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GALLERY
Also try his tag on my art blog.
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BASICS
NAME
Daniel Sunderland
AGE
42
GENDER
Male
BIRTHDAY
August 15
HAIR COLOR
Dark green
EYE COLOR
Pale blue
ORIENTATION
Gay
RELATIONSHIP STATUS
Committed
BUILD
5'8". Chubby, pot-bellied torso with long, thin limbs
PLACE OF ORIGIN
Originally from the southern end of the midwest, now lives in San Lupo, a port city in the Eastern US
VOICE
Low, sounds like the chain-smoker he is. Quiet. Not wordy.
OCCUPATION
Bodyguard for the 2nd in command of the Uccello crime family
WORDS
Stalwart. Guarded. Depressed. Sarcastic. Protective. Kind. Tired. Thoughtful. Attentive. Self-destructive. Unambitious. Apathetic. Orphan. Hedonistic. Resilient. Strong. Funny. Loyal. Devoted. Addictive. Measured. Understanding. Enabler. Pessimistic. Private. Resolved. Generous. Good-natured. Impulsive. Bitter. Closed-off. Wary. Recovering.
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DESCRIPTION
A hapless man who fell on dark times, became a criminal's bodyguard, and fell in love with him. The criminal - now ascended in a crime family and owner of multiple sketchy strip clubs - has been his partner for 16 years, and Daniel is still his bodyguard.
Daniel is a guarded man - quiet and sarcastic, but kind and funny, if he's not on the job and you manage to get a word out of him. Intensely private and guarded, many people who've known him for years realize they can't say more than a few words about the parts of his life they don't know him in, and that's how he likes it.
Occasionally, you do catch a better glance of his character. He listens well - though you rarely notice, unless he has a correction or wisecrack - and is fairly clever. He's comfortable in many situations that disturb or embarrass his colleagues - dark, kinky, domestic, or otherwise. He's skilled at reading people's moods and motivations, which makes him good at extending a hand to people at the end of their rope, or pushing enemies over the edge. He's friendly and good at making himself fun and comfortable to be around if he wants to - but he's just as likely to try to fade into the background. He isn't kind to himself, making no secret of his self-medicating with booze and chain-smoked cigarettes.
In truth, he is a genuinely good-natured, kind, and loyal person, but he's also chronically depressed, hedonistic, and morally flexible. He won't defend himself with the fierceness he does others and keeps too much genuine connection at arm's length. He has a tired pessimism from all of his past misfortune, and he's much too willing to compromise what he thinks is right for what he thinks has a chance of making him happier. He can be surprisingly sympathetic and supportive - mostly to the disadvantaged or unlucky - if the situation and spirit strike, though he gives advice much better than he can take it. Give him a chance and he might surprise you.
TELL ME MORE ABOUTwhat makes him tick
Daniel sees life as a nasty storm he has to weather. He's unlucky, a perpetual victim of circumstance; he got a bad brain in the genetic lottery, was abandoned as an infant, and aged out of foster care, among other tragedies. He's understandably pessimistic. If he has to be here, he's going to wring as much enjoyment out as he can. He's unashamedly hedonistic, albeit tired. He came from nothing and he'll end with it, too; he's going to fill the mean time with whatever simple pleasures he can manage.
When he was younger, he got by being a person people wanted to be around. He was a jokester, an enabler, down for anything, and heavy into pop culture as a way to relate to people. Not a lot of people knew he was depressed. He's still a pretty nice guy with a sense of humor, but as he's gotten older, he doesn't need the constant external validation as much, so he's let a lot of those social skills slip. He's content to have a few people close to him and keep the rest of the world at a distance. He's not really cold, but he's quiet.
So now he's a stubborn, tired, worn-down enabler for a guy who likes both kicking peoples faces in and being kicked in the face, but he's about as well-adjusted in that situation as you can reasonably expect. His partner offers some emotional stability and day-to-day motivation, and stops him from becoming a full-on alcoholic. He's just a reasonably nice guy who wants to eat good food, watch movies, spend time with his partner, and forget the many ways he's gotten screwed over.
bloodsuckers
In some universes, Tennant (Daniel's partner) recently became a vampire. Given that the existence of vampires is generally known to people involved in the criminal underworld, Tennant sustained an injury Daniel knew he couldn't recover from and made a quick, desperate deal to make sure he'd live in some way.
Tennant is not terribly different as a vampire. He feels pretty comfortable with not being human. At some level, Tennant has always believed that he was a monster pretending to be a human and stealing what he needed to get by. Now it's literal. Tennant's selfimage is usually something that he avoids thinking/talking about much, and Daniel doesn't see him that way, so him leaning into that makes Daniel sad.
On the other hand, being a vampire kind of turns most of the aspects of Tennant that Daniel is attracted to up to 11. Playful, stubborn, cocky vampire. Less interested in the minutiae of running his businesses and more interested in entertaining himself. Everything feels just a little less important to him now.
Daniel, in this scenario, is excited and a little bit panicked basically all the time. He did something he wouldn't have thought he would do in getting Tennant turned, and he worries about whether he did the right thing. He realizes that he's more willing to do nasty, violent things than he thought he was. He feels guilty, but he's more alive than ever.
My OC's world is already very much a "reality level about a foot off the ground" modern day real world, so in this universe, rather than being some big supernatural conspiracy vampires are more of a taboo that people don't want to talk about.
The public as a whole is aware that they exist, but thinks of them as a far-off concept they probably won't encounter unless they live a sketchy or out-of-the-ordinary life - like pirates, evil cults, or scary deepweb hitmen. It's illegal to feed off people and super illegal to turn them, and being caught as a vampire gives you similar status to a felon, so most vampires are confined to a shadier below-ground life even if they don't really hurt anyone or want to.
A vampire can subside on a diet of mostly food with similar-to-blood makeup with occasional human blood, which will make them very similar to or weaker than a regular human with all their biological processes running very slowly. They can also be killed pretty easily and do age slowly. Drinking more blood makes them more "supernatural": regenerating, not aging, being stronger and faster, etc.
They are burned by sunlight and mildly so by UV light in general. Herbs make them nauseous. Superstitions about reflections/silver apply depending on how much blood they drink/how monstery they are. Their behavior becomes substantially less human as they drink more blood.
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APPEARANCE
Daniel is a 42-year-old white man, 5'8" tall, with a chubby torso and long, thin limbs. He's moderately hairy and prone to periods of not taking care of himself, which shows in his face. His eyes are s striking pale blue, heavy-lidded and weary, and the rest of his face is narrow and sharp. His most notable feature is his strong, downturned aquiline nose, with no break between his brow and nose bridge.
His hair is (naturally) a very dark forest green with a high widow's peak and a receding hairline He generally wears it slicked straight back, but it it's nearly chin-length in the front and shorter in the back, with a slight wave.
He doesn't tend to dress to stand out, keeping to "business casual" type attire in neutral earth tones. He enjoys dressing a little bit like a stereotypical noir detective - sloppy dress shirt, suspenders, and shoulder gun holster (if he's on the job). He's a chain smoker, which can always be smelled on him and heard in his voice (quiet, low and raspy).
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FACTS
- Rarely seen without Tennant at his side.
- Secure in his identity and sexuality, but dislikes public displays of affection.
- Most attracted to people he's at least a little bit afraid of.
- Legitimacy of Freud's theories aside, has an obvious oral fixation. Keeps toothpicks around in his pockets for when he knows he can't smoke.
- Afraid of fire, but smokes near-constantly. He finds comfort in the control over it.
- Loves to cook, with similar reasoning. Likes trying new things; definitely a foodie.
- Big movie buff. Particularly likes genre fiction.
- Very good at reflex-driven arcade games and pinball, but he's never bothered to get into modern video games.
- Avoids being around children.
- Gets surprised when people think of him as straight-laced and responsible. He's reliable, but still imagines himself as a wild problem child.
- On his nights off without Tennant around, he's a regular at an old gay bar downtown called Richard's.
- Not precious about possessions. Lives far enough within his means to be very generous without thinking about it.
- Lives in a more modest apartment across the hall from Tennant's.
- Tennant's fridge is full of Daniel's leftovers because he hates cooking. Tennant does Daniel's laundry in return, but Daniel hates getting it together so his apartment's full of laundry anyway.
- Notable tics: Laughing once/briefly (hah.), steepling his fingers, pinching the bridge of his nose, sighing loudly
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RELATIONSHIPS
- Tennant is Daniel's dear partner of 16 years. Though they aren't married and technically live apart, they're stalwart companions who spend much more time together than not, and they've had tremendous influence over each others' lives. Daniel likes Tennant for his resilience, confidence, and bright personality. Tennant is the more emotionally stable of the two of them in their personal life. He's sunny, sweet, and has the drive and enthusiasm that Daniel lacks to carry them forward. He's also very good about providing support and comfort when Daniel needs it, without letting him wallow or stagnate. Daniel looks up to Tennant as a one-of-a-kind, magnetic personality, capable of great and terrible things, resourceful and unbreakable despite their shared background of being profoundly unwanted earlier in their lives.
On the other side, Tennant thinks of Daniel as something like "his good half." Daniel is good-natured, reasonable, and hard to shake, but also a little wild and down for anything. Tennant can feel his loyalty, and appreciates him as one of the few who can look him in the eye and see his for all he his and tries to be. But Daniel also isn't a pushover, and is willing to challenge him and his worst impulses. Tennant feels more human around Daniel than anyone else, and Tennant makes Daniel feel alive.
They are very private about their relationship - not necessarily trying hard to hide it, but they don't talk about it or show affection in public. They just don't like to. In private, together, they tend towards the gooey sweet side of things most of the time. They like close contact and the lack of pretenses when they're alone, so they can be sickeningly romantic and touchy. They tend to like having a nice meal and watching movies together. That said, they have their own spaces (apartments on the same floor) and don't go home together every night, so they do have their time alone as well.
- Daniel has known Jilles since Jilles was a teenager, which gives him just a hint of protective paternal feelings. These are both positive and negative. He's fond of Jilles - he thinks he's a little dumb but very sweet - and thus struggles with watching Jilles' condition deteriorate.
Daniel is Tennant's bodyguard, and Tennant used to meet with Dom often at Dom's house in the years after Carly died. Jilles was lonely, so when he was just waiting Daniel would keep Jilles company. Jilles looks up to Daniel a lot. They have similar jobs and Jilles has always seen Daniel as being in the kind of position he aspires to. They still meet up occasionally for dinner or coffee.
- Tennant is Daniel's dear partner of 16 years. Though they aren't married and technically live apart, they're stalwart companions who spend much more time together than not, and they've had tremendous influence over each others' lives. Daniel likes Tennant for his resilience, confidence, and bright personality. Tennant is the more emotionally stable of the two of them in their personal life. He's sunny, sweet, and has the drive and enthusiasm that Daniel lacks to carry them forward. He's also very good about providing support and comfort when Daniel needs it, without letting him wallow or stagnate. Daniel looks up to Tennant as a one-of-a-kind, magnetic personality, capable of great and terrible things, resourceful and unbreakable despite their shared background of being profoundly unwanted earlier in their lives.
