Rift Application
Name: Victor Fitzwilliam Van Dort
Age/Birthdate: 19/June 9th, 1855
Species: Human Wanderer
Type: The Rift gave Victor a rather weird ability - he can drop into a death-like state of suspended animation and manifest outside his body as a glowing green ghost. While in ghostform, his body remains dormant, showing no signs of life. His ghostform is rather typical of most ghosts - he feels icy cold, he can walk through walls, manipulate objects like a poltergeist, and possess people (though not well - the dominant personality can fight back and kick him out pretty easily unless he’s very determined). He can only remain in ghostform for about a hour - after that, he’s automatically pulled back inside his body. He can also reenter his body just by touching it. A side effect of his ability is that he can never be attacked by anything dead or undead - he somehow registers to them as one of their own.
Canon: Corpse Bride, from the very beginning of the movie
Journal: deadgirlsliekme
Played-By: Johnny Depp (well, voiced by - he’s technically a puppet, but the puppet does resemble Depp a bit)
Icon: http://p-userpic.livejournal.com/82456494/17390072
Appearance: Victor’s very tall at six feet three inches. He’s also incredibly thin, looking a bit like a living stick figure. His home village is in one of the gloomier parts of England, so he’s very pale from lack of sunlight. He has thick black hair that parts in the middle and flops over his forehead in two “puppy dog ears,” and large brown eyes. His facial features are very angular, with a sharp, thin nose and an extremely pointed chin. He also has very small feet for his height. Clothing-wise, Victor is from an era where men commonly wore three-piece suits and ties. He prefers them in the late Victorian style he’s used to, but if he has to wear a modern suit, he will. He tends toward dark colors, such as black and navy blue, with slightly brighter vests and ties. He came through the Rift in a black suit with dark grey striped pants, a deep maroon vest, and a blue tie, ripped some from his race through the forest.
Personality: Victor’s very shy and repressed, thanks to his Victorian upbringing. His parents constantly impressed on him the need to be the good, quiet son. As a result, Victor hates disappointing people and will often bend over backwards to try and help someone. He’ll also apologize for just about anything. He rarely gets visibly angry or upset, used to pushing such emotions down. He does stutter a lot when worried or stressed, along with yanking at his tie. He’s also kind of clumsy, knocking things over and stumbling into people. He tends to stick to the sidelines in social gatherings, or avoid them altogether, strongly preferring to just keep to himself. Despite this, he’s quite polite and a rather good listener. Talking about art, music, or insects is a good way to get him to open up. Victor also has a very well hidden “racier” side, enjoying things like penny dreadfuls (which he bought and hid under the bed at home) and, once he finds them, cartoons.
History: Victor was born to Eleanor “Nell” Susan Butler Van Dort and William Gregory Van Dort in June of 1855, their only child. The family lived in the small village of Burtonsville, a town close to the seaside that relied primarily on fishing for its commerce. William was the very successful owner of the local cannery, and the Van Dorts quickly became one of the richest families in the village. Victor grew up very well off, all his physical needs met.
Emotionally, however, Victor was a little neglected. The Van Dorts did the best they could, but they weren’t really the child-rearing type, Nell especially. Their focus was on gaining respectability and favor with the upper classes, with hopes of one day joining the noble families of England. Such ambitions didn’t leave much time for their son. Victor found himself either left alone or (as the money started coming in earnest) fobbed off on nannies as his parents worked on getting to the top of the societal heap. As a result, he grew up shy and quiet, trying his best to fade into the background and avoid people. The other village boys teased and tormented him a lot, causing Victor to retreat further inside his shell. Mostly the little boy stayed at home, playing with his dog Scraps and chasing butterflies in the yard.
About the age of six, Victor showed some talent in playing the piano. His parents encouraged his interest, hiring the best tutors they could to teach him the instrument. Victor soon grew to spend much of his free time either playing the piano or drawing. They were his escapes from the rest of his life, and he cherished the time he spent on them.
Eventually Victor grew up, going from a very small and skinny child to a very tall and skinny young man. His childhood love of butterflies developed into an interest in entomology, and he started studying the field in earnest, catching insects and sketching them for his own amusement. As shy and nervous as he was when he was young, he was content to keep to himself, waiting reluctantly for the day he would take over his father’s factory.
His parents, however, had other plans. At the tender age of 19, Victor was stunned to find himself betrothed to Victoria Everglot, the only daughter of Lord Finis and Lady Maudeline Everglot. The parents had negotiated the marriage based on mutual desires - the Van Dorts wanted the respectability being related to nobility would give them, while the Everglots wanted the use of the vast Van Dort fortune, theirs having run out long ago. The fact that their children had never even spoken to one another before didn’t enter into it. Victor and Victoria only met properly shortly before the wedding rehearsal, mostly by accident. Luckily for all concerned, the two found that they had rather similar temperaments and liked each other on sight.
Liking Victoria didn’t stop Victor from being nervous about the wedding, however. During the rehearsal, he kept flubbing the vows, culminating in dropping the ring and setting Maudeline’s skirts on fire while retrieving it. Banished by the pastor until he learned his vows, Victor fled into the woods to practice. After a little more stumbling and stammering, he finally got his nerves settled and said them perfectly, even placing the ring on a branch that looked like a hand.
Of course, as he quickly found out, the reason the branch looked like a hand was because it was a hand. Out from the ground emerged a corpse bride, who happily accepted Victor’s marriage proposal. Victor, terrified, promptly fled, pursued by the corpse woman. Despite a number of setbacks, the young man made it to the bridge back to town -
Where he was promptly pulled through the Rift.
Writing Sample:
Just a little closer - there!
Victor quickly clapped the bell jar over the butterfly. The insect, startled, took off from the windowsill and tried to fly away, only to bump into the edges of the jar. Victor watched it flit around, fascinated. It always amazed him how easily such creatures moved through the air. Sometimes he wondered what it would be like to be a bee or a butterfly, flying freely through the sky, not having to worry about anything except where the next flower was. It seemed a marked improvement over his life as a human.
Well, he couldn’t become a butterfly, but he could certainly draw one. He fetched a piece of paper from his desk, slid it carefully under the jar, then moved the jar to sit on a stack of books in front of him. The butterfly continued flitting about, brushing against the sides of the jar in a frantic effort to get out. Victor caught himself feeling bad for the poor thing. “Don’t worry,” he told it softly. “It’s only for a little while.”
The butterfly’s more distressed movements ceased, as it if had been soothed by the young man’s words. Victor smiled happily, then retrieved his sketchbook. Opening it to a fresh page, he picked up his favorite quill pen and began to draw. He was quietly delighted for the chance to sketch a new specimen. It being winter, he hadn’t expected to see any insects at all. Yet here this beautiful blue butterfly had surprised him by landing on his window this morning. Victor had no idea how the poor creature had survived the cold weather and lack of flowers, but he was glad to see it all the same. Strange, how the world works sometimes.
He drew for a good hour, sketching the butterfly’s body as best he could, with separate drawings to detail the leg and head. At last he was satisfied with his work. Smiling, he set aside his sketchbook again, then stood and opened his window. He looked at the butterfly one last time, admiring it, then lifted the bell jar and set it free. The butterfly flew around him briefly before departing out the window. Victor watched it go, feeling happy and carefree.
Those feelings quickly departed as he saw his family carriage pull up outside. Victor sighed as he closed his window again. Soon his parents would be calling for him, and it would be off to the Everglots for the wedding rehearsal. He really didn’t want to go, but what choice did he have? He sat down heavily on his bed and brooded. If only my life were as simple as a butterfly’s. . . .