(no subject)

[faeshim]

Player: mi
Contact: PM or legions
Age: 21+
Current Characters: n/a
Link to Reserve: link

Character Name: Daeshim
Character Canon: original
Canon Point: When he ventures to the Ruinwood's protective boundary for the first time in years.
Age: 400ish, but appears to be in his early 20's.

Crime: murder, both true and not true in his tricky way of thinking.

Background:
Daeshim comes from a modern-day world that's much like the one that we know. However, monsters have and do still exist, even if their numbers are much smaller than they once were, and the general human population no longer believes in them. Some have adapted well enough to live alongside humans, while most non-human creatures stick to the shadows and wild places - like the Ruinwood. This is the world that Daeshim comes from and knows, an old forest that shares its border with a young human city.

Daeshim is the progeny of a Seelie and an Unseelie, and therein lies many of his problems. The blood between the two is very different, and while Dae feels the pull of both, it's never been strong enough for him to fit in at either Court. Plain and wingless with a penchant for roughspun clothing, he was looked down upon by his mother's side. He was also deemed too gentle and cowardly to survive with his Unseelie kith and kin. So he basically raised himself, in a small area of woods within a much larger forest. Growing up his only company was the creatures you would imagine in such a place - deer, rabbits, and the crows that brought Daeshim news of the human city nearby, along with a little bit of its trash to trade with him.

Eventually Daeshim ventured close enough to see it for himself. The human world was strange, and so were the humans who lived it in. But Daeshim's curiosity was truly sparked for the first time. There were many things that he wanted to know about, but none more than the shiny humans. Daeshim calls them "shiny", because they shine like stars or tinfoil in the sunlight. It means anyone who's either passionate or gifted in something, whether it's art or math or human magic that sets them apart from the crowd.

Daeshim noticed one "shiny" human in particular, a young girl with cruel parents. In an impulsive decision, Daeshim stole her away to his woods, where an unlikely friendship began. Other Fae came to intrude, and humans followed. Frightened by all of this, the girl ran away, and sadly death found her before he could. Daeshim blamed himself for this.

This was the day the Ruinwood gained its name and its reputation, because that's exactly what it became - a place dark and ruined, with tales of a lone, twisted creature that lived within them. The animals fled, the water turned stagnant, and flowers stopped blooming. He became even more of an outcast with his own kind. Things remained this way for a very long time, long enough for humans to be born, grow old, and die. But his curiosity (and his loneliness) eventually called him back to the very edge of his forest and the shiny ones who lived outside of it. Again and again, Daeshim tried to bring people into the safehaven of his forest, but always with mixed results.

Personality:
Daeshim is a bit of an odd duck for his kind...or for any kind, really. Maybe it was always in his nature to be different from other fae, different from the blood of either of his parents. Maybe it was the lack of their influence in his life that made Daeshim his own being. The only thing that is clear is that his unique upbringing (or lack thereof) played a huge role in his future relationships with humans. Daeshim's head wasn't filled with prejudices or cruelties - stealing humans, whether for fun or food, is an accepted norm amongst Fae. Even for Daeshim, they started out as a source of entertainment. Humans lived in a world that deviated greatly from his own.

But once he realized just how special and how fragile they can actually be, he found himself being protective (and a bit covetous) of them. He even went so far as to bring them to his woods to keep them safe from being "extinguished" from the dangers of their world. As well-meaning as he was, there is a slight problem with this...

They didn't ask him to.

Because despite the fondness that he can have for humans, Daeshim is decidedly not one. He can be hard to understand, just as he also sometimes struggles to understand. He naturally has a resting b face - b as in "blank". This along with a tendency to stare makes him a little bit creepy to some people. There are also some human boundaries that still confuse him. Telling him that he "can't" do something is likely to be met with a response of how he actually can - kidnapping humans, for example. Explaining to him why he shouldn't might be a little more successful, but not always. It's hard to tell if Daeshim can't understand some of these principles, or simply doesn't want to.

Many of the fae in his world possess a morality that's gray at best, but things that aren't a concern with Daeshim include violence of any kind. He hates it, and even the sight of blood makes him panic. He's also honest, willing to compromise ("make deals", as he might call it) and will never break his word. His kind actually can't lie, though they are very good at playing around with words so that things always work out in their favor. Daeshim's been known to do this too from time to time, but he'll be straightforward more often than not. He's also someone who lives almost entirely in the moment. As a long-lived being, he doesn't really consider that tomorrow might never come, and so he rarely thinks about tomorrow.

Despite being "old" by human standards, Daeshim could still be considered a young adult for a fae. This is part of the reason why he can sometimes be stubborn and immature. His mood can change quickly, and he often avoids conflict or any discussion that he doesn't want to have by literally running away from it. Daeshim is also stingy and suspicious when it comes to his found treasures, be it acorns or a shiny cigarette lighter, but that's nothing when compared to how he is over people that he's fond of. He thinks of these people as "his", and sometimes has a jealous streak when other people get close to them. He hasn't forgotten what it feels like to be lonely and abandoned, so these people are his real "treasures". Daeshim can also be incredibly affectionate towards these same people, and for that same reason. Seeing as how he really had no emotional guidance during his earliest years, it's to his credit that he's as well-behaved as he is.

All of this may make him seem inhuman, but many of his own kind find him slightly repulsive too. He doesn't have the ethereal beauty of the Seelie Court, no fine clothes or gossamer wings. He also doesn't subscribe to their cruel, shallow ways. The Unseelie Court would see him as small, weak, and useless, but Daeshim doesn't have their taste for blood either. He is ultimately just himself, and while he might struggle with words of gratitude or apology, and deny being kind or helpful to his last breath, he can still often be counted on for these things and more.

Abilities:
chlorokinesis: Daeshim has the ability to sprout, grow, and manipulate a number of trees, plants, and fungi that are native to the Ruinwood. In the case of trees, this growth doesn't happen overnight, but still progresses much faster than it normally would.

shapeshifting: Besides being short and purple-haired, he has the ability to take two other forms. One is his "Guardian" form, a nightmarish figure with long limbs, a skullish face, and antlers. Inside the Ruinwood, he towers at over 12 feet tall while in this form. Outside of his forest, it'll be more like 5 feet tall. When forced to go on the offense, this is the form that Daeshim will take.

Daeshim can also turn into...a purple mushroom. This most often happens when he's feeling especially sad, afraid, or when he's injured, as he heals more quickly in this form.

cursing: Daeshim can cast curses on anyone who's not magically protected. These curses can be anything from minor irritations to the classic of turning someone into a toad. They're mostly mischievous and temporary, but his Unseelie blood does give him the potential for darker things too. Daeshim has only cast such an unforgiving curse on one person in the past, a murderer. (No curse ever done without discussion and player permission first.)

Inventory: A rucksack with a few of his "treasures" - acorns, pretty stones, a couple of crow feathers, tiny pinecones, a shiny packet of ketchup.

Samples:
one
two

Questions: n/a