Not even second-best.

in-game contact post

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 11:02:25 GMT

Email: giovanni [at] hypnos [dot] edu

--

Voicemail:

This number is either busy, out of coverage area, or is just not interested in answering your call. Leave a message after the... yeah, sure. Bye.

[beep]

Player/Character Critique Post

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:56:56 GMT

Any and all concerns regarding how this character is played can be directed here.

All comments screened, anon allowed.

Or you can email at kidcorva[at]yahoo.com.

001, let's do this again.

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 11:18:19 GMT

...Wow it's been years since I played this guy last.

nightmare_high application.

CHARACTER:

Name: Giovanni
Source: Dogs: Bullets and Carnage

Canon Background: Giovanni was an unwilling participant in the pursuit of science - taken at a young age, he was designated as subject 68 in the Cerberus Project, a military faction project that aims to perfect the human soldier by modifying their bodies. Whether he remembers his life before the observation room or not is unclear, but his past until then didn't matter when faced with the possibility of dying in that very room, where he meets Haine, Lily, and Angelica Einstelson for the first time, and is then attacked by Einstelson's "pets". Unable to berserk, Giovanni hid himself into a corner, dead-terrified for his life, prompting Einstelson to personally inform him of what she thinks of his worth: trash. As with all things that happen at the right time under the right situations, one could say this left a very prominent mark on Giovanni's very being, warping his view of himself and those around him, finally becoming fixated on Haine and his seeming invincibility. This was furthered by Haine's breakdown, where he killed almost all of the test subjects in his group in a controlled-environment observation that went horribly wrong. And though Giovanni had survived, he had survived barely intact.

All these events led to who Giovanni is now: an obsessive, voyueristic sociopath with an inferiority and borderline Oedipus complex, all covered by a veneer of civility and proper conduct, and who follows his given orders to the best of his abilities yet nurtures deep conflicted sentiments for those he works for - whose true motives for stalking Haine cannot be ascertained.

Nightmare-verse Background: The most vivid memories Giovanni holds close are the ones he'd most want to forget - the heavy weight of being sedated and overdosed on anaesthesia, the unsettling fear that he's being left behind by everyone in the group for being too weak to hold the drugs as he should, the white walls of their confinement cells, the feel of cheap paper and crayons that served as his only respite, the bullying of the other children. And there was Haine who was too good at everything, and there was Doctor Einstelson who doted on Haine and degraded the rest, and there were those unscheduled "observations" where all the children were herded into a windowless room--

And then it was all red.

What happened next Giovanni couldn't - or wouldn't - tell, but he eventually "graduated" from being a lab rat to something like a person, and was released temporarily into the world to learn how to be part of it, often waiting for phone calls that tell him what he should do next - this time, to partake in the boiling pot that is the secondary academic level of education, better known as high school. Suffering from "light sensitivity", Giovanni has no choice but to attend with sunglasses on at all times, something that he's not sure he likes for the attention it draws to himself. Polite, confident, well-dressed ang good at following orders, Giovanni blends into society well - if you can ignore the rumors that he instigates fights outside of school without actually getting involved, that he gets phone calls at random times during the day from an unlisted number, and that sometimes, when his shirt collar rides low on his neck, you can just see the tip of a scar on his nape.

Dream Form: Giovanni's dream form echoes his childhood strongly - he appears as his child form, wearing the uniform clothes given to the children within the drug testing facility, and because the facility uniform's shirt is buttoned up at the back like a hospital gown, a long vertical scar aligned with his spine is visible to all - a souvenir from "an accident" involving Haine, and a reminder of his at-times-delibitating insecurities and obsessions. He wears a metal neck ring which is screwed into his neck, a representation of his being a lapdog to the people who had taken and broken him down, and how he hasn't done anything to free himself from his situation. He also carries a sketchpad that doesn't have a lot of pages left to draw on, with broken crayons in his shirt pocket; the former is a representation of how he feels his life has been used for someone else's goals and how he desperately wants to control what little he can, and the latter a representation of how he's been broken by the things that had happened to him in his past.

In the dream state, his senses are heightened incredibly, but is physically frail; he is able to heal at an extremely increased rate, but is also as many times susceptible to injuries, thus suffering his wounds several times over when his wounds heal over (painful enough in itself) and then reopen, should be beaten up on repeatedly. In the dreams Giovanni is shown for how he really sees himself as - a weak, helpless, insecure boy whose psyche is weighed down by the horrors of his childhood.

Class: Juniors
1st Period: English III
2nd Period: Trigonometry
3rd Period: World History
LUNCH
4th Period: Classic Literature
5th Period: Psychology and Sociology

Awards and Activities: none

SAMPLES:

Third Person: "...And I think to myself, what a wonderful world."

Giovanni had found the song in a tucked-away folder in his laptop, an English language cover by a Korean duo of a very popular song. A fitting - if not disturbingly rendered - cover, Giovanni had thought, as he listened to it on loop for most of the hour while finishing up on the last chapters of this week's assigned reading. It was probably what his brain would sound like, if he imprinted himself onto a disc and ran it through a computer audio conversion program. Not like it matters.

It's Thursday.

Listening to this particular song on a Thursday was ironic on many levels.

He could hear the warbled vocals flitting through his mind as he walked down the hall leading to the basement infirmary, murmuring lines from the song against a finger pressed to his mouth, quieting down when he clears the staircase and faces the white covers, the scent of fear thick in his senses - or he could be simply imagining it, dizzy and nauseous as he is to the thought of living as a child again.

Of being that useless, useless little piece of trash shit that he was.

Still is.

The song echoes through the last shreds of Giovanni's consciousness as he falls into sleep, the taste of irony all funny as weight wraps around his neck, screws itself deep into his skin .

And he thinks to himself, what a wonderful world.

First Person: I have to admit that I really. Really. Hate the cafeteria food. It feels like eating soft, melted plastic. On one hand you really don't have a choice but the chew on it and hope you don't get food poisoning, but on the other hand I'd suppose it's better than having nothing for lunch.

That said, is anyone else having difficulty with this week's Trigonometry assignment? I'm four inches away from lobbing this thing at the closest bonfire.

Notes: Er.

OOC Again - character essay

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 13:16:45 GMT

Character essay, Giovanni. In which I will fuck up the english language with my fake Victorian verbage - which, considering Dogs, is the most innapropriate language I can use (I'm sure Badou can pull off Valley-speak if he tried). Enjoy.

PS. This is long enough to spur an entire fucking paper based solely on intrpretations of a fucking cartoon.

Pardon the lack of greetings.

There are no words concise or exact fit, in as clear a manner as could be, to describe the intensities of Giovanni's emotions for many things. However, should by this exposition we come closer to understanding his motives, one should try to the best of his ability, not only to assuage one's blinded curiosity, but to put to ease the foolishness of essay-writing on subjects that, as a writer and character roleplayer as I, find such struggle in attempting to grasp an understanding of.

It is by this manner that I find myself, young child of a single decade and seven years into the world, perusing my rather thin vocabulary to put to writing my thoughts, and my theories, on the man of written word and illustrated lines that has so given me grief and frustration thus far.

He of the wide-lensed glasses, of tinted orange neon, and of questionable sexuality.

Yes, Giovanni.

As my exigesis would provide you: Giovanni's esablished history; a brief characterization; and of most pertinent regard, his relationship - should it qualify to be called thus - with his adopted sibling, Haine Rammsteiner.

Let us begin.

Giovanni's origins are not known, as is his true identity; his ancestry, blood, and date of birth are blanks as of this writing. His canon, as one would call his fantasised origins, only provides spare information: the name he is supplied with by his superiors, a meager part of his medical data from his childhood, and the number of his plate as given by the organization - rather, the medical faculty - he is a part of (the number sixty-eight). Physical traits are as equally bare; his frame is thin, his hair pale and yellow.

What is provided, in detail, is a unique relationship with the man named Haine Rammsteiner, who will be of importance throughout this exercise. Giovanni first appears with as obvious a malicious intent as can be provided in five brief pages of dialogue. His dialogue, in essence, serves the purpose of putting the main character in foul temper. It is in these pages that Giovanni establishes foreshadowing on certain events, and notably, a previous engagement with Haine. Haine's reaction immediately after Giovanni's departure tells us that their parting was not of the kindest of ways, as well.

What makes those five pages noteworthy is the manner in which Giovanni approaches Haine. His stride and speech, as well the intentional violation of personal space, shows an inclination towards making those of his acquaintances ill at ease. This can be interpreted as a case of schadenfreude, most especially misfortune on others as caused by oneself. He incites and provokes, garners attention that likely results in violence and anger aimed to his person, and takes his pleasure in the resulting situation. Giovanni finds his amusement in psychological torment, though not on the same level one would expect from a complete sociopath. (He, however, shows sociopathic tendencies.)

In the succeeding volume, second chapter of, Giovanni resurfaces - in what can be assumed as Haine's subconscious. Here he discusses with Haine a portion of their past, and Giovanni's ominous parting words about certain issues that Haine has left behind remaining unsolved. There is mention of Haine's sister - presumably his younger - and the underlying thread of intimacy and tension in the conversation leads one to think that Giovanni's forced-upon visits carry more weight than they have at face value.

As it were, the dislike Haine projects to Giovanni tells us that the questionable affection that Giovanni expends on the other is much one-sided an emotion. The exact cause of his reactions - and Giovanni's lack thereof to Haine's - has not been fully discussed.

It the same volume, third chapter of, Giovanni manipulates a mafia Don into revenge. In the first chapter we would have seen Haine and his working companion, Badou, take down a group of men trafficking genetically-enhanced children, an operation in which Badou, unintentionally, is used as decoy, and Haine - with characteristic insensitivity and brashness - barges in and makes short work of the men.

It is the same group of men whose employer Giovanni had approached, and in exchange for the information he provided the employer, he simply asks that the man do something to repay the favor of losing business on Haine's account.

Of course, from this third chapter to the sixth, the man - Don of the Carlselino family business - make his attempts, and fails spectacularly. He loses part of his face to Haine's mouth, as Giovanni watches the proceedings of the entrapment from abovehead.

The same volume, chapter six of: Giovanni interrupts the brawl, ambushing Haine with his handheld weapon. It is here that we see Giovanni being most at home with his actions. His gleeful expression as he promptly empties the magazines of his guns into Haine's form is not the reaction one expects from a man - especially considering that Haine is rather at the doorstep of Death after his unfair attack. Indeed, Giovanni goes on to applaud and praise Haine, citing previous - and obviously aborted - apparent deaths, and for being "the best", the most able to "handle the mad dog living in your neck".

Here Giovanni proclaims to bring out the "black dog inside", thus confirming the pervasive aura of Things Not Being What They Should Be.

After which Haine and Giovanni have a gunfight, which isn't so much an antithesis to gunfights as its ending is.

[In the tenth chapter, Giovanni mentions the first concrete piece of information regarding his business with Haine - a Professor Einstellson, a member of the Cerberus project that Giovanni refers as their "mother". Haine's rude response, as well as his refusal and answer that he "doesn't need an escort", as well as derisive remarks about Giovanni's motivations for his actions, is indicative of a lot of resentment directed at the group Giovanni is associated with.

The "breakdown of negotiations" between Giovanni and Haine establishes the first conflict of the storyline - Giovanni is, presumably, sent to facilitate Haine's return to their fold.]

Which leads us to the eleventh chapter (all previous chapters, down to the sixth, comprise the battle scenes). Giovanni, having been placed in gross disadvantage by being severely wounded and cornered to an open floor landing, inelegantly shrugs off his situation by complaining about the condition of his accoutrements and clothing
. He takes a moment to fret on the possibilities of getting a cold, while Haine looks on with mixed incredulity and dawning understanding. As Haine prepares for the secondary attack, Giovanni, in as anticlimactic an action one could attempt in a fight, abruptly ends it, conceding defeat to Haine, and jumps off the landing, leaving Haine much pertrubed.

For a man who jumped off several stories aboveground, he carried with him a very pleased countenance. (One assumes that he survived, as in the closing panels of the chapter Giovanni is seen wiping his glasses clean; the mechanics of his survival is unclear.)

And so we move on to later chapters, which contents are more pertinent to our subject than the others. A female antagonist is introduced, by the name of Freuling, and she gives us insight on another aspect of Giovanni's character: his pride. He takes badly to her patronizing attitude, as with her referring to him as "little Giovanni". It would seem that Giovanni is not so far up the heirarchy of his group, and is left to bandy empty words around with the woman.

Now, for the following discussions: as much as I'd like to explicate, I have not the luxury of time and coherency to provide any more than I will forthcoming. I can only expiate my intent inasfar as this endeavor is concerned when my need for sleep bears me stress of greater amount.

Giovanni, in summary, is not as pleasant as his appearance would suggest. He depends on practicality, but he does so with a contradicting attitude to his peers. His business provides him his pleasure, as will his voyeurism with regards to Haine. He leans closely to the benefits of his psychosis, making no leave or excuse for his whims. Giovanni is also an obsessive, and seems to have been cultured a taste for finer things. He is not above using those around him to achieve his goal - which seems a trait that runs the same current with Haine and Freuling, in differing manners.

I have now come to the endline of my article, and hope that this is either of use or entertainment, but it is now past late of night and too early of the day, and the evening sun is thus on its way to rise the morning. I must make like most of the mortal coil to take my rest, lest my father wakes and I incur his displeasure, so soon into the new hour rising.

Thus I take my leave, and my wishes to you.