(This is a work in progress.)

NAME: Daryl Dixon
AGE: A lot older than he looks
OCCUPATION: Werecat drifter, mechanic
HEIGHT: 188cm/6'2"ish*
BUILD: Slim, broad-shouldered, muscular
HAIR: Brown, shoulder length, shaggy
EYES: Blue
PORTRAYED BY: Norman Reedus
OF INTEREST: See Daryl in action (contains TWD spoilers and gore, good reference for his appearance, manner, and voice), Nagual, Tezcatlipoca, Tepeyollotl, Tiamat, nature deities
*He's slightly taller than his canon self for Reasons.

With his tendency to hunch, cross his arms, and have his head bowed, Daryl often has defensive body language. A man of few words, he's an observer, watchful and tense. Generally soft-spoken, and has a low, gravelly voice and a subdued Appalachian drawl that becomes more pronounced when he's stressed or emotional. Sometimes suffers from Batman Voice. His aversion to physical contact means he isn't likely to let anyone he's unfamiliar with touch him — grabbing him without warning may cause a violent reaction.

He's literally a cat. He'll accept attention and affection on his own terms.

Characters who are either exceptionally observant or who possess heightened senses may notice he's not human. He doesn't have the scent of one, and because he has a tapetum lucidum (the membrane responsible for night vision in cats) even in human form, he can see in the dark and his eyes reflect light. For any doctor-types who might examine him, his vitals and blood would also make it apparent he isn't human. Relatedly, his blood is toxic to most other supernatural creatures, and because his shapeshifting abilities stem from his species and aren't a communicable disease or curse (like certain strains of lycanthropy), he can't infect others.

In his regular cat-form he has the appearance of a stocky, muscular jaguar, larger than what could be found in nature (around the size of a large tiger, 800ish lbs.). Physically and behaviourally similar to one as well — e.g. as comfortable hunting in water as on land, a bite force capable of crushing bone and turtle shells, etc. He can shift into several variations of this form, including hybrid (human-cat) ones. When needed, his fur may undergo a melanistic change to provide better camouflage, most often occurring during the winter.

(Why a jaguar? The choice was far from arbitrary. The actor portraying Daryl has got these huge shoulders and arm porn going on, and I felt a jaguar, with their extremely muscular forelegs, neck, and jaw suited him from a physical standpoint. Their precision hunting methods, terrain versatility, and solitary nature are also very Daryl. They're one of the only big cats native to the Americas, and, fittingly, even used to roam the Southern US. And come on, Daryl single-handedly takes out a freaking tank in canon, while jaguars can make kitty-chow [cw: animal death] even out of crocodiles; it works.)

Most likely to be found in the woods or jungle, tracking, hunting, or simply enjoying nature, and maintains a couple different dens in the wilds of the Meadous. He's good with animals and usually prefers their company over that of people, with only a few exceptions. In his human form he's rarely if ever seen without his black leather vest with faded wings on the back, even in the sweltering heat. Unlikely to ever go shirtless due to his extensive scars that make him self-conscious. Has several tattoos – on his hands, upper arm, thigh, chest, back. Only the ones on his hands/arm are likely to ever be visible.

His mundane skillset includes basically all things survival: archery, marksmanship, tracking, hunting, foraging, skinning, butchery, auto mechanic repair, first aid. He also knows how to tattoo (properly — he's no scratcher), has learned a lot about gardening from Rick, and is a surprisingly good artist, not that he'll normally let anyone see.

His superhuman skillset obviously includes shapeshifting first and foremost. He knows some magic, has limited telepathy that allows him to communicate more easily in cat form, and can access the Other Place, the hidden spirit world that exists parallel to the living one.

art credit: クリ/kuri & Mudai

Player Name: Moz
Preferred Pronouns?:
Player Contact: weaintashes or PM one of my journals
Other characters in play? Jasper Hale


Character Name: Daryl Dixon
Canon: The Walking Dead
Game Transplant: Several interconnected PSLs
Original App: n/a - but if a reference is needed to show my grasp of Daryl from canon, here's my app from thegames. (I also have a WTL app for The Games CRAU Daryl already written if that helps any too; I finished that before deciding to app this version of him instead, because I felt this one'll be a better fit and more willing to interact with people.)
Game Summary: The concept of the PSL universe is that supernatural beings, so-called "monsters" have always lived among humans, their true natures hidden in an attempt to pass for human themselves. The monster population is vastly smaller than that of the human one, making it necessary to try to live with humans rather than seeking to overthrow or control them, though conflicts do naturally arise — not just with the humans, but among the various groups and factions of monsters as well.

How long was your character in Game: I've been playing this version of monstery Daryl for 3-4 years off and on. (I only recently moved him over to his own account.)


History of Character in their Game: Several centuries ago Daryl was born as a beast and later learned how to take human form, making him a rarity among shapeshifters and the target of prejudice even from fellow non-humans. In supernatural society, those born as beasts are incorrectly assumed to be fundamentally less intelligent than those born in human form. His particular species is a race rather than a communicable disease the way standard lycanthropy is understood to be; meaning if he bites someone, they won't become a werecat, they'll just be in a lot of pain.

He spent the centuries roaming, mainly keeping to himself and only attempting to blend into human society when necessary. Occasionally he would develop close enough friendships with particular humans that he'd entrust them with his secret, and after acquiring the right forged paperwork, could pose as their relative in order to better "pass" in human society. This paper trail and manufactured human identity would become all but necessary in the modern age, with the rapidly expanding human population making it increasingly difficult for the supernatural society to exist separate from them; monsters had to find ways to coexist with humans for the sake of their own survival.

In more recent years Daryl maintained a territory in Northern Georgia that overlapped with land owned by a Cherokee family, who, owing to the fact they'd only ever caught glimpses of him in his cat form, gave him the name "Wesa", which simply means cat in their language. His neighbours had a healthy respect for the huge jungle cat they shared their land with and let him be, sometimes even showing him kindness in the form of animal carcasses left out and obviously intended for him. While unnecessary, Daryl appreciated the gesture and helped himself to the free food, and reciprocated in his own way by keeping the family's land free of tresspassers, human and monster alike. It was very likely the family came to know or at least suspect his true nature, though they continued to coexist with him without incident. All things considered it was an agreeable arrangement for Daryl and he was happy to maintain a home there.

When he'd take human form and stray further into the local cities, frequently in search of decent whiskey, that's where he would first meet Merle Dixon. An obnoxious, tactless, loudmouth biker redneck who had a penchant for instigating violent bar brawls. Daryl had been minding his own business when a confused, drunken idiot, having been shoved by Merle, knocked into him from behind and proceeded to start punching Daryl in misdirected anger. Annoyed and momentarily forgetting to hide his inhuman strength, he sent the drunk sailing across the bar and straight into a group of bikers, who didn't take kindly to the interruption and advanced on Merle and Daryl both. The two teamed up to clean house, and an unlikely friendship was born.

Contrary to his ignorant redneck persona, Merle was surprisingly shrewd. He sensed there was something unusual and not entirely human about Daryl. His suspicions were confirmed one evening during a hunting trip when they were camping together and a werewolf from the local pack jumped them — in full human-wolf hybrid form. Daryl was forced to take his own hybrid form to fight him off, his greater combat experience ultimately giving him the edge.

Merle was alarmed and worried he'd maybe mixed a few too many of the substances he liked to "self medicate" with, but, strangely to Daryl, he didn't seem all that surprised. Merle'd had a few run ins with supernatural beings before, and even had limited knowledge of their society; unafraid, he came to accept Daryl for what he actually was. Since Merle knew a guy who knew a guy and had accumulated enough outstanding favours, he helped set Daryl up with his most recent assumed identity, lending him the Dixon surname so they could pose as brothers — Daryl in the role of his little brother, ironically.

His adoptive brother's fairly constant troubles with the law were how Daryl and Rick Grimes, one of the local deputy sheriffs, first met. While trying to arrest Merle, the sheriff was having his ass handed to him by the more hand-to-hand savvy biker, forcing Daryl to intervene before his brother could add "cop-killer" to his rapsheet. He could instantly sense Rick wasn't entirely human — but not entirely monster, either, having only recently been turned, and was obviously still struggling with the changes. Rick also recognised Daryl for what he was, and once Merle's situation was sorted (let off with a warning — this time), Daryl gave into his curiosity and got to know Rick better, much to his brother's annoyance.

It wasn't long before Daryl and Rick confided in each other about their true natures, with Daryl stepping into somewhat of a mentoring role and showing Rick the ropes of supernatural society, magic, and Rick's own developing abilities. The instant connection they'd felt flourished into a close friendship. Despite Daryl's dislike for the more crowded cities, he would make the trip just to visit Rick, eventually setting up an apartment for himself in the city as a sort of home away from home so they could see each other more often.

While travelling through the hidden spirit world that exists parallel to the real world, known informally as the Other Place, he came across the first human, Aaron, whom he'd ever encountered there — a virtually unheard of occurrence, a regular human being able to access that realm. The man was under attack by several of the ghostly, inhuman inhabitants, who essentially fed on life force; in other words, they had a hankering for a soul sandwich. Daryl quickly came to the man's aid and pulled him through the nearest portal, returning them to the living world. It turned out Aaron was being tutored by a witch who somehow thought stranding him in the Other Place would be a good training exercise.

Aaron's "occult" interests mainly encompassed the healing and shamanistic arts, and so as he and Daryl grew closer, the werecat began sharing his own knowledge of healing and medicine with his friend. In a much safer environment and without risking anyone's soul. He and Aaron would, however, eventually make several trips back to the Other Place together (with him sometimes even allowing Aaron to ride on his back in cat form to ensure the human's safety), where the realm's natural amplification of magic hastened Aaron's understanding of what he was taught.

Daryl's solitary nature didn't win him many friends, but he did get lucky sometimes. Aside from Merle, Rick, and Aaron, there was also a centuries old vampire, Jeremy Fitzgerald, whom he developed a surprising friendship with despite their two species loathing one another under normal circumstances. Likely because neither of them were typical examples of their kind, they bonded over common interests (such as good whiskey, a good book, and hiding out in blanket forts when the stress of life got to them) and their mutual reclusive natures. He was really the first fanger Daryl'd met who hadn't ever seemed to embrace the usual bigoted beliefs of vampires — or at least didn't apply them to Daryl or their friendship.

Then there was Phillip Gray, the manager of a local pizzeria and recent werewolf bite victim, whose kindly mother lived in the same apartment building as Daryl. Mrs. Gray facilitated their meeting by asking him to help her son with the restaurant's malfunctioning animatronics he'd been complaining about. She knew of Daryl's skills as a mechanic because he'd fixed her washer for her, but the much higher tech animatronics were a different story. Before he could do much tinkering, however, Phil suddenly began wolfing out due to the full moon, whose pull he was unable to resist. Daryl explained his own secret to the newly turned werewolf and helped get him to a location where they could spend the night in relative safety, without anyone discovering Phil's affliction.


How did they change from their canon personality wise (Please explain what caused it to happen?) Fundamentally, his personality remains true to his canon self and its primary aspects — such as his adaptability, his unfailing loyalty, his perseverance against all odds. In canon he's shown to have already been a survivor long before the apocalypse destroyed the world, because he'd had a very difficult life to begin with — to the point where the apocalypse was arguably an improvement for him. This holds true for Daryl in the world of the PSL as well. While there hasn't been an apocalypse to contend with, the hardships he's endured have still shaped him into a survivor in the same vein.

One of the ways in which his personality deviates in the PSL universe is that he's grown accustomed to outliving virtually everyone he knows, whether they're short-lived human friends or fellow non-humans who were killed. It isn't that he's apathetic; in fact he keenly feels and mourns the loss of anyone whom he's come to care for, even as he understands the inevitability of it. And unlike his canon self who still struggles with the notion that it's okay to care about people, to form attachments even if he'll end up losing that person, Daryl in this universe is more at peace with it and a bit less emotionally constipated in general. Having already lived for several centuries helps there. He has a better understanding of himself and his own emotions, he's more well-adjusted.

Then, of course, there's the fact he's very much not a human, and wasn't raised as one — he was born in his feline form, and many of his formative years were spent as such before he could reliably take human shape and experience the world through that lens. He's been at it long enough that he's mostly mastered the feline mannerisms that might give him away, and can convincingly pass as a human by this point. But he's far more relaxed around those he's familiar with and trusts, so they're likely to witness his innate cattish behaviour.

Another way he differs from his canon self is his greater sense of self-worth in the PSL universe, the result of having not endured the same level of relentless physical and emotional abuse heaped on him by his own family the way it was in canon. It certainly hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows for him as a beast-born shapeshifter, facing prejudice from both societies he struggles to fit into, but he's generally better equipped to deal with it. The support of those closest to him has been instrumental in that as well.


How did they change from their canon physically (Please explain what caused it to happen?): For the most part he's physically very similar to his canon self in his human form, just with more scars accumulated over several centuries of life. The biggest change physically would be the several forms he's capable of shapeshifting into (see powers).


Powers: Shapeshifting: he can shift forms at will, and because of his age, he's largely (though not completely) inured to the effects of the moon by this point. He's of a feline species and so each of his forms are based upon that, with some inspiration borrowed from the White Wolf gaming system — i.e. homid: regular human, sokto: near-human, crinos: human-cat hybrid, chatro: primordial cat-form, feline: regular cat-form. His regular cat-form is similar in build and appearance to that of a large jaguar, his primordial cat-form is a more massive, saber-toothed version of a jaguar, and in his hybrid human-cat form he's a heavily muscled, huge 9 - 10ish foot tall nightmare capable of both bipedal and quadrupedal locomotion. The inbetween forms follow the same pattern. Because of what he is, it also gives him the ability to understand and communicate with animals to some degree.

Heightened Senses: in all forms, being at their most acute in any of his cat forms. He also has night vision and superhuman strength.

Magic: he possesses magic both inherent and learned, largely of a defensive, healing, or appearance-altering nature. When it comes to offense, he's more likely to fight with his fists, fangs or claws than rely on magic.

Enchantment: a subset of his magic abilities. He knows a number of small, practical enchantments like the ones he uses on his clothing so it shifts with him when he takes cat form, temporarily disappearing instead of tearing.

Shadow Walk: like most of his kind he has the innate ability to access the Other Place, a spirit world parallel to our own, where the potency of magic is increased and it's possible (though risky because of the unpredictability) to "fast travel", using what are essentially portals. Because of the nature of the Meadous, it presumably won't be possible to use the spirit world to move beyond the Meadous' borders.

Healing/Functional Immortality: substantially increased healing factor compared to a human baseline. Given enough time, he can heal from even the most grievous wounds, injuries that would be crippling to humans, etc. He's extremely hardy physically. This also contributes to his greatly extended lifespan. Unless killed, he could theoretically live indefinitely.

Mental Shielding/Telepathy: he has some natural immunity to psychic suggestion/attack, so those with psychic powers aren't likely to pick up much mental noise from him or be able to influence his mind unless he consciously allows it. Or unconsciously, if a plot calls for it, of course. He has limited telepathy and is able to send his thoughts to others, which he mainly uses to communicate more easily while in cat form.


Possessions: His crossbow and bolts, hunting knives, a hatchet, leather vest, leather jacket, some changes of clothes, a lighter and cigarettes, his wallet with a fake ID and related items (random amount of money, wallet photos, business cards he's been given, etc.), mobile phone, keys, several small talismans (imbued with simple protective charms), his motorcycle and toolkit, a few books and sketchbooks, a collection of herbs, tattoo gun kit, Game & Watch handheld games (...he didn't steal Jeremy's, they're ones he found with the intention of giving Jeremy), a cutesy handmade plushie from Aaron made to resemble Daryl's cat form, a book of photos taken by Aaron, a photo of himself with Merle and Rick, and a cat toy because Rick's a wise guy.


Please provide three samples from your previous game, at least one will have to be third person with context:
Sample One: Blanket forts with Jeremy. Note: weaintashes is my other Daryl account, but this is part of the Monster PSL universe.
Sample Two: Trying to fix murderous animatronics with Phil.
Sample Three: A strange meeting with Michael Afton. On Dear-Player, so let me know if it won't work as a sample so I can get a new one, since I think all my other previous threads/gdocs are locked.

Notes: