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Ethan Coldwater (16)
Project: YA Novel (Psi High)
Known as: “Quake”
Real name: Ethan Coldwater
Group affiliation: The Alphas
Physical description: Ethan is 16, handsome, and athletic. Stylishly cut chestnut hair, and very striking pale blue eyes.
Personality: Ethan is a confident young man who is very laid back. Most things in life has come easily to him but he is not adverse to hard work and practice to master something. At times he can be arrogant, and certainly has some level of contempt for lesser-powered Electi and non-Electi. Time will tell if he will grow out of or into this.
History: It is not coincidence that Ethan shares a name with the school he is attending as he is descended from its founder. His family not only has some of the more psychically powerful known Electi but also is one of the more financially and politically successful. Note that the Electi are barred from holding office but they have strong ties with many political leaders and are the driving force behind the lobby for Electi rights.
So Ethan is a celebrity in the high school, and rich to boot. Add to that he is good-looking and talented and it is no surprise that he is one of the most popular and influential kids in school. He is arguably the leader of the Alphas, a circle of friends consisting of the elite of the school (note some upper classmen would not acknowledge Ethan’s leadership). Several of the Alphas can be cruel in an effort to display their dominance but Ethan tends to support the Alphas behaving more charitably.
To some degree, this is due to Ethan being kind. However, he does feel there are classes of people, he just thinks that the more gifted and higher classes should be charitable to those who aren’t as blessed. Unfortunately this means he has a casual contempt for the less gifted that he himself isn’t fully aware of.
Though not the oldest he is the golden child of his family. Though his family has high expectations of him, Ethan has a confidence that keeps him from feeling pressure here (just responsibility). His future is laid out for him and he views it as destiny.
It would be good for him to perhaps get a new perspective on others, and Selena might just be the ticket for that. Although he is initially kind to her out of magnanimity, he later begins to see that she is exceptional (looks, intelligence, power, etc.). This surprises him due to her humble origin, but he sees in her a budding Alpha (and maybe something more).
Role in the narrative: Ethan is a love interest. I don’t have much experience in the romance genre (I don’t have much experience in ANY genre), so for our love triangle I’m sticking with some archetypes. Ethan is the king of the high school, who can have any girl he wants, but might be falling for the new girl (maybe in part initially because it’s not so obvious that he can get her). Selena finds him attractive and does note his many good qualities. Still she worries about his classism and is wary of the popular kids. If Ethan grows to let go of some of his prejudices, they just might have a future together.
Also, the secret cabal of very powerful Electi (ok I’ll make it less secret: the Primes) actually find the Coldwaters to be a thorn in their side. They would much rather the powers that be believe they have the Electi well contained, and the Coldwaters’ activity upsets that. This may at some point put Ethan in some jeopardy where he will need help from Selena and her friends.
Abilities: Ethan is the most powerful telekinetic in the school. Telekinetics are the jocks of the school and their power is measured by to what degree their ability to affect objects with their minds matches how they can affect objects with their bodies. The most powerful telekinetics can lift nearly as much with their minds as they could physically, while the less powerful can only manipulate small objects.
There is virtually no difference between what Ethan can do physically and with his telekinesis (and he is physically strong for his age). In fact, he pushes the boundary. He can produce a sudden telekinetic push equal to him slamming into someone full tilt (hence his Quake nickname). As weight and velocity contribute to the force when ramming into someone, his telekinesis matching that suggests he can at least slightly exceed raw muscle power.
His range is also exceptional versus his peers (he can affect things at a distance of 20 feet).
Inspirations: Tons of telekinetic out there (see yesterday’s inspiration section, also). Ethan will be hard not to make cliché the somewhat arrogant rich guy who has everything. He could fall into the secretly sensitive soul category, or the true jerk category. I’m hoping he’ll straddle the line.
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