▷ the basics▶ CANON: Now You See Me and Now You See Me 2
▶ PLAYED BY: Jesse Eisenberg
▶ FULL NAME: Daniel Fleischman
▶ NICKNAME(S): Atlas, Danny (usually reserved for those closest to him)
▶ ALIAS(ES): J. Daniel Atlas
▶ AGE: 32
▶ DATE OF BIRTH: May 1984
▶ BIRTHPLACE: somewhere in upstate New York
▶ NATIONALITY: American
▶ HOMETOWN: New York City? Not really especially attached to any one city as, like, a childhood home, but New York is important.
▶ ARRIVED FROM: London, New Year's Day
▶ IN DARROW SINCE: 19 September, 2016
▶ GENDER: male
▶ SPECIES: human
▶ SEXUAL ORIENTATION: demiromantic heterosexual
▶ RELATIONSHIP STATUS: married to magic, leave him alone
▶ RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION: raised vaguely Jewish, leans agnostic
▶ DRINKS / SMOKES / DRUGS: occasionally but almost never enough to get drunk / no / no
▶ HOGWARTS HOUSE: Slytherin
▶ MBTI: ENTJ
▶ CURRENT ADDRESS: TBD
▶ PETS: none
▶ FINANCIAL STATUS: TBD
▶ LIVING CONDITIONS: TBD
▶ TRANSPORTATION: TBD
▶ EDUCATION: Bachelor's Degree in Performing Arts
▶ LANGUAGE(S): English
▶ SKILLS: all of them a solid 27 years of magic education and practice, a strong background in the history of magic as an artform, illusions of all kinds from bending neon lights to sawing someone in half to finding your card, shutting people out
▶ OCCUPATION: illusionist specializing in sleight of hand and walk around street magic
▶ TRIGGER WARNINGS: Danny's a jackass, and he grew up as an upper middle class, white, straight, cis-male with all the privileges that confers, and never really learned to think beyond that, so he can be — unintentionally, but even so — vaguely racist, sexist, and classist. However, his upbringing, canon, and circumstances generally don't have anything I would think is triggery. Let me know if anything crops up to the contrary.
▶ CURRENTLY: Impatiently waiting to be played.
▶ LAST UPDATED: 9.19.2016
▷ external▶ SIGHT: At first glance, these days, Danny can be somewhat intimidating. He's not all that tall and he's lightweight; put him in front of a crowd and he's as charming as ever, sure. But with his hair close cropped, his cheekbones look much sharper and he seems much more angular than he once did, making it that much more obvious how he's always watching, usually judging. He hasn't been in the happiest frame of mind for a while, and it shows.
» HAIR: dark brown, currently worn close-cropped; usually a little stubble as far as facial hair
» EYE COLOR: blue
» HEIGHT: 5'9"
» BUILD: slight to average; stronger than he looks, but in a wiry way, and definitely not tough
» DOMINANT HAND: right
» TATTOOS: none
» PIERCINGS: none
» DISTINGUISHING MARKS: A couple of small scars from tricks gone wrong, but nothing that really stands out.
» DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS:
» STYLE: Stylish, but casual unless he’s on stage. Daniel gravitates towards classic neutrals — black, white, grays, browns, blues — with the occasional dash of red. His wardrobe is understated but well put together, with an emphasis on quality over quantity. Since going underground, he's put aside suits in favor of jeans and hoodies, often with a dark t-shirt or patterned button-down.
▶ FIRST IMPRESSIONS AND MANNERISMS: This completely and absolutely depends on the situation.
» PROFESSIONAL: On stage, in front of a crowd, whatever, Danny is charming and easy-going. His look at the moment is all angles, but he still has the laidback charm of a performer, charismatic, even self-deprecating (that part is an act). He's skilled and he knows it, and he makes that incredibly inviting; he wants to make you part of the magic. He's light, he's fun, he's warm.
» PERSONAL: Condescending, judgmental, detached. Danny likes to keep himself at arm's length from most people, and he tends to stay back and observe when meeting someone new, quiet and weighing his options, but not hiding the fact that he's doing so and thus, in turn, weighing up whomever he's met. It's rare that he seems at all friendly to outsiders, unless he's still on the street after a show, in which case he's still in professional mode. He may not realize it, but he tends to wear his heart on his sleeve, which usually looks like being closed off both physically and emotionally. ▶ SOUND: When Daniel is angry, irritated, or in charge, his speech is rapid fire, staccato. Most of the time, however, he’s matter of fact, relaxed, with the ease of someone who knows he's in control and relishes that. On stage, he may come across as playful, even jovial. Wherever he is, he talks fast, he talks a lot, and he says very little that's personal, except that everything winds up being a little bit personal with Danny.
▶ SMELL: A very, very light touch of cologne, something spiced. Old papers and books, playing cards, rubber cement, Sharpie ink, wax, fresh air (shocking, I know). After a time in Darrow, ocean salt. Maybe a trace of some girl's perfume now and then.
▶ TOUCH: Deft, light, sure. I wouldn't say gentle exactly, but a lot of his work requires a very delicate touch. His hands are soft. He has keep his hands soft, supple, but dry for his work.
▷ internal
▶ POSITIVE TRAITS: Clever, always thinking, extroverted, charming, surprisingly good with kids, intelligent, plans ahead, always has multiple outs, learns quickly, persuasive, persistent, loyal to his own, ambitious, strong sense of wonder, works hard, diligent, determined, takes pleasure in helping others, self-reliant, confident.
▶ NEGATIVE TRAITS: Arrogant, pretentious, condescending, controlling, like a serious need to be IN CONTROL at all times, obsessive, rude, self-absorbed, narcissistic, judgmental, selfish, jealous, temperamental, stubborn, cruel, doesn't listen to others, hair-trigger temper, refuses to accept guilt or blame, bitter, resentful, inconsiderate, obsessive, hypocritical, hypercritical, argumentative, oblivious, drives others away in a way that is often subconscious but still deliberate, holds grudges, uncommunicative, demanding, disobedient, ungrateful, contrary, cocky, untrusting/will not rely on others, disdainful, handles mistakes poorly/will not admit to them, makes snap judgments, generally unwilling to change his mind, paranoid, really impulsive and reckless for someone who doesn't handle it well when he's not in control of a situation.
▶ LIKES: The spark of wonder (shock, excitement, even fear, but somehow a good kind) in someone's eyes when they see something they think shouldn't be possible. The thrill of a trick well done, whether by himself or others. Having an audience. Feeling wanted. Feeling needed. Though he won't admit it aloud, the fact he has a family now, when he hasn't felt like he's had one in a long time, maybe ever. People who understand him enough not to ask questions. Coffee with just sugar. Making his own gimmicks and having the pleasure of knowing it's not just his sleights but his own handiwork that's fooled people. Righting wrongs. Being right. Winning.
▶ DISLIKES: Being left. Being talked down to. Failing. Being wrong. Being ignored or left out. Hacks. People making fun of him. Anything of a lower quality than a Bicycle playing card deck (standard index, poker size). People trying to get in his head (Merritt) or getting too personal (Merritt). People who think they get to control others, ironically. Clinginess. Exposure (personal and professional; he hates vulnerability and he hates people who give away the secrets magicians use to make their livings). Having to rely on others (he's working on it. Sort of).
▶ GOALS: To become and remain one of the greatest magicians the world has ever seen, if not the greatest. To be a full member of the Eye. To remain a Horseman. To bring magic to others.
▶ MENTAL HEALTH: No known mental disorders. Strong control issues stemming from childhood abandonment, which also results in a tendency not to trust people easily or deeply.
▶ PHYSICAL HEALTH: Fair. At the time of his arrival, a few scattered bruises, but nothing too serious.
▶ MAGICAL ABILITIES: None that are actual magic, just sleight of hand.
▶ INFORMATION FOR PSYCHICS AND OTHER MAGIC USERS:
» Quick-thinker, always moving, but very deliberate.
» Contrary to his self-image, highly emotionally-driven while being disdainful of those who are emotionally-driven.
» Deep-rooted abandonment and trust issues going back to childhood, a vague sense of guilt around Dylan Rhodes that he hasn't fully addressed, super complicated feelings towards Henley Reeves of resentment, guilt, and affection.
» But that superiority complex is hella legit. ▷ relationships
▶ PARENTS: divorced
▶ SIBLINGS: none
▶ SIGNIFICANT OTHER: none
▶ CHILDREN: none
▶ CLOSE FRIENDS: Not that he'd say as much to their faces, but Dylan Rhodes, Jack Wilder, Lula May, and Merritt McKinney. And Henley Reeves.
▶ NOTABLE PAST RELATIONSHIPS: n/a
▶ GOD-MODDING RIGHTS: canonmates
▷ other items of note: » Danny can be a dick. He's pretentious, arrogant, condescending, privileged, and much, much more emotionally-driven than he'd ever care to admit. He's gonna be an asshole. Please, please, please understand, this is him and not me. His stupid white boy ways are all his own.
» Always, always carrying between two and four decks broken in in varying degrees, a couple of half dollars, a double-headed dime, and a set of lock picks. Might be carrying any number of gimmicks, gaffs, and trick decks. One of the regular decks might still be sealed and in its cellophane, but that's usually just if he's planning a performance and will need it.
» My goal with Danny's magic is to make sure he only ever performs effects that are possible in real life, though having access to Darrow technology may enable to advance ahead of actual magicians eventually. That said, unlike the movies, where part of the fun is revealing the trick, I'm not going to give away too much. Anything that can be found in easily accessible materials, I'll consider fair game, but anything based on the work of a current magician who is still selling these effects would be exposure, so that wouldn't be fair. In those cases, though, if there's an actual direct act I'm lifting or modifying, I'll try to link to a performance so you can see it for yourself. That's much cooler anyway.
» Danny's username is a reference to Houdini. We largely remember Houdini as an escape artist, but he was, like most magicians, a jack-of-all-trades, and he was a master of card magic. One of his posters billed him as the "king of cards," and there's a poster of Danny used in promotion of NYSM2 modeled after another old Houdini poster, and of course he's just arrogant enough he'd label himself that as well. Imagine my delight, then, when I noticed that he has that very "king of cards" poster on display in his apartment.
▷ references: » my attempt at a timeline of NYSM and NYSM2 (spoilers)
» Now You See Me and the Tarot
» A reading for Danny, fall 2016
» headcanons and background (spoilers)
» Penn Jillette talks NYSM2 and magic
» Monarch playing cards: Danny's deck of choice, particularly the blue backs
» Theory11
» The Magician's Secret: Why everyone should embrace child-like wonder | Francis Menotti
» Presentation and Showmanship | Vinh Giang
» Shin Lim's The Dream Act (If Danny ever did this act though, it wouldn't be silently because he can't resist fucking talking; silence is just Shin's Thing.) |
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kingofcards) wrote2016-06-26 04:16 pm
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