General Description

Daniel is a shy, introverted guy who tends to avoid people and all kinds of conflicts. He's kind of slouching through life, not quite sure of what to do, where to go or how to go on. He has always had problems with opening up to other people, but it got worse during his middle school time. Depression got added to his anxiety at this time and it only made him more uncomfortable around strangers and effected his social life greatly. Sadly, he didn't make any friends during his teen years, which is another factor that eventually led to him meeting Gabriel, the vampire who later turned Daniel into one of his kind.
By now, Daniel has managed to leave Gabriel behind and found his place in the world. He met Cat during his lowest time and she managed to turn his life around for the better (and best). He's still a couch potato who doesn't go outside a lot, but he's in a better place now. Cat is his best friend, Mary (his roommate) is a great comfort to him and he even started to develop romantic feelings again. Life is not perfect, he still has to wrestle with mental problems every day, but he's recovering from his past trauma. He finally trusts other people again and lets himself be vulnerable.

General Behavior

- not very talkative, fairly closed-off
- doesn't express his emotions very well
- has to warm up to people to get comfortable around them
- prefers to be alone but has a strong desire to be around people he trusts (Cat, Mary and later on Antonio)
- gets lonely very easily and hates himself for that
- craves affection
- constantly tired, no will or strength to fight for anything, not even for himself and his safety (verbally or physically)
- tends to get anxiety attacks and little flashbacks occasionally, some of which hit him so hard that he has trouble breathing and can't stop crying until he manages to calm down again
- his depression and anxiety tend to keep him up at night (... and day. his sleep schedule is a mess) => always at least mildly sleep deprived
=> has bad nightmares on the regular (tends to wake up at random times during the day or night)
- he only tried to get drunk with the intention to forget/feel better one time, shortly after leaving Gabriel (but he quickly realized that wouldn't help) => when drunk, he usually gets more emotionally vulnerable and starts sulking; he also gets extremely needy and clingy and sucks up any kind of physical touch or affection like a sponge
- feels comfortable in crowded places because he likes the idea of being able to blend in without anyone paying much attention to him => does not like the thought of someone acknowledging his existence in such a space though (for example: would be very uncomfortable getting hit on in a bar when he just wants his peace)

Interests and Hobbies

- writer, huge bookworm, loves reading and writing a lot (despite his frequent writers block and low energy levels)
- loves books he can relate to => loves Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and heavily relates to Kafkas "Transformation"(... he always felt like a burden to his family, helpless with no use, too depressed and introverted to figure out where his worth lies; always felt like he's a disgrace to his family, unloveable, unaccomplished)
- developed his love for literature during his middle-to-highschool years (when he was at a low point, never not feeling alone)
- Likes lighthearted adventure stories; he would get really into dnd podcasts like The Adventure Zone (would also like to play dnd but even when he had a group to play with he'd be self-conscious about his skills and creativity (would also love the "dragonoak" book series by Sam Farren!!))
- Doesn't watch many movies but likes action/adventure movies (hates BAD/unnecessary romance subplots, though)
- he's actually really into romance stories but it kinda depends on his mood (mlm stories and fanfics warm his heart)
- listens to music sometimes (mainly alternative rock)
- tried to play some video games because of Cat but is only really interested in them if they have a good story
- used to play the old pokemon games for the Gameboy as a kid and really loved them - didn't play any newer gens tho
=> the Pikachu edition still has a special place in his heart
- Gengar is one of his fave pokemon, has an old Pikachu plush named 'Gengar' which he used to carry around in his bag wherever he went (thanks Anosofa for this one djbfgj) => he does NOT currently have this plush

Other notable stuff

- He's afraid of cutting his hair because he's convinced he would regret it and later mourn after it... He's not a big fan of change (even though his hair would grow back to its current length)
- He's actually blond (has been dyeing his hair for years, already long before)
- tried to smoke one time when he was still human but coughed his lung out and didn't touch a cigarette ever since
- speaks two languages (German, English) => used to have big problems with English when his family moved to the USA
- Gabriel taught him the basics of how to play the piano... Daniel hasn't touched one ever since they 'broke up'
- metaphorically dying on the inside (considers himself "dead" already, although he is quite undead, in fact)
- Daniel was transformed into a vampire illegally... so LEGALLY Daniel is Not Valid while he is, personality-wise, the one who is truly The Most Valid
- tends to cling to sentimental items like photographs a lot
- used to be torn between wanting to be remembered and seen and wanting to vanish from this world entirely
- takes everything too seriously and overthinks constantly; Antonio combats this by distracting him from the situation (with making bad jokes, making silly faces, parodying Daniel, et cetera) until Daniel loses focus and they both end up laughing

Goals

- stay hidden from ex bf, doesn't want to face him ever again and lives in constant fear that Gabriel might turn up on his doorstep one day (deadly afraid of falling for him again; part of why he almost never leaves the house)
- find some sense in his life and make people remember him (write an amazing and popular book BUT writers block is a bitch)
- don’t fall in love ever again (doesn’t want to be left with more scars than he already has)

Relationships to other Characters

Cat = Cat is Daniel's best and most important friend. He'd even leave the house for her!! (amazing) He did, in fact, have a crush on her for quite some time... (Cat knows but doesn't mind) He's basically over that by now, but a tiny bit of his crush still remains.
Mary = Daniel's roommate, certified mom friend (which he needs to survive). Mary is like a sister to him.
Antonio = Daniel's current crush (and roommate), know each other briefly; Daniel and him will become boyfriends in the future and they will be the cutest
Felicia = Daniel thinks she's nice and good for Cat, likes her
Pumpkin = she has too much energy for him, but Daniel knows she's very nice and sweet
Gabriel = Daniel's ex boyfriend; the person who ruined his life and turned him into a vampire

Appearance

Tall-ish (1.83m / 6'0'') and kinda thin - Very pale - Black hair and blue eyes - Looks like a regular human that spends too much time indoors (safe for the slightly bigger fangs) - has dark circles under his eyes

Fashion Sense

None. (just kidding) He never really got out of his high school goth phase - His clothes are mainly black (band) shirts, shirts with funny/edgy logos, merchandise for movies he likes... and flannel shirts. He always tended to wear black/dark blue clothes and grey flannels, but he starts wearing more red flannels after finding out that red is Antonio’s favorite color.

Basic Backstory

- born as a human, grew up in Germany
- Big Traumatic Event which I will not further specify here
- moved to some part of the USA with his parents when he was about 13 years old
- finished high school after quite a few rocky years, did not really have the opportunity to form any meaningful friendships
- started going to college/university; English Major
- met and fell in love with Gabriel during his first few months @ college/university
- in a relationship with Gabriel for a year, breaks contact with his family and slowly but surely gets convinced that he'd want to become a vampire
- gets turned into a vampire at 19
- continues to stay in a relationship with Gabriel until he's 24, when their continuous conflicts escalate to a point at which Daniel leaves => officially doesn't have any place where he belongs or can return to
- meets Cat in the bar where she works => Cat let's him stay with her for a while and they became friends
- Cat can't stay his roommate forever, so she helps him find a better place to stay
- Daniel gets to know Mary and Antonio, and the three of them become roommates (and friends, later on, as the story goes on)
- [...]