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Gaia Username:
Shadowkite

RP Name:
Walter Genovese, aka "John Doe (II)"

Gender:
Male

Age:
38

Personality:
Walter is a loyal man who follows his gut instincts. There are few that he would break the law for and asking for a favor from Walter is like asking a mountain to move. He is modest and a tad old fashioned with his manners and shows favoritism towards women and children. If the hair cut did not give it away, hanging around Walter long enough and it will become painfully obvious he is a former Marine. He has strange eating and sleeping habits that he never cares to explain. Walter is also a bit of a minimalist who definitely loathes alcohol, cigarettes, cigars, and ash all based on childhood "accidents". Oddly enough, he is an animal lover and takes animal abuse as a personal insult on the same level as harming a child. There is a potential villain inside of Walter that shows it's ugly face whenever he is brought face to face with the truly horrific. He knows rather intimately just how fine line between hero and villain really is. Walter always wears his dog tags and those of Joseph Kovacs his mentor to serve as a reminder of that line. He also indulges in conspiracy theories which he often swaps with his network on contacts. Walter is not the type of man who likes to expound upon the darkness nor is he the kind who ignores it; he is often called pragmatic in his approach to crime fighting. For now he is very careful about killing which is something his predecessor was not so careful towards the end of his career.

Walter is also an avid reader and film buff who has a library card but no credit or bank cards. There is usually a "How to" book sitting next to his bed. He often makes time to volunteer at a local homeless or animal shelter during the day. Under his predecessor's advice he does keep detailed journals about cases worked as John Doe. These journals are fiercely protected by Walter. While Walter "lost his religion" a long time ago, he'll sometimes go to church. There are two things left over from his mother that he decided to keep: an antique rosary and a worn Bible, both of which are prized objects to Walter.

Bio:
Walter Genovese was abandoned as a young boy after his mother Jenny Genovese, an Italian immigrant, went missing. He grew up in New York City where he was shuffled between foster homes and crisis centers. Facing the dilemma of "aging out" of the foster program he had two options: join a gang or join the military. At age 18 Walter joined the US Marine Corp. Young Walter fought in the war from the time he got out of boot camp to the time the war ended in 2019. He stayed in for several more years reaching the rank of Gunnery Sergeant before being medically discharged at the age of thirty for a back injury. It was only once he was no longer enlisted in the military that his old mentor Joseph Kovacs approached him with a proposition. He convinced Walter to take over the role of masked vigilante "John Doe" in true Dread Pirate Roberts fashion. Joseph as John Doe often took it one step too far, which meant Walter as John Doe inherited several warrants on his head for murder, assault, and other crimes. On the plus side Joseph seamlessly passed his network on contacts onto Walter to make his job a little easier. Still, Walter made the decision to migrate westward to Los Angeles from New York City to get a new start. He has been in Los Angeles for two years now where he lives above a run down gym, Dante's Gym, which is situated over an old water work system that serves as a transport network for John Doe. The owner of the gym, Dante Kent a retired Marine, looks the other way and rarely even bothers to come into the gym on weekends giving Walter his privacy. Officially Walter Genovese is a security guard and handyman on Dante's payroll (he actually does take jobs as an under-the-table-pay handyman in the neighborhood). About thirteen months after coming to L.A. Walter rescued a blue American Pit Bull from a local dog shelter. He named the pup Angel.

Novaflare (Dylan Okamoto) became a sort of unofficial partner to John Doe after a bank robber hostage situation forced an impromptu collaboration between the two. They know each other's identities and Walter has taken it upon himself to try and teach Dylan how to fight without her powers. It should be noted that thus far it has not been going too well.

Class: VI
__Steam powered grappling gun: A device invented by and maintained by Walter with 100 ft of cable to work with. It is the only personalized gadget Walter has.
__Police scanner: No delinquent is complete without one.

Relevant Skills:
__Survivalist: Be it an urban jungle or an actual jungle, Walter is an extreme survivalist. Everything and anything can be used as a weapon.
__Fighter: He is a boxer at heart who keeps in good shape and works out every day with few exceptions.
__Amateur detective: Walter has trained himself to think like a detective and pay attention to the body language of others.
__Eidetic memory: If he sees it, he can recall it.
__Stealth: He is light on his feet and good as disappearing into a crowd in the middle of broad daylight.
__Tinkerer: Also an amateur tinkerer with a mind for contraptions.
__Marksmanship: Normally Walter does not carry a gun on him when he is out moonlighting as John Doe, but he is very, very good at hitting his targets.
__Military training and experience: He knows how to work out, how to run with a broken ankle, climb, carry dead weight, first aide, and so much more thanks to years of military service.
__Computer literate: He's no hacker, but he can snoop around in someone's computer.
__Handyman: Starting in middle school as a means to make money to buy food he worked for various handymen in the city. He learned basic carpentry, plumbing, and how to use power tools.
__Tailor: Walter also held a job working in the back of a tailor's in high school. He can't sew a ball gown, but he can mend a bullet hole in his jacket.

Appearance Description/ Picture:
Walter (as John Doe) is not a very tall man standing at exactly 5' 7 1/2". He is built like a lightweight boxer and always seems to have a five o'clock shadow on his face. His dark red hair resembles a Marine's high and tight look on the sides, but has grown out on the top. Across his body are several small scars from childhood and military injuries including cigar burns from an abusive foster father. In the military he got a tattoo of the USMC emblem complete with the words "Semper Fidelis" over his heart. However, this tattoo is rarely visible, because he rarely is shirtless in front of others especially mixed company. As John Doe he looks like someone who stepped straight out of a noir detective movie complete with an awesome hat. He is very particular about said hat and refuses to leave it behind. John Doe always wears a full face mask with abstract ink blots designed to prevent a witness from accurately recalling his facial features.