argurotoxos

Self;

Name/Alias: Klayr
Personal LJ: shuraiya
E-mail Address: teal_kitty@hotmail.com
AIM: useless jewelry
Other Messengers: n/a

Character;

Character: Apollo
Fandom: Greek Mythology
Character age: He appears to be in his early twenties; in actuality, he's thousands of years old.
Residence: I spoke with carnality about this already-- if I'm accepted, we decided we'd like to have Apollo live with Eros in his apartment in the Bronx. (Over Olympus, haha~)
Occupation: Street musician. As patron of the arts, Apollo loves to perform; instead of a proper job indoors, he prefers being outdoors, enabling him to interact with mortals and engage in one of his favorite hobbies: people watching.
If [student], then specify school:

Reserved Character? No.

History;

Canon or AU? AR (Alternate Reality)
Supernatural powers? Yes. Regarded as one of the most powerful Greek gods, Apollo has been attributed to a number of patronages: sunlight, music, poetry, the arts, archery, healing, plague, prophecy and colonization. These powers are known to him and throughout pantheons known by human beings. That is, not only the Greeks, but the gods of the Egyptians, Norse, Hindu, Chinese, Hawaiian, et cetera. His powers have dulled somewhat over the years (what with that little issue in 33 AD with Jesus of Nazareth and his insistence upon monotheism) but because Greco-Roman mythology is still widely known, he retains enough of his power to get by in the modern world. Apollo can still shoot the hell out of a bow and arrow; he can heal himself and others (though this effort takes a considerable amount of energy out of him, depending on the extent of the injury sustained); he can inflict sickness (but, like healing, it takes too much effort to bother with it much); and no, he can't predict the winning lottery numbers nor if Dorothy at the office will finally say yes to dinner with you, but he can tell you whether or not it'll rain tomorrow. You're welcome.

His greatest weakness is the cold, which makes it absolutely bizarre that he should be living in New York City, which boasts freezing winters. In any case, when exposed to the cold, he becomes ill-- thus, the reason why he keeps a stockpile of warm winter clothes stashed away in his closet, just in case the temperature falls below 50˚F.

Wikipedia [or other] link to Canon Information:
→Wikipedia
→Theoi
Anything else we should know? You might want to know that the song the community's theme is from is Albert Hammond Jr.'s song, "Hard to Live in the City".

In-Game Backstory: For a long time after the fall of the Classic period, Apollo remained on Mount Olympus; there, he could cling to what was left of the world he and the other gods knew. One by one, they left the sacred mount, to live inconspicuously amongst mortals, embracing modernity far more readily than Apollo could.

He, too, eventually descended, but for only days at a time-- he was a sentimental god, and always returned to his home. Apollo traveled extensively, visiting cultures still readily immersed in polytheism; it was in Hawaii that he discovered a new love: surfing. This particular sport kept him busy for years, and it was a long while before he returned to the Mediterranean.

The advent of modern instrumentation was another hobby that kept Apollo busy in lieu of his previous responsibilities. He and the remaining muses collected and mastered instruments of every type-- from Stradivarius violins to Brazilian berimbau; from sousaphones to piccolos; anything that could be used to make music, Apollo possessed.

New York City fascinated Apollo for more reasons than one-- the pluralism, the acculturation, the integration of hundreds of different cultures, beliefs, and ideas all contained in a 6,720 square mile peninsula interested him greatly. Oh, and Broadway. Definitely Broadway, because damn if the God of Music isn't going to be hitting up musical theatre as often as he can manage it (which is pretty much all the time).

Presentation;

Third Person Sample:
He dreams of him every hundred years or so. Sometimes less, sometimes more-- but the heartache that he wakes with always hurts the same. It's deep, pitting, and leaves him with a sense of dread and guilt for days after.

It's easier for him to tell himself it's a dream than a memory; it is truly the latter, but the former hurts less. It always begins the same-- sunlight and laughter, contradicting the horror that is to come. Hyacinthus' voice still rings clear in his ears; Apollon! he shouts, young and carefree, his love for the god boundless. Apollo dives to catch the discus the boy's thrown, and hurls it back, high in the air-- they've been showing off all afternoon; each trying to throw it higher, further just to impress the other.

Then, out of nowhere, the game is interrupted-- a gust of wind, blowing from the jealous West, redirects the discus' path. Before he can warn him of the danger, Hyacinthus has fallen, struck down by Apollo's own hand. He's beside him in an instant (this, the god who beat Hermes himself in a footrace), but it's too late. The damage is done, there's too much blood. There's nothing Apollo can do. He gathers the boy into his arms, weeping bitterly, wishing for death himself.

Instead, new life appears-- flowers spring up from the bloodied ground around them, harboring a sweet scent and stained by Apollo's tears. Hyacinthus!, he calls for the boy over and over, Hyacinthus!

When he wakes, he's still calling for him. His pillow is wet; tears still roll down his cheeks. And even after all these years, he wishes for death.

But death will not come; not now, nor ever.

Questions;


Set I.

Who or what, if anything, would you die for?
If I could die-- truly die, not... wither away and wake up in Hades' subterranean mansion, being invited to marathon James Bond or the like, because that is simply a cop out, I-- I'm sorry, what was the question again? Oh, yes. Hyacinthus. I would give up everything for that boy. But I cannot. I was warned from the beginning-- should I die, the world would be ensconced in darkness, there would be no medicine, nor music, nor art. And for that reason, I must remain.

Who or what, if anything, would you kill for?
Many things. I would-- and have killed for vengeance; Achilles died by my hand for raping and murdering my son, Troilus. I flayed Marsyas for his indolence; honestly, why ask me such questions? You could easily find any of this out from one of those, ah, Idiot's Guide to Greek Mythology?

Would you rather learn everything there is to know, or experience everything there is to experience?
Either would be more tempting if I did not already have the time to do both.

What is your guilty pleasure?
Blondes.

If you could save any historical figure from their untimely death, who would it be?
Hyacinthus, obviously. I grow weary of this survey. Is this honestly what mortals spent all their time doing on their computers?

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
Fli-- no, wait. Prophec-- I have that, to. Teleporta-- oh, damn it all. I give up.

If you could kill any living person in the world, who would you kill?
The only 'person' I would like to kill, I cannot. Believe me, I have tried.

Which would you rather give up: television or books?
As delightful as those three hour infomercials for the Magic Bullet are, I must choose television. Books are too precious to let go.

Your hearing, or your eyesight?
Neither. I'm a god, I can do what I want, thank you.

What is your favorite thing to do when you’re alone?
Compose, paint, write-- what you'd expect, you know; from the God of the Arts.

If you were stranded on an island and could only take one thing, what would it be?
A surfboard, naturally.

If you could solve any one current world crisis, which would you solve?
Gospel music.

What is your biggest pet peeve?
At current, surveys like these.

If you could be on one TV reality show, which would it be?
I would have an unfair advantage, no matter the contest. It would be pointless and unfair to the other contestants.

Is the glass half empty or half full?
Completely full.

Do you believe in love at first sight?
Yes, oh, gods, yes. I have a poor habit of having many first-sight loves.

Do you believe in God?
Don't stop believin'.

If you could commit any felony with impunity, which would it be?
I can get away with anything. I wasn't born yesterday.

If you were on the Titanic and there was only room for one person on your lifeboat, would you save your mother or your best friend?
Considering Mother lives at the bottom of the sea currently, I would choose my best friend-- Artemis, my twin.

Would you sleep with your boss to keep from losing your high-end job?
No way am I sleeping with Father. Again.


Set II.

Describe how you met your best friend.
My sister, Artemis, was born a day before I was. As such, she helped Mother birth me-- yes, I realize it makes little sense, but you must understand, gods do not grow and age as mortals do. She was already a young child, seven or eight, by yo-- mortal estimations. In any case, we became friends instantly. Mother knew what Father had in store for us-- the sun and the moon; we had to get along, be in perfect harmony with one another, in order for the mortal world to function properly. If you've heard of Eastern philosophy, then you ought to be familiar with the concept of Yin and Yang; it is very much equitable to us as brother and sister, as sun and moon, as equals, as friends.

Describe the worst thing you’ve ever done.
The absolute worst? I, erm, I don't kn-- oh! Yes, of course, I know. The Black Plague was pretty awful, wasn't it? What, didn't you know? I did that one, yes. In my defense, I did not expect it to be so... deadly? Widespread? Incurable? My apologies, I take back the last one, I did actually mean for it to be incurable. A little experiment; just to see what the humans would do. Most of them died, obviously.

Describe your first kiss.
My nephew stole it from me; whether he was doing so just to anger his father or... for whatever reason, I know not what goes through his mi-- what, yes, it was a romantic kiss. Sexual, whatever. Please, don't start with me, where do you think all your little sexual fantasies and perversions came from? Someone had to set an example, did they not? My gods, you humans are so prudish. You used to be so fun. Now you're obsessed with sex but entirely detached from it, honestly, you frustrate me so. Gods damn the Puritans.

Describe the most difficult experience you have ever had to deal with.
Oh, I don't know. Perhaps the death of my eromenos, or being jilted by a woman who transfigured herself into a tree; or perhaps the death of my son by Hecuba by that brute, Achilles, or-- or, I know, the numberless women who fell by their hands of those of their jealous lovers when finding out about me, and thus became flowers or herbs? No more of this.

Describe a situation in which you took charge.
My mother, Leto-- she was never liked nor respected by mortal women, nor very much so by the other gods, due to Hera's hatred of her. This was especially grating on myself and Artemis as children (that is, in the first thousand or so years of our existence), but the final straw came when Niobe, Queen of Thebes, insulted her for having but two children. This absolute clown car of a woman (such colloquialisms are appropriate, even in an anachronistic story such as this) had fourteen children and thought herself the richest woman alive and our mother, the poorest.

Yes, well. She wasn't so rich after Artemis and I were through with her seven daughters and seven sons. Pathetic brats, they were, begging for their lives-- too bad, so sad. Your mother is a rightful bitch, and she ought to pay for insulting ours.

The lesson of the story is, my darlings, that "yo mama" jokes will eventually cause you to sprout one or several poisoned arrows. Thank you and goodnight.