Welcome to Gaia! ::

This is my first time creating a character in B/C; please be gentle with me. 3nodding I think I'm doing the right thing, having the two forms as my first two posts?

BASIC FORM: STUDENT

Name: Melanthios Vervain. Yes, he knows it's ridiculous.

Nickname: Mel to teachers and classmates, Anthy to close friends/romantic interests.

Age: 17

Birthday: September 18th

Sign: Virgo

Gemstone:  Sapphire

Blood Type: B

Fav. Food: Baklava/other Greek pastries

Hated Food: Beef Stew/anything with cauliflower

School:  Meadowview High School

Hobbies: 
Moviegoing -- One of Melanthios' favorite activities is to go to the movies alone and immerse himself completely in the spectacle. Plot is what he tends to latch on to, before even character, and he can recite the plot of any movie he's seen easily. This has the tendency to pull his conversation into digressions, and gets him strange looks from less erudite, or more accurately less easily distracted people, or those in a hurry.

Urban Exploration-- Anthy is quite the flâneur; he loves to leave the house at just before dusk and wander the streets in search of adventure--and coffee. He enjoys, in a sort of bemused, detached way, meeting random strangers and seeing what happens in their lives; to a certain extent this is how he gathers up tales to tell his friends in conversation. He doesn't intentionally seek out danger--he wanders more for the sense of novelty, that the same places are every evening different in some way, and also finding new places he hasn't discovered before. He would start out, of an evening, by choosing a direction that he hadn't chosen before, or a permutation of possible destinations that would take him walking down streets in a direction he hadn't tried before.
His mother worries about him, while he's wandering about, more than she ever tells him, but she doesn't mind too much provided he's home by the hour he specifies. Anthy doesn't really introduce himself to people, he's more of an observer. Occasionally this habit of his might provide him with the "opportunity" to happen upon Senshi or Negaverse folk in combat or up to no good; sometimes he would pretend it wasn't happening, but for the most part he'd be as spellbound and terrified an observer as any other.

Choir -- Anthy wasn't surprised at all that he got into Meadowview's rather prestigious choir, because he's been singing since he was a small child, though he went through a few depressing years of not-singing when his voice broke and he didn't know what to do with it. He's well aware that his high opinion of his own singing abilities is only deserved insofar as he can back it up, which he feels like he's continually struggling to do in Meadowview's choir's tenor section. He has only once gotten a solo, something he's not too proud of. As a result, he practices incessantly, sometimes in the street.

Babysitting -- Anthy's mother's best friend has a three-year-old and a five-year-old, and therefore is often in need of assistance so she can take some time off for her mental health. Anthy's mother had the bright idea one day of shoving them off on her teenage son, who resented the imposition at first, then discovered it was the most fun he'd had in ages. His two young charges kept demanding that their mother tell them one of "Anthy's stories," to the point that she found herself hiring him almost every weekend, then passing him on to her friends with young children.

World Mythology -- From the time he was a little child, Anthy has pored delightedly over tomes of ancient myths, both from his parents' cultures--mother is Black Irish, father Thai--to Greco-Roman and Mesopotamian and Persian stories. This is a child who had read the Epic of Gilgamesh by 10, and who would love to tell you the story of What the Rose did to the Cypress. His teachers were for the most part delighted with this interest of his, though his mother tried to encourage him to read more "normal" offerings, finding his interest especially in his father's culture a bit too unusual/reminiscent of his father.

Virtues:
Generous -- Melanthios likes to feel that he's done something that made someone else feel good, specifically in giving of himself. A sense of largesse, almost noble in a way. If he has a bag of candy and you're around, you can expect to have at least a few pieces of it, though this doesn't guarantee that he likes you from a personal standpoint. You're just human, and fellow humans deserve to be shared with.

Childlike/Good with Children -- Still about 10 years old emotionally, Melanthios sympathizes naturally with the large, forbidding, yet self-centered world of children. On the one hand, he likes how it feels to be the larger person, the helper, the friend a child can rely upon; on the other hand, he's motivated by a genuine sense of caring and would do anything to get a child out of trouble or danger. That being said, he's not that much of a mother hen--he's willing to let children wander around, and he doesn't lecture them too much--he has something close to a peer relationship with them, where one of the members just happens to know more about life. Melanthios' childlikeness extends to other areas of his life--despite having a sort of world-weary look, he's sometimes painfully naive, especially when it comes to romance, and he feels very ill at ease in the grown-up world, with its endless paperwork and politesse. He's socially comfortable only with people he identifies as kindred spirits, aside from children--most grown-ups seem distant to him, and people his own age far too self-absorbed and boring.

Conversationalist/Good Sense of Humor -- Despite being in many ways a difficult companion, Melanthios at least knows how to laugh at himself, and laugh he does--his self-deprecating wit is put to good use in the stories he tells about his misadventures. His few good friends know they can come to him to put a lighter spin on their problems, which he does without mocking them, for if you're a real friend of Anthy's, you have his respect, which is hard to earn. He loves a good conversation above all else, and spends his time alone going over things he's seen in his mind, refining them, spinning them out into real stories. While his various flaws might lead one to think he'd be averse to introduce himself into social situations, he really has no issue with this, provided he's not called upon to do more than provide quietly witty banter. A deeper emotional investment with people he is jealous of or considers inferior is what he struggles with.

Observant--Anthy's detachment (really a sort of running away from himself) and interest in seeing things in terms of narrative make him an excellent voyeur observer. He delights in watching things, anything, and noting details, important or no. This ability not only enriches his conversation, allowing to add a touch of realism to his description of events, but makes him an excellent mediator in disputes he personally is not involved in and would make him invaluable to police if he were a witness to a crime. Furthermore, he's a fast learner partly thanks to these observational skills.

Flaws:
Jealous -- Melanthios' purple eyes could almost be called green by proxy. Though he does not always--or even usually--merit it, and he realizes this, he secretly wants to always be the center of attention, to be doted on, and when other people have the spotlight he has a tendency to take an automatic dislike to them and dismiss their merits out of hand. Furthermore, he has difficulty sympathizing with the good fortune of others if it does not directly benefit himself, though he realizes this and finds it mildly repellent.

Holds Grudges -- Melanthios finds it difficult to speak from the heart at times, especially if he resents something. If someone does him an injustice, he considers it part of who they are, and has serious difficulty letting go of it. As a result, once someone has lost his trust, they will find it nearly impossible to regain it--if they even care to. He considers them below him, or even, in extreme cases, subhuman. This tends to mean that revenge is not really on the table, because they're not worth it. And he does hold little grudges, though he doesn't blow the offenses out of proportion so much as he'll hold them cumulatively. So if someone borrows his pencil and doesn't give it back, he'll be very slightly annoyed with them indefinitely, not so much that anyone would really notice, and his way of expressing this to himself is "So and so is kind of irresponsible, aren't they?". If they proceed to lose the book he lent them, this will upgrade to "So and so is irresponsible and doesn't care about other people's possessions." This can last for years in some cases, months in others, depending on how often he sees a person, how important they are in his life, and how bad the "offense" is.

Snobby -- Melanthios has a large but incredibly fragile ego, and finds it far too easy to look down on people for some small error they have made or a belief he finds fallacious. However, he lacks the confidence to insult these victims of his judgment to their faces, so he tends to avoid them instead, sometimes to the point of being awkward, if they corner him in the corridor at school or on the street.

Deeply Insecure -- Follows from the above three. Melanthios is just never quite sure of himself. Perhaps it was the years of teasing over his name, which he now claims to be proud of; perhaps it follows from the impossibly high standards he sets for himself, but a continual sense of unworthiness and unsureness follows Melanthios like his own personal patch of bad weather. His self-loathing is not helped by the prevalence of Senshi in Destiny City--he's always fancied himself someone exceptional, and to find himself on the side of the civilians in a sort of cosmic war--this is unthinkable.


PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: Deep purple, turn up at the corners.

Hair: Dark brown, looks black, thick, wavy, parts of it hang over his face in layered bangs. No longer than just beyond chin-length, relatively masculine style.

Face: Heart-shaped, thinnish. Long, thin nose. Smallish mouth. High cheekbones. Relatively sharp chin. Ears are hidden under hair. Skin is a rich but light mocha.

Height: 5'8"/173 cm

Build Slender, slim hips, bordering on lanky.

RESERVED

RESERVED

Reserved!

I'm glad you like him! And thank you kindly for your critique. Hmm. I don't think he'd intentionally do something stupid, like going somewhere he knows/believes to be dangerous, though it wouldn't stop him from drifting into one. It just wouldn't be his goal. What draws him towards wandering about is novelty, really, that the same places are every evening different in some way, and also finding new places he hasn't discovered before. So I think he would start out by choosing a direction that he hadn't chosen before, or a permutation of possible destinations that would take him walking down streets in a direction he hadn't tried before.


His mother worries about him, I suspect, more than she ever tells him, but she doesn't mind too much provided he's home by the hour he specifies. I don't think he's ever gotten into any situations really dangerous to him, though I might write him getting caught as an observer to a senshi/youma battle, or even as a potential youma/negaverse victim. Anthy doesn't really introduce himself to people, he's more of a voyeur observer. I'm not sure how to make "aloof" into a virtue, but I'll give it some thought!


Hmm. I'm thinking of giving him "conversationalist" as a virtue, and/or maybe sticking "naiveté" somewhere. He's really only so much of a mother hen, so I think I ought to make that more clear, yes.


You're absolutely right, that paragraph is unusually short! He does tend to ignore people, yes. He considers them below him, or even, in extreme cases, subhuman. This tends to mean that revenge is not really on the table, because they're not worth it. And he does hold little grudges, though he doesn't blow the offenses out of proportion so much as he'll hold them cumulatively. So if someone borrows his pencil and doesn't give it back, he'll be very slightly annoyed with them indefinitely, not so much that anyone would really notice, and his way of expressing this to himself is "So and so is kind of irresponsible, aren't they?". If they proceed to lose the book he lent them, this will upgrade to "So and so is irresponsible and doesn't care about other people's possessions." This can last for years in some cases, months in others, depending on how often he sees a person, how important they are in his life, and how bad the "offense" is.


sweatdrop That's such a good collection of ideas I feel guilty for not having come up with it myself. Perhaps it's that I stole a few of his flaws from myself and was a bit worried about giving him hobbies that were also too similar. I think he's only a moderately decent listener--he's far too interested in the telling of things. I'm also trying to make him into a thoroughly modern storyteller, as much as I can, but I do think an interest in other cultures would help this.

So, to review, things to add based on your critique:
--Expand discussion of wandering: Wanders based on novelty. Mother worries. Is a spectator/aloof.

--Another virtue, maybe "naive" or "aloof" or "conversationalist."

--Expand discussion of "Good with children" to explain how this affects his everyday life/how he's not that much of a mother hen.

---Expand discussion of grudges.

--Add a hobby expressing interest in other cultures/languages.

Thanks again! I'll get to work straight away. If there's anyone you want my critique (such as it is) on, do please let me know!

Thanks again! I didn't catch any meanness or bossiness in what you said. XD I think I tend to come off as thinking far too well of myself or sarcastic when I'm not trying to be.

He's not quite a wallflower, actually, he'll introduce himself to people he thinks are worthy/likely to appreciate him. Mostly he's an observer when he's wandering around by himself, though it does bleed into his everyday life a bit. It's more pronounced when he's dealing with formal social functions or people as groups. Get him alone and he's more of a human being.

...I'll add that! mrgreen Thanks again!

I'm thrilled you like him! Yeah, I really channeled my inner storyteller on this one and tried to see what made her tick. As well as rewatching Wilde a bunch of times. I'm really proud of how he turned out (despite all the newbie disclaimers) and I'm glad you like him too. Most of my OCs turn into generic bookish types--this is something of a breakthrough.


Thanks for the advice. I finally did go and look up some more attacks to see about effects, and you're absolutely right, he is a bit over-powered. I think I'll start with a confusion/distraction effect and then add a mild healing one. I was thinking too much in terms of visuals, as well, then tacking effects on. sweatdrop


XD Oh, good, it doesn't suck. Right, I'll note the extra length thing. It sounds a bit hard to write, but then conversationalists seem so in general. I hope I'm up for the challenge!

Thank you so much for giving me criticism! biggrin I cannot thank you enough, really.

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT TOOK ME UNTIL NOW TO DECIDE TO MAKE HIM SAILOR SCHEHEREZADE DX