Name: Enrique “Kiko” Castillo
Age: 26
Birthday: November 1
Gender: Male
Species: Aswang
Career: None yet
Appearance Description:
Enrique is a 5’6”ft man with a pretty fit build earned through manual labor. He’s of Filipino descent, so his features are a mix of Latin and East Asian. It’s not uncommon for him to be mistaken for either of those. He has black, short and curly hair that likes to stick up at different ends. He’s got a bit of scruff on his chin. As far as facial features go, he’s got deep brown eyes that are open and curious, a small hooked nose, and thin lips. His skin is a warm, yellow tinted light brown. Enrique’s handsome, but it’s a sort of handsome that’s friendly and adorable rather than intimidating.
Enrique’s first language is Tagalog, but he’s literate in English. It’s very obvious that it’s his second language, because he has a thick accent and his grammar can get all over the place when he talks fast. He has a smooth, medium-range voice, but it can get squeaky when he’s excited. Enrique smiles and laughs easy, and he’s very animated in conversation.
Enrique is not fashionable and is prone to mixing and matching things that shouldn’t go together. His style essentially boils down to “the cheapest stuff you can get in a thrift store.” However, he’s pretty partial to greens and dark colors, cold season clothes (even when it’s summer, because MC is a lot colder than the Philippines just in general), and Adidas shoes, which he claims to be the height of American fashion.
For the most part, Enrique looks like a normal human, but upon closer inspection, there are some features that are off. First of all, Enrique does not have a philtrum. Secondly, his eyes always seem bloodshot even when he’s getting proper sleep. Third, if one were to peer closely into them, their reflection will be inverted. Enrique’s hair grows fast, and can get unruly if he doesn’t have it trimmed every couple weeks.
Enrique’s Aswang form is a terrifying ghoul with dark blue skin, white eyes, several rows of sharp teeth, and a long, prehensile tongue. In this form, his body bulks up, going from 5’6”ft to 6’5”ft, his arms lengthen, and his hands turn into claws. He usually can’t communicate in this form, but rest assured, he’s fully sentient. When he clack his teeth, it makes a tik-tik-tik noise.
Personality Description:
Enrique approaches Manta Carlos with the energy of a hyperactive puppy. He acts like he’s seen something shiny every time because it is all shiny to him. Enrique grew up simply, in poverty, at a small hut in a largely agricultural land. He didn’t have access to gadgets and city accommodations until college. But compared to Manta Carlos, even Quezon seems primitive.
He’s inquisitive, adventurous and quick to learn. He likes to touch everything to see how it works, as well as to feel the texture underneath his fingertips. His unfamiliarity may make him seem ditzy, but he’s actually very intelligent. He’ll try anything once, and he can understand the basic idea of a concept as soon as he learns about it. He’s very passionate about learning, and is an avid reader of both fiction and non-fiction. Despite that, he doesn’t like giving his input on more cerebral or political subjects simply because he knows it can turn a conversation ugly.
Enrique is very friendly and sweet, but he’s careful not to step on anyone’s toes. He was taught to be polite, hospitable and understanding above all else. He’s not quick to judge. He believes the value of a person is entirely on their actions, that god only had two commandments in the end: to love him, and to love others. Enrique gets very shy around older people, authorities, white people, and rich people. He’s very humble and he gets embarrassed when other people compliment him, but rest assured, he’s very assured about himself and what he’s capable of. He doesn’t like being belittled. He’s nice, but not a doormat.
Enrique has a sharp sense of humor. They tend to be on the darker side, and sometimes people feel awkward hearing those things, especially from him. He might end up offending people with his jokes, but to him, it’s all good-natured fun. He’s fun to be with, but he loses his sensitivity when he gets caught up in the moment. He has a mischievous streak and likes to play pranks on people.
He’s not all sugary sweet. Enrique is terribly lazy when it comes to things that he has no interest in. He’s prone to lying about productivity, because he’s personally allergic to work. He also has a tendency to overstay his welcome. Enrique will tell someone he’d stay with them for a day, but a day ends up a week, and a week ends up a month until he finally gets kicked out. He’s very directionless in general, and takes life as it comes.
Species Abilities/Powers:
Aswang are monstrous flesh eaters that originated in the Philippines. Enrique’s true form is his aswang form, which is described in the appearance section, but his default one is human. Enrique can shift, or partially shift, into his aswang form at night. The shifting is not instantaneous. His monster form will literally rip out his human flesh and vice versa, and it takes about half an hour to fully shift. When he’s in aswang form, he’s near invulnerable (see weaknesses on how to kill him), thrice as strong and fast as normal humans, possesses enhanced sight, hearing and smell, and night vision. His claws have special whiskers that can help him climb up walls made of rough material, but not on smooth surfaces like metal or mirrors.
Shapeshifting – Aside from his Aswang form, Enrique can shapeshift into a crow and a black dog, both with red eyes. He will functionally just be these animals, but Enrique will remain fully sentient during. Unlike the Aswang form, he can shift into these forms during the day. The shifting is instantaneous.
Making Doppelgangers – Aswang have a curious skill that lets them get away with kidnapping people easily. When Aswang kidnap corpses or live people, they can build a replica of that same person using banana trunks/stalks and talahib grass. They can enchant this replica to be an exact copy of their victim, but these copies will be sick upon creation, and their sole purpose is to go to the victim’s home and die within a few days to convince the victim’s family that they died a natural death. This plan is flawless, but talented spellcasters will be able to detect the enchantment and undo it. When undone, the replica will turn back into banana stalks and grass.
Weaknesses – Aswang are powerful, but they have several weaknesses. First of all, there are several tells to find out if a person is an aswang. Aside from the ones already enumerated in his appearance section, magical oil will start boiling around his presence. Aswang also have an aversion to garlic, salt, calamansi, charcoal, and coconut stick. These items can ward aswang out of an area in their monster form, but consuming them while in human form is alright. Enrique can’t enter holy places, like churches or monasteries. The surefire way to kill an aswang is to decapitate their heads, stab them through the heart, or destroy their body completely. Otherwise, they’ll regenerate, though the process will take several days.
Biography:
Age: 26
Birthday: November 1
Gender: Male
Species: Aswang
Career: None yet
Appearance Description:
Human
Enrique is a 5’6”ft man with a pretty fit build earned through manual labor. He’s of Filipino descent, so his features are a mix of Latin and East Asian. It’s not uncommon for him to be mistaken for either of those. He has black, short and curly hair that likes to stick up at different ends. He’s got a bit of scruff on his chin. As far as facial features go, he’s got deep brown eyes that are open and curious, a small hooked nose, and thin lips. His skin is a warm, yellow tinted light brown. Enrique’s handsome, but it’s a sort of handsome that’s friendly and adorable rather than intimidating.
Enrique’s first language is Tagalog, but he’s literate in English. It’s very obvious that it’s his second language, because he has a thick accent and his grammar can get all over the place when he talks fast. He has a smooth, medium-range voice, but it can get squeaky when he’s excited. Enrique smiles and laughs easy, and he’s very animated in conversation.
Enrique is not fashionable and is prone to mixing and matching things that shouldn’t go together. His style essentially boils down to “the cheapest stuff you can get in a thrift store.” However, he’s pretty partial to greens and dark colors, cold season clothes (even when it’s summer, because MC is a lot colder than the Philippines just in general), and Adidas shoes, which he claims to be the height of American fashion.
For the most part, Enrique looks like a normal human, but upon closer inspection, there are some features that are off. First of all, Enrique does not have a philtrum. Secondly, his eyes always seem bloodshot even when he’s getting proper sleep. Third, if one were to peer closely into them, their reflection will be inverted. Enrique’s hair grows fast, and can get unruly if he doesn’t have it trimmed every couple weeks.
Aswang
Enrique’s Aswang form is a terrifying ghoul with dark blue skin, white eyes, several rows of sharp teeth, and a long, prehensile tongue. In this form, his body bulks up, going from 5’6”ft to 6’5”ft, his arms lengthen, and his hands turn into claws. He usually can’t communicate in this form, but rest assured, he’s fully sentient. When he clack his teeth, it makes a tik-tik-tik noise.
Personality Description:
Enrique approaches Manta Carlos with the energy of a hyperactive puppy. He acts like he’s seen something shiny every time because it is all shiny to him. Enrique grew up simply, in poverty, at a small hut in a largely agricultural land. He didn’t have access to gadgets and city accommodations until college. But compared to Manta Carlos, even Quezon seems primitive.
He’s inquisitive, adventurous and quick to learn. He likes to touch everything to see how it works, as well as to feel the texture underneath his fingertips. His unfamiliarity may make him seem ditzy, but he’s actually very intelligent. He’ll try anything once, and he can understand the basic idea of a concept as soon as he learns about it. He’s very passionate about learning, and is an avid reader of both fiction and non-fiction. Despite that, he doesn’t like giving his input on more cerebral or political subjects simply because he knows it can turn a conversation ugly.
Enrique is very friendly and sweet, but he’s careful not to step on anyone’s toes. He was taught to be polite, hospitable and understanding above all else. He’s not quick to judge. He believes the value of a person is entirely on their actions, that god only had two commandments in the end: to love him, and to love others. Enrique gets very shy around older people, authorities, white people, and rich people. He’s very humble and he gets embarrassed when other people compliment him, but rest assured, he’s very assured about himself and what he’s capable of. He doesn’t like being belittled. He’s nice, but not a doormat.
Enrique has a sharp sense of humor. They tend to be on the darker side, and sometimes people feel awkward hearing those things, especially from him. He might end up offending people with his jokes, but to him, it’s all good-natured fun. He’s fun to be with, but he loses his sensitivity when he gets caught up in the moment. He has a mischievous streak and likes to play pranks on people.
He’s not all sugary sweet. Enrique is terribly lazy when it comes to things that he has no interest in. He’s prone to lying about productivity, because he’s personally allergic to work. He also has a tendency to overstay his welcome. Enrique will tell someone he’d stay with them for a day, but a day ends up a week, and a week ends up a month until he finally gets kicked out. He’s very directionless in general, and takes life as it comes.
Species Abilities/Powers:
Aswang
Aswang are monstrous flesh eaters that originated in the Philippines. Enrique’s true form is his aswang form, which is described in the appearance section, but his default one is human. Enrique can shift, or partially shift, into his aswang form at night. The shifting is not instantaneous. His monster form will literally rip out his human flesh and vice versa, and it takes about half an hour to fully shift. When he’s in aswang form, he’s near invulnerable (see weaknesses on how to kill him), thrice as strong and fast as normal humans, possesses enhanced sight, hearing and smell, and night vision. His claws have special whiskers that can help him climb up walls made of rough material, but not on smooth surfaces like metal or mirrors.
Aswang need to feed on humans, dead or alive. They reach the peak of their hunger during full moons. They can’t let a full moon pass without feeding in some form, or else they’ll be severely weakened until they feed again. Some aswang sate their hunger by stealing corpses in funeral homes, or kidnapping people who wander alone at the night. They have a special prehensile tongue that can lengthen up to 10ft, and they can use them as straws to suck people’s fetuses from pregnant women’s bellies.
Shapeshifting – Aside from his Aswang form, Enrique can shapeshift into a crow and a black dog, both with red eyes. He will functionally just be these animals, but Enrique will remain fully sentient during. Unlike the Aswang form, he can shift into these forms during the day. The shifting is instantaneous.
Making Doppelgangers – Aswang have a curious skill that lets them get away with kidnapping people easily. When Aswang kidnap corpses or live people, they can build a replica of that same person using banana trunks/stalks and talahib grass. They can enchant this replica to be an exact copy of their victim, but these copies will be sick upon creation, and their sole purpose is to go to the victim’s home and die within a few days to convince the victim’s family that they died a natural death. This plan is flawless, but talented spellcasters will be able to detect the enchantment and undo it. When undone, the replica will turn back into banana stalks and grass.
Weaknesses – Aswang are powerful, but they have several weaknesses. First of all, there are several tells to find out if a person is an aswang. Aside from the ones already enumerated in his appearance section, magical oil will start boiling around his presence. Aswang also have an aversion to garlic, salt, calamansi, charcoal, and coconut stick. These items can ward aswang out of an area in their monster form, but consuming them while in human form is alright. Enrique can’t enter holy places, like churches or monasteries. The surefire way to kill an aswang is to decapitate their heads, stab them through the heart, or destroy their body completely. Otherwise, they’ll regenerate, though the process will take several days.
Biography:
warnings for gore, flesh eating, animal harm, abuse, etc
Enrique Castillo was born at Antique, Philippines. Nicknamed “Kiko”, he was Mary Anne and Roberto Castillo’s third born son. There were six of them overall, nine in total in their little hut where they slept on mats on the floor stuck together like sardines. He was descended from a long line of farmers, witches and witch doctors that lived in Visayas. Not glamorous, but connected to nature very intimately.
Mary Anne and Roberto managed a ranch with their six children, a ranch owned by a local land owner who profited the most from their sales. Growing up, Enrique knew he was different from his siblings, but it wasn’t something he made sure was ever obvious. He kept his head low, appearing modest and shy to them, and made sure his family never looked too closely at him. Living at a ranch wasn’t easy, but Enrique knew how to play his cards right, and despite being reserved, became his parents’ and siblings’ favorite.
He went to school at a local public school, where he got a subpar education. Despite that, Enrique had a passion for learning. He always checked out donated books from the library and took them home to read. Enrique walked from school to home. It took several miles. Sometimes, he took detours so he could hunt down stray cats and dogs, hurting them and dismissing it as harmless childhood fun. He always stared a little too much when his mom drowned rodents in a bucket of boiling water.
He never really understood people, but he was damn good at faking it. He didn’t have a lot of friends, but the smart kids and his teachers tended to be very impressed with him. In addition to that, he had an unexplained bloodlust that made him crave raw meat. Slaughtering animals made him uncomfortable for a long time, unsure why, always dismissing it as just being squeamish. It was a manageable discomfort that grew into unmanageable quickly when he hit double digits in age. When he was ten, he snuck out of the hut and chomped down a dirty sewer rat alive.
It was good. Disgusting, but good. He washed his face and went home, and felt a different sort of strength since the event.
That wasn’t the end of it all, unfortunately. When he was twelve, under the full moon, his skin started literally shedding. Unsure of what was happening to him, Enrique ran out of the farm and shifted into an aswang for the first time. He was rabid. He found some teenagers out at night. The teenagers threw rocks at him, brave in that stupid ways teenagers were. Enrique killed them all pretty easily, and ate their organs until the sun came up. He ran back home and left the gored bodies there.
The townsfolk were horrified. It went on the local news. There was a witch hunt for aswang in Antique now, and Enrique feared for his life. He didn’t do anything until the fuss died down. While there was a huge commotion, Enrique visited the local witch doctor to ask him about his condition. The witch doctor knew the tells at first glance, and tried to murder him, screaming Aswang! Aswang! Enrique shifted into the dog, and bit down the witch doctor, infected him with rabies. He tore out his chest and ate his liver and heart.
Enrique didn’t come back with any solutions, but he knew what he was now: An Aswang. The revelation panicked him at first. There were no cures for that. He couldn’t pray what he did away. He didn’t feel guilt; only fear that his parents would find out and kick him out, and he’d have no place to stay anymore. He tried to keep it down, but his hunger couldn’t be sated, so he continued his activities in secret, learning to be better and more careful every time. Eventually, he embraced it. He was more powerful than other people could ever be. Why should he be ashamed of his gifts?
The village… was rather small. The smaller the village got, the angrier the people were. It was getting dangerous staying there, but he didn’t have anywhere else to go. Luckily, around the same time, he found out he passed the entrance exam for the University of the Philippines Diliman. His parents were excited, so they sent him off to Luzon when he was sixteen for college.
Enrique was an awkward farmer boy in the city, but he was quick to adapt. He joined a fraternity and took part in their antics, being provoked to different thrills and substances, though, for the most part, uninterested in relationships due most in part because he didn’t want anybody to be clinging to him. His parents sent him money monthly. He mooched off his fraternity brothers, going from house to house until their hospitality wore off, and used the money to buy unnecessary, frivolous things like books. He played with people’s heads, getting better because of his degree, played unwelcome mind games with them then dropped them when he got bored.
He graduated school a semester early with a Bachelor’s in Psychology, but he didn’t tell his parents that. In fact, after four years, he kept feeding them lies about how he was changing courses, and how he was going to get a PhD. It went on for years while he moved in with his brothers in the city.
Also? The city was a much better hunting ground. It was stuffed with dark corners and people. Enrique feasted, ate until he was full. It was a good life, and nobody even noticed.
At twenty-six, he mistakenly hunted down a Starlight scout. They subdued him. When he shifted back to his human form at sunrise, he got presented with a letter for Starlight Academy. Which was. Dumb. He’d graduated school years ago. Still, with the new president Duterte’s strict night curfew, it made hunting even harder. The Philippines was getting dangerous, so Enrique stole everything of value in his fraternity brothers’ house, pawned them, and took off with the Scout.
Manta Carlos is a beautiful city, with an active night life and way too trusting citizens. He felt right at home.
Mary Anne and Roberto managed a ranch with their six children, a ranch owned by a local land owner who profited the most from their sales. Growing up, Enrique knew he was different from his siblings, but it wasn’t something he made sure was ever obvious. He kept his head low, appearing modest and shy to them, and made sure his family never looked too closely at him. Living at a ranch wasn’t easy, but Enrique knew how to play his cards right, and despite being reserved, became his parents’ and siblings’ favorite.
He went to school at a local public school, where he got a subpar education. Despite that, Enrique had a passion for learning. He always checked out donated books from the library and took them home to read. Enrique walked from school to home. It took several miles. Sometimes, he took detours so he could hunt down stray cats and dogs, hurting them and dismissing it as harmless childhood fun. He always stared a little too much when his mom drowned rodents in a bucket of boiling water.
He never really understood people, but he was damn good at faking it. He didn’t have a lot of friends, but the smart kids and his teachers tended to be very impressed with him. In addition to that, he had an unexplained bloodlust that made him crave raw meat. Slaughtering animals made him uncomfortable for a long time, unsure why, always dismissing it as just being squeamish. It was a manageable discomfort that grew into unmanageable quickly when he hit double digits in age. When he was ten, he snuck out of the hut and chomped down a dirty sewer rat alive.
It was good. Disgusting, but good. He washed his face and went home, and felt a different sort of strength since the event.
That wasn’t the end of it all, unfortunately. When he was twelve, under the full moon, his skin started literally shedding. Unsure of what was happening to him, Enrique ran out of the farm and shifted into an aswang for the first time. He was rabid. He found some teenagers out at night. The teenagers threw rocks at him, brave in that stupid ways teenagers were. Enrique killed them all pretty easily, and ate their organs until the sun came up. He ran back home and left the gored bodies there.
The townsfolk were horrified. It went on the local news. There was a witch hunt for aswang in Antique now, and Enrique feared for his life. He didn’t do anything until the fuss died down. While there was a huge commotion, Enrique visited the local witch doctor to ask him about his condition. The witch doctor knew the tells at first glance, and tried to murder him, screaming Aswang! Aswang! Enrique shifted into the dog, and bit down the witch doctor, infected him with rabies. He tore out his chest and ate his liver and heart.
Enrique didn’t come back with any solutions, but he knew what he was now: An Aswang. The revelation panicked him at first. There were no cures for that. He couldn’t pray what he did away. He didn’t feel guilt; only fear that his parents would find out and kick him out, and he’d have no place to stay anymore. He tried to keep it down, but his hunger couldn’t be sated, so he continued his activities in secret, learning to be better and more careful every time. Eventually, he embraced it. He was more powerful than other people could ever be. Why should he be ashamed of his gifts?
The village… was rather small. The smaller the village got, the angrier the people were. It was getting dangerous staying there, but he didn’t have anywhere else to go. Luckily, around the same time, he found out he passed the entrance exam for the University of the Philippines Diliman. His parents were excited, so they sent him off to Luzon when he was sixteen for college.
Enrique was an awkward farmer boy in the city, but he was quick to adapt. He joined a fraternity and took part in their antics, being provoked to different thrills and substances, though, for the most part, uninterested in relationships due most in part because he didn’t want anybody to be clinging to him. His parents sent him money monthly. He mooched off his fraternity brothers, going from house to house until their hospitality wore off, and used the money to buy unnecessary, frivolous things like books. He played with people’s heads, getting better because of his degree, played unwelcome mind games with them then dropped them when he got bored.
He graduated school a semester early with a Bachelor’s in Psychology, but he didn’t tell his parents that. In fact, after four years, he kept feeding them lies about how he was changing courses, and how he was going to get a PhD. It went on for years while he moved in with his brothers in the city.
Also? The city was a much better hunting ground. It was stuffed with dark corners and people. Enrique feasted, ate until he was full. It was a good life, and nobody even noticed.
At twenty-six, he mistakenly hunted down a Starlight scout. They subdued him. When he shifted back to his human form at sunrise, he got presented with a letter for Starlight Academy. Which was. Dumb. He’d graduated school years ago. Still, with the new president Duterte’s strict night curfew, it made hunting even harder. The Philippines was getting dangerous, so Enrique stole everything of value in his fraternity brothers’ house, pawned them, and took off with the Scout.
Manta Carlos is a beautiful city, with an active night life and way too trusting citizens. He felt right at home.
