lovehopeanddreams: (I can't hear you over my LOUNGING!)
Count D ([personal profile] lovehopeanddreams) wrote2012-02-29 01:07 am

[App] Soul Campaign

[ PLAYER INFORMATION ]
Player Name: Kim
Age: 24
Timezone: GMT +1:00
Personal Journal: [personal profile] eviltea
Contact Information:Email: Guillotineapprehensiveengineer@gmail.com | Aim/Plurk: Guillotineapprehensiveengineer.
Current Characters: None
Links to Activity Check: N/A
Name of Beta-reader: N/A

[ CHARACTER INFORMATION ]
Name: Count D
Age: 23-ish
Gender: Male
Canon: Pet Shop of Horrors /Pet Shop of Horrors Tokyo
Timeline: After chapter 23 of Pet Shop of Horrors Tokyo (volume 7)

Character History:

A long time ago, in ancient China, D's kind lived in peace side by side with humans at what today is called the Kunlun mountains. Since they were friendly with animals and could speak their language they could refer messages and prophecies from the ancient beasts. Because of this they were soon invited to the emperors palace, regarded as priest and priestesses.

Then one day the emperor's son, a mighty warrior, asked a young priestess to be his bride. When she refused he became first heartbroken and then enraged. In his rage he decided that she, and the rest of her kind, must be devils and monsters and ordered his men to kill them all and leave no survivor behind.

Only one man survived. Beaten and exhausted, having been forced to bury his parents, his children, his friends he vowed to bring revenge upon the humans.

This was several (official artwork indicates eight) generations ago. Because of their method of reproduction each new generation looks uncannily like the former, the only differences being their choice of hairstyle and the colour of their eyes (D's father's eyes are violet and his grandfather's are golden). Their personalities - of course - are also different, shaped by their own experiences and the time periods they've grown up in. One thing that has remained constant though is their dislike for the entire human race and their continuation of their forefather's sworn revenge, now not only for the sake of their own kind but for all the innocent animal lives taken.

Somewhere along the line one of them decided that the best way to do this was to create a pet shop - that is really a magical, flying ship. In this shop they sell special pets as well as more ordinary ones. If you get "chosen" to be one of the special pets' owners you enter into a three clause contract. Break one of the clauses, you die. Sounds efficient, yes?

D was - for reasons never fully explained - taken from his father at a very early age and has been raised by his grandfather. He does not seem to have very much contact with his father and their relationship's a bit strained, at least from D's point of view. Little is known about his childhood, but around the age of twenty he turns up, alone, with the pet shop in L.A, USA. His grandfather, at least to his knowledge, is away to find rare species of animals and has left him in control of the family business.

In L.A he encounters homicide detective Leon Orcot, who has connected a number of unexplained deaths to the pet shop. He is convinced that the count is behind it, along with dealings with drugs, prostitution and human trafficking (and, along the line things like the bad weather and the economy).

Despite being rather annoyed with the American detective and his "silly" accusations, D develops a peculiar friendship with Leon over time. It rather soon comes to the point where, when Leon isn't working or sleeping, he's at the pet shop. And D continues to let him in. The fact that Leon keeps bringing him very good and very expensive sweets doesn't hurt, and in return he "helps" the detective with cases either relevant to the pet shop or otherwise having anything else to do with animals (surprisingly many). Even though his explanations are often fantastical and could reveal far more about his own kind than he'd want found out, he never truly lies to Leon, choosing instead to omit if there is something he especially does not wish the detective to know. Of course, he also knows that Leon will not believe his stories about mermaids and other mythological creatures no matter how true they may be. While this relationship does not necessarily make him much more benign towards humans in general, he does become very attached and fond of this particular one.

Later, when Leon's six-year-old brother Chris shows up - unable to speak because of a traumatic experience - D becomes the boy's primary caretaker since Leon has no one else to turn to. While D is wary and unwilling at first, Chris quickly worms his way into his affections, and he becomes a very caring and protective guardian, showing genuine sadness at the knowledge that the relationship will not last forever.

This added close human relationship combined with the one he already has formed with Leon, which only seems to grow deeper with time, further softens D's views of humans, possibly also as a species, to an extent that seriously worries the rest of his family.

But all things must come to an end and this ending begins with Chris reuniting with his family, and by doing so regains his voice and loses his ability to see the animals in their humanoid form.

Shortly after this D decides that it is time for him to leave as well. This coincides with an FBI detective by the name of Howell coming to hunt him, believing him to be his father. While D is being chased by Howell, Leon is being kidnapped by D's father "Papa D" at first believing him to be D.

They all finally meet at Papa D's place of residence. He reveals that he has finally completed a virus that will wipe out all human life. To stop him from unleashing the virus Leon shoots him, hitting him right between the eyes. Before dying Papa D sets off a number of explosions turning the building into a inferno. Papa D's death also brings on the death of Howell.

D saves a severely injured Leon, bringing him to his pet shop in it's actual form, aka a ship. After telling him that humans have not yet earned the right to board the ship, he pushes Leon of the ship and leaves.

After L.A he goes to Berlin but his stay there is cut short when he finds out that Leon has followed him there.

Having left Berlin he arrives in Japan, setting up shop in Neo-Chinatown, Tokyo, where he continues his business as usual and torments his landlord "Taizuu".

Character Personality:

D definitely shares his ancestors hatred for the human race. But while the story of their beginning has been instilled in him from an early age, his primary focus seems to lie with the suffering and needless death of animals. And he himself has made a vow to avenge their suffering by punishing the people responsible. He can feel the pain and suffering animals go through and is deeply affected by their passing.

But for all of his ingrained and expressed dislike for humans, he does like them more than he himself is aware. And, usually, unless they do something to upset him - aka in any way cause harm or suffering to an animal - he will not go out of his way to make them one of his special customers. And while most of his contracts lead to the customers' gruesome demise, many others will help them and, in the end, bring them happiness. And just like in the old, more bloody fairy tales, everyone will get exactly what they "deserve".

He has a very extreme sense of justice. The only punishment he seems to consider appropriate is death. Of course, the things he considers to be punishable crimes are slightly different from what a human would think, and not always fully compatible with human law (which he doesn't care two bits about).

Because he's more in tune with nature rather than humans, he is not very versed with modern technologies, though he of course knows about them, nor is he overly familiar with modern cultural references. He does, however, have a certain amount of knowledge related to what can be referred to as "higher" culture.

Appearance is very important to him. He dresses in very beautiful and embellished, traditional Chinese clothing and it's rare to see even a wrinkle on them. Partly because of this it's not uncommon for him to be mistaken for a woman, something which greatly upsets and annoys him. He mostly keeps his expression neutral but friendly, wearing a slight smile or a slightly superior smirk depending on circumstances and interpretation. He can be very charming when he wants to and he often does since it makes people do what he wants.

He tends to hide his feelings behind this charming mask even when among people he could consider friends. He hides his sorrow when Chris leaves both him and Leon and when he pushes Leon off the ship he keeps on smiling even though he's crying.

The only feelings he seems comfortable in showing are annoyance and anger, and even the latter is somewhat unusual. At least until you have managed to get behind his defences and under his skin, which is not an easy feat.

While his charming mask works very well for him in his business he also uses it as a shield to keep any human from getting too close. There are very few who have managed to get past parts of it and even then he will keep it up to prevent them from getting even closer. Even if doing so will end up hurting their relationship. Which by the end of the first series it actually does.

He acts very different with his family, however; with them his behaviour is almost disturbingly unassertive and passive.

Animals and nature will almost always be more important to him than anything else, and he will give up his life for them without a second thought. Having an animal that cares for you will not necessarily make him like you, but it will prevent him from doing anything nasty to you as long as they are on your side. And taking good care of an animal or showing obvious affection for them will raise his opinion of you, if only slightly.

While nature is very important to him the life and safety of humans is of less importance to him. He shows no remorse for the people falling victim to his pet shop, and will only spare them if one of his pets specifically asks for it. He sees the desires and weaknesses in people's souls and uses it to test them and if they fail well, his shop will accept no responsibility if the contract is breached. He also holds even human personally responsible for the suffering of nature, not even Chris is considered fully innocent.

However if you actually manage to win his affection you will have a very caring and protective friend, even if he does not quite realize it himself.

Character Abilities you would like to expand on further:

D is not human. It is never fully explained in canon exactly what he is but we know that he is not human. The most common term used in the fandom is kami (a Japanese term for deity) possibly because it sounds a bit more easy to grasp than "We are the painters of unseen images. The singers of unheard songs. The caretakers of what has been lost. We are that which you choose to ignore."

He has intimate knowledge of most, if not all, animals on earth, mythological or otherwise, and is able to communicate with them. He is also able to see them in a humanoid form (if he is in possession of a special incense he keeps at his shop he can also make/allow humans to see the pet they buy in this form as well). The animals in turn all seem to love and adore him in return, and they are willing to kill, and probably die, for him.

He heals from most of his injuries incredibly fast - the only exception so far has been breaking one of his claws nails - including gunshot wounds. Wounding him will however make him bleed, which is not a good thing. At least not for whoever has caused the injury. His blood takes the form of the spirit of animals slain and/or suffering, and they will proceed to attack the shit out of you.

He is much faster and stronger than his light build would imply. He can also jump high enough to reach rooftops, swim excellently without having to breathe and quite possibly fly. While shown off screen he is also able to take on at least three men and come out without even a scratch.

He can reproduce asexually which essentially creates a clone of himself, even down to the voice and fingerprints.

In canon we know that he speaks perfect English, Japanese, German and Italian. And since they make a pretty big deal out of the fact that he is Chinese I think it is safe to assume that he can speak perfect Chinese as well. Adding this to the fact that he moves his shop around regularly around the entire world it would not be illogical to assume that he does in fact speak every known (and perhaps unknown) language on earth. He also seems to be very knowledgeable in many different cultures.

He also seems to have a rather good aim, at least when it comes to throwing teacups, and has the amazing ability to survive on nothing but a ridiculous amount of sweets (without it having a slightest influence on his appearance).

Character Weaknesses you would like to expand on further:

D was made "incomplete" and his body is weaker than it should be. While he is still very fast and strong his endurance isn't very good if he overexerts himself. He has at one point received medicine for it but it's not said if he's fully healed or not.

D's inability let people inside and drop his mask with those he actually cares about has a tendency to put his few relationships at risk. The most notable example is how his and Leon's relationship begins to fall apart after Leon thinks that D is completely unmoved by the death of a young girl infatuated with him and by the departure of Leon's brother Chris.

While his choice to be a vegetarian has a lot to do with his connection to nature it is also shown that this is not an entirely voluntary decision. His reaction to accidentally ingesting parts from an animal is very violent and seems to wake some kind of bloodlust within him.

He is very prideful and single minded, believing himself much better and wiser than any human, and will not be very easy to control.

He is also extremely weak to sweets and animals.

[ SOUL CAMPAIGN SECTION ]

What abilities will your character retain in Soul Campaign?

❀ Faster than average healing
❀ Knowledge of animals, languages and cultures
❀ Good aim
❀ Above average strength and speed

❀ His ”relationship” with animals?


What weaknesses will your character lose or gain in Soul Campaign?

Lose:
❀ Illness
❀ Cloning

❀ His "relationship" with animals?

The wish Death the Kid made to the BREW in 2009 was to “rescue Death City and stop the waves of Madness from overtaking the world.” By whatever means necessary. Pretend you are the BREW. Why would you choose to bring this character to Death City?

D is both very intelligent and very clever. He is also very good at reading people and spotting their weaknesses and strengths. He's a capable fighter and his extended knowledge of different cultures will help him adapt rather quickly.

If your character has difficulty verbally communicating or can’t verbally communicate at all (mute or non-humanoid), elaborate on how this will be treated in the game.

N/A


[ WEAPON ONLY SECTION ]

Why is your character a Weapon and not a Meister?

In D's canon he's more of a Meister, since he is more of a pulling the stings from behind the curtain sort of person, and I thought making him a Weapon here would lead to some interesting developments.

Also considering D's general disregard for human life making him a Weapon, and thereby not in control, is a good way to ensure that he will actually work to save the humans of Death City instead of leaving them to their, to him, very deserved fate. A Meister able to break through his shell might also be able to help D come to terms with and expand what little compassion for humanity already existing within him.

What is your character’s Weapon Form? Why?

A Demon Rope Dart.

The rope dart consists of a metal javelin connected to a rope by a number (usually 4 or 5) of metal rings. There is at least one flag attached near, or onto the dart head itself to conceal the dart during "play". Additional flags can be attached to the side rings to slow down the dart and increase control. A handle is usually made from the last piece of rope.

In D's case the javelin is made out of steel, as are the rings, and looks like this. The rope is 5 meters long and is made out of spider silk. There are two flags attached to the side rings, also made out of silk, one purple with butterfly embroideries and the other golden with embroideries of cherry blossoms.

The rope dart is a very flexible weapon using twining, shooting and retrieving. The shooting and twining can be done from most joint such as elbow, knee and foot. A skilful wielder can trick their opponent very easily because the dart can shoot out very suddenly. This fits with D's elusive and secretive nature. He has a tendency of sneaking up on people without them knowing it. The dart is also reminiscent of D's nails which can be very dangerous in their own right.

It's also a weapon used in Chinese martial arts and D has always considered his Chinese heritage very important to him.

What is your character’s Weapon Ability?

The ability to create illusions. One of D's most dangerous "weapons" in his canon is his mind-altering incense that can allow humans to see animals as people or alternately feel like they are animals and, once, allows him and Leon to share a dream in prehistoric times. I thought that this would be best translated into something that muddles or confuses their opponents senses.

The illusion will give the impression that the dart is coming from a different direction then it actually is. The realism and endurance of the illusion will increase with practice and resonance.

[ SOUL INFORMATION ]

Describe your character’s soul with six adjectives.

Kind, ruthless, collected, secretive, protective, smirking.

What does your character’s soul look like? Be creative.

Green with bunny shaped ears and small horns, reminiscent of his former companion (and grandfather in disguise) Q-chan.

[ SAMPLES ]

Provide a First Person style sample in the form of a post to the DEMISE network.

[ The feed switches on, showing not much more than D's face and shoulders. At a fist glance he looks calm and is even smiling but anyone who knows him well enough or is very good at reading people will see a certain tightness around his mouth and eyes as well as the slight edge to his smile. When he speaks his voice is smooth and sweet, like honey, but with a very slight venomous undertone ]

Good evening, ah, Death City is it? I'm Count D.

It seems as if I have been taken, rather rudely I might add, from my home in order to help fight in a war here. I also don't seem to be the first one. I must say none of this leaves me very inclined towards helping at the moment.

But the, eh, person who so very kindly explained all of this to me mentioned something rather interesting that I would appreciate if some older resident would elaborate on. They said that we have all turned into something called "Meister" or "Weapon" and that there were people who could identify which one we have become. If this is the case could someone perhaps inform me of which of these has become my fate? And perhaps explain a bit more about what that means? If so I would be in your debt.


Provide a Third Person sample set during the last minutes on their world and/or their first few moments in the Kishin Chamber (http://soul-mods.dreamwidth.org/3401.html).

It had been one of his better works, if he was allowed to say so himself. And of course he was, who was there to judge him? It had taken a lot of planning to create his customer's 'poisoned insect' but in the end, it had all been worth it. His eyes fell on a large and very decorated urn, one used for the original games, at it were. Of course he never used it for such things, the game was far too cruel to put any animal through. Though the game itself was rather simple.

You take a lot of insects and place them, all together, in a large urn. Then you have them fight until only one remains. A battle royale of insects. The winner feasts on the bodies of the losers and so becomes stronger fighters, better killers. But what they don't realize is that what they're really ingesting is the hate and anger of the slain. They become the poisoned insect.

The same went for humans as well. While they'd like to think that they were so above the instincts of nature it rarely took much to strip them from their so called civilized ways. Put a number of competitors together in a limited space for, let's say 10 days, and while there may not be bloodshed of the literal kind they will all walk out of there with wounds in their souls. And one, shining winner will have become the poisoned insect. A girl with voice and heart enough to do his score justice, who will stand on a battlefield and with that song bring peace to a country. And the ruin to a nation.

D smiled as he refilled his teacup, breathing in the soothing aroma. He considered going out later and finding himself some wonderful chocolate mousse, after all he'd earned it. Then something seemed to shift around him and everything went dark. He woke up in a strange room and a voice, a man, speaking to him. He was trapped, seemingly stripped of all defences. Perhaps this time he was the insect. If so he knew he could win, the anger and hate of the dead was, after all, already burning in his veins.

[ NOTES ]
N/A

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