Board Thread:Off Topic/@comment-27144409-20170705210718/@comment-2600:6C48:6980:E3E:78F9:F098:9CE8:7F24-20170710033026

I wouldn't say he ruined his life. Made it more complicated, certainly. All things considered, he's doing pretty well for himself. I didn't really mean to make him edgy, so much as flawed enough to have room for character development. Maybe I should give more attention to positive traits.

You're probably right that Atlas wouldn't design that kind of weapon for him, though that doesn't rule out the "boatload of cash" option. I agree that it probably would be stupid to just leave him to his own devices after whatever experiment they did.

"people who fell through the  cracks like the homeless"

Thats essentially what he was at the time.

I should probably clarify that "selling his soul" is an exaggeration. I'm imagining early stages of experimentation, where they're just seeing if they can manipulate someone's aura in any way. And since it wasn't an exact science by any means, it left his aura permanently damaged. From his perspective, it would probably be more like, "hey kid, wanna make some quick money? get in this fancy metal box, watch these flashing lights or whatever, and fill out this questionaire afterwards. Never mind what it's for. You want the money or not?"

I'm not dead-set on this as a backstory. Just kicking ideas around. I know the song is about a guy who bests the devil, but a "deal with the devil" is a classic (and semi-related) story motif, and I figure it's easier to use as a source of conflict.