Application
OOC INFORMATION:
Name: Cristina
CHARACTER INFORMATION:
Full Name: Janus Valentin Stark winter is coming
Race: Other
Janus has the power of inception. As with his elder brother, the ability began to rear its head with the death of Lord Stark and the onset of puberty. Essentially, Janus is capable of sending thoughts or ideas into unshielded minds around him. The minds affected assimilate these thoughts as if they were self-generated. Janus is not aware of his ability, though he has noticed that people tend to pick up on his emotions very quickly. Janus also has very little control over his ability. This is likely for the better, as inception, if misused, can be extremely volatile and dangerous.
On a side note, his ability renders his mind unreadable.
Occupation: Minor noble/Guard
Faction, if applicable: Neutral/Royal House
Reputation & rumors:
Having been overweight until his mid-teens, Janus is known for being awkward and, at worst, creepy. He is also known for being completely transparent and incapable of lying. The polar opposite of his brother in reputation, Janus is, despite his many supposed absurdities, said to be a hardworking and capable member of the Guard.
The rumors about him are that he:
- Has never gotten a woman into bed
- Pays excessively for whores owing to his lack of finesse
- Is a total mythology freak who has aspirations of using Belief to go all Pygmalion & Galatea
Birthday: February 14
Birth Location: Tyrol
Height: 5'10.5"
Weight: 175 lbs
PB (Played-By): Chris Fawcett
History: While he might have been saved from a middle child complex by the disappearance of his sister (which, at two years old, he was hardly aware of), Janus nonetheless suffers from the age old second son complex. Usually, second sons manifested this in careless and reckless carousing. Since Caelus had from day one decided to take care of that, Janus was left to be the "diligent, capable" son.
That, and he had nothing else going for him. From the get go, Janus was a big ball of Stark. Overweight for much of his early life, he was constantly subject to all manner of bullying. It didn't help that Caelus was a handsome, whiplike creature with boundless amounts of energy. Though the parents Stark tried to push Janus into more active pursuits, the boy proved to be rather defeatist. With nothing else to turn to, Janus hit the books.
Janus was no latent intellect, but he was obsessive. Soon, he was eating through the family library, something Diana was supportive over. But Diana's approval was something Janus never truly saw (a problem which would persist into his adolescence). The world was decidedly Unfair and far less worth his time than the universe he'd discovered in literature. In due time, Janus became a veritable expert on Greek and Roman civilization. He knew mythology like the back of his hands, had silly fantasies of establishing a Balfour empire, and kept his curly hair in either Greek or Roman cuts.
Janus never took well to his mother's subtlety. Led on by his insecurities, he viewed her distance as affirmation that he was always going to be second best, though she had never given Janus reason to believe that Caelus was in any way favored. Janus adored his brother like the sun, the moon, and the stars, and this admiration, coupled with his insecurities and Cael's bullying, led to a staggering bitterness. Janus was the good son, yet for all his goodness he would never be heir.
Quickly enough, Janus learned to live inside his head. Alas, it wasn't ever likely he could act on his fantastical and adventurous impulses. Boy couldn't walk a half a mile without wheezing, and he typically gave out just short of a kilometer. At least in his inner world, he could be normal, perhaps even extraordinary, Ulysses instead of Polyphemus.
But reality hit the fourteen-year-old boy hard when his father died. Janus always wanted to be the golden child, the ideal heir. With his father gone, Janus had lost his shot forever.
It was at this time that his abilities began to bleed through. Janus' ensuing depression touched everyone around him. While they were not consciously aware that it was Janus depressing them, they subconsciously avoided or mistreated him. There was no one that Janus could have a lasting conversation with, and the bullying only got worse.
Fed up with his situation, Janus decided to learn manly pursuits - weapons training, close combat, hunting, horse-riding, cigar-smoking, port-drinking, everything to escape from being 'the fat son'. His late education was much harder without a father in his life, but Janus' obsessive streak shone through. He was very much challenged to PUSH HIMSELF harder than he ever had, to CONQUER these uncharted lands with all the fervor of Akhilleus upon Patroklos' passing. Strangely enough, Caelus was a tremendous help during these tough times and Diana an occasional influence. Consequently, some of his bitterness was mitigated, and he became a little less hesitant about confiding in his family.
In two years, Janus was hardly recognizable. Had he been slender from the get go, perhaps he'd have exhibited the typical Stark frame. As it was, all that corpulence had been worked into big, hard muscle. But at heart, Janus remained an obsessive and morbidly obese Don Quixote. He'd never really gotten over his awkwardness, glaringly emphasized by his tendency to use hifalutin terms and obscure references, but at least he wasn't totally antidotal! He was broad and strong, and his former bullies no longer dared to taunt him where he could hear.
Janus then felt he was capable of carrying on the family tradition. Unlike his brother, he didn't apply for a position in the Guard outright. Eager to meet his mother's expectations, Janus started with small, menial tasks (aka being at Diana's beck and call) and steadily worked his way up. Only when he was one hundred percent sure he would not be rejected did he apply for the Guard. This was a year later, when Janus was 17, putting Caelus' and Janus' official entries into the organization around the same time.
While Janus again found reason to be bitter (Caelus had hardly tried!), he was as helpful as he could be to his suave elder brother. And there was some justice. Janus' efforts have to some extent paid off, as he enjoys a very stable and fairly high status within the rankings. To comfort himself, he likes to think of his career path as the steady graph of y = x, whereas Caelus' path is more of a piecewise function with far too many asymptotes to make much sense.
Personality: Janus is a dork. There is no way around it. His vernacular is peppered with vague cultural references and hifalutin words, so much so that there aren't very many with the patience to suffer his babbling. He enjoys puzzles of every kind and shape, especially those with stories behind them. In fact, Janus has the oddest habit of playing chess with a story. There is an intricate web of politics behind his every move. The queen might be having an affair with the rook, or the bishops might be breaking their vows with each other. Janus isn't aiming to win; he's aiming to stay in character.
That's pretty much his approach to life, as well. He'd like to imagine there's a greater overarching story for him. He could be the next Hector, breaker of horses, or even the mighty Caesar, father of an empire. When Janus hits low points in his life, he tells himself "That's how it is for the heroes. They always lose in the beginning."
Janus also takes a heroic, chivalrous approach to women. He falls in love with every unrelated and unattached woman he meets, at some point. And he falls hard. He tries to be the smooth, gallant Eros to the Psyches of the world, but his natural clumsiness and Other-ability prevent him from being more than a half-assed Casanova try-hard. His obsessive qualities do tend to make their way into his intended beauty's heads and can be so distressing as to send women running. Far, far away. As a result, Janus is often 'heartbroken', an Apollo pining over untouchable Daphnes.
However clumsy and awkward Janus may be in speech and deed, once he is a friend (or lover. Hopefully.), he is the best and most attentive friend one could ask for. He takes note of everything. He'll know your birthday, the day you met, your favorite color, what pisses you off in the morning - nothing escapes his sharp eyes and big heart. Plus, Janus is totally capable of realizing that, yes, he can get suffocating. If you want space, NO PROBLEM, he will give you ALL the space you need. The moment you ask for him again, he will come back as chipper and endearing as ever.
(This gives rise to an amusing dichotomy between Caelus and Janus. Caelus is slick and suave, but has no idea how to handle FEELINGS. Janus cannot do social niceties for the life of him, but he'll take on your feelings like a 21st century shrink.)
Janus has a very bitter side, though. He can (inwardly) scorn sweet-talking, good-looking people like ANYTHING. He holds it against you if it seems like you get everything without effort. He won't tell you that, but he does. (Even Herakles had his labors! No one has the right to be so awesome so easily >:{ ) Janus hasn't and never will forget the bullies of his childhood, even his own brother. (Begrudgingly, Janus does acknowledge that Caelus didn't take well to other kids' transgressions. But still!)
Janus loves his family, but he can't help but feel unsure of his place. (Though Cael's hazing aside, neither Diana nor Caelus has given Janus any reason to feel too unloved.) Janus lives in hyperbole, so he does not really notice his mother's more subdued form of affection. What he usually notices is her coolness and professionalism, thus Janus often struggles to find a middle ground between mother and Guard. He is also completely confused by Caelus' alternations between bullying and camaraderie.
He handles the case of his missing sister far better than Caelus and Diana do. Needless to say, the youngest Stark has some beautiful and tear-jerking story all wrapped up in Janus' head, and this fantasy keeps him strong and hopeful.
For all his supposed competence (only when he's interested), Janus is not very smart, but he's a grind to compensate (again, when he's interested). He is not so much diligent as obsessive. He likes to make himself appear the competent son (and in some ways, he can be), but that's mostly because he's woven a story for himself and he intends to stick through to it. In fact, without some sort of 'plot fodder', Janus is painfully fatalist, as evidenced by his earlier resignation to his weight.
It is worth nothing than Janus loves to write, particularly fiction and poetry. His talent for the written word more than makes up for his odd speech patterns. He has a tendency to build extremely intricate plots and multi-dimensional characters. His poetry makes masterful use of simile and metaphor, always emphasizing imagery without getting overly showy. His bitterness manifests itself in very funny satire. But he is a little weak with non-fiction, with a tendency to be overwrought and long-winding.
Personality Keywords: fanciful, quixotic, romantic, obsessive, awkward, dorky, overbearing
Appearance: With his plentiful fat converted into muscle mass, Janus is very stocky, a far cry from his slender relatives. He has an innocent, likable face. It crinkles very endearingly into a chinky, cheeky smile when he's pleased. His features are very soft and wide, very much unlike his brother's sharper, rakish bone structure. Nonetheless, he has his own charm. Which is greatly obscured by his ridiculous behavior, but hey, give the boy some credit.
Janus has never quite escaped his habit of walking with a somewhat slouchy shuffle. Though he no longer has any bullies to avoid and he's lost the belly that was so often victim to pinching, old habits die very, very hard. In line with that state of mind, Janus dresses in a very non-descript, conventional was. Even his Guard uniform bothers him somewhat, as it easily separates him from a crowd.
Languages Known: English, Greek, Latin (and, to a lesser degree:) German, Dutch, French
Skills: combat (somewhat in contrast to his cuddly nature, he likes to fight roughly and bare-handedly. boy's got a lot of pent up bitterness.), handling dogs and horses, obsessing over things, history!, being there and being square, writing!, weapon design, some familiarity with gemstones and such
Strengths: he is big and strong, INCEPTION, sincere, reliable, idealistic, loyal, if he could actually get a girl he would be THE BEST at keeping her and making her happy
Weaknesses: BITTER. SO BITTER, no control over inception, can be slow on the uptake, not very bright but a grind, needs to be obsessed with something to spend time on it, extremely awkward and hifalutin, not very good at keeping track of time, too emotional, overdramatic, can't talk a girl out of her skirts to save his life, DON QUIXOTE