Jackson Cunningham

Jackson Cunningham

Jackson Cunningham's devilish grin, right before something goes up in smoke.

Player Name	Amia
Relatives	Tom Olsen (father, deceased) Tracy Olsen (mother, deceased)
Affiliations	Circle of Shade and Sinew, Newfaire Actor's Rights Union, South Soffit Registered Combatants
Aliases	Alexander Olsen (legal name) Ducky (Feyre, codename) Andreyev Ustin Ilyitch (East Hillian Fake Name)
Date of Birth	June 6th
Place of Birth	South Soffit
Gender	Male
Height	6'0"
Weight	172lbs
Eye Color	Light brown

Jackson Cunningham is a Magician in Qandela: Obscura that is part of the Circle of Shade and Sinew. They are played by Amia. They first appeared in the Guest Mission "An Apple A Day," and made their first main story appearance in "Marionette."

Physical Appearance

Jackson is a medium-build, slightly lanky 6"0 Caucasian man. They tend to make an effort to look extremely put together and clean, but with a little bit of an edge to it, often wearing a white button down shirt and khaki pants with a black belt, black dress shoes, and a black coat. However, their facial hair is a little bit untamed, and their hair is short, brown, and messy, often swooped back behind the ears.

Personality

Lie. Until it gets better? Follow the king of the masquerade.

Jackson was known to be impressively bipolar depending on whether they're in the spotlight or helping others to shine. In their normal life, they are a consummate coward, prioritizing their own skin. However, when given the chance to prove themselves, and especially to cause chaos, a passionate glint and a devilish grin spread across their eyes and face, and there's NOTHING they won't do.

In time, with working in Candela, this rift between cowardice and recklessness has slowly blended into a stand-up righteous man who will do whatever it takes to make sure their crew makes it to the 11th hour.

History

C'mon, c'mon, a monster masquerading!

By all accounts, Jackson Cunningham should have never been involved in Candela Obscura. A prodigal stunt actor alongside the ranks of actors like Buster Keaton at the time, his acting record was short, but spoke volumes when he was first hired on to play the leading role in a new-wave film called "Maze of Hypocrisy," as one of the two main characters, since his diverse portfolio meant he could handle the stunts needed to showcase the haunting ghosts of the film. Even better...his best friend was cast as his co-star. Eddie Stark, a stage name for Allen Barnett, would be playing his best friend in the film (see below "Maze of Hypocrisy" for more information on the contents of the film.)

However, when filming began, things didn't go so well. It was a simple scene, they'd shot a million of them before. Jackson was meant to be possessed by one of the ghosts, and reveal that he had been cheating on Eddie's character. Eddie was supposed to be furious, and attack Jackson, and the two were supposed to scuffle for a bit before they realized that something is wrong. However...it didn't end up that way. Jackson played his role as intended. Eddie charged Jackson as requested, but there was...a glint in his eye. Something that Jackson had never seen before. Jackson moved to block the first strike that they had rehearsed, but when Eddie's hands closed around Jackson's neck instead...he realized it was real. Adrenaline kicked in, and oxygen left as the two struggled for power and control over the situation. The director said nothing. Deep down, he liked how genuine it felt. He thought everything was okay.

Eventually, Jackson was able to push Eddie off the edge of the second-floor overhang, but Eddie dragged Jackson with him, causing them to both fall a great height and land harshly on the ground, sending them both to the hospital. Jackson was able to escape with only a few broken bones, but it did leave him hospitalized for a while. Eddie has been in a coma since. Jackson, down in the dumps, lived a pretty stagnant life afterwards, blowing off the rest of the money before he was approached by a Lightkeeper with a mission. Jackson thought it was an acting gig and accepted.

Silver Screen Record

It was revealed in the mission "East Hills" that Jackson is a somewhat prodigy of a stunt actor, something he keeps very separate from his work in Candela. The experiences he had in the film industry have caused him to irreparably keep his cards close to his chest, both from the characters he's played and the traumas he's faced.

CAPTAIN OF THE PREMIERE

A parody of the 1930 movie "Captain of the Guard"

A captain in service of a fake premiere of Newfaire, who is secretly working for a rebel group who wants to overthrow the Premiere of Newfaire. Jackson played the leading roll of the captain, which is where most of his espionage experience, as well as experience with firearms, is derived from. This espionage experience was put on prime display in the mission "East Hills," where Jackson had to illegally infiltrate the country

HEAVEN'S DEVILS

A parody of the 1930 movie "Hell's Angels"

A film about two NoMan brothers, one noble and one cowardly, who are conscripted into the NoMan Air Force during the war. Jackson played the role of the cowardly brother, and nearly fractured his skull in a stunt-almost-gone-wrong, setting Jackson on a path of doing incredibly reckless things and escaping death each time. It also allowed him to gain valuable experience that he could draw on with a Learning Worm in the session "East Hills."

MAZE OF HYPOCRISY

A psychological thriller movie involving two male best friends that ultimately have a bloody and brutal falling out as ghosts begin to mess with them and unravel their pasts. It was a very daring and cutting-edge concept for a film, and ultimately resulted in Jackson's departure from the film industry and entrance to Candela, when supernatural forces possessed his co-star, Eddie Stark, and turned one of the struggles into something much more...real. After the incident, the movie was never produced.

Campaign History

The curse of reuniting with you puts a dagger in my heart.

Jackson Cunningham's first appearance was in the mission "An Apple A Day," run by Anna. Having already experienced their catalyst, Jackson, who is short on work, gets an offer from their agent to perform for people at the Newfaire Hospital. Skeptical, but broke, they take up the gig, and are immediately swept into a whirlwind of animated mannequins, eldritch horrors, Bleed, Flare, and every Investigator's beginning facts alongside Gertrude and Ginny. Jackson remained a skeptic up until Gertrude's magick slipped, and awakened The Beast. When Gertrude was dead to rights, Jackson's devilish bravery kicked in, and they charged to attempt to save them, trying to trade their life for hers. Miraculously, they both lived to tell the tale, and Gertrude officially initiated them into The Circle of Shade and Sinew, as well as initiating them as their boyfriend.

Jackson appeared next in the mission "Marionette," run by Matt. A week after the events of "An Apple A Day," Jackson received a mysterious call asking for help to protect Dottie Wells from lawful persecution, so that Candela could gain knowledge from an investigative journalism report they wrote about Bleed. Though they didn't feel up to the task, Jackson accepted, meeting up with Gertrude, Feyre, Mocking-bird, and Percy. Though the scene is grisly, the group eventually manages to make enough progress to track Dottie down, and with Jackson and Percy's smooth tongues, they manage to keep her calm and agree to help her escape. However, an organization of shadowy figures comes to kidnap her, and though the crew tries to pull out all the stops, including a high-octane car chase, mortal capabilities combined with a myriad of flashbacks to Jackson's past gigs as a stuntsman, they manage to kidnap Dottie. The group regroups at the South Soffit Diner, exchanging information while plotting about their next move.

Jackson's next appearance was in the mission "When It Got Weird," ran by Matt, where he was formally recruited by Jacen Beck into his gym after the events of this mission. The group was dispatched to meet up with Nesta Acheron, who had discovered changes in the manuscripts written by Lincoln Renfield, namely that the Table of Contents was out of order. The party was sent into the manuscript in order to try and get the order straight, but with Jackson's lack of experience with the past of Candela Obscura in Newfaire, being one of the newest operatives, he struggled to get through the mission, his body was pushed to the limit of bleed exposure as he tried to solve the mysteries of Hendrick's various deaths while the Ink Man came for them. In the end, he was able to be expelled from the story without taking too much damage to their soul, and were able to find a cipher that could assist in finding the presumed-dead Lincoln Renfield, as well as the whereabouts of Dottie Wells.

Jackson's next appearance was in the mission "And Then It Got Stranger," ran by Matt. This investigation, Jackson was hired on by Libby Locke in order to join a secondary task force to investigate Halycon Hills after mysterious calls came her way from a boy who was frantically looking for his father. After a while, calls cut off, followed by a pleasant voice saying "Everything is fine." Locke sent the Circle of Steam and Sorrow to investigate, and they never returned. The B Team headed to Halycon Hills in order to find the boy, where Jackson and Gertrude spent plenty of time masquerading as a married couple looking to join the Homeowner's Association. They toured a house nearby where the little boy was said to have lived, and were able to sneak away and find him in the house, as with everyone else. However, taking him into their protection turned the neighborhood's eyes on them, where Jackson was forced to fight to keep Billy safe, nearly dying to a mob of angry homeowners as he put his life on the line for Billy. Miraculously, he survived, and was able to bring Billy back to Jacen's gym, where he's been since.

Jackson's next appearance was in the mission "Heart of the Pack," ran by Jay. This mission will be updated once the DM Recap goes live.

Jackson's next appearance was in the mission "East Hills," ran by Matt.

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Relationships

It's better to be a let-down than to be let down.

Ginny Eldermourne - Stranger

"Their knowledge is apt, and they led me through the darkness. I would be a fool to not trust someone otherwise."

Gertrude Clyde - Lover

"She showed that magick was real, and I saved her life from a hulking zombie-beast science experiment inside a derelict hospital. The perfect meet-cute, if you ask me."

Feyre Acheron - Rival

"They're talented. They're thorny, and hard to work with, but they're talented. I just wish they wouldn't be so condescending."

Percy Montgomery - Coworker

"They'll take a ruse to their grave. Not many people would do that. I'm not saying I would do that. I'm also not saying it's the smart thing to do, but it's...admirable."

Mocking-bird - Mentor

"They taught me to keep my head up, and fight. By punching me repeatedly during boxing spars. Pain is a good teacher."

CANDLEA OBSCURA – INTERNAL DOSSIER

OPERATIVE FILE: A. OLSEN

Codename: “Ducky”

Designation: Face-Magician (Active Field)

Assigned Circle: [Circle of Shade and Sinew]

Status: Active

Clearance Level: Provisional II – Limited Autonomy

Last Observed Bleed Exposure: N/A

Compiled by: Investigative Clerk M. Wexley,

Observational Liaison Unit

Filed: 26 CR