Ripley Arkwright

 

Name	Ripley Arkwright
Gender	Male
Age	35
Canon	Original
PB	John Cho (Selfie)

Backtagging	Yes
Threadjacking	With permission
Fourthwalling	N/A
Mind-reading	Yes but be prepared for walls of text
Injury	Yes
Death	With Permission

Bisexual, male-leaning.

Ripley Arkwright is unfailingly normal. He likes things to a routine. He likes to get coffee early in the morning. He likes to Neflix and chill (but not "Netflix and chill". He also likes to work for supervillains. Okay, maybe the last part is less normal. At a young age, Ripley gained the ability to "blink" people to different places. And while that would make him an excellent contender for USPS, he struggled in workforces with lots of people and had many failures due to his inability to control his power fully.

So, he did the logical thing. He offered his services to supervillains. The tame ones, mind you. Ripley always does his research. Now he works as a grunt, usually just as transport. And if he accidentally sends one of his co-workers to Australia because they saw him outside the workplace, well . . . no one's really complaining.

Though Ripley himself doesn't think he's unique, it's quite clear that he is rather eccentric and doesn't seem to pick up on that. Often picky and defensive about his tastes, Ripley tends to keep himself on the outskirts of social engagements and activities, preferring to head on home and relax instead of partying or drinking. Most people characterize him as a loner and they're not wrong. Ripley finds putting in that work to be too much effort. He's a cat lady and unashamed of it. He’s also a bit of a drama-nerd, who enjoys all manner of tv shows and media, using them as a substitute for real experiences and will often blurt out his interests if he finds someone else is interested in the same things he is. Ripley is the kind of person who would take a Buzzfeed quiz and 100% trust in the results.

Despite working for criminals, Ripley is a rather low-level person when it comes to misdemeanors, Ripley has never been one to break rules or laws very flagrantly. He rather keep his head down and do what it takes to survive rather than to attract any attention, positive or negative. He isn't keen on seeking recognition, tending to struggle when it does come his way. After the experience with Ford, Ripley wants to be as unassuming as a person he can in order not to lose his sense of self. Because that is what Ripley treasures the most, who he is as a person and that is the thing that Ripley will fight for the most.

While he may play at being the coward, shy and useless in a high-stress situation, Ripley is unassumingly kind and generous, especially with people he’s close to. He never sees the harm of giving or even believing in the best, despite his profession. While Ripley does not like corporate mentalities and tends to steer away from anything that screams co-ordination or group work, Ripley is a romantic at heart who can see the benefits of people working together, working towards the future. And while he may not be first in line, he would certainly be the one to firmly agree and encourage such ideals. Even if he seems to be stuck on permanently awkward in his interactions.

Superheroes are everywhere. Advertisements, Saturday morning cartoons, Literature. It’s hard to escape their reach. At a young age, Ripley didn’t mind even if he didn’t quite eat it up as the rest. Sure, when he found out he had powers, it was both exhilarating and terrifying as he ended up teleporting the neighbour’s dog he was walking five blocks away and had to chase him down. It was the biggest thing that had ever happened to Ripley’s life and for a while, he was ecstatic. He made plans with his best friend Ford Pembroke. Ford had the power to blind people. They secret promises under the shade of their backyard to try becoming heroes together. Best friends and heroes, never apart.

Ripley hadn’t counted on the politics of it. Ford’s connections got him further than Ripley did, who constantly failed the field tests, despite the usefulness of his powers. And after a while, Ford changed. Gone was the gentle, playful boy Ripley had always loved for his courage and desire to do the right thing. Replaced was a man who never saw any wrong in his actions. Horrified, Ripley cut off all ties and moved away. Unfortunately, Ripley was never smart or ambitious enough to get himself above the ground so he found easy work with other villains. Less high-maintenance, less likely to look too deeply at him. They had other power struggles to deal with, so Ripley made a living off transporting goods. Until one day, Phasar broke in and . . . winked at Ripley. In a panic, he touched the superhero by the arm and transported him to the Arctic.

Though his name wasn’t spread around (because Ripley tried not to make many friends in the business, keeping his head down), the incident certainly caused a ripple. Soon afterwards, the Sphinx visited him in his apartment, offering him the best opportunity Ripley had heard in years. Still scared of being noticed but willing to try something new, he took the offer and moved to New York, working under the Sphinx. So far he hasn’t regretted it but Ripley is the kind of person who waits for that other shoe to fall.