ooc ★ application
Character Information
General
Canon Source: Pandora Hearts
Canon Format: Manga
Character's Name: Jack Vessalius
Character's Age: 25
Conditional: If your character is 13 years of age or under, please clarify how they will be played. N/A
What form will your character's NV take? A small, leather-bound, unlined notebook with a fountain pen. It's embossed with his family's coat-of-arms on the back.
Abilities
Character's Canon Abilities: None. He's good with a sword, and in making complicated items, like music boxes and watches.
Conditional: If your character has no superhuman canon abilities, what dormant ability will you give them?
I'd choose to give Jack the power to control time - reverse, stop, but he cannot see into the future. In very small increments, and costing him a lot of energy unless he tries to practise extensively with it. For example, stopping time for three minutea will leave him unconscious for the better part of the day, and weak for the next couple of days.
Weapons: A one-handed sword, filigreed with the Vessalius coat-of-arms, and its matching scabbard.
History/Personality/Plans/etc.
Character History:
Wikipedia link, after the jump.
A hundred years ago, Jack had been the third son of the House of Vessalius - at that time, only a third-rate noble house. Having no responsibilities on his shoulders, he merely did what he wanted to do, including but not limited to being Glen Baskerville's best friend. They created a pocket-watch together: Jack, a self-proclaimed music box maker, crafted the watch, and Glen wrote a melody for it, entitled 'Lacie.'
Jack also met Alice, a shy and lonely young girl, kept under lock and key in a tower on Baskerville grounds. He visited her often, starting and strengthening a relationship not only with her, but her 'sister'; a 'personality' of Alice's that he'd learned to discern from the Alice that he had first known. He later learnt that the personality was really Alice's twin - more widely known as the Will of the Abyss, a supposedly malevolent identity controlling another dimension called the Abyss - and that his best friend was most likely keeping her imprisoned for his own purposes.
He had also taken into his home a pair of abandoned brothers: Gilbert and Vincent, who had been homeless and wandering the streets. He showered the boys with love and affection, and told them to regard him as an elder brother. (Gilbert called and treated him as a master instead, and Vincent followed suit. It really quite bewildered him.) Jack introduced the boys to Alice, but she teased Vincent about his red eye instead, causing Gil to pull Alice's hair for teasing his brother. He therefore concluded it was not the wisest decision: even after separating the boys and Alice, Vincent had started to take up the hobby of murdering stuffed toys with scissors.
Sometime after this, Jack learned of Glen's plans, especially those involving his pining for his past beloved (a girl sacrificed to the Abyss - Lacie), and for the transfer of his inhuman soul and his Chains. He couldn't stop the orders to slaughter the capital, and he then learned of his best friend's plan to use Gilbert as his next body. He tried to reason with Glen, but the latter would not listen to him.
On the night of the Tragedy, the Baskervilles slaughtered countless citizens, and the capital was dragged into the Abyss. The whole country would have been dragged in as well, if not for Jack, who killed Glen in order to stop him.
He was hailed as a hero, and the House of Vessalius replaced the Baskervilles in the Four Dukedoms, but Jack - dying of a near-fatal chest wound that Glen had given him in retaliation - would have none of it. Everyone he had cherished was either dead or gone, and the one that he cherished the most was dead by his own hand. Almost as if to atone for killing his best friend, Jack then implored the sorcerers in the aftermath of the Tragedy to use his body as a seal, so that Glen's consciousness cannot return to a body; this entailed splitting his physical body into five pieces, and his soul into countless fragments.
One hundred years later, he's drawn to the presence of one of the descendants of his house - Oz Vessalius, who had made a contract with the Black Rabbit, a monstrous rabbit whose human form had his Alice's face. He's forged a link with the boy's mind, and uses him to warn the dukedoms against the impending catastrophe if they do not stop the Baskervilles from seeking out their master.
Point in Canon: Retrace 40, after Gilbert finds Jack in an illusion of a garden maze.
Conditional: Brief summary of previous RP history: N/A
Character Personality:
Jack Vessalius, to most people who know or encounter him, is an merely an incredibly happy-go-lucky guy. Being the third son of a rather unknown noble house, Jack has no expectations from his family, which leads to him developing a carefree personality - loud, spontaneous, cheerful, and laid-back. He may seem a little daft and too happy at first, but he has a nimble mind, if not one for conspiracies.
He's compassionate and always ready with a warm smile, even to those whom he knows will not receive it cheerfully in return. The way he treated the now-Nightray brothers when he took them into his household - even if it has been rumored to mean certain misfortune - shows how much he cares, even for those that society will not take a second thought to ostracizing.
He has a very caring and loving disposition: he struggles to understand the Will of the Abyss even when it's clear that the girl is a dangerous persona, he doesn't care about Vincent's red eye - he is the one who cuts Vincent's hair short, thus displaying the said eye and he even says that he loves it - and his best friend is the head of a family called death gods by society. Jack is a person who loves unconditionally and with all his heart; he trusts very easily and always believes in the best of people.
This is also his downfall, however. He turns a blind eye to the dark and unsightly realities of people, firmly believing that he can draw attention away from them, that they would not matter as long as that person was happy. Jack was desperate enough to bring Glen back from the brink of insanity to leave Gilbert (his child, he started to treat Gilbert and Vincent as his children at some point) bleeding - because of Jack himself; the boy had taken a near-mortal blow for him - in a burning corridor just to follow his best friend. Jack's priorities can become skewed because of his devotion.
He's also a very convincing type A Stepford Smiler when he wants to - he is a man who is self-sacrificing to the point of ridiculousness. He always does what he thinks is best for another party, whether it involve killing or being killed (as an extreme example).
Jack is quite charismatic as well; it certainly helps with his habit of flirting with women - but when the situation calls for it, he can become the image that is so often associated with 'the Hero of Sablier': commanding yet understanding, strong enough to sacrifice everything for the better good.
A hundred years has changed Jack, even if slightly. Fragmented and shattered as he is, he's forgotten a lot of his past - his childhood favourites, his first piano piece, his introduction into society - and his regret is astonishing for someone of his disposition. He still retains his cheerfulness and optimism, but there's a world-weary edge to it; he knows that it isn't rainbows and butterflies all the time, and that the world is a cruel place when it needs to be.
Conditional: Personality development in previous game: N/A
Character Plans: I'd like to see how he responds and reacts to people in a place where it is primarily not safe, where he has to face the reality that there will be people beyond his help.
Appearance/PB: Here you go.
Writing Samples
First Person Sample
[it's voice only, at first. a sigh, a whisper of cloth, and the loud wail of sirens in the distance.]
But this isn't the Abyss -
[the video feed switches on, and there's Jack, tired but still cheerful - behind him, the moon is full and the shadows shift.]
Ah, hello - it seems that I have run into a spot of trouble. There's something terribly menacing in the shadows here -
[the screen's perspective slants, and there's the whip of a long gold plait and the unmistakeable sound of steel cutting through flesh and bone. Jack returns, and he's still smiling, a little strained.]
- and I found this boy. Brown-haired, grey eyes, calls himself Phillipe. Has anybody been missing this child? I followed him out earlier this afternoon.
[there's the faint sound of a child crying, and Jack croons low under his voice, whispering comforting nothings to the boy tucked underneath his arm.]
I shall try to get him back to safety as soon as possible. If there is anyone else missing in this section, please leave me a message, and I will do my level best to find -
[ducks, slashes, in the manner of someone who would kill for a loved one.] - them, yes. Thank you!
Third Person Sample
Well, after the first two weeks, Jack was itching to do something. Something small and precise with many parts, something distracting. After all, he had to get his mind off the inevitable happening that when dusk fell later that evening, this lovely city turned into a den of - of something that he didn't even want to categorise.
So here he was, wandering the fourth sector, testing out this body he had acquired. After doing nothing but watch for so long, it was incredibly disorienting to be able to touch tangible things, to breathe, to have human cravings. This place wasn't as desolate as the Abyss was; it still had sense, and the residents and politics reminded him of those back at -
Sablier. He came to a stop in the middle of the street and looked over his shoulder, almost as if he hoped there would be a pair of brothers running behind him. It was the first thing he remembered, really, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember the name of the first political faction his family had joined. It perplexed him for a moment, but he forwent it in favour of trying to find something to do. He wasn't the type to dwell on things - or so he tried to tell himself.
His feet brought him, subconsciously, to the where he had found himself - the 'baseball diamond', as they called it. Jack decided that exploring the 'stadium' would distract him enough, for the moment, and stepped over the threshold.
General
Canon Source: Pandora Hearts
Canon Format: Manga
Character's Name: Jack Vessalius
Character's Age: 25
Conditional: If your character is 13 years of age or under, please clarify how they will be played. N/A
What form will your character's NV take? A small, leather-bound, unlined notebook with a fountain pen. It's embossed with his family's coat-of-arms on the back.
Abilities
Character's Canon Abilities: None. He's good with a sword, and in making complicated items, like music boxes and watches.
Conditional: If your character has no superhuman canon abilities, what dormant ability will you give them?
I'd choose to give Jack the power to control time - reverse, stop, but he cannot see into the future. In very small increments, and costing him a lot of energy unless he tries to practise extensively with it. For example, stopping time for three minutea will leave him unconscious for the better part of the day, and weak for the next couple of days.
Weapons: A one-handed sword, filigreed with the Vessalius coat-of-arms, and its matching scabbard.
History/Personality/Plans/etc.
Character History:
Wikipedia link, after the jump.
A hundred years ago, Jack had been the third son of the House of Vessalius - at that time, only a third-rate noble house. Having no responsibilities on his shoulders, he merely did what he wanted to do, including but not limited to being Glen Baskerville's best friend. They created a pocket-watch together: Jack, a self-proclaimed music box maker, crafted the watch, and Glen wrote a melody for it, entitled 'Lacie.'
Jack also met Alice, a shy and lonely young girl, kept under lock and key in a tower on Baskerville grounds. He visited her often, starting and strengthening a relationship not only with her, but her 'sister'; a 'personality' of Alice's that he'd learned to discern from the Alice that he had first known. He later learnt that the personality was really Alice's twin - more widely known as the Will of the Abyss, a supposedly malevolent identity controlling another dimension called the Abyss - and that his best friend was most likely keeping her imprisoned for his own purposes.
He had also taken into his home a pair of abandoned brothers: Gilbert and Vincent, who had been homeless and wandering the streets. He showered the boys with love and affection, and told them to regard him as an elder brother. (Gilbert called and treated him as a master instead, and Vincent followed suit. It really quite bewildered him.) Jack introduced the boys to Alice, but she teased Vincent about his red eye instead, causing Gil to pull Alice's hair for teasing his brother. He therefore concluded it was not the wisest decision: even after separating the boys and Alice, Vincent had started to take up the hobby of murdering stuffed toys with scissors.
Sometime after this, Jack learned of Glen's plans, especially those involving his pining for his past beloved (a girl sacrificed to the Abyss - Lacie), and for the transfer of his inhuman soul and his Chains. He couldn't stop the orders to slaughter the capital, and he then learned of his best friend's plan to use Gilbert as his next body. He tried to reason with Glen, but the latter would not listen to him.
On the night of the Tragedy, the Baskervilles slaughtered countless citizens, and the capital was dragged into the Abyss. The whole country would have been dragged in as well, if not for Jack, who killed Glen in order to stop him.
He was hailed as a hero, and the House of Vessalius replaced the Baskervilles in the Four Dukedoms, but Jack - dying of a near-fatal chest wound that Glen had given him in retaliation - would have none of it. Everyone he had cherished was either dead or gone, and the one that he cherished the most was dead by his own hand. Almost as if to atone for killing his best friend, Jack then implored the sorcerers in the aftermath of the Tragedy to use his body as a seal, so that Glen's consciousness cannot return to a body; this entailed splitting his physical body into five pieces, and his soul into countless fragments.
One hundred years later, he's drawn to the presence of one of the descendants of his house - Oz Vessalius, who had made a contract with the Black Rabbit, a monstrous rabbit whose human form had his Alice's face. He's forged a link with the boy's mind, and uses him to warn the dukedoms against the impending catastrophe if they do not stop the Baskervilles from seeking out their master.
Point in Canon: Retrace 40, after Gilbert finds Jack in an illusion of a garden maze.
Conditional: Brief summary of previous RP history: N/A
Character Personality:
Jack Vessalius, to most people who know or encounter him, is an merely an incredibly happy-go-lucky guy. Being the third son of a rather unknown noble house, Jack has no expectations from his family, which leads to him developing a carefree personality - loud, spontaneous, cheerful, and laid-back. He may seem a little daft and too happy at first, but he has a nimble mind, if not one for conspiracies.
He's compassionate and always ready with a warm smile, even to those whom he knows will not receive it cheerfully in return. The way he treated the now-Nightray brothers when he took them into his household - even if it has been rumored to mean certain misfortune - shows how much he cares, even for those that society will not take a second thought to ostracizing.
He has a very caring and loving disposition: he struggles to understand the Will of the Abyss even when it's clear that the girl is a dangerous persona, he doesn't care about Vincent's red eye - he is the one who cuts Vincent's hair short, thus displaying the said eye and he even says that he loves it - and his best friend is the head of a family called death gods by society. Jack is a person who loves unconditionally and with all his heart; he trusts very easily and always believes in the best of people.
This is also his downfall, however. He turns a blind eye to the dark and unsightly realities of people, firmly believing that he can draw attention away from them, that they would not matter as long as that person was happy. Jack was desperate enough to bring Glen back from the brink of insanity to leave Gilbert (his child, he started to treat Gilbert and Vincent as his children at some point) bleeding - because of Jack himself; the boy had taken a near-mortal blow for him - in a burning corridor just to follow his best friend. Jack's priorities can become skewed because of his devotion.
He's also a very convincing type A Stepford Smiler when he wants to - he is a man who is self-sacrificing to the point of ridiculousness. He always does what he thinks is best for another party, whether it involve killing or being killed (as an extreme example).
Jack is quite charismatic as well; it certainly helps with his habit of flirting with women - but when the situation calls for it, he can become the image that is so often associated with 'the Hero of Sablier': commanding yet understanding, strong enough to sacrifice everything for the better good.
A hundred years has changed Jack, even if slightly. Fragmented and shattered as he is, he's forgotten a lot of his past - his childhood favourites, his first piano piece, his introduction into society - and his regret is astonishing for someone of his disposition. He still retains his cheerfulness and optimism, but there's a world-weary edge to it; he knows that it isn't rainbows and butterflies all the time, and that the world is a cruel place when it needs to be.
Conditional: Personality development in previous game: N/A
Character Plans: I'd like to see how he responds and reacts to people in a place where it is primarily not safe, where he has to face the reality that there will be people beyond his help.
Appearance/PB: Here you go.
Writing Samples
First Person Sample
[it's voice only, at first. a sigh, a whisper of cloth, and the loud wail of sirens in the distance.]
But this isn't the Abyss -
[the video feed switches on, and there's Jack, tired but still cheerful - behind him, the moon is full and the shadows shift.]
Ah, hello - it seems that I have run into a spot of trouble. There's something terribly menacing in the shadows here -
[the screen's perspective slants, and there's the whip of a long gold plait and the unmistakeable sound of steel cutting through flesh and bone. Jack returns, and he's still smiling, a little strained.]
- and I found this boy. Brown-haired, grey eyes, calls himself Phillipe. Has anybody been missing this child? I followed him out earlier this afternoon.
[there's the faint sound of a child crying, and Jack croons low under his voice, whispering comforting nothings to the boy tucked underneath his arm.]
I shall try to get him back to safety as soon as possible. If there is anyone else missing in this section, please leave me a message, and I will do my level best to find -
[ducks, slashes, in the manner of someone who would kill for a loved one.] - them, yes. Thank you!
Third Person Sample
Well, after the first two weeks, Jack was itching to do something. Something small and precise with many parts, something distracting. After all, he had to get his mind off the inevitable happening that when dusk fell later that evening, this lovely city turned into a den of - of something that he didn't even want to categorise.
So here he was, wandering the fourth sector, testing out this body he had acquired. After doing nothing but watch for so long, it was incredibly disorienting to be able to touch tangible things, to breathe, to have human cravings. This place wasn't as desolate as the Abyss was; it still had sense, and the residents and politics reminded him of those back at -
Sablier. He came to a stop in the middle of the street and looked over his shoulder, almost as if he hoped there would be a pair of brothers running behind him. It was the first thing he remembered, really, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember the name of the first political faction his family had joined. It perplexed him for a moment, but he forwent it in favour of trying to find something to do. He wasn't the type to dwell on things - or so he tried to tell himself.
His feet brought him, subconsciously, to the where he had found himself - the 'baseball diamond', as they called it. Jack decided that exploring the 'stadium' would distract him enough, for the moment, and stepped over the threshold.