Dempsey Dante

[Dempsey Dante]

In Character

Full Name: Dempsey Altair Dante
Nicknames: Dem
Birthdate: 23 September 1845
Current Age: 38
Occupation: Cook at Chance L'Amour
Hogwarts House: Unknown
Wand: 7 1/2" Blackthorn and Ashwinder Ash, rigid
Blood Status: Muggleborn
Social Class: Lower Class

Family:

• Thomas Henrickson | 1801-1875, father, deceased
  Miriam Henrickson née Kameron | 1828, mother, living in a convent
  Desmond Henrickson | 1842, brother, muggle, lawyer
  Delilah Henrickson | 1852, sister, muggle, secretary and spinster
  Deidre Young née Henrickson - 28, sister, magical, housewife
  Drake Henrickson | 1860, brother, magical, attending university
  
  Dempsey knows nothing about his biological family, as he was abandoned at an orphanage at the age of 4 after displaying signs of magic. His two youngest blood siblings are also magical, and could have attended Hogwarts, but kept their magic hidden and thought of it as a birth defect to be ashamed of. His family is upper class and living in London, and no one knows of his existence but his mother.
  
  
  People He Considers His Actual Family
  • Ulysses Dante | 1846, security at casino, wrath
    Basically Dempsey's best friend. They have a great friendship, but whenever they fight, they fight hard and it lasts for days. Neither of them ever wants to admit their own faults or the fact that they are wrong to the other. However, these two always make up and continue being thick as thieves, because they love each other like brothers and have been friends since they were very young.
    
    Acedia Dante | 1849, unemployed, sloth
    Lord, don't even get Dem started on this apathetic little ho.
    
    ----- Dante | 18xx, dealer at casino, greed
    Dem and ----- are at odds a lot of the time. They love each other, but they sort of hate each other too. Still, Dem has a soft spot for him as a little brother, and tries to not comment on his delusions about his family because he knows it's a serious soft spot for him.
    
    ----- Dante | 18xx, occupation, lust
    Dem and her had sex at some point.
    
    ----- Dante | 18xx, occupation, gluttony
    Dempsey is a cook and ----- likes food, so these two get along splendidly!
    
    Vidia Dante | 1854, waitress at casino, envy
    While Vidia feels more for him than he feels for her, Dem likes her. She's strange and always jealous, but she's a good lay and a good friend. They aren't extremely close, seeing as she's latched on to Ulysses as of late, but they're always there for each other when they need to be.

Appearance:

• Dempsey is quite attractive, and the way he carries himself shows this. His facial features are aristocratic and sharp. Standing at 6'2", he is very much above average in stature, and uses this to his advantage to intimidate and belittle people he considers beneath him aka everyone. He is strong from being forced to do menial labor from a very young age at the orphanage, and still lifts around bags of rice and flour at the restaurant he works in. Dempsey's shoulders are broad and he never slouches.
  
  He keeps his hair on the long side because he feels like it, and it is a dark blonde color. Although Dempsey doesn't like facial hair, he only shaves every once in a while due to forgetfulness and almost constantly has stubble on his face. His eyes are dark blue and expressive, even though the expression he usually dons is disdain.
  
  While he wished he didn't, Dem wears clothing that is usually secondhand or patched up in places. Sometimes things are too tight, but otherwise he usually looks very presentable for a lower class gentleman. (Ha! Gentleman!) At work, he has a uniform since he's a cook, and so he comes off as middle class. Dem always tries to shower and wear cologne because he is better than the scum of the earth that his pay dictates are his brethren.
  
  Dempsey is ambidextrous, which comes in handy in the kitchen. He has his wand on him at all times even though he hardly knows how to use it, preferring to keep it by him but not necessarily on his person.

History:

• EARLY CHILDHOOD: 1845-1849
  Born to a wealthy family known for its law practice, Dempsey hardly knew the hardships of living in London. He was pampered and adored, even though he was a second son. This all changed, however, the moment that he turned the family dog bright red in a fit of giggles at the age of three. The Henricksons, being very religious muggles, automatically thought that their child was possessed, and dumped him off at a nondescript Catholic orphanage. They didn't want their other son to be "contaminated" and promptly forgot all about little Dempsey.
  
  The orphanage he was left at didn't know how to handle a child of his sort, and after a few correspondences, they found a place willing to take him in. And so Dempsey was shipped off to Brixton Little Saints in a rather slimy part of the city, just short of his fourth birthday.
  
  LIFE AS AN URCHIN ORPHAN: 1849-1858
  It took very little time for Dempsey to realize just how wanted he was at Brixton. He was a rather quiet child to start with; he didn't make friends quickly or easily and had a habit of saying the wrong thing. The staff was brutal with him whenever this happened, and the taste of soap was familiar to him by the time he was six.
  
  He didn't know what it meant then, but ever since the social worker assigned to him had sneeringly called him a "mudblood", his fellow orphans adopted the term for him alone. On top of this, it seemed to Dem that he was always stuck with the worst chores and the most of them, but instead of complaining, he simply remembered.
  
  In 1855, Dem started working in the garden the orphanage kept. It was hard work, and him and Ulysses always seemed to have more of it than the other children, but he did it. Complained about it, but he did it.
  
  The summer after his eleventh birthday, he receives a letter from a place called Hogwarts. Other children his age had already begun attending the school, but they were usually the favorites in the orphanage and he was as far from that as one could possibly be. On top of this, Dempsey doesn't wish to leave his close friends, who are all younger than him, behind, so he decides not to attend.
  
  The best experience from these formative years was meeting and befriending Ulysses and Acedia, who quickly became his best friends. They were similarly mistreated by the other children and the staff, so they bonded over shared experiences. Gradually, more orphans joined their group, bringing their number to seven by the time Dem was thirteen.
  
  TEENAGE YEARS: 1858-1863
  The treatment he received at the orphanage made him grow up to very bitter and outright mean to people who weren't in his little group of friends. Dempsey got into fights sometimes, that were mostly because he "provoked" other children or even a staff member or two. He was a big guy, from the work in the garden and around Brixton's, so people tended to stay away from him and his loved ones if they were smart.
  
  Around this time, Dem started to sneak out of his dormitory at night. He stole food when he can for his "family" and takes odd jobs at odd hours to save up some money. He can only do this occasionally, but soon he shows Ulysses how to sneak out and he joins the fold. They get caught every once in a while, but a few extra beatings from the staff didn't bother them by that point.
  
  Some time in 1862, he overheard the staff talking about how eager they were to throw him out on his seventeenth birthday, which was rapidly approaching. Before they had the chance, though, Dempsey planned an escape for him and the six others he considered his family. They leave in August, and live on the streets until New Years, when Dem and Ulysses claim a home that was previously owned by an old man who died of a disease they couldn't pronounce.
  
  THE FORMATION OF THE DANTES: 1863-1870
  To avoid questions, Dempsey and his group of friends took on the same last name. It took a while to decide on something they all liked, but after a rigged vote and many arguments, they settled on 'Dante', and the Dantes they became.
  
  While the teenagers and children split up work around the house, the eldest ones found jobs if they could and took care of the younger ones. Dempsey found work as a kitchen worker. Washing dishes was horrible, but he met some rather nice people and soon moved up to actually work in a kitchen. Here he learned how to cook a proper meal, which was a good skill to have when acting as the head of household to six ravenous people who were in dire need of meat on their bones. Dem stole food from the kitchen in small quantities and, after three years of working there, he was found out and fired.
  
  He was without a job for a good long while, but late found work in a steel mill. He grew very strong very quickly even though he despised the trade. The people there were stupid and uninteresting, but the place provided an income so he stayed there until things started to change in London. Dempsey noticed neighbors looking at his family strangely, and whispering things. Though he had no idea how they reached the conclusion, they were labelled at witches and devil worshipers and were forced to move to another part of the city in 1868.
  
  ADULTHOOD: 1870-1882
  Dempsey had to quit his job at the steel mill when they relocated, but was extremely lucky in finding another job rather quickly. This time, it was at a bakery as an assistant to the baker. It was a nice job again, even though the management was rude and cut his pay every once in a while.
  
  Since he had been getting more money, Dem was able to buy a few books on magic and a wand from a store in a place he thinks was called Turnknock Alley, but he could never find it again. He had been actively trying to find out more about his magic and use it in a more controlled manner in the past years, and so when he found the place, he just couldn't leave without taking something back with him. He started to practice when he could, but only ever succeeded in the simpler spells he studied. One night, he threw a book into the fireplace in anger because he couldn't get a water conjuring spell right. Dem regrets it to this day, because it was an expensive book.
  
  In 1875, Dem starts treating Acedia as if he had more than just a brotherly type of affection for her. His flirting becomes pretty evident, even though he didn't want to admit to himself that he had grown to like her as more than a friend. Being the way she is, she hardly bats an eyelash at his advances. Dempsey takes this extremely personally, and vows to get a reaction from her, to make her see that him loving her should stir up some kind of emotion in her.
  
  Nothing changes for a month, and he decides to take matters into his own hands. Dem approaches her and seduces her, if it could be considered that when she honestly could care less if they were kissing or not. What had at first been sweet and genuine and loving dissolved into bruising grips and violent thrusts and harsh words as Dempsey tried with all his might to evoke a response from her. If Dia had cared more about herself, it would be considered an assault. When nothing worked, Dempsey gave up on her and stopped all attempts of wooing or niceness. Things were never the same for their relationship, again.
  
  In order to try to hurt Dia, he slept with Vidia, a girl eight years his junior, to make her jealous. While he did like Vidia, it was nothing more to him than something to get back at Dia for. It was cruel and immature, but it wasn't something he'd take back.
  
  CURRENT
  Soon after the situation with Dia, Dem hears about the formation of a magical village in Scotland. His family isn't exactly ready for the move, so they put it off and off and off until they finally save enough money to go through with it in mid-June of 1883. They bring along their alcohol distillery things, as it was something they had been using to make money since 1874. Dem finds a job as a cook - that he is extremely grateful for - at Chance L'Amour, in the town they move to, which is called Irvingly. They rent in an apartment building in the town, and basically take up an entire floor. Many of the Dantes work at the casino, and Dia is still without a job and a constant reminder of what Dem considers his personal failings.

Personality:

• Dempsey has made himself something that he is really not. After being abandoned as a toddler, he's spent years convincing himself of what his birth parents are missing out on - an amazing son who is handsome and intelligent and strong and brave and so on and so forth. Sooner rather than later, he began believing the stories he told himself about his greatness. Dempsey is proud of the man he has become, even though he has few accomplishments and those few are rather mediocre. He is proud of himself, and even more so of the pseudo-family that he was lucky enough to form and latch on to.
  
  He has serious entitlement issues, and has days where he feels that he should rule the world and that if everyone listened to him everything would be perfect. Dem's also the eldest, so he has his whole spiel about "what I say goes" down pat. He is good at making tough decisions, though he is never truly impartial. He honestly just wants what's best for the Dantes, because they mean the world to him. Sure, he has his nose so far up in the air that they could never tell his opinion of them, but it's there.
  
  Deep down, Dem knows that the proud and haughty facade is just that - a facade. He hits low points where he feels like a failure and has actually tried to hurt himself because he believes he's worthless. This usually only happens when he's drunk, but it's not an extremely rare occurrence. He's really good at lying to himself despite this.
  
  Sexism and racism are two things he's guilty of, not that he finds anything wrong with that. He's not the nicest to people of any color but peach and he's extra derisive to women who he feels are doing things that they simply shouldn't be (like being successful in business or having strong opinions). Dem's idea is that women should be very open to suggestion (or commands) and know their place in life. This is hypocritical of him because he expects the women he lives with to bring in money for the household someway or another, and to have more than three brain cells. He holds the other Dantes to a different standard than he does everyone else in his life.
  
  He's also hypocritical to women who whore themselves out, even though he sleeps around a lot himself. This is to a lesser degree than his prejudice towards race and gender, but it's still something he comments on every once in a while, probably derisively and during arguments with his "family".
  
  Dempsey is a hard-worker. Although sometimes he thinks himself above working and doing people bidding, he's good at it. He does what he's told, albeit most of the time grudgingly and complaining the entire way. He's a leader at home, where he feels he needs to be responsible, and a follower at work, where it's required for him to be even though he sort of hates it.
  
  Sometimes Dem refuses to acknowledge things such as love and appreciation towards people because he wants to only trust himself whenever he can. Of course, he failed at this because he ended up with six other people he loves, protects, and depends on, but it's still a thought in his head. This is why it took him so long to realize his feelings for Dia, along with the fact that he knew she would never really return them the way he wanted her to. And that bothered him to no end, making him feel as if it was him that was the problem, that it was him that was simply unlovable, when it was really just her inability to express her emotions to anyone, no matter how important.
  
  Dempsey is also very stuck in his ways. He's used to being in charge and hates when the others try to challenge him. He's used to humming as he cooks because he's done it ever since he was a teenager. He's used to internalizing his emotions and letting them boil for a while before losing his cool - either in a fight with a Dante or in a late night drinking party with just himself. Dem takes things very personally, and his usually response is to be bitter or short-tempered with the person. He holds major grudges. Just ask Dia. Sometimes he will be petty and immature just to get back at people he believes have wronged him or his family, even though he's supposed to be the mature and responsible Dante.

Sample Roleplay Post:

Dempsey had never wished he had a bottle of scotch as much as he did this night. Nothing that he'd done today was special or different in any particular way, but... He'd just felt off and tired and all around like a drink was a good idea. Giving any of his siblings who tried to approach him a look that was about as welcoming as a venomous tentacula, Dem made his way to his room after work, slamming the door to a) get his point across and b) for theatrical value.

He'd had the displeasure to find that someone had been in his liquor cabinet, leaving an "I.O.U." note instead of a half-full bottle of Glenfiddich. Dem was of a mind and mood to start a row about it, but that involved interaction and it wasn't worth it at the moment.

Mumbling about people who should buy their own goddamn scotch, he stripped out of his work clothes and tossed them on a chair. They were white and therefore wouldn't appreciate being thrown to the floor, and he wanted to look decent to impress his employers and maybe get a pay raise with his looks alone because, really, he was hot. Dem flung himself back on to the bed with a sigh. If only he could believe himself at a time like this.

He didn't know how long he sat there wallowing. But wallow he did, and that didn't help because that reminded him of Acedia, who was the one person he didn't want to be thinking about. Dempsey had thought enough about her, and he wasn't drunk enough to do more of that. She'd been moping about the new house ever since they'd moved in to Irvingly, and it when they did happen upon her, he'd ignore her or sneer or find someone to snog and that was the end of that.

At least, that usually worked when they happened upon each other, not when a certain apathetic annoyance wandered into his room basically nude.

"Acedia, I don't wanna talk right now. Least of all to you." he said, wishing it sounded harsher than it did. He was glad he'd mostly covered himself up to the waist for fear of a natural response motivating Dia. Hell, Dem was still attracted to her, and he couldn't help himself, but he was thoroughly convinced she would never be more than a emotional rag doll (and a rubbish lay).

Out of Character

Name: Andy
Age: 394
Contact: PM Vera Rose

  

[Odira Potter]

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