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[jukeboxer]

OOC INFORMATION

Name: Drew
Are you over 18?: yes
Contact: decimalplaces, drewey.decimal on discord
Other characters: N/A
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IC INFORMATION

Name: Vander
Canon: Arcane
Age: 43
Gender: Man, he/him
Species: Human (at this canonpoint)
Appearance: here! Vander is a very tall, middle-aged human man with a beefy dad bod, long brown hair, and a greying beard.
Canon point: Season 1, Epsiode 3, after his “death”.

History: Here

Personality answers:

1. Who in your character's canon influenced the most growth in your character? What do they think about this character?

Violet. The first-born daughter of one of Vander’s best friends, Felicia. When Felicia announced to Vander and Silco that she was pregnant, she made them swear they would make their dreams of Zaun a reality for the sake of the girl she was carrying. This fueled Vander’s motivation to fight against the Enforcers with Silco in a rebellion, which ended up killing Violet’s parents and many other Zaunites. Upon finding Violet’s parents dead on the bridge and watching Vi break down, Vander let his gauntlets fall, signifying the end of his fight against Piltover, and picked up Violet and Powder to carry them home, thereby adopting them. Many of his actions from then on came from the motivation to keep Violet and his other adopted children safe. He taught Vi how to fight, but also taught her about the responsibility that comes with power. He told her that when you are someone people look up to (As Vi is to her siblings, and Vander is to all the Undercity), you don’t get to be selfish, and you have to think and act for the good of everyone. He also taught her that violence doesn’t solve problems, only creates more. Ultimately, his mettle as a parent was tested when his children robbed a lab belonging to an elite family in Piltover, resulting in an explosion and some people getting hurt. It became known that the perpetrators were Vander’s children, and though he had an existing deal with the Enforcers, they still needed to bring someone to the council to answer for this crime. He had to balance his children’s safety, the tenuous peace between Piltover and Zaun, and his own principles. Inevitably, he realized Violet was going to turn herself in, so he locked her in the basement and turned himself in instead, telling her to “protect the family”, as she would be the responsible one in his absence.

Violet was young when Vander died, but he thought of her as strong and was very proud of her, despite also seeing her as too reckless. He saw that she had the same anger he did when he was younger.

2. Explain which event in canon is most pivotal to your character's development, and who they are today.

In canon, his pivotal moment was the rebellion and the events that happened after, including the incident where he tried to drown his best friend, Silco. Canon does not show the events directly leading up to this act by Vander, but here is my interpretation, after speaking with Silco’s player and finding agreement. It seems clear that this happened after their failed rebellion, since they did that together. After their mutual friend Felicia died, Vander and Silco dealt with the grief in opposing ways. Vander wanted to give up the fight so they wouldn’t lose any more people. Silco wanted to fight even harder to get revenge. A rift had probably been forming between the two before this as well, with their differing ideas of how to achieve freedom for Zaun. These differences likely came to a head in a heated argument, Vander tried to drown Silco in a polluted river, and Silco slashed his arm to get away. This formed a deep rift between them that never mended- Vander wrote Silco an apology letter, but he never read it. Vander deeply regrets this, and confesses to Silco later on that he never forgave himself. By then, the apology is too little, too late, and Silco stabs him. Vander and Silco had built a dream of a united and independent Zaun, and the pivotal moments of the rebellion and the attempted murder were the turning points that made Vander give up on this dream and become complacent in the following years.

4. What does your character think about physical appearances? Are they the sort to meticulously primp themselves, or could they not care less?

Vander does not care much for his appearance. He wears casual, practical clothing, and while he’s well-groomed enough not to be shaggy or haggard, he seems to be more of a 3-in-1 type of guy than, say, a Season 1 Jayce Talis. This reflects Vander’s history and his social status. He grew up in poverty and worked in the mines, and when he was young, the pollution in the Undercity was still intense. Staying clean was likely a fool’s errand- not much point, and he got used to it being that way. Never had fancy products before, so why start now? Now, while Vander has the respect of most in the Undercity and served as their de facto leader for a while, he still keeps his humble post running a bar there. He serves his community with his labour, not lording above them in a tower or an office, and his physical appearance reflects this modesty. The Undercity is also a grungy place, rough around the edges, so it makes sense that their leader wouldn’t be overly polished. If he wore fancier clothing, he would likely lose the respect of some impoverished Zaunites. One notable thing, though, is he covers the scar on his arm that silco gave him with a bracer. This reflects his guilt and shame about that part of his past, especially because in the AU episode where Vander and Silco have reconciled and lead Zaun together, Vander is not wearing the bracer, showing the scar openly.

8. What would it take to truly upset your character, enough that they would act upon their feelings? Are they the sort to forgive?

Vander has a temper, but he doesn’t lose it easily. In canon he’s shown to be warm, patient, and kind, if stern, with most people. For example, when traders are trying to swindle one of his people in his bar, he confronts them in such an easy-going way that they don’t realize he is the Vander, Hound of the Underground, until all the patrons of the bar smell trouble and stare down the swindlers. He threatens them, but never once drops his casual friendliness in favor of anything more menacing. He generally takes this patient, level-headed and diplomatic approach to things. However, there are things that upset him and make him snap. The key places we see this in canon are as follows. When Vi and her siblings make trouble Topside and Vander hears about it, he’s angry as he confronts them, sternly calling them out and giving Violet a long lecture. Then there’s the aforementioned incident where he tries to kill SIlco, and finally, in the warehouse when Silco stabs him, Vander grabs him by the neck and chokes him until he physically can’t anymore. The common thread between these instances is that they all involve someone he cares deeply for. Vander values his chosen family above all else- when they hurt him, or when they’re threatened, there’s a good chance he will get upset. When he truly snaps and goes over the edge, he gets very violent, which is something I intend to play with in this game with his corruption.

As for forgiveness, I think Vander is a forgiving type, as he seems to value his relationships- friendships, chosen family, his community- above all else. He will do anything he can to preserve those relationships, which leads to easy forgiveness, and a propensity to apologize.

Inventory: Vander has a photograph of his kids, his cast-iron gauntlets, and his tobacco pipe.
Powers/Abilities: Vander has no magical/supernatural abilities at this canonpoint. The following are his regular-guy abilities from his wiki.

Incredible strength: Vander had a gift for hand-to-hand combat and was shown to dominate most fights he ever got involved in, even against Shimmer-enhanced opponents. He also taught Vi how to fight, a notable feat considering how skilled Vi became at boxing in her teenage years.
Pain tolerance: As noted by Singed, Vander had a strong pain tolerance, which was probably the reason why he could withstand so many attacks while he was human and keep fighting.
Bartending: As the owner of The Last Drop, Vander was a skilled bartender and could make various kinds of drinks.
Leader: Vander was a competent and honorable leader despite his past failures, and many Zaunites respected him for it, even after he supposedly died.
Teacher: As the adoptive father of four children, Vander would be their primary teacher in life and gave them just about every skill they needed to survive in Zaun. Even after his assumed death, his lessons would still resonate with Vi and Powder, as displayed when Vi had a vision of him encouraging her to work on her guard and get back up during her second fight with Sevika.
Samples: Here & Here

Goals: Vander is a new character for me, but he fits the archetype of many characters I have played before. I would like to explore his character in this well-fleshed out setting, play with castmates, play with physical consequences involved with the shifting premise, and with psychological impacts of all of it. The classic trope of a man fighting against his own rage, afraid of his own strength- will man win over, or will the beast prevail? This is my planned arc for him.

Soul Choice: Carnivora- specifically a wolf. Even more specifically, Warwick, the wolf-man hybrid he is turned into after his death in canon. His shifted form will look like Warick and I will draw inspiration from Warwick for other powers and traits.