Character: D, sometimes called Count D, though he maintains that he is not actually a Count
Series/Fandom: Pet Shop of Horrors
Deviance: canon

Age: Unknown; he seems like a rather young man, perhaps in his twenties, and this may well be near to his true age. It’s very hard to tell, however, because his family does not age
Gender: Male, despite all comments to the contrary
Species: …errr, D-species.

Canon Used: Pet Shop Of Horrors, the ten-volume manga series, as translated by Tokyopop. It’s not significantly different from the OVA, but it’s differs enough. Though it’s set before Shin Pet Shop of Horrors, canon presented there will be taken into account.

Appearance: D is a young, somewhat effeminate Chinese man, with red-painted nails and very dark lips that seem permanently fixed into a smile. His right eye is golden and his left is purple.

Psychology: D is an onion. He is a Chinese onion! And like all onions, D has Layers.

Primarily, and most apparent to anyone who meets him, D is a polite, demure, and respectful host of a pet shop in Chinatown. Like all shops in Chinatown, it’s a little bit seedy, so he is as well, but that’s to be expected. D serves tea and rarely raises his voice against customers. He offers all manner of pet with the height of politesse, and for many, his conducts his business fairly and equitably. Certainly, he has clients within the elite of the both sides of the law, but that’s just his good business, isn’t it? As a truly dedicated pet shop owner, D is willing to help clients train pet, and will make special arrangements to help fulfill the ‘dreams’ that his shop sells. And at that, he doesn’t mind socializing with those clients of his. It’s good for business, and hey, they keep him and his pets well-fed, so it seems like a fair trade.

But not all of D’s pets are cute little poodles. Indeed, many of them eat people. It’s not D’s fault; he just makes the contracts and sells the pets. In this respect, D is a teacher, a man who gives humanity the good kick in the ass it deserves. Some lessons leave the students more intact than others, but so it goes, right? D seems impartial when he is acting as the tutor of humanity, and truly, he does not interfere in any major way. This role is one which is removed and fair, as cold as justice is said to be, and it is one that is not particularly active. D simple sells the pet and makes the contract, and human nature does the rest. He is a facilitator who speaks in cryptic riddles and deflects questions, but who does not actually cause anything to happen actively.

Sometimes, though, D’s ass-kickings are really really mean. Indeed, they are borderline vengeful. D is connected to the animal world, and there are many extinct animals. Even D’s own family was wiped out by humans, leaving his ancestor the last of their clan. D was born for this duty: carrying out revenge on the humans who destroyed his family, and who have selfishly destroyed so many other creatures. D is, in a way, burdened by the duty. He pays respect and remembrance to the animal deceased and he removes himself from the humans he is meant to act revenge upon. Indeed, D often express disgust and hatred towards human, claiming that they are no better than his animals - or that they are worse than them. Behind the polite shopkeeper’s mask, D is duty-bound to a generations-old hatred, and for all that he teaches ‘lessons,’ they are often cruel lessons he seems to take pleasure in giving. He shows little regard for human life and little love for humanity.

Yet D does love. D loves his animals and values their lives. He cares for them and nurtures them, seeing them as far more than tools or pets. He has a respect for the natural order, but he is a vegetarian, seeing no reason to partake in that order. Though he is at times cruel to humans, even children, he seems genuinely fond of some of the patrons of his shop, and the pets he gives them seems to help them more than harm them. He genuinely believes in finding the right pet for the right owner, though sometimes these pets may harm the humans, but D believes there is a match to this. Many times, there is no match; it is simply a matter of finding the right home for his animals. As well, D cares for Leon Orcot, a rather frustrating police officer who continues to try to arrest D for various crimes (some of which he is guilty.) D partakes in ridiculous bantering with Leon, feeds him, and often remarks that Leon is a pet he will have a hard time letting go of. In his own, indirect way, he has ensured Leon’s safety on more than one occasion. He may treat Leon as the perfect example of ‘The Average American,’ D’s least-favourite subspecies of human, but D cares for Leon enough to let Leon’s little brother, Chris, stay at the shop as if it were a daycare. Chris is the other great and notable exception to humans D cares for. D truly and deeply cares for Chris, and aims to protect him from such minor things as cuts. He takes Chris into his shop and treats him as one of the group, and he is kind to him. D attempts to maintain the necessary distance, because he realises that Chris must leave him eventually, and every time the possibility of Chris leaving comes up, D retreats behind the polite shop keeper’s mask.

But a mask is what it is. D is capable of suffering and he is capable of tears. You’d just have to be very lucky to catch him showing any sort of love.

All that said, D’s true love is sweets. Give him a good chocolate cake or a great candy, and he will be yours for life.

Other Skills/Abilities: Count D is a many-talented man, being magical and all that. He speaks Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese, we can assume), English, Japanese, German, and Italian. One could assume there are other languages he speaks as well. He also can communicate with animals and can use his powers to make them appear in human form, often with the assistance of his incense. He is very well-versed in information about animals and stuffed animals. D can hypnotize people to some extent, can make his eye-sight infrared, is capable of jumping high enough that he might as well be flying, and can heal rather well. He’s also been known to take out gangsters in a fight, relying on his agility and his speed to make vicious attacks with his deadly fingernails. His grandfather is capable of transforming into different shapes, so we can only assumes that D is capable of at least learning this, though he’s never ever exhibited the ability.

Oh, and he reproduces by sporing.

Other Weaknesses: Count D has been implied to have a blood condition twice in the series, and appears to require a medicine to help with his strength. Perhaps because of this, his endurance is not all that great. Count D isn’t really someone who likes physical fights, after all. Additionally, D is an absolute push-over if you break one of his nails, and he will overcompensate for the injury by bandaging his entire hand. Yeah, I know.

D also has the infamous manga sweet tooth, and will seek out any confectionary available to him. Apparently, he also wakes up fairly late in the day.

History:

Once upon a time, in the high and misted mountains of ancient China, there lived a clan of wise and mystic people, bound to the natural world, connected to Nature and able to converse with Her creatures. These wise people were found by the emperor of China and admired, brought to court on invite to act as advisors. They were given luxuries and respect and all anyone could ask for, and yet they were soon to learn how quickly love could turn to hatred, treated as priests and priestesses to the royal court.

A young prince asked one of these priestesses for her hand in marriage and for her love. She rejected him. So this prince ordered the slaughter of all her people, the brutal murder of every single individual who came from that family.

One man escaped. One man, and only one man escaped. Grieving for the loss of his children, his parents, his cousins, all his family, he fell onto the Earth, preparing for death. As he lay dying, this man raged against those people - those wretched humans - who had destroyed his family. He vowed revenge, and Nature, which had for so long held his family close to Her, heard his vow and made Her revenge upon humanity one with his own.

This is the story that D had heard so many times as a child. This is the story of D’s family. ‘We are the painters of unseen images, the singers of unheard songs, the caretakers of that which has been lost - we are that which you choose to ignore.’ Each member of the family is born from his parent as a duplicate, somewhat imperfect, raised from childhood into an unaging adult. The family business is revenge, and it was what D was raised on. However, D was not raised by his father (who is also called D), but by his grandfather (another D. I know.) Twenty years from the start of the story, Grandfather D decided that Papa D wasn’t suitable to raise ickle D, and parted ways with his son. Ickle D’s grandfather told him the history and ways of their family, taught him of Nature and her lessons and her creatures. Most everything that D knew, he learned from his grandfather.

When D was grown, he parted ways with his grandfather (or so he thought) and eventually came to set up his pet shop in the Chinatown of Los Angeles, America. There he used his business skills and his pets to earn the friendship of everyone from the mayor to the head of a mafia.

Reality Description:

Los Angeles

First Person Speaking Sample:

Third Person Writing Sample:

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