FULL NAME
HARLAN CAIN FOWLER
NICKNAME(S)
LYNN | (THE) CAPRICORN | (THE) GRAVEDIGGER
GENDER
CIS MALE
PRONOUNS
HE/HIM
AGE
FIFTY-ONE
BIRTHDAY
DECEMBER 28th
BIRTHPLACE
ELKWOOD TOWN, PA CERVIA
CURRENT CITY
BLACK CITY, WA CERVIA
ROMANTIC ORIENTATION
BIROMANTIC
SEXUALITY
DEMISEXUAL
RELATIONSHIP STATUS
SINGLE
CLASS
UPPER-MIDDLE
OCCUPATION
ASSASSIN
HEALTH NOTES
A SMOKER | B+ BLOOD TYPE
ADDITIONAL SKILL
FASTER THAN AVERAGE
PACK or FAMILY
LONE WOLF
HEIGHT
5'11"
BUILD
TONED AND BROAD-SHOULDERED
HAIR
DARK BROWN
EYES
BROWN
SKIN DETAILS
CAPRICORN BRAND ON THE INSIDE BACK OF HIS LEFT ANKLE FROM HIS PREVIOUS AGENCY
NOTABLE FEATURES:
HIP PIERCINGS
PERSONALITY
QUIET | SELF-RELIANT | AMBITIOUS | DISTRUSTFUL | STUBBORN | GOAL-ORIENTED | PRACTICAL | EMOTIONALLY DISTANT | LEVEL-HEADED | SERIOUS | EFFICIENT | DISCIPLINED |
CYNICAL REALISTIC | PERSISTENT | RESPONSIBLE | ORGANIZED | NEAT | UNFORGIVING |
AIR OF SUPERIORITY CONFIDENT | RATIONAL | MANIPULATIVE
LIKES
DARK COLORS | THE SMELL OF EARTH | CAVE EXPLORING | SUITS | NIGHTTIME | MARBLE PATTERNS | ROUGHHOUSING | EXERCISING | EXPENSIVE GOODS | SO-BAD-THEY'RE-GOOD MOVIES | GETTING HIS WAY | SMALL SPACES | AUTUMN | YOGA | HAMMOCKS | WORKING | LUXURIOUS BATHS | GEMSTONES | SKINNY-DIPPING | GARDENING/LANDSCAPING | HARDWOOD FLOORS | VINYL RECORDS | ROUTINE | STRATEGY | WELL-TAILORED CLOTHES | FIREBALL | THE RAIN | SOUR CANDY
DISLIKES
SPORTS | INEFFICIENCY | PARTYING | MESS | LAZINESS | GETTING BLOOD ON HIS CLOTHES | LOUD AND LARGE GATHERINGS | DEPENDENCY | HIS SOCK FALLING IN HIS DAMN SHOE | HAVING TO DO ANY MODELING THAT ISN'T SUIT-AND-TIE RELATED | THE HEAT | HUMIDITY | PUKE | RECKLESSNESS | ANYTHING IN THE UNCANNY VALLEY | PEOPLE WHO SPEND HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS ON CLOTHES THAT MAKE THEM LOOK HOMELESS | STICKY AND TACKY SUBSTANCES | NAPS
STRENGTHS
HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT | GOOD WITH A KNIFE | TURNING OFF HIS EMOTIONS | STRATEGIZING | SURPRISINGLY LIGHT ON HIS FEET
WEAKNESSES
STRUGGLES TO TRUST AND RELY ON PEOPLE | HIS STUBBORNNESS | CALLOUSNESS | WEAKER LUNGS FROM SMOKING
HISTORY
TW: CATALEPSY AND FANTASIES OF BEING BURIED ALIVE
Some people have a strange relationship with fear. Harlan is one of those people. When he was approximately twelve years old, his older sister died. Except she didn't
actually die. She had instead suffered a bout of catalepsy and was wrongfully presumed dead. Because their single mother didn't have the money for a big funeral, they buried her in the back garden. She would have been buried alive if not for the fact that Harlan had poked her eye with a stick out of morbid curiosity while their mother's back was turned, and he was close enough to notice the lid twitch fractionally. The trauma of the situation haunted them all for years, especially his sister, who had frequent nightmares of being buried alive that she actively expressed to Harlan as a way to vent. It would be fair to say that Harlan inherited her trauma, developing his own fear of being buried alive.
However, this fear turned into a morbid fascination as he read stories similar to his sister's, and he began to bury himself in harmless objects like pillows. Only once his mother caught him digging a hole in the garden to lie in did she get him psychological services. Afterward, he developed a healthier fascination with nature in general, but he still harbored a secret interest in burials that eventually turned into an interest in body disposal in general. When he was an older teen, he got a job as a gravedigger, which he thoroughly enjoyed. When his sister eventually killed herself, he was the one who dug her grave.
It was when he was twenty-one that his life began to change significantly. Late one night, when he was returning home from the bar, he was assaulted by a mugger. He knocked the guy out with a large stone, and in his adrenaline-fueled panic, bashed the guy's skull in. When his mind cleared, he knew that it would be hard to get by on a self-defense plea given the excessiveness of the injuries. So, he followed his instincts and buried the body in one of the other graves he'd dug before. A missing person's appeal went up, and he feared someone might discover the body. He dug it back up and set about disfiguring it into unrecognizability, and then he buried it again. The investigation blew over, and the realization that he'd gotten away with it created a high that Harlan became eager to chase.
He targeted those he perceived as the rotten parts of society, usually street thugs and known abusers who were never arrested for their crimes. Eventually, he bulked up enough to kill a person with one blow to the head. After all, the goal was never to make them suffer. He was only interested in the game of clean-up and not getting caught. In his eyes, he was doing society a favor. This went on for years as he moved from place to place, but there are only so many times you can move and so many identities you can adopt before an agency that specializes in the art of murder begins to spot a pattern. Eventually, an agency reached out to him, offering him a place among their group, and he accepted.
After about twenty years, he decided to go solo, which was surprisingly allowed after so many years of service.
EXTRA
• MODUS OPERANDI:
He prefers more hand-to-hand combat, preferring to use overwhelming force. He knocks out the victim first with a quick blow to the head and then bashes in their skull, usually with his iron bat, but he'll make do with whatever is around him. He prefers working quickly and efficiently, resistant to drawing a kill out for longer than necessary. Knocking his victim out before killing them is an act of mercy as he views suffering as needless. It is unlikely you'll find his victims — he is an expert in body disposal, with plenty of tarps and acid baths prepared. If you do, they'll be buried deep in the ground somewhere and likely unrecognizable. Instead, you'll find a gemstone with his brand carved into it left at the scene, along with a great deal of blood and brain matter, most likely. He prefers to kill at night when the victim is walking alone to avoid a scene... and stained carpets.
• IF YOU DON'T EXPECT HIM TO HAVE THE BEST FLOWER GARDEN ON THE BLOCK, THAT'S ON YOU
• HAS A PASSION FOR CIPHERS AND CODES
• "LOVE? LOVE FADES AWAY. BUT THINGS ARE FOREVER."
• HE HAS SO MANY DAMN LISTS
• FINDS ARTFUL NUDES MORE APPEALING THAN ACTUAL SEX MOST OF THE TIME
• HE'S RATHER UNFLIRTY YET SURPRISINGLY TAKEN WITH ROMANTIC GESTURES
• "THE WORST THING IN THE WORLD CAN HAPPEN, BUT THE NEXT DAY THE SUN WILL COME UP. AND YOU WILL EAT YOUR TOAST. AND YOU WILL DRINK YOUR TEA."
• WILL NOT SETTLE FOR LESS THAN AN 800 THREAD COUNT ON HIS SHEETS
• OFTEN WALKS AROUND THE HOUSE NAKED ON HIS DAYS OFF, AND NO, YOU CAN'T STOP HIM
• NEVER GOES ANYWHERE WITHOUT HIS POCKET KNIFE AND BRASS KNUCKLES
• KEEPS HIS FAVORITE BAT IN HIS CAR
• GETS WAY TOO INVESTED IN FICTIONAL CHARACTERS
•
"WELL, EVERYBODY NEEDS A HERO. BUT I'M NOT EVERYBODY ELSE; I WALK ALONE."
• IF HE SEES A COOL ROCK, HIS CROW BRAIN WILL TELL HIM TO TAKE IT
• SOMETIMES THE GROUP FATHER, OTHER TIMES WOULD SELL YOU TO SATAN IF IT WOULD GET HIM WHAT HE WANTS
• WILL FIXATE ON ONE SMALL INCONVENIENCE
• WHEN SOMETHING GOES WRONG: "CALLED IT."
• FINDS BEING COMPRESSED RATHER SOOTHING
• WOULD MAKE A "EMPLOYEES MUST STOP CRYING BEFORE RETURNING TO WORK" SIGN
• ACTS LIKE THE WORLD IS ENDING WHEN HE'S SICK
• "HELLO FRIENDS AND ENEMIES."
•
INCOHERENT IRISH NOISES
• "LIFE IS A PARADE OF ABSURDITIES AND PAIN, AND THEN WE DIE, ALONE, IN FILTH. SO, YES, LITTLE GIRL, I SHALL BUY A BOX OF THIN MINTS."
• "SHIT, FUCK, KID. SOMETIMES IT REALLY DO BE LIKE THAT."
• EVERYONE IS EITHER AN OBSTACLE OR AN UNFORTUNATELY NECESSARY STEPPING-STONE