Deerington • Application

[thebigred]

IN CHARACTER

Character Name: Clifford Norman
Canon: Wilde Life
Canon Point: Beginning of Chapter Six, after the witch claimed his name.

In-Game Tattoo Placement: Minimalistic antlers at the back of his neck.
Current Health/Status: Alive, asleep, in good health.
Age: 16
Species: Werewolf.

Content warnings: Underage drinking and smoking, body horror, murder.

History:

Clifford was born in Georgia, to mom Nora and a dad he never got to meet. Shortly after Cliff was born, Nora took him and moved to Podunk, Oklahoma where she later married Carl and adopted Cliff's younger brother Kevin. As a kid, Clifford discovered that he could transform into a large, red wolf, a fact that he carefully kept from the rest of his family.

Growing up in Podunk was mostly uneventful, until that fateful night when he ran into a pack of werewolves. Up until this point he'd never even met someone like himself, but the excitement of finding others quickly soured; the pack was instantly intrigued by him and suggested he come with them to Colorado, to start a wolf colony. Cliff declined but soon realised that no wasn't an acceptable answer. He ran, and ended up passing out on a porch, waking up the next morning in some guy's bathtub.

That guy turned out to be Oscar Wilde, and from that moment on Cliff's life would never be the same. Despite Cliff's initial reluctance, he soon came to see Oscar as a friend and perhaps even a father figure - a father figure that would accidentally put him in danger at every turn, but still. After a few run-ins with werewolves, thunder children and an elementary school poltergeist, Cliff and Oscar met Eliza, the Witch of Summer and protector of Podunk. While initially wary of Cliff, Eliza soon learned that he was under the protection of the White-faced Bear, something that Cliff himself wasn't aware of.

Eliza invited Cliff and Oscar over for dinner and a nighttime walk around her rose garden, a walk that was soon interrupted by a pair of rougarou. While protecting Oscar from the rougarou's sharp teeth and transformative gaze, Cliff killed one of them while in wolf form, saving Oscar and gaining the attention of Zulime, another witch.

A few days after the dinner at Eliza's, Cliff runs away from home after another pointless fight with his stepdad. While feeling sorry for himself, he's approached by glowing butterflies that lead him to Zulime. She tells him who she is, that she's the one responsible for the rougarou and that she didn't expect to find him while she was testing Eliza's powers. Clifford, thoroughly fed up, makes an attempt to leave. This is when Zulime claims Cliff's name with a spell. He passes out.


Personality:

In many ways, Clifford fits perfectly into the surly teen stereotype. He can be short-tempered, abrasive, quick to anger and slow to show any sign of affection. Talking, especially about feelings, is very much like pulling teeth and that partially stems from feeling like he's not being listened to and even if someone would listen they wouldn't understand him anyway. The world is against him, life is unfair and no one has any right to tell him what to do, because they don't know him. He's constantly on the defence, which turns every conversation into a potential fight, confirming his suspicions that no one listens to him and that he's right to be on the defence. It's a never ending cycle and the only adult that seems to have broken through it is Oscar, but even that is touch and go some days.

When it comes to figures of authority, Clifford doubles down on the attitude and his step-dad's treatment of him only fuels the fire. Where there's still affection and care between Cliff and his mom, there's nothing but disdain when it comes to Carl and chances are Clifford feels Carl has turned his mom against him since coming into their lives. He doesn't like being told what to do but even more so he doesn't like it when it's something he's already done. The deaf unfairness that Carl displays has pushed Clifford into one single strategy — if there's trouble, he runs. If there's pushback, he runs. Bolting barefoot through the woods is better than slowly being eaten up from the inside by sheer frustration the way he would be if he actually stayed.

Although he does what he can to avoid emotional confrontations, Clifford knows how to stand his ground in a physical fight. He's not afraid to take a punch and rarely hesitates before turning wolf and throwing himself in the fray. That said he's not foolish and if he's overwhelmed he'll turn tail and run. Fighting for him is a necessity, not something he does for fun or out of cruelty. It's about survival, about protecting people he cares about and if you're one of the lucky few to fall within that category, that loyalty is deep and long lasting. He doesn't let people in easily so if he does, that person better not betray him.

He's serious and surly but also so much more than that. Clifford is a kid after all and at the end of the day, he just wants to have as much fun as he can. Running is a big part of that, as is getting into trouble — he likes shoplifting beer, sneaking cigarettes or just generally do things you're not supposed to do. He also enjoys playing videogames with his little brother, but can settle for a game of Go Fish with Sylvia the Ghost if he has nothing better going for him. He has issues with sitting still and can begrudgingly be convinced into going to the Farmer's Market if it means he has something to do rather than just sit around.

As much of a lone wolf as he makes himself out to be, Clifford thrives when he can spend his time with someone else - he's lonely, a lot of the time. He needs people more than he likes to admit. He also has issues with physical affection and dislikes being touched to the point where he'll freak out if his personal space isn't treated with enough respect. If he allows someone to touch him or, heaven forbid, hug him, they're a special person or this is an extremely stressful situation.

Up until meeting Oscar, Cliff didn't seem to have much issue with growing up a werewolf without a werewolf mentor. He loved being different, loved the freedom that his powers allowed him but all that has gotten more complicated lately. It's great that people think it's cool that he can transform into a big red wolf, awesome that he can protect them with his teeth and claws and bulk, but at the same time he has to wonder... is he a monster? Eliza had defensive measures put in place for people like him. It was great that he could protect Oscar against the rougarou, but the look in his eyes afterwards, finding out that he'd locked the bathroom window that was always left open... that doesn't sit right with Clifford. He's a teen who runs away from his emotions, he hasn't taken the time to properly analyse what this has done to his self-image but it can't be denied that he's prickly around the word monster. He loves being different but sooner or later he's going to have to confront what that really means.

Morally, Cliff believes more in his own sense of what's fair than written law. He has no problems with shoplifting or underage drinking and smoking or even killing when it's done for the right reasons, such as protecting yourself or someone else. It's not so much a vocalised idea of right and wrong as an ill-defined feeling for fairness, stemming from a desire to do good things. Not boy-scout good but... you know. Look out for people. Care about people, even if you don't always show it. Protect them, make sure they're okay, stand up to bullies if you can. Laws aren't needed for anything like that and so he doesn't really care much about breaking them.


Abilities/Powers/Weaknesses & Warping:

Abilities/powers: Cliff can turn into a big red wolf at will, regardless if there's a full moon or not. Other than perhaps enhanced stamina (he can run long distances even as a human) and a really good sense of smell, there doesn't seem to be anything unnaturally overpowered about him in wolf form - he's strong and fast, he has teeth and claws, not unlike a normal wolf. His werewolf status gives him immunity against the rougarou's gaze —  he can't be transformed, since he's already transformed — and it could be interpreted that this immunity also applies to other transformative powers.

Weaknesses: Ingesting human blood is established as a bad idea when it comes to werewolves, as it apparently turns them mad. As far as I can tell, Cliff doesn't know about this. When he's not a wolf, Cliff's just your average not-too-strong sixteen year old, although his "animal people" eyes can give away that he's not human - they're bright and reflect light in the dark. He has a short temper and against someone stronger or more powerful he doesn't really stand much of a chance, especially if they goad him on. Oh, also he can't drive.

Warping: Since Cliff is used to being able to transform at will, I'd like to warp his powers to something more unpredictable. There will be times when he can't go wolf, or times when he can't shift out of his animal form.


Inventory:

- Outfit: underwear, socks, shoes, jeans, t-shirt and Oscar's red hoodie.
- Full pack of cigarettes.
- Lighter
- Cell phone.
- A Slim Jim.

Writing Samples:

one

There's a taste of copper in his mouth, a stinging ache under his left heel but Clifford isn't stopping here. His heart is pounding, chasing the adrenaline and frustration through his veins, thudding so heavily in his ears that he can hear nothing but that and the rush of the wind and his own even, measured breaths. Even now, blinded by the futility of yet another pointless argument, he feels balanced on his feet, steady. He can do this all night, was born to do just this and some nights - like tonight - he wonders if he should just keep going. What would happen if he kept going? Out of Podunk, out of Oklahoma. Keep going.

He doesn't keep going. There's always a point where he has to stop and so he does, panting and sweating, chest aching with each deep, gasping breath. There's an expanse of stars above and a dull sting in his foot - no time for shoes - but all he can feel is the relief of not being on the verge of fucking exploding. With a sigh he allows himself to fall backwards into the tall grass, spread-eagle against the dirt, the night dew helping his over-exerted muscles cool down. This is what life should be. Maybe he really should move into the woods.

A flicker above. A light penetrating through his eyelids, growing brighter and more shapely as he opens them — a butterfly, glowing in an unnatural yellow-green against the deep blue darkness but this is Podunk and radioactive butterflies aren't the weirdest thing he's seen today. It flutters away towards the woods. Clifford follows.


two

Nothing is as bad as Podunk, or so Cliff thought and then he ended up in this shithole and somehow it's so much worse in so many ways. It's taken him weeks to sniff out this place, mostly because he can't even go inside without immediately being pushed out the door but now he's here. He's prepared. He's exhausted every other option and now he's here, lingering close to the entrance of the Hair of the Dog, trying and failing not to look too suspicious. It's demeaning and he can't keep his gaze from turning into a glare but he tries and once in a while he does catch someone's eye. Someone older. Someone capable.

"Hey." he speaks up, takes a step closer to the unsuspecting stranger. "Want to buy some dog hair?"

OUT OF CHARACTER

Player Name: Rica
Player Age: 33
Player Contact: reveillez or ricamarch#3742 on Discord

Other Characters In Game: N/A
In-Game Tag If Accepted: clifford norman: rica
Permissions for Character: Here
Are you comfortable with prominent elements of fourth-walling?: Yes.
What themes of horror/psychological thrillers do you enjoy the most?: I like my horror to be psychological and slow-burn, toying with a characters sense of reality and even more so sense of self. Anything that makes us question reality, morals, our preconceived notion of what monsters are - I like Battle Royal, Fight Club, The Devil's Backbone and the 1972 version of Solaris for those reasons. I'm also into totally weird stuff being presented as totally normal, like Welcome to Night Vale, or slow creeping body horror like Mare Internum.

Is there anything in particular you absolutely need specific content warnings for?: The only thing I need a heads up about is images of blood being drawn/the entry point of an IV drip. I'm fine if I know it's coming and it's a very specific phobia, so the risk of it being a problem is slim. Written descriptions are fine and other than this I'm good with anything.

Additional Information: