Application to Melodies of Eternity

[charming_jerk]

Player
Name: Lan
Age: ancient
Personal Journal: hellglass
Contact: hellglass
Other In-Game Characters: n/a

Character
Name: Johnny D'Amico
Age: 28
Gender: male
Canon: Original
Canon Point: post-MoL

Former Game: Melodies of Life

Canon History:
Johnny’s not had an easy life so far - but what RP character has? He’s the accidental child of a human woman and an incubus, and half-demons like himself are considered an abomination amongst demons. Humans don't even recognize what he is. His mere existence could have himself, his mother, father and even other family members killed. Not that he knows who his father is. His mother, Rachel, met a young incubus (posing as a human) named Esteban. He was led to believe she was older than she said, but Rachel was only 16 at the time they met, and... Well, an incubus does what an incubus does. Though very fond of Rachel, Esteban had to abandon her, since demons aren't supposed to form any relationships with humans. 9 months later, Johnny was brought into the world, shocking his family with his strange appearance. His mother didn’t care - say what you will about Rachel, but she’s actually a responsible, loving person who planned to raise her son with all the love and care in the world, no matter what he looked like. She knew who the father was, but not his true nature, and refused to tell anyone who it was.

Johnny was raised with his mother’s twin brother, Raleigh, and her father, Joe. Her mother passed away a few years prior. Her father was a short-tempered and abusive person. A religious man, he condemned his daughter at every turn, along with her "demon spawn" child (he had no idea how right he was). While his mother and uncle did their best to take care of him, they were still kids themselves. Meanwhile, his grandfather treated him like he was a monster, even though, despite appearances, Johnny was a normal child. Call it instinct on Joe’s part, but it made for a pretty hostile environment for the kid to be raised in.

Johnny’s family didn’t have much money back then. Joe was a construction worker; Rachel had to go to high school, worked as a hostess at a country club, and raise her son, and Raleigh helped out when he could. They lived in a tiny house in northern New Jersey. Johnny was often shuffled around to unwilling relatives, babysitters and day care. When he was old enough to go to school, he had a hard time making friends, being quiet and unsure of himself, and often treated poorly by his fellow students due to his appearance. When he was 9, though, his mother had gotten married to a man she met at her job - not a coworker but a customer of the country club, who was a rich owner of some upscale hotels. The entire family ended up moving to a large home in Manhattan, and Johnny was put into a private academy.

Johnny was a delinquent. He didn’t care about school, and didn’t care to pay attention. He slacked off, got into trouble, and started fights. He often got suspended or sent home covered in scrapes and bruises. The only thing keeping him from getting expelled was his step-father’s money. His grandfather was always threatening to ship him off to military school or even a monastery. Johnny had a hard time finding an interest in anything that wasn’t music, playing video games or pissing off everyone he could, especially his grandfather. He’s sneak out late too, occasionally being toted home by the cops for breaking in places, vandalizing, or getting into fights.

When he was 16, something strange began to happen. At random, people he was talking to, giving a hard time to, or even just walking past seemed fascinated with him. They wanted to talk to him more, get close to him. It freaked him out since he had no idea what was going on, the way people were suddenly captivated or even enamored with him. It only made Johnny even more irrational and violent with people, and he began to distance himself from people further. It wasn’t long afterwards that Johnny caught the eye of Lukas, another demon working on Earth. Lukas was a different kind of demon than Johnny’s father, but could recognize the features and abilities of an incubus easily. Half-demons like Johnny were a rare thing - they were usually killed if found, so it was even unusual to see one who had managed to slip by other demons this long. Lukas, though, was not a typical nasty demon, and had no intentions of turning in Johnny to his superiors. Like Johnny, Lukas was a bit of an outsider, harassed and tortured for his generally friendly attitude and fondness of humans. He was on Earth to try and work hard to build back his reputation, but he and Johnny became friends instead. Lukas was a surprisingly good influence on Johnny, who was learning about demons and angels, what his in-born abilities were, and making the first real friend he’d ever had.

It was two years later that Lukas mysteriously disappeared. Fearing the worst for Lukas’s safety, knowing what his superiors might do to him if he was found being friends with a half-demon, Johnny set out to look for him. He knew that his family’s safety could be in jeopardy as well. Feeling like he wouldn’t be able to explain this to them, he packed a bag and ran away from home, hoping to find some clues as to what happened. But well over a year of searching and hiding, Johnny had run out of leads. He had fight for his survival a few times, running into a few other demons and even an angel who tried to destroy him. It’s at this point he was himself whisked away to Exsilium.

Johnny's world seems much like on ours on the surface, and doesn't appear much different. It was 2012 when Johnny had left it for Exsilium.

The difference lies in the hidden game being played with the human race. Waged by Heaven and Hell, this game is a never-ending collection of human souls to their sides. Living on Earth, hidden to most humans by magic, are lower demons and angels who do their best to sway them to their sides. Higher, more powerful demons and angels rarely appear on Earth, preferring to stay in Heaven or Hell and pull the string from afar.

Angels are generally sent to Earth and work alone or in pairs. There are many different kinds of angels, and the lower ranks have powers and jurisdictions based on the seven virtues and even some of the Roman virtues. Angels of Diligence tends to be the ones who combat most directly against demons. Demons tend to get sent to work on Earth in groups, working in assigned areas. There are seven different races of lower demons: Desire demons, who grant wishes in exchange for contracts for souls; Warriors, both skilled in physical and magical combat; Lorekeepers, the scholars and magicians; Gremlins, sowers of chaos through destruction; Incubi/Succubi, the seducers; the Plaguebearers, who spread disease and pestilence; and Nightmares, those who lurk in the shadows and cause fear through illusions.

Lukas, Johnny's friend, was a Desire demon. While Johnny's father is an incubus, mixing human and demon genes results in a very mixed child. Johnny exhibits the coloration of an Incubus (white skin and hair, blue eyes and horns), but also has the teeth of a Nightmare demon and the physical strength and shape of a Warrior. He also has human ears - demons are pointed - and lacks their scaly tails. So not only is he a freak among humans, he's the same to demons.

Half-demons are exceedingly rare. Johnny isn't the only one currently alive on Earth, but only about a dozen exist worldwide. If found by either angel or demon, they are killed, considered abominations by both sides. Demons will also destroy both the mother and father if they're found out as well. No matter how good or bad of a person they are, due to their demonic heritage, the half-demons' souls are destined for Hell. Also, only human woman end up carrying half-demon children, as any female demon would be easily found out and destroyed.

There have never been any half-angels. Angels have better restraint. Well, at least there hasn't been any yet.

Neither side is really rushing things, or trying to end this game with the human race anytime soon. As much as it is one side against the other, each side also has their own fascination with humans and try more to usher along certain pieces and watch what happens, mostly leaving them to their own devices. They've let go the idea of a direct war against each other eons ago, and took up this new way to fight when humans came into being. Angels have been commanded to keep them safe, and lead them to a virtuous life. For the most part, they do love and care for the human race, but there are some resentful ones out there. Demons think humans are below them, worthless creatures for them to toy with and use as bait against Heaven. Of course, there are some out there that like humans enough, but that is seen as a major weakness. Those who do would never tell anyone this opinion.

Alternate/Game History (Exsilium):
One day, Johnny's life on Earth as he knew it was over. He awoke in the post-apocalyptic landscape of Exsilium, who had dragged him through time and space in order to fight for the sake of the future of all worlds. The resistance movement known as the Initiative needed all the help it could get against the oppressive United Earth, which ruled most of the last livable places on the planet. the Initiative explained that the UE had dimension-hopping technology, sending operatives all over the multiverses in order to take them over. The Transports, as they were known, were needed to fight back against them.

Johnny wasn’t a willing soldier, didn’t know the first thing about war or rebellion, and felt lost in the far future, over 1300 years ahead from his own time. But in a place full of so many other displaced people of all kinds - humans, dragons, elves, monsters, even other demons and half-demons - Johnny managed to find a place to belong. He made allies and a handful of friends, when he wasn’t starting bar fights in town, or complaining about their status as kidnapped victims. While the United Earth was trying to kill the Initiative, it was different for him to have allies to fight along side with to overcome his enemies. He wasn’t alone anymore.

While he hated the Initiative and what he thought was a selfish and irresponsible way of recruiting fighters, Johnny did fight hard against the UE. He wanted to become a strong, capable fighter to help protect his fellow Transports, as not everyone brought it could fight for themselves. He also felt as if he didn’t have many other skills to offer a war, so training to fight was the best way for him to be involved and feel useful. When the UE sent in ground troops as they often did, he was ready to fight at his best. He received combat training from Coby, a Marine, who not only taught him the basics, but also some incredible techniques as well (see One Piece and their crazy Marine powers). Physically, Johnny was tailor made to be a solider, as his demon heritage gave him the ability to gain superhuman strength, made him incredibly agile, and most of all, he loved to fight. His attitude would never let him be a very loyal or disciplined soldier, though.

Things in Exsilium were never really improved, despite their best efforts. The UE attacked the city often, and eventually the locals turned on the Transports, blaming them for the violence and attacks. The Initiative sent the Transports on missions all over time, trying to fix certain events to take down the UE in a less obvious route. The UE may have had more resources on every level, but they didn’t possess time traveling technology like the Initiative did. Johnny had gone on many missions with all of the Transports at once, as well as a few with only a handful of others. After the UE managed to wipe the city of Exsilium off the map with nuclear weapons, the Transports and a few remaining Initiative members retreated to a base on the moon and resumed their fight from there. It was a an incredibly difficult situation, with over 500 people crammed into a small base unprepared and improperly supplied for such a population, Johnny decided to help by going on solo missions back to times and places he was familiar with in order to collect supplies. While almost never using it for his own gain previously, Johnny began using his charm powers in order to collect what they needed. In his eyes, he felt like this was necessary for their survival, and did this missions for several weeks, every day. Mostly it was an excuse to get off the cramped base, but he also wanted to make sure he could do something to help. This was the best way he knew how. But after weeks of this, he was exhausted and depressed, and the whole situation demoralized the Transports as a whole.

However, after a few months of being on the base, time travel missions had managed to change the landscape of the Earth dramatically. The radiation was gone, and the landscape was switched from constant rain and dreariness from nuclear winter, to a Siberia-like state of permanent winter. The population that was wiped out from the blasts was now back. That was better than the moon base, and the Transports and remaining Initiative moved back down to this new Exsilium. Johnny was excited as the others to get off the base, but their new life wasn’t easy. The townspeople no longer knew of the Transports and were wary or outright hostile to these new people, especially those who looked inhuman, like Johnny. Previously he had thought that, despite it being depressive and slummy, he could stay and live in Exsilium forever. Even if the locals eventually turned on them, he hadn’t been shunned for what he was or what he looked like. No one was specifically hunting him down. He could live a quiet life there. He could have a life. But this new place was different, and Johnny eventually moved into a group home with several other inhuman-looking people who decided to stick together. Resources were tough to come by, and everyone had to work hard just to get by.

All of that time manipulation came at a price, and eventually things began to fall apart. reality itself was beginning to slip apart, holes in time opening up or parts of the landscape changing. The constant manipulation of time had some side effects after all, and people were disappearing for good, slipping out of time. However, through some luck, the Transports and the Initiative's AI managed to pinpoint some key points in the UE’s defenses, took down the UE’s cross-dimensional technology and finally overcame them. The Initiative and Transports were finally free to live their lives. Johnny was free to stay, or go home, or even follow someone else. Whatever he wanted.

Quietly he made a decision in his heart... but it didn't matter. He'd instead be pulled into Crystallis.

Alternate/Game History (Melodies of Life): Upon entering another yet another world, Johnny was determined at first to just go along with the motions of whatever Crystallis's deal was, too drained from Exsilium life to care too much at first. But Johnny is an emotional guy, who can't help but get wrapped up in things even if he doesn't want to. He couldn't go back to Earth or Exsilium, so Crystallis was home now, and he needed to make sure it survived so he could.

It was hard to cope with all the PTSD from Exsilium when trying to roll right into another world-saving hero roll. On Crystallis, things almost seemed less real to Johnny. Where Exsilium seemed like a science fiction movie at times, it was all too real, a gritty and difficult life that never got easier. Crystallis was like something out of a fantasy novel (or video game) to Johnny, and seemed like a dream. It quickly became all too real. Johnny was pretty vocal about not being a Hero from very early on, not wanting to get involved. He needed a break. But he also needed a place to call home. He couldn't live with himself if he let the planet succumb to crystallization without helping. (And of course he was all in by the time the whole universe was in danger.)

After seeing so many people come and go in Exsilium, and losing track of the people he cared most about, Johnny was also reluctant to get close with anyone on Crystallis. He couldn't say if seeing your friends become crystal statues was worse or better than disappearing into time and space (the latter had a chance of ending up back home, at least). Johnny is someone who's always wanted nothing but some friends and approval, so just like he said he wasn't going to become involved in Hero antics, he failed at staying away from people as well. Not only did he make a lot of friends, he became part of a lasting romantic relationship as well. As much as Johnny sees himself as the aloof, loner rocker, he's not that way at all. Maybe he was once upon a time, as a teenager back on Earth, but that's not even close to being the case nowadays.

One of the only positives about Exsilium was that there, Johnny was just another weird face in the crowd. He wasn't singled out for his appearance or treated any different for it (until it transferred to the snow setting, anyway). On Crystallis, he still got some looks, but mostly he was treated well due to his status as a Hero. Johnny has never wanted to be treated that specially, just as someone normal like everyone else. If this is as close as he was going to get, he'd take it. Acceptance is what he's always really wanted.

If there was one event during his time on Crystallis that still stays with Johnny, it was the dreams of 2000 years in the past, where Johnny's mother and father were also Heroes. Johnny has never known his father, and seeing this glimpse of him was the last thing he expected. Johnny was surprised by how totally unalike they are, but the fact that Ban didn't seem nearly as awful as Johnny had always imagined him will always give him pause. He thinks about it a lot because he still doesn't know how to feel about it. It's hard for him to settle on a feeling as he's never met him, and spent a whole lifetime presuming the worst - which Johnny can hardly be blamed for, since Ban is a demon. An incubus, even. But even Ban was willing to step forward and sacrifice his own well-being to help. Maybe it's not necessarily a love or respect Johnny gained for Ban, but it helped smooth out some of the anger he carried for so long.

Personality:
It seems like Johnny goes out of his way to not get along with people. He’s always been an outcast and it looks like he wants to keep it that way. It’s not true, but since he doesn’t know how else to deal with people treating him differently, he sure gives them good enough reason to. He won’t hesitate to be contrary just for the sake of being contrary. He wants to get a rise out of people, to see what they’ll do and how they’ll react. Usually it’s not in a good way. He wants friends and to be a normal person, but expects them to immediately dismiss him. So, he does it first instead. In truth, he's a very lonely sort of person who wants acceptance, but doesn't trust people enough to believe it could ever happen. He's a very emotional person who tries hard to suppress his feelings or ignore them. This is never a good idea, and one of the main reasons his temper is terrible. He loses it easily, and he can be pretty frightening when it happens.

In school, Johnny mostly stayed to himself. Anyone who made fun of the way he looked would find a fist coming their way pretty quickly. People learned fast to leave him alone, or else. It’s not to say he had no friends, or was totally unapproachable. But he never had any close or long-lasting friends, since he kept everyone at a distance and didn't trust easily. Mostly he didn't know how to talk to people, and instead acted hostile to them, pushing them away so he didn't have to deal with them. In his classes, he gave the teachers a hard time and never paid attention. He was frequently given detention, sent to the principal’s or counselor’s office, or even suspended. He had no interest in sports or any after-school activities like clubs or dances. However, his mother forced him into joining the school bands, so he had somewhere to learn more about music and a little more socialization.

At home, he wasn't much better. The only people he listened to were his mother and uncle, and even then that was about only half the time. His step-father is a good man who tried hard to get though to Johnny; Johnny doesn’t necessarily hate him, but regarded him coldly like he did with other people. He held back any outward hostility against him for his mother’s sake. He constantly had verbal fights with his grandfather (and the occasional fistfight, sadly), who had been condemning Johnny his whole life and is most of the reason he turned out this way.

Johnny loves music and video games, like most guys his age. He listens to a lot of hard rock, heavy metal and punk. He’s been playing guitar since he was around 10 years old, when his uncle Raleigh bought him one for his birthday. He has a great talent for it, and is incredibly dedicated to practice and improving. Thanks to his interest in music, he also had voice lessons, and is a fairly good singer as well. His favorite video games are the survival horror genre. He loves action and horror movies too, both good and bad/cheesy ones.

When his charm powers kicked in, Johnny has gotten even worse at dealing with people. Having them suddenly entranced and even enamored with him out of nowhere was creepy and unsettling, especially to a reproachful person like him. He learned what was going on after talking to Lukas, but lacked anyone to teach him how to use it. He tried to master it on his own, but it was a difficult thing to practice without things getting incredibly awkward, too. While in Exsilium, the scientists managed to help him control the power, and he got a lot more practice with it. Mostly he used to to charm people into giving him things, stealing supplies for their cause. He also used it to get out of trouble after starting fights and getting arrested. Once he finds out that the Job skills in Crystallis will replace it, he'll be relieved. Using it made him uncomfortable, and he only did so out of necessity.

His time in Exsilium and Crystallis has helped him realize that there are people out there worth trusting and getting to know. At first, Johnny seems hard to approach and closed off, and looks intimidating, but you can get through that facade with some effort. Nowadays, he's more willing to try to deal with people instead of immediately pushing them away. He made many friends and has even fallen in love. While it might take some effort on his part, he found out there are people out there that won't dismiss him or treat him terribly just because of what he is. If he's able to trust people a little more, he'll get that positive attention that he craves. They're small steps, but they're steps in the right direction.

Samples:
MoL stuff
Test drive stuff

Vaikuntha
Moogle Name: Mogrius (from MoL)
Moogle Gender: male

First Job: Bard
Second Job: Cavalier