Drop! Sorry I was unable to get art in time so I don't think I qualify!. q D q
Username ;; Trollish
Name ;; Zacharie, also goes by Zach.
Brief Explanation ;; Named after the merchant from the game OFF by Mortis Ghost, I selected this name because chinese crested dogs were famous for traveling on ships with the Chinese merchants and hunting rats during the plague.
Gender: Male
Collar ;; WIP
Prim, proper and presentable. Like Zacharie himself, the collar is fine and well kept. On it's visible overside the collar is primarily black, very sleek and elegant. While on it's underside there is a more bubbly, colorful pattern. The collar is indeed reversible, and the jewel pendant itself is also flippable and has two sides. Zach generally only flips his collar away from it's presented dark side when around friends or in a looser geared situation, though it's generally kept hidden.
Reasons Behind Collar ;; Zacharie doesn't like to talk about it, quite frankly. It's less than pleasant, and he'd burry it as far down in his heart as he could manage if it were possible. Generally if you question why he wears the neckpiece he'll just scoff and roll his eyes, as if the answer is painfully obvious and perhaps the asker was just too daft to see it themselves. He doesn't wear it for fashion, appeal or perhaps pride in the canine that resembles him so closely. No, it's for a much different reason.
When Zacharie was a young plume he lived with his mother and father. At that time he was a clingy, affectionate child who never left their sides. Wherever they went, it was almost certain Zach was right at their heels. Zach grew, financially strained though not impoverished. His parents were kind, and that was all he could ask for. He suffered bullying for his appearance, but he brushed it off and let it fade into the back of his mind when he burst through the kitchen door crying and was immediately cradled by his dear parents. His doubts could be silenced with a simple whisper or coo of, "I love you" or "We're here for you" because he knew them to be true.
When he reached his adolescent years, things began to take a turn for the worse. The bullying had only progressed to a point of unnerving him completely. Sorrow turned into angst and anger, misery flaring into a violent flame of hatred. These children who had caused him pain became the objects of all his spite, and one day in particular he lashed out at one of them. Sitting in the kitchen with bloody knuckles and concerned parents, he hadn't any regrets. From that day forward he was left at arms length. Exactly how he wanted it.
Zacharie only began to realize the value of friendship and socialization when everything he knew and loved was threatened. He wasn't much older than sixteen now, and his parents were hinging on a violent divorce. His mother who had been diagnosed with a fatal illness could no longer please the man Zach thought he could trust, it seemed, and the pair of them never stopped lashing at each other's throats with crude words. Zacharie cringed when he walked by and hid himself away in his room, covering his ears in a desperate attempt to blot out the noise from the thin floorboards beneath him.
One day in particular the matter was settled and his parents went separate ways. The hatred Zacharie once held for those around him channeled towards his traitorous father, and instead he staid with his mother for the majority of his teen years. She only grew weaker, however, and it became obvious that she'd never quite be the same. Unable to care for her child, she met Zacharie on the last day they would be together. Gently she hugged him close, and whispered gingerly into his ear that she would always have him close to her heart, and that he would never be uncared for.
He was turned over to his father, grudgingly, as there was no other available family. He wasn't he man Zacharie had labelled him to be, in fact Zach's father was the same smiling man who'd coached him through a childhood of insults and misery. Zach found himself happy in his father's company, and quickly adjusted to the swing of life once again. It'd been a couple years now, and soon Zacharie would be out living on his own. While his father held no fortune, he did have a bounty of love that fueled Zach's inspiration.
It wasn't long before word spread. The passing was quick, painless and merciful to the old plumerian. It hit Zacharie and his father the hardest, turning outgoing and fun loving plumes into hermits who hardly left the apartment. Quiet, timid people with secrets worth keeping and feelings they felt weren't worth sharing. In their sorrow they had one another, and it was a good while before they were reminiscent of the plumerians they once were.
By this time Zacharie was a fine man. He'd grown into the messy crest of hair that he'd once been mocked for, now well kept and glittering with style and importance, and now that he had become a gentlemen it was time to dismiss himself from the old apartment and his old life to take on one of his very own. He approached his father, who could hardly utter a word. He just took Zacharie's hand and wedged into the palm a small box, slipped a thin smile across his lips as a cheery look flashed in his mourning eyes. The dark circles around them made their color seem particularly bright, and while Zacharie knew his father was upset it had been some time, and he had faith that on his own either man would be alright.
He came upon a modest fortune in two ways. He plaid cards, and with his fine eye for hunting it was easy to catch the nervous ticks or expressions of others- not to mention slip cards in and out of hidden places without getting noticed. The second way was through his counseling service. He felt that if he hadn't had someone to listen and soothe his worries, he would've become a violent and aggressive child always at other's throats at the drop of a pin, so he decided to open his ears to all who may need them. He became notorious for his insight and empathy, and was- and still is- very proficient at what he does.
Zach waited a time before he opened the box. At first he'd been hesitant, then he'd forgotten about it, and then misplaced it until finally one day he stumbled again upon the small black box, dusted with tears and laced with hope. Cracking open the ancient seal, dust scattered in the air. Inside was a fine, double sided collar with a crystal at dead center. He examined the trinket before setting it aside and instead inspecting the note that was placed below it.
"Dear Son," it read. "I know living on your own is tough. It's the same with moving on, really. The habits of things that used to be and things that could've been refuse to leave you and hinge at your memory. I was thinking of you lately and stumbled upon this. It reminded me of you, and I thought you'd like it. Your mother always said blue was a very flattering color on you. I wanted you to know that you will always be close to my heart, just like this collar will be to yours. Sincerely, Dad."
Zacharie scoffed at the clichéd letter, though couldn't help but smile and rub a couple patches of dampness away from his eyes. He fastened the collar securely around his neck, and since then has never let it leave him. Periodically at night he would run his paws over the pendant, and ponder the symbolism of the item. Elegant and regal externally, professional- though inside there was an exciting and vastly different alternative known by very few privileged to have befriended him. A thin smile would lace his lips, and he would drift off into a sound sleep, knowing that in the darkness he was not alone- but held close by those he cherished.
by Vaughn. » Mon Oct 20, 2014 6:11 am 
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