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BASIC INFORMATION
Name: Shalem, real name Abyss
Aliases/titles: n/a
Age: Adult, headcanon says 30, or close to it.
Orientation: Gay cismale (he/him)
Canon Point: End of Phantom and the Crimson Solitaire preferred.
Race: Phidia, a snake-like race. He's most likely based on a Mexican black kingsnake.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Surface personality traits: Even-tempered, soft-spoken, and seems perpetually tired. In fact, he can seem rather bland when one takes him at face value. Shalem isn't the type to make a fuss, nearly to the point of being a doormat-- he'd rather diffuse a difficult situation by being accommodating rather than assertive or defensive. People may notice that a lot of his sentiments are hollow, and that a lot of his responses to personal questions are noncommittal, if not outright avoidance or deflection. A lot of what he says are simply what the other person would want to hear, because despite being gentle in tone, his eyes are always sharp and observant. However, Shalem will get animated if the topic is about art of any medium, and if the macabre is touched on, he gets even more animated-- in a more disturbing way.
Fashion: Often wears a neat uniform from Rhodes Island, but customized with ruffles and a jacket, and his trousers are tailored to accommodate his tail. While the suit is mostly black and white, Shalem has some color in his jacket's purple inner lining, his trousers' gold hem, and his gold-colored jewelry. He also has at least one helix piercing, but only uses it during special occasions.
Height: 179cm, or approx. 5'10.47". Most of his height seems to be coming from his long legs.
Build: Long and lean, and appears delicate. However, he has a lot of muscle under his clothing, and is much stronger than he looks since he uses a large shield in battle.
Hair: Silver-lavender and goes well past his shoulders. He has a clip, but who knows what it actually does since his hair is still all over his face.
Eyes: Purple or violet, with a much lighter inner ring, and natural purple liner underneath his eyes. His pupils are also slitted, though this is more obvious in his in-game sprite than his portrait.
Voice: JP: Tachibana Shinnosuke | EN: Chase Brown | CN: Javen Zheng | KR: Kim Myung-jun. Personal preference goes to his EN voice due how well it fits him-- tries (and sometimes fails) to suppress his accent, with measured speech and clear enunciation due to Shalem's background in stage performance.
Language: His native language is Victorian (British English), but speaks it with a vaguely Columbian (American) accent that sometimes slips. He also speaks Gaulish (French), which is considered a dead language in his world, and possibly others due to his background and current circumstances.
Scent: Something metallic, books, candle wax on occasion.
Hand dominance: Ambidextrous, with a preference towards using his left arm for his shield, and his right for mundane tasks.
Literacy: Can read and write well. His writing is most likely very elegant with a lot of flourish.
Triggers: Don't ask him to sing or perform on stage. He misses doing it, but it has a high chance of tanking his mental state.
Other: Shalem is slightly cooler to the touch than most people due to his biology (think higher 20's or lower 30's in Celsius), and is more sensitive to extreme temperature changes.
abilities
Oripathy infection: A disease caused by exposure to raw Originium, an energy-emitting mineral, which currently has no cure or vaccine, only medicine to slow progress and alleviate symptoms. Contrary to popular belief, the chances of someone infecting others via proximity are quite low (but it is hereditary, and blood is infectious in specific circumstances). When they die, regardless of the cause, their bodies will crystallize and then disintegrate into Originium dust, which will become a new source of infection unless the corpse is incinerated. All infected will find Originium cells in their bodies, which will eventually multiply and interfere with internal functions-- very similar to cancer, except with crystal deposits. Some may even find crystals on their skin or mutations that affect their quality of life.
For now, Shalem has minimal deposits in his body-- specifically the circulatory system-- that appear as dark spots in scans and make his organs look blurry, but is confirmed to have neither crystals on his skin nor mutations. He wears a monitor given to him by Rhodes Island, standard equipment for all operators that tracks their infection rate and overall health.
Originium Arts & physical strength: Originium doesn't just cause Oripathy, but is also an actual source of energy that can be converted into something akin to electricity, and even magic, called Arts. Some are more proficient in Arts than others, though they all must use an item with some Originium inside to use it-- a processed stone is preferred to reduce the risk of getting infected. Those with Oripathy may suddenly be able to wield Arts, or do so without assistive tools, but using said tools is better to avoid aggravating their infection. Shalem's tool is a large shield, though he has powerful Arts, and is implied to have stronger proficiency in bladed weapons.
Shalem channels his power while employing defensive maneuvers, standing at chokepoints and blasting enemies that come close with Arts. Contrary to what his appearance suggests, he's a sturdy protector of teammates with stronger attacks but weaker constitutions, handling up to three enemies at once. If he's compared to the other defense-oriented operators, his defense is slightly weaker but his damage output is stronger, and he withstands Arts better. Because of his specialization, he's well-suited to countering those weak to Arts like heavily-armored troops, or stalling Arts-wielding enemies. It's implied, however, that he deliberately holds himself back from showing his true strength, and his preference for defense is an attempt at hiding or suppressing his true abilities.
He's also capable of seeing through some shadow-based stealth abilities due to having grown up around them. Thanks to his familiarity with old Crimson Troupe styles of fighting, he can counter some of them, but will have difficulty with the newer techniques.
kinks
Orientation: Men only
Preferences: 18+ (but I can go with lower ages for my friends). He has a hemipenes, and likes long foreplay and long sessions in general so people who have stamina will always be appreciated. He also enjoys oral, so anyone receiving will have to be okay with his forked tongue. As for personality... He likes those who are aloof, unfriendly or socially awkward to some extent (but not aggressive in their desire to be left alone), but have a hidden murderous side that they may indulge in every so often. Basically, he wants a murderhusband.
Dislikes: He dislikes pain, but is more okay with receiving it than giving it. His biggest "No" is blood because it will trigger his insanity, and because his blood is infectious (he has a terminal disease). He also has some hang-ups about choking/breathplay, since he's a constrictor snake, but can still perform it. As for people, he's not interested in the overly innocent/childish/prudish sort-- he requires a degree of maturity, and wants partners to understand and be enthusiastic about sex.
Top/bottom: Top-vers, will default to top in any given situation. If anyone wants to top him, they need to have some experience in that position first.
D/s orientation: Switch, but will need some time to warm up to the idea of BDSM. His consent to BDSM play depends on what kinks he and his partner may be exploring at any given time-- as long as the points in "Dislikes" are avoided.
FWB: Shalem prefers this kind of arrangement-- he craves human connection but wants to avoid emotional attachments due to the fear of dragging people into his mess when aspects or people from his traumatic past eventually catch up to him. Gaining a bunch of casual sex partners will let him have the best of both worlds.
Romance: It may be a slowburn, given Shalem's everything. He's likely an old-school romantic, so he'd insist on making some traditional courting gestures before making it official.
OOC ship/dynamic preferences: My favorite with him is Phantom, but I'm down for other male characters like SilverAsh, Thorns, Elysium... Name an adult male character (except a Durin) and I may just say yes. Otherwise, it all depends on the chemistry between characters, especially for crosscanon. I love crosscanon ships. Other, non-smutty/shippy No's and more warnings can be found on his permissions/opt-out page.
KINKS
Yes kinks are particular IC favorites. Maybe means I'm open to it, but would require discussion first. IC Limits are things the character would dislike, but I would enjoy playing out despite their distaste (and in some cases because of it). OOC Limits are hard limits that I will refuse to play.
You can hover over kinks marked with an asterisk to read a note.