Apollo Kid (Dilo) Diangelous Albright
Age: 20
God Parent: Apollo
Mortal Parent: Gertrude/Gurdie Amato
Personality: Diangelous is a strong a quiet type of person who's usually so far in his own head that regular reality doesn't seem to affect him much. He's fircely loyal and incredibly independent it's a strange mix of character qualities but he makes it work. Not one to smile much he does actually enjoy a good joke a lot of things just don't humor him. Diangelous is just who he is and refuses to apologize for it to anyone, ready to die for the morals he upholds he's not one to take lightly.
Weapon: For the most part it is a pendant necklace with a yellowish-orange jewel wrapped inside the bronze coils. With a word (gem but gemma in italian) light bursts from the pendant and wraps around protectively covering him like armor. The way the light shimmers mirriors the northen light phenomena mxing with reds, blues, greens, and multiple colors from the rainbow. Not just armor though when the necklace is activated it channels the power he uses decreasing the drain on him creating light constructs.
History:
Gurdie Kemp formally known as Gertrude Amato was and will forever be, in a word, stunning. A fierce and intelligent individual she was the type to make every head in a room turn when she walked through the door. Beauty, grace, passion, they were words specifically created to describe her and yet they didn't do her justice. It's undoubtedly what attracted Apollo to her and all that did was prove that whether mortal or divine she was simply irresistible. Apollo found her in Venice Italy where her family hailed from, and posing as a hired hand on her families olive vineyard, he'd admire her from a distance.
A few summers passed this way him looking on and her pretending not to notice until one night she caught him singing. Now for the first time Gertrude was the enchanted and not the enchanter, as if under a spell she found herself drawn to him. It was only the beginning of their relationship but it was enough for her to be disgraced if found out. The scandal of loving a field hand coupled with the coffee color of her skin she knew Italy wasn't the place for her. So grabbing Apollo with one hand and as much as she could carry with the other...she left...she left and never looked back.
Gertrude takes a plane, a train, and a boat before she finds herself in America. Surrounded by foreign people in a foreign land you'd think she'd be able to rely on the man she ran with. She'd only find herself to lean on in the coming months and then find herself leaned on after discovering she was with child. What could she do and where could she turn all alone in New York city...she had no answers. What she did have was an unborn child and stomach pain from hunger so she walks into a Mcdonald and tries her first American Hamburger. F*cking Disgusting.
Now the way that should've gone was her spitting out the burger, throwing it away and walking out. You'd be right IF you stopped at her throwing it away because it's in walking over to that trash can she bumps into a man. Both him and her walking to the exit door not paying attention made the collision unavoidable. Them meeting though... against all odds just had to be fate. You see the man she bumped into just happened to be a photographer looking for a model. Another couple of months passes and her baby boy is born and with his birth returns her figure. She's as much a beauty in America as she is in Italy and her career skyrockets afterwards.
At least that's the story I was told and despite the bits and pieces missing it's as accurate as that story gets. There's not really many who could tell it besides me but enough about me and more about me. Because my mother was a supermodel my childhood was exactly normal but it was full of love. Other than the hotels she'd be flown to and the places we'd visit our house was a penthouse in a skyscraper near the city. The sights were beautiful and often nights my mother would call me to the balcony just to watch the lights with her "Luccicano come gioielli ma tu sei la mia gemma piccola" she'd say to me in her native tongue. Some nights when really happy I'd find her out there singing, I'd stand by the door not to disturb her but she'd notice me. When she did she'd turn and smile and call me her sunshine in a sing-songy voice, then sing the song you are my sunshine until both our cheeks hurt from smiling and laughing.
My mother was the best and things were good back then things were the best back then. Being home-schooled and the son of someone affluent I didn't meet many kids my age and it remained that way for most of my childhood. Doesn't mean I was ever bored or lonely though alongside my tutor, I an MMA instructor, my nanny doubled as a chef, and there was my talent coach. I struggled a lot in reading english which my mom attributed to the Italian in me and cooking was something I wasn't very good at either. However when it came to combat and singing I was a young prodigy, personally I think I just have good ears.
That was early life though Nanny and Tutoring during the day, training and practice in the afternoon, then I'd finally get to see Mom during the evenings. I never realized how structured everything was until one day the schedule was thrown off.....in one day my world shattered. I remember being thirteen when I found my mother dead in the middle of the living room. Her eyes closed and lips parted as if just sleeping I was tempted to believe she was, that's if I didn't see the blood leaking from her head onto the carpet, staining the snow-like cotton blood red. First thing in the morning what do you do when you see that? I tilted my head and let out a scream, a mournful cry like someone was strangling a cat and the kitten was being forced to watch. I rush over to her and grab her hand, I wrap my arms around her, I rock back and forth like that just mumbling wake-up over and over again. I knew she couldn't hear me but I kept repeating it hoping to prove myself wrong before I lost my weakening grip on reality.
I probably would've stayed just like that too had police and the staff not burst into the room a short time later. The scream was heard throughout the building and when heard prompted people to find the source. Police had to pry me from my mother my grip and the dried blood connecting us glued together for the most part. I couldn't hold on forever though and they won forcing me to release my dead mother. As I'm being dragged away I freeze her in my brain that moment, the dress she's wearing, the way the house looks, her raven black hair, even the necklace she's wearing...the one from my father. I break out of the officers grip and rush back to the body, grabbing her once more and, the necklace at the same time. The cop keeps a hand on my shoulder until we get to the squad car downstairs.
I'm interrogated for a while but quickly dismissed as a subject mainly because of the fact of too shocked to speak much to anyone. Due to my mother not keeping in contact with her family, I didn't have a guardian to claim me but my mother's lawyer was there in a short time. Thanks to him my Nanny gains custody of me and within a couple of days I'm moved in with her. Living with her is a lot different from living with my mom, I supposed the biggest change is going to public school. It was there I learned more of how to socialize but also got to spend more time around people my age. It's when you're among your peers you finally find like-minded people. It was among my peers I started developing a theory, started to ask myself just where was everyone the day my mother died.
I get home from school that afternoon and thoughts are nothing but brewing in my head. Normal kids were worried about going to school next year and birthdays coming up, my own birthday tomorrow, but I was trying to figure out where the other four people who helped raised me were the night my mother died. I open the door and step into the house; taking a seat in the living room and waiting for Nanny to walk through the door. I don't have to wait long before she enters and when she sees me she knows something is wrong. "D- Dilo what's wrong?" I cut her off though "My name is Diangelous, it's the name my mother gave." I say coldly before continuing. "Speaking of my mother....where were you that morning?" but she begins tearing up and stuttering while trying to explain. "It's not- It- It's not what you think! Your instructor! The talent coach! I didn't wanna do it! I-!".
"ENOUGH!" I shout, my hands are clenched in anger and I'm shaking but the look on her face is too horrified. I wonder briefly if the look on my face is that terrifying when I notice a glow out of the corner of my eye. Noticing it I realize it's not a glow, but a shine, light literally emanating from my hands. I'm nearly as shocked as when my mother died but I can't stand there long because the events that happen next are too fast. The shock doesn't mask my anger and I turn my gaze back to Nanny ready to continue pressing her for facts but something else catches my eye again. Just past her through the open door the largest, angriest looking dog is running towards us. I could see the dog's eyes not us, just me, and even if I wanted I couldn't tell her to get out of the way when the dog runs her over with enough force to destroy the door frame and fling her forward.
She's hits the wall hard enough to press against it and then slide down like a bug on glass. Time seems to slow for us as we size each other up the dogs fur bristles and I slow my breathing. We're locked in eye to eye combat for seconds that stretch into years when on the next breath our exhales match and simultaneously we jump into action. The dog leaps into the air, fangs bared, directly at me and I kick off my back foot dropping into a slide. It happened so fast we basically switched places but his goal was to get me and my goal was to get to the door. I spin and make a run for it dropping low and the dog follows leaping into the air again. The porch is on a small incline because their are steps leading up to it and by diving off it I was able to go directly from the porch to the walkway. With a twist mid-air I can see the dog flying over my head and instinctively I throw my still glowing hands up releasing a Goku style light beam from my palms splitting the dog like a gutted fish. My back makes contact with the ground hard and I shut my eyes and mouth out of pain, not too soon because I feel myself covered in a cloud of dust. However a look around reveals the dogs now gone and like him I have got to disappear too.
I ran, I ran because of the monster dog, I ran because of the monster humans, I ran because I too felt like a monster. I wake up in a tree in a park and everything from last night comes rushing back to me...it's a waking nightmare. For the next four years I'm on the move but for some reason I keep on being found when I don't want to be by the strangest of things. More of those dogs, there was a horse that breathed fire, the water wasn't safe because of the mermaid dogs, then there were birds with gold beaks. One fight in particular was interesting because over my four year trip from my hobbit hole to Mordor I had to accept the fact that I had super powers.
Once you get powers there's always that hero Arc learning to use it but the most exciting time is when you're comfortable with them. I'm close to that level with my powers when I meet, for the first time, a monster that can talk. I'm in the tree I found myself in after fighting the hell hound who started all of this. That's when I catch movement below, not close enough to be a threat, but too close for comfort. I kick off the branch I'm laying on and drop to the ground scanning for the movement I saw. Then I see it, the shrubbery shook briefly, it's about fifteen to twenty feet from me and you'd think it's impossible to clear that in a second... you'd be wrong; you'd be even more wrong if you think I just stood there.
A dome of light surrounds me but the monster was so quick her hand was on the inside of my dome. I constricted the dome tight enough to take the hand clean off, which causes her to shriek and pull back. That's when I get a full look at her and notice that her bottom half is all snake but her upper half is female. She has a crazed and vicious look in her eyes and I know that I'll die if I misstep. I collapse the dome into a sword and drop into a ready stance, I see her lower coil and I tense. She lunges and I swing down hard, trying to take her other hand but she's quick enough to avoid that. Her hand continued forward and she sliced up my shirt and side drawing blood. I give her a grin; that seems to enrage her more and she strikes with a tail leg though I expected another lunge. Her tail wraps around my leg and I'm off my feet being dragged towards her but knowing she'll drag me up towards her jaw I shift the blade into a dagger. The upwards drag comes and I bury the dagger in her side, but the force she's dragging me with causes her to split her own side open. A shriek leaves her lips immediately and she flings me towards the tree I just jumped out of.
I slam into it hard and it dazes me but I force myself to at least roll over. It's good I do because she's already on top of me, leaping across the grass into a dive like I was a pool of water. I throw up another dome and she smashes into it, crumpling like a looney tune character. Dropping the dome I throw out my hand releasing a flare that blinds her, stunning her completely. She shrieks and thrashes around wildly giving me enough to leap up and grab a low-hanging branch. I hold my hands together and they begin to glow brightly while I watch her clearing her eyes. It's when she can see again that she turns towards me with a look that'd kill me if looks could kill and she curls her tail as if preparing to jump. My hands aren't visible with the light spilling from around them and I stare back at her with a look just as cold. Just like with the hellhound there's a moment where seconds stretch into years and I exhale just as she jumps. My hands are shaking when I point them towards her and I release a light beam so strong it threatens to knock me off the branch. She's hit mid-air with no way to dodge it and is disintegrated into a fine powder, the dust and burned grass the only evidence of the fight now.
I breathe a sigh of relief and take a seat on the branch to gather my bearing but I hear more movement in the distance. Human or monster I don't want to deal with anyone else tonight so I run. I just kept going away from the park, and the monsters, and the people I just ran until I couldn't anymore. When I do finally stop I'm looking at doors I hadn't seen for years, I was back in front of my mothers hotel. Without thinking about it I open the door and walk inside passing through the lobby like a ghost. I'm almost at the service steps, unseen by the sleeping doorman, but I hear the elevator ding. I don't know why I turn, couldn't tell you what possessed me to look back but I did. There I see my MMA instructor and Talent Coach, hand-in-hand, laughing with each other leaving what I presume was my mother's penthouse. My instructor stops and gets the same chill I got because he suddenly looks directly towards me and his jaw drops, like a fish gasping for air. He suddenly grabs the coach and hops right back into the elevator, presumably heading back up to the penthouse.
I burst through the service door and take the steps two, three, four at a time making so much noise the empty stairwell is full of echoes. I look towards the top realizing just how far away from it I am but in a blink I am suddenly at the top of the stairwell. I pause and look over the railing trying to figure what the hell just happened but I shake my head, knowing I don't have time for it. I burst through the door as the elevator opens at the other end of the hallway. I make eye contact with the murderers who took my mother and they do the same. Then it's a mad dash for the door into the penthouse but I don't even move, I use the strange power again. With a blink I'm inside of the penthouse but so are they, backs towards me, locking the door like it'll keep me out not knowing I'm already in. The talent coach turns first and is about to scream when I release a directed high pitch whistle from my lips. The pitch of my whistle bursts his ear drums and brings him to his knees with blood leaking from his ears and tears coming out his eyes.
I ignore him for now and turn my attention to my former MMA instructor. He tucks in his chin and enters a fighting stance, prompting me to do the same and we approach each other. He throws the first punch, a right hook for my head, but he's slow; too slow considering my recent sparring partners. I duck his punch and hit him three times before he knows what's going on but he recovers and tries to front kick me away. I curl up around his leg, taking the hit, but locking his foot in a tight grip. I forcefully throw his leg to the left and he spins 180` like a marionette, I waste no time punching him in the back of the head. He grabs it out of pain and goes to spin around but I lunge forward grabbing that hand while kicking him the back of his knee. He drops like potatoes and I let go of that hand just to plant a foot on his back and kick him the rest of the way to the ground. Though a glance towards the door reveals the talent coach trying to leave. In an instant there's a bolt of pure rage and light clenched in my fist, next breath the bolt it's rocketing through the air; my aim is true and the insructor is pinned to the door by his hand elicting a piglet like squeal from him.
The coach pinned against the door and the instructor on the ground I have both where I want them. I flip the coach onto his back and he weakly tries to punch at me but I bat these away and start wailing on him. I punch him over and over again I lose count, I'm sobbing as I do and slowly the white carpet is once again being stained red like that day so long ago. When I'm done with the instructor his face is completely bloodied and more like raw meat than a face. My fist are numb but they're already healing when I rise and walk over to the coach. Knowing I could just make the arrow disappear I instead grab it and then fiercely yank it from his hand getting another scream from him. It gives me an idea and I tell him "Canta per me stronza, mio piccolo sole" in Italian and he loudly begins singing my little sunshine while I frog march him to the balcony. Yanking the door open with my free hand I lead him to the railing and we stand there, just listening to him sing. He gets to the part of the song where he says "Please don't take my sunshine away" but when he does he looks from me to the Instructor. I look back disgust, him begging me for mercy the same way my own mother probably did, I look back and rage. Then in one smooth motion I shove the talent coach into the railing, he curls around it, while I grab his shirt pushing him harder up and over the railing into the streets below.
I hear him singing all the way down and will never forget the sickening, crushing, splattering sound his body made against the pavement. Looking up from the carnage below I'm greeted by a view of the city. The lights are glittering like jewels and maybe because it's over, maybe it was hearing the song, maybe it was just being in the penthouse again but I can't stop myself from repeating that phrase. "Luccicano come gioielli ma tu sei la mia gemma piccola" I say that and drop my head tears welling up in my eyes. It happens so often I should be used to it by now but I'm still surprised when I find myself glowing. Except it's a little different, it's coming from my mothers necklace and it's not just glowing but spreading. The light surrounds me with warmth and covers my right hand, almost like there's weight there and it turns out there is. The light the necklace was emanating covered me like armor and changed colors, shifting like the northern light phenomena, but it wasn't just armor. I created a sword but since the armor was out it took on those nothern light properties; though the colors were pretty the sword felt different. Thinking about it a second I realized it didn't feel as tiring to keep the sword manifested...almost as if the necklace was channeling my power for me. Standing there admiring the necklace and it's effects I couldn't help but think everything just felt right, as if my purpose was realized I knew what had to be done.
I turn around, walking back into the house, and make a beeline to the prone body of the Instructor. One smooth thrust and I pierced through his chest and into the floor of the penthouse. Afterwards I repeat the phrase my mother would say on the balcony and notice nothing happens until the end. Then it begins to shimmer and the light collapses being drawn into the necklace. A thought in the back of my head says it's less than the phrase and just a word but like the strange teleportation I ignore that for now. I start moving around the apartment looking for cash and a change of clothes. Once I had everything secure I make my way to the door quickly, sparing only a glance backwards at the disarray in the room. With nothing but a shake of my I'm gone, disappearing like I so often do but, not just running. No, I was going back to the source, I had to get to Italy.
Taking a day or two to get used to that new teleport power and the necklace I had a way to get on the plane. Honestly getting to the terminal was the hardest part but I'm no stranger to walking. Once finally in it's just a matter of moving fast and not being seen, I figured out that I just had to focus on a noise to be somewhere else. "Last call! Boarding for Italy" I hear from the gate agent a few feet away. Walking towards it quickly I clenched my fist tightly before unfurling and blinding most of the airport. With the yells of confusion it's too easy to teleport onto the plane and a little bit later I'm in the air on the way to Italy. I land in Treviso and pay a farmer to cart me to Venice, the only thing I knew is that my families vineyard was somewhere there. With night falling and nothing to do but enjoy the ride, I sleep.
It's morning when I opened my eyes again and the farmer had taken me all the way to his own vineyard. I clamber out of the cart groggily and take in my surroundings, also searching for the farmer. I think I see him in the distance, already tending to olives and I jog over to him. Getting closer I see that this is not the farmer at all but a small, older woman hard at work in the yard. "Aunty, hai visto un contadino?" I ask her only to hear a chuckle in response. "Non ho visto nient'altro che contadini nipoti per tutto il giorno" is her answer and it prompts me to laugh...asking for a farmer on a farm is rather bold. I describe him to her and I notice her suddenly freeze before turning to look at me.
I could see a slight tremor go through her and the breath catches in her throat. What she says next I'll never forget "Amato, sei vicino al sole. Per una gemma sei tra i gioielli." It stunned me and I took a step back "Zia, chi sei?" I ask "Mi chiamo Aurora, Aurora Amato." she answers. There's a tremble in my voice when I ask "E hai avuto una figlia di nome Gertrude Amato?" but I don't need to hear her say yes before she's pulled into a hug. "Mi perdonerai per il tuo errore? Non Zia ma nonna." I tell her before pulling back both crying a bit but smiling wide. After that I'm ushered to the main house and she calls out for someone to make food and drink.
We sat in the kitchen for hours while I explained my story and the things I'd gone through, we hugged and cried when I told her of mom's death, but she nearly threw me a parade when I told her of the vengeance. I'm wrapping things up with my story and off-handedly mention the farmer again because he's why I'm here. That's when she tells me about my parents, more specifically of my father. Who had eyes like pools of sunlight and an almost glow about him. Grandma knew he was no normal man but I knew like she did there's no way to stop my mom when her kinds set. She saw them flirting, saw them grow close, even saw the lights in the barn the last time she saw my mother in Italy. We talk more, me about mom's career and childhood, her about the family and also an inheritance. After a while I thank her for everything and move to tell her goodbye, but she stops me and says at least spend the night. I do and for the first time in a long time I sleep comfortably.
It's much easier to go back to America and soon I'm once again in New York. With money from the inheritance I could easily go back to the life I lived with Mom. Was tempted to do so, I would've, had I not been stopped by a half goat half man leaving the airport. I'm ready to lunge at him but he can speak like the snake woman from the park. "Wait! Not here to fight! I'm here to offer you an opportunity. A chance to meet people like you." he interjects quickly. I bite my tongue before my necklace is activated in the airport and cross my arms. He goes on "It's a camp. Here in New York. You'll be safe from the…." he looks around "How about you just come with me? If I'm lying you kill me friend but if I'm telling the truth, you get lead to your new home." I say nothing but I nod and follow him out of the airport and to his car making our way to this camp.
It was bright when we got there but as soon as we get past this large tree on a hill it's get brighter. It gets so bright that even I have to close my eyes and when the strange light phenomena is done the satyr just nods. "So Apollo." he says "Who?" I ask "Oh, you're father. You're one of the SONS of Apollo." I feel physical pain at his joke but I can't help laughing with him. "So this is camp, home" I say looking out at it "Yea, yea it is." the satyr replies.
Comments[]
Welcome back! This is a damn good history, and good writing to boot. Only got one thing to nitpick before claiming it.
We're always hesitant about magical gear with enchantments that amount to "I get to be better at x by default", with reducing power drain as one of the textbook examples we used to give. I'd be willing to let it slide here since in Apollo's case that *only* applies to weapons, but I sense a bit of a misinterpretation in how the power was used in his history that would take it over the top.
Apollo kids and bunches of others can create weapon constructs, but they can't actually control them. He shouldn't be able to just launch them the way he did. That trick is only possible for the demigods who have telekinetic control of their constructs as a supplementary power a la Nyx. Since the Apollo accuracy passive applies to all missile weapons, I could recommend changing the arrows to thrown darts/daggers/kunai/javelins/just bolts of light, etc.?
WH4T K1ND OF 4WFUL C1V1L1Z4T1ON WOULDNT 1NV3NT OR4NG3 CR34MS1CL3S
Alright, cool stuff!
This claim has been approved as a son of Apollo. You now need to make a page for them and a word bubble, if you aren't sure how to do this you can see the guide here. Once you have done that you can add your character's name to the cabin list located on the cabin pages and start role playing with your new character. If you have any questions feel free to ask a member of the Admin team.
WH4T K1ND OF 4WFUL C1V1L1Z4T1ON WOULDNT 1NV3NT OR4NG3 CR34MS1CL3S