Maybe I'm a Sweetheart

APPLICATION

OOC

NAME: Jimmy
AGE: 34
CONTACT: PM molotovmoustache preferred. Discord: baharibait
CHARACTER(S): N/A.

INVITED BY: Sarah malpwactice

IC

NAME: Baptiste LaFontaine
AGE: 39
CANON: Original Character - from an 1890s Hunter the Reckoning 5e campaign.
CANON POINT: Chicago’s World’s Fair Arc - May 1893
CRAU: N/A
OTHER: Being from a TTRPG system, his character pulls from mechanics and worldbuilding offered from the World of Darkness books such as Hunter: The Reckoning, Vampire the Masquerade, and other supernatural lore from this IP. | Beyond knowing what system he pulls from, I don’t believe there is anything that needs mod approval!

SUITABILITY: He’s a theater kid - he’s gonna suck and fuck. More seriously, Baptiste is the ringmaster of his own circus, which compliments both his bombastic nature and his screws that have been knocked loose from his real gig - being a hunter of the supernatural. He originally implemented the traveling performer façade for himself and his troupe to better shroud their identities and allow them to traverse the Americas as nomads all while sorting out supernatural instances that had run amuck. And boy do things run amuck. With this background, Baptiste makes a wonderful fit for this setting in a number of ways. First, he will be working to unravel the various mysteries that have been set up within the resort. From his work, he is already equipped to roll with the punches when absurdity begins to rear its head as he is too competitive to back down from a challenge. For character relations, he has a tendency to draw people to him with his charisma and often reaches out to assist those in need - while actively trying to undermine those that sit comfortably at the top. The numerous moving pieces of this setting that encompass the weird, the taboo, and the damning will allow for multiple aspects of Baptiste to shine while giving him plenty of opportunity for both growth and struggle.

HISTORY: Baptiste LaFontaine is the first born son in his branch of the LaFontaine Family - a family who (for the most part) has devoted their livelihoods to hunting down the malicious supernatural with a specialization in vampire extermination. While Baptiste has led a colorful life - there are a couple of significant events that have shaped him into the man he is today. At age 14, Baptiste lost both of his parents and his “good” vampire mentor to a sudden attack in the middle of the night. Baptiste and his siblings were forced to flee their estate and into the wintery wilderness. At age 20, Baptiste struck out on his own - separating himself from the main LaFontaine family to undertake vampire hunting alone. During this excursion, Baptiste would meet Ada, Doc, and Annie through a series of mishaps that would bind them together as a core “cell” of hunters.

The first event is important as it highlights the moment where Baptiste’s idealistic worldview was shattered. His father had been working to collaborate with vampires and improve the future for both humans and vampires instead of living at odds - and the betrayal of that night sowed seeds of wrath and vengeance in his heart.

The latter bears significance as it is a capstone moment of Baptiste’s rebellion against authority and familial expectations. After realizing that the trauma of his childhood was being used to manipulate him into fulfilling the “family business,” Baptiste made it a point to reject the family’s patriarch - his grandfather - during a large, well-attended holiday celebration. This would kick off a series of mishaps, crime, and close calls that had him stumbling into a found family. Finding his footing amongst other misfits allowed for Baptiste to begin to find purpose in connections with others rather than just a lust for vengeance.

ABILITIES:

• FIRE BREATHING - While Baptiste has been met with many challenges in life, he’s found that fire solves a good deal of them. He is a master at pilfering flammable materials to create combustibles - and one of the best ways of showcasing this talent? Guzzling flammable liquids and then blowing them through a spark or lighter to create a flashy spectacle.
  
  
• MENTAL ACUITY - The first thing you learn in Hunter School is to question everything. His powers of observation have been refined to look for the minor ticks of a supernatural hiding amongst the mundane. He also has a gift from his Fae-touched ancestry of recognizing when he’s been mentally manipulated by supernatural means. While this does not bar him from the effects of mind control, he will know that it was used on him.
  
  
• SHOWMANSHIP - Baptiste is a born entertainer and creative. His fiery personality revels in the attention that performance brings while his extensive physical training allows for him to have a great deal of flexibility in what roles he can play. From fire dancing to sleight of hand - Baptiste is always looking for new ways to appeal to those around him as it allows him to both improve the moods of others and show-off just how neat he is.

VICES:

• IMPATIENCE - For every successful plan that Baptiste has ever formulated, there are at least two where his impatience caused him to "wing it" instead. His inability to wait often hinders his own judgment and safety - as the idea of a successful, split-second opportunity is much more seductive than everything going "as it should." Playing the long game is simply not an option for Baptiste, who would rather deal a decisive strike for the theater of it. This opportunistic desire has led to its fair share of close calls, fumbled plans, and life-threatening injuries in Baptiste's past - most notably the burn scars that kiss the tip of his nose and his chin. While hunting a vampire, Baptiste grew too eager to blow fire at the creature without realizing that it was immune to the usual fear that the undead hold for fire. Instead, Baptiste found himself pinned to the ground with a flaming hand pressing down into his face - turning his preferred weapon of choice against him. Yet even while wearing the scars of his own folly, Baptiste still can't resist the temptation of striking a match at a moment's notice. He uses his observations and reflections as a baseline on how to get better at sudden strikes instead of avoiding them altogether.
  
  
• ADRENALINE JUNKIE - One could say that narrowly surviving a planned massacre at the family estate and then fighting to survive in the winter-touched forests of Maine could lead someone to continuously seek dangerous situations in order to regain control of their trauma. This observation would be half right - though in reality, Baptiste has always been drawn to situations that would give him a rush. Manipulating fire, performing for an audience, and engaging in close combat with creatures that far outweigh the capabilities of a a human's abilities all serve as their own kindling for the inferno that makes up Baptiste's soul. He is unable to accept a quiet existence - much to the dread of those who love him - and seeks out situations that will fuel his passion. Competition. Gambling. Rebellion. These are all enticing entities to chase as Baptiste jumps from putting on one show to the next. After all, Baptiste never once imagined an ending for himself where he simply faded away - instead embracing the inevitable that one day the very fire of his soul would devour him along with whatever he was chasing. What else could better compete with the rush of mutually assured destruction?
  
  
• VENGEANCE - An eye for an eye makes the whole world think twice. Baptiste's family tree gained an unstoppable thirst for revenge as part of a deal with a fae several generations back. While this deal allowed for those with LaFontaine blood to be sturdier than the average human - it also came with a great cost. When faced with the opportunity for revenge, Baptiste cannot resist its siren call. He possesses a list of vampires who conspired against his family that fateful night and would sell his soul to spill their blood. The obsession with this idea is so great that when coming into contact with someone he has sworn revenge against - he will lose himself completely to the mania of pursuit. It becomes an insatiable urge, and he has had to be restrained by loved ones to prevent him from frenzying. At the Golden Peacock, Baptiste will find himself wanting to take revenge on those who forcibly take away his free will through the use of supernatural powers. If presented with an opportunity where Baptiste can "even the playing field" against someone who has wronged him or one of "his" - he will jump at the opportunity.

VIRTUES:

• CHARISMA - Despite his questionable temperament and his devotion to being a walking inferno, there is something unmistakably charming about the man. For example, when someone attempted to mug him in Boston by knife point, Baptiste took to complimenting his world-be aggressor and asking if they could at least go to dinner before pulling out the knife play. This approach led to Baptiste recruiting the criminal, Annie, to his cell and overtime found the two falling in love with one another. He connects well with those around him, freely offering his help or sparking a sense of levity in even dire situations. His self-confidence is a tool that is extended to pull up others around him, and he never hesitates to find the good in others. This is a man who speaks with purpose - he never wants to leave anything unsaid, just in case his next venture ends up being his last. This commitment to connection with others is something that drives Baptiste forward , fueling him to continue reaching out as it fills him with a purpose beyond the single-minded pursuit of hunting vampires or the supernatural.
  
  
• SYMPATHETIC - While his charisma draws people to him, what are the aspects that keep them around? His early, traumatic experience both upended his worldview and forced him to a realization. Baptiste now intimately knew suffering in a way that he could see where it nested around him. The oldest of his family, he was driven by a promise he'd made to his mother in to become a guardian to his younger siblings in the aftermath of losing their parents. His youngest sibling, Dorian, especially spurred this development of emotional understanding as the infant was incredibly temperamental from the start. The burning intensity of these emotions captured Baptiste's affections and fueled him to learn how to better understand the sources of his little brother's feelings. Baptiste is always willing to lend a sympathetic ear as he cannot turn away from the messy reality of human thought and emotion. This commitment runs so deep that even a few supernatural entities have won his sympathy. This propensity lends well to the Golden Peacock - as this will foster a duty in Baptiste to serve as a pillar of support to those fending off the corruptive nature of this place even if they stumble along the way.
  
  
• REFLECTIVE - In the face of every close call, fuck up, and chance meeting - Baptiste has collected a myriad of perspectives. This collection lends to a patchwork of experience that continues to keep him, and hopefully those around him, alive another day. These moments of reflection often shine in spaces of silence, though Baptiste holds no qualms with sharing in his process. For example, whenever a member of his troupe has died, Baptiste undergoes a personal ritual where he burns their belongings. Fire, while his weapon of choice, is also seen as a great equalizer. He will lovingly wield it to consume even that which he most adored. During these vigils, he dedicates his thoughts entirely to the memory of what he wishes to preserve in ash while contemplating how he arrived at this point or what the next step is. Yet beyond grief, Baptiste often consults an open flame as a catalyst for reflection in all actions of his triumphs or defeats. The devotion to memory keeps him oriented and moving forward, meaning that there is never a "wasted" endeavor. This is a characteristic that could be especially important in fostering adaptation and flexibility at a place that warps one's sense of reality.

SUIT REQUESTS:

• SPADES (♠) My first choice for Baptiste would be Spades. I think the challenge to Baptiste’s soul offers an interesting twist to his character - as he is a TTRPG character that I have played both as an antagonist (in a vampire-centric game) and a protagonist (in a hunter-centric game). It is increasingly rewarding to see if Baptiste’s better qualities can pull him away from “becoming the very thing he hunts” tropes - and the challenge of the soul that Spades exercises has a comparable pull that the beast inside of a vampire’s blood does in VTM canon. As a player, I am very interested in sowing the seeds of corruption to see just how Baptiste will be able to remain standing afterward. Additionally, I do think him having this struggle will help him become more emotionally vulnerable in this setting - which would allow for the potential of deeper CR. Is Baptiste a good guy just because he hunts “supernatural” dangers? Or is a revenge-driven hunter simple a different side of the same corrupted coin?


• CLUBS (♣) - As an alternative option, I would also enjoy playing with Clubs for Baptiste. Baptiste is a man who is vehement of being in control of his own faculties - having rebelled against being manipulated by familial expectations or expected to follow societal ‘norms’ that would go against his personal code. Additionally, he harbors a deep fear of being supernaturally manipulated - given his family gift of being able to recognize and recall when he’s being forced to act. This suit could serve to amplify his more manic swings as well, which could hold interesting consequences and effects with the characters or events within the game. This would allow me to play with some of the more cerebral aspects of Baptiste and study just how his upbringing and interactions with the supernatural world continue to erode his sanity - no matter how well-intentioned of a force he tries to be.

RANK REQUESTS: Anything is fine! The slightest preference toward middle so he can pull low suits up or high so that he can fight against hating authority and desperately working to lower his rank. Ultimately, he's a flexible character!

SAMPLES:

• SAMPLE 1 - TDM Top Level with threads.
  
  
• SAMPLE 2 - TDM Tag-in
  
  
• SAMPLE 3 - TDM Tag-in