Name: Ek Balam
Nickname/Hero/Villain Name: Xibalba/Ba
Age: 284 years in Xibalba, which is equivalent to being a 19-year-old in the land of the living.
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Yes
Alignment: Lawful Neutral (At least, that’s what he's attempting to be. A for effort.)
Loyalties: First and foremost, Xibalba. Second, to himself. Third, to Ixquic. The Titans are probably somewhere on that list, too.
Powers/Weapons: As a god of the Mayan Underworld, his abilities are those of fear, death, and pestilence. Though his current form limits the extent of his powers, his ancient incantations are still considered strong enough to compete with the demons of this world. He can still partially Shift into a version of his true self, which gives a momentary appearance of a giant reptilian jaguar, though this takes a lot of exertion and cannot be sustained in his mortal form. Mentally, he can still get into people's minds, sensing their fears and failures, though he can't manipulate their reality quite like he can when he is unbound. He always carries a large obsidian blade with sapphire-looking stones on the hilt. When it tastes blood, these gems will glow turquoise. The mythology of the weapon states that the souls cleaved with the obsidian knife are sacrificed to Xibalba, which means Ba can harness their power. However, in order to unlock more strength, he has to physically interrupt (cut through) the rune tattoos that bind him with this weapon, which is one of the only tools he can't heal from. This is not advisable as his body can not remain stable without the runes.
In short:
Obsidian Stabby-Stab that will take your soul
Eats people
Is what goes bump in the night
Face Claim: Unknown
Voice Claim: Miguel Angel Silvestre
Casual Appearance: Bronze skin and espresso hair, Ba has a scruff of facial hair that's usually kept quite short. His eyes are black, with no differentiation between his pupils and irises. This is a glamour effect, as when he's weak, they revert to a bright turquoise- the same color as the magic that runs through his veins.
90% of the time, Ba dresses in long-sleeve shirts and jeans, oftentimes throwing in a turtleneck or hoodie for maximum coverage. Black is his go-to, but he's acquired a few annoyingly bright and eccentric pieces that he cycles through. Magenta fuzzy sweater? Check.
The reason behind Ba's near-constant coverage is due to his entire body being covered in tattoos. These ancient Mayan runes and idols bind him to a mortal form and keep his powers in check. They are often visible on his hands, neck, and feet.
He prefers not to wear shoes unless he has to, keeps his hair tied up most of the time, and has turquoise stone gauges in both ears- a parting gift from his mother. The only other jewelry he has is a small gold hoop in his cartilage.
Super Appearance: When Ba consciously activates his powers, a streak of black appears across his eyes, forming a black mask-like outbreak of iridescent black scales. These razor-sharp scales cover the rest of his body as well, leaving only his face with the appearance of human skin. The entirety of his eyes turn black, save for glowing turquoise irises accented by slitted pupils. He develops long claws at the ends of his fingers and toes.
To anyone on the outside, it merely looks like a super-suit that someone spent too much time on.
Personality: Basically a dead cactus; abrasive, but not actively so. Ba is new to Earth’s customs, feelings, and interacting with other living beings. He is practical and does not often let what little emotion he has control his actions, or even show for that matter. Ba comes across as consistently unimpressed and often inconvenienced
Would be voted Biggest Debbie Downer in high school superlatives.
Nonetheless, though he is naturally stoic and relatively uninterested, this heightened level of near-constant indifference stems from his role in Xibalba. As the champion of his father and in constant competition with his sister, Ba learned from an early age that emotions only got in the way of his conquests. He knew it was his duty to uphold Xibalba, not to question it.
Now on Earth, he is slowly learning about the multifaceted lives of mortals. He’s not exactly passionate about it, viewing it more like field research for a final exam he didn't ask to take. As he adjusts to his current embodiment, he is discovering how innate emotions are to the human form. Still not quite able to grasp all of them, he is making an effort to learn and understand how this unusual world works. Surprisingly, he is quite talented at mortal things like languages, dancing, and rocking a man bun.
History: Ba is a champion of Xibalba, the ‘place of fear’ that is equivalent to the Mayan Underworld, but often confused with Hell itself. An immortal, he has bound himself in a Mortal form in order to give Xibalba a representation on Earth while learning about humanity- something that Xibalbans have lost throughout the millennium.
He and his twin sister, Ixquic, were born to the ruling deity of Xibalba, along with dozens of other siblings. What set the twins apart was that they were born the strongest, due to their mother being a creation goddess. The rest of their half-siblings, born to demons, lesser underworld deities, or even mortals, would often be too weak or unable to contain the death magic that ran through their veins.
Growing up, Ba and Ix were trained to oversee the underworld as well as fight for it. They were polar opposites as young demons and not much has changed, though it’s more of a yin yang sort of balance rather than fire and water.
Always obedient, Ba followed his father’s wishes and has bound himself in a Mortal form in order to give Xibalba a representation on Earth while learning about humanity- something that Xibalbans have lost throughout the millennium. There has been a few thousand years of separation between demons and humans, making it more of a scientific/observational venture.
Ba spent five years in Mexico, where he first awoke in his new body, before coming to Jump City.
He speaks with his sister often and has returned to Xibalba once in order to compete in the Underworld's Pok-ta Pok, which their team has won every time (Suck it, Hades).
Other: The champion of Xibalba is always hungry. In order to sustain his current body, he needs to consume a lot, resulting in him feeding around five times a day. He can eat anything, but more often than not decides on raw meat or organs. This is mainly due to the fact that he was strictly told that he isn't allowed to eat people.
Ba also has developed a taste for Tapioca pudding cups.
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