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Dec. 29th, 2025 06:00 pm
CLIFTON HARRIS
— ORIGINAL CHARACTER —
based on "hunter: the reckoning"
IC Permissions.
Background.
Cliff was born to normal parents, in a normal neighbourhood in London, and had a very normal upbringing. Things began to take a turn as he hit his teenage years. In typical fashion, Cliff developed an interest in the spooky and the paranormal. While he never had a goth phase (despite what his parents might think), he found himself drawn to the tales of folklore that litter the UK and the more eerie things that might lurk in the night. And, like a stereotypical ~alternative~ teen, he began to fall in with the wrong crowd as he neared his eighteenth birthday.
Most of what he got up to do was stupid stuff. Loitering, drinking where they shouldn't be, stealing items off the shelf from the corner stores. As the years went on and he stayed with these friends, they let him in on a secret: they were part of a special group, and he could be a part of them, too. It didn't take much convincing or proof for Cliff to buy in. This group was cloaked heavily in occultism. The men at the top of it all could grant him anything he wanted, if he put in the work to prove himself.
So he did. The little petty misdemeanors turned into proper breaking and entering. They turned into stealing from homes. They turned into hurting people. Cliff became good at hanging around the dangerous edges of town and getting information. He became good at weaponizing his smile and his natural charm to get away with all the things he was doing, because at the end of it all was something great for him. Wasn't there?
Worried about him, his parents shipped Cliff off to the United States, hoping to get him away from this group of people. He would stay at his uncle's in Chicago, essentially becoming a glorified house-sitter in his uncle's flat while the man travelled for work through most of the year. Cliff didn't stop, though, and by the time he realized the sort of monsters he was doing dirty work for, he couldn't see a way out. He felt himself drowning under the guilt of his actions as they kept demanding more and more without giving anything in return.
Until one day, when he felt like he was at the lowest of lows, he came across a man who offered a glimpse of salvation. The man brought Cliff into a group of people looking to make peace with themselves and accept their mistakes, to find ways to grow and break free of that. The group that had sunk it's claws into him released him at a cost, and Cliff has set out on his own path of atonement, hoping one day he'll feel the forgiveness he's after.
Personality.
Despite his inner desire for atonement, Cliff can easily be classified as the "comedic relief" within his cell of other hunters. A part of that is because Cliff is not the smartest guy in the room. He knows he's not the brains of the operation, he's the looks, and he leans into the goofy, ridiculous charm because that's the best way he can help them out. It doesn't hurt that he has an accent he can utilize to his advantage, either. He's eager to help and sometimes golden retriever level excitable despite the shit he's done in his life, which often leads to hilarious (and unwanted) situations for him and his cell.
Under that, though, is a longing to be taken seriously by his team. His association with the bad guys is known to them, and they push blame for certain things on him. He may not be a lawyer or ex-military or the world's greatest decoder, but the skills he learned by working closely with occultists and supernatural beings gives him an edge they don't have without him. His intentions are good if not sometimes misguided, and his greatest desire is for the cell to trust him to do the right thing when it counts.
Other Details.
Sense The Unnatural: By holding an object of focus, Cliff is able to sense the presence of supernatural creatures within close vicinity, such as in the same room. Due to the nature of who he previously worked for, he can identify if vampires are present but cannot pinpoint the type of other supernatural creatures.
Precision: Having spent plenty of time in close proximity to the supernatural, he can use his focus to correctly identify a creature among people in the same room. He will know if that person is a vampire, but if they are something else he will just know they are not human.
Unseemly Aura: Something's different about the way certain supernatural creatures can perceive Cliff. Monsters occasionally believe him to be one of their own, or a supernatural creature of an entirely different (and possibly hostile) type. While it may lead the quarry to overestimate him, it could also lead to some awkward situations. This is also a source of tension between him and his team.
Other Skills: larceny; subterfuge; stealth; knowledge of the occult.