Application for sirenspull

[cruelties]

Contains spoilers to Retrace 79.

Player Information
Name: Birdy
Age: 25
AIM SN: N/A I exclusively use plurk due to my wifi’s inability to run personal messengers.
email: suckitbirdy@yahoo.com
Have you played in an LJ based game before? Yep.
Currently Played Characters: N/A
Conditional: Activity Check Link: N/A
Conditional: Official Reserve Link: Here

Character Information

General

Canon Source: Pandora Hearts
Canon Format: Manga
Character's Name: Vincent Nightray
Character's Age: 24
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 lapel pin that appears as a lapis lazuli stone. (The screen is underneath the stone and both text and voice are done by voice alone.)

Abilities

Character's Canon Abilities: Vincent is what is known as a “contractor” and the possessor of both kinds, “legal” and “illegal” (Though it depends if you’re looking at them from Pandora’s or the Baskervilles’ point of view for which is which). The contracts are to creatures known as “Chains”, beings born in the Abyss. The contractor gains the ability to use a Chain’s unique power with a contract and the Chain gains the ability to exist in the real world and escape the Abyss.

His “legal”, though illegal by Baskerville standards, (and likely second contract) was formed through Pandora with the Dormouse. The Dormouse appears like a toy wind-up mouse and its ability is make people fall asleep. The Chain does not need to manifest (though a contractor’s body acts as a doorway between the Abyss where the Chain usually resides and the real world) for Vincent to use it however. The exact range of “influence” Dormouse can exert is hard to estimate from canon; I say Vincent needs to be within a few feet of the victim to make them fall asleep though he doesn’t seem to necessarily need them to be within eyesight. Vincent does also seem to be able to control the depth of sleep but again it’s difficult to tell from canon how long he may make a person sleep for and for how long Dormouse needs to remain close to the victim for them to remain asleep. For personal reference I would say the victim may remain asleep from anywhere from a few minutes to at most an hour if they’re deeply asleep without Vincent present. If Vincent like to keep someone in a coma for example he need to remain close to that person for extended periods of time to keep them under Dormouse’s influence.

His second contract is to Demios, also known as “The Queen of Hearts”. The contract was formed via the Baskervilles’ technique and is probably an older contract than Dormouse. Demios appears as some sort of goat skeleton in a cape(?) and uniquely is a confirmed female Chain. Her one and only known power is beheading. As in she cleanly takes the head right off, as with a blade. Again she does not need to manifest for Vincent to use her power and again though he doesn’t necessarily need a victim to be within eyesight he does seem to need to be in close proximity to the victim for them to be beheaded. Canon is once again unclear about exact range but I say twenty feet is probably the maximum distance and Vincent has been shown to slaughter an entire roomful of guards within a matter of seconds using Demios. She is his primary weapon and Chain.

Of course however such power comes at a price. Chains drain the contractor of their vitality and especially if the contract persists for years. Vincent cannot use either one of his contracts with abandon for a protracted period of time. Every time he uses one of his Chains damage is done to his body and may result in anything from fainting, exhaustion, to serious bodily harm like blood vomiting if he uses them for too long or too much at once.

Vincent however is also a Baskerville like his brother. (This was only finally confirmed in Retrace 79 btw. >:) His seal for Demios is a full contractor’s seal with no ticking hand, for, as a Baskerville, he is not a sinner for illegally contracting a Chain and will not be dragged into the Abyss at the end of his contract with Demios. This seal is on the left breast and only appears when the Chain is being used. The Pandora contract is in a “blood-mirror” that is worn like a pendant around the neck and also prevents the contractor from being dragged into the Abyss at the end of the contract and allows the contract to reach the longevity of the Baskervilles' form. If the mirror is shattered however it will cause the contract to be lost.

Baskervilles are also immortal beings endowed with the power of the Abyss. Basically they can’t be killed except by the power of the Abyss and so far we’ve been shown only some Chains have this ability such as Mad Hatter, B. Rabbit, and Raven. Vincent can be seriously hurt but he will always eventually heal, and often at an accelerated rate.

Finally though I am uncertain if this may ever really have any effect in-game beyond motivation given it’s an ability pretty much only usable in canon, I thought it bore mentioning. Vincent is a “misfortune child” which means he’s actually a distortion in reality. He was warped into one (completely unknowingly by either) by his brother’s power as a container for the soul of Glen Baskerville (as all Baskervilles make bad things happen around them- they literally warp reality- and the presence of a Glen creates the biggest distortion of all).

What this means is Vincent can not only communicate with the Will of the Abyss (an ability given only to Glen Baskerville usually) he can also locate her in the Abyss (something that may not even be given to Glen). Vincent has already done this once in canon even if at the time he had no idea of what he had done. He was able to come into White Alice’s “room” in the center of the Abyss and when she says “you shouldn’t have been able to come here!” she was being quite literal- no one should have been able to find her in the center of the Abyss and no one else could have save a Misfortune Child.

This ability is what lead to Misfortune Children usually being cast into the Abyss for all eternity by their Glen Baskerville sibling as to have such power is to threaten the very balance of the universe. Vincent was meant for this same fate as an adult until Jack Vessalius created the Tragedy of Sablier.

Again I doubt this ability will really have any bearing in-game unless somehow we get a Will in the cast or maybe some sort of event gives an opportunity to explore it for whatever reason. In-game however, for the most part, Vincent will never really be given the opportunity to warp reality even if he has the ability in his canon. (He’ll just continue acting like he has the ability in the massive guilt he feels.)

Conditional: If your character has no superhuman canon abilities, what dormant ability will you give them? N/A

Weapons: And as if a beheading monster at his beck and command was not enough Vincent is also an excellent marksman. He uses a single action revolver (not a Colt model of course but similar to it) and from the time he was a young child he has been exceptionally skilled with it.

History/Personality/Plans/etc.

Character History: Here.

Point in Canon: Retrace 79; crying in the rain.

Conditional: Brief summary of previous RP history: I played Vincent here for more than a year before and want him to keep his memories of that time. I must admit he hadn’t really changed from a canon portrayal given the nature of the game pretty much gives every reason for him to remain a ruthless bastard only concerned with protecting the very few he cares about. Which is not to say he didn’t form outside cast attachments, he did, but nothing really ever prompted him to stop ultimately looking at other people as tools (Phancyhive was about protection, any romance about an end, his job was about selecting targets, he was jealous of Gilbert’s friends etc etc).

He behaved much as he does in canon even if he was working all the way from the ground up again. He was a security guard at Raul Creed’s club and actually managed to more or less achieve his own ends of schmoozing the elite of Siren’s Port while looking for ways to keep the companies away from his older brother and the Phancyhive house. That is until his younger brother Elliot Nightray was manipulated by his Chain (like in canon) to execute mass killings. After a long plot of manipulation by Vincent he managed to enter a plea deal with AGI. He took the fall for Elliot, saved his family, and became indebted forever to that company.

After that plot Vincent’s motives and aims remained much the same though his position was now much more delicate and dire. This is the point I took him out of the game and this is the point I like him to return to if I can.

Character Personality: To understand Vincent you must understand that his entire existence is based around his older brother’s, Gilbert.

This may be fitting given he is the distortion Gilbert created, from the moment of his conception Vincent’s fate was decided by his brother’s subtle warping. If things had stayed as they always had been he would have eventually been banished to the Abyss and his existence would have been slowly ripped apart by its power. Vincent appears to be unaware of this but it’s almost like his soul knows I should not be; I am warped.

Vincent seems to be aware, or has been conditioned by many forces, on a visceral level his existence should be exterminated and he seems to manifest this deep spiritual unrest as a deep guilt. He is very regretful he exists. He is deeply ashamed of his actions even while still feeling they are ultimately justified. He attempts to justify his existence by using his life to give Gilbert an existence without him.

Gilbert protected Vincent as a child and for this Vincent cherishes him. He is aware, or perhaps could only think, Gilbert however resented his existence. That he was a burden. And he's right in his torment. To him the only way to right this wrong is to take the very hand of fate and move it back. Vincent’s supreme wish is to erase his very existence, ironically the very same fate he would have been given if destiny had not been tampered with.

Pandora Hearts is greatly driven by themes of the impact of the past on the future, and often how we must escape the past in order to live in the future. Vincent’s character in canon is currently at a crisis of existence. Gilbert has confirmed Vincent’s great shame and fear that he did resent his existence as a child, but now he’s glad that he was there. That even such a horrid thing is part of who Gilbert is, and he's willing to embrace it. Gilbert has chosen to give up his darkness and step into the light, the greatest thing Vincent seems to have ever feared; being left behind.

This complex interplay between brothers has shaped Vincent into the person he currently is; a ruthless manipulator with no true basis of existence. He tries to live for Gilbert but ultimately his wish is selfish. Vincent cannot stand his massive guilt of not only his dependence on Gilbert as a child but also his part in the Tragedy of Sablier. He has refused to speak to Gilbert about his feelings or acknowledged that Gilbert has a right to live his life as he wishes. Vincent kept Gilbert ignorant for many years so he would not have to deal with his guilt and what truly happened at Sablier. For Vincent dying was better than facing the past. While he may have had good intentions of protecting Gilbert, ultimately the act was also about protecting himself as well.

And this says so much about the sort of person he is.

He’s stubborn, intractable, vicious, along with being childish to the point of indulging in often petty sadism. For Vincent the world is black and white and it’s manifested in many ways. Whenever he’s confronted by gray he becomes upset and frustrated like a child would.

He loathes noblewomen (and probably women in general) because he sees them as useless sycophants that look down at him and his brother. When he encounters Ada Vessalius, a noblewoman with no pretention or pity within her, he’s confused and annoyed by her even while feeling drawn to the love she feels for him. He never saw Jack Vessalius as the possible cause of the Tragedy of Sablier even after walking in on him after Alice killed herself so she could not be used by him. Even as clever as he is, even as much as he models Jack’s behavior in his own as an adult, he apparently never thought Jack could have been the master manipulator. For him Jack was forever the hero, and to hear Jack may have manipulated him deeply troubled him, so much so he argued it must be a lie at first.

This compartmentalization however doesn’t just extend to matters of morality. Echo is his valet, and because she is he has reduced her to little more than a tool in his mind. He treats her like his doll and sycophant. He has been physically abusive to her and justified his actions that she upset him. Given Echo’s other personality is “Zwei” who loves and adores Vincent (and may even have a sexual relationship with him if it’s not enough that not only does he hit Echo he also has sex with her body without her consent) and seems willing to do whatever he says, he has reduced both personalities to little more than things to be used.

He also poisoned Sharon Rainsworth in order to manipulate Xerxes Break. Once Vincent had been given what he wanted he then tossed the antidote off a balcony and would have killed Sharon if not for Echo’s interference. To say he was surprised to see the girl make her own decision is an understatement. Such sadism and tendency to mischaracterize others are perhaps Vincent’s two greatest weaknesses.

Like many traumatized children Vincent is also very protective of his personal space. He gets upset if you clean up his messes. Being surrounded by the mutilated bodies of dolls he’s torn apart with his scissors (as he did the corpses in Sablier) seems to comfort him after he’s done with the stress relief of mutilation. (And it really does seem to be a stress relief, he’s been shown to cut up curtains when he’s upset and has cut off the ears of a man because he “needed to torture someone”.) He seems to also keep the room dark and dusty so it will be even more foreboding.

He does also have PTSD and his trigger seems to be uncontrolled fire. When Yura’s home was set aflame he responded by having a break-down and flashback in a hallway. Vincent definitely behaves like someone with deep emotional damage done to them.

Despite all these problems in personality however Vincent does exceptionally well in hiding them. He seems to enjoy something of a reputation of being a “rake” as he has joked with Ada that because he is a debauchee they don’t allow him into the higher up Pandora meetings. His violent tendencies and peculiar personal habits don’t seem to be a cause for gossip as women flock around Vincent at parties, apparently completely unaware of what his room looks like or what his personal views of them are. He seems to have a very active social life given Gilbert has scolded him for his “nightlife”. Though Xerxes Break calls him creepy to most Vincent seems to be able to pull off the façade of being a charming young gentleman with a voracious sexual appetitive (and in a man such a thing is readily forgivable).

To summarize; though Vincent definitely has many emotional problems and can be quite ruthless and sadistic, he knows how to hide it. This makes him dangerous and even unpredictable if a person has no inkling what kind of person he really is. Vincent is determined, he was able to not only keep a contract a secret for many years he also lied to and used the one person he loves for years. Vincent still has a conscious, and still suffers for it, but he ultimately has also learned to ignore it to get what he wants.

Conditional: Personality development in previous game: I think I already covered this but if anything I say about the major difference between canon!Vincent and SP!Vincent is SP!Vincent is even more desperate than the canon. In canon all his ambitions are becoming for naught and he’s being asked to at last face a world he never wanted; one where he must exist. SP offers something of a waylaying of this fate. In SP Vincent can keep Gilbert ignorant of his memories however the trade off is he must also keep him ignorant of what he has done in order to protect him. He has a difficult existence at home but I think SP may be even more harrowing and Vincent’s personality will reflect this. He’ll remain much the same but whereas canon may at last be offering redemption if he is given the opportunity he may not be given that chance in-game.

Character Plans: I think I am mostly interested in where this personality divide may go. I cannot exactly predict it as I cannot predict in-game plot development but to me that’s part of the fun. I want to see if Vincent will fall to the very bottom or if, like in canon, he will be given that chance to at last pick himself up. I am curious what the vehicles of either would be. The game certainly gives plenty of opportunity to explore plots of redemption or of downfall.

Appearance/PB: Vincent and his wholesome activities.

Writing Samples

First Person Sample
[The feed clicks on, it’s a low view of a chessboard. Black is winning against white and the White Queen is in peril from a mere black pawn. A gloved finger runs down the pawn and the recorder chuckles.]

And here comes a chopper for your head! [The pawn topples the queen.] Ah, I am bored. I feel like I have no one to play with anymore. People change….[He plucks the white queen and she disappears from the feed with a clatter.] And their desires change. Mine remains the same however.

[The pawn remains the center of the feed.] I wonder how far people would go for something they wanted. What they would do if they were given that opportunity… [The pawn is suddenly violently flicked over even as the man recording chortles.]

Eh….but I know what I want.

[A beat.]

Just someone to play with. But I suppose I should ask; who would play with me? So, fellow newcomers….

[He at last turns the feed on himself after apparently detaching the NV from his chest. He turns it on his beaming grin and closed eyes, a young man glowing with charm.]

Who wants to play a game?

Third Person Sample
Vincent didn’t people-watch out of mere amusement. Technically it was part of his job, as scion of the Baskervilles, hustler for AGI, and being a security guard for more than a year only honed his skills in detecting deceit. The betraying bulge of a hidden weapon, the nervous movement of the eyes as they try to pick out an enemy from a sea of heedless spectators, the shaking hands, the lick of the tongue, they turned the predator into prey.

The former Headhunter mostly treated his duties for the company with annoyed disdain. The hunting of idiots for a gaggle of corrupt fools, he could really have been doing better things with his time. Such as perhaps plucking the ripe daughter of the mayor and having her scream all of Daddy’s secrets into his ear. He could have been endearing himself to someone just as stupid as this man but far better connected.

But he sat upon the bench, chatting with some single mother as she spun her tale of woe to him (unfaithful husband, younger woman, the child is actually the bastard of a lover). He kept the little rat in the corner of his eye even as he delicately held the grieving woman’s hands in a touching display of compassion. The man tried to hide in an alley as he anxiously loaded his weapon. Who had he selected as his target?

Ah. He thought the police officer was the AGI agent. The barrel of the pistol wavered at the man’s head as he watched the traffic of the square, obviously bored and not at all contemplating his demise. Vincent snorted, oh as if it be so obvious! This one really was stupid. How had he managed to be hired by a syndicate? Perhaps he was the head’s unaccomplished younger brother. It was a pattern Vincent was familiar with in the nobility. Less than worthy individuals placed in positions they never should have by blood bonds.

But blood did run thicker than water.

Unfortunately however the lead that some spy had given that an AGI agent was coming to break-up the ring as the company wouldn’t tolerate a rival human trafficking operation was not even enough for this buffoon. Who knew? Perhaps he had even been intentionally thrown in the way of execution. Another thing that irritated Vincent about this work; cleaning up someone else’s mess.

One more step… and the step was taken. Silently, with no movement from Vincent, the man’s head was cleanly removed. A splatter of blood exploded across the alley, but the body would likely not be found for hours. Vincent continued his conversation with the woman until he became convinced no more syndicate members were in the area. The rest of the rats had run back to the nest, but he would find them, eventually.

For now he could coolly stroll down the boulevard and leave the woman weeping bitterly. He only paused before a certain bakery for a few seconds. He quickly continued on however, before he could be seen, spoken to, or heard. He only had a thought of how lovely the cakes looked; because he knew whose hands had so carefully iced the small flowers and birds upon them.

Blood did run thicker than anything else.