over. Although reluctant to tell them the truth about what was going on, he eventually revealed to them exactly what was going on.
Yes, Connor could see dead people.
Not that his parents believed that, of course. Although they weren't quite sure what to do, they made sure to let him know not to tell anyone, and began keeping him inside as often as possible for his own sake while they figured out exactly what should be done. Connor was obedient of course, and made sure not to tell anyone what was going on, but since ghosts were as real to him as normal people, he did not do so much as attempt to refrain from speaking to them in public. As a result, what was supposed to be a secret did not stay very secret at all. Although Connor did his best to help the people that only he could see, it gained him nothing but scorn and teasings from other people.
It was for this reason, on Connor's sixteenth birthday, his family packed up and moved to the famed Millennium City in hopes that their son could find a place where he would be more widely accepted.
A Fresh Start
There were two main things that Mr. and Mrs. Gateman did not take into consideration. The first thing was that there would obviously be many more ghosts to talk to in the city than there would be in the country. The second was that one particular ghost from their old house would be along for the ride.
The family moved away from their comfortable home out in the country to a new, not-so-comfortable home out in Westside. Although the move had been costly, and had forced Connor into schooling at the (rather terrible) Westside High School, what Connor could not achieve in standard education was made up for with home study and a reasonably good internship at the Millennium City Museum. For a while, things were alright, even if random passerby on the street were a bit confused by a boy walking down the street and talking to invisible people.
After the family more-or-less settled into their new and much more cramped lifestyle, Connor was visited one fateful night by a ghost that had always been wandering around the old house, but had never made much of an attempt to talk or interact with him. The ghost, which bore the visage of an old, wrinkly, and wispy-haired man, told Connor that he was finally the right age to enter training as the next Wicket Door. In other words, Connor's strange gift was no coincidence or worthless trick; he was to become a protector and guider of the living and the dead. It then lead him to a book, hidden among the still-boxed possessions that the family did not have space to place in their apartment properly. With the book, and a bit of help, Connor hopes to live up to the mantle that had been passed down to him.
Personality
To most, the perfect word to sum up Wicket's entire personality is "awkward." He's the kid who always arrives early, yet takes the seat in the back of the class that nobody ever wants. He pairs himself up with the people in Science Classes who have no idea what they're doing and tries to work with them, instead of picking a smart student to carry the work, or a pretty girl to stare at all period (not that they'd talk to him anyway.) He'd even willingly give up his lunch money, as long as you promise not to punch him in the face like you said you will earlier, all with his hood over his head and his best attempt at a nervous smile stuck on his face.
But if you ask Connor himself, he'll say that he does it simply because no one else will. By taking the seat that no one wants to take and giving his money to someone else, he's sparing a student from a bad day in class or a black eye on their face. He's not trying to be popular or strange, he's just doing it to be the Nice Guy, no matter how remotely. Although he's frequently placed in the "Emo" crowd by his peers, he's actually quite happy when things are going normally, even if they're not in his favor. In fact, it is most likely this outlook on life and his passive, natural care for others that resulted in him becoming the Wicket Door, despite his cowardice and spinelessness.
Unlike many other heroes, Connor is the same during his duties as the Wicket. No sudden confidence, no boost in morale, no separate identity; Connor is simply Connor, both as the Wicket and himself. Although this allows his care for others to constantly shine through, his lack of a backbone constantly does too.
Heck, he doesn't even have a costume. He hunts ghosts in his street clothes.
Powers and Abilities
In addition to abilities that most moderately talented wizards would consider to be standard-fare, Connor has also inherited other abilities due to his position as the Wicket, as well as learning a few from the Wicketbook in his possession. Fully exploring what the book can teach him may take quite a while. More recently, his mentor of sorts, Leonard Castellar, has given him his old grimoire, which is full of secrets that Wicket would do well to learn if he's going to survive in the magical world.
Ghost-seeing
Connor has been able to see ghosts and spirits for as long as he can remember, as well as communicate and interact with them. Although Connor does not consider such a thing to be a "superpower," he is still rather fond of the ability, regardless of what other people may think about it. In his opinion, it gives him a chance to "help those who can't be helped." According to the Wicketbook, it is also possible to grant other people the ability to see Ghosts for short periods of time. However, this requires the cooperation of all parties involved, as do may spells that Wickets make heavy use of. Since Connor has not found anyone willing, he has been unable to try the spell.
Soul-moving
Unlike other magicians or sorcerers, the Wicket does not require any long rituals or fancy incantations in order to interact with spirits; they merely need a kind heart and a gentle hand in order to do their work. However, moving a soul in and out of a body, and in-between the two worlds requires a rather large effort on the part of the Wicket, and can be incredibly taxing to the point of draining one's own soul if used on a large scale, or too excessively.
Possession
Although Connor cannot possess other people, he himself can act as a living vessel for a spirit, but only if both parties are willing. Connor has only had this happen once, and it was accidental. Being possessed is a state that Connor absolutely loathes, and has quite a few bad feelings when it comes to it. Because of this, his he has unintentionally created a resistance to possession, which makes it hard for him to follow through with it should he need to. According to the Wicketbook, Connor should also be able to house a willing spirit inside of him in a passive state, while remaining in full control of his thoughts and actions, as well as assisting a spirit possess someone else. However, he has no desire to attempt either alternative whatsoever.
Memory Sharing
With the willingness of both parties, Connor is able to view memories that a ghost may want to show him. However, Connor has not tried to do such a thing yet, as he has had no need to. However, the spell requires physical contact with the ghost in question, making it impossible to "stream" current experiences over long distances.
Ghost Mode
Originally, Wicket was able to use a spell that was capable of "fading" him, putting him on the half-way point between ghosts and the living by making him light, wispy, and intangible. With additional practice, Wicket has been able to refine the spell into something more potent. Connor is now capable of turning himself into a spirit entirely, gaining the abilities, weaknesses, and questionable legal status of ghost-kind. While ghosted, he can fly, phase through walls and out of others, exercise "scary" telekinesis, and cast his usual sigil-based spellcraft as well. Although he cannot be "killed" in this state, an excess of energy can cause him to dissipate, and he is also effected by anti-ghost technology and magic, including banishment. Although as the Wicket he is capable of finding a way back to the living realm, doing so is still a pain, to put it lightly.
The Sparklock Spell
The Sparklock Spell is a rather curious trick that Connor uses to get around. The closest simple description would be that it is a kind of teleportation, even though in reality it is much more complicated than that. The Sparklock Spell is given its name from the curious spark that momentarily appears from the lock or latch of any door that the caster chooses. When the door is opened, whoever opened the door will find the area behind it to be whatever location they have clearly pictured in their mind, so long as there is a door nearby to access it from. Although the person who opens the door does not need to be the caster specifically, the Sparklock Spell only works as intended when the destination is a place where the opener of the door has been before. Otherwise, the Sparklock Spell has been known to send unwary users to rather strange and outlandish places, or simply refuse to work at all. Despite this drawback, Connor, being the Wicket, is able to use the Sparklock Spell to access many of the varying realms of the dead.
Weaknesses
Most of Connor's troubles stem both from the fact that he's new to this whole thing and has no idea what he's doing, and also that he's the kind of kid who will gladly stay locked up in his room doing nothing all day. Although this doesn't necessarily mean he's lazy (though he most certainly can be), it does mean that he's extremely unaccustomed to most of the modern world, let alone the magical one, and as a result, he is nearly scared out of his mind by every little occurrence, regardless of how trivial it is in the long run. He's prone to panicking, considers running a viable option at all times, and generally doesn't mind forgetting he ever tried to stop some sort of evil force while it goes about its business.
In short, Connor Gateman is among the worst and un-heroic people on the face of this Earth, or any other, that could be picked for the job that he has.
Thankfully, a few key people in the magic community seem to have picked this up, and are helping him with his shortcomings, for better or for worse. Progress has been made, however, as Wicket appears to have grown the microscopic beginnings of a Backbone after assisting other magic-wielders rescue Scripture from what could have been her death.
Familiars
In standard magical fashion, Connor tends to keep at least one of his two familiars around with him at any given time. However, unlike most, he does not bother to get living animals to fill the Familiar role. Despite being ghosts, his two pets of choice are not without their quirks. Seemingly eternally together in death as they were in life, they have a strange faithfulness and intelligence among them, despite never speaking, nor being visible to most people. The two get along when needed, despite a literal cat and rat dynamic taking over rather frequently.
Locke, the Messenger
Locke is a small, perpetually dripping-wet rat ghost that drowned during a week of heavy rainfall and thunder storms. Locke was chased out of an apartment across the street from Connor's home during the rainfall, and ended up getting stuck in a drain pipe, where he died and his body most likely remains to this very day. Despite being a rat, Locke tends to be surprisingly quick for a ghost, and often leads Connor to people who may have requested him. Locke has also been known to help Connor out of tight spots on occasion by helping him find a way out. Eternally energetic, Locke squeaks quite often, sometimes to the annoyance of other ghosts that he happens to encounter. When he and Nobb manage to get along properly, he can often be found riding atop Nobb's head.
Nobb, the Thinker
Connor's second Familiar is Nobb, a black cat that died on the same day as Locke. Unlike Locke, Nobb appears to be perpetually smoking, complete with singed fur; a fitting appearance considering that he was struck by lighting while chasing Locke outside. Nobb appears to be the more intelligent of the two, often spending his time merely examining a situation that Connor may not be able to figure out, before leading his master to a much more cat-like resolution. Just as in life, Nobb's main purpose in death is to pursue his part-time partner Locke, and eventually catch and eat him. Since both of them are dead, chances are the duo will be around for a very long time.
Appearances
--Haunting at City Hall (debut!): A group of teenage heroes helped Wicket rid City Hall of a haunting, and recover a strange book of unexplained occurrences from the ghost's possession. There are quite a few leads in the book to follow up on, and chances are many of them will lead to some very strange conclusions.
--Do You Believe In Miracles: Wicket assisted (to the best of his ability) a group of adventurers as they went on a journey through what felt like the depths of hell to save Scripture, who was to be sacrificed so that her angelic blood could be used to summon an evil being from realms beyond. Wicket learned a few things about Facing Fears that day, and the personal growth just might have been worth the laundry job he had to perform for his pants at the end of the journey. He's still thinking on that one. Though, he did get a locket from Scripture afterwards, so maybe it wasn't all that bad after all.
--Wicket's haunted Mansion: While attempting to venture into the basement of an abandoned office building in order to put to rest the haunting that has been native to the grounds since some time in the 1940s, Wicket found himself the prisoner of the ghost of the former CEO of the company that called the building their headquarters. Forced into a ghostly form and cursed so that his condition became permanent at sunset, Wicket was saved when Locke and Nobb managed to round up a cavalry of teenaged heroes in order to come and save him. The CEO put the group through a set of ghostly games, but was ultimately vanquished by the group's teamwork and determination. Afterwards, they exchanged contact information and prepared to meet up again to explore exactly what would be going on in the basement. Wicket also found out that Wavegirl may have the hots for him, even though this was extremely apparent to everyone who was not either of them. Oh dear.
The Wicket Door
The Wicket Door, the ghost explained, is someone who embodies the transition point between life and death, someone who can walk the line between both worlds, if you will. At the same time, they act as a focal point between the worlds, as an embodiment of a smaller entrance in a larger door. In exchange for such things, they are tasked with protecting the worlds and the people on both sides, with themselves in the middle. In addition to being capable of some degree of sorcery, they are also able to safely send souls on to the various worlds of death, or, if (and only if) the souls themselves are willing, bring them back to the world of the living.
Detailed information on most previous incarnations of the Wicket have been lost to time, although it is possible that someone in the higher ranks of the world's many secret mystical organizations may have information that has been thought to be lost or forgotten by many. The Wicketbook itself does not possess any information on previous Wickets, only various spells, incantations, and rituals that have been discovered overtime. However, the book does make it distinctly clear that the Wicket is a state of being, and not any one person or group of people.
The Wicket is ideally a being of moderation and peace. Without some level of kindness, many of the abilities possessed by the Wicket will fade, or simply cease to work. Despite this, scraps of records in various areas state that people who seemed to have Wicket-like abilities were persecuted, or, depending on the time period, killed, burned, stoned, or hanged by various people in various places. Despite this, the Wicket line has managed to survive, leaving Connor as the current holder of the title.
Reapers
The enemy of most Wickets throughout history have been individuals called Reapers. Although the common man may think of the Grim Reaper with his scythe and cloak, Wickets know Reapers simply as people who kill without remorse or purpose, either directly or indirectly. Since one of the most important goals of any Wicket is to make sure that people do not die unfairly, Reapers are considered to be the eternal enemies of Wickets until the end of time.
Reapers have taken many forms over time. Originally they were simply mass-murderers and serial killers, terrorizing society with disappearances and occasionally documented evidence of their crimes. Jack the Ripper, for example, is a famous example of a Reaper. However, it is unknown if he was brought to justice by the Wicket of his time, or by some other means. As time progressed, however, Reapers began to take on more "untouchable" roles, such as that of kings, dictators, and even businessmen. During and around the period of the American Revolution, various brutal plantation owners that whipped slaves until they died were reported to have disappeared while a Wicket-like being was in the area. King Leopold II of Belgium was another example of a Reaper. Due to his political stature, the Wicket of his time was unable to stop what he had begun. During the industrial revolution, businessmen who exploited their workers and resulted in their deaths were also seemingly punished by the Wickets of their generations. In the modern era, the Reaper title can even be applied to super-villains, such as the many agents in the higher ranks of VIPER, and even Doctor Destroyer.
Allies
--The Young Renegades: "...Who are these people anyway, and why was I matched with them in a game show? I mean, don't get me wrong, here, they're real neat and all, but uh...Kinda out of my league, you know? I'm just some high-school kid in a Jacket."
--Wavegirl "Ah, hah...Haaaa. Let's uh, come back to this. I mean, no bad words, nothing like that, nothing but good ones, actually, but uh...What do you mean, my face is red?"
--The Wanderer: "I'll admit, I've really only met him once, but he's pretty neat. Helped me through some stuff. The faceplate on his armor freaks me out though.
--Leonard Castellar (mentor): "You know, at first I thought he was super sketchy, but he's really just like that magic-toting uncle that uh...No one...Really...Has. You know what, I forgot what I was trying to say here."
--Racer Red (he hung onto him for dear life this one time): "...Why is this guy so...violent? I mean honestly? It's not even necessasary!
--Anarchy: "...I don't get what she's trying to do with her hair."
--Scripture: "She was pretty much unconscious for most of the time when I uh...Met her, but she was still pretty nice. Before all the weird stuff happened, I mean. ...Am I making this sound worse than it was? I am? You know what, shutting up now."
--Whitecloak: "What's that thing under his lip? It's kinda weird."
--Lash: "...Yeah, I don't...I don't know, to be honest."
Opinions
Now you, too, can make fun of how bad Wicket is at his job!
"Even if I did not have the pleasure of actually meeting him, his aid was critical in helping to end a threat to both myself and the world at large. Even if he is not much to look at now, given time, I think Wicket may prove to be one of the strongest forces of good on this planet, in terms of heart if not in power." - Scripture
"Wicket's a good kid, bit timid but that'll pass. He's a powerful sorcerer in the making, I've foreseen it. Besides, he's the closest thing I've got to an apprentice - If he fucks up, I'm a bad teacher." - Leonard Castellar
Trivia
--Connor speaks with a slight Boston accent, interspersed with hints of a London accent due to his father's nationality.
--Earned the nickname "Constantly Sleeping Connor Gateman" in High School for sleeping all the time, and always looking tired anyway.
--He frequently gets annoyed at the spell-check function on his computer for not recognizing English word spellings, as opposed to American ones.
--Surprisingly, his favorite band is not the Doors.
--Apparently, on the Universal Cute Boy Scale (ranging from one to ten), Connor rates roughly a Six.
--Making Star Wars jokes in reference to his name makes him facepalm harder than most other things.
--He has three identical hoodies in his closet, and often wears them interchangeably while washing the dirty ones. As a result, it often seems like he never wears anything else.
--Connor currently holds the second-highest score on the Galaga console in the local West Side arcade. He's currently gunning for first place before moving on to Space Invaders.
--He probably spends a horribly unhealthy amount of time in that arcade.
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