Van der Stof

"Oh, don't you worry about me, sweet thing."

Van der Stof is a mysterious treasure hunter who covets anything pretty. They are typically self-serving and solitary, loathe to help or spend time with others without some incentive or ulterior motive (even if that motive is simple as entertainment).

Basic Info

 * Neutral Evil- there is a certain disconnect between Van's affection for others and willingness to protect others, and if they believe that someone is a lost cause they're very likely to just cut their losses and save their own hide. They're misanthropic at their absolute worst.
 * Makes a point of using only iron tools- in-game, their enchanted boots are diamond, but for every other possible piece of armor iron is used. Consider it method acting.
 * Seems to be able to just decide when he feels pain or uses certain senses. Has not answered any questions about this in a satisfying way.
 * Motives unclear. Currently most often used as a tool to drive plots forward, but does have his own plans behind the scenes.
 * Animals tend to instinctively shy away from or dislike him. There are some exceptions to this rule.

Appearance
Tall and wide, Van cuts an unexpectedly imposing figure for how they present themself. They're blonde with icy blue eyes, one of which is perpetually covered by their bangs. Their hair is kept long, and though the styles it's worn in can vary Van always keeps longer strands free to hang over their face.

Outfits
Van tends to prefer outfits that accentuate their figure, something made quite obvious by their usual outfit- a black, skintight turtleneck shirt, high-waisted pants, a gold-buckled belt and white knee-length boots.

They greatly enjoy jewelry and have a large collection, often switching out the kinds of jewelry they wear depending on their mood. Usually, however, they can be seen wearing gold earrings and an assortment of rings.

Personality
Though solitary to a fault, it cannot be said that Van can't hold a conversation- it's just a question of whether his conversational partners can stand the underlying condescension for long enough to humor him.

Van, as a rule, tends to consider other people as things over individuals, even if they're powerful enough to put him six feet under. This goes even and especially for people he likes, with the distinction being that those people are, in part, his things.

Despite his propensity for talking down to people, however, Van usually can tell very easily when it's time to get out of dodge, and in dangerous situations often follows his gut instincts without consideration for the effects his actions will have on the people surrounding him. He's out for himself and himself alone, and if he has anything to say about it, that's not going to change.

However, he is also extremely easily bribed, especially when he can very clearly see which strings are attached. If he isn't able to discern the stakes, however...things may get a little difficult.

Strengths
Being an explorer, Van has very high stamina, used to traveling long distances in long, steady marathons. He's also a fairly adept hunter for both sport and survival, taking a special sort of delight in shooting rabbits in his spare time.

He's also very, very good at going, for lack of better wording- escaping bad situations is very natural to him, and he's willing to sacrifice his dignity at the drop of a hat if it's for the sake of his own safety and wellbeing. He takes very good care of himself, sometimes at the expense of pursuing other goals.

However...Van seems to have a superhuman tolerance for pain, alcohol, bad smells, anything physical that one could think of, able to simply ignore grievous wounds and absinthe alike at his whims.

It is extremely unclear how they manage this, and (predictably) they are very unhelpful when investigating the matter.

Weaknesses
Van is a rather greedy person, with a weakness for shiny things and valuable artifacts that pervades their life- they place great value in things, to the point where their response to stress will often be to go looting for valuables to self-soothe.

They're also very self-assured in their abilities, which has two big effects- in times when they believe themself to be well-equipped, they can be extremely arrogant and overconfident, which often overwrites their natural instincts for when to flee bad situations. In times when they believe themself to be badly-equipped or in over their head, however...they can grow extremely paranoid, trying so hard to draw attention away from themself that it ends up having the opposite effect.

Finally, they're just a simple human, meaning that in a lot of ways they're simply naturally outclassed by the people around them. They attempt to compensate for this by being clever, to mixed success.

Backstory
That's private information, they'll have you know. But...a few things are known for sure.

At some point, Van was 'adventuring buddies' with Lily, for long enough to have apparently met Azalea (though Azalea doesn't quite remember it).

At some point after that, they were a part of the crew at Digsite B-212, and were present for the discovery of the second shrine as well as responsible for the collapse of the shrine tunnel upon the site's abandonment.

Shortly after escaping the site, they saw Lily for the last time, escaping The End with Azalea.

After this, they headed out east and away from Riverbend, determined to get away from the chaos for their own sake.

Arc 1
[Basic summary of notable events from the roleplay thus far.]

White Cat
The white cat is a friend. There's nothing more to it.

Sinclair
Van has a business relationship with Sinclair, seemingly holding their skills in high regard- high enough to keep lingering around Riverbend past the point of reasonability in hopes that they'd complete the bounty set.

Even now that Van is certain that bounty isn't getting completed (with Sinclair compromised by sweetrot), Van seems to hold lingering hopes for Sinclair to come back around.

Azalea
Van has met Azalea before and isn't afraid to say so, but is cagey with any further information. It's fairly obvious that Van doesn't quite know what to do with him, which means he mostly avoids him- he does, however, feel some burden to look out for Azalea if nobody else can.

Which makes it very convenient that Azalea is so well-liked.

Hennecke
Once the serious, stern foreman of Digsite B-212, Hennecke has turned into a person that Van no longer recognizes. Though he previously had some form of affection for the man, in present day that's been mostly replaced by thinly-guised revulsion and terror.

Cipha
Previously B-212's demolitionist and guardswoman, Van and Cipha struck up a rather unexpected friendship after meeting again months after the site's abandonment. Van takes comfort in her company and treats her as a confidant rather than as an item, which is more than he can say for many.

Cipha is a very dear friend to him, the first that he's had in...maybe ever. He has more trust in her than he knows what to do with.

Pixie-Stick
Van considers Pixie-Stick many things, among them creepy, a nuisance, and "a horrible little thing". He doesn't trust the little creature a lick, and though he is more than willing to play along with its little 'games' if he sees it as the safest option he tries to avoid it more than anything else.

Cedric
Given Van's first interaction with Cedric was carrying his unconscious self out of Visceria to safety, it's safe to say Van does not take Cedric particularly seriously.

The wither skeleton's more violent tendencies, however, especially as of late with the sweetrot, remind Van of some rather...upsetting memories of Hennecke, and as a result Van has taken to avoiding Cedric wherever they can.

They still make use of Visceria's facilities when convenient, though.

Haunter
Van's relationship with Haunter is...complicated. They're best summed up, however, as 'frenemies'.

Van enjoys messing with Haunter, and finds getting under his skin quite natural. In turn, Haunter finds Van (by this point) annoying as all get out, which flavors most of their interactions with a rather persistent back-and-forth.

...They've accidentally fallen into vulnerability with each other several times, however, and for better or worse are able to at least somewhat confide in each other.

Mako
goofy ahh. nice tits.

Odessa
Van, without a doubt, does not like Odessa. With an immediate distrust towards her witchy ways upon first meeting, their relationship really hasn't improved, and though Van is willing enough to slink to her for medical care if absolutely necessary they'd rather not even be around her unless they really must.

Trivia
Oh, Van doesn't trust Trivia as far as they can throw him- specifically worded because Van believes that they can throw him pretty far.

That being said, Van is greatly amused by him, due in part to their similarities in demeanor as well as Trivia's apparent fascination with them. They know very well that his curiosity has a limit, though, and pace their conversations with him to when they need an ego boost or a laugh. They are not intimidated by him being a demon.

Lambert
Van thinks Lambert is cute, with all the condescension that implies. Though they afford Lambert a basic level of respect and regard, they don't really see him as any more than very polite and slightly damp eye candy, and due to his underwater residence don't exactly plan on exploring past that anytime soon.

They used to flirt with him to get under Haunter's skin, but that's no longer viable now that Haunter and Mako are involved instead.

Bean
Bean is one of the few exceptions to Van's rule of loathing and avoiding animals, though that doesn't necessarily mean that Van respects the little possum. He definitely holds affection for Bean, of course, and is more than a little protective of him, but make no mistake: Bean is simply another one of Van's things.

Adder
Van holds a heavy distaste for Adder, but doesn't act on it, avoiding her with the knowledge that she could very easily kick his ass if she felt the need. Regardless of who else is around, if she's in the area they're not going to stay.

...Unless, of course, a certain creeper is present.

Spark
Like Bean, Spark has the unfortunate position of being considered another one of Van's "things". Though they're held in a strange balance of being treated as a person, a protector, and a comfort to use when necessary, Van does still hold them very dear- to the point of trusting them with the location of his home.

They also think Spark is very attractive. Genuinely.

Charity
Charity Arkwright is a vexing and intriguing creature, and not initially one that Van was inclined to take all too seriously.

As time passed, however, Van slowly began to recognize that she was not a demon to be trifled with- unlike Trivia, who tends to lose interest fairly quickly if not given what he wants, Charity can be very persistent in her attempts to needle Van for information.

Still, he treats her fairly casually, not yet realizing that (unbeknownst to him) he is already in her debt.

Twofore
DO NOT PASS GO. DO NOT COLLECT $200. DO NOT APPROACH.

Oboro
Van has a heavy distaste for Oboro, having been needled in juuust the right way for the vampire to really, genuinely get under his skin. As a result, he's catty towards him.

Vincent
*twirls hair* omg hiiiiii~

Ripken
Van knows of Ripken, having heard his name several times before, but he hasn't met him. Thoughts and prayers, though.

Gallery
For more images, visit this character's gallery.

Trivia

 * Van's associated hex code is #b4b5b1.
 * Van was originally designed as part of a trio, though the character with their name- a phantom belonging to someone as a pet/mount -was totally scrapped in favor of what they are today.
 * The fact that Van has 3 lives is notable, considering I have spoken openly about not liking the three life system and that my characters are meant to only have two lives to spare (one life, one unlife).
 * Van der Stof is their full first name, and they do not have a last name. It is strongly implied that they picked it themself.
 * The measurements I put into Pehkui for Van are base 1.06 and width 1.01. This leaves them at just about 2 blocks tall.