Destiny Strings Application

[primordial]

Out Of Character Information
Name: What do you want us to call you? Crystal | [salamandroid]
Time zone: EST, -4:00 GMT
Contact: email at crystalreport18[at]yahoo.com and plurk over at vampirize! PM works just fine, too.
Anything we should know?:

HERE have a happy Cthulu with a balloon (AWWWWWWW) to cheer you up before you read this depressing and horrific excuse for an app.

In Character Information
Name: Sam Erstwhile
Age: 19, but he's currently a merged form of himself and a being that is millions of years old, so it's complicated.
Birthday & Astrology Sign: November 28th ; Scorpio
Arcana: The Tower

World Snapshot:
Sam's world is almost exactly like ours. The same events happened, like the Depression and World War II and all of that, and the technology is the same: people still use cell phones, 3D television is still a new thing, and cars still aren't able to fly, etc. However, there are two major differences. First, there is a multi-billion dollar corporation that has its fingers in almost every market in the world, called Daemoniac Inc.- almost every product you own in one's household has been created by Daemoniac or through a company Daemoniac owns. Second, in the beginning of the world itself, the first intelligent creatures that were formed from the primordial sludge were driven to live far underground or at the very bottom of oceans/large lakes of water when the world started changing to the way it is now, with fertile land and expansive seas- some died, some went into a deep sleep, while others were trapped where they lay, staying there for years without ways of getting out, unless somebody happened to come along who they felt could free them from their circumstances. However, there aren't many of them, and most of the time they're ignored or forgotten because of the mind-breaking powers they have.

Backstory:
It happened one day when he was very young. Sam had been visiting with his grandfather, who owned a small forest nearby. There was a deep lake on the edge of it, and Sam would often go there to skip rocks with his younger sister, Sarah. However, one day, while running on the pier that went partly into the lake, he tripped and fell in, and not knowing how to swim, he started to sink.

He almost drowned- if it hadn't been for his sister screaming at the top of her lungs and alerting their grandfather that he was in trouble, he might have died that day.

But after he was pulled from the water, revived and allowed to live his normal life again, it seemed like he was a different person. He was quieter than before, and would often act oddly at times, like choosing to stand in a corner during a party and watch the others instead of joining in. This was all attributed to shyness and not thought of that much, but in reality, it was far different than anyone had ever imagined.

For, you see, there had been something strange living at the bottom of the lake. And the day that Sam sunk into the dark water of the lake, it had reached out in his mind and spoke to him.

"Ah, human boy," it had said- no, showed in his mind, with a multitude of pictures and concepts that somehow Sam understood. "Come back to me when you lose the one thing you truly care about in life."

Sam didn't know what to say about it when he was finally revived, mostly because first, no one would believe him, and two, it had all felt like one big dream. Even though he shook it off and considered it as such, the words stuck in the back of his mind from then on.

Later on, his grandfather passed away, and then his mother caught cancer and wasted away herself, leaving only Sam and Sarah behind when Sam was around sixteen years old. His father had left when he was little, and he had no recollection of him and no intention of ever finding him. He simply didn't want to know. He also didn't care for getting into the foster care system, either, so he and his sister ran away to find a place to live on their own.

So, in order to take care of his sister, Sam started looking for work. And he came across a thief, who, taking pity on the kid, decided to teach him a few tricks to steal things to get by. However, Sam really took to it, and started improving on the tricks he had been taught to the point where he was even successfully stealing more things than the thief himself. After all, with his seemingly demure and cowardly nature, no one really ever suspected it was him who was the one being a thief in the first place.

He continued to improve his skills over the next couple of years, and lied to his sister about it when she asked where he got the money from to support them- because even though he felt no guilt on the fact that he was stealing from people, he was worried that his sister might frown upon it. He started getting hired by small companies to steal things like data and plans or new products from other companies, and was pretty good at it to the point where one cold day in August, a man in a suit walked up to him and handed him a phone.

Sam took it, and the voice on the other end told him that he would give him the opportunity of a lifetime.

I'll pay you more money than any other company could dream of, it said. Just steal a few things for me, and you'll see yourself in the possession of over a million dollars before you even blink an eye. Sam asked who the voice was, exactly, to have such money.

It turns out that the voice belonged to none other than the highly mysterious Y, the founder of the world's largest corporation, Daemoniac Inc, which sold patents and products and even weapons to people all around the world- whatever business you named, Daemoniac had a hand in it. And Y was mysterious for the reason that he had never showed himself in public, choosing to stay in the shadows and control his company that way. He persuaded Sam that he really was who he said he was by listing facts about Daemoniac that only he could know.

Sam couldn't believe his ears, and took the job- the thefts were spread out over a period of time to allow Sam to prepare for them, and along the way, Y would contact him via telephone and give him tips and such about how to go around things, complimenting his talent. The more Sam succeeded, the more Y fawned over him, to the point where, one day, he told Sam something that surprised him quite a bit.

"Join me," he said. "Always be by my side, and I will offer you a whole lot more than money. You and I...we are so very alike. You live above the world, looking down upon everyone else because you know how great you are. None of them matter to you, and while others may condemn you for that, I welcome it eagerly. Join me."

To which Sam, thoroughly creeped out, replied no. No, because he was by himself, he was always by himself, and he wasn't interested in Y that way and never would be. He was his own person.

This wasn't the answer that Y wanted, and the founder reacted in a way that Sam never expected- he went and got an assassin to fatally poison Sam's sister. When Sam discovered her prone body back in the apartment it was already too late, and when he finally received the call from Y, he furiously asked him why he had killed her.

"Oh, that's simple, " said Y. "You said you were by yourself, but that was a lie. So, in order to help you with being who you say you are, I destroyed her. You don't care, right? You did this. If you hadn't said no, she wouldn't be dead right now."

That was the final straw for Sam. He wanted revenge, he wanted to go up to Y and tear him apart to pieces, but he was weak. He didn't even know how to wield a gun- how in the world would he kill him for the atrocious thing he had done?

And then he remembered that day when he had almost drowned in that lake, and what that creature had said.

"Come back to me when you lose the one thing you truly care about in life."

It took a couple of days, but he managed to make it to the place his uncle had owned. It was a wintery day, with the sky gray and cold, and after walking down the pier that stretched into the lake, Sam threw himself into the water. Of course, the creature was still there. It had been waiting for him all this time.

The creature offered him a deal. He would get the power he would need to defeat Y once and for all, but the problem is, he would have to sacrifice a lot to do so. The creature had been trapped down there at the bottom of the lake for a very, very long time, and the only thing it wanted was to be free again. Sam would have to merge with it and lose much of his humanity in the process in order to give it that chance to walk across the world like it did before- being human would be only something Sam would dream about when all was said and done.

But Sam didn't even hesitate. He said yes. He would lose everything in order to get what he needed to avenge her, even his own life. As long as he would remember who he was when it was done, he would do anything to get that power he needed to destroy the person he hated with a passion.


The thing that came crawling out of the lake a few days later looked like Sam, but it wasn't really Sam at all. Not anymore.

Sam Erstwhile. Sam the former. Formerly Sam.


So, the thing went around, quietly gathering plans to destroy Y, and finally made it to his headquarters, upon which he discovered that Y had a secret up his sleeve too- Y was also a "hybrid" between man and monster, and was even more monstrous than Sam himself was- when Y had said that they were alike, he wasn't kidding. The two fought together, monster against monster, but eventually Sam bested him. This was it, he was ready to deliver the final blow and destroy him once and for all for what he had done to his sister, and...

That's when he gets taken to Hinoto-Ri.

EFF YOU, HINOTO -RI.

TL;DR: Boy meets with monster who tells him all his wishes can come true if he comes back later, boy grows up to be a thief to take care of his younger sister, gets hired by a mysterious founder of a large company who is sketchy as heck, founder proposes creepy relationship to thief and is rejected, founder kills sister in anger, thief becomes monster to kill founder, who apparently is also a monster, in revenge.

What do you mean, this isn't a happy story. :Ic


Canon Standing: The moment right before he destroys Y once and for all. GREAT TIMING THERE, HINOTO-RI. GREAT. TIMING.

Personality:
Sam Erstwhile is a man who seems to have had everything go wrong with him in life. His appearance speaks volumes about his character towards others- the long messy brown hair that hides his sorrowful blue eyes, the slouch and the submissive gestures he makes towards anyone he doesn’t want to offend, the loose clothes that give him a slovenly look.

Sam always seems to be in a constant state of misery, and hardly ever smiles. He’s awkward in conversation, doesn’t associate with people much others due to his timid nature, and apologizes constantly, as if he’s afraid that a fist might be aimed at his face for any tiny little wrong he has somehow managed to accomplish in the last few seconds.

But overall…he doesn’t seem like a bad guy. He’s a wimpy, weak and cowardly person, sure, but isn’t the kind to want to hurt anyone, not even a fly. All he seems to want in the world is to retire to his dark corner of the world and hide there the rest of his life…

[highlight below for more because hello, hidden character traits]

What if I told you all of what you just read is a lie?

Because, did I ever say that he cares about anyone other than himself, though?

If he did care about anyone other than himself, he would probably be a good person. But the fact is, he isn’t. And his lack of sympathy is the revolving point for the manipulative and utterly cunning person he actually is.

Sam knows that showing himself as a vulnerable cowardly man in need of help is probably the best position to be in- after all, who would even think of harming a man who seems to be tripping over his own weakness, really? So, while others dote on him and others tease him for being such a wimp, he’s studying them even though they don’t even know it. Because yes, Sam Erstwhile is no fighter. His fighting skills are pretty much non-existent (he can't even aim a punch correctly)…but that doesn’t mean Sam is the type of person to let people run all over him. If somebody gets in his way, he will use their own flaws against them so that they destroy themselves on their owm. He takes great satisfaction in getting what he wants, and he will betray anyone, even people who are kind to him and even those who have saved his life, in order to get ahead.

That being said, there is a little twinge of guilt in his heart every time he does something bad, but he usually makes himself feel better instantly by apologizing. In his mind, apology manages to clear him of any “wrong” he has done to the other person, which is why he will apologize for letting a big boulder fall on you just as much as he will apologize for calling you the wrong name. But even though he actually feels guilt, he never does anything to fix it. He’s perfectly alright, in his own opinion.

Ever since he became what he was, he's gotten a lot worse, though. His temper has become a whole lot sharper, even though he does his best to control it- if angered he will not hesitate to lash out with antics befitting a temper tantrum. He'll flip tables, throw vases at the person, try to hurt them by any means possible...and he'll act very animalistic while doing so, snarling and baring his teeth. If he realizes what he is doing, he'll calm down and apologize a mile a minute, but sometimes he won't be able to control himself, and will do harm against the person who angered him until they are unconscious, not breathing, or dead. He also will hold a grudge for a very long time if he's prevented from doing anything to the person the first time, and will sometimes strike back when the person least expects it. (He's a very big fan of backstabbing.) The things he gets angry about most is people repeatedly saying he's weak, or people who say he's responsible for the death of his sister, which is probably the largest thorn in his side and the one thing he actually feels the heaviest guilt about.

He'll act very strangely at times too, sometimes staring off into space or having arguments with himself while no one is looking. Most of the time, when people talk to him, they'll think he's uncomfortable in his own skin, but what they don't realize that he honestly really is- sometimes he'll just leave in the middle of a conversation so he can find someplace to unwind. His weakest part is probably his emotions- if someone finds a way to poke his buttons the right way, they can get a Sam who will make a whole lot of stupid mistakes as he tries to fight against it.

Also, it's important to note that Sam doesn't care about any of the people he meets- this is pretty much the shared belief he has with the creature he's merged with, which just views humanity as nothing more than flies on the wall and trifles he does not need to deal with. This is a good thing, really, because more often than not, he won't waste breath trying to destroy them. He'll just let them live their lives, none the wiser, while he moves in the shadows. But, if someone gets in the way of what he wants, then that person is already on his hit list. This also goes for people who make a fool of him and people who have angered him, because he hates the feeling of being weak like he was after his sister's death. As for being friendly towards others, he'll often associate with people enough for them to call themselves his friends, but he'll never do the same himself. He is also more drawn to younger girls because of the way he saw his younger sister, but he won't just abandon his outlook and will deceive these people if he needs to as well.

Overall, Sam is not a good person, even before he met Y and the whole thing went downhill. He's smart, manipulative, a very-experienced liar, and he will betray anyone who he feels like betraying. Loyalty means nothing to him. In the world, he exists for himself and does everything to make his life better. But no one ever realizes this, only seeing the sniveling coward of a man who seems to be as useful as a lost puppy. Just watch your back, for Sam might be pulling a knife out of it when you least suspect it...

Canon Powers:
Considering that Sam is currently the result of an ancient and Lovecraftian sort of creature melded together with a human mind, he does have some powers at his disposal, though he doesn't use most of them at all. JUST A NOTE: if any of these powers are too strong, I'll happily nerf them for the game! I'll also make a permission post for them.

Shapeshifting (Physical)- No, he can't turn into other people, or animals, or anything he wants to turn into. He can only turn into his "true form", which is a amorphous blob of a thing with multiple eyes- sort of like this and this combined. He'll only turn into it if he feels threatened or is wounded or needs to escape, and often just uses it to go through pipes/small spaces/the like because of how malleable it is. Sometimes he only partially transforms in a sort of human-shaped thing- drawing of it will go here for reference once I finish doing it, sob.

Mental Unraveling (Mind, Dark??)- Usually, being around Sam has no ill effect on people. They'll see him as human, and he'll keep it that way. However, seeing his true form for a long period of time will cause viewers to experience headaches, ringing in the ears, and even horrific hallucinations with some amount of memory loss - this has to do with the fact that the human mind cannot completely comprehend what they are seeing when they see his true form. However, if a person afflicted is taken away to an area where he isn't present, they'll eventually recover, though their memories of what they saw won't be at all perfect. See You Cannot Grasp The True Form, courtesy of TV tropes.

Stupidly Hard to Kill (Physical?)- No, really. Yes, Sam can get weakened and can even faint if beat up too much, but considering he's kind of an amorphous blob in disguise with no real organs hanging around in his body, getting shot or cut to pieces won't do a single thing. If his arm gets cut off, it'll just inch back to join him. It his head gets cut off, it'll still speak and can join back as soon as his body lumbers over. However, he isn't invincible. Because fire is something he's deathly afraid of...for if someone makes him go up in flames, then he's over and done for.

Insert Tentacle Joke Here (Physical)- Yes, yes, he can sprout tentacles, or a more specific term, pseudopodia. No, he doesn't use them in that way (he's not even interested in that way), but mostly uses them to grasp onto things to help him escape (like scaling a building), and holding things. Not much else. Annnd he won't go putting one of those things in someone's face on a regular basis- they're only there when he shifts to his true form.

Let's Have a Mind-to-Mind Talk (Mind)- This is a power which Sam barely uses at all, mostly because it's only used while in his true form when he actually has no mouth to talk with, and also because it's pretty much the weirdest feeling ever. Just like the creature "talked" with him when he was a boy, he can do the same with others, invading their minds and trying to talk to them telepathically. He isn't able to read their minds, only maybe get a sense of who they are, but he can hear the person's answers to his inquiries and such, if they have any. But once again, he doesn't like using it, because intentionally linking his mind to someone else's, even for only a moment, spooks him like nothing else.

Water is My Only Friend (Water)- If you throw Sam into the ocean, he will not drown. Actually, he'll like it a lot- he doesn't need to breathe, and feels good in it, for that is where the creature lived for millions of years before they joined together. He'll actually spend a couple of hours during the day just lounging in a bathtub because it's probably the only place he's actually comfortable in.

extra stuff which don't really count as powers:

Where Did All the Lizards Go- This really isn't a power, but more of something that Sam has to go through now, being what he is- he doesn't really like ingesting human food. He can eat it, but it's highly distasteful, and the only thing that Sam will now eat are raw, cold-blooded creatures, like fish, amphibians, snakes, you name it. Say thank you to the creature that lived at the bottom of a lake for millions of years, because that is where he got his new diet from.


Canon Weapons| Items:
No weapons at all! Except himself. That counts as a weapon, right. :Ic

Canon Allies:
SAM ERSTWHILE HAS NO FRIENDS I mean, no, nobody here but us lovecraftian horrors.

Canon Baggage:
+ A wallet with some extra cash, no identification cards or anything of the like
+ A beat-up cellular phone on its last legs
+ A set of lock picks on a keychain.


[MORDIGGIAN]

LVL (1) | THE TOWER

Fire	Lightning	Earth	Water	Ice	Wind	Dark	Light	Physical	Mind
Wk	-	-	-	-	-	Abs	Wk	-	-

COMBAT SKILLS
► Mudo (30% chance of instant KO from the power of Dark on one enemy.)
► Cell Breaker (Inflicts a small amount of Physical damage with a 10% chance of Exhaustion on one enemy.)
► Evil Touch (40% chance of inflicting the Fear ailment on one target.(2 turns))
► Double Fangs (Inflicts a small amount of Physical damage twice on one enemy.)
▷ Mind Slice (Inflicts a medium amount of Physical damage with a 10% chance of Confusion on all enemies.)
▷ Fatal End (Inflicts a medium amount of Physical damage on one enemy.)
▷ Mamudo (20% chance of instant KO from the power of Dark on all enemies.)
▷ Atom Smasher (Inflicts a medium amount of Physical damage with a 10% chance of Fear on all enemies.)
★ Deathly Chill (Mordiggian sucks all heat into his body to lower the room temperature drastically, reducing Fire damage by 50% for three turns)

SUPPORT SKILLS
► Counter (10% chance of repelling Physical attacks )
▷ Survive Light (50% chance of surviving instant KO one time from a Light attack with 1 HP.)
▷ Moneybags (Always gains an item after a battle with a creature (most common item, then normal roll for the rare))


Mordiggian will look very similar to this..

Writing Sample

In which Sam runs into people and is thoroughly apologetic about it.
In which Sam engages in conversation with a god who really isn't a god at all.