App Copy - Maison de Portes
Player's Name: Birdy
Contact info: shirhanblade (AIM), kyanve@gmail.com, kyanve (Plurk)
LJ: shirhan_blade
Character: Giotto
Canon: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!
Version: Manga
Canon Point: Should be just post Future Arc and just before Inheritance Arc.
Age: ~100, appears early-30's.
Gender: Male
History: Have a wiki link. Giotto was Italian-born, and childhood friends with a ruffian we all now know as G; it's likely that his childhood was spent in and out of fights partly thanks to that association, although the two of them were generally in it for "good reasons" - getting in fights with the ones that were picking on others. As they grew up, they ended up gaining a few others in their little band, and their occasional efforts at protecting the weak went from playground bullies to the criminal element and corrupt authorities; he met one of his other good friends, Cozarto Simon, after they basically clonked heads both trying to help a mutual acquaintance. Cozarto was starting to pick up his own gang, but became fast, close friends with Giotto, and the two of them backed each other up.
After a while, as it became apparent the things they were fighting were bigger and nastier than they could really take on as they were, Cozarto suggested that Giotto try to turn his small gang into something solid and organized - to gather a vigilante group that would deal with the people that were outside or above the reach of the law, or even the law itself when that turned corrupt; to protect the weak and help the people no-one else would. This idea caused the formation of the Vongola; the first parts of the Famiglia were associates of Giotto's from all walks of life - G, the street ruffian; Knuckle, the boxer; Ugetsu, the foreign swordsman and musician; Lampo, the noble prince; Daemon Spade, the noble and illusionist; and Alaude, a foreign intelligence agent. That group became the core Guardians, and made a pact with some form of spirits that made them the Guardians of a set of rings, items that would allow them to channel their own will and life force into power, also one of the Tri Ni Sette, a collection of artifacts said to have the power to remake the world if all three sets were ever brought together. The Simon group earned a set unrelated to the Tri-ni-Sette, as an acknowledgment of them as supporters of the Vongola; before the Vendice, the somewhat supernatural lawkeepers, Giotto and Cozarto swore an oath to support each other and that the two Families would never turn against each other.
From there, the Vongola ended up recruiting others until they'd grown into a formidable force, something that upset many organized crime groups that'd gotten used to doing as they pleased unchecked; Giotto won the first few rounds of the multi-front war in the shadows, and for a time, it seemed like things might settle down and be peaceful. As someone that didn't particularly want to perpetuate violence unnecessarily, he began dismantling the outright "military" force of the Vongola, something that turned out to be a mistake - the Family's enemies waited until the Vongola had weakened themselves enough to be easy prey for an ambush.
There was a surprise attack on one of their main bases; the assault had many casualties, one of them being Elena, Daemon Spade's lover. The illusionist turned bitter and frustrated, blaming Giotto's pacifism and empathy for her death, and came to the conclusion that the only way the Vongola could survive and accomplish anything was to stop relying so much on principles and become the biggest monsters on the field, something none of the other Famiglia would dare challenge; while Giotto admitted that dismantling things to that extent was a mistake, he refused that set of ideals. Being the Mist Guardian and therefore someone that basically existed for subtlety, Spade held his peace after that, not directly challenging Giotto, but set to work behind the scenes to try to remake the Family into what he thought they should be.
With the fighting renewed, Giotto found himself leading tactical engagements once again; for a while, Spade's plotting didn't really have any visible effect. Then, Simon's gang was outnumbered and surrounded elsewhere, away from the main Vongola force; Giotto sent out a letter with orders for a group of Vongola to go rescue them, planning to send away part of his own force from their front to rescue his friend. Spade volunteered to be the one carrying the letter, and subverted the orders; instead of the force that was supposed to go, he sent what was supposed to be a small group of his own followers to assassinate the Simon group and "remove the distraction". Fortunately for Cozarto, Giotto had managed to predict that Spade was up to something, and had sent the rest of the Guardians along to sneak in, replace themselves with Spade's men, and get Cozarto and his group out of the spot they were in. Afterwards, Cozarto decided it was better to fade into the shadows and let Spade think he'd won; he got Giotto to agree to this, and the Simon Family let the world believe their main leadership had been killed, fading off into the shadows to avoid being used against Giotto again.
While they managed to once again come out on top, there were both other problems and internal conflicts; the main internal conflict turned into a bit of a succession struggle, and it was more politics and force that decided who Giotto passed the rings down to than a peaceful agreement, although Giotto got the last laugh, using his own mastery of the Dying Will flames to seal the power of the Rings, limiting them to only a fraction of what they should've been capable of. Giotto and his Guardians scattered into retirement, with Giotto basically following Ugetsu home to go into hiding in Japan. The circumstances of their deaths aren't listed in canon, although Spade had been researching techniques to turn the mind control into possession, and used that plus the way their spirits were now tied to the Rings to achieve a form of immortality, slipping from body to body and pulling strings from the shadows; meanwhile, Giotto and the others, on their deaths, became the "Wills" of their respective rings.
The current interpretation I've had of the state he's existed in since his death is that he's basically a spirit dwelling within the ring, but has generally not been able to do much from there; while a given successor is alive, he is aware of them and can get a pretty good bead on what sort of person they are and what directions their will goes, but he doesn't actually know any details of what's going on except for bits and pieces that leak through when something's important or emotionally weighted enough. Hence, his knowledge of what's going on in the world is a little hit or miss; he knows the major points of his successor's lives for whatever periods they were actually wearing/carrying the ring, and could probably say a bit about them as people. His ability to communicate is pretty limited - the most he can really do is make it easier or harder to use the Ring's power, maybe if someone's sensitive enough some sense of if there's a conflict of ideologies, but he can only actively speak to them if something unusual happens. So far that's happened twice with Tsuna, once being the "Trial" he was put through that basically used a near-death-experience to give Giotto the chance to test him, the second being during another moment of desperation when he managed to give some support to Tsuna and remove seals he'd placed on the rings when he'd been alive. He hasn't had a lot of contact with all of his successors, and some of them he's likely refused to deal with, although some echo of their memory ends up residing in the ring with him; basically he IS the Will of the Ring.
He has been able to make direct, obvious contact twice as of his canon point - the first time being when Tsuna was basically pushed into a near-death-experience in training to trigger a "Trial" to see if he'd be acknowledged as a worthy successor; Giotto kept his own presence concealed, showing Tsuna some of the worst atrocities some of his successors had committed and pressuring the boy that "becoming the next Boss meant inheriting all of the sins and embracing the bloody past" - which Tsuna violently rejected, declaring that if that was what it meant to be Vongola, he'd destroy the Family himself; after that, Giotto showed himself, pleased by that decision, and declared Tsuna "his True Successor". The second was when Tsuna and his Guardians were thrown to the future to put a stop to the Sky wielder and leader of one of the other Tri-ni-Sette attempting to set himself up as a god and gain the power of the whole thing; while there was a success at bringing the Tri-ni-Sette together, it served to amplify all three of the Sky relics, enough that Giotto was able to physically manifest briefly and remove the seals he'd placed on the Vongola rings, as well as help pick up his successor for a second wind enough to win. (He didn't like Byakuran. Not one bit.)
Personality: At heart, Giotto's really quite squishy, although he's capable of being incredibly formidable if pushed or given a reason; as much as he's grown into keeping a fairly strong carriage, there's still times someone less attentive would have a hard time connecting him with the founder of something like the Vongola. In demeanor, outside of an actual conflict he's calm and soft-spoken, although someone mistaking that for weakness and pushing will find themselves hitting a surprisingly solid brick wall.
One of the more obvious major traits is a strong sense of empathy; Giotto is one of the Libraest of Libras. Even without the supernatural bit of the "Vongola Intuition", he has a strong mental and emotional reflex to pay attention to the proverbial other side of the story, or to mind and be trying to understand the feelings and motives of everyone involved; even if he doesn't agree with how someone is going about it, he'll be the first to grant if there's a legitimate reason for them to be acting, and the first to try to offer another route when there's an opening. This is one of the cornerstones of his leadership ability; he's the sort of leader that doesn't so much demand loyalty because He's The One In Charge, as earn it because even if he's telling someone to shut up and cut it out, he's also going out of his way to mind that they're taken care of and that he's not asking anything of those around him that they wouldn't be willing to do of their own accord. This extends to diplomacy and conflicts as well; as much as he's willing to fight, if an enemy is acting out of a real need, he's more than happy to offer a hand up afterwards and help finding a better way to deal with whatever's driven them to it.
Obviously, he's usually very kind-hearted and gentle towards others, and patient. He hates seeing people suffer, and given a chance to do something to help, it'll be his first priority; he genuinely wants to see people happy, and will do what he can to help achieve that. If someone isn't managing to do something that would be a reason for him to take up arms, it's incredibly difficult to get him upset; while he has a sense of humor and isn't above good-natured teasing, he's usually pretty carefully minding other people's feelings, and even with some of his more brusque allies and friends, he'll usually blithely go on as if the conversation were perfectly normal - because he's paying more attention to the intent than to the outward bluster. Give him someone weaker than he is, or someone uncertain, and he's there with bells on to be a quiet source of support and encouragement.
This doesn't mean that he's exactly easily manipulated, at least, not from the outside; he's had some pretty harsh lessons in the worst of human nature from fairly young, and isn't quite naive enough to believe that just because someone has legitimate reasons they'll see reason, or that just because he wants to help it'll be accepted and appreciated. He's well aware that there's a good number of people that'd take advantage of his good will, and perfectly capable of soft-sell sidestepping in most cases. As kind and soft-spoken as he is, he's cautious and mostly lacking rose-colored glasses; that talent for seeing both sides of the story includes "And you lost your temper and are carrying a grudge, are being vindictive, are being selfish, are trying to set yourself up to be bigger by hurting others", etc.. As philanthropist as he is, he's well aware that people aren't saints, even among his close friends, and he isn't above pulling strings or pushing buttons to get people to do the right thing in spite of themselves; as much as he's fairly mild about it and not exactly a huge devious chessmaster, he can be pretty manipulative.
All of this is tempered and backed up by a strong sense of justice; his inner compass reads perfectly clearly, even if he's more moral than ethical - more concerned with doing good and what's intuitively right, than what's legal or matching society's strictures. It's a close interrelation, really; because he cares so much about others, it's important to him that the right thing be done by them, and important to him to try to set things right where they've gone wrong. Even though he might admit that someone's background reasons are legitimate, it won't excuse abuses of others, and he has a strong allergy to the idea that "the ends justify the means"; he's perfectly happy to hold to his ideals even if it means making things more difficult for himself or placing himself at greater risk, and doesn't really find any victory in accomplishing something if there were principles sacrificed to get there.
Needless to say, he has a strong dislike of unfairness, hates abuses, and taking advantage of or harming others for personal gain, sadism, or petty reasons is one of the incredibly few berserk buttons he has. He's got a white knight complex a mile wide, and has a hard time sitting by if people are being hurt, nevermind that depending on the situation, it can actually trigger a very impressive and focused lost-temper. Act out of sadism or petty selfishness, and not only can you get him to Not Like You, but he's likely to be wary of you for a while after you've proven to have "learned your lesson", as it can take a while for that particular button to unstick and for him to trust that you've ACTUALLY changed and aren't just trying to get him off your back.
He also has a strong sense of responsibility, almost to a fault; once he sets his mind to something as Important or Needing Done, he will do it come Hell or High Water, and will find a way around whatever obstacles are in the way sooner or later. The same patience that plays into his ability to deal with people ends up cropping up here, as he's perfectly capable of committing to things for years, decades, or even past death to see it through and make sure it gets done, even if it takes a long time and an uphill struggle. If he gives his word to something, he will keep it by hook or by crook, and he's probably lucky he's not really a "blunt instrument" sort of personality or he'd probably have beaten himself black and blue on various walls; what probably saves him from being destroyed by his own sense of "I gave my word/set it to myself to do this" is that he IS, in times where he's outnumbered, outgunned, or up against a nasty enough obstacle, willing to resort to finding less direct ways to undermine it or pull it off anyway. Put him up against a sufficiently "Unmovable object", and going up against him is like fighting a fog bank; he's not stupid enough to walk into blatant traps or take a head-on losing fight if he has ANY option he can find or make, and just because he feels very strongly about his principles doesn't mean he's above ambush tactics, manipulation, or trickery if it's the best way to stop someone or get past something with the fewest casualties possible and most protection of his people and those who can't defend themselves.
Note that while he's very friendly and empathizes with most people, actual close friendships and strong bonds come with either time or something sufficiently impressive to pass the threshold where he'll fully trust and rely on someone; he's usually friendly with anybody that isn't an outright enemy, but reserves close relationships of one form or another for a smaller inner circle of sorts. This inner circle becomes both his greatest strength and his greatest weakness. On the one hand, as unstoppable force/immovable object as he can be given a duty, that gets amplified many times over if the "duty" involves someone in that inner circle, and they end up being his greatest support in times of uncertainty or weakness; give him even a few people he truly trusts, and he can handle just about anything without cracking, and keep getting up after being beaten down to Hell and back. On the other hand, once he's accepted someone into that circle, they basically have free run behind all of his usual emotional and mental armor; because they're so important to him, as much as he can be quietly manipulative if they're starting to stray, he's almost incapable of actually directly confronting them, and will stick by them wheedling to try and bring them back until Hell freezes over. Of course, the fact that it's not easy to get into that circle means that he's usually fairly cautious about only accepting people into it that he truly CAN trust that far, but he's not really capable of turning that switch OFF if something changes the situation; once you're one of His People, you have eternal loyalty, even if something changes and you stop returning the favor. This technically was his downfall, and to this day, even though the individual that turned on him still carries a grudge and is still working to warp everything he built, he still maintains that attachment to them as a friend, and he never did manage to actually stand up to try to stop them. Get into his circle and turn on him, and if you manage to play it right, you could put a knife in his ribs without any real resistance.
Fears: Not being able to protect the people he cares about is a big one, and related to that, losing the people he cares about again.
Isolation bothers him; fear isn't entirely the right word for it, since it's been basically the state of his existence since his death and he's used to it by now, but it's not particularly good for his mental and emotional state, particularly not if there isn't a clear, good purpose to it.
There's a giant ball of wax of complexes wrapped up with Daemon Spade that does include a few fears - fear of the monster he basically believes he helped create, fear of how much damage has been done, is being done, and will be done by someone he cares about too much to strike at, fear that everything he's worked for is going to get unravelled because of his mistakes handling it.
Weaknesses: As much as he's good at standing up to others in most respects, he forms strong bonds with people, and once he's pretty well and truly adopted someone past a certain point, he's loathe to actually oppose them - they can turn on him totally and work to destroy him and he'll never return the sentiment.
For that matter, besides the fact that he'd have an EXTREMELY difficult time doing anything against someone he'd come to trust and consider close - as few as that might be - Spade himself is basically a weakness; to this day, even knowing that said treacherous Guardian has been working to undermine and warp everything he's built into something he'd never allow, and even with the massive grudge Spade carries against him (nevermind headcanon that Spade's string-pulling etc. was likely involved in his death), he still considers Spade a close friend and someone that he cares about.
Also his ability with violence is a thing of necessity; he sorta hates doing any more harm than what's needed to settle a conflict or STOP someone, and as much as he didn't get where he is by being a pacifist, he still prefers to avoid unnecessary fights and hates seeing people hurt or suffering.
On that note, he also hates the idea of NOT being able to do anything to help someone who's suffering, whether it's an outright rescue or even if it'd just be something simple or trying to find someone who can.
He will not sacrifice others, even if they volunteer as such. He'll do whatever he can, plot, scheme, risk himself, resort to trickery and deception, and claw to find another option.
If one of his friends or someone he cares about is in danger, he'll do whatever he can to help them - and has gone as far as sending away his own Guardians to protect a friend of his in a dire situation before, during a time when he was, himself, in the middle of a conflict.
At this point, Giotto is someone that has a strong sense of basic empathy and a capacity for forming incredibly close bonds with those he trusts, who has been basically a presence tied to a ring for somewhere around a hundred years, in a state where there's only one person he's really aware of, and communicating anything with that one person is incredibly difficult if not impossible most of the time. (Also headcanon is that he DID outlive the rest of his Guardians, if not by much.) Add to that the fact that things had been taking some turn for the worse, and that over the years several of his successors and their people have done things he'd consider unconscionable, and he's kind of a squishy thing that is used to relying on others who's been utterly alone for waaay too long.
Also, about that whole "the Vongola family has veered through some pretty dark chapters"? Considering that part of the groundwork for that, and probable continued encouragement of it, is Daemon Spade, and that it started with Spade's initial attempted betrayal, there's kind of a metric shitload of Libra Guilt. He dismantled their fighting-force because things were peaceful and made the opening that got Spade's lover killed, which led to Spade's bitterness and resentment and conviction that they needed to focus on strength and being the bigger monster instead, which probably helped lead to the succession going to someone more violently inclined, and which also led to Spade hovering around body-hopping and pulling strings to try to mold the Vongola into HIS vision; on some level he does still blame himself for taking things apart and assuming the peace would hold, and for not managing to pull Spade back to something more sane. As much as he academically knows it's not his fault, he still blames himself for not managing to FIX things before they reached this point.
Mundane Strengths/Abilities:
*Tactics - He's basically led a multi-front war starting from "I have maybe three people on my side" up to "We're known as a formidable force"; he has good instincts for tactics and planning.
*Diplomacy - He's very good at empathizing with others, and very good at figuring out their motives and what's important to them - and good at acting on that; he's pretty skilled at winning people over or convincing them of things.
* Fighting skill and physical agility - He's been in and out of fights since he was little, whether ones he got into himself or ones he ended up in. He's never been trained in any martial art, but he's pretty much honed what amounts to street-fighting to a skill he's able to live by. Of course, given that he's not the most physically imposing person, he's more given to agility and outmaneuvering than brute force, and he's used to getting in and out of insane situations - he's quick on his feet, agile, and capable of some minor acrobatics.
*Strong will - especially if he's focused on something, he's very hard to budge or force, and nearly impossible to intimidate.
*Loyalty and Honor - Although this can cut both ways. If he gives his word to something, he'll hold to it, even to the point of putting himself at risk. (Granted, if you're not one of his inner circle and you're trying to play him for a fool, he's not above wording loopholes or considering an agreement null and void if you're not holding up your end of it.) If you're someone he's accepted as a close friend, he would go up against Hell itself for you, and will do whatever he can to be there for you; this goes far enough that just having someone nearby that IS a close friend will lend a lot to his stability under fire.
Sensitivity/Magical Ability: "Vongola Intuition" - Not an active ability per se so much as a sort of passive sixth sense; he picks up on presences and people around him, and can basically sense intentions. Going by a mix of what's been said about it and some of what his successor's done in canon, this does include things like picking up on if someone's possessed or Not Themselves, if there's another entity around, whether someone's honestly hostile or not, or even catching the presence of someone or something powerful or unusual. It can be hit or miss, and it is possible for him to misread or be distracted from it, although he's gotten used to it and is much better with it than Tsuna; it's not really detailed enough for him to get any real information or trip off the uh, trip into insanity, although it probably will be like having a smoke alarm in a burning building here. (Basically: He can recognize the presence of people/beings he's familiar with; he can tell if something's roughly hostile, friendly, open, deceptive, etc. as a general state with some minor nuances; he can pick up on it pretty fast if something hostile is actively targeting him or those around him.) He's also perfectly capable of playing this back and forth with more mundane intellectual understanding of a situation, although it's also possible for that to end up muddying the waters, and there's no guarantee he'll know how to interpret what he's getting from it.
Dying Will State/Sky Flame - The "Dying Will" state is basically something he can take on for periods of time that allows him to channel his own will and life energy into a direct manifest energy, the Sky Flame; he can trigger it consciously, but it can be a little situational - it'd be difficult to impossible if the situation wasn't one where there was a sense of need to act as a trigger. Holding it for long periods of time isn't exactly the greatest idea, since it's basically its own form of exertion, and he's likely to be physically and mentally drained, sore, and tired afterwards; the more energy he's burned and the longer he's held it, the worse that gets, and as much as he'd pretty well mastered it, he also hasn't had a physical body in a very long time. It does amplify and use the "Intuition" bit above enough to augment his reaction time in a fight, although that's also probably going to amplify the "smoke alarm in a burning building" effect.
The Sky Flame itself appears as a clear orange-gold flame; there's usually a plume appearing above his forehead, with the other focal points being his hands. It does put off enough light to be a light source probably about equivalent to a lantern in its base state; obviously anything he does with it that flares it makes that brighter. It ISN'T literal fire, and doesn't exactly burn; given the Sky properties, if he's not actively using it for an attack or defense, someone could probably run their hands through it without more than a funny tingle. Actively used, it seems to register more as kinetic force than anything; its normal uses are either defensive, strengthening blocks and deflecting things or strengthening his own stance, or offensive as an added force to his own attacks. (Technically speaking his successor also uses it for a sort of antigravity effect occasionally, but that's ... not that useful in confined indoor spaces, and does occasionally lead to "fun with physics".) It can be a pretty potent outburst used as direct force and definitely put his strikes past what a human would be capable of, although all indications so far are that, for Giotto, it was usually fairly contained around his own person - the trick of channeling it into a direct ranged attack in and of itself is a new one of Tsuna's.
Zero Point Breakthrough - The result of a fairly complicated learning process and messing with some details of the Dying Will state and properties of the Sky Flame as something with ties to "harmonizing, balance, and assimilation". It's basically a trick that uses those properties as a sort of trap, taking whatever force is directed against the user, amplifying it back, and freezing it. The ice is capable of doing some pretty nasty cold damage and frost-burns, particularly if the "target" is persisting in fighting against it. It does involve some funny juggles on the Dying Will state and isn't the easiest thing to pull off, as well as being a pretty big energy-burn for Giotto, and it's much less effective against basic physical attacks. It also is very much a reactive/defensive ability.
Supply List:
*- Journal and pen. Probably mostly blank since it’s an echo of something he’d have had on him, but not something that’s technically existed for a while.
*- Clothes. :|
*- Engraved pocketwatch/locket; there’s a photo of “his Famiglia” - him, the six Guardians, and Elena. The hands glow with the Sky Flame when it's opened, but it’s pretty faint - probably on par with a typical wristwatch light. No power to it, just a lot of sentimental value; it’s part of a set, one of which went to each of his Guardians. The engraving behind the photo is avow of eternal friendship.
*- Mantle - the cape’s something made to work as a focus with his own Sky Flames; it’s resistant to energy attacks.
*- Gloves/Gauntlets - A major focus for the Sky Flames, also something that, even without him actively channeling power into them, does function as something to help protect his hands and add force to blows on a mundane level; there’s a decent amount of metal in their construction. There’s two blades along either side of the “backs” on either Gauntlet that’re triggered by the Sky Flames, and are otherwise retracted into the metal emblem.
*-Vongola Sky Ring - A proof of leadership; the main use is that it’s a sort of a focus for turning the Dying Will flames into something with an actual physical effect, channeling and amplifying his own will. Of course, being a manifestation of the ring as he had it, it doesn’t quite have the “sentience” that Tsuna’s ring would have, since … you know … he’s the Ring’s spirit. Yes, he’s still tied to it pretty strongly. If it is somehow gotten away from him, assume any Sky Flame effect of his is weaker; it can still make his blows have more force than a normal human of his stature would manage, but it’s much less powerful, doesn’t have nearly as much of a kinetic-energy component, and he can’t use the Zero Point Breakthrough without it.
Game Transfers: N/A
Sample RP post:
Most people would've been thrilled to be alive again after almost a hundred years of relative solitude as the spirit of a ring.
Unfortunately, Giotto wasn't most people; as much as he appreciated things like breathing, there were much bigger questions that were a Serious Problem with this situation, the least of which was that him being alive again period was tampering with natural order of something that a lot of people depended on, and as much as being the Ring's Will could be miserable, it was also just a little bit important. Add to that the fact that the entire house made his skin crawl and that there was an almost palpable air of malice and something DEEPLY AND HORRIBLY WRONG, and Vongola Primo was ... well, agitated, more than he was showing.
Actually that was a lie; the Dying Will Flame flickering above his head a pretty visible exclamation point that Something Wasn't Right, and Wasn't Right enough for him to've gone Dying Will state; he'd have chalked this place up to some kind of illusion, but somehow, he was sure that wasn't the case.
His first enemy? The front door. It was pretty clear that whatever twisted will was behind this WANTED him trapped in the mansion, and he had no intention of playing ball; first order of business was to make an exit, then make sure there was nobody ELSE trapped here. It was wood, and sturdy, but it wasn't metal reinforced, and he'd put holes in solid stone before.
Even if it was wood, it seemed too easy, so when he did dive to the attack, he didn't hold back; the walls nearby rattled with the force of the impact.
Unfortunately, so did every bone in his newly restored arm and his own teeth; while the Sky Flame served to buffer it so he didn't destroy his arm, the recoil still HURT, moreso since the door hadn't budged, making the "recoil" most of the force he'd put into it.
He gave a moment to wince, then lowered his hand, stepping back and staring at the door with newfound respect and bewilderment; what the HELL was able to make a door that could stand up to that?
That took a fast backseat to the pricking sense of being watched; he turned around on one heel, and found that he was being watched by -
He wasn't sure what to call it; the thing was dressed in servant's clothes, but seemed like nothing more than an unnaturally smiling fox that'd somehow been stretched all out of proportion and made into something human sized. It wasn't hostile - for the moment - but there was a feeling that maybe, his assault on the door wasn't appreciated by the "residents".
He lowered his fists and gave a small bow of apology. "I'm sorry for the disturbance; allow me to excuse myself." he sidled out of its direct path, giving it a wide berth as he went around it to go back to the rest of the house; after a minute, the creature started jerkily moving on about its business, dusting listlessly. He paused for a moment, watching it; something was clearly not right with it, and it'd definitely been warped by whatever was at work here, but he couldn't help but wonder - what had it been before? And what kind of monstrous force would do something like that to another living creature?
Contact info: shirhanblade (AIM), kyanve@gmail.com, kyanve (Plurk)
LJ: shirhan_blade
Character: Giotto
Canon: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!
Version: Manga
Canon Point: Should be just post Future Arc and just before Inheritance Arc.
Age: ~100, appears early-30's.
Gender: Male
History: Have a wiki link. Giotto was Italian-born, and childhood friends with a ruffian we all now know as G; it's likely that his childhood was spent in and out of fights partly thanks to that association, although the two of them were generally in it for "good reasons" - getting in fights with the ones that were picking on others. As they grew up, they ended up gaining a few others in their little band, and their occasional efforts at protecting the weak went from playground bullies to the criminal element and corrupt authorities; he met one of his other good friends, Cozarto Simon, after they basically clonked heads both trying to help a mutual acquaintance. Cozarto was starting to pick up his own gang, but became fast, close friends with Giotto, and the two of them backed each other up.
After a while, as it became apparent the things they were fighting were bigger and nastier than they could really take on as they were, Cozarto suggested that Giotto try to turn his small gang into something solid and organized - to gather a vigilante group that would deal with the people that were outside or above the reach of the law, or even the law itself when that turned corrupt; to protect the weak and help the people no-one else would. This idea caused the formation of the Vongola; the first parts of the Famiglia were associates of Giotto's from all walks of life - G, the street ruffian; Knuckle, the boxer; Ugetsu, the foreign swordsman and musician; Lampo, the noble prince; Daemon Spade, the noble and illusionist; and Alaude, a foreign intelligence agent. That group became the core Guardians, and made a pact with some form of spirits that made them the Guardians of a set of rings, items that would allow them to channel their own will and life force into power, also one of the Tri Ni Sette, a collection of artifacts said to have the power to remake the world if all three sets were ever brought together. The Simon group earned a set unrelated to the Tri-ni-Sette, as an acknowledgment of them as supporters of the Vongola; before the Vendice, the somewhat supernatural lawkeepers, Giotto and Cozarto swore an oath to support each other and that the two Families would never turn against each other.
From there, the Vongola ended up recruiting others until they'd grown into a formidable force, something that upset many organized crime groups that'd gotten used to doing as they pleased unchecked; Giotto won the first few rounds of the multi-front war in the shadows, and for a time, it seemed like things might settle down and be peaceful. As someone that didn't particularly want to perpetuate violence unnecessarily, he began dismantling the outright "military" force of the Vongola, something that turned out to be a mistake - the Family's enemies waited until the Vongola had weakened themselves enough to be easy prey for an ambush.
There was a surprise attack on one of their main bases; the assault had many casualties, one of them being Elena, Daemon Spade's lover. The illusionist turned bitter and frustrated, blaming Giotto's pacifism and empathy for her death, and came to the conclusion that the only way the Vongola could survive and accomplish anything was to stop relying so much on principles and become the biggest monsters on the field, something none of the other Famiglia would dare challenge; while Giotto admitted that dismantling things to that extent was a mistake, he refused that set of ideals. Being the Mist Guardian and therefore someone that basically existed for subtlety, Spade held his peace after that, not directly challenging Giotto, but set to work behind the scenes to try to remake the Family into what he thought they should be.
With the fighting renewed, Giotto found himself leading tactical engagements once again; for a while, Spade's plotting didn't really have any visible effect. Then, Simon's gang was outnumbered and surrounded elsewhere, away from the main Vongola force; Giotto sent out a letter with orders for a group of Vongola to go rescue them, planning to send away part of his own force from their front to rescue his friend. Spade volunteered to be the one carrying the letter, and subverted the orders; instead of the force that was supposed to go, he sent what was supposed to be a small group of his own followers to assassinate the Simon group and "remove the distraction". Fortunately for Cozarto, Giotto had managed to predict that Spade was up to something, and had sent the rest of the Guardians along to sneak in, replace themselves with Spade's men, and get Cozarto and his group out of the spot they were in. Afterwards, Cozarto decided it was better to fade into the shadows and let Spade think he'd won; he got Giotto to agree to this, and the Simon Family let the world believe their main leadership had been killed, fading off into the shadows to avoid being used against Giotto again.
While they managed to once again come out on top, there were both other problems and internal conflicts; the main internal conflict turned into a bit of a succession struggle, and it was more politics and force that decided who Giotto passed the rings down to than a peaceful agreement, although Giotto got the last laugh, using his own mastery of the Dying Will flames to seal the power of the Rings, limiting them to only a fraction of what they should've been capable of. Giotto and his Guardians scattered into retirement, with Giotto basically following Ugetsu home to go into hiding in Japan. The circumstances of their deaths aren't listed in canon, although Spade had been researching techniques to turn the mind control into possession, and used that plus the way their spirits were now tied to the Rings to achieve a form of immortality, slipping from body to body and pulling strings from the shadows; meanwhile, Giotto and the others, on their deaths, became the "Wills" of their respective rings.
The current interpretation I've had of the state he's existed in since his death is that he's basically a spirit dwelling within the ring, but has generally not been able to do much from there; while a given successor is alive, he is aware of them and can get a pretty good bead on what sort of person they are and what directions their will goes, but he doesn't actually know any details of what's going on except for bits and pieces that leak through when something's important or emotionally weighted enough. Hence, his knowledge of what's going on in the world is a little hit or miss; he knows the major points of his successor's lives for whatever periods they were actually wearing/carrying the ring, and could probably say a bit about them as people. His ability to communicate is pretty limited - the most he can really do is make it easier or harder to use the Ring's power, maybe if someone's sensitive enough some sense of if there's a conflict of ideologies, but he can only actively speak to them if something unusual happens. So far that's happened twice with Tsuna, once being the "Trial" he was put through that basically used a near-death-experience to give Giotto the chance to test him, the second being during another moment of desperation when he managed to give some support to Tsuna and remove seals he'd placed on the rings when he'd been alive. He hasn't had a lot of contact with all of his successors, and some of them he's likely refused to deal with, although some echo of their memory ends up residing in the ring with him; basically he IS the Will of the Ring.
He has been able to make direct, obvious contact twice as of his canon point - the first time being when Tsuna was basically pushed into a near-death-experience in training to trigger a "Trial" to see if he'd be acknowledged as a worthy successor; Giotto kept his own presence concealed, showing Tsuna some of the worst atrocities some of his successors had committed and pressuring the boy that "becoming the next Boss meant inheriting all of the sins and embracing the bloody past" - which Tsuna violently rejected, declaring that if that was what it meant to be Vongola, he'd destroy the Family himself; after that, Giotto showed himself, pleased by that decision, and declared Tsuna "his True Successor". The second was when Tsuna and his Guardians were thrown to the future to put a stop to the Sky wielder and leader of one of the other Tri-ni-Sette attempting to set himself up as a god and gain the power of the whole thing; while there was a success at bringing the Tri-ni-Sette together, it served to amplify all three of the Sky relics, enough that Giotto was able to physically manifest briefly and remove the seals he'd placed on the Vongola rings, as well as help pick up his successor for a second wind enough to win. (He didn't like Byakuran. Not one bit.)
Personality: At heart, Giotto's really quite squishy, although he's capable of being incredibly formidable if pushed or given a reason; as much as he's grown into keeping a fairly strong carriage, there's still times someone less attentive would have a hard time connecting him with the founder of something like the Vongola. In demeanor, outside of an actual conflict he's calm and soft-spoken, although someone mistaking that for weakness and pushing will find themselves hitting a surprisingly solid brick wall.
One of the more obvious major traits is a strong sense of empathy; Giotto is one of the Libraest of Libras. Even without the supernatural bit of the "Vongola Intuition", he has a strong mental and emotional reflex to pay attention to the proverbial other side of the story, or to mind and be trying to understand the feelings and motives of everyone involved; even if he doesn't agree with how someone is going about it, he'll be the first to grant if there's a legitimate reason for them to be acting, and the first to try to offer another route when there's an opening. This is one of the cornerstones of his leadership ability; he's the sort of leader that doesn't so much demand loyalty because He's The One In Charge, as earn it because even if he's telling someone to shut up and cut it out, he's also going out of his way to mind that they're taken care of and that he's not asking anything of those around him that they wouldn't be willing to do of their own accord. This extends to diplomacy and conflicts as well; as much as he's willing to fight, if an enemy is acting out of a real need, he's more than happy to offer a hand up afterwards and help finding a better way to deal with whatever's driven them to it.
Obviously, he's usually very kind-hearted and gentle towards others, and patient. He hates seeing people suffer, and given a chance to do something to help, it'll be his first priority; he genuinely wants to see people happy, and will do what he can to help achieve that. If someone isn't managing to do something that would be a reason for him to take up arms, it's incredibly difficult to get him upset; while he has a sense of humor and isn't above good-natured teasing, he's usually pretty carefully minding other people's feelings, and even with some of his more brusque allies and friends, he'll usually blithely go on as if the conversation were perfectly normal - because he's paying more attention to the intent than to the outward bluster. Give him someone weaker than he is, or someone uncertain, and he's there with bells on to be a quiet source of support and encouragement.
This doesn't mean that he's exactly easily manipulated, at least, not from the outside; he's had some pretty harsh lessons in the worst of human nature from fairly young, and isn't quite naive enough to believe that just because someone has legitimate reasons they'll see reason, or that just because he wants to help it'll be accepted and appreciated. He's well aware that there's a good number of people that'd take advantage of his good will, and perfectly capable of soft-sell sidestepping in most cases. As kind and soft-spoken as he is, he's cautious and mostly lacking rose-colored glasses; that talent for seeing both sides of the story includes "And you lost your temper and are carrying a grudge, are being vindictive, are being selfish, are trying to set yourself up to be bigger by hurting others", etc.. As philanthropist as he is, he's well aware that people aren't saints, even among his close friends, and he isn't above pulling strings or pushing buttons to get people to do the right thing in spite of themselves; as much as he's fairly mild about it and not exactly a huge devious chessmaster, he can be pretty manipulative.
All of this is tempered and backed up by a strong sense of justice; his inner compass reads perfectly clearly, even if he's more moral than ethical - more concerned with doing good and what's intuitively right, than what's legal or matching society's strictures. It's a close interrelation, really; because he cares so much about others, it's important to him that the right thing be done by them, and important to him to try to set things right where they've gone wrong. Even though he might admit that someone's background reasons are legitimate, it won't excuse abuses of others, and he has a strong allergy to the idea that "the ends justify the means"; he's perfectly happy to hold to his ideals even if it means making things more difficult for himself or placing himself at greater risk, and doesn't really find any victory in accomplishing something if there were principles sacrificed to get there.
Needless to say, he has a strong dislike of unfairness, hates abuses, and taking advantage of or harming others for personal gain, sadism, or petty reasons is one of the incredibly few berserk buttons he has. He's got a white knight complex a mile wide, and has a hard time sitting by if people are being hurt, nevermind that depending on the situation, it can actually trigger a very impressive and focused lost-temper. Act out of sadism or petty selfishness, and not only can you get him to Not Like You, but he's likely to be wary of you for a while after you've proven to have "learned your lesson", as it can take a while for that particular button to unstick and for him to trust that you've ACTUALLY changed and aren't just trying to get him off your back.
He also has a strong sense of responsibility, almost to a fault; once he sets his mind to something as Important or Needing Done, he will do it come Hell or High Water, and will find a way around whatever obstacles are in the way sooner or later. The same patience that plays into his ability to deal with people ends up cropping up here, as he's perfectly capable of committing to things for years, decades, or even past death to see it through and make sure it gets done, even if it takes a long time and an uphill struggle. If he gives his word to something, he will keep it by hook or by crook, and he's probably lucky he's not really a "blunt instrument" sort of personality or he'd probably have beaten himself black and blue on various walls; what probably saves him from being destroyed by his own sense of "I gave my word/set it to myself to do this" is that he IS, in times where he's outnumbered, outgunned, or up against a nasty enough obstacle, willing to resort to finding less direct ways to undermine it or pull it off anyway. Put him up against a sufficiently "Unmovable object", and going up against him is like fighting a fog bank; he's not stupid enough to walk into blatant traps or take a head-on losing fight if he has ANY option he can find or make, and just because he feels very strongly about his principles doesn't mean he's above ambush tactics, manipulation, or trickery if it's the best way to stop someone or get past something with the fewest casualties possible and most protection of his people and those who can't defend themselves.
Note that while he's very friendly and empathizes with most people, actual close friendships and strong bonds come with either time or something sufficiently impressive to pass the threshold where he'll fully trust and rely on someone; he's usually friendly with anybody that isn't an outright enemy, but reserves close relationships of one form or another for a smaller inner circle of sorts. This inner circle becomes both his greatest strength and his greatest weakness. On the one hand, as unstoppable force/immovable object as he can be given a duty, that gets amplified many times over if the "duty" involves someone in that inner circle, and they end up being his greatest support in times of uncertainty or weakness; give him even a few people he truly trusts, and he can handle just about anything without cracking, and keep getting up after being beaten down to Hell and back. On the other hand, once he's accepted someone into that circle, they basically have free run behind all of his usual emotional and mental armor; because they're so important to him, as much as he can be quietly manipulative if they're starting to stray, he's almost incapable of actually directly confronting them, and will stick by them wheedling to try and bring them back until Hell freezes over. Of course, the fact that it's not easy to get into that circle means that he's usually fairly cautious about only accepting people into it that he truly CAN trust that far, but he's not really capable of turning that switch OFF if something changes the situation; once you're one of His People, you have eternal loyalty, even if something changes and you stop returning the favor. This technically was his downfall, and to this day, even though the individual that turned on him still carries a grudge and is still working to warp everything he built, he still maintains that attachment to them as a friend, and he never did manage to actually stand up to try to stop them. Get into his circle and turn on him, and if you manage to play it right, you could put a knife in his ribs without any real resistance.
Fears: Not being able to protect the people he cares about is a big one, and related to that, losing the people he cares about again.
Isolation bothers him; fear isn't entirely the right word for it, since it's been basically the state of his existence since his death and he's used to it by now, but it's not particularly good for his mental and emotional state, particularly not if there isn't a clear, good purpose to it.
There's a giant ball of wax of complexes wrapped up with Daemon Spade that does include a few fears - fear of the monster he basically believes he helped create, fear of how much damage has been done, is being done, and will be done by someone he cares about too much to strike at, fear that everything he's worked for is going to get unravelled because of his mistakes handling it.
Weaknesses: As much as he's good at standing up to others in most respects, he forms strong bonds with people, and once he's pretty well and truly adopted someone past a certain point, he's loathe to actually oppose them - they can turn on him totally and work to destroy him and he'll never return the sentiment.
For that matter, besides the fact that he'd have an EXTREMELY difficult time doing anything against someone he'd come to trust and consider close - as few as that might be - Spade himself is basically a weakness; to this day, even knowing that said treacherous Guardian has been working to undermine and warp everything he's built into something he'd never allow, and even with the massive grudge Spade carries against him (nevermind headcanon that Spade's string-pulling etc. was likely involved in his death), he still considers Spade a close friend and someone that he cares about.
Also his ability with violence is a thing of necessity; he sorta hates doing any more harm than what's needed to settle a conflict or STOP someone, and as much as he didn't get where he is by being a pacifist, he still prefers to avoid unnecessary fights and hates seeing people hurt or suffering.
On that note, he also hates the idea of NOT being able to do anything to help someone who's suffering, whether it's an outright rescue or even if it'd just be something simple or trying to find someone who can.
He will not sacrifice others, even if they volunteer as such. He'll do whatever he can, plot, scheme, risk himself, resort to trickery and deception, and claw to find another option.
If one of his friends or someone he cares about is in danger, he'll do whatever he can to help them - and has gone as far as sending away his own Guardians to protect a friend of his in a dire situation before, during a time when he was, himself, in the middle of a conflict.
At this point, Giotto is someone that has a strong sense of basic empathy and a capacity for forming incredibly close bonds with those he trusts, who has been basically a presence tied to a ring for somewhere around a hundred years, in a state where there's only one person he's really aware of, and communicating anything with that one person is incredibly difficult if not impossible most of the time. (Also headcanon is that he DID outlive the rest of his Guardians, if not by much.) Add to that the fact that things had been taking some turn for the worse, and that over the years several of his successors and their people have done things he'd consider unconscionable, and he's kind of a squishy thing that is used to relying on others who's been utterly alone for waaay too long.
Also, about that whole "the Vongola family has veered through some pretty dark chapters"? Considering that part of the groundwork for that, and probable continued encouragement of it, is Daemon Spade, and that it started with Spade's initial attempted betrayal, there's kind of a metric shitload of Libra Guilt. He dismantled their fighting-force because things were peaceful and made the opening that got Spade's lover killed, which led to Spade's bitterness and resentment and conviction that they needed to focus on strength and being the bigger monster instead, which probably helped lead to the succession going to someone more violently inclined, and which also led to Spade hovering around body-hopping and pulling strings to try to mold the Vongola into HIS vision; on some level he does still blame himself for taking things apart and assuming the peace would hold, and for not managing to pull Spade back to something more sane. As much as he academically knows it's not his fault, he still blames himself for not managing to FIX things before they reached this point.
Mundane Strengths/Abilities:
*Tactics - He's basically led a multi-front war starting from "I have maybe three people on my side" up to "We're known as a formidable force"; he has good instincts for tactics and planning.
*Diplomacy - He's very good at empathizing with others, and very good at figuring out their motives and what's important to them - and good at acting on that; he's pretty skilled at winning people over or convincing them of things.
* Fighting skill and physical agility - He's been in and out of fights since he was little, whether ones he got into himself or ones he ended up in. He's never been trained in any martial art, but he's pretty much honed what amounts to street-fighting to a skill he's able to live by. Of course, given that he's not the most physically imposing person, he's more given to agility and outmaneuvering than brute force, and he's used to getting in and out of insane situations - he's quick on his feet, agile, and capable of some minor acrobatics.
*Strong will - especially if he's focused on something, he's very hard to budge or force, and nearly impossible to intimidate.
*Loyalty and Honor - Although this can cut both ways. If he gives his word to something, he'll hold to it, even to the point of putting himself at risk. (Granted, if you're not one of his inner circle and you're trying to play him for a fool, he's not above wording loopholes or considering an agreement null and void if you're not holding up your end of it.) If you're someone he's accepted as a close friend, he would go up against Hell itself for you, and will do whatever he can to be there for you; this goes far enough that just having someone nearby that IS a close friend will lend a lot to his stability under fire.
Sensitivity/Magical Ability: "Vongola Intuition" - Not an active ability per se so much as a sort of passive sixth sense; he picks up on presences and people around him, and can basically sense intentions. Going by a mix of what's been said about it and some of what his successor's done in canon, this does include things like picking up on if someone's possessed or Not Themselves, if there's another entity around, whether someone's honestly hostile or not, or even catching the presence of someone or something powerful or unusual. It can be hit or miss, and it is possible for him to misread or be distracted from it, although he's gotten used to it and is much better with it than Tsuna; it's not really detailed enough for him to get any real information or trip off the uh, trip into insanity, although it probably will be like having a smoke alarm in a burning building here. (Basically: He can recognize the presence of people/beings he's familiar with; he can tell if something's roughly hostile, friendly, open, deceptive, etc. as a general state with some minor nuances; he can pick up on it pretty fast if something hostile is actively targeting him or those around him.) He's also perfectly capable of playing this back and forth with more mundane intellectual understanding of a situation, although it's also possible for that to end up muddying the waters, and there's no guarantee he'll know how to interpret what he's getting from it.
Dying Will State/Sky Flame - The "Dying Will" state is basically something he can take on for periods of time that allows him to channel his own will and life energy into a direct manifest energy, the Sky Flame; he can trigger it consciously, but it can be a little situational - it'd be difficult to impossible if the situation wasn't one where there was a sense of need to act as a trigger. Holding it for long periods of time isn't exactly the greatest idea, since it's basically its own form of exertion, and he's likely to be physically and mentally drained, sore, and tired afterwards; the more energy he's burned and the longer he's held it, the worse that gets, and as much as he'd pretty well mastered it, he also hasn't had a physical body in a very long time. It does amplify and use the "Intuition" bit above enough to augment his reaction time in a fight, although that's also probably going to amplify the "smoke alarm in a burning building" effect.
The Sky Flame itself appears as a clear orange-gold flame; there's usually a plume appearing above his forehead, with the other focal points being his hands. It does put off enough light to be a light source probably about equivalent to a lantern in its base state; obviously anything he does with it that flares it makes that brighter. It ISN'T literal fire, and doesn't exactly burn; given the Sky properties, if he's not actively using it for an attack or defense, someone could probably run their hands through it without more than a funny tingle. Actively used, it seems to register more as kinetic force than anything; its normal uses are either defensive, strengthening blocks and deflecting things or strengthening his own stance, or offensive as an added force to his own attacks. (Technically speaking his successor also uses it for a sort of antigravity effect occasionally, but that's ... not that useful in confined indoor spaces, and does occasionally lead to "fun with physics".) It can be a pretty potent outburst used as direct force and definitely put his strikes past what a human would be capable of, although all indications so far are that, for Giotto, it was usually fairly contained around his own person - the trick of channeling it into a direct ranged attack in and of itself is a new one of Tsuna's.
Zero Point Breakthrough - The result of a fairly complicated learning process and messing with some details of the Dying Will state and properties of the Sky Flame as something with ties to "harmonizing, balance, and assimilation". It's basically a trick that uses those properties as a sort of trap, taking whatever force is directed against the user, amplifying it back, and freezing it. The ice is capable of doing some pretty nasty cold damage and frost-burns, particularly if the "target" is persisting in fighting against it. It does involve some funny juggles on the Dying Will state and isn't the easiest thing to pull off, as well as being a pretty big energy-burn for Giotto, and it's much less effective against basic physical attacks. It also is very much a reactive/defensive ability.
Supply List:
*- Journal and pen. Probably mostly blank since it’s an echo of something he’d have had on him, but not something that’s technically existed for a while.
*- Clothes. :|
*- Engraved pocketwatch/locket; there’s a photo of “his Famiglia” - him, the six Guardians, and Elena. The hands glow with the Sky Flame when it's opened, but it’s pretty faint - probably on par with a typical wristwatch light. No power to it, just a lot of sentimental value; it’s part of a set, one of which went to each of his Guardians. The engraving behind the photo is avow of eternal friendship.
*- Mantle - the cape’s something made to work as a focus with his own Sky Flames; it’s resistant to energy attacks.
*- Gloves/Gauntlets - A major focus for the Sky Flames, also something that, even without him actively channeling power into them, does function as something to help protect his hands and add force to blows on a mundane level; there’s a decent amount of metal in their construction. There’s two blades along either side of the “backs” on either Gauntlet that’re triggered by the Sky Flames, and are otherwise retracted into the metal emblem.
*-Vongola Sky Ring - A proof of leadership; the main use is that it’s a sort of a focus for turning the Dying Will flames into something with an actual physical effect, channeling and amplifying his own will. Of course, being a manifestation of the ring as he had it, it doesn’t quite have the “sentience” that Tsuna’s ring would have, since … you know … he’s the Ring’s spirit. Yes, he’s still tied to it pretty strongly. If it is somehow gotten away from him, assume any Sky Flame effect of his is weaker; it can still make his blows have more force than a normal human of his stature would manage, but it’s much less powerful, doesn’t have nearly as much of a kinetic-energy component, and he can’t use the Zero Point Breakthrough without it.
Game Transfers: N/A
Sample RP post:
Most people would've been thrilled to be alive again after almost a hundred years of relative solitude as the spirit of a ring.
Unfortunately, Giotto wasn't most people; as much as he appreciated things like breathing, there were much bigger questions that were a Serious Problem with this situation, the least of which was that him being alive again period was tampering with natural order of something that a lot of people depended on, and as much as being the Ring's Will could be miserable, it was also just a little bit important. Add to that the fact that the entire house made his skin crawl and that there was an almost palpable air of malice and something DEEPLY AND HORRIBLY WRONG, and Vongola Primo was ... well, agitated, more than he was showing.
Actually that was a lie; the Dying Will Flame flickering above his head a pretty visible exclamation point that Something Wasn't Right, and Wasn't Right enough for him to've gone Dying Will state; he'd have chalked this place up to some kind of illusion, but somehow, he was sure that wasn't the case.
His first enemy? The front door. It was pretty clear that whatever twisted will was behind this WANTED him trapped in the mansion, and he had no intention of playing ball; first order of business was to make an exit, then make sure there was nobody ELSE trapped here. It was wood, and sturdy, but it wasn't metal reinforced, and he'd put holes in solid stone before.
Even if it was wood, it seemed too easy, so when he did dive to the attack, he didn't hold back; the walls nearby rattled with the force of the impact.
Unfortunately, so did every bone in his newly restored arm and his own teeth; while the Sky Flame served to buffer it so he didn't destroy his arm, the recoil still HURT, moreso since the door hadn't budged, making the "recoil" most of the force he'd put into it.
He gave a moment to wince, then lowered his hand, stepping back and staring at the door with newfound respect and bewilderment; what the HELL was able to make a door that could stand up to that?
That took a fast backseat to the pricking sense of being watched; he turned around on one heel, and found that he was being watched by -
He wasn't sure what to call it; the thing was dressed in servant's clothes, but seemed like nothing more than an unnaturally smiling fox that'd somehow been stretched all out of proportion and made into something human sized. It wasn't hostile - for the moment - but there was a feeling that maybe, his assault on the door wasn't appreciated by the "residents".
He lowered his fists and gave a small bow of apology. "I'm sorry for the disturbance; allow me to excuse myself." he sidled out of its direct path, giving it a wide berth as he went around it to go back to the rest of the house; after a minute, the creature started jerkily moving on about its business, dusting listlessly. He paused for a moment, watching it; something was clearly not right with it, and it'd definitely been warped by whatever was at work here, but he couldn't help but wonder - what had it been before? And what kind of monstrous force would do something like that to another living creature?