NAME: Nevan Alraune
NAME MEANING: "Nevan" is an Irish name meaning "little saint"
or "holy" and, in this case, it could almost be seen as a sarcastic
or, more kindly, a hopeful nomer to give the child. The second
name "Alraune" is taken from a book (then, later, a silent movie)
whose title character, Alraune, had much the same origin and life as
this one. So, since this is something of a rip-off, I thought it'd
fit to have, at least, some recognition of the source. Cos I'm
completely uncreative, myself.
AGE: Twenty-five
DATE of BIRTH: 20 March
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Pisces
BLOODTYPE: Type A
ALIGNMENT: Of course, like everyone else, Nevan starts the game
as Neutral and, really, Neutral is a good place for him as he doesn't
seem to have a strong draw to either side of the coin. Though
of course, his blood draws him toward the evil side, his nature
and will seem to drift more toward the purer side of things.
Honestly, he's probably a toss-up as far as sides go.
STRENGTHS: Having spent all his life around deeply religious sorts,
Nevan tends to have a deep faith in both his God as well as the
good nature in his fellow man and his general tendency is to believe
in the goodness of all around him, regardless. Also, he tends to
have a deep respect for life in all its forms and the idea of harming
any life in any fashion pains him rather deeply. Strong but gentle
in spirit, he'll do all that he can to support those around him
and, especially in class, he's never too busy to lend those around
him a helping hand. In his chosen field of science, he is rather
deeply versed and, though science and caring for nature can, at
times, be at odds, he does all that he can to find a harmony between
these... and to preach this to his students.
WEAKNESSES: Naturally, his aforementioned love for life can make
things rather difficult, especially since he is a teacher and, as
such, he is often witness to the common examples of classroom
bullying. Of course, this isn't helped in the slightest by Nevan's
natural psychosis to blood, the sight of which causes him to become
quite ill nor is it helped by his rather naive belief that all men
are good at base. Still, if this belief is proved false as it
certainly must someday be, it would likely shatter the platform upon
which he'd built his entire life. Naturally, on top of the rest, it
doesn't much help that he has Father Douglas plotting after him,
trying to prove that his father's blood runs in Nevan's veins, as
well as his father's temperament.
LIKES: Nevan likes nature in all its forms whether it be animal
or vegetation and, as a result of this, he tends to also love to
spend time out, away from the city, in the places that are still
green and pristine. He also tends to like water and, when given
the chance, he's often at the local swimming pool doing laps...or
just playing around with whoever may be there. Since it's both
something of his life calling as well as his chosen subject, he tends
to be drawn strongly by the natural sciences (biology, oceanography,
ecology, ect), but he also tends to want to try to find a way to
study these so as to bring a harmony between two things that,
generally, seem to contradict each other. As a teacher, he tends to
grow very fond of his students and, for the most part, they seem fond
of him, as well. Of course, this could well be thanks to the fact
that he actually cares for the students and wants them to learn, but,
at the same time, doesn't want them to be deathly bored in class. On
a more basic level, he loves roses of all colours, though the breed
known as "Peace" bear a special place in his heart as they were the
ones that his wife tended to grow and to favour over all, and he also
has a special place in his heart for old black and white films, some
cartoons, and sweets.
DISLIKES: Perhaps Nevan's greatest dislike would be the mistreatment
of any life on any level; he simply cannot stand to see anything
abused and it hurts even more when he knows that he can do nothing
for it. Another great dislike is that of blood, though, on a level
the reasoning is the same as the last: to draw blood, something
has to be hurt and, beyond that, the sight of it mucks up very
unpleasant memories from his past. For much this same reason, he
simply cannot stand the sight of broken glass, china, or dolls and
it's also respect of life which fueled his decision tobecome a vegan.
Still, going beyond this, Nevan also tends to have a dislike for home
decorating (which can be quite easily seen upon looking inside his
apartment) simply because, to him, it's a waste of time and such to
bother much with it...beyond the fact that he hasn't an eye for such
things. Also, he tends to dislike computers as he generally tends to
get confused when using them and either deleting what he meant to
save or else getting into a certain program and being unable to exit
out.
GREATEST FEAR: Nevan's greatest fear would have to be that he'd
again cause pain to anyone in the world.
MOTIVATION: As would follow from this, Neavn's greatest motivation
would be to keep from causing pain to any form of life in the world.
FAVORITE FOOD: Nevan's favourite foods are sweets and, though his
choice to be a vegan makes this somewhat difficult, he still rather
enjoys things like chocolate mousse and other vegetarian versions
of the standards. The reasoning behind having sweets as his favourite
thing is probably simply because his daughter had so loved to eat
such things with him and he has many happy memories of eating these
same with her.
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: As he has such a deep respect for life (and
such a deep fear of harming life), Nevan holds any `exploitive'
food as his least favourite and, amongst this number, is held meat,
diary, and the like.
GRADE: Nevan is beyond schooling age.
MARKS: Though, again, Nevan is beyond schooling age, he did earn
very good marks in school, except for the classes having to deal
with computers or for art classes, where he tended to lag somewhat.
FAVORITE CLASS: Though long out of school, Nevan's favourite class
was (and is) science. He liked it in his youth as he found it
fascinating to learn about the world around himself and he loves it
at current as it is the class which he teaches.
LEAST FAVORITE CLASS: When he was a student, Nevan's least favourite
classes were either computer class or art class as he just didn't
seem to have a knack for either of them.
PERSONALITY:
Nevan Alraune presents himself as a gentle, albeit
naive, soul who believes in nothing so strongly as the general
goodness of man. To him, all men, regardless of their current
actions, beliefs, or words, are good at the base and, as such, each
and every life is precious. This is the very platform of all Nevan's
beliefs and it is also the thought upon which he built his entire
life; if this were to be crumpled out from under him, then it's very
likely that Nevan would, indeed, fall to pieces. Still, until such a
time, he treasures each life with which he comes into contact and, as
long as he has contact with said life, he will do all that he can to
make it a happy, joyous experience. Absolutely, he cannot stand
to see any form of life be abused, whether it be human life, animal
life, or vegetable life, and it hurts him greatly to witness any
form of abuse. Of course, it's often made worse when he comes to
realise that he's usually quite helpless in the face of such things,
but, despite this, he often rushes in head-first to do anything that
he can to alleviate another's pain, to take it upon his own
shoulders. Naturally, this probably arises from the abuses
that he had taken in his own childhood, though, of course, he tries
to push all these thoughts to the back of his mind, along with most
of his memories from his childhood.
Of course, the thoughts and memories of his wife and their child could fall to this same category and, though memories of them are often bittersweet and painful, he still cherishes them, if just for the thoughts of times when
they had been happy, the memories of his wife's laughter, the
memories of his little girl's beautiful, honest smile. Though, again,
the sight of broken objects--china, glass, dolls--can often send him
to a quiet reverie full of sad, broken thoughts and, when he is
stirred from this, he often turns oddly taciturn for a time. The
sight of blood, on the other hand, causes him to react most badly
and, though most times he'll just fall to a shocked silence, there
are times that he'll withdraw to near hysteria. Not that he'd admit
nor mention these thoughts to the people around him, but, of course,
they linger there, just behind his easy smile.
Still, going beyond these sad things, Nevan is a man of good humour and he enjoys the simple things in life; really, nothing makes him happier than a good
dessert or playing in the park with his dog or feeling the cool
caress of water against his skin. He is very friendly to those around
himself, even strangers, and he'll always be the first to volunteer
should one be seeking help. At times, he can be somewhat clumsy or
seem a bit of a ditz--especially when being made to do things of an
artistic nature or being made to perform tasks on a computer--but
it's usually in more of a cute way than in any way that could be
called annoying. In his sciences classes, he is definitely one of the
teachers that try to reach out to the students and, regardless of
circumstance, he'll never be too busy to help both the stragglers as
well as those who'd simply like to know more. Generally, he seems
both well-liked and admired by his students and, glad for this, he'll
happily try to foster a friendship with any of them.
APPEARANCE:
Nevan is a man of averages, it seems: both in height
and in weight, he is average for a man of his age and, though, at
times, his skin can pale to an almost ghostly white, generally,
it is the average tone for a Caucasian male of Irish-Germanic
descent. Naturally, this same bears the usual marks, cuts, scratches,
blemishes, and such that come with living and, really, the only thing
that could be considered outside this realm would be the small but
elaborate cross carved into the flesh at the rise of his right hip.
Of course, he generally keeps this hidden from view by his clothes
and, even when seen, he usually explains it away to youthful
foolishness. Hair of a rich golden blond falls in angelic curls
around his face and, though he tends to keep it cut fairly short, he
still often finds some of said curls hanging rather annoyingly over
his eyes and ears or otherwise framing his generally pleasing
features. Only magnified by a pair of stylish glasses, his naturally
grey eyes only seem to draw in and reflect the blues, greens, and
violets from his surroundings so that, at turns, his eyes can appear
to be any of these colours. Perhaps also helped by the magnifying
quality of his glasses, his eyes also are exquisitely expressive and
each expression from total bliss to heart-wrenching pain are always
distilled perfectly within their depths.
Though he doesn't fuss much with clothing, Nevan still tends to dress neatly and, for an obvious reason, he tends to favour blues, greens, and violets in his clothing choices. Conservative in style, he generally seems to lean towards
things like khakis and button-up work shirts, though he does, on
occasion, dress in a slightly less formal fashion. As far as
adornment goes, though, he has no piercings and the only piece of
jewelry he wears faithfully is a silver cross and a plain silver band
on a thin chain about his neck.
SOCIAL STATUS: Being the sort that wants to be everyone's friend,
Nevan could probably be called popular and it would likely be true;
if you ask any of the teachers at the school or any of the other
people around him, they'd probably name Nevan as one of their friends
and a good one, at that. With his students, too, he is quite popular
and he has often been named as one of their favourite teachers.
LOVE LIFE: Very shortly after graduating high school, Nevan married
his sweetheart and, for a while, they lived a happy life together,
even having a beautiful daughter. Still, even when these were gone
from his life, he went on to fall in love again only to once more
lose this person. So, with that bearing heavily upon him, Nevan
does what he can to avoid relationships for fear that it will end
much as those in his past had. Of course, he doesn't do this to
the point of cutting himself off, entirely, but he does grow very
cautious when situations grow romantic. Still, Nevan tends to be
a strong believer in the whole "one cannot choose where one will
love" school and, as such, he won't quibble if his heart leads him
toward a male over a female.
FAMILY & FRIENDS:
Father Douglas ("Father" being the title for a priest in the Catholic
tradition and "Douglas" being a Scottish name meaning "from the
dark water"): The priest who ran the orphanage in which Nevan was
raised and, for a good part of his life, Nevan's only father figure.
On the outside, Douglas was a kind, caring, compassionate man; all
that a priest of his faith was supposed to encapsulate. On the
inside, he was only looking after Nevan so as to see the results of
his experiment. The one who ordered the brutal slaughter of any close
to the man, Douglas seemed to hope for nothing more than to prove
that Nevan's murderous father's blood ran in the boy's veins. It's
unknown exactly how far Douglas will go to prove this, but it
seems that he's willing to travel to any lengths. In appearance,
Douglas is like any middle-aged man who had lived a somewhat
comfortable life: around the middle, he's grown somewhat soft and, at
the top, he's grown a little sparse, but he still bears the look of a
man one would be very reticent to cross. Of course, he's well
favoured in Eden for his work with homeless children and, for all the
world, no one would ever think anything bad of this kind-hearted,
blessed man.
Osbert Raymond:("Inspired, Divine Worthy Protector"): Osbert was
famous in all the papers just as he was feared throughout New Eden.
Believing to have been guided by the Hand of God, Osbert went on
a spree killing all the dregs of society, all the whores, all the
pimps, the drug dealers and the drug users, and, all the while,
he claimed that it was on God's good word that he did these things.
Of course, eventually, he was caught and, as many had expected,
he was condemned to die. Still, before death came to him, Osbert
was given a conjugal visit and, unknown to him, he fathered a son;
unknown to Nevan, this supposedly divinely appointed slaughterer was
his biological father.
Amara Bluma ("Bitter, eternal, steadfast flower"): Amara was truly a
flower--beautiful, delicate, colourful....fragile, but, sadly, she
was a flower cast to the streets. From the time she was young,
Amara had to carve her own way and, as is usually the case, she
turned to the only things left open to her. Still, one day, she
thought herself redeemed when a kindly young priest by the name
Douglas took her under his wing yet this relief was only briefly
borne; shortly after she escaped the divine murders sweeping the
city, she was forced into a brief sexual encounter with the mad
murderer known as Osbert Raymond and, from this union, she took
pregnant. Nine months later, she gave birth to a baby boy and, two
months after that, she found herself lodged in the city's hospital on
the floor dedicated to helpless cases; Amara had her tongue cut out
and her body was in a sad state, yet she lives on in bitter silence
to this day.
Oriel Marguerite ("Golden Pearl"): Oriel was a bright, vibrant,
joyous spirit that only enlivened and bettered each life that she
touched and she was the darling of not only her family, but also the
school. As trite as it is, she was loved by all and, as she was a
very popular girl, an outcast live Nevan felt he had no chance at all
with her. Still, it was she who found Nevan shortly after a group of
boys had bullied him and, almost at once, the two fell into an easy
friendship. Easier still, this friendship soon grew beyond its
borders to outright love and, shortly after the two graduated high
school, they married in a simple ceremony. As Nevan attended college,
he was supported well by his wife and, shortly before he graduated,
he found himself to be a father. Still, their happiness was short
lived and soon Oriel was cut down in the prime of her life, having
committed no sin, aside from loving Nevan.
Marvelle ("Miracle"): Marvelle was the much-loved daughter of Oriel
and Nevan. Like her mother, she was bright, vibrant, and joyous
and, as trite as it is, she was the light of her parents' lives.
Spoiled in the most innocent way, Marvelle had a laugh that could
lighten a room and a smile that could melt the hardest of hearts.
Inheriting her father's golden curls and her mother's guileless
blue eyes, she had the look of the sweetest cherub and a personality
to match this. Fond of dolls, she found her room absolutely full
of these same, yet none was as beautiful as the child.
Still, Marvelle never lived to see her third birthday; like her
mother, she was killed for the fact that Nevan was her father.
Vaughan Arland ("Little Pledge"): Vaughan was a student in the
same college courses as Nevan and, throughout their schooling, they
grew close. It was Vaughan who comforted Nevan after the loss of
his wife and child and it was Vaughan who eased Nevan back into
romance. Still, par for course, Vaughan was taken from him in much
the same manner of his wife and his child.
BIRTHPLACE: Nevan was born in New Eden.
CURRENT RESIDENCE: Nevan lives in a rather humble apartment only a short walk from the school at which he teaches and, though not one of the best districts, it's still a far cry from the city's poorest areas. On the thirty-fifth floor, Nevan's apartment is spacious without being pretentious and, though not spic-and-span, it's not nearly as unclean as most bachelor pads. Semi-modern in
design, it's full of straight lines, surfaces, and the like, but it still has an inviting look for all of that. In the living room, big, overstuffed, comfortable chairs are set in an easy conversation group beside a wall made almost entirely of glass which, in turn, looks out on a rather beautiful view of the cityscape. An overlarge bookcase stands against one of the walls and on nearly every surface there are vases of various flowers. Also, against the wall opposite the bookcase stands a display case full of fine, beautiful, fragile dolls that must have been quite expensive when they were first bought, but now have the look of never being touched. Of course, throughout this room it is quite evident that the place is house to pets, even beyond the large aquarium full of various tropical fish, and, more often than not, both cats and dogs can be seen lounging on the most comfortable pieces of furniture.
Open to the side of this room is a fair-sized kitchen done in spicy, festive colours and full of the usual array of kitchen tools. Still, thanks to Nevan's lack of culinary skill, nothing in this room has been much touched and most of the counters, as well as a good portion of the dining table, are home to flowers, books, or half-read comic books. On the other side of the sitting room is a short hall which leads to both a small half-bathroom, basically no more than a toilet and a sink, as well as Nevan's bedroom.
Whereas the rest of the house isn't so messy, Nevan's bedroom often looks as if a library had exploded; between the books strewn just about everywhere and the pet paraphernalia, it's often hard to see the floor, but, when able to be seen, it's a quite lovely floor of rich hard wood covered only sparsely with rattan rugs. By the wall bearing a large window lies Nevan's bed and, though rarely made, it is covered by a brightly covered comforter. Beside this is a squat bedside table bearing a lamp, various pictures, as well as a single vase holding a Peace rose and on the walls are hung a mixture of various pieces of art as well as some personal photos.
HISTORY:
The story of the madman killing in the name of God was
known throughout New Eden and, to many ears, it was cause for panic.
What gave anyone the right to judge? How was this madmad judging
for the matter? What right did he have? Would he move on to civilians
once he tired of killing the whores, drug dealers, pimps and whatall?
It was a scary story, but none the moreso to young Amara Bluma who
had only so recently escaped the streets herself. Still, she
felt that she could always depend on the kind Father Douglas who
had taken her in from the cruel streets and, besides, the police
would capture this madman before too much longer.
Fortunately, this part of Amara's prediction did come true;
unfortunately, it would only lead to more trouble for the bitter
flower. Shortly after she learned that the killer had been caught,
Amara also learnt that Father Douglas wished to take her to the jail.
Unable to understand the reasoning, but unwilling to argue against
the man who had so helped her, she went along with this, but, as soon
as they arrived, she knew that something was wrong; before long, she
was stranded alone in a dark room with the killer and, unable to find
help, she soon found herself at the man's mercy. Hurt and used, Amara
returned with Father Douglas to his church and, nine months later,
she gave birth a healthy male child. Of course, she wanted no part
to any of this and, more than once, she tried desperate means to
escape yet she found no relief from this life. Knowing that the
woman was no longer necessary to his cause, Father Douglas had
Amara's tongue cut from her mouth and, after making certain that the
woman would never tell of what had happened to her, he let her be
taken to the hospital. Though Nevan never knew anything of his
biological mother, Amara still lies in the hopeless ward of the
hospital and, silent as ever, she ever longs only for death.
Bringing Nevan up to think that he was a foundling, Father Douglas
positioned himself as a father figure in the boy's life and, though
the child grew to become dependant upon him, the priest only
had interest in his rather elaborate scheme. All the Father wanted
was to test was whether evil was fostered in one through blood or
through nature and, as such, he vowed that he'd set a difficult
life before the boy. Even from the time he was very young, Nevan
was rejected by the other children in the church and, calling him
any number of cruel things, they'd often chase him down, beat him,
reject him, throw stones at him; it was the typical bullying and it
was a common thread throughout Nevan's life yet he never turned an
angry or cruel eye toward those who hurt him. Even in high school, he
let happen what would and, if the other boys would hurt him, taunt
him, he'd simply take it as par for the course. Much to Father
Douglas' displeasure, the boy continued to be nothing but a gentle
soul and, also quite troubling was the added fact that the boy seemed
to have earned the attention of a beautiful girl at school.
It was true; Nevan was in love with the beautiful, popular, kind
Oriel and, though there was a gap in their social status, it never
seemed to matter. Their friendship was deep and strong and, once
they realised it, their love was much the same. Happier than he'd
ever been, Nevan proposed to Oriel on Valentine's day of their
Senior year and, shortly after they graduated, the two married.
With new responsibilities, the two soon decided that Nevan'd go
to college while Oriel worked and, once Nevan had graduated, then
Oriel would get her chance. Happy to take any job that came to her,
Oriel worked hard to support her husband as well as herself and,
when she announced, shortly thereafter, that she was pregnant, she
couldn't have asked for a more joyous response from her husband.
Forbidding his wife to work further, Nevan took on a job in addition
to his studies and, nine months later, he found himself to be the
proud father of an absolutely beautiful baby girl. Treasuring his new
family, Nevan continued to toil hard in hopes of giving his family
all that they could want and, for a time, he did just that. His
daughter, Marvelle, had everything that her little heart could want
and, upon finding that his angel loved dolls, Nevan all but filled
the child's room with these same. Obviously, Marvelle had become the
center of Nevan's universe and, for her, he would do absolutely
anything.
Sadly, though, in this time, Father Douglas hadn't been lying idle;
he'd been merely biding his time and, seeing this new windfall in
Nevan's life, he was determined to turn it against his favourite
specimen's wellbeing. Waiting until Nevan had gone out of town for
a conference, Father Douglas ordered that the man's family should be
done away with.
Returning from the trip, Nevan found his house a shambles and,
wandering through, the sound of glass and broken things being
crunched beneath his feet imprinted itself upon his ears. Having no
eyes for the broken possessions, he headed straight for Marvelle's
room and, upon entering, he found quite the sight: the dolls, all the
beautiful, lovely, expensive dolls which had bought for his little
miracle lay strewn about and broken, but these didn't matter either.
At center lay his beautiful child, his world, his universe, and, she,
like the dolls, was shattered. Her blood was everywhere, mingled
thick with the blood of his lovely and adored wife who was lying over
the child, as if to protect her. Nevan never could remember anything
of what happened after this; all that ever came were blurs of almost
nonsensical nightmare images, but the meaning behind the murder was
clear: they died because of him, because they loved him.
Taking this message to heart, Nevan continued in his work and in
his schooling and, though there was no sign of outward change,
inwardly, he was resolved not to let anyone else be hurt as his wife
and his child had been hurt. Still, this resolve was tested as time
wore on and, as the grief of what had happened grew heavier upon him,
he soon found himself cracking apart at the seams. It was in this
condition that one of Nevan's closest friends, Vaughan Arland, found
him and, after a little wheedling, he managed to get the entire story
of what had happened from the grief-stricken man. Offering only
gentle comfort, Vaughan did all that he could to help his friend
and, as was inevitable, the two rather cautiously fell into a
relationship. Still, Nevan vowed never to leave his new lover in a
position where he could be hurt and, for a time, he was successful in
this. Still, one night, Vaughan went out to get some groceries for
dinner and he never returned.
Only one night later, Vaughan's body was found at the edge of the
city. Once again robbed of his most precious thing, Nevan set himself
firmly in the belief that he'd never let himself put another in
such a dangerous position again. Resolved anew, he set all of his
mind to his teaching and, though he continued to show only kindness
to the world around himself, he knew that he'd never let another life
be taken because of him.
WRITING SAMPLE:
Eyes closed in a pleasant grimace, Nevan stretched himself out lazily as a hazy shaft of sunlight played over the angelic curls of his golden hair, but he soon took a more serious attitude as the few
last stragglers filed into the classroom. Offering all a beaming
smile, he checked off the few last names in the attendance book
and, lying this aside, he got slowly to his feet. His grey eyes
showing the deep azure of his shirt, he let these same roam over
the gathered students and, just briefly, he felt a faint tug in
his chest; they all seemed so innocent, so beautiful, so eager to
learn and he'd do all that he could to help them...but would it
be enough? Would he do right by them? What if he failed...what if he
grew too close..
For only the briefest of moments, the image of a beautiful doll's
face: cracked, shattered, viscous crimson splattered over porcelain
white, swam before his eyes and, with a sharp intake of breath, he
winced just slightly. God. Even now, he'd see such things at the most
inopportune times as if someone wanted to be entirely sure that he'd
never forget; as if he could ever forget such a thing!
"Mr. Alraune?" One of the students voices, tentative and soft,
floated to his ears and, forcing his expression back to its usual
cheery state, he opened his eyes. It was Sarah who had spoken. Sarah,
one of his star pupils and one of the prettiest girls in the school;
she almost had Oriel's beauty when she smiled... as she was doing at
the moment.
"Yes, Sarah?" He asked pleasantly as he perched himself at the edge
of his desk. Already, he had managed to pull himself together and,
for all the world, it seemed as if nothing out of sorts had
transgressed; he was getting good at giving that impression after all
the practice. "Is there something on your mind?"
"Mm!" Sarah nodded eagerly and, brushing back a few dark strands
of hair, she leaned slightly over the desk in front of her. Like
many of the students, she had grown quite fond of Mr. Alraune in
even the short time that she'd had him as a teacher and, beyond
finding him insanely cute, she also liked his teaching smile... not
to mention his dead sexy voice. "I was hoping that you'd continue
what you were telling us yesterday? Remember? The story about those
funny fish?"
"Ah! That's right! I was telling you all about the..." As if it
were second nature, Nevan soon lost himself in various stories about
a rare fish that lived only in a specific section of a specific
ocean and, only abstractly, he noted how nearly every set of eyes
was upon him. They were listening and they were learning. He was
doing his part and, if they needed more, then he'd do more. It was
the least he could do, given his position.
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