Mask or Menace Application

[setmatch]

〈 PLAYER INFO 〉
NAME: Peachie

AGE: 25

JOURNAL:

IM / EMAIL: shadygrifterdreams@gmail.com

PLURK: peachkoala

RETURNING: No other characters in game


〈 CHARACTER INFO 〉

CHARACTER NAME: David Klein

CHARACTER AGE: 48

CANON ORIGIN: Scion RPG (Tabletop)

CHRONOLOGY: Taken after "Meet me in Memphis”.

CLASS: Villain

HOUSING: Random, but preferably in Maurita Falls.


BACKGROUND:
David’s family is, honestly, a bit of a medley. Born to a Turkish Immigrant (who had, unknowingly, slept with Set in the form of her husband) and a German National in 1970, David has always been of two worlds.

Raised in a stable, if sometimes conflicted, home, his father favored a strict curriculum that involved multiple languages, history, philosophy, and music- after all, his father wanted his son to do nothing but succeed in what was rapidly becoming an international zone. His mother, however, took a more gentle approach. Teaching David things like cooking, art, and raising him on the tales of mythology old. She would tell him about the old gods of Egypt and Mesopotamia. It was, in all, a happy childhood.

Once old enough (and, coincidentally, after the reunification of Germany), David completed his law degree at age 24. Unfortunately, in the same year, there was an incident in Madgeburg, Germany, where Turkish immigrants were attacked over a perceived lack of jobs. Instead of stopping the attackers, some police officers actually joined them. While David nor his family was directly affected by the incident, it deeply changed David’s perceptions of the judicial system and deeply affected his sense of justice in the world.

Packing his bags and with blessings from his family, he took off to the United States, hoping to work for a less corrupt system.

Fast forward 10 years. David, a freshly minted US Citizen with a JD under his belt, is in his first year as an ADA. His second case ever handed to him is no proper case at all- it’s a young woman, Takara Hurst, insisting that she speak to an attorney about her foster parents’ deaths. Takara insists that their deaths were no accident, and will not rest until some justice is brought to their case.

David does what he can- reviews the case notes, leans on the precinct to re-examine the vehicle, but there’s not much he can do. In the meantime? He decides that he can give this young woman some peace of mind by helping her transition out of the ACS system. He becomes her permanent contact, helps with her case, and over time the two become as close as brother and sister.

When he finds out that the brake lines on her fosters’ car had been cut? He pushes for the precinct to investigate further. Unfortunately, the case runs cold. To this day, he keeps it on his desk, waiting for the scrap of information that could be used to solve it.

Ten more years pass with little incident.

David gains a reputation in the courtroom as an ADA who tries cases to their full extent. He doesn’t often take plea deals (or, at least, negotiates those deals to something he considers to be ‘just’), and tends to work hard on white collar crimes, or crimes that would otherwise be paid off to disappear. It earns him enemies, of course, but the only one that he tends to take seriously is defense attorney Chauncy Anderson.

Over time, their courtroom rivalry becomes a courtroom romance, kept secret and hidden from the rest of the world due to their positions. David tried to avoid prosecuting cases where Chauncy was defending, and vice versa. Even with the secrecy, it’s a truly loving romance. And, after two years together, David considered going public and moving their relationship to the next level.

Of course, as fate would demand, that decision is made the same time that the gods call upon him.

David is summoned to an embassy building with a flag that for some reason can never really be remembered. Appointment card in hand, he’s brought to a conference room with 8 people. They call themselves Gods, representing every pantheon- and one, who calls himself Set, claims to be his true father.

The gods task him as they claim to have tasked seven others. That the children of the titans, the monsters that exist in the corners of the world, are clamoring to reopen the gates and unleash catastrophe upon the world. Given a ring, a sword, and a basic explanation of what it all means, he is escorted back to the safety of his apartment and told to think it over. If he accepts, there is a time and a place for the others to meet.

It takes him 24 hours to deliberate. To turn it all over in his mind. It was no dream, and if powers were going to unleash death and destruction upon the world, it was his duty to stop it. So he goes to the meeting, meets the other eight who have been chosen (nine in all, including him), and makes arrangements to disappear. A sabbatical from work. And worst of all… the end of his relationship. He is brutal. Unforgiving. And purposely breaks both Chauncy’s heart and his own to make the separation easier. After all, heroes die, and he does not want Chauncy to mourn him.

After leaving him, he disappears, taking time off to help scour the countryside for these so-called relics of power. Headquartering in New York with a man named Hiro Kasegawa, a scion of Tsuki-yomi and a director of acquisitions at the Met, the other 7 continue the “field work” in finding the artifacts. David himself, when he has some time off (seldom) does what he can to push against the network in New York City- leaving him with scars on his ribs from a thrall belonging to a frost giant as well as a few more less-than-mortal enemies with him in their crosshairs.

But after about a year, they finally get a proper lead: rumors about the mysterious women who seem to haunt the Driftwood Beaches of Jekyll Island reach their ears. Dryads, who have been on the island and connected to the vast network of trees, who remember when Thoth, who knows all and sees all, first came to the “world that they called new” hoping to hide the Staff of the Shepherd.

For what feels like hours, David speaks to the Dryads, asking questions about the staff and what else Thoth might know. Another relic passes their lips, one they remember a sister once carried- the Mirror of Amaterasu. Thoth can tell them the location, and the mirror? Can tell them where the rest of the relics lay. With that information in mind, David thanks the dryads for their help, gives them the offerings of honey and spring water, and heads back to the Jekyll Island Club hotel.

It is here, in the middle of the night, he wakes from an almost drug-induced sleep. Half-conscious, he can barely lift his arms to defend himself from a woman who calls herself Nephtys cutting open his chest right above his heart. He doesn’t remember exactly what happened, only what the others had told him- that David had been taken prisoner by a cult of vampires known as the Followers of Set. That he had- apparently- been a sacrifice to their god, being of his blood. And that they were on their way to Atlanta to speak with Thoth about where to find the mirror while he healed.

Unbeknownst to him, the threads of fate were starting to loop and pull around his neck like a noose. The incident at Jekyll Island was the first of many to prepare him to become something more than a demigod. Poisoned with blood of the serpent Apep, his demeanor starts growing colder. He finds his humanity slowly being severed from him as he pursues the relics, chasing the mirror all the way out to Heart Mountain, Wyoming.

The band of scions are not the only ones looking for it. Minions of an ancient being, an avatar of primordial darkness named Mikaboshi, have found their way to the mirror as well. The battle lasts half the night, and by the end of it, David is sporting scars on his stomach and neck from two near-fatal wounds. Had it not been for Yuna, a daughter of Freyr, and her healing magic, he most certainly would have died.

The first- and last- glimpse he takes in Amaterasu’s mirror is what dooms him.

He sees his own death, sees a spear shoved through his chest. Sees every hope he has of changing the world, of using divine power to intervene pouring out of the wound in his chest. Hears the whispers in the back of his head about how unjust it is. How unfair it is. It is only then that Hannah, the young woman who’s become all but a right hand to him, tells him that she knows a way to bring about a new world. A way to punish the gods for their inaction and cleanse the world and make it just.

Ragnarok.

Possessed with a fervor he has not previously possessed, an almost zealotus dedication to the idea of a “just” world, he readily agrees. They can use the mirror to find the other artifacts. To start Ragnarok. To punish the gods and this cruel world in order to shape it anew.
He demands the mirror from Yuna. And that is when all hell breaks loose.

Threatening her with his relic knife, he aims to stab at her arms to get her to drop the mirror. Kotori, a daughter of Raijin, dives in the way of the blade and is stabbed through the lung. Not letting this stop him, he goes after Yuna again, only for her to run for it. The others almost seem to break into two different teams, a riot breaking out as scion fights scion. And in the end, the results are clear: Kotori, dead from her wounds, drowned in her own blood; Yuna, fled into the night with Amaterasu’s mirror; Hiro and Elijah, stripped of their relics. And the others- Niko, Ximena, Charlotte, and Hannah- all stand with him.

Driven mad by the guilt of what he’s done, he attempts to resurrect Kotori. And when that proves impossible, he seeks out the help of Elijah, son of Anubis. With Elijah’s help, they preserve her body, reattach her soul- but Kotori is not beholden to either of them, and instead takes a chunk out of David’s leg when he attempts to apologize to her.

After she flees and Elijah retires home to Memphis, David goes back to New York to continue his work as the mastermind. For six months, all is quiet, leads needing to be followed and investigated, and Yuna must be tracked down. It is not long after that he discovers a new group of scions has been called- including Chauncy.

Blackmailing Chauncy with information recorded by Niko, he uses his relationship with the other man to spy on the others and discover their movements, leads, and goals. He keeps a careful distance, staying at arm’s length when they rob the Met for the sword, or when the others journey to Orlando seeking the staff. How can he get involved, when Takara and Chauncy both are in the crosshairs?

Fate pulls the noose tighter around his neck in Memphis- he makes the foolish mistake of asking Chauncy to his hotel room. Continues their affair. And in the morning, he goes to Thoth to ask the god about what could kill the gods and divert his fate. Shortly after his arrival, Takara is killed before his eyes, the victim of- what he suspects- a plot by Hannah to rid him of his two human attachments.

Without a second thought, he accepts Elijah’s help in going to the Du’at. He drinks the potion, lays down, and closes his eyes, and prepares himself to recover the soul of the woman who is all but his sister

The rest, as they say, is history in the making.



PERSONALITY:
According to the Scion Legend, Set is remembered with distaste for his rapid changes of mood and temper. His scions are said to be equally emotional, gravitating towards jobs as political activists, military types, and bag men for criminal and political organizations. Perhaps it is his mortal mother’s mundane influence, but David has defied expectations as a son of Set- he’s become something else entirely.

The first thing to understand about David is that he seeks justice. One would almost say he has a fanatical devotion to the idea of a just world, and that is why he has chosen a job as a prosecutor, working his way up to Assistant District Attorney for the City of New York. He has a record for taking difficult to prosecute cases- ones that normally people would be able to pay off or bribe their way out of with the best lawyers money can buy. He takes a hard stance on those who think the rules don’t apply to them just because of their wealth or status. Ironic, given what he later becomes.

He has never had an easy time dealing with people- has always been somewhat “aloof” and apathetic about making friends or engaging in a relationship. Part of that has been being a stranger in a strange land, and a workaholic- good at making work friendships, but never letting people get too close. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rules. He has a strong friendship with a younger woman named Takara Hurst, even had a passionate- if secret- relationship with defense attorney Chauncy Anderson for several years prior to finding out that he is a Scion of Set.

Unfortunately, everything seemed to slip after his heritage was revealed.
Within the last two years he’s slowly shed off his old attachments and closed his relationships to anyone who doesn’t suit his end goals. He has begun to view people as tools, as a means to an end. This world is injust, corrupt, and so it will be better to burn it all down. He strongly believes it is his destiny- if not his duty to start Ragnarok and kill the old gods to make way for a better world.

He himself, knowing that his means will not justify the end, does not expect to survive.

So he has become emotionally cold, shut off from the world. Insensitive, even cruel with how he manipulates his former relations and twists them into something for his own personal use. After finding out Chauncy is one of the newly chosen Scions sent to chase him down, to beat him to his goals, he thinks nothing of using their previous relationship to get what he wants out of the man. There are idle flirtations, promises to help Chauncy get out of the situation he finds himself in, if only to further his goals.

David, however, is not without his humanity. Despite trying to rid himself of his human half, there are moments where those attachments come rushing in strong. A weakness that he cannot shake for those he has cared so deeply for. When finding out Takara is another who was caught in the web of fate, he was honestly hurt. Scared to hurt her, and wishing desperately that she wouldn’t have to be involved in this or that they could, at the very least, be on the same side. He still worries about Chauncy and Takara both, as exemplified by his calling Chauncy to check on them after they were almost injured in the Wild Hunt.

Despite trying to shed his mortal ties, they keep pulling him back down and away from the madness that he intends to unleash.

Finally, while David keeps a very even head and a nearly impeccable mask of levelheaded coolness, he does have an explosive temper when provoked. Whether it be perpetuating a massive injustice, insulting those he cares about, or attacking his character, there are ways to get under his skin and push him into those extreme emotions. Slow to anger, when the boiling point is reached, he is ultimately extremely destructive. Vicious, vindictive, and vitriolic, hell hath no wrath like a Scion of Set on the warpath.
And he’s not going to stop until the world burns itself pure.



POWER:
God’s Blood: Knacks
In the Scion universe, attributes are a way of gauging a character’s skill in a certain area. There are physical attributes like Strength, Dexterity, and Stamina; Social attributes like Charisma, Appearance, and Manipulation; Mental attributes like Perception, Intelligence, and Wits.
Scions of Set have inherent skills in Manipulation and Strength, but David has transcended his divine heritage to include attributes in Charisma, Stamina, Perception, and Wits.

Strength Knacks:
• Holy Rampage – While David’s divine strength is not particularly effective against humans, he does seem to have a knack for destroying objects. It takes him only half the strength of other men to do things like buckle iron or break brick.

Manipulation Knacks: All of the below knacks will be listed on David’s permissions/opt out post.
• Blurt It Out – David can exert his semi-divine influence on a conversation to subtly manipulate a person into telling the truth. It isn’t simply a demand for the truth and compelling them to say it, but rather encouraging a slip of the tongue. As long as David is pushing the conversation in that direction, he can and will get someone to admit what they’ve done.
• God’s Honest – While making a gesture of sincerity, such as holding his hand to his heart or swearing on the Constitution of the United States, whoever David is speaking to accepts that he is telling the truth of the matter at hand, no questions asked. Only solid, incontrovertible proof showing that David was lying will convince said person that they have been fooled. Even then, whoever is showing them the proof will have to convince them that it is not a clever forgery or manipulation.
• Takes One to Know One – Whenever David hears someone knowingly telling a lie, he is automatically aware of the deception. This doesn’t reveal the truth, mind you, nor does it work on written text or in languages David does not understand.
• Overt Order - Sometimes, the direct method is more effective than the cleverest of intricate schemes. With this knack, David can utter a command that the target must obey. The command must be one the victim can perform in a single action. A victim of this Knack can interpret the command loosely to make it not the spirit of the order, but simply to the letter of it. EG: If David ordered someone to shoot themselves, they could aim for a foot or hand instead of some place deadlier.

Stamina Knacks:
• Self-Healing – Once per day, David can activate this ability to heal himself of any wounds that have been dealt to him. While this will not fully heal near fatal wounds, it will stabilize him long enough to seek medical attention.

Charisma Knacks: All of the below knacks will be listed on David’s Permissions/Opt Out post.
• Charmer - With the sheer, raw charm this knack represents, David can smother an up-welling of panic, suspicion or utter hatred directed at him for one hour. That hour is usually long enough to convince a person that it would be in his best interest to help him, but it’s up to David to actually say the right words. The suppressed emotion of the target doesn’t go away. It merely remains beneath the surface. David can’t set the person’s mind at ease by the end of the hour, the suppressed emotion returns in full force.

Wits Knacks:
• Social Chameleon - By observing the behavior of the people around him, and by reacting almost supernaturally quick to their reactions to his behavior, David can fake like he fits in just about anywhere, with any class of people. Of course, he has to still dress the part, and language barriers may cause problems, but he won't embarrass or draw attention to himself unless he does so on purpose.
• Perfect Imposter - Impersonating someone in order to infiltrate their home or workplace, or to get dangerously close to someone they care about, is more difficult the less the impersonator knows his subject. With this knack, however, David can discern how people who think he's someone else expect that person to react. That does not mean, however, that he is supernaturally disguised- his appearance and voice do not change. But he can mimic the expectations of those who know the person he is disguised as well enough to not draw suspicion except from the keenest of minds. This knack will be included in David's Permissions/Opt Out post.

Perception Knacks:
• Perfect Pitch - David has the innate ability to detect even the most subtle variation in musical pitch. His sense of hearing is refined enough to be able to identify with certainty pitch patterns- such as a phone number or a security code just by hearing the key tones.
• Refined Palate - This ability grants David an exceptionally precise sense of taste and smell. With a faint sniff or a tentative taste, David can figure out what ingredients compose a certain concoction, and in what proportions. He is also able to detect drugs or poisons that have been added to his food or drink. This knack does not, however, tell him what an ingredient is if he isn't familiar with it. For example, he may know that he has been poisoned or drugged, but not know how to treat it.

God’s Blood: Birthrights
Purviews and Birthrights are the linchpin of a Scion’s divinity- not the simple metahuman abilities manifested in their “Knacks”, but supernatural specialties; For example, a scion of Raijin would have access to the Sky purview, giving them access to flight and lightning, or Artemis to the Moon.

As a demi-god, not yet a true god, David’s power is limited and must be tied to an item, also known as a birthright. These birthrights are special gifts given to heroes by their divine parents, and their purviews are bound to these items. Meaning that, should these items be lost or stolen, they no longer will have access to these abilities.

As a scion of Set, David has access to the Purviews of Chaos, Guardian, Sky, and Animals devoted to Set, such as the mythical Salawa. He, personally, has chosen to focus his abilities on two purviews alone: Chaos and Guardian, both of which are tied to a serpent shaped ring. His other birthright, a ceremonial dagger, contains his potential to harness the sky purview.

Chaotic Abilities:
• Jinx – When David experiences heightened negative emotions- anger, fear, etc. - he will accidentally activate this ability. Within a maximum range of 36 square feet, it seems like a shockwave of bad luck has affected the area. From items falling off shelves to glass breaking to smaller objects being thrown about, it’s almost like the area is jinxed.
• Eye of the Storm – If David finds himself in a chaotic situation unrelated to him, whether he’s entering a bar in the middle of a bar fight or finding himself in the middle of a protest turned riot, he can activate this ability and become the proverbial eye of the chaotic storm, untouched. He will remain untouched as long as he doesn’t actively involve himself in the situation at hand.
• Paralyzing Confusion – This ability turns a person’s rational thoughts into seething, chaotic noise. The victim freezes in place, suddenly unable to think, speak, or act. They are unaware of what goes on around them, and they have no memory of the moments before or after the use of this ability. The effects are temporary, lasting all of 20 minutes, with a disappearance of memory five minutes before and after. This ability will be included in his permissions and opt-out post.
• Sabot – David has a 1 in 4 chance of breaking even the most complicated machine with just the power of his mind. He just stares at the machine and, should luck be on his side, the machine will break down and cease functioning immediately.

Guardian Abilities:
• Vigil Brand - David touches a person, an object, or the entrance to a location and lays a mystical brand there that marks that subject as being under his protection. Thereafter, whenever that subject is in physical danger, the Scion receives a reflexive intuition to that effect. He can also use this Boon to check up on a subject at any time, but only one subject at a time. He cannot brand herself with this Boon, but she can brand as many other subjects as she pleases. He can either create a brand or check in on a brand once per day.
• Ward - By touching the entrance to a location, David lays a ward on the area that bars entrance to a certain type of threat. Such a ward could bar someone with a certain ability, human beings, lesser Scions, or a specific person. The ward acts as a barrier that bars entry to a single home or building, and lasts for a full 24 hours.

Sky Abilities:
David does not have any abilities relating to this purview as of now.




〈 CHARACTER SAMPLES 〉

COMMUNITY POST (VOICE) SAMPLE:
[ The man sits, leaning back slightly, dark eyes focused on the camera. In his hand, he's worrying on the head of a cane, mouth set in a straight line as he tries to figure out exactly what he wants to say. ]

... I'm a new arrival here, and I have some questions for you.

[ A pause, and he shuffles some papers around in front of him, adjusting his glasses. ]

Do you think this world is just? That the law of the land is able to protect not just Imports, but the native population? Or do you think changes need to be made to government legislation to create an equal status between Imports and natives?

[ Heavy philosophy question, followed by a small pause and then. ]
Also, what kind of myths and legends do you know from your home... dimension? Universe? I'm curious how much could be the same and how much could be different.


LOGS POST (PROSE) SAMPLE: Sample here


FINAL NOTES:
David's inventory upon arrival includes the following:
- Cell Phone
- Wallet with ID
- Reading Glasses
- Serpent Ring
- Ceremonial Dagger
- Cane with a Was head.