WE ARE THE SHIELD,
Name: Nicolas Cruz
Reincarnate of: Phobos, God of Fear
Species: Demigod
Age: 24
Gender: Cis-male
Faceclaim: David Castro
Position: Criminal
AND WE ARE THE SWORD.
Growing up, Nicolas Cruz was always a handful. His parents, young idealists who’d dreamed of having children for years before his birth, were never entirely sure what to do with him. Even as a baby, Nico was a lot to deal with. He was constantly fussy, requiring constant attention in a way that exhausted anyone tasked with taking care of him. As he grew older, things only got worse.
His parents, desperate for a family, loved him more out of obligation than anything else. It all worked out fine for Nico until, just after his tenth birthday, his parents found they were expecting a second child. They were ecstatic and, at first, so was Nico. He liked the idea of having someone to play with, liked thinking someone might understand him. As his mother’s pregnancy went on, however, he began to notice a shift. His parents grew less and less patient with him, their tempers getting shorter. Nico didn’t think much of it, excited for his younger sibling regardless.
Unfortunately, the birth of his sibling — a brother — only caused things to grow more strained. Nico’s parents found that Nico’s presence made the baby fussier than he was when his brother was away at school, almost as if something in Nico upset the baby. Remembering what a difficult baby Nico had been made the prospect of raising a similar child daunting, and his parents began to argue about a solution.
Eventually, they came to a decision and, at eleven years old, Nico’s parents placed him in the foster system. Neither his mother nor his father seemed particularly upset as he was ushered into a social workers car; if anything, they seemed relieved. Nico didn’t entirely understand what was happening, but he understood he was angry. It was a feeling that never quite faded, one he would carry with him for a long time. He bounced around the system a lot in the following years. No parents had any interest in adopting a child so old, and foster parents often sent him back, claiming his presence caused an ‘unsettling feeling’ to come across their homes.
As he grew older, Nico had a difficult time befriending the other foster children. Eventually, though, he managed to find a solitary companion in a boy his own age. The boy had an older brother who’d aged out of the system a few years prior and eventually, Nico was taken to meet the older boy. A local street thug, the older boy took an immediate interest in Nico’s uncanny ability to make those around him feel unsettled. Nico fell into a life of crime without meaning to, first assisting his friend’s brother and eventually taking on jobs of his own. He found he was very good at it, and as he grew older and stronger, he made his money as a muscle for hire.
Before long, Nico’s reputation began to spread. Local criminals hired him to do anything from intimidation to settling disputes, and every time, Nico came through. Eventually, criminals in neighboring cities were asking for his help, allowing him to travel as he wished. That was how he ended up in Brazil, where he never ran out of work. From jobs bordering on ‘legal,’ like bouncer positions at local clubs to the always available intimidation positions, Nico kept fairly busy. It was never enough to satisfy his desire for violence, never enough to make him feel at peace.
Eventually, he felt Greece calling to him. The second he stepped foot in the country, things felt a little calmer inside his head. When he heard rumors that the gods of Ancient Greece had returned to Mount Olympus, he felt an overwhelming desire to join them. Upon stepping foot onto the mountain, memories of another life shoved their way into his head. Suddenly, the things Nico had felt all his life made sense, as did the natural sense of unease he tended to awaken in those around him. Settling nicely into his position as the God of Fear, Nico found himself excited for what might come next, whatever it might be.