[Coming soon...]

Player Name: Michi
Preferred Pronouns?: She/Her
Player Contact: yumesukidesho, AIM(streams of time)
Other characters in play? Terezi Pyrope

Character Name: Count D
Canon: Petshop of Horrors
Game Transplant: Landel's Damned
Original App: A copy of it here!
Game Summary:
Landel's Damned was a Silent Hill-esque (but not specifically themed) game where characters spent their daylight hours being residents of a Mental Institution, and their nighttime hours running around the dilapidated version of their residence while trying to fight monsters and sometimes other "patients". The Institution was run by Dr. Landel, who seemed to have nefarious reasons for trying to gaslight the characters into believing they were mentally ill people who should be living normal, mundane lives.

How long was your character in Game: About 2 months

History of Character in their Game:

(A note on the nature of the game way back then: Due to Damned's IC/OOC ratio being about 1 IC day to 35 OOC days, Count D's two months of OOC playtime within the game translated to a little less than two IC days. Also, characters generally only had one thread per time period, and there was no handwaving if threads remained incomplete. Everything was played *very* linearly, and backtagging was also very minimal. So, if his history seems sparse, this is why.)

Count D arrived on Day 24 of Landel's Damned. He was informed by a nurse that his life up until now had been a lie, and that he had been placed in this mental institution by his family for his own safety. D immediately rejected that explanation and attempted to force the nurse to release him--only to find that not only were his abilities to manipulate humans gone, but the rest of his powers as well. Having no other choice, he feigned acceptance of the nurse's explanation and allowed her to guide him around the facility.

As soon as he was led to the cafeteria, D was approached by a man who refused to give his name (Luxord). While he could tell that there was something off about the man, D couldn't quite put his finger on what. The man informed D about the dual nature of the Institute, though when D inquired further about the mention of 'monsters' that roamed the halls, the man was evasive with his responses. He merely told D that he would find out for himself that night.

After lunch, D was led out into the recreation field, but was forbidden from participating in any of the sport activities. This suited him just fine, though the nurse's reasoning included details about his heart condition, an issue that he knew not many people should be aware of. She left him mildly shaken from this encounter, and he spent the rest of the shift watching the other "patients" engage in activities, though he noted that there were several groups that kept to themselves.

It wasn't until dinnertime that D met his roommate: Reno. The man quickly proved to be everything D was trying not to remember about Los Angeles. He was crass with a breezy confidence about him that flirted dangerously close to hubris. More socially charming than the detective that D once knew, but not by much; and not enough to overlook the deficit that Reno had where morality was concerned. Or the smoking. D made a note to thank whoever had set up this rooming arrangement, even as he resigned himself to discussing the various places that people had come from in this place. It was difficult not to be curious about the other worlds that Reno mentioned (including Reno's home planet of Gaia), and D shared bits of information about Earth in return.

Once night had fallen and the doors were unlocked, D and Reno split ways to do their own exploring of the transformed Institution. Shortly after leaving his room, Count D picked up on the scent of blood coming from one of the corridors and decided to find the source. What he found was a recently fed vampire by the name of Aidou. They exchanged greetings while observing another group fighting one of the monsters that were released into the halls during the night. Neither were inclined to offer help. Ultimately, they decided to travel together to explore the Institute.

They didn't get very far. The fight nearby had ended, and the creature had turned its attention on them. At first, D was of a mind to flee. This fight had no purpose for him, but the creature (Indra) was inexplicably focused on him. It wasn't until D took a good look at the monster that he found something unsettling. The creature all but personified the destruction and domination that humans exhibited back on his own world--something that D found difficult to simply ignore. And the creature seemed to have made a similar connection with him and a celestial feud that he still harbored.

However, with no means to defend himself, D was forced to retreat. Initially, Aidou was reluctant to follow, but the vampire was ultimately forced to use magic to stop the creature from killing them both, rendering him weak and in pain. D grabbed Aidou and helped him into the next room where Indra could no longer reach them. Unfortunately, Aidou wasn't as pleased about the assistance as D might have expected. Despite his company no longer being welcome, D followed Aidou further away from the place they'd been attacked, insistent on patching up Aidou's wounds before taking his leave. After much arguing, Aidou finally relented.

The next morning, Count D found Aidou and a man by the name of Roland speaking during breakfast. But it was Roland, not Aidou, that drew D's attention this time. The man was unfamiliar to him, except that he had the seem feeling that D got from the creature the night before--only muffled by whatever spell kept their abilities in check during the day. Roland recognized him as well. No longer the focal point of conversation, Aidou took his leave from the two, while they discussed the nature of the animosity between D and the creature that Roland harbored.

After breakfast, D was escorted to the recreation room, where he encountered one of the most surprising patients of all: Byakko, the White Tiger. Byakko also informed him that the Institution was holding the goddess Amaterasu as a patient as well. This came as quite a shock to D, to find that this place could ensnare gods as well as they could humans and supernatural creatures.

During the lunch shift that day, Count D met a man who called himself Alan (Elfangor). He was another patient that felt 'off', appearing as a human to any normal senses, but otherwise not. D made a mild attempted at figuring out what this creature was, but given the man's hesitant nature, he eventually let it be. They exchanged polite conversation instead. (I may have been trying to collect all of the supernatural creatures in game.)

During this point in time, several conversations had been started on the bulletin board outside the cafeteria concerning a vampire attack from the night before. Realizing that the patients were hunting for the vampire, and that it was most likely Aidou they were looking for, D attempted to covertly hamper their investigation. When confronted by Hitsugaya, the person leading the investigation, Count D agreed to meet with the man to share information. This put Aidou on edge.

After lunch, Aidou pulled D aside to grill him on what he intended to talk to Hitsugaya about. D calmly explained that he was planning to seed their investigation with false information, while inquiring about any possible leads that they might already have. This didn't seem to reassure Aidou very much, but the vampire grudgingly let D proceed with his plan.

Unfortunately, the day was almost over, so D made plans to check in with Hitsugaya the following morning. He was escorted back to his room for dinner, where Reno was waiting once again. This time while actively smoking in the room, sparking a painfully familiar argument between the two of them.

(This is the last record I have for Count D, so this would be the point I bring him to WTL.)

How did they change from their canon personality wise:
While D wasn't present for a length amount of time ICly, he was confronted with the immediate problem of not being the one in control of his situation. In canon, D primarily functions as a near-omniscient and almost prophetic storyteller. He seems to know the ins and outs of people, and creatures of all shapes and sizes understand who he is and that he can be trusted.

This was challenged pretty heavily by his relation with Aidou, who was his strongest source of CR. Aidou was inherently distrustful of him and had no idea who he was, which led to him struggling to gain Aidou's trust while also trying to protect the young vampire from his own actions and potential consequences.

D was also challenged by the notion that he--along with other supernatural creatures and even gods (Like Byakko and Amaterasu)--could be pulled out of their realms and into this Institution. And all by someone who claimed to be human. This was something that he previously considered impossible. Humans were dangerous, but not powerful in this kind of sense. This was a new level of fear and worry for him.

How did they change from their canon physically:
No changes were made to D's physical appearance during his stay in this game.

Powers:
Physically, D is not very strong. He is small and a little fragile due to a serious heart condition. Extended physical activity leaves him breathless and in pain. It's never explicitly stated what this condition is, but D's father says that he was born incomplete, which suggests that it might be something along the lines of Noncompaction Cardiomyopathy. Mid-series he obtains a medicine for his illness and doesn't experience symptoms again.

He is not without his defenses, though. His nails are razor sharp, able to cut through cloth and skin in one swipe, and what D lacks in physical strength, he makes up with other abilities.

First, D has the unique ability of being able to mess with human minds. Most of his mind manipulation is handled through the use of incense, but D can also alter memories and issue commands through the use of his gold eye. He simply brushes his hair aside and stares his victim down directly. With this eye, he is also able to see things that normal people can't. In canon, this includes a creature's true form and infrared lasers. Things like that. As an additional side note, he seems to be able to speak with and understand both plants and animals--but mostly animals.

Second, D's blood is very peculiar. It's said to be very pure and rich, and it is deadly to vampires. It's not explained why, but being a spirit deity thing, I'm going to assume his blood is similar to holy water. Or something. Bottom line: Vampires stay away.

He can also summon creatures and plants through his blood. Instances of this include: summoning a tiger by smearing his blood across a painting, summoning a giant condor out of thin air (this took a LOT of blood, he kind of went overboard), creating flowers from drops of his blood. If he's not in control of himself while bleeding, that doesn't stop the summoning from happening. He was shot once and fell unconscious, and the animals just materialized themselves out of his blood. This also happened when his father was killed.

D also experiences accelerated healing. He has recovered from everything from gouges and cuts to gunshot wounds in a matter of minutes. Granted, the worse the wound the longer it takes, but he never seems to be bleeding for very long, which is good considering the previous mentioned qualities of his blood.

(D's ability to manipulate minds and summon plants/animals was completely nerfed during his time in Landel's, so he will not be able to do either coming into We The Lost. Everything else remains the same, though.)

Possessions:
D has no possessions save for the clothes on his back. They were taken from him on arrival, though some of his mundane personal belongings were stored in site at the institution. I would like if he were to bring some of those with him: Namely a tea set, some picture scrolls of animals, some spare clothes (his real clothes), and a few sets of Landels' uniforms (grey sweatpants and T shirts with a large yellow smiley on the front).

Please provide three samples from your previous game, at least one will have to be third person with context:
Sample One: Meeting Reno in their shared room.
Sample Two: Trying to befriend Aidou and running into Indra.
Sample Three: Eating breakfast with Aidou and Roland/Indra.

Notes: Anything else?

Name/Handle: Kura
Age: 20
Gender: Female
Time zone: EST
Email Address: shuichi210@hotmail.com
Personal LJ username: Kurama_chan
AIM/other messenger screen name: YoukoKurama210
Character you're applying for: Count D
Series the character is from: Petshop of Horrors
Character's age: Unknown (looks mid/late-20s)
Character's gender: Male
Character’s “Real Name”: Damien Duan

How long have you role-played your character, if at all?: I’ve roleplayed Count D a few times a while ago, for about a year.

Where have you role-played in general and/or with this specific character?: I’ve played Count D in IM conversations. In general, I’ve RPed in various IMs, chatrooms, cosplays, and other characters in Landel’s.

Have you played the game/watched the movie or anime/read the book or comic, etc. that your character hails from?: I’ve read the entire series several times, and watched the anime.

Please give us a detailed personal history of your character:
In ancient China, there was a race of people with a strong connection to animals. These people were treated as priests and priestesses because they could communicate with animals and convey the prophecies told to them by the sacred beasts. One day, the emperor’s son asked one of the ‘priestesses’ to marry him. She ‘politely’ (I doubt it) refused him, and the man was heartbroken. In a rage caused by his rejection, he declared that these people were not human, that they were monsters and every one of them should be slaughtered.
And thus, this race of people was diminished to a single person. All alone and severely injured, he lay down on the ground to die, bequeathing his anger and pain to the afterlife. He vowed revenge on the humans for their violent ways, for mercilessly slaughtering both his race and many of the races of animals.
This person was D’s ancestor. Their race reproduces asexually, passing genes from one person straight to the next, which causes them to look like exact replicas. When one of them is killed, a new one is reborn in his place. They seem to never age, never die, but they can be killed just as easily as a human can.
From a young age, D was raised by his grandfather and taught to care for animals. The story of his ancestor was repeated to him several times over, ensuing that he knew how terrible humans were. To play his part in fulfilling the revenge, he set up a pet shop in Los Angeles. Here, he sold exotic animals with contracts attached. The general rule was simple: “Should you break the contract, the pet shop cannot be held responsible for the outcome.” Usually, this meant the death of the pet’s owner. Sometimes it was worse. And almost always, it was because of some moral defect in the owner.
Still, if an owner could adhere to the rules, the pet would grant them their deepest desire, whatever it may be. Once in the back rooms and under the influence of the strong incense, the customers would be able to see the animals’ human forms, though D would convince them that they were still just animals.
Catching wind of the mysterious deaths by wild animals, a homicide detective by the name of Leon Orcot began frequenting the pet shop, hoping to catch D in some suspected illegal act, like drug-selling or slave-trading. Leon was quite inventive with his imagined crimes. Eventually as time passed, the two formed a sort of friendship, though they fought constantly. Still, Leon began coming to D for advice and company, rather than trying to lock him away. Though, he would claim the latter was still a top priority.
At one point, he brought Chris, his mute kid brother, and began leaving him for D to baby-sit while he was on the job. At first, D was appalled that Leon would leave a child in his shop, but he took a liking to the meek boy when he found out that he could see the animal’s human forms without his help. And despite being mute, the boy could speak to the animals through his thoughts and the animals could understand him.
A little less than two years after meeting Leon, D was tracked down by an FBI agent by the name of Howell, who was searching for his father. Having given Chris back to his aunt and uncle, D quickly packed up and left, carrying only a briefcase. Mysteriously, the animals were also gone. Realizing D had fled, Leon began to search for him and stumbled upon D’s father (Also named ‘D’), mistaking him for D. With Leon in tow, D’s father returned to his indoor garden home, situated on the upper three floor of a building complex. It was here that he abandoned Leon with the wild animals that lived with him, giving the cop the ultimatum of the wild: Kill or be killed.
At the same time, D was being chased down by Agent Howell outside of town. After being shot on the run, D threw himself into a river gorge. With D gone, Howell checked the ground for blood for a DNA sample, but found none. Only mysterious flowers left along the trail. Eventually, D’s briefcase washed up and Howell confiscated it, heading back to town.
Meanwhile, D was dragged out of the river by his animal friends. When Howell wasn’t looking, he somehow slipped into his car and hid in the backseat. While the agent was driving, D slipped a knife to his throat. After failing to convince Howell that he and his father weren’t the same person, D suggested that Howell turn the car around and head back to LA to meet his father.
Upon reaching the garden complex, the two parties joined and D discovered a very injured, but still alive, Leon. Worried that Leon might die from his severe injuries, D quickly tended to his wounds, though the bleeding persisted. It was then that D’s father revealed his plan to rid Earth of the human race with biological warfare: a virus that would only target humans. As he was planning to unleash this virus, D tried to stop him. I believe because, unlike his father, D still held out for some small hope that the human race wasn’t entirely terrible. After all, he was fond of Leon and Chris. And there were customers who had kept to their contracts.
Still, D’s father wouldn’t listen to him, and it was ultimately Leon who stopped him the only way he could: With a bullet to the head. Doing this, however, caused D’s father to hit the button that he claimed would release the virus into the air. Instead, it created an explosion which set fire to the entire upper part of the building.
Dying, D’s father instructed his son not to embrace hope again. To never forgive the humans for what they had done. With his death came a burst of energy, figures of animals swirling through the rooms, mingling with the fire. Agent Howell was caught in the burst and died instantly. Amazingly, in the place where D’s father had died now rested a newborn human child. D’s grandfather, who had been present at D’s side the entire time by masquerading as a pet, took the child to raise once more and left the building, leaving D and Leon to themselves.
Instead of killing Leon for shooting his father, which is what the cop expected, D helped him to his feet, heading for the roof to escape the growing fire. Perplexed by his behavior, Leon informed D that he had no intention of dying with him. D merely smiled and jumped from the roof, taking Leon with him. The world faded to black as they fell.
When he came to again, Leon found himself miraculously flying, spotting D not a moment later in a large boat sailing through the clouds. Climbing on board, he found it was really the pet shop, and he could finally see the animals’ true forms. D explained that this way, he could travel the world without worrying about the borders than humans had drawn. But this was where Leon’s journey would end. With a tear running down his cheek, he pushed Leon from the boat, returning him to his world where his family waited in the hospital for him to wake. The only explanation he gave was “Humans have not earned the right to board this ship. Not yet.”

Please give us a detailed description of your character's personality:
D has a complex personality. On the outside, he very well-mannered and polite to those who show him respect. He almost never yells and rarely gets upset (with the exception of being around Leon). He always has a cool temper and a superior air about him. He’s also very proper and dislikes unnecessary violence and vulgarity, something that he claims Americans, like Leon, excel at.
On the inside, D’s mindset is very convoluted. He’s been raised to exact revenge on the human race, something he feels obligated to do for the sake of animals. Something his kind has done for generations. And yet at the same time, unlike his ancestors, I think he wishes that he could stop it. I believe he embraces the hope that there might be humans who aren’t guilty of the cruelties that the rest of the race has been charged with, but he is almost always disappointed.
Generally, he dislikes those who are cruel or hurtful, usually finding a way to punish them, while tolerating those who are kind. There are very few humans he truly likes, Leon and Chris more than likely being the only two. Despite being human, he cares for their safety, whether he admits it to himself or not. He sometimes even contradicts his own standards for their sakes. These two have come the closest to being ‘worthy’ in his eyes, both Orcots being true to their feelings and instinctively noble, wishing to protect those weaker than them, rather than destroy them.

Please give us a detailed physical description of your character:
D is a young Chinese man with short, straight black hair. His left eye is violet, while his right eye is gold, though the right eye is usually obscured enough by his hair that the odd color isn’t noticed. He has very feminine features (several people have mistaken him for a woman) and a slim figure with perfect posture. He also has very long, sharp nails.

What point in time are you taking your character from when he/she appears at Landel's?:
I’m taking D from post-series, sometime after he pushes Leon from his boat, but before he sets up shop elsewhere, as he will probably eventually do.

What kinds of magical/special/crazy powers does your character have, if any?:
Count D has a strong connection to the animal kingdom, and has the ability to speak to any animal. I imagine that through this connection he would also be able to sense if an animal has been changed to a human, as with some of the other patients.
His main ability is that he can summon both plants and animals. All he needs is a drop of his blood. He can also manipulate the minds of humans; though it’s never discussed in great detail just how far he can go with that. He’s constantly warping the reality of his customers once they step inside his shop, and he once erased someone’s memories for one evening.

If present, how do you plan to tweak those powers to make him/her appropriately hindered in the setting of Landel's?:
I plan on allowing D to keep his power to speak with animals (it might give the people playing creatures an interesting new twist if they’d like to have them ‘speak’ back).
As for summoning plants and animals, I’m definitely not going to give him that. =3 There’s enough man-eating creatures running around Landel’s as it is.
Same goes with the ‘manipulating minds’ thing.

Does your character have any other non-magical skills or abilities that we should know about?:
Count D has very sharp nails, sort-of like claws. If possible, I’d like to let him keep those, since otherwise he’d be entirely defenseless. (And he’ll bitch and moan up a storm if someone cuts them.)
Not really an ability, more like a disadvantage, but I don’t know where else to put it: D has a heart condition that doesn’t allow for very much endurance. He can run around and everything, but he tires quickly if he does.

How about improbable appendages?:
None.

Please give us an idea of where you'd like to take your character within the scope of the Landel's Damned RP:
D’s not really a ‘people person’. He wouldn’t make many friends (if any), but he might ally himself with others once he finds the building to be more than he can handle alone. After seeing what Landel’s does to the animals at night, D would be mainly interested in finding the Head Doctor to pay him back for the things he’s done.


What kind of psychological effect do you see Landel's Institute having on your character?:
D would be most greatly disturbed by the change in the animals. He wouldn’t really care about what the building does to the people. He’s sort of in the same business, after all, so he kinda turns the other cheek to human-on-human cruelty, though he’ll still scoff at it.

Given that this RP takes place in an unsettling and outright horrific environment, how do you justify your character as being appropriate in both body and mind for this kind of setting?:
Petshop of Horrors is part of the horror genre, and essentially a collection of macabre tales. Count D is, for the most part, the cause for the horror in these tales. He sells animals to people that he knows will brutally slaughter them if they don’t keep to the guidelines he sets. He’s fed people to wild animals and smiled about it. Some of the stuff in Landel’s will undoubtedly disturb him, but it’s nothing his mindset can’t handle.


Third-Person Sample:
The door shut softly on the back of his latest customer and Count D allowed his business smile to fade. Another contact. Another broken contract, more than likely, but there was always the slim chance that this human would be decent.

D turned away and lifted the contract, tossing it onto the growing pile on the desk. He could get to it later. A later that didn’t seem to ever come, considering the mess that the desk was in. But it was tea time now, and he couldn’t be bothered with mundane paperwork.

Once it was certain that the customer was gone, Tetsu crawled out from under the couch and voiced his opinion. “Geez, why don’t you just let us eat them when they come in? You know it’ll be the same outcome.”

D smiled as he moved to fetch the tea tray from its usual place, glancing back to watch the totetsu flop himself onto the cushions and stretch out lazily. “Now, now, there is always that slim chance that they might listen, right?” Tetsu gave a grunt of disagreement, but couldn’t do much more than that before the door slammed open. For a moment, D thought it might have been broken and was fully prepared to shower Leon with a healthy dose of annoyance. He knew it was Leon because, of course, no one made an entrance like his detective…

“Alright D! What kind of deal did you make this time? Opium? Weed? Little indonesian children? Fess up, I’m onto you!”

D frowned at the accusations and had to wonder from where exactly where Leon got his material. Indonesian children? Hardly. Not only would it be implausible to even stock those (not like you could ship them in a box or something), but he hated children quite passionately. Nothing but a bunch of lawless heathens.

“Nothing quite that illegal, my dear detective,” D replied smoothly as he brought the already prepared tea tray to the coffee table where he entertained only his most important clients…and the detective that was now seated there. “I merely sold him a griffin. A female one, at that. They grow to a smaller stature then the males, so they make better pets. I believe that one will be approximately six feet at maturity.” He poured himself and Leon a cup of tea as he rattled off this information, an almost cat-like smile gracing his dark lips. He was quite pleased with the baffled expression on Leon’s face. Perhaps this was why he kept the detective around...

“Bullshit.” Leon was a far cry from believing this, but he wasn’t above accepting (taking advantage of) D’s hospitality, namely the teacup offered to him. D wondered to himself when Leon had stopped suspecting poison in each cup of tea. Probably about the same time he started visiting D’s shop on an almost daily basis, which was more often for kicks than for actual police work.

“Stop giving me this stupid mythology crap and tell it to me straight! You know as well as I do that those things aren’t real.”

Ah, there it was. A common factor that graced most of humanity. It didn’t exist if you couldn’t see it with your own eyes. Nothing was real if you didn’t have proof that it was there. Humans were so deluded by their own senses. D couldn’t help but think of his pet shop as ‘charity work’. ‘Helping’ one human at a time.

“Are you quite sure of that, Mr. Detective?” Count D smiled again, his fey-like eyes narrowing on Leon’s form. He took a sadistic sort of pleasure in the fact that this look always gave Leon chills. This was going to be a very interesting conversation…


First-Person Sample:

Count D wouldn’t write in a journal on the off chance that the staff would have access to it. He could write in characters, but he wouldn’t trust them to be Chinese-illiterate, either.