Character Notes for Cas Blackburn

General

  • His full name may be Casper, but he doesn't tell that to anyone. As far as he's concerned, his name is Cas for the people in Dornie. For now Casper is a big a secret as what happened in the last town he fled.
    • Cas is also, coincidentally, a name of Irish origin meaning "curly-headed'. Go figure!
    • Casper actually came from Caspar, one of the three Wise Men, however, which is where his parents got it. They happened to be fairly religious, by current standards. His older and the younger brother closest to his age were the other two Wise Men (Melchor and Balthasar).
  • Aspires to one day own his own horse. One that he doesn't steal, either.
  • All his personal possessions fit into a single bag under his bunk. His most prized possessions are a shirt (a paisley shirt), a nice jacket he never wears to work or in bad weather, and a small silver cross he always wears around his neck.
    • His prize red and gold paisley shirt actually doesn't fit him very well. The sleeves are too long and drape over his hands.
    • Paisley itself has an interesting tradition. A twisted teardrop plant motif that was original Indian in nature and spread to various parts of the world. Originally it was likely a symbol of life and eternity, popularly worn by the high and low classes both. The name Paisley, despite the foreign origins, came from Scotland itself, a city that made the design popular to Western Culture. In the Baltic States, it was a symbol of protection, worn to ward off evil. Later on it became a symbol of youth and rebellion. It has been woven, stamped and printed on textiles for a thousand years.
    • The silver cross belonged to his baby sister. He still retains some religious tendencies, though he doesn't really practice. And apparently he did trade it, temporarily. In return for a memento given to him by Mariah Larke. A iron bee pendant. She let him keep it when she gave him back his sister's pendant. It has joined the cross as one of his prized possessions.
    • He wear also likes to wear colored scarves that almost second as ties and often wears fingerless gloves. Even on the job. Even when he doesn't wear his fingerless gloves, he often has a leather bracer of sorts on his left wrist. He does this to cover a scar.
    • He occasionally wears unadorned metal rings on various fingers and even has a pierced ear that sometimes sports a small metal ring. Necklaces are not out of character either. His jewelry can often be traded in an emergency.
    • He also possesses a dragon's fang pendant, given to him by Mairi. He wears it most of the time when he's working, or going to visit her, but doesn't wear it all the time.
  • Though definitely not an entertainer, he can sing and dance for festivals and other things. Most the songs he remembers from his youth happen to be psalms, though.
  • He can be horribly self conscious about his teeth since he was 18 (thanks, Luna). This led him to try and take care of his teeth. He may clean then often and keep them from staining with herbs he trades for, but he could do nothing to fix the crookedness of a few or the way his front teeth stick out. But it means he still has almost all his teeth (minus one in the back that had to be pulled after it broke). Despite the self consciousness, he still flashes his teeth when he smiles.
  • For a laborer he has pale skin. The visible skin is tanned, but still burns when he isn't careful. This is one of the reasons he wears hats sometimes.
  • His accent is a little different from the majority of Dornies, as he's from the south. It is a mix of a Yorkshire dialect (northern England), southern England working class (Mockney) dialect and the old Oxford's English. No doubt he will begin to adopt aspects of a Scottish accent if he sticks around.
  • Cas doesn't remember when his birthday is and usually celebrates it in the summer. This year he celebrated it on May 29th with Mariah.
  • Men tend to make Cas a little nervous for various reasons, especially if they are tall and openly aggressive. It often takes a few minutes for him to determine whether a man is an actual threat. This nervousness does not occur around boys or women. Women can make him nervous for very different reasons.
  • Though he works quite hard in the stables and loves his jobs, he supplements his labor pay by fishing on his day's off, which he cleans and trades in town for trade goods. Anything he doesn't trade, he donates to the Rowntree kitchens.
  • After being kidnapped and forced to inhabit the body of a puppet, Cas has developed a sleeping disorder. It's difficult for him to get to sleep without assistance. On nights he doesn't spend with Mariah, he's begun to take valerian.

RP Hooks

  • He trains horses, as mentioned above. If you have reason to visit the horse herd, there's a RP Hook there.
  • Besides horse training and stable hand stuff, he can give riding lessons as well as do various labors when he has extra time or when he's out of work. This mostly includes various home repairs or the occasional harvest or planting labor at local farms. Want a temporary handyman or a riding lesson?

Relationships

  • The Boss: Edmund Rowntree.
    • Crowning Moment of Awesome: Giving Cas a job and allowing him to train his own horse with the option to buy in the future at a discount.
    • Note to Self: Doesn't like being called 'my Lord' so Boss will have to do.
    • Opinion: Rather likes the man for his treatment of horses and that he actually works with them, unlike his last boss who preferred just delegating from a distance.
    • Something To Prove: To him. Cas wants to show he can do the job. And do it well. Despite various distractions and even injuries.
  • The Boss' Lady: Aislinn Rowntree.
    • Crowning Moment of Awesome: A mage with a shape shifting familiar! One of the first ones he met in Dornie where he knew she was a mage.
    • Note to Self: Seems to know too much!! Possibly because she's a mage.
    • Opinion: Rather likes her. The Woman showed sympathy and kindness to him when they first met. Seems to treat horses well, and also works in a career that he finds quite honorable and useful.
    • Something to Prove: Pending.
  • The Stable Boy: Colm Faolán. The boss' step-son, or so Cas considers him based on the fact the boy's mother is the man's wife. Things are not always what an outsider views them as. The boy is quiet and calm, but Cas is of the opinion he needs to laugh and smile more, and is looking for ways to do that. He doesn't quite understand the boy's condition yet, but no doubt finding out won't stop him from talking all the time.
  • Hamish: A mottled marble gelding owned by Edmund Rowntree. Cas already loves the creature.
  • The Princess: Luna Owens. Um. She helped get him out of a situation he was cornered into, for which he will be was grateful. But then she made it so he's not quite sure what happened the rest of the night. This was many years ago. She also made him self-conscious about his teeth for a few years, even if he doesn't exactly recall why. He does now. He ended up giving her a bracelet he meant for someone else, to pay her back for ruining her lacy thing. But it was returned to him, eventually. She may be spoiled or bratty or damaged, he hasn't decided which yet, but she makes made him go to the Dovetail less for a while. At least until Mariah appeared giving an apology from her. That helped.
  • The Voice: Mariah Larke. A prostitute who he happens to enjoy going to see because she didsn't laugh at his odd requests or his fashion sense or the fact that he didn't want anything more from her than a bath, a shave and a haircut and to listen to her read. Maybe a dance in the future, too. Her voice has a strange quality to it that relaxes him, even when he has reason to be tense. She visited him at his work and complimented him, making him feel rather good about himself. Even when he worked up the nerve to pay for more than what he'd asked for before, she made him feel special and different from the rest of her costumers, making it far too easy to forget he's paying for his time with her. This affection between them has only grown, extending to her familiar as well. He traded his prize pendant for the one she'd given him, and he treasures hers even more than he'd treasured the one given to him eleven years ago by his baby sister. He's feels more for her than he feels the right to admit, perhaps because he knows how doomed such an admission would be.
  • The Widow: Mairi Fairbairn. She claims she's old, but he doesn't think she is. She is a widow, but had married for love. The horses she has are well-kept, and she's a good cook. And she helped him find his job. They enjoyed each other's company and he fully intends to make sure she gets out of the house more than she apparently does. He also gave her a gift. Originally the bracelet had been meant for her, but he gave her one of his nicer scarves instead. Her gift to him was a dragon's tooth necklace, but he lost the knitted blanket that he'd intended to give her back.
  • The Adviser: Goneril Ross. Someone's mum. She offered him womanly advice about a gift, and in an attempt to avoid not insulting people, he stuck his foot in his mouth a little. Though he did mean it when he said she wasn't entirely unshaggable. He just doesn't think it would ever happen. Since she's someone's mum and no doubt someone's wife. Never ever wanting and never ever expecting are two very different things.
  • The Bear: Jørn Wartooth. To say they met under interesting circumstances. He nearly scared Cas to death by chasing him in Bear form. The encounter turned nicer when he had a chance to recover and he was very impressed by the ex-Warlord Viking. Who can turn into a polar bear. The man made Cas start to consider learning a weapon in this new land, but he's not eager enough to seek it out yet. Other than the idea of looking as cool as a make believe Viking at least.
  • The Pretender: Constance Rowntree. Roslind the Troll Slayer. Usually pretend and make believe might sound like a bad thing, but to Cas it was something he needed a little bit of. He finds it endearing at the moment, like a child's game. He knows who she is now, one of the nieces of his boss, and daughter of a guy with a lot of guns who he's been warned about more than once, but his intentions toward her are as pure as he can make then, so Roslind the Troll Slayer she will still be around him. When she's not wanting to be Constance Rowntree, at least. She gives him a freedom to pretend that one day he'll find someone besides the girl he left behind.
  • The Assistant: Cordelia Ross. Cordie, as he knows her. The assistant to his boss' lady, and niece to the same boss, she helped fix up his arm after he hurt it with witch hazel. She has everything he tends to like in a person too. Kindness to strangers, empathy and a good sense of humor. At least he thought it was good. And he has a great deal of respect for what he sees as her strength and courage.
  • The Bully: Jain MacCruimein. Besides being bigger, stronger and threatening, Cas has very good reasons to be wary of this man. Most of which include a recently broken nose when he attempted to verbally stand up for a woman that he thought Jain had insulted. The man's warnings and lessons were heard, and so far he's the only person in Dornie that he's met that he really has reason to dislike.
  • The Hamlet: Beisdean Skye. A very good looking man who is one of the few who doesn't make Cas overly nervous. He seems nice, if troubled by the spirits of the afterlife he sees, and he seems well read in all the ways that Cas wishes he had been. He may be one of the few men who he wouldn't be jealous of paying for Mariah's services, as he knows the man would at least treat her well enough.
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Horses!

  • Eclipse:
    • A young stallion, 4-6 years old (estimated by Cas). Was not the dominant stallion of the herd, so was likely bullied a little by the older stallion, though not ran out of the herd. He still has some of his wolf-teeth, which may make him younger than the estimate by Cas.
    • Shows mostly characteristics of an Irish Cob (The Gypsy Vanner), though likely has extra Clydesdale in the recent breeding line.
    • Due to not being gelded, he may be a little aggressive, especially to other males or when mares are around in mating seasons, but the Irish Cob and Clydesdale background may help promote a more docile and gentle personality.
    • Piebald coloring, more or less evenly disturbed white and black coloring on the coat with large spots of both. The mane is long and wild, both white and black. His eyes are light colored, blueish. There's heavy feathering at the hooves. Will require a lot of grooming
    • Around 15.2 hands high (62 inches/157cm at the withers).
    • Personality: Somewhat show-y. A very 'look at me' attitude, but surprisingly quiet when he does it. He seems confident and prideful, capable of throwing his weight around.
    • Trained in halter, bit-less bridle and saddle. He has learned many commands, to walk and trot.

Fanwork

  • A fanvideo for Cas Blackburn made by me. Consider it forever a work-in-progress

  • Collage by Beisdean/Cordelia player for meeeee~
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Skills

  • Horsemanship: If there's one thing Cas actually knows and has a lot of experience in, it's horses. Riding, training, tack and everything in between. He even knows how to handle donkeys and mules, who need slightly different hands. He has been closer to far many more four legged animals in his life than he has been to humans.
  • Camping: He's had to sleep along the road or in the woods more than a few times. It's cheaper than an inn, usually. He knows how to build a small fire and cook over it. He can gather wood and ediable nuts and berries to supplement the fish he knows how to catch. He doesn't hunt any other animal, so he tends to try and find a stream before he settles down, or he'll have to do with berries and nuts.
  • Labor: This includes farming and various household labors. Besides horses, he has working knowledge of most things done around farms. Planting and basic home repairs, as well as chores. He can mend his clothes too, though he's not a seamstress and it would be a noticeable patch.
  • Trade: He's worked with trade a lot and knows what things are worth. Most especially when it comes to horses and mules and donkeys. He's actually okay with math when it's used practically, too, which it is in trade.
  • Fashion: Kind of a mishmash skill, really. He knows what clothes are fancy looking by them, but he often chooses colors that should not go together or designs that strain the eye. Which is why he owns a paisley shirt. After people see how he dresses himself in his free time, they may think he's trying to be a joke, when he genuinely thinks he looks good.
  • Mostly Illiterate: The anti-skill. A few years ago he tried to learn and can recognize common words and knows his numbers and letters on sight. He learned how to sign his simple name, too, but if someone asked him to sign his full name, he couldn't. It is a shame because he actually likes the idea of books. (In progress: Lately he is learning how to read from Mariah, but it is slow going and frustrating. He's working on it, though. Also he's learning some sign language from Colm and Aislinn to communicate with the young man. It's also slow going, and he often pretends her understands more of what Colm is signing than he actually does.)
  • Weapons: His knowledge of weapons is limited to which end is dangerous. And he doesn't really want to be on either side.

Cas-isms (Quotes from Scenes)

  • "Great— wonderful, cause I make it a huge habit to always avoid sharp objects being stuck into me." — To Mairi after asking if she was going to stick him with a pitchfork when caught trespassing in A Lucky Guy.
  • To Goneril in Ever Is A Long Time.
    • "I don't know if I ever will, I'm just saying ever is a long time. I think it'd almost be insulting for the lady if I said I wouldn't ever want to shag her. I mean she'd have to have like… boils or something."
    • "You're not entirely unshaggable. Not that I will be trying to do anything like that, just— you know. No boils."
    • "It's very— uh… Nature— ee." — About a necklace shaped like a leaf in the above scene.

Gallery

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