Salinger, Uriel WIP

FULL NAME:
→ Uriel Lukas Salinger

AGE:
→ 27

SEX:
→ Male

BIRTH PLACE:
→ The slums of Yinchuan in Xing

RACE:
→ Half Xingese (mother), half Amestrian (father)

DATE OF BIRTH:
→ January 1, 1984




HEIGHT:
→ 158 cm (5'2")

WEIGHT:
→ 50kg (110lbs)

PICTURE:
→

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DESCRIPTION:
→ Uriel looks much younger than he actually is due to a hormonal disorder known as Kallman Syndrome; because of this disorder, his body never went through puberty. He will never grow facial hair and has minimal to no body hair to speak of, and his voice is rather light, leading many to mistake him for a girl or a young boy. Typically Kallmann Syndrome would not affect his height too much, but he has mostly taken after his mother, who is barely five feet tall. His blue-black hair is kept fairly short, though his bangs are longer and swept to the right, just barely concealing his eyepatch. Both eyes were once a cold, clear blue until his right eye began to suffer from optic atrophy due to his disorder, rendering him blind in that eye; it has since become completely milky white, which he keeps covered by a simple black eyepatch, the back that is against his eyelid a deep purple suede.

Short, thin, and pale are generally the first three things (other than his youthful appearance) that tend to come to mind upon seeing Uriel. His entire appearance screams "deceptive", and he uses this to his advantage. Either posing as a child or as a young girl, Uriel is often hired as an assassin or spy. His taste in clothing is rather conspicuous, preferring a more Victorian edge when out and about, dressed in black, grays, and various shades of rich blue and purple, his clothing bordering on Gothic Lolita even while not dressing blatantly as a girl. At home, however, he is far less pretentious, often opting to just wear more modest suits in greens and browns, as well as a much-too-large sweater or extra-large button-up shirt and spandex shorts, adding a pair of thick thigh-high socks should it be cold in the house.

Sometimes while on a job, Uriel will dress and act as a female in order to get closer to his targets. His style of clothing in these instances varies, but he will always wear a different wig or restyle a previously-used wig as well as wear contacts; the right contact in every pair is custom, covering not only the iris but the pupil to conceal the fact that he is blind in that eye so he feels free to ditch the eyepatch (he really only wears it because his white eye has disturbed others in the past and he feels that it is "only manners" to keep it covered while in the presence of others).

He has several small scars on his back, chest, arms, and thighs from working his various jobs, most of which are easily hidden and have faded to pale white rather than the initial ruddiness they had once they had begun to heal.

Some markings that appear at first glance to be a scar or brand (as they are slightly upraised on the skin) are in fact white-ink tattoos. Due to his pallor, these tattoos are not immediately noticeable at a glance, making it easier to hide them if need be. He has, from time to time, used makeup to cover them, but as the largest ones are on his back they are rarely seen anyway.
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His transmutation circles are also white-ink tattoos, located (at lvl.1) on his palms. In the company of others and before going in for the kill on a job, he wears gloves to hide them if he feels the need; he uses a feigned "dislike of touching and being touched" as his excuse.



PERSONALITY:
→ Having worked his way up from a fairly mundane and somewhat mediocre family line, Uriel has become a bit hedonistic when it homes to his personal life; if it makes him happy or comfortable, he will buy it or already own it. The public areas of whatever home he has, temporary or otherwise, are kept filled with books, films, paintings, and anything else he can afford that makes him happy, while conversely his bedroom is off-limits to most people and is kept rather spartan. In a way, this is a decent descriptor of himself, using his outward appearance to deceive others while inside he has never quite grown out of the poor boy who had nothing. With the way he presents himself, one might not realize he does in fact come from an incredibly poor background.

He likes to keep his appearance classy, clean, and dignified so long as he is in the company of others, his overall demeanor one of a charismatic (if somewhat manipulative) businessman. His charming smile mixed with his childlike image have won over many who would have otherwise overlooked or mistreated him, oft resulting in gifts or work, when the need for work becomes necessary. He is admittedly selfish and outwardly vain, treating his genetic disorder as a blessing in disguise.

In spite of his outwardly flippant nature, he believes in honest, hard work to achieve and obtain what he wants out of life, and as much as he loathes being filthy he is not afraid to get his hands dirty in order to reach his goals. Traits picked up from both his parents, he knows how it feels to be poor and starving, and he refuses to allow himself to fall back into that lifestyle due to laziness. He uses his family's poverty as a motivator to succeed and his current lifestyle as a reason to keep succeeding in anything he sets his mind to. He is terrified of being without, so much so that failure can lead to a full-blown panic attack. He hates losing, and he punishes himself intensely for failure.

Unless you know him well, Uriel is not the warmest of individuals. He is by no means outright cruel or mean, but if you aren't his friend or a close associate he will likely treat you distantly unless there is something to gain from being kind to you. He has very few close friends and frankly he doesn't exactly want them, seeing too many personal connections as more a hindrance than a benefit, especially to someone who never knows when and if he will be forced to abandon his current home, packing as much as possible and vanishing into the night before he is discovered. Like most aspects of his life, there is another "face" hidden beneath his aloof demeanor, that of a very lonely man "trapped" in the body of a child. If you can manage to get him attached to you, you'll be the first in a long time to see a genuine, warm smile from him. He is fully capable of loving and being loved, but he knows that his unique condition makes it difficult for anyone to even be attracted to him; in his past experiences with the "targets" he has lured to their deaths, most are only attracted to him due to his childlike or doll-like appearance and expect him to behave as a living doll or a pet, and he has far too much pride to stoop to such a level for a pedophile. If he ever allows someone into his life for a relationship beyond friendship, he wants it to be based on his personality and mutual respect, not his appearance.

→ There is another side, something he considers to be completely separate from the real "him", that generally only his employers live to tell of, and that is his "working" persona. While not a violent man by nature, he is ruthless when it comes to hunting down, trapping, and disposing of his targets. He is cold, calculating, and has an obsessive love of details, especially when crossdressing comes into play; he tries his hardest to plan to the last detail, even going so far as to either map out the area or hire someone on the inside to do it for him, just so he can be certain what type of shoes and dress he should wear for a quick and easy getaway. He plans out as much of a script as possible, every move and gesture that he feels could be of use, in order to lure his victims to the proper location to dispose of them quickly and quietly. Though it is rare (he sees it as barbaric and messy) he will use a blade or a gun to kill his targets.

Uriel does NOT kill randomly if he can help it. He will only actively seek out targets while under contract.

LOVE:
→ music (listening to and performing)
→ a good book and a glass of merlot late at night
→ cats
→ playing dress-up as a guilty pleasure
→ drawing/painting
→ rivers, or really any non-stagnant body of water
→ swimming
→ fencing, archery, guns...he likes weapons in general; the easier to conceal, though, the better
→ rain

HATE:
→ large dogs
→ being dirty (he bathes obsessively)
→ being touched without warning
→ organized religion (agnostic)
→ liars and cheats (in spite of his own leanings toward occupational deception)
→ sweets (specifically chocolates, they mess with his stomach badly)
→ undignified slobs
→ the desert/being away from water in general

DEEPEST SECRET:
→ Even though he has the means to help out his family by sending them money, he hasn't spoken to any of them in nearly twelve years. Though he rarely shows regret for the things that he has done, he would much rather his family believe that he is dead than admit to them that he is a hired assassin.

IDOL:
→ le Chevalier d'Eon



HISTORY:
→ Born in what was essentially an "urban village" (slum) in Yinchuan to Amestrian military deserter, gunman Joachim Salinger, and in-home practitioner Alkahest and unlicensed physician, Fai Hua Jiang, it seemed that little Uriel would be trapped in a life of poverty. His father was unable to get honest work, leaving his mother to bring in any and all money in to keep everyone fed and healthy, and getting Uriel into even a halfway decent school within the main city proved to be far more difficult than they had anticipated. Uriel was, after all, not planned and came into the world with a multitude of health problems that his mother was barely able to keep under control, namely his weak immune system which wouldn't bolster itself until he was thirteen. Uriel managed to make it to a school in the city until he was about eleven, though most of his education was typically at home, his father and mother taking turns teaching him how to speak, read, and write in both their native tongues as well as his mother taking a particular interest in training Uriel in medicine and basic concepts of alkahestry at a young age; she wanted to be certain that he would be able to take care of himself should anything happen to either her or Joachim.

It became apparent rather quickly that Uriel, unfortunately, had a bit of a knack for manipulating the people he came across in the city, usually running off with the contents of their purses or wallets. In the beginning, he would give the money to his mother in secret lest his father spend it on his growing alcohol problem, but after a few months he started saving it, hiding it in the walk-in closet that had been modified to be his bedroom. Convincing sweet little old ladies, or women with their own children that he was a suffering little orphan was rather simple, they were easy targets and living in the slums kept the richer folk from knowing him or his family personally. Approaching men was always more risky, especially the older ones who always seemed to look at him as if he were a slab of meat; it was crucial to get the money he wanted from them quickly and make a run for it before they could get their hands on him. It was a thrill for Uriel, the sense of danger adding to the fun of it all; it wasn't until one of his little cons when he was about eleven nearly ended in disaster that he decided to change up his game. A man just got too close, he was too strong, and it took all of Uriel's strength to get free, slipping away down an alley and up a fire escape, the heavy rain the only thing drowning out the sound of his heaving breaths as he cried, honestly terrified for the first time. It wasn't until the next morning when the tenant of the apartment connected to the fire escape found Uriel and took him home, the woman taking pity on him. On the way back to his parents' home in the slums, Uriel and the woman, Pei Jun Guan, who he learned was an alchemy teacher at the university attempting to get the school to branch out a bit more, discussed his living conditions and it quickly became apparent to her that he was rather intelligent for someone so young.

After a long conversation with his parents, Jun convinced them to let her take care of him during the school year, planning on getting the boy healthier and beginning his training in alchemy to increase his chances of finding work as an adult. His mother was the one to object at first, but Hua Jiang knew that it was best for Uriel and that it wasn't anything permanent. From ages eleven to fourteen, Uriel was privately tutored in his regular lessons as well as the basics of alchemy by Jun at her home, returning to his family usually only for holidays, his visits growing shorter and shorter each time until he stopped going entirely; whatever emotional connection he had with his birth parents had faded over time, and Uriel came to see Jun as both Mother and Master, equating it to the master of some martial art taking in a student from centuries past. He respected her, and she treated him with respect in return.

It wasn't until his fifteenth year that Jun began to realize that Uriel wasn't developing at a regular rate for a boy his age, and his right eye had been steadily deteriorating since he had come into her care, the reason as to why constantly evading Jun and the many doctors she had taken him to; she eventually shrugged off his small stature and underdevelopment as an after-effect of the poor health and poor living conditions he had endured as a child, thinking nothing more of it. She figured he would simply mature at his own pace.

Later that same year, Jun and Uriel were attacked and Jun was killed by muggers on the way home rather late one night from training at the university. Uriel was unable to save her, but he managed to escape to inform the authorities. Jun's killers were long gone by the time anyone arrived on the scene. After it became apparent that the city intended to send him back to his family, Uriel took what physical money and valuables that Jun had in her home and a small bag of his things, disappearing into the night. The only mark he left behind was a tattered and worn eyepatch, fallen apart with age.

The night Uriel disappeared from the streets of Yinchuan, the men who had attacked and killed Jun were found dead along the edge of the desert, their wrists and ankles bound by wire and their heads covered with plastic bags that were duct taped closed around their throats. It had been a slow, agonizing death, one that Uriel would never forget as he avenged his murdered teacher, the one being who had seen potential in him.

Taken in by a caravan that was traveling across the desert, Uriel learned quickly that hard work was rewarded far more quickly than monetary compensation when it came to those sorts of travelers, and he was eager to oblige; if they weren't asking for money outright, he could squirrel what cash he had away for later use. In spite of his youthful appearance, he was sure to make himself as useful as possible, never shying away from real work and making it very clear that he would severely damage anyone who attempted to manhandle him; it wasn't until one of the older men (whom some of the children in the group had reported several times) turned up dead that they began to take him seriously. A few of the more well-to-do members of the caravan (illegal traders attempting to avoid going through official channels) hired him to "do away" with some of their competition so that they would be able to confiscate their goods before they made it to the Amestrian borders. Not having his tattoos yet, he drew the necessary array and circle on a pair of his work gloves and three men turned up dead within days, each seeming to have drowned out in the desert. His first attempt wasn't as successful as he would have liked, the man thrashing about too much for Uriel to keep his hands on him long enough to finish the process, forcing the teen to bind his hands in order to finish the job. The other two he was better prepared for, luring them into a false sense of security, practically begging for "a big, strong man" to "protect" him after the first body was discovered.

It quickly became apparent that human beings were by nature selfish, gullible, and weak when their lusts and carnal desires were challenged. This knowledge, paired with his new little experiment in alchemy, became his tools for survival.

Upon reaching the Amestrian border, Uriel robbed his caretakers blind of any cash and valuables they had on-hand that could easily be shoved into his bag, vanishing from the caravan and making his way toward Youswell. The next twelve years would be spent hiring bodyguards and traveling companions to make his life easier, many of them dying in his service trying to protect him as he traveled around Amestris. During this time, more advanced medical resources would reveal the reason behind his "eternal youth" as the effects of Kallmann Syndrome, a rather rare disorder that stunted development into physical maturity or, in Uriel's case, stopped it almost completely. Testosterone therapy was suggested as a means to reverse the effects and to allow him to develop at a more natural rate, but in the end Uriel would turn down the "solution" to his "problem"; for all the difficulties that came with looking like an eternally prepubescent boy, he had learned to like himself for who and what he was, and he felt any major change could disrupt his personal comfort and sense of self-worth. He had managed for quite some time as he was and felt no need to change it unless it became absolutely necessary to his survival.

Whispers of of various businessmen and high society, nouveau riche all the way down to petty gamblers and members of crime families (some corrupt and vile human beings, and other not necessarily "evil", but troublesome) turning up dead, apparently drowned in the oddest of places in their homes and on the streets with hardly a mark on them began following in his wake. Though any apartment he would have would ultimately prove temporary, fueled by a necessity to keep on the move lest he be caught, Uriel built up a rather prestigious clientele by marketing himself off as a mercenary assassin; frankly he could have taken time off from his dangerous "game" within five years of operating within the country, but he refused. One might think that killing had become an addiction, but for Uriel it had begun to carry a much deeper purpose:

"You can't save a broken world. You can only hope to survive in it and make it slightly less mad by cutting out some of the more cancerous beings that populate it."



ALCHEMIC ABILITY:
→ At level 1, Uriel has the ability to shift water from one spot to another, usually within in a container of some sort, using alchemy while applying some basic knowledge of alkahestry and a transmutation circle designed to create and manipulate and direct a gravitational balance that is focused on a particular element, creating a sort of "tidal pull" using the gravitational forces of the Sun and Moon, working in tandem with a transmutation array designed to manipulate and control water. This is his primary means of executing his "targets", pulling the water from a nearby water source (such as a flask that he must forcibly hold in the target's mouth) or his victim's blood or body water content and redirecting it to another part of the body, typically choosing to flood his target's lungs and effectively drown them on dry land while the rest of the body is typically left dehydrated. It is a slow process and Uriel must keep both his concentration and his hands in contact with his target until they are dead, or they may live to expose his identity.



TRIVIA:
→ He keeps a photo of Jun in his pocketwatch.
→ Kallmann Syndrome is a genetic disorder marked by anosmia and hypogonadism - the decreased functioning of the glands that produce sex hormones. Optic atrophy can be another symptom. The result is that of a male or female that appears to be locked in varying states of prepubescence, lacking in various traits that mark a fully adult man or woman. In Uriel's case, he lacks facial and body hair, one eye has atrophied to the point of blindness, and though he is of an adult age he will grow no taller than 5'2" (due to both his disorder as well as his taking more after his Xingian mother). Rather than anosmia (the complete lack of a sense of smell) he has hyposmia (decreased but still apparent sense of smell). Though testosterone treatment was offered as a means to attempt to regulate the condition, as he grew older he made the decision that he'd lived this long with the disorder, why bother trying to fix it now? (some symptoms, such as osteoporosis, have been omitted, and the overall effect on his appearance is much more exaggerated than in reality for the sake of the RP)
→ Though he is more physically drawn to men, his condition has all but snuffed out any sex drive he may have had, leaving him largely asexual. He is hardly a blushing virgin, but he does not actively seek out sexual relationships any more than he does platonic ones.
→ Fluent (spoken and written): Xingese | Amestrian || Fluent (spoken only, learning written) Cretan




ALIAS:
→ Just call me Uriel or Uri

OTHER CHARACTERS:
→ First character.

CREATOR'S COMMENTS:
→ Be gentle =A=

FACE CLAIM:
→

Code:

[b]KUROSHITSUJI[/b]/[i]Ciel Phantomhive[/i]

CUSTOM RANK:
→ River Sprite

OFFICIAL TITLE:
→ Rain in the Desert

Finally finished, at least I hope. I'm just now wrapping this up at almost 7:30AM, so if there is anything I've missed or anything that doesn't add up, please let me know and I will fix it once I've had a bit of sleep.

~Uri

REVISE

It's very good overall, unique, and intriguing to say the least. However, just one thing:

1. Alchemic ability: there is no motion in alchemy at all. You have to create something from something else otherwise it isn't a science. Think about equivalent exchange. Also, adding alkahestry to the mix makes it two abilities. What exactly do you want your end result to be? We can discuss it a work it out. ^_^

A few things have come up in my personal life, so it may take me a few more days to get back to you. Just letting you know I haven't run off, just can't focus on this right now.

~Uri

That's fine! Take your time <3