✘ 0. application
.the mundane;
» Name: Ang
» Journal: angelkaizer
» Contact: banditpenchant [AIM]
» How did you hear about us? Already here~
.the myth;
» God(dess): Paris
» Reference: in2greece & greek mythology link & wikipedia
» Family: {mother & father} Hecuba & Priam ; {spouse} Oenone [lover], Helen
» Played By: Jake Gyllenhaal Chris Evans
» Human Alias: Julian Alexander
» Human Age: 28
» God of...: Mortal!
» Flair: N/A
» Flair Type: N/A
» Fitting in: A client host at a large bank; that is, the guy that takes out wealthy and important clients to do things like golfing, get drinks, etc. while convincing them to invest or keep their business, wealth, and properties at that bank (yes, this exists; my friend is one.. lucky bastard).
» History:
Paris was born to Hecuba and King Priam of Troy. Two nights before his birth, his mother had a dream of giving birth to a flaming torch; the seer, Aesacus, interpreted it as the boy was fated to be the downfall of Troy. When the boy was born, he was spared by both Priam and Hecuba. Instead, Priam prevailed upon his chief herdsman, Agelaus, to take the child away into the mountains. The herdsman agreed. Paris was left on the side of Mount Ida to die. Returning after nine days, Agelaus found the child alive and, in awe, took the infant home to raise as his own. He returned to Priam bearing a dog's tongue as evidence of the deed's completion.
When still rather young, he rescued stolen animals and it was around this time he met and fell in love with the nymph Oenone of Mount Ida. He claimed that he would never leave her, but Oenone, much wiser than the young Paris, knew that he would eventually fall in love with a woman of Europe. Despite this knowledge, she insisted that should he ever receive any injury, he should return to her because she would be the only person capable of healing it.
At the same time, Paris began to train his “father's” bulls against one another to practice until he noticed that one bull stood out from the rest, winning continually. He then began to set this bull against rival herdsmen's, then farther and farther away. His bull won them all. Eventually, he offered a golden crown to any bull that could defeat his. Ares took an interest in the contest and, turning himself into a bull, easily beat the other. Despite this cheating of sorts, Paris did not hesitate to hand over the crown as promised. It was this honesty in judgment that first brought Paris to the attention of the Gods.
Up on Mount Olympus, during the marriage of Peleus and Thetis, Eris was bitter that she hadn't been invited and threw a golden apple (sometimes called the Apple of Discord) inscribed with the words “For the most beautiful” into the banquet in an attempt to provoke the Goddesses to argue. The catalyst worked. In the end, the three thought to be the most beautiful where Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera. To avoid a quarrel, they asked Zeus to judge for them. Knowing that such a decision would bring negative attitudes from whomever he shunned, he appointed Paris to select the most beautiful. Each goddess went to the Mount and offered Paris a bribe. Athena offered skill, wisdom, and better success in battles; Hera offered to allow him to reign the continents of Europe and Asia; Aphrodite offered him the love of the most beautiful woman on Earth, Helen of Sparta. After some debate, Paris selected Aphrodite.
From this moment on, Oenone was forgotten as his love. He forgot the Goddesses he had angered, the country he was stealing the wife from, and didn't seem to care that fair Helen was already married and the mother of a child.
When King Priam of Troy sent for a bull from Mount Ida, Paris accompanied the animal. His bull, as always, defeated all of the others, including his brothers'. When his brother, Deiphobus, attacked him, he took refuse at the alter of Zeus. The seer Cassandra declared that Paris was her brother and King Priam accepted him as a son once more. In this way, Paris was returned as a Prince of Troy.
Paris traveled not long after to Sparta to collect his prize. He was welcomed as a guest of King Menelaus. The king had to leave to Crete and asked his wife, Queen Helen, to attend to their guest. It was during this time that she met Prince Paris of Troy and, as promised, fell quickly in love with him. The man insisted that Helen away with him back to Troy and she agreed; “As for the consequences of the abduction, there was, according to Paris, nothing to fear, for never before had a war broke out for a stolen woman.” Paris and Helen consummated their marriage on the island of Cranae before King Menelaus had returned.
When Menelaus discovered the treachery, he and his brother, Agamemnon, assembled the potential suitors who, so long ago had vowed to protect and respect whomever Helen chose to marry among them. The army assembled with the intent to sail to Troy and reclaim their beloved Queen. When Paris declared he would not return her, the Trojan War began.
Late in the war, as an effort to discourage further bloodshed, Menelaus challenged Paris to a duel. He accepted at his brother, Hector's, insistence. When Menelaus was winning, Aphrodite swooped down to release him from the King's grasp and then to hide him in mist; instead of finishing the battle, Paris left with Helen.
Not long after, Hector was killed in battle by Achilles. In response to this act, Paris set out to kill Achilles. With the help of the God Apollo (or perhaps only the blessing), he shot the legend with an arrow from far behind, killing him almost instantly. It is after this great glory that Paris was ripped from his life at Troy to arrive in New York City....bastardCronus.
» Personality:
Paris is an unintentionally charming man. He's attractive, charismatic, and pretty decent at talking to people. Though he can be remarkably awkward at times, he's very good at articulating his opinions and hearing the opinions of others, even if he chooses to ignore them most often. He is spontaneous. The man knows what he wants, but he often has a difficult time of getting it without help and will call in favors as often as necessary to get the job done. Of course, he will always repay them.
The mortal is a social creature. Sometimes he prefers to think on his own, sometimes he enjoys collaborating on projects. Overall, he enjoys the company of loyal friends and, in exchange, is fiercely loyal himself, holding great respect for both courage and consistency, partially because he lacks these things himself. This was what he always respected most in Hector and why he strove to be like his elder brother. His loyalties may spontaneously flop when he moves on to the next thing, becoming a bit obsessive with whatever his mind is focused on. He may or may not be trusting depending upon the person and circumstance, for he is neither paranoid or naïve and tries to avoid acting jaded by the world.
Buried beneath his awkward charisma and rabid dedication is a more complex man. Integrity is enormously important to him. If the man gives his word, he will keep it without fail. It is this sense of honesty, the same kind that granted Ares the gold crown and allowed him to judge Aphrodite to be the most beautiful, which he prides himself on. Though it is not plain honesty, as he may still find the truth to be malleable depending upon his needs, he will not outright lie. When three women are each beautiful in different ways, he finds no harm in declaring any one more beautiful than the other. In this way, Paris is also partially selfish. In the end, his own happiness and needs matter more to him than anyone else's. While he is still generally a considerate person, his own needs will inevitably trump others'.
Because he was cast out of his kingdom and only later returned to royalty, he has since felt a great deal of expectations he was meant to fill, including hearing tell of his destruction of the city. Paris felt there was always a role he was meant to play rather than being himself and he is happy to fulfill those roles for the people that need them so long as they do not conflict with his own personality, morals, and code. This also caused a rebellious nature within him, which later granted him no remorse in his stealing of Queen Helen. While he will work to help others and to validate the trust in him, needing to prove his worth and that he deserves his title, Paris will inevitably feel overwhelmed by too much pressure and return to his lethargic nature. In the most dire of circumstances, he will usually steer toward the right or good choice; when the wrong choice will strongly benefit him, however, he may opt for that instead. Every choice is a chain of events, where betraying a person now may mean losing an opportunity later and, though he's aware of this fact, he often ignores it and prefers to do what suits him in the moment.
Primarily as a result of his occupation, Paris will be educated and well-versed in subjects such as history, art, alcohol, politics, and currencies. Basically anything related to finer living and advanced security technology will fall into the realm of at least some understanding. He is opinionated when it suits him and not particularly accepting of authority, though he will act as such when he feels it is appropriate. The man prefers to blend in rather than to stand out most of the time. More of a Type-A personality, Paris prefers to work hard and to get things done than to complain about them without results.
Often appearing extroverted and outgoing, there is absolutely no fear of speaking his mind to anyone at any time. Paris understands common sense and so he may choose to play a role in order to avoid conflict, as he does not enjoy fighting unless absolutely necessary, but he is never afraid to speak. He lacks a healthy respect for boundaries, in regards to roles and what is appropriate, and will often cross them, recognizing the consequences but not acknowledging that he has actually committed any negative act.
Endeavoring to avoid judgment, Paris enjoys getting to know people and tries not to think less of them for any ills they might have committed, partially because it would be hypocritical to do so. He's relatively fair in his opinions, as evidenced by Zeus choosing him to determine the recipient of Eris' apple. Part of his open-minded nature comes from his utter distaste in conflict. He tries to get along with everyone all the time, finding no desire to hold grudges and enjoying being liked. When there is conflict, he will usually try to relieve the tension; when that is not possible, Paris will always prefer to walk away rather than to continue arguing. When, inevitably, Paris is forced into conflict, he will fight for all his worth-- long enough to get away.
Perhaps the most defining characteristic of Paris, however, is that he is a hopeless romantic. He believes in true love above all things and that love conquers all. While he does not believe in one love, as evidenced by his feelings shifting from Oenone to Helen, he does believe that love is all encompassing and should be experienced by everyone. When Paris is in love, it is the most important thing in his life and everything else, including family, friends, obligations, and duties all fall second. He commits himself to that person body and soul, the same sort of obsession displayed in his fancies or interests carrying over to his relationships as well.
» Sample Journal:
I was supposed to meet this client today at noon. The guy is twenty minutes late.
Twenty minutes.
When he shows up, he doesn't apologize at all.. and then the first thing he does is start going on about this woman he's trying to put out of business. This poor woman who owns a small store that's competing with his chain of stores. His million dollar salary. It's his choice.
I know it is.
He's a client. I couldn't argue with him if I wanted to, but I don't want to. His status as a client prevents any kind of disagreement at all. I had to sit there and listen to him talk about this woman for eighteen minutes.
Thirty eight minutes of wasted time.
Then he tells me he has to leave in twelve minutes. He means twenty-two, but the guy just couldn't do math to save his life, you know? He tells me I have ten minutes to convince him not to withdraw the money he has in his account at our institution. I know he's just looking for a bribe.
So I offer him a discount.
I offer him a vacation.
I offer him a personal driver for the rest of his time in New York.
He stays with us because they always stay with us; there's no reason to change. He feels better about the free things he received and I feel better because I kept my job.
I tried to stop at the woman's store on the way home, but the store was closed. I just wanted to help her. I wanted her to succeed so that maybe he would know what it was like not to get what he always wanted and because he'll never be out of a job whether she's in business or not.
But the store was closed.
» Sample Roleplay:
Without having much recollection of how he had gotten from his apartment to this place, Paris walked along one of the paved paths in Central Park. It was coming unto dusk now and it only encouraged the blase mood he knew had taken over. Hector had abandoned him. He was trying to prevent himself from dwelling, but it was beginning to gnaw at his mind in this moment; the obsession with a potentially perceived betrayal from his dearest brother. Whenever a person might try to think of something other than the one thing they don't want to think about, inevitably their whole thoughts are consumed by that one thing. The only way to satiate it was to find a genuine distraction.
Although not knowing how he had come to this place, he knew exactly where he was going. One of the clients of his bank had remarked today about the middle-aged single mother he was trying to put out of business, the little shop she had opened was competing with his chain of markets. He couldn't remember her name; it didn't matter. He knew he wanted to support her while he could. It wasn't the most grand gesture but it was conveniently nearby and he had never been one for championing causes and causing conflict when it wasn't necessary. Paris forced a smile on his lips as he emerged from Central Park out onto Fifth Avenue, progressing down a side street.
Pausing at the small store, he saw that the woman was inside, closing up for the night. It was the perfect setting, to have no one around to chastise him for wasting his money. She appeared from the back as he had approached, looking over at him when he lifted a fist to knock lightly on the window.
"Hey. Excuse me, ma'am?" He called out with a friendly voice, wanting her to let him in. For now, he wanted to help someone, to prove that he wasn't the warmonger they all seemed to think he was. "I need some flowers, please? My wife is furious with me and I really need to make it up to her."
"Awfully late," she remarked, hands clasping firmly to the broom in her one hand. The woman licked her lips as she inched slowly toward the door, eventually just on the other side. "I'm afraid we're closed, son. Come back tomorrow."
"Please. I need this. I really screwed up." He still wasn't convinced of that fact, but no use letting her think otherwise.
"I'm sorry, sir. Tomorrow." The woman's knuckles were now white on the broom handle, obviously made nervous by a man, however innocent looking, insisting on entering her store past hours. Paris didn't blame her in a city like this, where everyone was ripe with accusations and hatred. Waving a short goodbye, the woman was obviously content with seeing him off and walked back into the back room again, leaving him standing there alone.