Wildcard

Player: @First Player

NAME: Donovan 'Van' Ward
KNOWN ALIASES: Wildcard
AGE: 28
OCCUPATION: Gambler, Heartbreaker, Thief
POWERS:

• Pyrotechnic energy generation and manipulation

ABILITIES:

• Expert marksman and card thrower
• Skilled gambler

Donovan "Donnie" Ward was a street rat turned social chameleon, equally at home in a smoky dive bar or a velvet casino suite. He grew up orbiting the Castellanos crime family the way a moth flirts with a porch light—close enough to feel the heat, too dazzled to fly away. Eventually they took notice of his moxie and soon enough he was the resident “mascot” and go-to charmer. He ran errands, smoothed egos, distracted marks with slick patter and jaw-dropping card flourishes. The Castellano crime family noticed his talent early: his way with cards wasn’t just about dexterity—it was about reading people like open books. They called him “Wildcard” long before the name meant anything literal. He wasn’t “in the life” enough to be feared, but he was useful, like a handsome and charming little rabbit they pulled out of a hat when negotiations got tense.

One day, Lorenzo, the family's head, comes to his guys with a job; provide muscle during a meet. Standard job, nothing out of the ordinary. An art collector with a taste for the ostentatious— Lorenzo claimed he was set to acquire a relic whispered about in the highest of circles: a lacquered and ornate coffer. Lorenzo gave no background beyond a stern “Don’t open it. Don’t touch it. Don’t stare at it for longer than a Hail Mary.” Which, of course, only made everyone stare harder. Donnie and the rest of the guys couldn't figure out what exactly was so special about it and the boss refused to go into specifics. They shrugged amongst themselves and chalked it up to be some sort of expensive and antique art piece.

The deal took place in a derelict train depot at midnight. Donnie wasn't sure what exactly transpired during the meet but at some point, someone started shooting, and suddenly everyone took cover. In his scramble to get out of there, Donnie ran into the coffer, knocking it over and cracking it wide open. A surge of energy threw him across the room. Not fire. Not light. Something older and hungrier—magic that smelled of incense, cardamom, and summer thunderstorms.

His body convulsed as the world melted into a kaleidoscope. When he came to, the depot was a charred ruin, and everyone else—buyers, muscle, even Lorenzo—was gone. The coffer was ash, the walls were scorched with patterns like tarot suits, and his hands crackled with colorful, volatile energy as he flexed his fingers. His cards in his pocket were singed around the edges, yet untouched at their centers.

Donnie decided it was time to fold early and leave the table with his winnings—namely, his life and his brand-new spark-slinging talents. He walked out of that depot dazed but alive, leaving behind his name, his crew, and whatever man he’d been before.

♠️Pyrotechnic Energy Manipulation
Wildcard can generate and project volatile pyrotechnic energy from his body, most commonly through his hands. It behaves like a fusion of fire, light, and kinetic force—bright, colorful, and highly explosive on impact. He can create controlled bursts ranging from small spark-like flickers to full-on explosive blasts capable of blowing through reinforced doors. The energy responds to his intent and flair; the more dramatic his movements, the more potent the effect. He feels heat but doesn’t burn from his own power, though prolonged or excessive output can leave him drained, jittery, or suffering something akin to post-adrenaline crash.

♦️Masterful Sleight of Hand and Cardsmanship
Before the boom, Van was already a prodigy with cards—sleight-of-hand illusions, cheating techniques, card throwing, and misdirection. Those skills didn’t vanish when he went super; they evolved. Wildcard can palm, shuffle, and deploy cards faster than most people can blink, using misdirection and flair to outmaneuver opponents. He blends magician’s technique with street hustler instincts, slipping cards into places they have no right to be, appearing to summon them from air, and juggling multiple projectiles mid-fight. Even without his powers, his card-throwing accuracy borders on the superhuman.

♥️Fighting Prowess
Wildcard fights like a man who grew up dodging punches in alleyways, learned rhythm on dance floors, and then asked a martial arts instructor “but what if we made it sexy?” His style is a fluid, unpredictable cocktail of capoeira’s acrobatic rhythm, judo’s leverage-and-throw efficiency, and the dirty pragmatism of street brawling. He treats combat like a performance—part choreography, part con—but behind the flash is a very real ability to fold an opponent like a bad poker hand.

Van's personality is a cocktail mixed at a speakeasy run by gods of chaos and charm. He’s a smooth-talking rogue with a grin built for getting into trouble—and talking his way back out of it. Wit is his first weapon of choice; the pyrotechnics are just what happens when talking stops working. He drips charisma the way some people sweat, tossing out banter, flirtation, and taunts with the casual ease of a man who’s learned that confidence—real or faked—can reshape a room faster than dynamite.

He walks the razor’s edge between likable scoundrel and self-sabotaging showman. Van craves the thrill of the moment: the high of a good gamble, the applause after a daring escape, the intoxicating spark of being the most interesting person in the room. Underneath all the bravado is a man doing one long sleight-of-hand trick on himself—using charm and jokes to distract from guilt, loneliness, and the gnawing fear that he’s one bad hand away from becoming the villain people once assumed he was.

Despite his messy relationship with the truth and his habit of over-dramatizing life like it’s a perpetual closing night at the theatre, he’s not heartless. Wildcard has a code, even if it’s scrawled in pencil and occasionally on fire. He can’t resist helping underdogs, screwing over tyrants, or showing off for wide-eyed kids who still believe in heroes. Loyalty, once earned, means something to him; betrayal scars deep. He may dodge emotional conversations with jokes and smoke, but he feels more intensely than he ever lets on.