Howard Link | D.Gray-man | Reserved

Player Information

Name: Indi
Contact: xoindigold; sheislyingandiamkorean; discord- xoindigold#3472
Age: 25
Other Characters: none yet!

Character Information

Name: Howard Link
Canon: D.Gray-man
Canon Point: Just before chapter 205 of the manga
Age: 20
History: http://dgrayman.wikia.com/wiki/Howard_Link
Personality: In a word: diligent. Howard Link is dutiful, loyal, and reliable, a man who sees a task though to the end. To that end, he's also incredibly stuffy and straightlaced, and lives with a by-the-book sort of sensability. On the outside, he is intelligent, but a terrible stickler for order and paperwork. He is, after all, a glorified internal affairs officer. (But way cooler.) Secretly, though, he also has a side to him that is protective and nurturing.

Link is driven largely by his sense of loyalty— at first to the Central Agency, and in particular to Inspector Malcom C. Levellier, his direct superior. It’s what I believe to be his core trait. He was taken in by the church at a very, very young age, after living as an urchin on the streets with his friends. He began his training for CROW shortly thereafter, and along the way he developed his faith in God, in the Agency, and in his superiors. His loyalty to Levellier in particular, in fact, becomes a perceived negative aspect of his character if you asked one of the Exorcists; He’s fastidious and thorough in anything he does by an extension of this— his desire to do well by those to whom he is loyal is strong, and he serves God in this way.

His assignment to observe Allen Walker changed him, however, and came to shake Link’s loyalties to the very core. The boy was often talked about as dangerous; not long after Levellier and Link arrived at the Black Order’s headquarters, speculation was flying and all sorts of outlandish things were being alleged about Walker. But the boy himself was… perplexing. He was kind, with an unterminable faith in others and humanity at large, but willful and impulsive. Link, despite being quite distrustful of him at first, came to know him very well, as per his objective, and eventually he reached a conflict of interest.

Link apprehends Allen after helping Kanda to escape the Order’s grasp with Alma Karma, despite Walker’s pleas to trust him, by Levellier’s orders. He also does it out of protectiveness he has developed for Allen, over their time spent together. “After all these months watching him and maintaining contact with him 24/7, I should know him better than anyone. [...] It’s totally different from his nature as I’ve known it until now. This definitely means that the “Fourteenth’s” awakening has started! Walker is in danger!”

The fact that he did, in fact, betray Allen’s trust weighs on him, and it shows. He spaces out in the middle of giving a roomful of cardinals a report on Allen’s condition during the interrogation process, thinking about what Walker said to him after all was said and done— he wanted Link to believe in him, just a little more time, he surely would’ve saved the Third Exorcists— I’m sorry, Tokusa— and when we finally see Link’s face, he looks terrible. Dark circles under hollow eyes, as though he hasn’t been sleeping. Foggy from fatigue and stress.

He's also shown that he can be caring, in his own way. Allen, while he's captive, refuses to eat, so Link brings him food that Jerry made up in the cafeteria and then proceeds to hold a hot bowl of rice pudding to his face to get a reaction. He’s shown that he can come around. That he can try to do better, try to redeem himself. He aids Allen in escaping the Order by releasing the seals binding Timcampy. He’s shown that he wants to believe in Allen, and it came at great cost.

Link is a simple man of faith- but he’s finally learning what difference lies between blind obedience and true faith in others.

Abilities:

Immense physical strength, fighting ability, and endurance- Link was extensively trained in the Vatican as a member of CROW, the Central Agency's own combat force. (Think of Navy SEALs, except Catholic and they serve the Vatican directly?) He's shown in the manga time and time again that despite not being an Exorcist and coming off as a pencil-pusher he is not a man to be taken lightly. He can kick a level 3 Akuma into a wall. He can take severe damage and still get up and use his seals. Literally, Link vs. Everybody as long as it's not Apocryphos. He can take it. His combat ability is impressive even discounting his base strength, thanks to his training. Link also has long, retractable blades he prefers to keep hidden in the sleeves of his coat, where they are braced to his arms. They can release and slide into position in seconds, and are sharp and durable enough to cut through rubble. He utilises them in a dual-wielding capacity and is pretty agile in battle. He is regarded as one of the strongest non-Exorcist, non-Noah characters in the series.
Spell seals- As a CROW, he also is trained in a principle of magical arts that deals in spell seals. He has a number of attacks and purposes to which he can use these; from binding techniques and protection to explosive attacks and fire, his seals have various combat applications.

Baking and cooking- Having been under Leverrier's wing since he was much younger, he took on his superior's love of sweets and propensity for baking. Pies, cakes, pastries, cookies, you name it, he can bake it. In canon, he gives Allen a whole pumpkin pie when they first meet. He's also not untalented at cooking in general, but his baking is his charm point.
Paperwork- The guy's a master in the art of bureaucracy, what can I say ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Strengths: Loyal, secretly nurturing, dry wit, intelligent, dutiful
Weaknesses: Inflexible, private, strict, doesn't like jokes, distrustful

God/Shinki: Shinki!
Why?: Link is fiercely loyal as a character, a good fighter, and he excels at carrying out the will of others. The only times we see him act against the will of those he is pledged to is when he aids in Allen Walker’s escape from the Black Order. In many ways, Link is a born follower and would serve well in a position of defending, representing, and fighting for a God.
Cause Of Death: In chapter 205 of D.Gray-man's manga, Link sustains a mortal wound while helping Allen to escape the Black Order. Canonically, he wakes up three months later, having been healed by Zhu Mei Chang. Here, however, he died from his wounds before they could remove him from the scene of the incident.
Vessel: Paper Seals- Link extends his own abilities to his god in this way, and it's a little poetic; as a former member of CROW, and with spells that all have the word "wing" in them, taking a physical form as Vessel that is not visually unlike feathers is highly befitting of a man like Link.
Name Location: Palm of the right hand. When Link is loyal to someone, he becomes their right hand. It's also his dominant hand, the hand he uses when he uses his binding seals, and the strongest hand he can offer those to whom he pledges his allegiance.
Power: Power Negation: Link's seals as he uses them are capable of numerous effects, such as binding, explosions, and fire, but as a vessel can only have one power, he is limited to defense and debuffs. The versatile nature of the seals makes the power itself versatile; the seals can form a protective barrier around a target, cancelling out non-physical attacks, or they can be applied directly to an enemy to de-power them. The effect lasts as long as the seals can hold out.

Writing Sample

Sample: hey look, a tdm toplevel!

Other

Anything Else?: I would like to request Allen Walker as Link's God. Allen's mun, as well as Lux Crownguard's mun and I have already started plotting for Link joining their Temple.
Also, this.