application | soul campaign
Application:
[ PLAYER INFORMATION ]
Player Name: Eric
Age: 24
Timezone: GMT -5
Personal Journal: soi
Contact Information:
Instant Messenger: AIM: crefollet
Email: yeager[at]leviathansclaw.com
Current Characters: None.
Activity Checks: n/a
[ CHARACTER INFORMATION ]
Name: Mephisto Pheles (Johann Faust V)
Age: Well over 200 years (the length of time he's been serving the True Cross Order); appears to be somewhere around his late thirties.
Gender: Male
Fandom: Ao no Exorcist; manga.
Timeline: After chapter 16, upon sending the team to Kyoto.
History: http://aonoexorcist.wikia.com/wiki/Mephisto_Pheles ; this isn't a fantastic wiki, but it touches on most of the events in the manga.
Honestly, there isn't much else to be said about his history because it hasn't been revealed yet. Prior to the manga's beginning, all we really know is that he has been with True Cross for over two hundred years, that his "home" is with Satan in Gehenna, that he's met Shura before, and that he was close to Shirou Fujimoto (co-conspirators with him, according to most).
To give a very brief summary of his role in canon events--
His first appearance in the manga is at Shirou's funeral, where Rin asks him to let him become an exorcist -- a request that Mephisto accepts (after having a good laugh at the idea). He enrolls Rin in the school he runs, True Cross Academy, where Rin and the other students study exorcism along with regular studies. As the chairman, he's not directly involved in the students' lives most of the time, but he'll pop in every so often to congratulate them or break up a fight.
The things he does when he isn't around Rin and the other students is where it gets murky -- he instructed one of the teachers to act as the "accelerator" to Rin's power by attacking him; he allows his younger brother Amaimon, a powerful demon, onto the campus several times (first to observe Rin, later to fight him).
He's taken to court for hiding Rin without the approval of the Order higher ups once word finally gets out (which he took few precautions to hide), but ends up smoothtalking the officials into letting him continue. Shortly afterward, the Right Eye of the Impure King is stolen from his possession, and he sends the students on a trip to the Kyoto branch to protect the other eye -- but he seems remarkably unconcerned about the whole situation, and once again, it's almost certain that he knows much more about the situation than anyone else does, and much more than he's letting on.
Character Personality:
In two words, eccentric and ambiguous.
There is plenty to be said about the way Mephisto Pheles presents himself, but if you've ever laid eyes on him, it goes without saying. The bizarre, showy way he dresses makes it look as if he's cosplaying at all times (and, given that he is, in fact, a ridiculous otaku, that may very well be the case). He loves personalizing things and showing off; he has an enormous pink limousine that he gets chauffered around in, has his "own" shade of pink that he got his video game controller custom made in, and he even has his own theme park-- and the theme is him. Mephyland is full of statues of him, and hot air balloons that look like his head, and a roller coaster called GO TO HELL with his caricature as the logo, and even MEPHYPOTATO fry vendors. He carries around a pink parasol with a handle made to look like an ice cream cone, and sometimes floats around in a fancy chair just for kicks. And when he does any sort of transformation -- whether he's turning into a small lapdog or just changing his clothes -- he always does it in a puff of purple smoke and sparkle.
He's extravagant in pretty much every way, at least as far as he himself is concerned. His residence is lavishly decorated, his china in beautiful floral patterns; he'll even refer to himself as "the rich chairman". When it comes to others, however, he's much stingier-- when it's time for a great congratulatory celebration for his students, the rich chairman treats them all to... the cheapest fucking food possible. Smaller bills are much more interesting than larger ones, after all!
He is also, however... kind of a weeaboo. He isn't Japanese himself, but is in love with its pop culture, and more often than not, those fancy champagne glasses he loves to display are actually holding a bunch of pocky sticks for him to snack on while he stays up all night playing video games in his yukata (with the word "yukata" in an all-over print). He lists his favorite food as "junk food" (and apparently is fond of bacon and cheese mochi... what even) and gets only one hour of sleep per night; the desk where he does his work as chairman of True Cross Academy is decorated with figurines and models, and his pink cell phone is weighed down by a cluster of cutesy phone straps (including one that appears to be a dragonball).
He has an easygoing (or maybe just lazy) demeanor for the most part (unless OH MY GOD DON'T EAT HIS FAVORITE MONJAYAKI WITHOUT HIM or OH MY GOD DON'T PUT HIS SPECIAL CONTROLLER IN YOUR MOUTH), with a sort of constant vague amusement (and a little bit of superiority -- he rebukes Rin for not using an honorific with his name, even as he's sitting in Rin's lap in dog form), and he makes a lot of flippant comments, treats things as games.
Though maybe that's because they are.
Everything is such a show with him in public, so unpredictable and ridiculous, that it's difficult to discern what his real feelings (assuming he's even capable of feelings) and motives are. Shirou Fujimoto, Rin and Yukio's father and the last Paladin of the True Cross Order, considered Mephisto his best friend, and the two of them supposedly planned to train Rin to become a weapon against Satan; this is what Mephisto openly states his goal is -- once the Vatican finally finds out he's been hiding Rin without informing them, that is. (It would be troublesome if they knew too much before his plan got too far, after all. Isn't it part of his duty to report to the higher ups? "In a perfect world.")
The reason why he wants to defeat Satan is still unclear, though, and as noble a goal as it should sound, there are people who are suspicious of him, who seem to know something more about his true nature-- Shura describes him as manipulating everyone like pawns on a chessboard, and Arthur (though a total douchebag himself) remarks what a dangerous smoothtalking charlatan he is, winning everyone over at his trial with a grand speech about his plans for Rin.
And indeed, in more private interactions, there is something a little unsettling about him. Particularly with his younger brother, Amaimon, that calm demeanor comes off as cold and detached, a little like a master dealing with his dog -- instructing Amaimon that he will do as he tells him, threatening him with violence (or death) if he acts out of line (but privately chuckling at that naughty little brother of his); and there are a few times where genuine displeasure shows through. It's also shown that he's actually in contact with Satan, if not directly; Amaimon refers to returning to Satan as "going home" to their father, implying that Mephisto is still welcome there, and says that Satan has "accepted his proposal" regarding Rin -- whatever that may be.
It leads one to wonder just what his relationship with Shirou really was. Shirou was not a naive person; he knew he was dealing with a son of Satan and almost certainly knew what Mephisto was really like and really wanted. But whatever he saw, he trusted him enough to leave his beloved sons in his care, now raising doubt on the other hand about whether Mephisto could really be as sinister a character as his name would imply.
So, in short-- A mystery wrapped in an enigma soaked in Ramune with polka dots and sprinkles on top.
That might be poisoned.
Character Abilities: Mephisto is a demon, very strongly implied to be (like Rin) a son of Satan. It would follow that he would have some abilities in common with Rin and his other younger brother Amaimon, such as extreme strength and the ability to manipulate flames. The physical strength, at least, seems to be confirmed, since he broke up a fight between Rin and Amaimon, two exceptionally powerful demons, by simply grabbing them each by the arm. Other traditionally demonic qualities, however, haven't been shown.
The powers we do see from him are generally rather... well, cutesy in theme. He can do things like create giant cuckoo clocks (which he can trap people inside of and make disappear) and, his most notable, turn into a small white dog. Smaller abilities he has are things like being able to float/fly (and making chairs he sits in float as well) and being able to change his clothes instantly with a snap of his finger.
Beyond his supernatural powers, he appears to be quite an intelligent person-- he's a skilled strategist, excellent with words (manipulative and persuasive), and good at keeping secrets (he kept Rin a secret from the Order higher ups for a fairly long time, and it appears that very few people are aware that Amaimon is his brother, for example).
Character Weaknesses: There hasn't been much shown in the way of significant weaknesses at this point. He does seem to have a possible tendency to overestimate himself and underestimate others -- he took a strong punch to the face from Amaimon that he probably should have been able to see coming, given how fired up his brother was. He can also have childish reactions to things at times, being entirely too distraught over other people taking one of his favorite foods or threatening to ruin his favorite video game controller.
Physically, his tail is a big weak point; he always keeps it hidden under his clothing, but if it's pulled, it will likely temporarily incapacitate him -- this is definitely the case with Rin's tail, at least. He should logically have other typical demonic weaknesses as well -- he would probably be burned by holy water, and I suppose it's possible that he might even have a Biblical verse that would kill him like low level demons do.
[ SOUL CAMPAIGN SECTION ]
What are the abilities that your character will retain in Soul Campaign?
It sounds like original supernatural abilities will be nullified, so I imagine the only real abilities he will retain will be his intellect and his knacks for persuasion and secrecy. He will probably still be pretty physically sturdy and able to take a hit if he's prepared for it, but not much more than that.
What are the weaknesses that your character will lose or gain in Soul Campaign?
I'm not certain that things like holy water or kill verses would have as strong an effect on him as they would in his own world, so those might not be as much of a concern here.
He will be much less powerful without his supernatural abilities, though -- no magic spells, no levitation or superhuman strength, no dog-turning-into. This will be be pretty frustrating for him -- a lot of his confidence comes from the knowledge that he's more powerful than almost everyone he deals with. (And on a more minor level, he'll probably be annoyed with the fact that he can't make things like changing clothes simpler by getting them done with a snap of his fingers.)
[ MEISTER ONLY SECTION ]
Why your character should be a Meister: He's described by others as a manipulator and a chessmaster-- he's the type that likes to have as much control over the movements of others as possible, even when working alongside them. (He's in the process of raising Rin to be a "weapon" in canon as it is.) Additionally, his power appears to lie much more in his skill, abilities, and intellect than in raw physical strength; while he almost certainly doesn't lack this, he uses magic tricks and words to overcome obstacles rather than physical attacks in every instance we've seen thus far.
Meister Ability:
- Soul Trap - Misleading and confusing people is one of his talents. In particular, all the powers he's been shown to have in canon have been cute and innocent in appearance, with attacks often based on sweets, which makes him difficult to take seriously despite what he is and how strong he likely is. In fact, those very moves that seem so useless can be highly effective.
- Soul Apathy - He is the one who tends to play everyone else; others don't move him around on the chessboard, and likely wouldn't easily influence him. As a demon who is at the very least amoral, he likely doesn't have much in the way of genuine feelings and would most likely not be affected by most things that are based in emotion.
- Soul Disguise - No one is certain of what his motives are or whose side he's really playing for, and he often misleads people with his cartoonish appearance and behavior.
[ SOUL INFORMATION ]
Soul Description: Playful, secretive, manipulative, flamboyant, detached, irreverent.
Soul Appearance: An indigo-blue sphere fading to a lighter yellowish color at the very top with droopy eyes, a fanged grin, a large curl on top, and a pointed goatee. ( http://www.faux-shop.net/rpg/sc/mephistosoul.png )
[ SAMPLES ]
First Person:
[even as he starts recording, the goateed man in the transmission is still tilting the communicator in his hands, continuing to look it over.]
My, my, they could have at least offered a choice of colors for these phones! My charms won't look nearly as nice on this one.
[finally steadying the camera, he lets out a small sigh and shrugs, though he's smiling calmly, and not looking terribly concerned.]
Well! This is the network they've told us about, I imagine, so I suppose most of those hearing me are in much the same position! Why, perhaps you're even sitting next to me right now!
[his gaze turns away from the camera for a moment as he grins at something to his right -- presumably at another new arrival who has just been escorted to the same place.]
It sounds almost like something out of a manga, doesn't it? A war against witches fought by heroes from different worlds. What an honor to be chosen for such a thing, and how exciting it will be to find out what lies in store!
Ah--! [he holds up a finger.] I would, of course, be quite interested in learning more, if some of the more seasoned veterans should care to share. About the tool that brought us here, perhaps-- A demon tool, wasn't it called? I'm sure its history must be simply fascinating. ☆
Third Person:
The travel arrangements had all been set, and the two teams were on their separate ways. What an adventure his little brother would experience on his first trip to Kyoto! he thought, smiling coolly to himself as he took a seat at his desk, freshly cooked Cup Noodle in hand. Such an inexperienced boy, never even having left the city. Though perhaps it was a shame that this wouldn't be the casual vacation Rin was undoubtedly hoping for.
Well! It wasn't his duty to keep his brother happy or entertained, after all, and he peeled back the top and snapped his fingers to bring his pink chopsticks into his grasp out of a puff of purple smoke. He dipped them into the cup and brought out a mass of noodles, barely pausing to let any of the heat dissipate before slurping them contentedly. (There really was something fascinating about the way the cheap preservatives gave the flavor such a kick.)
And then, suddenly, it was dark, though it only took his eyes a moment to adjust to the lack of light.
And to see that he was most certainly no longer in his office.
My, how curious. Who could there possibly be who had the power to transport him like this, he wondered, a surge of annoyance running through him though he only looked mildly ahead, surveying the scene, and slurped another mouthful of noodles. (There was no sense in letting them get cold.)
The vision of the statues, the chains-- perhaps the chamber in Kyoto where the unmoving body of the Impure King was locked away, he mused at first, though he was quite certain Mr. Todou hadn't acquired this sort of ability, and he liked to think that he would have been quite aware if such a battle as had clearly gone on here had happened at the Kyoto branch.
Then, with a familiar static sound, bright television screens appeared before him, and he raised his eyebrows -- how unexpected (certainly too high tech for that old shrine in Kyoto), and what a marvelous screen that would be to play AzureBlaze on! Perhaps this would answer all his questions, then, he thought, and though he was feeling far from patient with his apparent kidnapper, he would certainly oblige and listen to the rules of the game.
How fortunate that he had brought a snack to enjoy during the film.
[ NOTES ]
None come to mind at the moment!