A From the Ashes feature application

Personality
Powers
Physical Appearance
Relationships
Growth
Epilogue

Personality

"You crazy--! You're Tom Guthrie's son, alright, the spittin' image-- more guts than brains." - New Mutants Graphic Novel

And so he is, so he is. Sam Guthrie is Kentucky born and bred, the son of a coal miner and, oh so briefly, a coal miner himself. Sam is the essence of duty to family and friends, moral wholesomeness, and, in truth, a charming naivete'. He trusts first (c.f. Amara in Nova Roma), he makes friends by default, and while he is occasionally cautious in unknown situations, he always responds with a cool head. In this, he sets his new buddy Bobby into sharp contrast, and they work well together.

Sam is one of the two elder members, now that Shan is missing. That's okay by Sam; he's used to it as the eldest of what he describes as a "passel" of siblings (at least some of whom are also mutants, but HEY let's not go there; it may not even be true on the MUSH) -- it's a natural role...if Dani lets him do it. More on this.

Short form: Sam is someone I would like to know. In some ways, Sam is someone I would like to be more like. It doesn't always serve him well as a superhero, goodness knows -- but give me the uprightness of Sam Guthrie over the cynicism of Logan every time.

And so it was, in the beginning. Sam has a 'blast field' that he can activate, permitting him flight -- above a certain velocity (no hovering!) -- and affording him a large (but not total) measure of invulnerability. And that's about the size of it.

You know, I remember being 5'4" or so when I was 13. I can't even imagine being a 6' tall 16 year old. But that's Sam -- tall, not very bulky, and frankly, quite the gawky customer. He may well grow into his own body in a few years, although he'll never be quite like Roberto. That's okay. Sam is the model of corn-fed health, and he gets by. And if he sometimes wishes he didn't make a fool of himself so often in front of others -- what sixteen year old doesn't?

I can't imagine anything more telling than that -- the social call of the teenager. Sam's teammates are his friends, and that's that. Frankly, almost anyone ELSE he meets are his friends, too. He's shy with women his age, older-brother with younger girls, and pals with the fellas. He respects his elders (the ones that aren't super-villains, and heck, some that are) and he minds his manners. But still, there's always time for specifics:

Bobby: Sam's best bud. Sam had given up on being a teenager with teenage friendships after his father died; now that he has a new chance, he's gung ho to be pals. Bobby's a hothead and a charmer -- Sam's opposite, and it makes for perfect magnetism.

Dani: Sam's rival. She's too much a tomboy to make Sam turn shy, and she's totally unwilling to let him assume the older brother role with her. There are sparks ahead, here.

Rahne: To him, she's the younger sister. He has lots of practice with those.

And then there's...

Professor X: Once he became the teacher/mentor, he had to be respected. But Sam's father is gone, and the Professor might just fill the role. Is the Prof ready to be father figure for a teenager just now? Hmm...

Thought I'd forgotten this in the powers section, didn't you? Anyway, Sam, perhaps more than his fellow New Mutants (except perhaps Rahne) is quickly refining his powers. On the other hand, Sam had no natural skill with them to speak of -- he has a lot to learn. Later in life, who knows what he will be capable of? For now, Sam must learn to control what he does have.

As a student, Sam is often a troubled young man. He is not the smartest cookie in the box, and he finds theoretical subjects very difficult. His best friend, Bobby, picks up on everything -- he builds wiretaps for Professor X while Sam is left saying "What's that gadget for?" Sam's kind of sense is good old horse sense, which you can only develop through experience, and that's what Sam's future is all about.

Epilogue

I tried to keep this brief, I swear I did. As for myself, I'm Russ Smith. My most notable RP/MUSH experiences have been D'vin on PernMUSH, Magneto on Classic X, Cutter on Two Moons, and a large number of features and non-features on AmberMUSH, particularly (in my opinion) Eric, Brand, Rac, and lately Ryder and Cadell. I have been on various TinyMUDs and derivates pretty much since they began in 1989, and have a long wizarding history that really isn't relevant and I'd rather not think about it. My email address is superboy@lsh.org and I would love to elaborate where needed. Thank you for your time.