Alois Scholz does not like you. He doesn’t like your mom, he doesn’t like your dog, and he doesn’t like your mom’s dog. He isn't all bad, however - if one can swallow some of the acerbic remarks and prickly demeanor, Alois is a highly intelligent individual with deep philosophies regarding life, culture, and future of the species. He could tell you all about Nietzche and Nihilism while waiting for his laundry to finish, and give dissertations on Kafka's literary choices and how it reflects on his interpretations of humanity, but more than likely he'll just tell you to ******** off the first three times you talk to him.
Once past that point, you'll also be privy to a few inappropriate jokes, a boatload of dry humor, and some incredibly strange ideas of a good time on the town. Approach with discretion.
CONTINUITY ERROR
For three months Alois remained captive in the care of Ezra, the Burning Man. They shared very difficult times together due to Alois' nature and Ezra's demands for respect and obedience of those he called his kids. Now forcibly dragged from that Other Ashdown, he endures the disjointedness of returning to a life that was recently led by someone else. In addition to his days feeling utterly unstructured and bizarre, he must cope with the death of his dog Schatzie and the loss of a family he came to know in short order.
Taxidermy now seems eerily similar to fetch activities. He cannot enact an animal out of its skin without remembering keenly the first time he laid eyes on Vale wearing his face. It leaves him unsettled, and uncertain of his career and future.
Now Alois must face his discomforts around human companionship without his dog as a buffer, must endure the loss of that faithful canine, and must scrape his life back together in some semblance of order. All of this must be done while facing the constant question of, 'is continuing with these charades really worth it?'
DONE WITH THIS.
Alois is frustrated.
It isn’t a simple frustration, either. His intolerable dissatisfaction isn’t due to a seven-year itch, or a dry spell in the income department, or a dearth of friends. It isn’t due to reaching a wall in his technical skill as a taxidermist. Truthfully, Alois can’t determine the cause of his frustration. Every time he believes he caught the source of his unrest, once he thinks he reached the perfect explanation for his predicament, that very frustration folds upon itself and that infallible reason no longer applies. Currently he’s beginning to think that he’s of a yearning personality type, one of those driven ones that never quite satiates itself with present endeavors, but even that doesn’t fit. And yet, what else could there be?
Alois doesn’t know, but he’s starting to act out from it. Sometimes destruction games and childish glee can take his mind off such perpetual irritants. Sometimes hurting others does just as well. Relief doesn’t last long, however, and Alois must continually feed the rot of stagnation if he wants to prevent it from growing.
ANYTHING ELSE?
Alois dropped out of college because, like anything, he hated it. He began his pursuit of the wonderfully solitary activities of taxidermy, found he was good at it, and pursued an entrepreneurship of it. Much to his chagrin, the business grew well enough that he now needs to hire a secretary/cashier/service b***h (as is listed on the hiring ad). Ashton never applied, but made the cut out of a trade.
As a twenty-one-year-old from Germanyland, he liveed in his own apartment that he paid for out of taxidermy profits. Now he lives with Thorne in an old warehouse, and left the running of his taxidermy shop to his assistant Ashton. With no structure remaining in his life, he is listless between sleeping the day away and going out for the rare occasion of coffee. He misses his father, Ezra, and his brother, Bennett, terribly.
His dog is gone, gone, gone. He mourns.
He might be a little lonely.
Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 1:35 am
MAJOR POWERS
unbind thyself, crowfather. Alois was made a noble of the court in Ezra's care, and with it came a keen ability. At will and without limit, Alois is able to shift between his human form and his crowfather form, which is far more appropriate to Other Ashdown's denizen aesthetic. In this form he chooses to be most noble - a second face for a second perspective. While a crowfather, Alois wears garments tied between his own tastes and his Father's.
with the corpses comes the rot. Alois is able to heal self-inflicted damage to a degree beyond typical to humans. Healing time depends on the injury inflicted - ripping out his own teeth takes 2-3 weeks to heal, ripping out fingernails is more of the same, gashes take less time, and small amputations take far more time. This power does not cover damage inflicted by others and cannot prevent him from dying. He does not have the magical fortitude to heal anything more extreme than amputating the last knuckle of a finger.
MINOR POWERS
with the flood waters come the corpses. Alois' business depends on two key factors: patrons to supply the income, and dead bodies for the desired product. Sometimes, or often times lately, these customers drop by without a specific project in mind, without the corpse in hand, and browse his practiced wares to find the most artistic taxidermied animals that might please their hipster selves. Luckily for Alois, he finds the bodies he needs for such practices strewn nigh everywhere. A dead bird in the park, a dead squirrel behind a bush, a dead opossum outside someone's garbage can... Seemingly every time he needs one most.
Alois never questions it. The world is simply full of dead things.
an audience at all times. The world is never bereft of birds anymore. Avians tend to flock around Alois where it is not terribly suspicious for them to do so - atop roofs, or branches, or power lines are the most common places. They are, similarly, birds endemic or often found in Ashdown (therefore nothing particularly noteworthy like bearded vultures). At minimum, Alois' life is far more singsong now.
speaker of the court. Alois has gained the ability to chat with birds when in his crowfather form. He cannot compel them, as they are simply conversation partners and are unbidden by his noble status in Other Ashdown. Different species have different accents and speech mannerisms, he may note, and some simply aren't in the mood to talk. They are much like humans, perhaps, in that they can lie and ask for gifts and gossip until their feathers fall out. Who knew avians could be such strange creatures?
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Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 2:03 am
Parents
Brian Scholz: A successful entrepreneur, Brian started a bookstore business in his early twenties and perpetuated it through another solid thirty years. He grew the store to incorporate multiple locations in Germany, one of which was managed by his brother-in-law. He chose to move the family into America to pursue further ventures in potentially starting a publishing business. While most agreed, Erick stayed behind in Germany, and Brian now urges his remaining children to pursue business or literary degrees and therefore inherit the company.
Karin Scholz: A relatively laid-back and easygoing mother. She leaves most of the housekeeping to Katie, and in return, assists in paying for some of her schooling. Primarily she spends her time playing piano, minding the bookstore, or traveling to a client's house for piano tuning. She knows little English, so she leaves the cashier business to her husband; primarily she stocks shelves and assists with bookkeeping. She raised the kids when they were young, but since her husband is showing signs of wanting to take the reins in parenting, she's quite happy to let him give it a shot.
Siblings
Katharin Scholz: The youngest of the three, Katie lives with their parents and maintains the housekeeping while she attends university full-time. She boasts several years of formal piano lessons, which assisted her greatly in her endeavors toward a music major. As the most extroverted of the three, she is often the one to invite house parties, social gatherings, and other get-together occasions. While not every family member will admit it, most consider her the jewel of the family and the mediator of many familial altercations.
Erick Scholz: The oldest of the three, Erik moved out and joined the German military as soon as he had the chance. He'd always been interested in athletics, and never shared the passion for books that both his parents had. He shared a close bond with his younger brother, so when he left, Alois felt abandoned and spurned by the sudden move. He rarely keeps in touch, but the family receives a letter from him once every few months. Occasionally Alois receives his own letter.
Pets
Schatzie: A purebred German Shepard, Schatzie is a curious, intelligent dog that lacks the neurotic demeanor that plagues the race. Alois is his primary caretaker, though not his official owner. Schatzie has a variety of quirks, deeply enjoys meeting strangers (so long as his family isn't threatened by them), and playing fetch with golf balls on the beach. He also enjoys carrying the biggest sticks he can find, and talking. Schatzie is Alois' favorite family member, despite his grumbles about Schatzie and his antics. He was killed by Bristling Vale between June 4th, 2016 and September 4th, 2016.
Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 2:11 am
Ashdown
Trashdown. What a podunk little shithole. When I said I would live wherever my car breaks down, I expected to get taken out by a hurried semi in Chicago or maybe my battery finally died in Orlando - I didn't expect to hit a deer outside of ******** Nowhere and have to haul my s**t to the nearest seedy love hotel.
I've started a business here, for what that's worth. The license was cheap. The rent for the studio was cheap. I've had enough money saved up to get started. And, I suppose for better or worse, the customers have started coming in.
Other Ashdown
Wasn't there a show called "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"? This is like the opposite. It's Always Raining in Ashdown. My dog wouldn't bother to come with me, which was s**t, and a park ranger explained to me that dogs refuse to go to this world. I don't know why, and it's not like Schatzie has the ability to tell me. I don't know what's in there, but the ranger - Finn - called it spooky. And for a park ranger to call it spooky, the same people who probably stumble upon the mauled bodies of hikers from time to time, it piques my interest.
Other Ashdown, I have learned, is the place of magic. It is where entities live that are composed of cockroaches, or look half-deer, or are permanently on fire. It is similarly a place where magic is possible to, theoretically, infinite extent. It is also home to someone called the enemy. Beyond this, I do not know much else.
Court of the Sorrowful One
This was where I spent three months in a kidnapping. I met my Father Ezra, my sisters July and September, and my brother Bennett. It was not an easy adjustment to make, but once it was thrust upon me, I was torn from the Court without consent. This is a long story - one not worth elaborating on here.
The Court hosts extravagant parties and calls for tithes to the blood moon. I witnessed one on my last day within the Court. It holds a complex hierarchy from what I can tell - the deer triplets are more of a figurehead, with the Sorrowful One owning the Court by name alone. Melany, the Spinel Lady, holds the court in true power, though I hear she was killed by my father's fetch, Vale. The other Patron, Adoelle, was the chosen tithe. So who does that leave?
My Father, of course. He better lead it well. He better lead it so it feels like hell.
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Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 2:12 am
characters will appear here as they have made an impact on alois.
aleksy spektor. He is a strange one, but I like him for that. Intelligence is a rarity in this town it seems, and he has enough of it to remain interesting. We've not met often, but it's never been terribly unpleasant to find him.
alexander thorne. Apparently my new roommate. He broke my hand once, so I hope he's not expecting rent anytime soon.
autumn smith. She is a fiery one, but she is smart about it. She cared that my dog was shot, but protected the one who killed him. In that choice I cannot reconcile with her, but I can respect her for possessing intelligence. It seems a rarity these days. Since when was placidness favored over autonomous thought? Perhaps we were born into the wrong century.
bennett vaughn. Brother. He's a coward, a kiss-a**, and a child but I like him regardless. Why? Sometimes I ask myself that. I think it might be due to that endearing way he always looks out for himself, in a dependable sort of way, and then he goes into these self-loathing modes when you're certain he's about to self-destruct. And then he surprises you out of the blue by handing off cigarettes at a stressful party. Oh Brother, wherefore art thou?
ezra. Father. To most, he is the Burning Man, but I have spent some months with him that solidifies our relationship. It was a tumultuous affair, certainly, and for many hours of each day I hated him for how he exerted impassable control over me. But this, I knew, is how I naturally react to authority figures. A filial relationship with me is meant to be a strained one. Still, he means a great deal.
finn derouen. He led me out of Other Ashdown and explained the bizarre event. I do not know very much about him. He seems unwilling to judge me. Boyfriend of Aleksy, evidently; he brought me flowers for helping Aleksy survive the werewolf attack.
I got the bends I got the shakes It never ends It always aches
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Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 2:21 am
In the night In the cold It comes on
Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 2:21 am
Pain like a searing light Cuts like a dull knife
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Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 2:21 am
Are you awake Can I come over tonight
Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 2:21 am
Let me in
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Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 2:21 am
ashdown is owned by shibrogane. Alois Scholz concept is owned/played by Hetzerei. Alois Scholz dreamer art is illustrated by Silverah. Banners were herped together by Hetzerei. Other works copyrighted by their respective artists Big Dark Love lyrics copyrighted by Murder by Death.
A special thanks to Silverah and shibrogane for comping me the art and inviting me to the shop!
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