Ox

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Seeming Ogre Render
Court Summer Court
Freehold New-New Amsterdam
Player Kevin Talbot

"Ooh, see the fire is sweepin'
Our very street today
Burns like a red coal carpet
Mad bull lost its way"
- The Rolling Stones, Gimme Shelter


Contents

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Character Information

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Summation

Alias(es): Jack Davis AKA Tom Butler AKA Jason Banner (current alias)

Real Name: David Butler

Age: Seems in his late 30's. Actually 57.

Concept: Misunderstood Monster

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Gimme Shelter: A Wandering Giant

Heavy footsteps forecast his approach. Slow, ponderous, but powerful steps. His presence radiates the warmth of a Summer's day, but can just as quickly turn to the short temper of a heat-wave. Ox found his way back through the Hedge, but never properly found his way home. A craggy-faced giant, he exists on the fringes of mortal society, moving from place to place, making his mark, doing his bit. Always one giant-sized stride ahead of the trouble that seems to brew in his wake. Usually just as far ahead of the thanks for his better works.

Often located in an alleyway, a shelter, maybe even a titty bar, Ox is where he needs to be. When anger and violence reach a fevered pique, the stone giant arrives to feast on the Glamour of wrath. Usually leaving property damage in its place.

Mask: A man in his late 30's, Ox's eyes betray the horrors of both Faerie and war. His weathered looks sit roughly in whatever thrift store clothes fit his massive frame. His smile is warm, but sharp. Amiable, but dangerous and prone to outbursts of anger and violence. He usually channels those outbursts into productive activities, but so troubled a man is not always precise in his actions. He is wrecking ball made flesh, for all the good and ill such a thing can bring.

Mein: Stonefaced and angry, Ox is an inevitability. Walls cannot hold him, doors cannot bar him. The anger and heat of Summer crackle from him as his movements resound with the unsettling crunch of stone on stone. His skin is washed out to gray, his features seem worn by time, chipped away by the elements themselves. He is the product of his abusers in Faerie and they have made a thing of rage and power.

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The Unknown Soldier: History of an Urban Myth

Growing Up: Before the war, David was raised on a steady diet of football and the American Dream. His father, an older man, was a WW2 Army Vet and and David was told from as early as he could remember that his old man went up against the devil himself in the Big One. There was nothing a man could do more worthwhile than defending his country against those who who would tear it down. In many respects, David was raised to join the Army. Born to fight the godless communists and make the world safe for democracy.

Along the way, he found a deep and abiding love for football. A gigantic kid, David was a one-man defensive line for his high school on Long Island. He would get this gleam in his eye as he knocked the living shit out the opposing team. Like a religious experience. He was offered scholarships to several colleges, and most certainly not for his grades. He was a grade-A shitkicker on the field and to some colleges that made him more attractive than kids who were considerably smarter.

Ultimately, he turned the scholarships down and volunteered to follow in his father's footsteps. He signed up to join the Army and fight the war in Vietnam.

He left his girlfriend Rachel at home with an engagement ring and a promise to come home after doing his part.

Life at War: David was an idealistic young soldier early on. He really believed the American Dream had something to do with the mess out in that fucking jungle. Due to his astonishing size and strength, he quickly found himself in the role of the M-60 gunner, or Pigman, wielding the machine-gun.

His rather naive view of the world before winding up in the shit led to a really unfortunate opening of his eyes. Butler wasn't ready for the glimpse at the living hell of the Vietnam War and he occasionally got into arguments with his fellow soldiers, particularly the more disillusioned ones. The more they destroyed his illusions, the more they unwove his father's fables, the more he would lash out on occasion.

He struggled to explain his experience to his family and girlfriend in letters, but never found the words for how much his world was breaking. Communication grew more strained as a result. Every time it would take a little too long for one of his girlfriend's letters to reach him, he wondered if she was fucking some hippy back home. He pushed further and further towards his breaking point.

On leave, Butler let loose. He got fucked up, picked fights and fucked a number of Vietnamese women. But once he was back in the shit, he didn't want to talk about it. It became his cycle. Let the fucked-up shit stew inside him and then blow off steam when the opportunity arose.

The nickname "Ox" came about from the first time he went too long without blowing off steam. Shit jumped off in a big way, with VCs coming from all sides, and Butler squeezed off some suppression fire before going completely out of his tree. He wound up using the M-60 as a damn blunt object, walking through the enemy, bludgeoning them into unconsciousness with the weapon.

Everyone is shooting and Butler is just swinging away, back in the football zone. Pushing the opposition back bit by bit. He got tagged with two bullets during his little episode, but he was a surprisingly easy patch job for the medic. It was commented that Butler had the health of an Ox... and the brains of one too.

The name stuck.

Captivity and Escape: The platoon was captured by the Twilight King deep in the jungle. He and his minions tormented them for a short time in the Hedge, before eventually trading them off to other Keepers, as is his way. Ox and Horace "Race" Ardent were both traded to the same Keeper, a particularly disturbing Gentry known as Duke of the Nine Keys, Taker of Dreams, Breaker of Souls.

The Duke put them both through hell, but they found support in each other's friendship. They weren't the tightest members of their platoon to begin with, but the circumstances made them close friends. For years, both were pushed to the brink of their sanity and beyond, but they endured, becoming men of stone, Ogres, in the process.

The Duke delighted in playing games, teasing them with hope of escape. One such game involved the death of a human infant. Ox doesn't speak of that incident.

Eventually, Race was given a chance at winning his freedom. Nine labors, Herculean in scope. Bit by bit, Race bested the challenges ahead of him. Finally, all that remained was the final labor. The Duke decreed that the friends would battle. If Race could defeat Ox, he would be free. If Ox won the fight, he would be set free in his friend's place.

They shook hands before the fight, promising to keep it honorable. They battled for nearly a half hour, two so evenly matched fighters. Two men who knew each other so well. Just when it seemed like the fight would never end, Race landed a haymaker on Ox and the giant fell. He took a dive so Race would be free.

The Duke was not so easily fooled, however. He saw through the ruse and forced Race to undergo one more challenge, while still weary from the fight. He would have to outrun the Wild Hunt. Race ran, and never turned back. Ox wouldn't see his friend again for some time.

Ox would be punished most severely for throwing the fight, and he would have to endure these punishments alone. Race was not there to lessen his burden. He was faced with illusions, undermining the rest of his world in ways the war had damaged his idealism. He was faced with battles and grotesque meals no man should be forced to eat. The man was being eclipsed by the monster he had become. Soon, he would succumb entirely and accept his place for all time in Faerie.

Ox's escape came suddenly. He managed to lay his hand on one of the Duke's nine keys. A jagged, twisted piece of metal which opened a gateway to the unspeakable. A thing of Faerie. Ox used it as a prison shiv, jamming the key into the midsection of the Duke, stabbing deep. Once. Twice. The third time was in the neck, and there he left the key. Do Fae die? Would the Duke rebuild himself of sterner nightmares? Ox never stuck around to find out. He ran as if the Devil himself was at his heels the entire time. He ran, to find his Rachel, to find his brothers. He ran to breath sea air and taste a Nathan's hotdog one more time.

Through the Hedge Ox ran, battling creatures along the way, determined that nothing would bar his way home. He pushed his way through, knocking open a door, emerging from the House of Horrors at Astro-Land. Coney Island. The smell of cotton candy, the sound of tourists and carnies. It was timeless, but so much had changed. This place had decayed since he was last here. How many years had he been gone?


Current Activities: COMING SOON

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Affiliations

Motley: None
Entitlement: None
Other Oaths/Alliances:
Brotherhood of Poole's Promise

Armed Service: United States Army

  • 101st Airborne Division, "Screaming Eagles"
  • 3rd Brigade, 187th Infantry Regiment (Airmobile)
  • 3rd Battalion, "Iron Rakkasans"
  • Foxtrot Company, "Fool's Company"
    • Commanding Officer: Captain W. Poole
  • First Platoon "Nomads"


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Drive On: Brothers-in-Arms, Friends, and Allies

  • Race - "I know we look alike in a way. Brothers usually do. But Race is the hero you're looking for. I'm just a monster."
  • Myo - "She's good at what she does. Keeps me together when I'm tearing myself apart."
  • Elvis O'Connor - "I love that tricky little bastard like he was family."
  • Bianca Snow - "She gave me a kindness nobody else could have. For the first time since Faerie, I felt more man than monster with her."
  • Static - "Ain't been right for a long time. But he's one of the boys, and we gotta stick together. Seems to be getting by alright, all things considered."
  • Sundowner - (quote coming soon)
  • Clyde - "Ol' Clyde ain't what he used to be. But none of us are these days."
  • Rook - "I seen him take the wings off a dragonfly at 100 yards."
  • Nujalik - "She's like one of the boys. Cause damn if I could figure out what the hell else she is."
  • Dan Ling Wei Ying Xiong - "Biggest Chinaman I ever seen. Think he used to do sumo back home in Korea."
  • Paul Swann - (quote coming soon)
  • Doc Shepherd - (quote coming soon)
  • Rattenkonigin - (quote coming soon)
  • Candlestick Jack - "You do whatever it is you gotta do, tough guy. I'm just telling you, you mess with Candlestick and I'm gonna make like a Play-Do Fun Factory with your insides."
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Rusty Cage: Enemies and Things to Grind Under a Giant's Boots

  • The Twilight King - "Banished just means one thing to me - easier to kill. And I will END you the next time I find your sorry he-she ass in the Hedge. You dragged me and my brothers to Hell and we're gonna get ours!"
  • Duke of the Nine Keys, Taker of Dreams, Breaker of Souls - "You never know what you can endure until you gotta do it. That thing made me the monster that I am. I hope to hell I never see it again. But if I do, I'm gonna show it what I've learned."


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All Along the Watchtower: Character Inspirations

  • Marv from Sin City (comics and movie)
  • Captain John Boyd (Guy Pierce) from Ravenous (movie)
  • Lenny from Of Mice and Men (novel)
  • The Maxx (comics and cartoon)
  • John "Spaceman" Custer from the Nam flashbacks in Preacher (comics)
  • The Hulk (mostly the TV series for the wandering monster aspects)
  • The Goon (comics - more visually speaking than anything else)









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Wild America: The Ox Soundtrack








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Quotes

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The Mercy Seat: Words from Ox

  • "Saw a movie on the cable tv. That fruit action guy. Whatshisname? The bald fuck. Diesel. He talks some shit about how it takes 500 fights to make a tough guy. You learn to fuck someone up and you learn to take a hit. Your skin turns to fucking leather after 500 fights, he says. So, I'm thinking, how many fights does it take to turn your skin to stone?

  • ...Somedays I remember better than others."
  • "I try to do the right thing. Be a good man. A good soldier. Like my dad raised me to be. But - But sometimes I get confused."
  • "Somedays I think Race is everything I wish I could be. Except for the black part. Got enough troubles with cops as is."
  • "Man, Ogres don't eat people. That's just an urban legend."


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Redemption Song: Words About Ox

  • "Honestly? If I'm ever deep in it, if my back's against the wall, if it looks like the gates of Hell have opened... then I pray to the Lord Above that I've got Ox at my side. He may not be the brightest or the straightest arrow... but he's my brother in blood, and I know that he'll see me through or die tryin'. And that's the truth." - Horace "Race" Ardent
  • "Us old bastards gotta stick together, and somebody's gotta look out for the big guy." - Elvis O'Connor
  • Image:heart_of_friend.jpg - Dan Xiong
  • "He's not so bad. People, really, what kind of idiot pokes at a grizzly? Exactly, so just -don't- poke. How is that difficult?" - Myo
  • "Girls grow up with fairy tales and knights in shining armor. Ox is one of those knights, his armor is just a bit tarnished." - Bianca Snow
  • "He may not be 'all there,' if you know what I mean, but he's got style. And by 'style,' I mean he'll tear your arm off, beat you to death with it and then eat it like a Kentucky Fried drumstick." - Rook
  • "Ox has been shot, stabbed, beaten, and bitten. He's had buildings fall down on him. One stupid fucker even tried to drive a van into him. Trust me, nothing is gonna kill that guy." - Doc Shepherd
  • "No one was in the building. Pass ketchup." - Nujalik
  • "If you ever happen to run into some trouble, just stand behind Ox. No, really." - Calico Jill Harkness
  • "I still remember that horrible feast, and all the guys trying hold back the bile as our plates were filled. Even in the middle of all that, Ox was looking out for me, stealing from my plate so I wouldn't have to choke it all down. I'll never forget that." - Candlestick Jack
  • "The shortest distance between two points is Ox." - Static
  • "Now, suh, this heah hunk o' twisted metal decorated wi' all this 'uman blood 'n' bone? This wuz mah gunner's M-60. Wuz, that be, afore it hadda git used lak a pre'istoric tool o' plain ol' mass murder. Now I gots t' be writin' up this gunner's paperwork fo' th' Bronze Star an' Purple Heart, but ah wan'ed t' let y'all know that he'll be on th' line 'gain come 'bout 'nother week. An' th' next time y'all intel boys send mah platoon up on one o' these alleged 'cakewalks?' ...I'm'a let HIM come give y'all th' aftah-action report." - 1st Lieutenant Clyde Driscoll, 1969
  • "Big as a horse and dumber than a box of hammers at times, you never did doubt that Specialist Butler was brave. He always did what he had to be done. Marcus knew that, and wouldn't hold a grudge for what he did. I've been told how Ox did what he did to spare others the ordeal, especially Jack. Some say I was brave to fight back. I say Ox was braver for what he did." - Copper
  • "With grunts like Ox, who needs artillery?" - Alex Drake
  • "Sure Ox has a lot in common with a claymore, that's why I had him wear that sign saying 'FRONT TOWARDS ENEMY'." - Paul Swann
  • "Ox is strong and his heart is good. What more should be expected of him?" - Cerannen
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Paranoid: Rumors and Stories

  • Ox was smart before his Durance. Something in that experience made him dumber.
  • Elvis O'Connor keeps setting up new identities for Ox because of persistent difficulties with the police and the Mask.
  • Ox will kill anyone Bianca Snow asks him to.
  • Ox was forced to eat his commanding officer after being captured by the Gentry. The taste stuck with him.
  • About a year ago, Ox caught some frat boys beating up a homeless man. Two of them spent a week in ICU. The third will never walk again.
  • Ox has ties to anti-fae militia groups and dreams of one day taking the war back to the Gentry.
  • When Ox has an "episode", only Myo can calm him down.
  • Ox didn't just kill his Fetch. He also ate it. When his family realized something had changed, he freaked out and killed them too.
  • Ox's face isn't the only part of his body that is repulsive to look at.
  • Ox is still the pawn of his Keeper, making messes to draw other Changelings out to where they can be noticed.
  • Some say Ox was crazy even before his Durance. He has been known to mistake sneaky Changelings for Viet Cong soldiers.
  • Myo is really Ox's daughter.
Retrieved from "http://changeling.cam-wiki.org/Ox"
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