Deerington application

[shadow_moon]

IN CHARACTER

Character Name: Shadow Moon
Canon: American Gods (tv series)
Canon Point: Season 2 Episode 8 "Moon Shadow" (season 2 finale)

In-Game Tattoo Placement: Expanse of his back
Residence: 101 David Cliff Apartments
Current Health/Status: Overall healthy. Might have some superficial cuts/scrapes from recent fight.
Age: 32
Species: Demigod

History: Shadow Moon wiki

Born in the US but didn’t remain long. He was approximately fifteen when his mother decided to return to the States with him. Canon never shows us the reason for why she left with him, or the purpose of their return, only that the trip back was meant to be just for one summer.

The two are seen on a ship that approaches with a view of The Statue of Liberty. His mother tells him, “You’re not French, Shadow. Don’t forget that.” to which he responds, “Yeah, a home I don’t know.” It’s likely given his traveling that he knows multiple languages. Shadow speaks English like an American without any other accent. As a young man, he appears well educated. When seeing Lady Liberty he notes, “She was a Roman goddess. Libertas.” He is also seen reading Siddartha - A new translation by Russell Bennett and A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway over the summer after just arriving.

He grew up without a father, told by his mother that his father was ‘dead and gone’ ‘nothing to miss’. It seemed to bother Shadow as a young man that he didn’t know about his father however it didn’t change his affection for his mother. The two are seen close, one worrying about the other and enjoying the other's company during rough moments.

Shadow never left the States. The summer found his mother ill, terminally. He had a hard time getting acclimated to New York City, bullied for sounding ‘white’ and being friendly yet harassed by police for appearing black. Yet amidst the hardships of being an adolescent male growing up without ever knowing his father or familiarity with the country he’d been born in; Shadow kept a positive manner about him. His mother often spoke of his ‘light’...

“ You’re different. There’s a light in you that’s stronger than anything else.”
“ I don’t feel it.”
“It’s there.”
“ How do you know?”
“ I gave it to you. I give it to you every day.”

During her last moments before dying, Shadow cried that he didn’t want his mother to go, that he didn’t know how to live without her. Her final words were, “Be polite. Respectful. When you feel the hate and the pain, let it make you stronger. No matter how dark the world gets, your light will always be shining.”

Personality: The series begins with Shadow Moon at 32 years of age. What is shown of his youth are memories being tortured from him by an enemy (Mr Town). After noting that Shadow is "one tough motherfucker", Mr Town goes on to explain that he is trying to make sense of why Shadow always seems to ‘go with the flow’. Shadow only responds, "curious spirit", flippant in the face of pain and his adversary. It seems he might've taken his mother's words to heart after all and allowed both hate and pain to make him stronger.

The 'go with the flow' trait was described in his opening scene in the series when Shadow states, “Best thing, the only good thing about being in prison, is the relief. You don’t worry if they’re gonna get you when they already got you. Tomorrow, can’t do anything today hasn’t already managed.” No matter how dark life might have gotten for him where he ended up in prison, it is clear he didn't succumb to the way of life while doing time.

Prison gangs stare at Shadow from each side. He has nothing to do with them, not one mark on his body as is common while being locked up. It looks as if he kept to himself other than one friend (his cellmate). The same could be said about his life outside. Mr Town mentions that no family could be found other than his mother and wife. Shadow only mentions one friend at being released from prison, that has a job lined up for him.

His mother once told him that "a good book is a loyal and constant friend." Shadow continued reading books while serving time, mainly history books and four math books (six books a week for three years = 813 books). When shopping, he picks up a few books.

And while it might appear as if Shadow made poor choices in life like being a thief and ending up in prison, he had given up his life as a con man to be a loyal husband. It was his wife (Laura) who planned the heist that went wrong. She said it would make her happy. They could’ve each served only one and a half years if Laura confessed to her role but he wouldn’t accept her going to prison. Shadow insisted that she had asked him to do the crime but he said yes. He told her that he could do the time as long as she was on the other side (that she'd wait for him).

Laura didn't hold up her end of the bargain. Not because she died before he was released from prison but she had cheated on Shadow with his friend thirteen months into the prison sentence. Yet he continued to be protective of her, angered when her betrayal was mentioned or someone spoke of her disrespectfully. Misguided or not, his loyalty didn't waiver. He told Laura when she returned from the dead that he wanted to believe in her. When suddenly taking gunfire, Shadow lept to her defense and moved her out of harm's way. He is also seen aggressively asked the last person to see her where she was when they mentioned her at a later point. And even after being told that someone else had sex with her since she returned from the dead, his concern for her didn't stop--bypassing the recent news to confront who had been named in orchestrating her death.

Shadow is seen going back and forth on what he believes. Early on in the series, he says he isn't superstitious--he believes when there's reason and evidence to believe in with the disclaimer that he doesn't believe in anything that he can't see. Yet when asked what he believes in his answer once is that he believes in love. After witnessing Odin and Ostara demonstrate their powers, Shadow says that he believes in everything.

The one thing that he doesn't come around to believing is that he holds any powers. He thought himself a mere mortal, learning only recently that the man who'd hired him on after getting out of prison was his father after learning weeks ago that he was a god (Odin). Neither did he believe Laura when she apologized and told him that she wanted good things for him, for them. Yet after the exchange, Shadow still tasted of love lost when a god kissed his lips shortly after.

Rejecting Laura's apology came soon after he'd taken the life of a god. Shadow himself had said he was sorry when he'd countered the man's attempt to spear Wednesday, running the spear through the attacker instead. "Sorry doesn't mean anything because if it did," Shadow told Laura that but didn't finish the sentence. He visibly carried guilt over the death he'd caused. He had even told the god he speared, "I'm so sorry" immediately after.

Abilities/Powers/Weaknesses & Warping: Although he has demonstrated having the below abilities, Shadow isn't conscious of them. They will dampen accordingly.

• Precognition: Sees future events in prophetic dreams. Uses this ability in "The Bone Orchard" when he fell asleep in his prison cell and sees the noose that would later lynch him. He then went to sleep on the airplane and sees the Buffalo for the first time. This ability is not one Shadow understands until after the moment in reality happens, he’ll then remember the dream. Being that Deerington is technically a dream, he would not have a prophetic one unless discussed with the mods first.
• Premonition: Ability to sense the elements and bad things happening before they do. First seen in "The Bone Orchard" when he told his cellmate (Low Key Lyesmith) that he smelled snow. Also that same day, on the phone with his wife (Laura Moon), Shadow said he sensed a storm coming and that night it did. In "Lemon Scented You," he told Laura that during the last phone call they had when she was alive, he somehow knew she was going to die.
• Weather Manipulation: Created a snowstorm just by thinking about snow in "Head Full of Snow". Other than making it snow after being prompted to think about it, other parts of canon have shown how his moods can also affect the weather. At the very start of season 1 episode 1, he states, “something feels weird like the weather, the air feels constipated like if it would just push out a storm it’d be okay.” Right after, there is a thunderstorm although the weather had been clear before. Another storm occurred in the same episode when he is being beaten up and nearly lynched. Shadow doesn’t consciously control the weather and with all of Deerington being a dream, he would never experience ‘reality’ for it to be affected by him.
• Clairvoyance: Shadow is shown to have this power in "A Murder of Gods" when he saw Laura in his mind and told Mr. Wednesday where and what she was doing. His eyes glow a golden color when using this ability. Although he does display the skill in canon, Shadow isn’t aware that he actually has the skill. His attempt at seeing Laura and what she was doing what at Wednesday’s prompting and is never confirmed. This ability would only occur in Deerington with the permission of willing players, once Shadow figures out he has it.
• Invulnerability: Invulnerable to a certain degree shown in "Muninn" after the train he was on collided with Betty and caught fire shadow got up walking around disoriented but after awhile was fine. Another ability that Shadow is unaware of having since he does suffer injuries and is never shown questioning how he walked away (albeit, more like hobbled away) from the train wreck that he was in or how he healed up from other cuts and bruises in a few days. His healing in Deerington will be even slower which would work to make him realize he had the ability before.
• Animal Communication: Briefly communicates with Mr. Wednesday's raven (Muninn) in the episode "Muninn", who tells him to go to Cairo and find the Egyptians.
• Materialization: Uses this power in "Moon Shadow" when he waves his hand over the police officers in front of the funeral home and they disappear. The power is something he does in a moment of duress on a whim at the very end of the season 2 finale (the point Shadow arrives from) with much coaching in a dreamlike state within the scene. Once he realizes this power, it would backfire slightly in Deerington and instead of getting rid of any danger, it ends up behind him or within the same vicinity.
• Invisibility: Shadow can follow the synchronicity flow which allows him to move by other humans unnoticed and undetectable, even if he touches them lightly.
• Dimension Travel & Fabricate: Able to enter other dimensions at mere will and grab objects (such as silvery coins) straight out of the air ("Fabricate"). The season 2 finale is where Shadow shows the ability after being grabbed by The World Tree and pulled inside of it. He appears to travel to another dimension within the tree where he returned to a time of his youth and other moments. Later, he is back in present time. Shadow will only travel between the different layers in Deerington when they’re obvious in game events. He won’t be able to leave Deerington but might sense his home world.

Inventory: A black leather duffle bag of clothes (consisting of henleys & t-shirts in both short and long sleeves [more short than long], tank tops, boxer briefs, socks, jeans--totaling 4 outfits with a couple of extra socks and undies, joggers, a pair of sneakers, boots, one pair of boot style shoes), a few books (Invisible Man, A Tale of Two Cities, Of Mice and Men), a leather jacket and a silver dollar coin.

Writing Samples: Thread One | Thread Two | Thread Three

OUT OF CHARACTER

Player Name: RC
Player Age: Way over 18
Player Contact: Plurk @ rhematic1 or Journal PM

Other Characters In Game: n/a
In-Game Tag If Accepted: Shadow Moon: RC
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?: Everything from classic monsters to slasher films, alien encounters whether extraterrestrials or phenomenon (a la The Mist), supernatural beings or events and post apocalyptic settings.
Is there anything in particular you absolutely need specific content warnings for?: No
Additional Information: