cityofdesai application
NAME: Fox
AIM SN: sunekubaito
E-MAIL: fantomfox [at] gmail [dot] com
JOURNAL: fantomfox
NAME: Mr. D; aka Dionysus
CANON: Percy Jackson and the Olympians
HISTORY:
Gods are immortal. They continue to exist, whether anyone still believes in them and worships them or not, and the Olympian gods of Ancient Greece are no exception. They persist until today, and although they are no longer the dominant religion, their influence can still be seen all around.
As the brightest flame of Western Civilization shifted over centuries from Europe to the North American continent, so did the places of power for the gods. Mount Olympus floats, hidden, above the Empire State Building in NYC. The entrance to Hades' realm is, logically, in LA. The Sea of Monsters migrated itself to a mysterious span of ocean surrounding Bermuda. Times have changed and locations have changed, but the old gods are up to their same tricks. They rule from on-high, never getting involved directly in human affairs, but still occasionally take human to dally with mortals. These dalliances often sire children called half-bloods, demigods, or heroes.
It is in the setting that we find Mr. D.
Dionysus was born from an affair between a human woman and the ruler of the gods, Zeus. He was not born into godhood, but rather as a demigod (like Hercules). Out of fear of his father's angry wife, the goddess Hera, young Dionysus was given to Hermes and hidden from her wrath. In one version of the story, Dionysus was raised as a girl in order to disguise him from Hera. In another version, he was raised by nymphs. Either way, he isn't talking about it.
When Dionysus grew up, he discovered the culture of the vine and the mode of extracting its precious juice; but Hera, still angry (for gods have a long temper) struck him with madness, and drove him forth a wanderer through various parts of the earth. When he returned to Greece, he was worshiped as a god and had, indeed, become immortal. He replaced Hestia as the 12th Olympian god (so she could stay and stoke the fires of Mount Olympus). Dionysus is god of wine, the inspirer of ritual madness and ecstasy, the god of the epiphany, and patron deity of agriculture and the theater.
In more recent years, things have gone downhill for Dionysus. After chasing after a particular off-limits wood nymph twice, Zeus punished him by kicking him out of Olympus and putting him in charge of a "summer camp" created to protect the offspring of the gods from monsters and other attacks. "Mr. D" was to oversee the camp for 100 years and was forbidden from drinking wine or even growing grapes.
(Mun's note/post-canon: Due to the events of the series, Mr. D had his sentence at Camp Half-Blood shortened. His timeline will be after he was allowed to leave the camp, but he's still under probation against using his powers.)
PERSONALITY:
Mr. D is a god on the wagon. Miserably, spitefully so. Forbidden from the things he enjoys the most (indeed, the very things he's the god of!), Mr. D hates his life. He's rather sarcastic and rude. He intentionally never gets anyone's name correct, partially to annoy them, and partially because he wants to show he doesn't care enough about anyone to remember even something that small about them. He's also a little childish and tends to pout when talking about certain things (like being "grounded" by Zeus and prevented from using his powers).
As a young man, Dionysus was exceptionally attractive. Even when in a drunken madness, he was powerful and beautiful. Shorter, slightly effeminate, with curly hair so black it was almost purple. From the beginning of the 20th Century, he started to let himself go: gaining a few pounds (he's described as "chubby"), caring less about what he wears (he tends toward things like leopard-print Hawaiian shirts and purple running shoes), and sporting scruff. His face shows years of alcohol abuse that only comes when a person is sobering up, complete dark circles around his bloodshot burgandy-coloured eyes .
(Mun's note/post-canon: Upon his arrival to Desai, he's begun to clean himself back up, losing some weight and regaining some of his godlike good looks, but he's got some time to go before he's 100%. Probably when he's allowed to drink wine again, he'll be good as new!)
Trivia notes:
--In 1990, Mr. D fathered two sons, twins named Castor and Pollux, who will not be appearing in this story.
--He doesn't like being referred to by his full name because "names have power".
--Drinks Diet Coke, since he can no longer drink wine, which he summons out of thin air.
SAMPLE JOURNAL ENTRY: [accidental?? video post]
[camera is turned on and shows the shaky image of a dark-haired man in a tiger-printed shirt crawling out of bed and scratching his stomach. It takes him a moment to notice the phone and whoever it holding it, but when he does--]
Hey! Don't mess with things that aren't yours. Go get ready.
[image shakes and goes dark for a moment and there's the sound of a slap of hand against bare flesh. The squeak that follows is not unappreciative.]
[Video comes back on, and Mr D is full-frame]
Well, since she turned this on, may as well make good use of it. Viola! Fresh from a 50(something)-year engagement at a camp full of hero brats, here arrives "D" in this lovely but unbelieving realm of Desai. Questing to end the prohibition and regain my seat at the great Mount O. Or something like that. Mortals back home are boring, so here I am.
[A sandy-haired coed, a "10", leans into frame to kiss Mr D on the cheek. Then she waves to the camera and steps out. There's the sound of a door slamming.]
What was I saying? Oh yes. Finally out from under that cloud-gatherer's thumb for a bit. Pass me a Diet Coke and pray with me that the next few years pass quicker than the first fifty.
[a pause, and then--] Anyone up for a game of pinochle?
SAMPLE 3RD PERSON NARRATIVE:
Mr D strolled through Mayra with his hands in his pockets, completely unawares of the looks he was getting. He wore his favourite tiger-printed Hawaiian shirt that didn't quite blend well into the local population. A couple of useless Uni students hollered at the "washed-up pretty boy" but Mr D paid them no mind. A god doesn't worry about what the mortals thought of his appearance. And the ladies who mattered would know him for what he was. (A few of the gents, too.) Not some dumb frat brats playing at "greek". The wouldn't know a real fraternity if it bit them on the--
This was a god on a mission. He was staking out locations near here for a business prospect. Just something small to keep his days busy when he couldn't locate proper entertainment for himself. (What a strange world with no real nymphs in sight. His entourage seemed a little lacking these days.) What would bring in the most amusement to quell his aching and sober heart? A bar? Too depressing. A club? Same problem there. Maybe something with games. He liked games.
This would require a little more thought.
wikia: canon Dionysus
wiki: historical Dionysus
wiki: Olympians in the series
(wiki: pinochle)