Throne of Shadows - Application

[dirtyandtrue]

1. Player Information
Name: Arma
Username: dajensa
Current characters in ToS: Devi
Reserve: Here



3. Original Character Information

Name: Matthew. "Mad Matt"
PB: Dominic Cooper
Journal: dirtyandtrue
Age: Actual age : 461. Appeared age : 25
Appearance: Matt is five eight and about 175 lbs. His black hair is usually gelled, styled messily but perfectly. Brown eyes always glint with amusement or interest and because he has the merit of Blush of Health, he retains a normal color, lightly tanned.

Matt is always in a well fitted suit of some form even if it is just slacks and suspenders. He's fashionable and suave, relaxed and still regal. Most people would be greeted with a friendly look and a smile. Doubly so if the person in question is a woman. In times where Matt feels like there will be violence, he carries with him a sword-cane. He's lean and toned and it provides him a dignified grace to his movements.

Home World: Matt comes from the White Wolf World of Darkness.

History:
Louis DiVigny was born to the Noble lording house as it's second child in 1523, four years behind his sister Phoebe. Lord DiVigny was a statesment through and through, and made sure to pass this skill onto his heir for the betterment of the land. When Louis was ten, his sister got married and five years after that, went missing. Louis, who very dearly loved his sister, spent the next ten years of his life searching for her and refusing to believe that she had died. At 18 Louis's father died, leaving him in control of the estate. His first act as Lord DiVigny was to make a deal with the serfs, maintaining the estates crops and allowing the serfs an idea of freedom and security on his land.

Passionate in love and politics, Louis was noted by his Sire, Gina, in a brothal one night and she stalked the young Lord for two years, in love with his love for life. When Louis finally fell in love with his mistress in 1548 and planned to marry, Gina decided to strike. The fiance was framed and murdered a week before the wedding and it was 'suggested' to Louis that she had left him to go back to prostitution and had died at the hands of a customer. During Louis's angry rampage through his home and eventual ride out, Gina attacked and embraced the young Frenchman, stealing herself an immortal 'playmate'.

Gina took him away from France and his grief to London where he spent several years being petulant and moody unless they were feeding or at a party. Gina's lack of control over him lead to a mass murder during an opium orgy where Louis nearly got Gina and two other vampires caught and killed. His attitude and temper were out of control so in an effort to tame him, Gina contacted an old Gangral friend of hers, Lucchi, to teach Louis how to behave. The lessons took a trip to Germany and a few years knowing nothing but the feel of Lucchi's right and left hooks, but Louis learned how to control himself and learned how to fight. When Lucchi deemed him ready, Louis was sent back to London to be presented to the Prince.

Accepted back into Gina's home with warily opened arms and a low level blood bond, Louis fell back into debauchry and sin. Gina didn't mind his appitate anymore; it caused little trouble except in the case of her jealously. Louis was supposed to have been hers and while he taunted and swooned more beautiful young women into his arms, Gina retaliated by killing them and berating him until one night, where it caused a massive fight. Louis frenzied again, snapping out his blood bond and killing his Sire. While he consumed her, increasing his strength, he allowed her a True Final death. After setting the house to fire, Louis fled the country for the Americas and changed his name to Matthew. He would not be found by the DiVigny name and began to slowly build up trust and resources until he was blood hunting for the American Princes for their favor.

Until 1730, when he reunited with Phoebe, he made connections on the east coast, setting up profitable things such as drug trafficking to economically fuel his extensive parties and wardrobe needs. During the 1730's Phoebe entrapped her brother, putting him under a level 1 blood bond and resetting the dynamic they had shared in life; using his brotherly love against him. Phoebe also introduced him to Maria, who was his on again off again lover until the 1950's.

Matthew traveled with the two ladies, leaving once every couple of years to go tend to business or settle some deal. In 1788, when he came back to the States from such a trip, Phoebe contracted Matthew to help her embrace someone. While Matt had never met the intended victim, it didn't matter much as he couldn't refuse anything that Phoebe commanded of him.

Thus was born one Dorian Alexander Carver.

Matthew took to the newest Malkavian, seeing him as something his sister had broken, something that he could fix or save, even if it was marginal. Phoebe's reign of terror with Mad Matt and Dorian was violent and blood thirsty. It ended 80 years later, when Matthew helped Dorian kill her, to allow them all to escape.

After Phoebe's death, Matt, Maria and Dorian fled Boston and ran to the South. With the rest of Phoebe's collected wealth, Dorian bought a house and Matthew stayed with him, excepting for the stretches of time the Brujah would spend traveling for a mix of business and pleasure.

The 1930's came too quickly and with it, another milestone in Matthew's unlife. A few years prior, the men found a baby on the side of the road. Eliza was adopted into their hearts and gave them both a little purpose. When Maria's groupies killed the child, it tore at a fissure already made by Maria's sleeping with both men. After Matthew avenged Eliza's death and made sure that Dorian wasn't going to frenzy in a rage and get himself killed, Matt left.

On his way back home, he found Dorian walking along the side of the road and the Malkavian explained how Maria had kicked him out at gunpoint. Enraged, Matthew took a few days to send Dorian to the West Coast. When Matt came back, Maria was judged and burned. The house was later bought by Matt and torn down, only to be rebuilt in the early 2000's.

While Dorian lived a simple live, Matthew flourished under his own wealth in Asia, spending the next 50 years chasing after Shangrali and vampires that had broken the Masquerade with breaks to check in on his nephew.

In 2000, Matt relocated back to the States into a large house a few miles out of Phoenix Arizona. The next nine years were spent building his connections, blood-hunting now and then to stay on the good side of the Princes that he knew.

(*Note* There will be an entry added with a fuller more detailed history later.)

Powers/Talents: Powers/Statistics

Personality:

Let's get one thing clear. Matt is a selfish, self absorbed man. Well dressed and unerringly confident, Matt is often recognized as a 'playboy'. Always one to enjoy a good time, as long as the company is enjoying themselves too, Matthew is almost obsessed with his vices. They are what drives him; They are his addiction. A valient lover of wine and women, Matthew also likes harder things like heavy drugs and an occasional male lover. Being a hedonist and flawed with an obsession and addiction for his vices, Matthew chases every moment he can as a personal path to Shangri la. Something of an extreamist in chasing his own desires, he's known to try whatever new high is on the market or an abstract thought and action in day to day life. This has lead to him getting chased out of many married womens' windows, though his luck and celerity have saved him in many pinches. Most of his morals are loose and sometimes disrespectful and sexist, but generally, he's not a bad guy.

Even in life, Matt didn't agree with slavery but having a lording estate in that time meant that serfs were inevitable. When Matt took the title at 18, he freed his serfs and hashed out a deal that gain the estate profit and them a modicum of freedom, however still dependent. Being raised in such a house made him favor living in style and comfort. If push comes to shove, Matt will abandon everything material but the suit on his back, but he will complain loudly about it after the novelty of 'roughing it' rubs off. The skill of statesmanship stayed with the young Frenchmen after his embrace and has been used through out his life to better his station, finances and standing.

Being a Brujah, Matt's natural tenancies towards some kind of general social order were enhanced and in his years, Matt has found a weakness in his wall of selfishness for women, children and oppressed people. He attaches to these causes most easily. On a broader scale, Matthew will protect people that he can't free with as much ferocity as he would for those close to him. Be it as a soldier for a cause or a protector against one, Matthew fights with the passion and strength most noted to his clan, not necessarily for the people but for the principle. If there is a threat or attack on someone that Matt has deemed under his protection, his anger is quick and bloodthirsty in order to eliminate the threat. In combination with his powers of presence, Matt can be very intimidating and frightening and will use it to his advantage. One cause Matthew will forever be tied to in his world is the protection of the Masquerade. After watching the transition from a free roaming vampire sect to the rules laid down by the Camilla, encouraged by the Inquisition, Matthew understands how deeply the race would be effected if they were discovered and goes to great length to keep it up.

His biggest flaw is his quick and sometimes ruthless temper. While it was worse in his life before his embrace and years after -before he was taught self-control-, it still gets the better of him and the beast tries to rise to the surface. He's learned to channel it from directly removing whatever has started it and minimize the amount of damage he does by grabbing whatever is closest to hand and breakable to make his points. It makes him a petulant child sometimes, but better that then a bloodbath. Very rarely does Matt do any kind of violence against women, (not including when they come at him as true combatants), and every time he has, it's been at the hands of his quick anger. This is another reason Matt tends to be easy going; less friction means no reason to get angry and appeals to his desire to be surrounded by pleasant people.

As a human, Matt was prone to debauchery and whorehouses in his free time; his first love and almost wife had been a reformed whore and it's among them that he truly feels most comfortable. It's a business as old as time and most always reliable. Love is out of the question by his own decision, heart hardened in his fiancee's framed end and the tragedy that was a second chance at love in his Highborn cheating woman's arms. Fate has taught Matt that love is momentary. He loves the woman he's with for 5 hours and three hundred bucks, he loves the smell of a freshly lit joint or cigarette; he loves the smell of a good aged scotch, or the company of an enthralling book. The idea of loving one person for an extended period of time in a romantic relationship seems absurd and doomed to only end in pain. He finds it much better to chase the day that's here instead of brooding on the past and pass losses.

It's not all women and drugs though; Matt also has a taste for literature. Having a particular taste for Shakespeare (having been in London for the original shows), Matt feels that literature and human sin will be what survives the ages if nothing else does. Technology is also in his interests as it seems it will carry the humans, and subsequently the Vampires, into the next age.





Why would your character be chosen? Matthew is a socialite and a playboy, well read and good looking, versed in court play and battle. He knows how to have a good time and knows how to be serious and deadly if need be. As an asset or an annoyance, Matt is good to have around for a few different things.

How much does your character know about nonhumans? Matthew knows about his worlds occult - The Mages, the Werewolves, The Vampires - but he never delved very far into the lore and legend before his time, outside of his circle.

Why this character: I love Matt because he's self centered in a very real way. He's expansive but still generally focused on having a good time of everything. Being lighthearted and friendly is a change from my usual trope of broody blunt hard asses and Matt still has the potential to kick asses. He can cause as much trouble as he can get out of and I'm exited to see what he will do with non V:TM characters. Doubly so, since Matt is not used to being a vampire in front of non-controlled humans.



4. Samples

First-Person: So. Marriage, huh? Not really my style; to ball, chain and prison for me. I'm much more a weekend romance kind of guy. All the fun, none of the commitment.

Since I don't really have much up in the air, I suppose I could use a vacation. When in Rome, right? Someone start me out by being a friend and pointing a fellow towards a bar? Or an ATM? One suit is murder.

Third-Person: Here
Third Sample: Here