Charles Yvry (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
coyoteking) wrote2018-09-24 11:29 pm
coyoteking) wrote2018-09-24 11:29 pm
App
PLAYER
Player name: Leu
Contact:
Characters currently in-game: Michael Munroe
CHARACTER
Character Name: Charles Yvry II
Character Age: 25-ish, he's not 100% sure when he was born
Canon: Original again lmao
Canon Point: his canon isn't linear, but I'm taking him from the "present day", early spring 2010
World Description: Charles is from an alternate timeline that diverged around the end of World War II. There was no Cold War, just a third World War, and everything got generally wrecked to hell and back. Things got bombed, places got invaded, and nearly the entire globe got involved in a technology race to see who could destroy who faster. The conflict finally ended about 30 years prior to Charles' canonpoint, (so, the 80s,) when a biological weapon of unknown origin reduced the human population of basically everywhere by at least a third. By now, 2010, the world is well into recovery mode, with life trying to return to a sense of normalcy. Charles specifically is from a version of Chicago that's an independent political entity, as the United States is largely broken and partially uninhabitable. The city is run by what used to be organized crime syndicates, each controlling separate territory but coming together to make larger decisions about Chicago as a whole. They're all constantly backstabbing each other and vying for more power, so aside from being more violent, it's not all that different from politics in reality. There's no magic in this world, but technology is just a few steps ahead of our own (particularly in the medical, communications, and military fields). Additionally, the supernatural does not exist here.
History: Charles has had a rough life, but then, so has basically everyone else where he's from. That's just kind of the name of the game when you come around right after war and plague and all that. His birth parents are a mystery, both to himself and everyone else, but he spent his formative years (along with his twin sister) in the underground organ trade. He was essentially raised as a commodity, more valuable in pieces. Though missing a few parts of himself, he (and his sister) did manage to survive, entirely due to the intervention of a Chicago crime boss who wasn't exactly fond of the practice of chopping up kids for their insides. This man, Charles Yvry the older, sheltered the twins in what was supposed to be a temporary situation, but later became permanent. He essentially adopted them, not that there was any legal agency for that anymore. They were roughly 12 at the time, and this was far from a happy ending.
Yvry and his right-hand man, a guy named Archer, weren't so keen on murdering kids, but they were perfectly fine with taking in the desperate, orphaned ones and turning them into soldiers, enforcers, or whatever other violent positions they required. Adults work fine for general grunt work, but to really make a killer, you have to start young. Such was their philosophy, in any case. Charles and his sister Xivia (now with names) resisted this training at first, Xivia especially. Their new "father" gave them an ultimatum: be useful or get lost. Mostly out of the desire to protect his sister, Charles agreed to do whatever was necessary.
Over the next few years, he proved himself to be a rather cunning and resourceful asset to the Yvry empire, earning himself the nickname "Coyote" for his rash and tenacious nature. He also earned the trust and respect of most of his fellow adoptees/sort-of-siblings, a fact which would come in handy later. He was never all that fond of the older Charles, despite ending up with his name, and things between them eventually came to a head about five years ago. Charles discovered, through his rising connections and level of responsibility in the organization, that his namesake had a suspicious connection to the organ traders that raised him. The ensuing argument over this resulted in the elder Charles' death, a murder that the younger one, with his newfound respect, was able to pin on Archer.
Xivia saw this as their opportunity to finally escape this violent life, but Charles had a dilemma. He could run away with his sister and never have to deal with this again, but then he'd be leaving behind his new family, the other children Yvry had molded into criminals. There was no feasible way to take them all on the run, and with their boss out of the picture, the other groups that ran the city would surely close in to pick them apart. So Charles stayed and took over. His sister did not. They haven't spoken since.
In the five years following, Charles has had to use a combination of wits and brutality to survive the harsh world of politics in his version of Chicago. Two of his adopted siblings serve as his co-bosses, helping to run their little kingdom and keep the other syndicates off their turf. It's a tenuous existence, but it's one that Charles chose, and that's what's important to him.
Personality: Like most people, Charles is a mess of contradictions. He's blunt but deceptive, prone to violence but also very understanding, callous and protective by turns. He's a person naturally inclined to caring and charity, but born into a world where these values frequently equal weakness and death. So basically, he's a good person that had to become a bad one.
Perhaps his most notable feature is his tenacity. Charles is stubborn, and once he sets his mind on something, he just doesn't give up. Whether it's a physical fight or a territorial dispute, he doesn't back down and he doesn't stay down. If he's blocked in one way, he will find another. This adaptability and brazen will is most of what earned him his "Coyote" nickname, being reminiscent of that animal's ability to flourish, even in human habitation, and the difficulty in wiping them out. The other part of that moniker is his apparent recklessness, often biting off more than he can chew, heedless to the possibility of failure. Just like his namesake creature has a tendency to stand up to two-ton cars and steal from much larger predators, Charles is known to sometimes do very, very
If there are reasons for these behaviors, they're likely rooted in his own sense of worth. As far as he's concerned, something bad can happen to him as long as it benefits those he cares about. His recklessness absolutely extends to defending and providing for "his people", those he considers family, and in fact, this is his primary motivation as a person. He's a born protector, seeing the world in an "us vs them" mentality. Everyone he values is the Most Important, far more important than himself, and everyone outside of that circle can get fucked. It's nothing personal, just that if it comes down to his family or someone else's, he'll always choose his own. And if it comes down to his family or him, he'll continue to put them first.
Charles experiences a lot of guilt, both survivor's guilt from his violent childhood and guilt over the many bad things he's had to do in his adult life. He tends to take on the worst tasks personally, so as to spare others from having to do it and sully themselves. Perhaps ironically, however, he doesn't always take the same route when it comes to difficult decisions. He hates having to make choices that determine life or death situations. These he will often foist off on someone else, perhaps in an effort to avoid the weight of having made the wrong call. If forced into making such an important decision himself, he'll struggle with it, and probably agonize over it forever if things go south as a result of his choices. If he's put on the spot and has to make a snap decision, there's a chance he'll freeze up.
And yet, continuing the trend of oxymorons, Charles values the freedom of choice almost as much as he values his people. Maybe he makes stupid and rash decisions, but at least he's making them, and not being forced to obey someone else. He has little respect for authority and law (unless he had a part in making said law) and is incredibly defiant, sometimes just to be contrary. He's one of those people you can probably get to do something by telling him that he can't. His love of choice extends to others, as well, and he'll argue for their right to do so, even if he doesn't particularly like them or what they're choosing.
Speaking of others, here's where Charles makes kind of a terrible mob boss. He has a huge weakness for people that remind him of his younger self: children, people in abusive or controlling situations, etc. He has a tendency to sort of "adopt" people like this, assuming they're receptive to him, and they become part of "his people". It's kind of like a fast-pass to trust town, which is remarkable, because in most circumstances Charles is extremely suspicious of the motives of others and slow to trust. If you do manage to win his trust, though, be it through
He's generally understanding of others' idiosyncrasies, such as mental problems, physical differences, or other "unconventional" conditions. He doesn't give a damn about gender, sexuality, or race, but he does think religion is bullshit. This all isn't just a result of him having a weakness for the disenfranchised, but is in large part due to the people he was raised with. Most of his "family" is very diverse, and since they're his family, whatever is true about them is obviously fine. As an example, his twin sister is trans, and therefore transness is a-ok, because his sister can do no wrong (and also like, who cares? he's all about letting people do what they want).
All that understanding and taking in abused children aside, Charles isn't really a good guy. He is absolutely ruthless when necessary, and he can hold a grudge for basically forever. He's kinda big into revenge, the more spectacular the better. He can and will do whatever it takes to make sure his family stays safe and well provided for, and that whoever hurts them suffers more. Though he's gotten better about it as an adult, he's still got a short temper, and is ready and willing to resort to violence if the situation calls for it. Or doesn't, sometimes.
That said, he isn't all about brute force. He has no formal education, but he's a bit more clever than he seems by his blunt, crude way of speaking. He's no charismatic leader, but he generally knows where and how to push people to get them to do what he wants. Sometimes this is by giving them an "or else" ultimatum, but sometimes it's just genuine manipulation and/or bribery. He's sort of a politician, after all. He can be deceptive at times, but more often than not he's very upfront about his intentions and thoughts. Sometimes this is as good an intimidation tactic as any.
Inventory: Charles is carrying what he typically does: a black handgun in a shoulder holster, a phone (looks more like clear rectangle with a silver border), his wallet (no ID or cards, just cash and a photo), a half-empty pack of cigarettes, and a fancy gold lighter.
Abilities: He's a pretty good fighter, if for no other reason than that he just does not give up. He's better with knives and fists than guns, but he can still use those. In addition, he has an uncanny memory for spoken words, able to recall entire conversations verbatim, sometimes long after the initial event. This, combined with the fact that he just kind of enjoys it, has made it possible for him to learn several languages in a relatively short amount of time. He speaks Russian, Spanish, and Mandarin in addition to his native language (English) and can sort of passably get by in Japanese, Italian, and German (all of these being the more commonly spoken languages in his city). Unfortunately, this does not extend to reading, and he's not nearly as good at that. He has a good head for business and maneuvering in political circles, which I'm sure will come in very handy in Hadriel. He knows how to deal with people to get what he wants, but only in certain ways; i.e., through force, intimidation, and manipulation. Sometimes through bargaining. He's not so good at sweet-talking or being charismatic.
Flaws: In terms of past crimes, Charles is pretty guilty. He partially runs a vast criminal organization (well, criminal by our standards, but since they make the laws, not so much) responsible for a lot of nasty stuff. They deal in weapons, they murder their rivals, they extort businesses, they take a "tax" from everything shipped into or out of the city, etc, etc. Charles has both overseen these actions and ordered them himself. He's also personally killed a number of people, and threatened or injured many more. As far as personal shortcomings go... where to start? He's quick to resort to violence and even quicker to anger, lashes out when scared, and sometimes delegates difficult decisions so that he won't feel responsible for the outcome. He says what he thinks, even if it's awful. Though it bothers him a great deal to cause as much pain as he does, he continues to do it because of an "us or them" mentality that pits the people he cares about against everyone else. In terms of more practical flaws, he's blind in one eye, missing a kidney, and has a phobia of medical situations/objects/personnel. He has no formal education, and felt no need to catch up on certain subjects (science, literature, history, etc.) so his knowledge of those things is very flawed.
SAMPLES
Action Log Sample: I got some samples from the fourth-wall event last month!