followyourstar | Karteria Info

name:

Dante

pronouns:

they/them

height:

~5'10/~178cm

age:

35 (headcanon)

dob:

????

canon point:

Nocturnal Sweeping

residence:

The Valentia

job:

Velvet Claw Regular (odd jobs)

impressions

visual
On the taller side and rather thin and wiry, Dante doesn't cut a particularly intimidating figure. They're generally reserved and quiet in their actions, sitting off to the side with their hands in their pockets and observing the others around them before they decide to intervene--if intervention is even necessary.

But if you've taken one look at any of their pictures, that's not what you noticed first.

Dante's head has been replaced by a clock-shaped prosthetic--more specifically, a doomsday clock--that is constantly aflame in black and gold. This flame gives off a bit of light but no heat (and if it does give off any heat, then something is in the process of going terribly wrong).

They are constantly covered from the neck down, showing as little skin as possible. While this is easy to do in their work uniform, they have also elected to do so while donning a disguise as part of a mission (note the button-up shirt from their work uniform under the gaudy shirt, as well as the fact they're wearing their uniform's gloves).

auditory
While the Augmenters are able to get Dante's meaning across, the only thing anyone will be able to hear from them are various ticking noises, bells, whistles, and chimes.

They tick faster when experiencing particularly intense emotion or pain and will chime when surprised or particularly pleased. Shock comes with the sound of discordant, grandfather clock-like bells, and shouting or panic is accompanied by a train whistle.

Dante doesn't necessarily need to say anything to tick away. Deep thought will come with its own even set of ticks and tocks and a disapproving stare or sudden realization might come with a single, solid tock sound.

PERSONALITY

Loyal. Level-headed. Diligent. Adaptable. Durable (Mentally).

Accepting. Awkward. Strategist. Dry sense of humor.

Aimless. Poor Self-Esteem. Rug-sweeper. Shaky Sense of Identity. Overthinker.

Dante is an absolute mess of a human being who has gotten very good at hiding that fact. They try their best to project the image of a person others can come to with their problems--someone positive, who knows what they're doing, will be there for you no matter what, and has nothing going on with them that anyone needs to concern themselves about.

And to be fair, it isn't entirely an act. Dante is a little more pessimistic than they let on and can occasionally slip into defeatist thinking, but they do their best to see the good and beauty in the world and hope that even if things are bad now, maybe they'll be better sometime in the future. They're rarely 100% sure of what they're doing and whether or not they're making the right decisions, but when they make a decision they commit to it and make adjustments if things don't turn out like they hoped. And they really will be there for you no matter what, so long as you hold a desire to change and walk the path you need. Even if you think murder is art. Even if you've committed 10,000 war crimes.

But...

Much of the bonds that Dante forms with others are an attempt to fill the hole their lack of memories have left. It's not a bad thing, necessarily, but it leads to a certain level of codependence with those they grow close to. They worry that others will leave them, even as they know that someday they'll have to part ways with that person, and they'll frequently sweep away or ignore problems they know are building in order to keep the peace, even if they personally dislike the way things are. They seem consistently surprised to hear they have a positive effect on anyone, or even that they're doing something correctly.

Their mind is abuzz with a thousand thoughts they rarely ever voice. Dante is observant, but occasionally misses the mark on what they should be focused on, whether that's who the best person for a job would be vs. who volunteered or being so focused on how similar two people are that they misinterpret an important signal from that person as an intent to leave the company.

It should be noted that Dante has a rather complicated relationship with their head and the things it can do. On the one hand, it (or the Golden Bough inside it) is capable of some truly miraculous powers that have saved the lives of themselves and the Sinners on multiple occasions. On the other, those powers come with the price of suffering the pain of death over and over again, being unable to communicate with others, and generally being an "other" in society. They are frequently dehumanized and objectified by others back home, and even by themselves. This is frequently evident in their dry sense of humor, which occasionally dips into something morbid and/or self-deprecating.

HISTORY

Supposedly, Dante was once a "bigwig" in the City, a hypercapitalistic, dystopic hellhole of a place where the world seems to run on people's suffering. Then, one day, in the middle of a dark forest, pursued by a trio of mysterious people out for their blood, their head was replaced with a clock prosthesis, and they forgot everything about themselves up to that point.

Just before they were about to be killed, a bus barrelled through and twelve people exited, claiming that they would fight on Dante's behalf. A "contract" of sorts was made, and fight they did--

--only to be killed immediately, leaving it to Vergilius, the Red Gaze, to pick up their slack. Luckily, thanks to the aforementioned contract, Dante was and is able to revive the twelve "Sinners" from death. This was the start of Dante's tenure as the Executive Manager of the LCB and the journey of 13 people deep into the Inferno that is the City.

ABILITIES

Turning the Clock

Dante is able to "rewind" all death and injury to the Sinners of Limbus Company at the cost of feeling any and all pain involved. A painless death brings no pain when they turn the clock, whereas if all 12 were to drown because one Sinner decided to try and pet the glowy death whale, Dante would feel the sensation of drowning 12 times simultaneously.

It takes time to turn the clock, and Dante is vulnerable during this time. The Sinners don't need to be dead for the clock to turn for them. Apparently Dante isn't actually reversing time when they do this, but the exact mechanisms of this ability are unknown as of current content.

Connection to the Psyche

The Golden Bough allows for Dante to peer into the minds and thoughts of others, witnessing and/or projecting the memories of others nearby. They can also facilitate the appearance of an entrance to the Fathoms of the Ego (essentially a dungeon based around a person's mental state and/or memories). OOCly, this power will ONLY be used with the permission of the other person.

On a similar note, Dante can sense entities/abilities fueled by emotion/the human subconscious (extrapolated from their ability to sense Abnormalities, Peccatula, and Distortions, and how they can differentiate them from Bloodfiends and humans.)

Immunity to Memory Alteration

In a bit of beautifully cruel irony, now that they have their clock head, Dante appears to be immune to memory alteration--or at the very least attempts to alter their memory haven't stuck.

Durante

A set of abilities Dante has unlocked as the story has progressed, currently limited to Pigritia and Superbia. Pigritia slows time in an area around Dante, leaving only them and the Sinners unaffected. This doesn't appear to be something that can be used indefinitely, as another character states that it was only used for around 30 minutes in-story.

Superbia allows someone to strike with or clash with a greater force than they might otherwise have (or at least that's how I'm interpreting this ability given how it's used at the end of Canto VII).

In order to fit with the once-a-day nature of Durante abilities in-game, I'm going to say that these take a similar amount of time to be used again in RP, and Dante will only be able to use one (AKA: Pigritia OR Superbia, but not both).

NATURAL SOUL:

Spectral

Corrupted (Final)

Whatever color Dante's skin may have been prior to their corruption, it's a deep, pitch black now, the color of a starless night. Luckily, they happen to have one of their own.

Nestled in their chest, Dante's unbeating heart glows with an intensity that lights the whole of their ribcage up from the inside--a ribcage that is more prominent than it used to be, their already thin frame growing more emaciated. While the area over their heart is hot--very hot--their body grows colder the further they are from it, their extremities running cool.

The majority of Dante's corrupted features are difficult to see, thanks to both their prosthesis and their mode of dress. Those who didn't know them prior to corruption might even assume them to hold a Golem soul, rather than a Spectral.

However, there remain a couple telltale signs they have difficulty hiding. The first and most obvious is their long, whiplike tail, tipped at the end with a flame similar to the one surrounding their clock. It has a mind of its own at times, and once you know what to look for, it's a good indicator that good old Spectral instinct to lie has kicked in.

The second sign is less obvious. While out in the light of day, Dante is slightly transparent, and their shadow isn't nearly as dark or defined as most others' are. They have trouble remaining solid during this time, so they will try to remain indoors or in the shadows until sunset if possible. No matter how hot or cold they are when solid, passing through them while they're incorporeal will leave behind an uncomfortable chill.

SHIFTED

Full Shift:
In their fully shifted form, Dante's body loses much of its definition, flickering like the flames that surround their head. Their frame is practically skeletal save for their torso, which has something of an hourglass figure to it. Their ribs are visible in their chest, lit from the inside by a heart that shines as brightly as a star.

They can levitate indefinitely while shifted, whether it's day or night, which is good because there's not a whole lot for them to stand on, legs giving way to another branch of flame. Their hands are larger, with longer fingers as well. They glow at the tips, but aren't particularly sharp.

A long tail stretches out behind them, terminating in a long plume of fire.

While fully shifted, Dante keeps several luring lights around them at all times, a subconscious defensive act to distract others on the attack.

Anyone who touches them while they're in this form will find them uncomfortably hot and deathly cold at the same time and may have the life force drained from their body.

Partial Shift:
"Fuzzy" at the edges with occasional wisps escaping from their clothing. Temperature becomes similar to their fully shifted form, present through their whole body rather than heat being localized to the chest.

Not terribly dramatic. Is usually a sign they haven't eaten in awhile and the Natural Soul is on the verge of taking matters into its own hands, if it hasn't already. Can also be a sign of anger or frustration.

Soul Features

Physical

Current

Unusual Dietary Requirements: Life energy, absorbed from living beings. (easily ignored for now)

Weakness in Sunlight/Strength at Night: Direct sunlight is very uncomfortable for them. Will freeze for a few seconds in particularly bright light. (Sunlight minorly uncomfortable)

Mastery of Elemental Magic: Fire. Can be used to burn, but mostly used to leech life energy. -- Available day or night (ability is there, but little idea how to use)

Otherworldly Aura: Amplifies already existing emotions. Usually positive emotions when hunting, but can be either positive or negative when they aren't. Typically focused on a desire or goal someone has -- Aura active only when Shifted.

Future

Physical Death/No Pulse

Unusual Physical Temperature: Hot around the chest/close to the heart, growing cold out toward the extremities.

Unusual Eyes: While Dante may not have any eyes to speak of normally, when glamoured to look like someone else, possessing someone else, or transformed into an animal, their eyes will always be glowing and completely golden in color. No amount of magic will be able to hide this trait.

Growth of Tail

Levitation: Not flight. Can keep it up indefinitely during the night, but will tire them out during the day.

Incorporeality: Can pass through walls and objects with ease. Has complete control over this during the night, but has trouble staying solid during the day.

Glamours: Can cast illusions over themselves, others, and objects. This illusion can be disrupted if someone reaches for the glamoured item or person and finds that what they're seeing doesn't match what they feel. These illusions are slightly transparent in direct sunlight.

Possession: Can temporarily possess others, coexisting with the soul inside. -- Nighttime only.

Animal Transformation: Owl -- Nighttime Only.

Mental

Current

Feels at ease in places people have died

Increased desire to retaliate when they feel wronged (easily pushed aside as of now)

Future

Naturally gravitates toward wooded areas and graveyards, typically with paths and roads still close by

Instinctual resentment toward the living

Vengeful attitude

Altered morality -- increased ruthlessness, no guilt over feeding off of/possessing others

Resentment towards Karterians, partly as a scapegoat for their death, partly due to their treatment by the Upper Class while being confused for a golem. They'll still participate in Patho-Gen's experiments and missions (if only in the hopes that their condition can be reversed), but they aren't going to care much about increasing their reputation with the people.

Once they gain the ability to levitate, they will find it much more comfortable/natural to move in that manner.

ooc info:

hayley . cst . DM/

shadetoshade

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