Dimitri Phoenix

Dimitri Phoenix

IC Information
Full Name:	Dimitri Philemonopoulos
Gender:	Male
Age:	19 (July 16th)
Tribe:	Black Furies
Height:	5'10
Weight:	180
Hair:	Brown
Eyes:	Hazel
Nature:	Visionary
Demeanor:	Praise-Seeker
OOC Information
Theme Song:	Sertab Erener - Here I Am
Quote:	Musicum audiens concentum, nihil timeo. "When I hear music, I fear no danger."
Status:	Approved
Player:	Fenris

MEDITERRANEAN POP IDOL COMES TO TOWN as seen in CRYSTAL CULTURE MAGAZINE - 10/16/09.

Crystal Springs has been become a hot spot for new celebrity residences this week, beginning with the arrival of Charles Townsend, Jr. of banking fame. Much to the town’s further surprise, the prospect of a new semi-permanent affluent addition became known to the city council last week, when official correspondence was opened with the management retinue of Greek musician and polyglot Dimitri Philemonopoulos concerning his post-secondary education...

See entire article in Crystal Culture.

Personality[]

Externally, Dimitri seems generally humble (if not self-deprecating), soft-spoken, and kind, and most people walk away from a conversation with Dimitri wondering how the fame hasn't gotten to his head. It's clear he enjoys acknowledgment and affection, and generally always returns what he's given (an exception being a hoard of crazy fans). He becomes easily lost in music and art, and always seems to have some helpful bit of insight to offer. He's not incapable of being firm, however, and will put his foot down when necessary, however rare this might be.

Internally, there's an aching hole Dimitri tries to fill with affection that he craves equally as much as he fears - a fear of getting too close, chaining himself down, having to deal with expectations and responsibility. He believes himself to be a terrible coward, and tries to forget with drugs, music, and study.

Sheet[]

Attributes:
- Physical: Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Stamina 2 (3)
- Social: Charisma 4, Manipulation 1, Appearance 4 (6)
- Mental: Perception 2, Intelligence 4, Wits 2 (4/1)

Abilities:
- Talents: Athletics 3, Brawl 1, Empathy 3, Expression 1, Insight 1, Integrity 1, Persuasion 1, Resistance 1 (11/1)
- Skills: Etiquette 2, Performance 4 (Dance, Folk Instruments (Bouzouki, Dumbek, Oud, etc.), Greek Fiddle/Violin, Singing (Rich Tenor), Synthesizer/Beats) (4/2)
- Knowledges: Academics 1 (Music Studies), Culture 2 (Traditions), Linguistics 5 (Arabic, Berber, Dutch, English, Farsi (Persian), French, Garou Glyphs, Garou Mother's Tongue, German, Greek (Ancient), Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Latin, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish), Lore 1 (Garou/Black Furies, Fae), Politics 1 (7/3).

Advantages:
- Backgrounds: Allies 3, Contacts 3, Fame 5 (International Pop Idol), Fetish 1, Pure Breed 3, Resources 4 (5/14)
- Banality: 4
- Willpower: 6
- Virtues:
  - Conscience: 5
  - Courage: 3
  - Self Control: 2

Gifts:
- Sing Down Selene
- Gift: Spirit Speech

Merits: Gnosis 1 (5), Natural Linguist (2)
Flaws: Addiction (2), Compulsion (1), Dark Secret (1), Ward (3)

Expanded Details[]

Specialties:
- Charisma: Captivating
- Appearance: Exotic
- Intelligence: Creative
- Performance: Stage Presence
- Linguistics: Metaphors/Idioms

Allies:

Helen "Storms the Gates of Hades", Adren Black Fury Galliard, Mother.
Mahmoud Arafi, Personal (International) Agent, Silent Strider Kinfolk.
Alexander Elias, Wilder Satyr Patron (and biggest fan) with far too much money and free time.

Contacts:

Allen Gainsborough, Mayor of Crystal Springs.
Maria Favaloro, Impresario of Melpomene Hall.
Charles Townsend, Sr., Banker.

Fetish:

Marsyan Reed (Level 1, Gnosis 5) Stained red by the blood of the satyr Marsyas after his failed contest with Apollo, or so the myth goes, these flexible, crimson reeds may be tied or otherwise attached to any musical instrument with little difficulty. The reeds will always know if the item in question is indeed an instrument (they simply will not attach to non-instruments), and will never interfere with the playing of said instrument. This particular reed was gifted by Alexander Elias, who received it from his satyr mentor, who was the lover of a Black Fury Garou. When the Garou died in battle, Alexander's mentor rescued this fetish from among her things as a sentimental keepsake, passing it down to Alexander with the caveat that he should give it away only if he found a Garou whom he loved. Dimitri was close enough.

Taboos: These reeds will brook no hubris, as Marsyas' death was the consequence of his audacity in challenging a god. Any Marsyan Reed will simply unravel itself from the instrument of a prideful musician, but will stay forever loyal to those who retain a modicum of humility.
System: When activated, these reeds guarantee that any performance given by the host instrument will never fail to arouse emotion in an audience. All performance rolls made by said instrument always receive a minimum of 1 success regardless of botch or failure, and any listener who fails a Willpower roll (difficulty 7) is supernaturally touched by the emotion of the music (to whatever consequence; the reeds demand no certain action other than the initial impact).

Flaws:
- Addiction: Drugs (Pot, Cocaine, etc. Nothing hypodermic); -2 dice on all rolls if going through withdrawal.
- Compulsion: Seek acceptance and affection, help those in need of affection.
- Dark Secret: Drugs, dereliction of kin responsibilities (running from Black Furies).
- Ward: Alexander Elias is obsessed with Dimitri, and has been for some time. First it was just with him as a musician full of Glamor, but then Dimitri grew up. Rather well. And made the mistake of succumbing to his patron Satyr's charms.
  - While Alexander is actually quite a few years older than Dimitri, he certainly doesn't act like it, and has on more than a few occasions attracted unsavory sorts, both supernatural and otherwise. Given his charmed life (and family money), Alexander always finds a way to follow Dimitri around everywhere (inevitably causing problems), while Dimitri can only hope to keep the both of them out of trouble.

Freebies[]

Chargen
- +4 Abilities (1 Performance, 1 Integrity)
- +14 Backgrounds
- +3 Willpower (3)
- +7 Merits
- -7 Flaws
  - Total: 21

Experience 1
- +8 Abilities (2 Linguistics, 1 Lore, 1 Performance)
- +5 Attributes (Intelligence)
- +1 Willpower
  - Subtotal: 14
  - Total: 35

History[]

Early[]

It was a hard hit to Helen Philemonopoulos when her husband Zale was killed during a fomor raid on the bawn she protected in the usually quiet Sept of the Nine (translated of course), a small Sept near Athens dedicated to the Muses. Their son, Dimitri, was presumably too young to remember the incident, but in truth, he suffered nightmares for many years because of it. The Sept hardly blamed him when the boy finally admitted the issue, though it became quickly apparent when the nightmares didn't stop that there was something else going on - Dimitri was tuning in to something he shouldn't.

The boy had Gnosis.

The cause of this rare occurrence was never discovered; perhaps it had something to do with that fomor raid, or perhaps he had simply had the gift all along. Regardless, Helen doted on him after, both proud and terrified for her son's well-being, and many of Helen's tribal sisters aided in the rearing of the child.

Art was and continues to be a way of life at this Sept; both Kin and Garou alike practiced some kind of creative passion that would please their patrons. Dimitri was dedicated to the Muse Euterpe even before Zale died, and was passed around between sisters dedicated to the same, and taught the ways of the Furies and traditional instrumentation through story and song. It was decided early the boy was to be an ambassador not only between kin and Garou, but between humans and spirits as well - with his gnosis, meager as it was, he could be taught to understand.

It was through this study of music, story, and language that Dimitri found an escape from his recurring nightmares. In effect, he became lost to these things. There was something otherworldly and surreal about the boy and his music and language, both of which always came easily. Clearly, this was his connection to Euterpe, funneled down through his spiritual resonance.

Dimitri never attended public school, as Helen herself was never very well off, and much preferred to have her son with her as often as possible. Instead, he was lectured by the more-than-competent adherents of Calliope, Urania, and others, receiving a well-rounded education that of course focused on the application of music. Athletics also became an important pastime, as Dimitri shied away from combat practice (and what that would ultimately entail), as it reminded him of that original fomor attack he could still feel somehow, but never remember. Instead, he excelled at such competitive sports as wrestling and the marathon.

Somewhere between Dimitri's willingness to help in other arenas, and Helen's clout, the boy managed to avoid combat training outside of the barest hints of self defense. This offered him plenty of time for the study of Arabic, English, and Turkish, which allowed access to the international music scene and Tarkan in particular, Dimitri's first major pop influence.

It also allowed him the chance to finally speak with the spirits.

Adolescence[]

The Grecian Earthquake of 1999 effectively ended Dimitri's childhood. Much of the countryside was thrown into ruin, and the Sept suffered extensive damage of its own. Buildings crumbled and fell; streets lay cracked and unserviceable; even the forest seemed to be in pain, or so the crones would insist. The Umbra was certainly a mess, as banes took advantage of the general despair, and Helen was forced to leave her son for days at a time to deal with these problems.

This was fine for Dimitri, who was not so rebellious as crushed between expectation and tradition (not to mention an overdoting mother). The few times he was allowed into the Umbra during this time, the spirits informed him of the local despair when he couldn't sense it himself. So in a burst of rare assertion, he took to the broken streets of Athens and the surrounding area to aid in the relief efforts, offering a strong arm (for his age), or comforting people with music and song. He was gone for weeks.

Word got around of a multilingual kid who was acting as translator and entertainer. The relief effort was an international endeavor, with a large Turkish presence, and as such became Dimitri's big (accidental) break thanks to a number of patrons who took a quick liking to the boy (including the Elias family). As Dimitri made his way through Athens during the earthquake aftermath, he encountered Alexander Elias during a particular relief effort. Alexander took to the boy quickly, particularly after hearing him perform - hardly a surprise, given Alexander was a satyr.

With Alexander's patronage, Dimitri performed in small time community concerts and projects between Greece and Turkey, and eventually escalated to larger venues... at least after some Discussion with his mother, who eventually found him amidst the ruins of the Athenian suburbs, and was Rather Displeased.

However, while his mother became amenable to this process after several compromises, many of the other Furies were Not. Dimitri was a treasure amidst the small Sept, and while they weren't pushing for children or spiritual prowess any time soon, it certainly was an expectation of the Kin, among others.

Also, of course, the Veil.

Somewhere along the line, Dimitri got it into his head that he was never good enough for these women (or at least the crones), who were always pushing for more, better, and unsubtly reminded him of his Duty to the tribe, and the War against the Wyrm and so on and blabla. The latter frightened him more than he cared to admit, and eventually drove him to sign a contract with Mahmoud Arafi, an agent his mother of all people discovered for him (a kinfolk agent was part of their compromise) through their mutual friend Alexander Elias - the satyr had since charmed Helen by granting her son a lost Garou fetish he had been safeguarding for some time (see fetish description).

Without informing the crones (or his mother), Dimitri left with Arafi and Elias (as his money-patron) to begin his musical career, altering his name and trying not to look back much as possible. By the age of 14, he had the major international music languages under his belt, including German, French, and Italian.

Of course he was frightened, but between Arafi's instruction and Alexander's praise, he realized he was so ready for this.

Fame[]

Despite his mother's irritation after the quake, it came to be known that Dimitri's aid had been a large factor in alleviating people's negative emotion, and thus preventing further bane possession in some cases. For this, he was awarded a Gift: a rare boon from a spirit messenger of Euterpe, the entire process of which was negotiated by Helen and a local theurge. With the help of this gift and Alexander's fetish, Dimitri's climb up the music charts accelerated beyond initial expectation.

It started with a fusion of traditional instrumentation and dance beats, compounded with Dimitri's voice. And while the music was phenomenal for a young teen solo artist, what made his early career was the implementation of different languages: Dimitri would research idioms, traditions, and popular culture of a particular language-speaking people, and release a number of songs exclaiming motivational themes pertinent to that culture. It often got the boy involved in politics, which served to get him in the limelight even more, particularly in dance clubs.

Unsurprisingly, what eventually served to skyrocket Dimitri's career was the sudden advent of sex appeal around age 16 (helped immensely by Alexander's marketing; yes, he had ulterior motives). Between keeping up with his athletics, a huge leap in puberty, and Elias' continued patronage, it suddenly became apparent to the international music world at large that Dimitri Phoenix was actually rather attractive. With more money came the opportunity to produce better music (with full symphonies!), tour more places (Amsterdam, Istanbul, Rome), and get better record deals (Universal, Sony).

His albums came quickly; perhaps Euterpe was indeed riding on his shoulder. Music videos were filmed, concerts performed, often pulling crowds of over ten thousand in the larger cities (yet not quite topping Tarkan's immense numbers, but certainly heading towards that point).

Present[]

Of course, becoming famous always has its problems. Stalkers and threatening letters weren't that abnormal, though neither were supernatural threats (many thanks to Alexander's penchant for losing his pants), most of which were dealt with by Arafi's Garou contacts. Of course... such favors do not come without a price, and so the Sept of the Nine finally managed to catch up with the trio after coming to an agreement with Arafi, who had been snuffing them previously.

Dimitri had long since reconciled with his mother, who couldn't stay angry at him long. But even she couldn't fill a void that remained with Dimitri: One he tried to fill with music, the affection of fans, and eventually could only ignore with drugs. When rumors started flying around about a possible sordid past (thanks, Alexander), questionable sexual orientation (no really, thanks, Alexander!), and drugs (*cough*), the Furies (and Helen) couldn't ignore Dimitri's dereliction of duty any longer (not to mention a questionable leaning towards the Wyrm). Through Arafi, they demanded he come home.

Instead, Dimitri, Elias, and Arafi hatched a plan to escape the Garou pressure for a little longer (as without a doubt, the Sept of the Nine could pull strings and make trouble). It was leaked to the world-at-large that Dimitri was interested in a university education, and currently evaluating schools. It just so happens that the one that matched his own interests, had the best incentives, and was also the Farthest Away happened to be the University of Colorado at Crystal Springs...

Albums[]

Note: Each of the listed albums are multilingual outside of the English albums, which remain mostly English. There are also English tracks in the other albums.

2005 Album: Eὐτέρπη / Euterpe
- Single: Το Χόβερκράφτ μου είναι γεμάτο χέλια (To hóverkráft mu íne gemáto hélia)/ My hovercraft is full of eels
  - Critically noted for it's strange and eye-catching title and thematically appropriate, fast and tense rhythms accompanied by powerful vocals and melodic violin.

2006 Album: İlk Görüşte Aşk / Love at first sight
- Single: Gözlerin çok güzel / Your eyes are beautiful
  - Dimitri's first pop album, which topped the charts in Turkey and other Mid-East countries and made relatively high marks around Europe.

2006 Mini-Album: Bahibek / I love you
- Single: Bosi-Bosi / Kiss-Kiss (cover)
  - Another high-ranking pop album, widely held as a respectful nod to Tarkan, who performed a few duets with Dimitri during this album's tour. Smash hit in the Mid-East.

2007 Album: Ayat Iljamal / Miracle or Sign of Beauty
- Single: Al-sama' Asraq / The sky is blue
  - A more traditional, award-winning album with a fusion of pop and rehashed melodies from the relatively unknown 2005 album.

2007 Mini-Album: Solid Ground
- Single: Sing down the stars
  - First international big hit that actually made US charts, and did extremely well in Europe, especially in the UK, Netherlands, and Germany.

2008 Album: Smuovere mare e monti / To move heaven and earth
- Single: Fede al di sopra del timore / Faith over fear
  - Smash European hit with symphonic accompaniment and a number of well-to-do featured singers including Sarah Brightman.

2008 Mini-Album: יְהִי אוֹר (yehiy 'or) / Let there be light
- Single: Δῶς μοι πᾶ στῶ καὶ τὰν γᾶν κινάσω (Dōs moi pā stō, kai tan gān kināsō) / Give me a place to stand, and I will move the earth
  - A return to the Mid-East; the hit single was performed in a variety of different languages and retooled to be appropriate each time. Included critically acclaimed artistic tracks.

2009 Album: Calling Home
- Single: To the Muse
  - This single was hailed as perhaps Dimitri's most powerful song, and topped charts the world over, even getting notice in China, Japan, and other Asian countries.

2009 Mini-Album: Crystal Callings
- Single: Winter Blue
  - Dimitri's first attempt at a Christmas album (the idea of which was somewhat foreign to him, but was suggested by his producer). Fully recorded in Crystal Springs. Received less critical acclaim than his previous album, but remained popular in the US, Canada, UK, Israel, and Japan for some time.

2010 Album: To Marsyas
- Single: Apollo's Reverie
  - Taking a brief break from Crystal Springs, Dimitri traveled the US to learn of its geography and people, recording this album in pieces as he went. This was a pointed attempt to grab the US audience, and did very well (though not quite topping the charts). It did, however, re-assert his popularity in Europe and the Middle-East.

2010 Mini-Album: Crystal Callings 2: A Blizzard of Sand
- Single: Natalis
  - Somewhat giving up on the traditional western vision of Christmas and Christmas albums, Dimitri challenged his previous attempt with a series of songs with Mediterranean and Arabic spins, adding beats and traditional instrumentation where there is usually jazz and the 1950s. Again, fully recorded in Crystal Springs, this album curiously did better than its predecessor, which attempted to mimic more traditional Christmas jingles.