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 Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 3:15 pm
I’ve been admiring SSoS from afar (as in, never EVER posting in the thread, EVER) for close on a year now, and I’m finally interested in actually getting myself out into the thread, lurking, and skulking about in the wings setting up quest threads.
My process of character creation is a disgustingly messy one, and the odds are extremely good that I will change things over and over, and that I will execute at least one dramatic personality overhaul between now and whenever my quest is “finished” (and/or realized). That said, when I have an idea I like, I don’t let go of it and do everything I can to improve upon it. So if you’re to be watching and critiquing my character, please to be keeping an eye on the updates. I’d love to have company every step of the way.
OPEN FOR CRITIQUE. Dami has changed a lot since I put him up. :3
Strong critique is encouraged; critique of all sorts is welcome.
I’d prefer you not attack me too angrily in-thread if I’ve stepped on toes and you’re pissed—if that happens, just PM me. I’m in the process of reading all existing student and quest profiles, so if I’ve missed anything and accidentally stolen one of your concepts, just let me know and I’ll be glad to change it. I’m a very reasonable person when it comes to that sort of thing.
01:. Introduction/Contents
02:. Updates/Changes
03:. About me
04:. Damerae
05:. Family
06:. History
07:. RP Sample
08:. Thoughts on...
09:. Thanks/Credits
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 3:17 pm
Updates/Changes 01/15/2009: Cleaning up the thread a bit, and making sure it's all in order.
11/04/2008: Entered Dami in the flatsale. Didn't win (Congrats, Indu!) but you can see what I did here.
6/27/2008: Dami is approved!
6/26/2008: Critique from Kaitsu! Answered and hopefully cleared things up.
6/19/2008: Responded to questions from Chrys, changed things! Added a paragraph to his history that should fix things. Sorry for my mistake! <3
........Later: RP sample up!
6/18/2008: Everything but the RP sample up. Dami has had a TOTAL OVERHAUL. Tell me what you think!
6/10/2008: Updating history and adding some stuff. Closed thread again for my convenience.
6/08/2008: OOC history up; italics coming later. Quest open for light critique!
6/04/2008: Started putting up his history: written in two parts: his own explanation (italicized) and my elaboration (normal font).
5/14/2008: Added some stuff in his personality about his music. Eventually, I'll condense that entire thing down to about two paragraphs. For now, it's an idea dump.
5/12/2008: Got guild membership, set up what I have done of Dami’s quest. Will add more as it goes. Thread is currently closed for critique, pltzhx!
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 3:18 pm
About Me .:Username:. giftwrapped
.:Real Name:. Classified. But my initials spell “emo.”
.:Nicknames:. Gift, Pandy (the latter is less common since my username changed to giftwrapped from Teh Pandy)
.:Age:. Eighteen
.:Likes:. Drawing, roleplaying, pretty art, reading, literature, essaying, writing fiction, breedables, horseback riding (eventing), English, bad puns, cooking, Shakespeare.
. biggrin islikes:. Things that hurt, things that smell bad, broken bones, bad meat, nasty surprises, misinterpreting things, being yelled at, drama, immaturity, intolerance.
.:Hobbies:. Drawing, roleplaying, horseback riding, doing homework, getting ready for (gasp) college.
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 3:19 pm
Damerae .:Name:. Damerae Dante Clarke
. razz ronunciation:. Dom-er-ay Don-tay Clark.:Etymology:.
.Damerae. Latin American origin; Jamaican nationality; “a boy of joy”
.Dante. Spanish, Italian, and Latin origin; Jamaican nationality; “everlasting”
.Clarke. Scottish origin; Jamaican nationality; From Clark: “clerk, a clergyman, a scholar, one who can read and write”—one of the three most common Jamaican surnames in modern times..:Nicknames:. Dami (pronounced dom-ee)
.:Age:. Fourteen
.:Birthday:. May 17, 2008
.:Nationality:. Jamaican
.:Ethnicity:. Haitian
.:Appearance:.
.Skin. Medium chocolate brown, a shade approximately analogous to cocoa powder.
.Hair. Black, coarse, and corded into dreadlocks. The dreads are fairly short, currently about chin-length and impossible to do anything with.
.Eyes. Dark brown.
.Height. Average or below. (maybe about 5’5”/5’6”)
.Build. Pretty skinny; toned. Long legs and arms.
.Attire. Very casual clothing. Boardshorts and fitted tanks when it’s warm, baggy pants (mostly jeans) and fitted zip-front hoodies when it’s not. Always wears something in Rasta colours (red, yellow, and deep green)—usually either wristbands or a knit “Rasta hat.”
. razz ersonality:.
Damerae is one of those people who go crazy if he isn’t doing things and keeping himself busy. So he fills every minute of his day with something. He doesn’t mind being alone, as long as he has something to do—in his case, it usually consists of prayer or music. In short, he is always busy and often stressed out—by choice. Damerae schedules every second of his life. He doesn’t really follow specific routines, preferring to schedule on a day-by-day basis, but when he is on a schedule he gets things done. This is how he operates best. A generally positive person, Dami has got himself into the habit of looking on the bright side as often as he can, even if he does it only toward little issues. Very little in the day-to-day fazes him, and he’s easy to get along with, since he rolls with most punches and still comes up smiling. His way to deal with grief, guilt, fear, and anger is to channel that energy into a focused-positive attitude. He tends to get upset when prodded to “let it out” or “talk about it”. Strongly introverted with his emotions, that sort of thing just...doesn’t fly with Dami.
Socially, he is extremely outgoing, though somewhat inept at deep relationships. He likes making friends (indeed is friendly with most people, if not everyone) but he’s not very good at truly listening to other people. He tends to be one of those kids who's doing something else while you talk to him, whether that something else be homework, or tuning his guitar, or cleaning his room, or even tending his altars and mumbling little “ah-ha”s while you speak. He listens, certainly, but he’s often distracted by everything else going on, and tends to be somewhat unable to empathize or give sympathy when people complain to him about their problems. It stems of his way of dealing with his own life, as well as his tendency to think spiritually, and gives him a reputation of being a little bit self-centered. But perhaps he is; he certainly wouldn’t deny a certain amount of 'me-first' attitude.
A somewhat moderate practicioner of Haitian Vodou, Damerae doesn't really believe in all the zombie nonsense that most people seem to think the religion entails. He does, however, believe in ancestral spirits, possession, and the ability to influence the behaviour of others through the invocation of the spirits. He honours the spirits in the traditional manner: with offerings made at small altars (which he will bring with him wherever he lives). He has never been possessed by or shown his Iwa (an individual's private spirits), but he is confident that they will show themselves eventually.
Dami loves—loves—music. It is his true passion. It's very rare that he'll be seen sitting quietly; he is almost always tapping his foot or nodding his head or humming something. He’s one of those kids who always seem to move to a rhythm, and if he can’t actually be moving, the odds are good that he’ll be drumming on something—occasionally other people. Though his best instruments are guitar and steel drum, he's willing to try playing anything once. Music is one of the few solitary activities that he wholeheartedly embraces, and if he's not in the middle of some social group, he's usually tucked away playing the guitar.
When it comes to academics, he takes things very seriously. He is a devoted worker to anything he thinks needs to get done, and his tendency to immerse himself deeply in things extends even to those things he doesn’t like to do. He puts the same effort into them that he’d put into anything else. His greatest aptitudes lie in mathematics and philosophy, though he enjoys most classes and learning in general.
.Meyers-Briggs type. ESTJ::The Overseer:: "ESTJs prefer occupations that require an organized, logical, and practical bent that incorporates an effective use of time and resources. They pay attention to the organization's hierarchy and use policies and procedures to help them to move the tasks along. They like making decisions and dealing with concrete, specific facts."
Extraverted, sensing, thinking, judging—an outgoing sort of person, practical and well-structured, with a tendency to follow the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” policy.
.:Likes:. Music, the ocean, being outside, sunshine, warmth, weird/interesting hairstyles, impromptu jam sessions, being talked to (or at), talking, complicated math problems, seafood, practicing Vodou, and anything that keeps him busy.
. biggrin islikes:. Talk of death, morbidity, racism, being made fun of, drugs, being alone, and cold weather.
.:Hobbies:. Sailing, fishing, soccer, playing the guitar, listening to music, praying, tending his altars, meditating
.:Aptitudes:. Mathematics, music, and spiritual resonances
.:Intelligences:. Musical (primary), logical (secondary), kinesthetic (tertiary)
.:Talents:. Dami has a knack for picking up the particular 'vibes' of a person. He can generally tell a person's disposition immediately, or after a few words, and is quick to notice and relate to that person's particular types of Iwa. And while he is no expert at any of this and would never even be considered to be a master at his art, his hunches tend to be more or less correct.
He cannot judge intentions or whether a person is "good" or "evil," since these concepts are not really acceptable ones in Vodou practice. All he can really pick up on is a person's temperament, occasionally how they behave (whether or not they can be influenced...), and that person's attachment or relation to any Iwa. Repeated attempts to tune in to this tend to leave him with nasty headaches.
He's extremely good at playing both the guitar and the steel drum, the former through years of long practice, the latter through an intense interest and a few months of hard work getting good at it. Mostly, Dami plays the guitar because it's more portable. He can play most different styles at least reasonably well, and he loves playing with other people and will adapt to suit them.
Also, Dami can sail boats up to a reasonably large yacht (as in, 30ft or so...but we're not talking about luxury yachts. Yacht in this case is a large sailing boat.) and is relatively good at judging an ocean and the winds.
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 3:25 pm
Family
.:Father:.
.:Name:. Dante Clarke
.:About:. Excellent relationship with Dami—taught him to play guitar and sail. Recognized Dami’s potential and pushed him the hardest.
.:Mother:.
.:Name:. Lourdes Gardere-Clarke
.:About:. Good relationship with all her children; still in mourning over her sons’ deaths. Very attentive to (and possessive of) Dami since the attacks and Javan's death. Strongly religious, moderately successful practicioner of Vodou.
.:Brother:.—deceased
.:Name:. Javan Clarke
.:About:. Elder, crucial in Dami’s personality development at a young age. Somewhat estranged from the family and partially disowned them before he died in a boating accident.
.:Brother:.
.:Name:. Hennrick Clarke
.:About:. Youngest, not close to Dami.
.:Sister:.
.:Name:. Bijou Clarke-Juarez
.:About:. Eldest, fled from Haiti to Puerto Rico during the attacks. Married and started a family there afterwards. Has not seen any of the family since.
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 3:28 pm
History Dami was barely three when the Earthian War began, and really does not remember much about the only alien influence in his life. He doesn’t remember the turmoil the attacks caused across the world, and the civil unrest it caused in his home country. He certainly does not remember how his family fled Haiti to the relative safety of Jamaica, and the initial hardships they faced there. How they changed their last name to fit in more readily—for Haitian refugees were quickly becoming a problem, and the country was closing itself to them as fast as it could. And so Damerae grew up reasonably comfortable, having never experienced the hardships that others endured, never really understanding the terrors of which his parents and older brother spoke. His sister had fled somewhere different during the attacks, and that was the only thing that led Dami to really, really understand that something bad had indeed happened.
His parents and brother, and even Dami himself, were forced to abandon their native Kreyol for English. Damerae’s father, a man who had studied medicine in America to bring it back to Haiti, spoke it already, and it was not difficult to teach his wife. Damerae was small and picked it up quickly as anything. Javan, older than Damerae, also learned quickly enough. Damerae’s father took a job as a doctor, but he gave it up after a year, spending his earnings to pay for a return to college. He became a teacher. Damerae’s mother, and her entire extended family—seemingly all of whom had fled to Jamaica with her—opened a restaurant. Damerae and Javan, and then eventually Hennrick, the youngest, all grew up comfortable financially, though some sort of trauma seemed to have affected the adults and eldest boy.
From a young age, Dami seemed strangely adept at determining people’s temperament: he knew when to be endearing to customers and when to stay hidden in the kitchen. He knew the school bullies and avoided them before they ever managed to notice him. Seeing the child’s potential, Damerae’s grandmother, a former Vodou priestess, would occasionally take him aside and whisper to him, teaching him secrets of his own religion, teaching him about Iwa and about possession...occasionally about spiritual invocation. The boy lapped it up like honey.
It wasn’t his only skill, either. Damerae proved, like his older brother, to be an extremely quick study, surpassing the skills of his agemates and proving somewhat difficult for teachers to handle. His father elected, like he had with Javan, to homeschool Damerae during the summer when he wasn’t working. It was a good arrangement. During the summer when it was hottest, Damerae and Javan learned, and during the rest of the year, they played soccer or sailed or played music.
When the Aliens returned, the Clarke family's little corner of Jamaica—somehow or another, whether it was by reason of its small size or relative unimportance, or whether it was sheerly by luck—managed to escape relatively unscathed but for sea casualties. And Damerae, again, had missed the full brunt of the horrors that had occured. He heard about them on the radio and read about them in the news...when the reporters and newspapers had reorganized themselves, but he was not directly affected. And he viewed it through rose-colored glasses, as one views any tragedy from afar. Shaken but not destroyed, not broken, they picked up what they could, and, as it always does in these occasions...life went on.
Damerae learned Vodou. Javan learned...other things. When Damerae was ten, his five-years-older brother started acting...oddly. Saying things he had never said before. Speaking in a strange way. Damerae and his parents were, understandably, concerned. And they looked for the source. What they found surprised them.
The Clarke family had always practiced a combination of Catholicism and Vodou: a traditional Haitian way of life. Javan, however, had been swept up into the Rastafari movement. He began preaching to his family, explaining the greatness of the movement, begging them to convert, for if they did, they would be saved from the Aliens—for they would undoubtedly return. The family refused to convert, and though Granny worked to free Javan from the Iwa that had taken him, nothing could change him. One evening a year later, Javan exploded, disowning his family and claiming they were dead to him. He stormed out of their lives...forever.
Cannabis, no matter what the Rasta people claimed, is a drug. And Javan took too much of that drug one night, approximately a month after he left his family. High on the herb, he fell overboard and died.
It devastated the family, particularly Damerae, who had become extremely close to his brother. Unsure of what to do, they buried his body and prayed for his soul. Damerae, determined not to make the mistakes that Javan had, threw himself even more into his studies...and also into his own (his ‘true’) religion. He honed skills he had always possessed. And he became quick, and clever, but not without a bitter price. He wore his brother's colours, Rasta colors, in rememberance.
When his father told him about Shinkami, Damerae jumped at the chance to redeem his family, and do to his parents proud in Javan’s stead. His mother took some convincing, as she was not ready or willing to lose another son, but eventually she gave in to her husband and son’s patient prodding.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 3:29 pm
RP Sample “Damerae, boy if you don’ hurry, you gon’ be way late!”
Damerae ignored his grandmother’s yelling and tightened the E string on his guitar, playing another chord in the hopes that this time, everything would sound right. Better, anyways. He loosened the string just a tad and tried out another chord. Ah, there. That was it. Nodding to himself, he picked out a few chords and stood up, putting the guitar into its case and snapping it tightly closed. He looked around his room once. Even his little altars were packed up now. All that was left was Hennrick’s stuff.
“Damerae, you gonna get your butt down here right now o’ you gonna have to explain to you mama and papa why you ain’t at dat school!”
“I’m comin’ Granny! Comin’!”
Slinging his guitar over his shoulder, Damerae leaned down to pick up the last of his bags and look around the room once more, taking inventory. Clothes, check. Guitar, check. Altars, check. Steel drum...had to stay. He had already told Hennrick that if it wasn’t playing properly when he got back, he’d personally throw the boy into the ocean for the bull sharks. Hennrick had believed him.
“Damerae if I has to ask you one more time, I’ma make you a poppet an’ stick pins in it like in de damn movies!”
“Granny I’m right at de toppa de stairs! Don’ curse me yet!”
Giving the room his final, quick once-over, Damerae more or less avalanched down the stairs and out the front door, which Granny was thoughtfully holding open for him. He heard it slam behind him and managed to count to two before he felt the old woman’s hands pulling him upright, poking, prodding, checking his clothes.
“You gon’ go all de way to dat school dressed like dat?” she demaned. Damerae looked her right in the face and nodded.
“Ain’ nothin’ says I can’t come dressed de way I like,” he answered, glancing down to remember exactly what he had put on that could possibly be upsetting the old woman. At his parents' recommendations, he had put on pants, jeans to be exact, and he had a sweatshirt around his waist. It wasn't cold in Jamaica, but the farther north he went, the colder he knew it'd get. Nonetheless, the jeans felt weird in the oppressive humidity. But he'd manage. Looking back up, he gave Granny a slightly sheepish smile. She pursed her lips, but the sound of a car horn made them both jump. Relieved that his parents had finally come (and just in time to save him from a thorough scolding), Damerae set his bags down, gave Granny a hurried hug, and then turned, scooping up all his bags in the process. Nodding over his shoulder at the old woman, he took a step toward the taxi, where his parents sat waiting.
“Dami! Dami! Wait!”
Hennrick came pelting around the corner and practically leaped into Damerae’s arms, making his brother drop all his bags...again. Dami laughed, giving the boy a quick hug and feeling him tug something over his head. Setting Hennrick down, he reached up to touch it. His fingers grazed some sort of tight weave.
“For Javan,” Hennrick said solemnly. Dami frowned for a moment, then nodded and leaned down to ruffle the boy’s hair.
“Okay, you. I gotta get goin’ now, eh?” Picking up his bags yet again, he turned and dashed to the taxi before someone else could stop him. Rasta for Javan, eh? Well, he'd do it, for Javan. And for Hennrick, too. He'd wear the hat, yeah. It’d fit. Everyone else’d just think it was part of his being Jamaican. And hey, that worked for him.
Dat worked for him just fine.
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 3:30 pm
Thoughts How does Damerae feel about...
...saving the world? He doesn't really feel compelled to do it all by himself, but it would be bringing himself and his family and his brother's spirit honor. Besides, it would please the ancestral spirits if he were to do something for humanity on this scale. And it would make up (in a way) for the turmoil that Javan caused.
...the Aliens? Dami's not exactly a hundred percent sure about this. After all, according to everything he's learned, "good" and "evil" are tricky subjects to deal with. But he knows one thing: the Aliens caused enough panic to have apparently traumetized his parents, and they destroyed many things that should never have been destroyed. Add to that that he's not sure that the souls of people killed in the attacks ever found peace, and you end up with someone who never wants them to happen again, but doesn't really know what else to think.
...nonhuman races? Well...this one's a bit of a tricky one. Dami has a bit of an issue with nonhumans because they don't relate the same way typical humans do. As far as he can tell, nonhumans completely lack Iwa, or if they don't, their Iwa are so different that these species behave in ways totally unusual and contrary to the norm. This discrepancy gives Dami a sensation not unlike blindness in the peripheral. His ability to sense and read people is a crutch in some respects, and nonhumans do the metaphorical equivalent of knocking that crutch away. Dami doesn't tend to hate anything, and his sense of good and evil is different than many people's, but the idea of nonhumans makes him...understandably uncomfortable.
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 3:36 pm
Credits/Thanks SSoS belongs to Tooaya (duh.)
ESFJ personality type explanation quoted from this page right here
Other stuff belongs to other people!
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Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 3:29 pm
I just wanted to ask real quick - Dami was about 3 when the Earthian War started in 2009, right? There's been some confusion on this, but the actual 'alien invasion' wasn't until 2015. Quote: Thanksgiving 2015: The great American Holiday becomes the greatest tragedy in human history as the aliens invaded, slaughtering and murdering now with better weapons and more tactical strategies. Prinwaltz, being well prepared, gathers his followers and takes refuge in the now-named Forest of Mana. We're currently in the year 2022. I know the timeline is a bit confusing (I had to rework some history myself), but I want to make sure it's understood to all new folk coming in (don't follow my confused footsteps plzthku XD). That being said, was Dami's part of the country spared/overlooked, or would you like to have him react to that attack? :3
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Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 10:43 am
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Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 8:09 am
At the risk of sounding petty and demanding....
SOMEONE CRITIQUE MEEEEEEEEE? D:
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Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 4:45 pm
So, I'm assuming that his Jamaican accent will be staying throughout, which is cute. Though the way you wrote the accent on the Grandmother makes it sound more heavy and I would think that if he lived in a household with a heavy Jamaican accent his would be too, unless he frequented someplace else where the accent was lighter. I dunno, this was just something I noticed. Just remember to keep it consistent unless you want his way of speaking to assimilate.
I don't really understand the whole Voodoo thing, at all. I'm not sure if it's something I should watch out for or if it's just something interesting about his character or if it's just a religion. You don't have really remove it or anything I just...don't get it. o-o'
I also can't tell which branch he'd be aiming for. He's a smart boy who loves to keep his hands busy which is normally characteristic of a Science, but he's already involved with magical sorts of things. He could sway either way for me and it'd be nice to be absolutely positive about it.
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Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 5:02 pm
Thank you very much!
His accent is actually different from his grandmother's. His grandmother is Haitian and speaks with a thick Kreyol accent, whereas Dami has a more understandable Jamaican accent. It is much the same as a child whose parents have British accents but lives in America will most likely not have much (if any) British accent. (For everyone's sake, I don't plan on making his accent much thicker, but I felt it more appropriate for his grandmother, as this is rather part of her character.)
As for the Vodou, it's kind of a combination of religion and a skill of sorts (in Dami's ability to relate to people. He is a sensitive receiver to Iwa, which is about the extent of Vodou magic in him for now). Haitian Vodou is very different from the voodoo that we think of, and it is a mostly passive religion, with most experiences happening to the person who practices, not to other people (hence his grandmother's reference to film when mentioning voodoo dolls).
For the time-being, Damerae does not have sufficient knowledge of Vodou magic or skill with spiritual manipulation to do any harm to people, and his ability to sense temperament will be the extent of his abilities. For the rest of it, it will probably just be a weird quirk of religion. It doesn't mean this will stay that way, particularly if he moves forward to the Magic branch of the school. Which brings me happily to the next point.
As for branch, I'm pretty sure I want him in magic (and I'm also pretty sure he'll want himself in magic), but I wanted to leave an avenue open. I would prefer to decide these things through RP. He is an apt student because I felt this was a characteristic of most Shinkami applicants, but he is also very spiritually inclined. As of now, I am quite happy leaning in the direction of Magic but not necessarily forcing him in either direction.
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Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 10:36 am
I'm not really concerned about what avenue he goes down as long as it's within reason ICly. You've left that open just fine and I appreciate that.
Despite having Trolls from WoW stuck in my head now (forgive me, hah!), I approve Dami's application.
If/when Dami becomes a student, I'll have to do some research so I can keep up with his progression. Great job. :3
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