Vincent Crowl

Vincent Amadeus Crowl

Somewhere in the distance, a bell rang three.
Crowl let out a slow breath, rubbing his face as the last toll echoed through the still wintery night. He'd watched the moon rise, slip across the sky and down past the city roofs, the slow progress of the stars, a dim recognition in his mind of time passing, bleeding slowly away even if it had felt like the same hour frozen for days.
The tower bell reminded him otherwise, of course. Some might complain about the noise, wonder why it still had to ring even by night, but he felt some dim pang of gratitude for its existence. It at least kept him moving forward- no. Not quite the right phrase.
Kept him recognizing that there was a then, would be a later, was a now, however the hours and days bled into a seamless leash around his neck, pulling him ahead. Gently, some days in the past. A strangling drag most days now, it would keep him going; never mind that most days now it was a struggle to even get up and out of bed.
He stared blankly at the ceiling, black eyes rimmed darker and a faint thought ran through: no wonder sleep eluded him. He hadn't gone to pick up his medicine.
Actually, he hadn't even given the note off in the first place; it still laid on his nightstand, neatly folded under his bowl from...
Lunch?
Yesterday's?
Did he eat yesterday?
Had he eaten today?
Did it really matter? He didn't feel hungry, he hadn't really felt it in... a while.
He rolled over, lying there for a moment before reaching up to the drawer of his nightstand, taking out the journal within. The moon was still bright enough for him to rifle through the pages and see the last entry had been over two weeks ago- and even that was perfunctory at best. Eaten twice. Gotten a script for a new sleep aid. The one prior even further back, the other page only having a hastily scribbled note.
He let his arm fall, the journal slipping from his fingers; somewhere in his mind he knew he really had to pick it up. And get that bowl to the sink. And wash it... at least the other dishes were done? He at least did manage to get them cleaned up immediately after making anything, save for whatever he was eating out of. He'd barely touched the rest of the apartment so it was probably okay.
Crowl closed his eyes, took a breath and tried to count- however long he could manage. He wasn't sleeping anyway, maybe... maybe he could get up and get something done. He reached up, thin fingers groping for the lamp's switch, clicking several times before he remembered the other note he'd glanced over.
'Electricity due this week. Please remember this time.'
So that was that, then.
He rolled back, staring up at the ceiling, his thoughts wandering slow and bleak, but recognizing that somewhere, a bell rang four.

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Functional, edging towards poor. Physically fairly weak, can lift about his body weight and that's it. Gets winded fairly easily, frequent headaches and random body aches. Fairly nearsighted, wears glasses.

Physical quirks

Ambidextrious. Tends to stand rather slouched, shoulders drawn in and head low, tries to make himself seem small. Very, very faint... shimmer, over his hands- literally, like they're dusted in shimmer powder, only noticeable in certain lights as they move, or when he's actively engaging his abilities.

Special abilities

Selkie heritage- natural affinity and draw towards water- it's notable that his better days tend to be when it's raining or snowing. Being born to a human mother, a coat was made for him rather than being something he was strictly 'born' with, though the loss of it still affected him greatly- he attributes the feeling simply to being taken to a place starkly different than where he spent his earliest years, but it runs far deeper. In theory, could figure a way to find the old coat? Healer magic- being affiliated with water and magical beings, this manifests in Crowl being a healer of immense potential, and a natural empath- more to the point of 'emotional sponge with no off button, actually. He has no real direction of these abilities though, they're always... passively 'on', taking small hurts and such from the people around him into himself; or pouring his own energy to others. Properly trained: he can read others' emotional states with ease, though if he seems to know their actual thoughts, that's just coincidence/good thinking, there's no actual mind-reading involved. He can take injuries and illness to himself, sharing his well-being; and shows a quick tendency to heal when he can shut himself off from others.

Apparel & Accessories

Neat dresser- most things are second hand, but fairly well cared for. Favors button up shirts and ties, dark pants and black loafers.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

He remembers, vaguely.
A family, parents, a cottage by the sea. A father tall and strong who taught him the currents, the clouds - and then no father, not even a face or name to try and place who the man might have been.
A mother who would sing, would take him to the markets by the dock as she unloaded the nets, taught him all the types of fishes and where they could be found, how their little cove made sure to leave plenty for everyone. And how, one morning when he was six or so, she wouldn't wake.
He was shuffled far away and far into the land, lucky others told him- not to the barren Navarre, barely clinging to civilization, not to the dusty worn towns barely more than a bump on the landscape. He was brought to the city, the thriving metropolis advancing each day. He was adopted quickly by a kindly old couple, and life was... Life, he supposes.
He was a little better prepared when his adoptive parents passed, not long before he turned eighteen; at least so it seemed- he hadn't felt much of anything for a few years preceding their deaths. Or, he'd felt too much? In any case, the result was the same- a numb sense of loss he could connect to a little boy by the sea, and the resignation that he had to carry on. At least for a little while.

Gender Identity

Passively accepts male designation; personally would count himself as agender/gendervoid.

Sexuality

Asexual; panromantic.

Education

Dropped out two years into university; plans to return.

Employment

Assistant in small local clinic.

Mental Trauma

(TW: Mention of suicide)
Impacted heavily by loss- both birth and adoptive parents. Species-specific trauma in the loss of his coat and stuck in a singular form, born empath with high sensitivity to others' emotions and physical sensations; was taken to an area with minimal knowledge of magic by the time this manifested & he never learned any coping mechanisms. Clinically depressed: manifests in severe ahedonia, alternating insomnia and hypersomnia, executive dysfunction, a handful of other symptoms. Tendency towards suicidal thoughts and impulses, and has attempted once.

Intellectual Characteristics

Strong, but non-linear memory. He can recall facts with little trouble, but his concept of time is badly out of whack to the point where he keeps a small journal on hand to make sure he keeps track of when things actually happened, or are meant to happen (and particularly bad episodes can render this useless- one notable instance being letting bills lapse to the point where his utilities were shut off for a while). Good at learning from books and interactive events, struggles to keep track when being directly lectured to. Excellent at reading people and understanding their motivations, though more due to inherent magical ability there.

Morality & Philosophy

'Do no harm', more or less- there is gray area, but he's unlikely to have the energy to work out all the details.

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

We'll start with 'base reason to keep existing aside from killing yourself is too much effort' and figure out the rest later.

Savvies & Ineptitudes

Skilled at sewing and knitting. Usually decent at diagnosing ailments- he might've dropped out, but that doesn't erase two years in medical schooling. Skilled at identifying plants. Amazing swimmer, though it's been some time since he's had a chance to.

Likes & Dislikes

Usually dealing with ahedonia- there's very little he can pin as actually liking or disliking, everything's more or less the same. (In better times, some of his loves: Sunflowers, water of any sort, spring rain. Dislikes harsh sun and dry conditions, deep aversion to large crowds. Dislikes being around knives.)

Virtues & Personality perks

Incredibly, and unconditionally, compassionate. Believes the best of people, always willing to listen, help out how he can.

Vices & Personality flaws

Timid, even in better times, more likely to give in to avoid a fight than stand up for himself. Withdraws easily, attention span is... variable. Slow to act, chronically puts others first and pushes his own needs to the side, tries to push aside any attention to himself before others are dealt with.

Hygiene

When he has work- pretty good; always clean shaven, daily shower. Falls apart fairly fast if he has no outside obligations, though. Apartment is quite well kept, though more due to his keeping little more than the absolute bare essentials.

Social

Social Aptitude

Nervous and withdrawn, does best at one on one interaction. Can come off as callous or rude, mainly due to staying silent so long trying to figure out how best to /not/ come off as callous or rude.

Speech

Very soft spoken. Mid-tone to low-range voice, though he's not the talkative type, even at his best of times.

Wealth & Financial state

Surprisingly well off- adoptive parents had actually done fairly well for themselves and Crowl was their sole beneficiary; and Crowl's lifestyle is quite minimal, so most of it is untouched.

Year of Birth

980 PR 22 Years old

Eyes

A deep liquid brown, appears black under all but brightest, most direct lighting conditions.

Hair

Black, somewhat unkempt, quite long- towards the middle of his back or so.

Height

6'3

Weight

Whatever is reasonably lean/underweight??