Profile
PLAYER
NAME: Andy
PERSONAL LJ: nique
EMAIL/MESSENGER(S): 2icsection9@gmail.com / dominoAK47 (AIM)
CHARACTER
NAME: Vicious
FANDOM: Cowboy Bebop
CANON SYNOPSIS:
Canon Character
Vicious represents a study in conflicting emotions and motivations. Taken in by Mao Yenrai, a capo from Tharsis' Red Dragon crime syndicate, Vicious came of age in a world of mafia violence, where loyalty was everything and problems could be solved with a well-placed bullet. Together with Spike Spiegel, Vicious helped the Red Dragon maintain its grip on Mars' underworld. Then Julia stepped in, and everything changed. While the exact details are murky, a rift opened between the partners, Spike trying to leave the syndicate with Julia, and Vicious determined not to let either of them go. In the end, though, both slipped through his grasp. Spike, believed dead by the syndicate, because a bounty hunter while Julia went into hiding. Vicious departed Mars for a time to serve in the Titan war, a staging ground for different friendships and betrayals, before returning to Mars and the Red Dragons, where he began a bloody climb to the top, assassinating Mao for 'losing his fangs' and brokering a deal with a rival syndicate, a move that lured Spike back in, and began a bloody cycle of revenge that culminated with Vicious' coup and subsequent murder of the syndicate's leaders, the Van, and finally a cataclysmic confrontation with his former friend.
As his name suggests, Vicious can be a cruel person, cold and calculating to the core. He is not, however, a man prone to excessive, needless violence. In fact, he is extremely laconic in nature, speaking rarely, employing only a minimum of movement and effort. This is not laziness, but instead a reflection of his deeply introverted nature. Behind all that silence, Vicious is always watching and planning. His betrayal of Mao Yenrai is proof that for Vicious, loyalty is not a given. It is something that must be earned and maintained, and failing to do so has dire consequences, for while he is a reserved man, he is also one without remorse or mercy, and betrayal is met with swift and brutal punishment. For Vicious, there can be no compromise. The path of bloodthirsty ambition is the only path, and those who stray from it, or a lured away by softer emotions, deserve nothing more than his swift and brutal wrath. Vicious is a manipulator. While he can be provoked to sudden fits of violent rage, he is more likely to manipulate things behind the scenes, setting traps that once sprung, are nearly inescapable. He seems to posses a nihilistic view on life, and while his ultimate goal appears to be the acquisition of as much power as possible, it is also evident that this serves simply as motivation for him. In the series, when he has finally killed his way to the head of the Red Dragons, he chooses to throw it all away in order to finally settle his score with Spike.
Whatever feelings of love or friendship Vicious may have are warped to a considerable degree. To be loved by him, or to have his friendship, is to be tangled in a distorted web of obsession. He lets very few get close to him, and those who do are forced to walk a very fine line--any betrayal, and action that might be mistaken for weakness, can land a person on the wrong side of the man's formidable wrath. For Vicious, there is nothing more abhorrent than weakness. He is an arrogant man, sure of his own superiority, and refuses to serve anyone he feels is unworthy, regardless of their rank or power. This is one of his greatest weaknesses, for while others might be content to sit back silently and wait until they could earn a better position for themselves, Vicious makes no secret of his own disgust for those he feels have outlived their usefulness, even if he is disciplined enough to wait for the right time to strike. To cross Vicious is to face annihilation, soon or later. In the series itself, there are very few who come into conflict with the man who do not eventually meet an untimely end.
CALABRIA-VERSE BACKGROUND:
While the circumstances surrounding his birth and early childhood remain unknown, Vicious was brought into the Vescovo family under the tutelage of a capo by the name of Mao Yenrai. He started simply enough, running errands and dealing with similar mundane Family business, while simultaneously receiving an education in both academics and the nuts and bolts of a life in the underworld. Vicious proved a very apt student, and excelled at both the scholarly pursuits presented to him as well as the physical skills required of a gunman for the mob. While he proved quite capable of handling a large array of firearms, Vicious found his true calling in swordsmanship and was soon wielding his prized katana even in the face of opponents armed with guns. By the time he was in his late teens, Vicious was serving as a loyal soldati for the Vescovo family.
While Mao had managed to teach his 'son' a great many things, it became increasingly obvious that Vicious resembled his name far too much for the older man's comfort. Whatever had happened to him as a child had left Vicious void of most emotions--he seemed pathologically unable to relate to others and while he was rarely outwardly violent it was clear he possessed absolutely no sense of morality. The only thing which kept him in check was his sense of loyalty, and even then the loyalty was to the organization that the Vescovo family represented, not to any person within it--not even Mao. Mao could easily see the oncoming disaster and did his best to offset it, hoping to teach Vicious a little humanity to go along with the rest of his skills by introducing him to another of Vescovo's young soldati. It seemed to work--the two young men worked well as partners, and the other's lazy, charming nature seemed to work its way under Vicious' cold exterior, cracking the ice a little for the first time in anyone's remembrance.
At the same time, however, Vicious began to chafe under the years of tradition the Vescovos represented. He was intelligent and ambitious, and resented something so outdated and senseless should keep him down in the ranks when he felt he was destined for much more. This occasionally brought the wrath of senior members down on his head, but Vicious, smart as he was, always managed to keep just to one side of the line that might have found him on the receiving end of a bullet from a Vescovo gun. Outwardly, the reprimands seemed to work, and Vicious went back to doing as he was told, but in reality, having tested the limits of the bonds which hold the Family together, he has opted to sit back and wait for an opportunity which might allow him to enact the sort of revival that has taken place with the Monacello. There are rumors that the man has acquired something of a drug habit, perhaps explaining his rather sallow, worn appearance and sudden violent outbursts from the otherwise quiet, introverted man. If he has, it has not affected the way in which he carries out his duties to the Vescovo family.
CURRENT SITUATION:
Vicious has never bothered to cultivate a life to cover for his work for the Vescovo family, and is clearly a mafia man, choosing to live on his own in a small apartment rented in Vescovo territory, kept as austere looking as Vicious himself seems to be. He is not a man who affords himself many luxuries aside from his impeccably tailored wardrobe. Most of his acquaintances work for or are otherwise affiliated with the Vescovo Family in some way, and they are simply that--acquaintances. The number of people who count themselves as Vicious' friends are very small indeed--and with good reason. He is not the sort of person that most would want to spend any extended time around.
Vicious has spent the last several months away from Reggio di Calabria following the death of his old mentor, Mao Yenrai, in somewhat questionable circumstances. Some feel Vicious left to deal with his feelings over the capo's death on his own; those who know the man better wonder if Vicious himself had something to do with it. Without Mao around, it remains to be seen if Vicious can be kept on a Vescovo leash, or if the man's arrogance and ambition will be his own undoing.
ALIGNMENT: Vescovo
RANK: Caporegime
SAMPLES
THIRD PERSON:
The sleek grey car wound its way towards the city center, lights glittering along the coast as it approached. Many people would have appreciated the welcoming view, or felt a sense of relief at returning home after so long an absence. The car's driver, however, felt no such feelings. For Vicious, the homecoming was simply a new opportunity, a chance to get back to the business he'd been cut off from for too long. The 'vacation' hadn't been one of his choosing, though he was sure that the word spread around Reggio di Calabria had implied differently. For all that there had been talk that his exile was for his own good--a chance to compose himself after the death of his life-long mentor--it had been a punishment, and nothing more. Vicious knew that the Vescovo elders suspected him in Mao's demise, though the number of enemies the old man had racked up between the Asian triads of his youth and the swaggering mafiosos of his adopted homeland meant they had no way to prove the young man's involvement. That hadn't meant they couldn't punish him for it, and punish they had.
Vicious' steel grey eyes narrowed slightly, the only sign of his anger as he continued into the city. If they thought that they had broken him, they were wrong. All they had done was steel his resolve. He would show those pathetic corpses what it meant to cross him. Not now, but some day. It was a matter of patience and planning. Without removing his eyes from the road, he reached over and scooped up the cellphone sitting in the seat next to him, flipping it open and pressing a button to activate the speed dial. There was a pause while it rang twice before being answered.
"I'm back. I trust everything is still in order?" He maneuvered the car down a side street while listening to the reply from the other end, driving into the welcoming arms of Vescovo territory. "Good. I'll contact you again soon." Without waiting for a reply, he snapped the phone shut again and tossed it aside, before parking the car along the curb in front of his old apartment. It was time to get back to work.
FIRST PERSON:
I apologize for my prolonged absence. There was business outside of the city which I had no choice but to attend to. I trust business has continued as usual while I've been away?
NOTES: I've purposely kept some details in Vicious' in-game history vague to allow for other characters (Spike and Julia in particular) to potentially be apped.
NAME: Andy
PERSONAL LJ: nique
EMAIL/MESSENGER(S): 2icsection9@gmail.com / dominoAK47 (AIM)
CHARACTER
NAME: Vicious
FANDOM: Cowboy Bebop
CANON SYNOPSIS:
Canon Character
Vicious represents a study in conflicting emotions and motivations. Taken in by Mao Yenrai, a capo from Tharsis' Red Dragon crime syndicate, Vicious came of age in a world of mafia violence, where loyalty was everything and problems could be solved with a well-placed bullet. Together with Spike Spiegel, Vicious helped the Red Dragon maintain its grip on Mars' underworld. Then Julia stepped in, and everything changed. While the exact details are murky, a rift opened between the partners, Spike trying to leave the syndicate with Julia, and Vicious determined not to let either of them go. In the end, though, both slipped through his grasp. Spike, believed dead by the syndicate, because a bounty hunter while Julia went into hiding. Vicious departed Mars for a time to serve in the Titan war, a staging ground for different friendships and betrayals, before returning to Mars and the Red Dragons, where he began a bloody climb to the top, assassinating Mao for 'losing his fangs' and brokering a deal with a rival syndicate, a move that lured Spike back in, and began a bloody cycle of revenge that culminated with Vicious' coup and subsequent murder of the syndicate's leaders, the Van, and finally a cataclysmic confrontation with his former friend.
As his name suggests, Vicious can be a cruel person, cold and calculating to the core. He is not, however, a man prone to excessive, needless violence. In fact, he is extremely laconic in nature, speaking rarely, employing only a minimum of movement and effort. This is not laziness, but instead a reflection of his deeply introverted nature. Behind all that silence, Vicious is always watching and planning. His betrayal of Mao Yenrai is proof that for Vicious, loyalty is not a given. It is something that must be earned and maintained, and failing to do so has dire consequences, for while he is a reserved man, he is also one without remorse or mercy, and betrayal is met with swift and brutal punishment. For Vicious, there can be no compromise. The path of bloodthirsty ambition is the only path, and those who stray from it, or a lured away by softer emotions, deserve nothing more than his swift and brutal wrath. Vicious is a manipulator. While he can be provoked to sudden fits of violent rage, he is more likely to manipulate things behind the scenes, setting traps that once sprung, are nearly inescapable. He seems to posses a nihilistic view on life, and while his ultimate goal appears to be the acquisition of as much power as possible, it is also evident that this serves simply as motivation for him. In the series, when he has finally killed his way to the head of the Red Dragons, he chooses to throw it all away in order to finally settle his score with Spike.
Whatever feelings of love or friendship Vicious may have are warped to a considerable degree. To be loved by him, or to have his friendship, is to be tangled in a distorted web of obsession. He lets very few get close to him, and those who do are forced to walk a very fine line--any betrayal, and action that might be mistaken for weakness, can land a person on the wrong side of the man's formidable wrath. For Vicious, there is nothing more abhorrent than weakness. He is an arrogant man, sure of his own superiority, and refuses to serve anyone he feels is unworthy, regardless of their rank or power. This is one of his greatest weaknesses, for while others might be content to sit back silently and wait until they could earn a better position for themselves, Vicious makes no secret of his own disgust for those he feels have outlived their usefulness, even if he is disciplined enough to wait for the right time to strike. To cross Vicious is to face annihilation, soon or later. In the series itself, there are very few who come into conflict with the man who do not eventually meet an untimely end.
CALABRIA-VERSE BACKGROUND:
While the circumstances surrounding his birth and early childhood remain unknown, Vicious was brought into the Vescovo family under the tutelage of a capo by the name of Mao Yenrai. He started simply enough, running errands and dealing with similar mundane Family business, while simultaneously receiving an education in both academics and the nuts and bolts of a life in the underworld. Vicious proved a very apt student, and excelled at both the scholarly pursuits presented to him as well as the physical skills required of a gunman for the mob. While he proved quite capable of handling a large array of firearms, Vicious found his true calling in swordsmanship and was soon wielding his prized katana even in the face of opponents armed with guns. By the time he was in his late teens, Vicious was serving as a loyal soldati for the Vescovo family.
While Mao had managed to teach his 'son' a great many things, it became increasingly obvious that Vicious resembled his name far too much for the older man's comfort. Whatever had happened to him as a child had left Vicious void of most emotions--he seemed pathologically unable to relate to others and while he was rarely outwardly violent it was clear he possessed absolutely no sense of morality. The only thing which kept him in check was his sense of loyalty, and even then the loyalty was to the organization that the Vescovo family represented, not to any person within it--not even Mao. Mao could easily see the oncoming disaster and did his best to offset it, hoping to teach Vicious a little humanity to go along with the rest of his skills by introducing him to another of Vescovo's young soldati. It seemed to work--the two young men worked well as partners, and the other's lazy, charming nature seemed to work its way under Vicious' cold exterior, cracking the ice a little for the first time in anyone's remembrance.
At the same time, however, Vicious began to chafe under the years of tradition the Vescovos represented. He was intelligent and ambitious, and resented something so outdated and senseless should keep him down in the ranks when he felt he was destined for much more. This occasionally brought the wrath of senior members down on his head, but Vicious, smart as he was, always managed to keep just to one side of the line that might have found him on the receiving end of a bullet from a Vescovo gun. Outwardly, the reprimands seemed to work, and Vicious went back to doing as he was told, but in reality, having tested the limits of the bonds which hold the Family together, he has opted to sit back and wait for an opportunity which might allow him to enact the sort of revival that has taken place with the Monacello. There are rumors that the man has acquired something of a drug habit, perhaps explaining his rather sallow, worn appearance and sudden violent outbursts from the otherwise quiet, introverted man. If he has, it has not affected the way in which he carries out his duties to the Vescovo family.
CURRENT SITUATION:
Vicious has never bothered to cultivate a life to cover for his work for the Vescovo family, and is clearly a mafia man, choosing to live on his own in a small apartment rented in Vescovo territory, kept as austere looking as Vicious himself seems to be. He is not a man who affords himself many luxuries aside from his impeccably tailored wardrobe. Most of his acquaintances work for or are otherwise affiliated with the Vescovo Family in some way, and they are simply that--acquaintances. The number of people who count themselves as Vicious' friends are very small indeed--and with good reason. He is not the sort of person that most would want to spend any extended time around.
Vicious has spent the last several months away from Reggio di Calabria following the death of his old mentor, Mao Yenrai, in somewhat questionable circumstances. Some feel Vicious left to deal with his feelings over the capo's death on his own; those who know the man better wonder if Vicious himself had something to do with it. Without Mao around, it remains to be seen if Vicious can be kept on a Vescovo leash, or if the man's arrogance and ambition will be his own undoing.
ALIGNMENT: Vescovo
RANK: Caporegime
SAMPLES
THIRD PERSON:
The sleek grey car wound its way towards the city center, lights glittering along the coast as it approached. Many people would have appreciated the welcoming view, or felt a sense of relief at returning home after so long an absence. The car's driver, however, felt no such feelings. For Vicious, the homecoming was simply a new opportunity, a chance to get back to the business he'd been cut off from for too long. The 'vacation' hadn't been one of his choosing, though he was sure that the word spread around Reggio di Calabria had implied differently. For all that there had been talk that his exile was for his own good--a chance to compose himself after the death of his life-long mentor--it had been a punishment, and nothing more. Vicious knew that the Vescovo elders suspected him in Mao's demise, though the number of enemies the old man had racked up between the Asian triads of his youth and the swaggering mafiosos of his adopted homeland meant they had no way to prove the young man's involvement. That hadn't meant they couldn't punish him for it, and punish they had.
Vicious' steel grey eyes narrowed slightly, the only sign of his anger as he continued into the city. If they thought that they had broken him, they were wrong. All they had done was steel his resolve. He would show those pathetic corpses what it meant to cross him. Not now, but some day. It was a matter of patience and planning. Without removing his eyes from the road, he reached over and scooped up the cellphone sitting in the seat next to him, flipping it open and pressing a button to activate the speed dial. There was a pause while it rang twice before being answered.
"I'm back. I trust everything is still in order?" He maneuvered the car down a side street while listening to the reply from the other end, driving into the welcoming arms of Vescovo territory. "Good. I'll contact you again soon." Without waiting for a reply, he snapped the phone shut again and tossed it aside, before parking the car along the curb in front of his old apartment. It was time to get back to work.
FIRST PERSON:
I apologize for my prolonged absence. There was business outside of the city which I had no choice but to attend to. I trust business has continued as usual while I've been away?
NOTES: I've purposely kept some details in Vicious' in-game history vague to allow for other characters (Spike and Julia in particular) to potentially be apped.