PROFILE
NAME → Donovan Victor Schwarz; often called "Don", though he dislikes it.
Donovan; From an Irish surname which was derived from Ó Donnabhain meaning "descendent of Donndubhán". The given name Donndubhán is composed of the Gaelic element donn "brown" combined with dubh "dark" and a diminutive suffix.
Victor; Roman name meaning "victor" in Latin. Inherited from his father.
Schwarz; From Middle High German swarz meaning "black". Originally described a person with black hair or a black complexion.
AGE → 23; birthdate is January 8th, making him a Capricorn.
HEIGHT → Average height for a male of his age; 5'10".
WEIGHT → Between 130 and 140 pounds.
BODY TYPE → Very thin and lanky; is slightly toned but doesn't have overt physical strength. Somewhat underweight due to high metabolism.
SKIN → Light complexion, but not overly pale.
EYES → Medium grey, often looking very focused and calm.
HAIR → Black; slightly long, reaching a couple of inches above his shoulders. Somewhat shaggy in the back. Wears his bangs parted to one side; they're long enough to fall in his eyes.
CLOTHING STYLE → Mostly wears black and shades of grey. Doesn't like to draw attention to himself by wearing bright colors, though sometimes will have a few colored accents here and there thanks to the influence of his girlfriend. General style is somewhat of a 'casual punk', most of his clothes have a few metal accents (such as studs and zippers), but he doesn't go overboard. Strongly prefers wearing long sleeves, as he doesn't like showing off too much of his body - this mostly consists of things like hoodies and turtlenecks. Always wears pants as well, even in the summer. Occasionally wears hats or scarves. Usually keeps himself well-groomed and dislikes being unclean.
OUTFIT EXAMPLES;
images from lookbook
SPEAKING STYLE → Only really speaks when he has to or when he's addressed; is a boy of few words. Is more soft-spoken than he might appear to be, usually speaking in a very polite and almost formal style. Voice is somewhat deep, but not overly so.
PERSONALITY → Calm, cool, and collected - that's how Donovan comes off to most people at first. Generally, he's very quiet and tends to fade into the background most of the time, which suits him just fine as he's not very good with people. He finds it quite difficult to connect with others, mainly due to his lack of faith in humanity as a whole. On top of that, he's quite introverted and shy, a trait he's held since his childhood. In most circumstances, he's not prone to strong displays of emotion, thus coming off as passive or apathetic - rather, he's paranoid that he'll be judged should he react inappropriately to a given situation. And upon first glance, he may appear to be blank or depressed, but he's really not; he's just often lost in thought.
More serious than playful, he would much rather stay at home instead of going out to socialize, preferring to do an activity that allows him to think and strategize. He's really quite intelligent and likes things that challenge his mind, usually choosing them over a more frivolous activity. Although, his sense of humor is nonexistant - he's so serious that things that other people find funny fail to amuse him in the same manner. He's not adversed to snark or sarcasm though, and will use that to retaliate, often quite quickly.
Of course, it is possible for him to make solid connections with people, as evidenced by his relationship with Sepia. And when he does, then he's not so cold; he's actually very warmhearted toward those he feels close to, namely Sepia and his Pokémon. He's very dedicated and loyal to those he feels deserve it, and he can become incredibly protective if he feels that they're threatened in any way. But even so, he's still heavily guarded when it comes to some aspects of his background, and he will definitely make it clear if he feels someone's crossing the line.
One of his biggest assets is his ability to keep calm under pressure, and his tendency to fully analyze the situation before taking action. Having gone through many trying ordeals, he's managed to steel himself enough so that he doesn't panic if confronted with an undesirable situation, though it doesn't always work to his favor. Unfortunately, the resulting stress has also shortened his fuse over the course of time - while he may not have been prone to anger in his younger years, now it's a little bit more difficult to keep it under wraps if something truly annoys him. However, it's still very hard to actually infuriate him: he's more liable to become depressed instead, though rage isn't completely out of the question. He's also very stubborn and persistent; once he sets his mind to something, there is no stopping him until either a) he's satisfied that he's reached his goal, or b) it becomes physically impossible for him to continue his pursuits.
Thanks to his relationship with Sepia, he has made significant progress in opening himself to new opportunities, mostly in attempts to please her. While still very awkward in social settings, and even in his private moments with her, he allows himself to loosen up a bit and become more bold when in her company. He can be quite sweet when he sets his mind to it, but this is a side of him that only she is allowed to see.
BEST QUALITIES → Is very dedicated and loyal to causes he cares deeply about; able to keep his calm under pressure; takes the time to analyze a situation before making decisions; extremely neat and organized; doesn't overreact to undesirable situations.
WORST QUALITIES → Slightly paranoid and wary of others' motives; can sometimes be 'possessed' by his ambitions; holds little compassion for others unless he's familiar with them; can be brutally honest at times; has no sense of humor.
WEAKNESSES → Donovan is quite ambitious, but this isn't always a good thing - often, he can become extremely absorbed in his current task, even forgoing his basic needs in favor of working on said task. Once he's set on something, he won't give up until he's accomplished it, and he won't allow anyone to interfere whether they're trying to help or not.
HOBBIES → He enjoys stargazing and being outside (especially at night when the moon is visible). He's not much for games, but does enjoy some logic and strategy-based games like chess. Reading is also a hobby; one of his favorite places to be is the library in Canalave. In recent months, he's found himself enjoying Sepia's company very much, so spending time with her is always good for him.
TALENTS → He is a talented Pokémon trainer, despite that he doesn't really battle competitively (he's trained his team solely for the life mission he's assigned himself). Good at cooking; has had to fend for himself on more than one occasion, so his survival skills are quite high. He's also rather good at logic-based games.
POKEMON TEAM;
more information about his team here
BACKGROUND → Born and raised in Canalave City, Donovan is an only child. He'd always been quiet and studious as a child, choosing to stay home and read rather than play with other kids. His father was always pressuring him to go out and meet people, to make friends with others, but it was incredibly taxing on Donovan's nerves; fortunately, his mother always protested to that sort of treatment, being somewhat introverted herself. In an effort to get him to get out and socialize a little, his father presented him with a Larvitar egg on his tenth birthday; surely, training a Pokémon would help him meet others? No such luck. Even after the egg hatched, he still preferred to keep to himself, though he did manage to bond with his new Pokémon partner (who was quiet-natured in itself).
His home life was relatively normal up until the age of thirteen, when his parents divorced due to irreconcilable differences. A wanderer by nature, his mother decided to leave Canalave to embark on a journey across the different regions. Of both of his parents, Donovan had the closest relationship with his mother, and he felt that she was the only one he could truly confide in, so this was quite a blow to him. One she finally set on her way later in the year, she left Donovan with a final piece of advice:
Look to the moon for guidance.
He wasn't sure what she meant by it until he found a book about the legendary Pokémon of Sinnoh. In it, he read about the Lunar Pokémon, Cresselia: a gentle Pokémon who worries for the ill and brings peace to those tormented by nightmares, that could also heal emotional scars. And the more that he read about this Pokémon, the more his mother's words made sense to him (albeit in a somewhat twisted kind of way) - this was the moon that he was meant to follow after. She would bring him inner peace, and if he were to capture her, it would almost be like having his mother back. So for the next few years, he assembled a team entirely composed of Dark-type Pokémon (evolving his Larvitar into a Tyranitar) that could resist the Psychic-typed attacks of Cresselia. And once he turned sixteen, he finally set out on his quest to catch her.
During his travels, he met a girl named Sepia Ordelae - a girl who was opposed to his ambitions. He found her to be quite the pest, as she always seemed to want to hang around him and was generally loud and obnoxious. It wasn't that she intentionally tried to provoke him, so much as he was easily annoyed by her outgoing nature and her blatant disregard for his personal space. Her friends didn't exactly help the matter either; they often teased the two of them, saying that they should become a couple because they were obviously perfect for each other. Naturally, Donovan objected, having absolutely no interest in romance whatsoever. That didn't stop Sepia's friends from taunting him about how much she liked him, however.
Eventually, the teasing grew to be too much for him, so much that he actually started to wonder if there was any truth to them - if there was another reason why he made an effort to tolerate Sepia despite finding her so annoying. Unable to focus on his thoughts with her constant presence, he packed up and left, deciding to just travel on his own and continue his pursuit of Cresselia while he tried to figure out his feelings.
He didn't come back for three and a half years.
RECENT HISTORY → There was a reason for his return, one very relevant to his interests: Sepia's boyfriend Lucas had access to valuable information that could potentially be very useful in his endeavors. So, back into Sepia's life he stormed, though his focus was hardly on her. She was a constant presence while he and Lucas buried themselves in research, and over the course of time, he discovered that she'd matured greatly in his absence, as a result of becoming Champion. She'd also become rather attractive, which sometimes caused his mind to wander, wondering if she remembered everything that had been said about them before he left... but he was quick to put those thoughts out of his mind, as she was in a relationship and he had other things he was pursuing anyway. However, that changed one day when, upon arriving at her villa, he found her sitting alone, looking dejected - Lucas had had to bail on their date, so Sepia drafted Donovan into it instead. And that day, the feelings they'd secretly been harboring for each other came into full bloom.
Having taken residence in Snowpoint City, he continued to make the daily commute out to the Resort Area, not only to continue his research, but also to see Sepia and cultivate his growing relationship with her on days that Lucas was away. He knew she felt bad about cheating on Lucas, but he requested that she keep up appearances until he captured Cresselia - he feared that should Sepia leave Lucas, the young scholar would grow to resent him and refuse to help him with his research. This continued for a few months, and Donovan could tell that it was putting a lot of pressure on Sepia, but he couldn't give in yet - as stubborn as he was, this goal he'd set for himself eight years ago would not be given up so easily. Unfortunately, the longer they persisted, the more Lucas caught on to the whole ordeal. In an effort to separate them, he started a chain of events that ultimately ended in the secret lovers having a heart-wrenching fight, and Donovan left very shortly afterward, having been given the key to capturing Cresselia and finally fulfilling his goal.
With the information and technology he'd been given, he was able to track the Lunar Goddess to an area where nobody would be able to interfere with her capture. However, as remote as the location was, this still wasn't the case - he'd been warned numerous times that Darkrai, the God of Nightmares, was incredibly protective of his counterpart, but Donovan had brushed off the warnings, overconfident that he would be able to handle any retaliation. Unfortunately for him, he had sorely underestimated the dark God's powers, and upon his arrival to protect Cresselia, Donovan found himself struggling for his life. Darkrai's intentions were of a fate worse than death, though: he placed Donovan into an eternal nightmare that could only be cured by the very being he'd sought out to capture.
He remained in the nightmare for several days, seeing many terrible visions that tore at his heartstrings and even at his very soul. But eventually, thanks to Sepia's tearful plea to Cresselia herself, the nightmares were lifted and Donovan awakened. While he recovered, Lucas finally confronted him about his affair with Sepia, eventually conceding defeat - he knew who Sepia truly loved, and although it hurt, he came to accept it. And while Donovan felt a lot of remorse for having used Lucas the way he did, he was also rather excited; not only did he have a new outlook on life, but he and Sepia were now free to begin their lives together as an official couple.
And that's just what they did. Donovan moved into the villa with Sepia, and once he was fully recovered from his assault, they began to make plans for the future. As traumatizing as the encounter with Darkrai had been, Donovan had also gained some very worthwhile enlightenment from it: the legendary Pokémon were not just Pokémon as he'd assumed them to be before. They were beings of immense power, and governed the forces of the universe as he knew it. As such, he has gained some amount of respect for their power, and no longer wishes to capture Cresselia, but as of now he's still doubtful of their status as deities. So, he and Sepia have made their own little mission to go seek out the remaining Legendaries for educational purposes and to gain a bit more understanding of their roles in the world.