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Application
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Enoch | El Shaddai
Name: Cherry
Age: 27
Contact Info:
Other Characters: None
Character Information
Name: Enoch
Canon: El Shaddai
Age: Immortal, 390~400, appears late 20s to early 30s.
Gender: Male
Canon Point: Postgame
Background: I have nothing to link you, so have a story instead: Once upon a time, there was a farmer on Bronze Age Earth. Mythology said he was a priest but the author decided humbler beginnings were in order. The point is, he was so pious that God was impressed (or so the story goes), and invited him to live in Heaven and work as a scribe. While he was there, a choir of angels called the Grigori fell, enamored by humans and spurred on by his own presence in Heaven. Their children with humans, creatures called Nephilim, lived in constant pain, and ate one another to try to make it stop. This caused their innate vileness - impurity - to accumulate, and when they became too corrupt, they would become Fire Nephilim, rampaging creatures that devoured and destroyed everything in sight. Worse still, the angels were nowhere to be found. Faced with the decision to let the Nephilim destroy the world or to have control over its destruction themselves, Heaven was ready to choose the latter. Their scribe would not have his home destroyed, however. The beautiful thing about humans, you see, is they have this little thing called free will, meaning in the face of orders higher than himself, Enoch could still say no - and that's how he found himself sent back down to Earth to capture the Fallen Angels, along with the four "standard" Archangels (Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel) as swans, and a fifth Archangel, Lucifel.
It would take him 365 years. Up until this point, he had been an ordinary human, but his capabilities were magnified when he was granted the divine armor that would protect him against the agents of the Grigori and their demonic sponsor, Belial. He was also granted immortality, with all the problems that brought with it - such as having to adopt aliases and having to stay on the move constantly, especially since the acting leader of the Grigori, Azazel, was sending flunkies after him to find him. Eventually, he was able to find the Tower they resided in, hidden in a "shroud of distorted space", where they lived with their human subjects, who saw them as gods.
He climbed the Tower, with...not as much success as one would expect of an action game. The first Grigori, Ezekiel, fled higher, though he met a little girl named Nanna who told him about the way the Nephilim suffered, and about Ishtar, the legendary hero who was supposed to free them all from the false world of the Grigori. (He already knew of both of these, it's recently been revealed, though he did not know Ishtar was Ishtar, as she went by another name when he met her). He managed to successfully capture the next one, Sariel, though at the cost of making the player feel bad for him (and Enoch, though this will be detailed later), the next one was dead before they got there, Azazel ran away too...
And then there was Armaros. Armaros wasn't like the other Grigori. In fact, according to prequel manga Exodus he wasn't even one of the Grigori, he was just an ordinary angel that got sucked into their plans. He was also different because in Heaven, he and Enoch had been friends. And it's heavily implied his decision to fall was influenced by the things Enoch himself told him about Earth. Throughout the level, things that make Armaros different were brought up - the resistance group, the Freemen, do not fear him, and in fact, it's implied they communicate with him, because they're able to tell Enoch that "his feelings of friendship for a human he met in Heaven seem to be the source of his vitality". His child is a Water Nephilim, peaceful and with no desire to eat others. (It may not have been his, but the Freemen and Lucifel alike accept that it is so that's what I'm going with.) Armaros didn't even fight him immediately, instead putting on a dance number, and only after Enoch showed no intention of joining him (as the text on a poster that came with the game's official Complete Guide reveals he wants), he relented and attacked him at at last.
The fight was interrupted by Belial, the prince of The Darkness (read: Hell) who lends the Grigori power, in return for the souls of those who die within. He had taken an interest in Enoch, and captured Nanna, using Enoch's paternal nature and innate desire to protect others to bait him. Enoch took it, of course, rushing to leap into The Darkness as both Michael and Armaros called out after him.
The Darkness isn't a very friendly place. This wasn't his first trip, if the player was observant enough. Ishtar's remains were taken to The Darkness, and while it seems the Freemen had recovered some (their leader adorns himself with her bones, including an impressive skull mask), there were still some remaining in the "pits" horrible cylindrical rooms filled with rising vileness, where the cries of those trapped there gurgled nightmarishly. This was, however, his first trip outside of player control, and you gamers know what that means, right?
Yes, he was in trouble.
Lucifel recruited Armaros to rescue Enoch, because he didn't have permission to interfere directly here (lack of free will really sucks sometimes). Along the way they found Nanna, unconscious but seemingly unharmed, and watched as Ishtar's spirit entered her body. Lucifel said he'd make sure Nanna was okay and sent Armaros on his way. He found Enoch, but not in time to avoid him being corrupted and controlled by Belial. Armaros fought him and freed him, but Lucifel, apparently deciding saving him was counterintuitive to the mission, took Enoch and stranded Armaros there to die.
So Enoch was safe, physically, but not mentally. There's a difference between being covered in vileness, which seems to just sap the strength from someone, and having vileness inside one's own body, which is how Belial plays. Corrupted from within, Enoch's mind was crippled by his doubts, his pain, his fears. His body was encased in
carbonitesilver (I will never get tired of this joke) to protect it, and his soul was sent back to Heaven to purge the vileness, which involved confronting representations of the source of his pain and wrestling everything back into perspective. It took him several hours, but that's only from Heaven's perspective. On Earth, it was ten years. Nanna didn't just grow up - remember how Ishtar's spirit entered her body? It was her body, the reincarnation was just botched. Nanna as an independent identity was lost and Ishtar took over, swearing to Enoch she would finish what he started. Using her strength as inspiration, Enoch was able to purge the vileness and return to Earth.He hurried to help Ishtar, catching glimpses of her fighting Ezekiel, and found her covered in vileness, either from lingering parts of her remains in The Darkness or from Ezekiel's attacks. He reached out to help her, but she stopped him and urged him to stop Ezekiel from fleeing and regaining her strength again. He successfully defeated Ezekiel and continued on after Azazel, who was guarding the domain of their leader, Semyaza. Azazel attempted one more boss transformation than usual, and was cut off by a taunt from Belial, followed by a creature that came up out of the ground like it was water, and made it into water, to boot.
Just like Armaros had in his battle.
It was Armaros, in fact. Corrupted, just like Enoch had been, except his shell wasn’t a suit of armor but a hulking monstrous thing that was very definitely Final Boss Material. He had cycling immunities, meaning Enoch had to keep picking up different weapons throughout the fight. Eventually, Dark Armaros unleashed an attack that knocked his weapon from his hands. Enoch had no way of damaging Dark Armaros any further without a weapon, but the other had no interest in attacking him. He simply stood there, while outside the arena, Ishtar had managed to drag herself up there. She pulled herself towards the fallen weapon and used the last of her strength to throw it to him, enabling him to finally put Armaros to rest (or so he assumed; in actuality Armaros had been sealed and would rejoin them much later, though that's irrelevant to this app). Enoch purified Ishtar, restoring her strength, and the two approached what was supposed to be Semyaza’s life support device. Except he wasn’t in there. Lucifel (incorrectly, but it’s not revealed in the game) assumed he’d died too, and took Ishtar off somewhere, presumably for Enoch to meet after he’d shut down the Tower.
For a smooth transition, I'll say he did meet them and spent one night camping out outside the remains of the Tower - but would wake in Norfinbury.
Inventory:
-A pair of designer jeans, stretchy and durable. (would normally be indestructible but as this enables it to be used as a tool beyond what it normally could? Nope, just a pair of jeans now.)
-A pair of old sandals, worn but still usable. Not in this weather though.
-An old, worn brown cloak with a hood, with at least two inside pockets. Probably the most useful thing he has. (does this count as a coat?)
-A handful of small bone fragments that would recite a piece of Ishtar's prophecy when he wills it, but that's been rendered inert. Utterly useless either way.
-A collection of notes given to him by the Freemen. May be used as kindling if he gets desperate enough, but he would have to be very desperate. These are the personal testaments of a people and he won't treat them so lightly. It would be on the same level as burning a book, to him (and he's from ancient times when writing was super-important so he doesn't take that lightly).
Re: Enoch | El Shaddai | oh my god my personality section is too long by itself why
Why crises of faith, you might ask, when his piety is one of the two defining traits listed in the blurb? Enoch is extremely pious, very faithful to God and Heaven, and willing to take a lot of pain and keep going for the sake of his beliefs. But he is human, and he can't help but recognize that God and Heaven have, directly or indirectly, caused him this pain. Taken him away from his family on Earth. Made it so he can never have a steady family again. But the presence of this recognition is not the lack of piety. I talked about the pits in The Darkness in the history section, and what vileness can do inside a person's body. What had no place in that discussion was that, without Belial's control, what drives him is a desire to destroy Heaven and The Darkness both. That is the ultimate goal corruption drives him to. It's a testament to that very piety, that such resentment and pain directed at Heaven only comes to light...well, in the dark. Of course he feels them - he is human, after all. But it's not a thing he wants to show, clearly not something about himself he likes or wants, and on top of that he is still so faithful he will not ally himself with The Darkness, either.
The next defining trait is his purity or pure heart. This isn't a childish innocence, no, he's quite old, after all. But there is an optimistic streak in him, and his sense of morality has fewer shades of gray than you'd expect from a jaded old immortal. In fact, though he is jaded and wary of new relationships, and though he's seen some of humanity's ugliest sides firsthand, he never loses his faith in humanity. Even under vileness, with all his doubts, anger, resentment, and fear on display, there was never an echo of that jealous king who ordered him killed during his long search for the Tower. Even if his pain is twisted into a desire to destroy Heaven and The Darkness, there is no sign of resentment against Earth, and no sense that Earth does not deserve to be saved. If it doesn't come out under vileness, chances are it simply isn't there. This is his purity, and this purity leads into his most striking character trait...
...Enoch is empathetic to a fault. At some point in the game's development, a prototype trailer was released, featuring a visual pun on the phrase "love your enemy". That was only the beginning. With the game's release came context, and we saw his overactive empathy in action - never overtly told, but there. There, in the way he had to say nothing or risk pain when he met Nanna, not even allowing himself even the tiniest response. There, on display in Heaven as he fought his doubts - shall we examine these? Chapter 9 is essentially dedicated to Enoch's characterization, showing us what this silent, bold warrior we've been controlling all this time has been feeling, and this is highlighted in the battles he faces that represent his doubts.
First is the tutorial battle where he fights representations of the Grigori taking the Fruits of Wisdom. He's aware that what they did is wrong, and hurts more than it helps, but understands completely they only wanted to ease the hardship of life on Earth. Second is a battle with three Martyrs - unarmed, so there is no focus on the weapons they stole, only on the men he's had to kill (and when he has killed them, where has he sent their souls? Does his holy weapon send them to Heaven or does the Tower send them to The Darkness?). These are men in identical dress, of about the same height, wearing face-concealing masks. And he cannot dehumanize them. It's easy to doubt he's capable at all. Next is a reprise of his battle with Sariel. Sariel's level consisted mostly of playgrounds for the Nephilim, where they were watched over by the spirits of their mothers (Raphael comments they are "bound" to Sariel as if this is a bad thing, but consider where their souls might be if he hadn't bound them...). Sariel seemed to care about those he lived with, and protected his world not like a king or god, but like a clan patriarch. If the game's sympathetic spin seemed odd, it will no longer - it was sympathetic because Enoch was - but wouldn't show it. While the real Sariel taunted Enoch nigh constantly, this representation of him is mostly silent, like the victim he is from Enoch's vileness-laden perspective.
And then there's Armaros. Armaros, who fell because Enoch kindled an interest in Earth by talking to him about it. Armaros, who lost his voice when he fell. Armaros, so devoted to his friend he followed him into The Darkness and faced him even in his weakened state to save him. Enoch may not remember his friendship with Armaros. But Armaros is the largest of these doubts, the one which corresponds to the longest timeskip within the intermittent scenes of what's happening on Earth. Due to his empathy and purity, Enoch has a tendency to blame himself more than he'll ever blame others (which has recently been confirmed outright by Ceta, again is in an alternate timeline but still holds pertinent characterization and world information). And he blames himself for what's happened to Armaros. Just like the Sariel battle, all you need to do is listen - the real Armaros was very quiet. But this one is vocal, giving that whale-like cry again and again. The loss of his voice is central to Enoch's pain in this regard.
Even non-sympathetic characters like the unhinged Ezekiel are not exempt. When he defeated her, he bowed his head as she cried out for her "children", even if her love was inept and misguided. He went to her side and stood beside her as her physical body died, so she didn't have to die alone. And in the prequel manga Exodus and within Ceta too, all it takes is meeting a person for him to worry for their safety, even if that person made him intensely uncomfortable in that meeting.
That's a lot of words to say he has boundless empathy and compassion. It's only by the stakes involved and the magnitude of his loyalty to God that he doesn't attempt to act directly on it with the Grigori - in any other situation, it can absolutely get him in trouble. All it would take is a skilled manipulator. (Like you all have seen already. Who remembers him letting Riki in on the whole goddamn plan?)
This empathy leads to other problems, such as a disregard for his own safety when another person is at risk. In the game, we see this when he leaps into The Darkness to try to save Nanna, and in Exodus, he leaps into a tornado to save a human soul, and then off Heaven's edge to try to break up a fight. In Ceta, he risks his life to try to purify a Nephilim and save a pair of stray sheep. He is too empathetic, too heroic. Only luck and timely intervention have prevented it from killing him so far, and should his own will to live falter this will only grow worse.
How easy is it to make him despair such that he has no will to live? It's hard to tell if you aren't being told, because Enoch lives so much for other people already. What seems like a calm exterior may be hiding deep distress, and when he has nothing else to focus on or gets a moment alone, or is pushed to the breaking point, it could come to light easily where we don't see it in the game (confirmed in Ceta, where Enoch remarks on the verge of a defeat that he no longer has a reason to be alive anyway).
Mostly, however, this despair is masked by sheer determination - and just because it's sometimes a mask doesn't mean it's not real. Even in the greatest pain, even under Belial's control, during that battle Enoch will make himself vulnerable as he struggles against it (though he's unable to break it: the moment of freedom turns him over to his pain and he only ends up thrashing in it before Belial regains control). On the flip side, it also makes him stubborn, and prone to not listening if he's made up his mind to do otherwise. This can be very good, as it ensures there is indeed a plot for his game, but I shouldn't have to tell you it doesn't exactly help the recklessness I mentioned earlier.
On a more lighthearted note, if you've seen any gameplay at all, something will catch your eye very quickly: Enoch is flashy, adding unnecessary spins and flips to almost everything he does. This could be due to a number of things, such as a love of adrenaline (sure does make you feel young again! And there is that adrenaline-charged grin when he picks up the Veil weapon for the first time) or simply for fun (in Exodus, he does dance on a table with Armaros), and the strongest canonical evidence we have for it is in Ceta, where Enoch is mesmerized by the energetic, graceful way Lucifel fights. Considering every tutorial screen in the game is Lucifel pausing time to teach Enoch about the subject at hand, it need not be confined to that timeline alone. He could have easily seen Lucifel fight for himself while we were given button explanations. (In fact, this is further backed up by Ceta, as we see Lucifel fight with a weapon for the first time and his style matches Enoch's, implying he taught Enoch his style rather than Enoch making one up to fit the weapon.) This shows that he's actually quite eager to please and impress others. Given his empathy, it makes sense: he's happy when others are.
Additionally, Enoch has a learner's mind. He's very curious, and asks questions about almost everything, as revealed in a character interview (this was also a crux of his characterization in the Book of Enoch, itself). He also picks up new concepts very rapidly. With a little instruction, he is able to pick up three rather unusual weapons and use them effectively on short notice, and this is taken to an almost comical extreme when the same is done for a motorcycle - he even manages to use the vehicle effectively in combat during Azazel's stage. It shows he has an open mind and embraces the unknown rather than being afraid of it. But this rapid learning must be under pressure - all of these examples were in life-or-death situations, and for all of this he doesn't know how to swim, indicating that it takes these exceptional circumstances (and the time to inspect or be instructed even a little) to trigger this and he doesn't simply master every new thing he encounters instantly. His learning rate is still probably better than average, but not without the mistakes and blunders of normal learners. By the way, combined with his stubbornness? This makes him a meddler. He'll get into things whether you like it or not. He did, after all, contest a ruling Heaven made.
When it comes to other people, with most he is quiet and closed off unless there is some reason to talk, whether they're in trouble, he's in trouble, or he needs information and they haven't taken it upon themselves to start talking like Nanna had. It makes it hard to get close to him at first, and I've already said why this is. But he just can't hold on to his heart - if he was good at keeping everyone at arm's length, he would still be able to minimally socialize while doing so. But no - Nanna, our best example, gets no response at all. But this assumes the other person is mortal. Fellow immortals are another story. Fellow immortals will not age and die, and fellow immortals will understand. Once he learns a person is immortal, his true, outgoing nature will likely begin to show itself in full. Or, perhaps if he feels safe or needs to talk, he'll spill everything to a mortal - he encountered a Freeman who escaped on his search for the Tower, which is what allowed him to find it in the first place. But it's more than a lifetime later before he actually arrives, and the Freemen know all about him, including his immortality. This implies he told that Freeman everything. However, he can't abide being all alone, and the isolating nature of Norfinbury and his lack of acclimation to remote communication will see to him opening up to others far more readily than he would anywhere else.
But back home, non-immortals were met with someone hard to respond to. In fact, the most important canonmates he could ever have are immortal, and are so important to him they get mentions all their own.
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Next up is Armaros. I've already said much of what I needed to about him, so this won't be a huge chunk of text like Lucifel's. But Enoch is likely to have accepted the idea that he and Armaros were friends in Heaven and if presented the opportunity to rekindle that friendship without consequences to his mission, he will probably pursue it. He and Armaros share a sense of curiosity, a love of song and dance (Enoch says he's not good at it, but he agrees with little resistance and seems to enjoy himself from the start), and a sensitivity to others' feelings.
And now let’s talk a little about Ishtar since he’s at a canon point for it. He’s smitten with her at this point. She has earned his respect, trust, and admiration. In fact, if not for being snatched away by the game, he’d have settled down with her in isolation on Earth (and learned of the very happy news that she’s immortal too!) rather than return to Heaven. She’s a strong lady and part of me suspects Enoch is attracted to people who are stronger than him in some way because those three hundred years in The Darkness? She’s going really strong in spite of that. (but it still takes them 53 years to have one kid and I’m sure it’s because both of them are traumatized. You get no points for guessing who that kid is.)
And one last thought on his interactions with others: Though he's a patient man, rudeness is harder for him to tolerate, especially if someone insults Heaven, the angels, or some other person or concept he holds strong loyalty to. He's not likely to be extremely rude in return, particularly if he also respects the person being rude. He may be blunt, angry, or he may walk away...or, he might get a little sassy. So he can have a bit of an attitude. I can't imagine spending 300+ years with Lucifel helped that any.
Flavor Abilities:
Blocked Facial Hair Growth
Not necessarily an ability, but what I've been playing as a physical inability to grow a beard has turned out to be false - it seems Lucifel has prevented him from growing one, evidenced by removing one he'd grown in Ceta and then it never appearing again, even when it would be advantageous to grow a beard (such as hiding his identity). In other timelines it could be assumed Lucifel blocked it before a beard ever grew in. So yeah, keeping the inability to grow facial hair.
Suitability: I touched on this in the personality section but the isolation element of the game would have him open up really fast. Enoch can't stand being utterly alone, which means of course I really want to play with him in danger of that very thing. Also, he is out of his element in the worst way - desert dweller, meet eternal winter. I'd love to play with him adjusting to the new climate, as well, and working his way around modern tools with no or little guidance. Also he's going to get attached to the tablet, which I suspect will be a very bad thing in the long run. Can't wait for any other shoes to drop re: the tablet, the avatar, and the town itself! Plus, exploration with no clues is kind of his thing so he's going to be all over that.
RP Samples:
Network Sample:
[Enoch's image fills the feed; he's holding up the tablet with one hand, the inside camera recording. He smiles a bit; it's a faint little smile that betrays his stress, but it's a genuine one.]
I would like to thank everyone who offered to bring me the cloak I...lost, last month, if they found it.
[He still doesn't understand why he felt so warm he had to remove it when he'd been literally freezing to death, but that doesn't matter, because...he holds up the cloak with his free hand.]
It's found its way back to me, somehow. I don't know who left it here, and I wish I could say this in person, but thank you, really, thank you. It's not as effective as the coat I've found, but it's an old favorite of mine. It's been with me for nearly three-...wait a moment. What's...
[He squints at the feed, leaning in close to the camera. His brows are knit in confusion and worry, and when he pulls back, his mouth is parted in concern. He throws the cloak over a shoulder and reaches up to pull his hair back from his left ear, leaning in again, his breath quickening now.]
I... [His fingers slip into the blond strands and pluck free one with a distinctly gray root. Seeming to forget he's recording, he looks at it like it's started to grow out neon instead of gray.] ...That shouldn't be happening. I'm not hallucinating this, am I?
[He falls back heavily, the mattress behind him creaking with his weight, and the camera gets a feed full of denim as he drops the tablet into his lap. Somehow, he's aging again...
He's still audible when he speaks.]
I don't know how to feel about this...
Introspection Sample:
The snow had made travel in sandals difficult, and lacking a shirt beneath his cloak made all the difference in the world. The wind and the wetness made it feel colder than any night in the deserts of home, and he was only now starting to get feeling back in his toes, reddened with cold but thankfully not in danger of frostbite. His fingers, thankfully, had stayed at least warm enough beneath his cloak and clutching the tablet. He wasn't sure how he was going to survive if he didn't find more suitable clothing. His jeans were fine, but he needed a shirt, and shoes, something that weren't the sandals that had otherwise served him perfectly well for the past several hundred years. At least, moving cautiously as he was to avoid losing his feet, he was in no danger of finding himself without shelter and plenty of time to spend in it.
Even the wind outside sounded lonely...
The screen shone pale in the darkened room as Enoch poked through its options, guided by the calm, genderless voice of the eye-shaped digital assistant. It had been an exhausting day, though he'd hardly moved at all. Maybe it was the fact that aside from the voices and faces of his fellow prisoners he hadn't seen another soul, but he found himself appreciative of the cold company of the tablet's assistant, asking questions and learning more about these machines that were their only link to one another. When he learned this assistant could be customized...
...Well, perhaps it was a silent longing for a trustworthy friend, but it didn't take long for him to design it with Lucifel in mind. A star, for the morning star. Black, like Lucifel's clothes, with red eyes like his too. It was childish-looking, the eyes big for the star's "face", and that wasn't like the friend he missed, so much, but it would be strange to model it entirely on him, wouldn't it? In a way it was like a little Lucifel - smaller and stunted and not quite as helpful, but a comforting reminder of someone he missed dearly. In fact, his name would be Helel, he decided. Another way to say Lucifel's name, but not Lucifel, itself. There wasn't a voice that sounded quite like his, either, but hearing Lucifel's voice with the computer's odd distortion would be strange, as well. It was a deep, strong voice he chose. Strength was something he would need for his ordeal here.
Should he be suspicious of this tablet and its avatar, he wondered for a moment as he confirmed his choices, thinking on how it had been simply waiting for him. But the thought faded quickly, lost in the desire for companionship. He'd undone his suspicion in advance the moment he'd decided its avatar would be modeled after his friend.
Helel's creation complete, he lay the tablet on his stomach as he watched the snow fall through the window on the other side of the room, trying to relax enough to go to sleep. He didn't want to linger in one place too long. This was not a place where answers would come to those who wait.
ACCEPTED
A standard single-story house with a kitchen, living room, dining room, bathroom, and bedroom. The house is decorated with items from various nations on Earth. Whoever lived here probably liked to travel.
Please reply to this comment with the journal you will be using for the game. After that, join
Thank you for your interest in our game!
NOTE: The cloak will count as a coat, so Enoch will not receive a coat from Norfinbury.
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