User Profile

Character: Hamel
Series: The Violinist of Hameln
Version: MANGA VERSION, post the Volume 15 Mazoku Crisis
Age: Presumed to be in his late teens to early twenties, but this could be somewhat misleading...
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Heterosexual, though he’s such a jerk it’s unlikely he’s going to get any from anybody.

Appearance:
Hamel is a lithe and skinny creature, relatively tall for his build with pale skin, striking red eyes and a head of poofy blond hair that he normally keeps combed over one eye. That’s pretty much all you can make out of his physical appearance—his wardrobe is so distracting it’s tough to pay attention to anything else. He wears traveling clothes of a black sleeveless shirt over white pants, knee-high black boots and a long black cape with a white mantle around his neck. On his hands are a pair of black fingerless gloves with white cuffs. He wears a variety of red jeweled brooches—one on each knee, one at his belt, one as a brooch on his mantle and one on the side of his trademark black hat—a pointed number with a striking yellow feather in it. He is NEVER without this hat, as it conceals the small straight horn that appears from the top of his head.

Should you be so unfortunate as to encounter it, in Hamel's demon form his skin turns blood red and his legs longer and more animal. Claws grow from his hands and feet, fangs grow in his mouth, huge black demon wings form on his back and the horn on his head elongates and sharpens, joined by two ram's horns from the side of his head.

Personality:
Legends describe the Great Hero Hamel as a kind and generous fellow, a savior of mankind who risks his life to prevent a great catastrophe at the hands of the demonic mazoku.

These legends are all complete lies, and most people who meet the hero Hamel are shocked that this conniving, selfish, manipulative jerk could ever be considered anything but a borderline sociopath. He unashamedly uses friends and foes alike to accomplish whatever ends he has in mind—from forcing his allies to comply with his idiotic, but strangely effective secret plans (usually involving his collection of bizarre costumes) to literally using them as ammunition (he once actually attempted to turn a friend of his into stone so that he could throw her at an enemy). He is prone to making wild and baseless assumptions about people, which he uses along with whatever else he knows about them to tease and embarrass them however necessary to twist them into his plans and goals. He rarely pays any regard to the safety or feelings of others and his cold cut pragmatism and almost purposefully antagonistic nature alienates him from all but the most patient people and makes it tough for him to make friends.

However, despite his appalling behavior, Hamel possesses a noble soul and his ultimate goal is to defeat the mazoku and save humankind—however necessary. His selfish and callous personality hides a fragile and wounded heart, scarred by years of torment and pain. Much of his cruel behavior stems from a wish to protect the people he cares about-- with history as a model, he genuinely believes that he is cursed and the people who get too close to him will die or suffer horrible fates. He is internally uneasy about where his allegiances truly lie, and desperately fights with himself to prove that he is more human than mazoku. And though they’re rare, he shows moments of sympathy and tenderness every so often, especially towards children or the few he considers his friends. (Oftentimes, though, these tender moments devolve quickly into chaos or humiliation thanks to his usual sadistic sense of humor.)

Aside from playing his huge violin, Hamel’s hobbies include fishing, taking long naps under trees, cooking and apparently, costume shopping.

Abilities/Weaponry:
Hamel is the titular Violinist of Hameln and is most famous for his skills at playing magical music on his giant violin (not a cello—a violin). Depending on the song he plays, the music has different effects on the listener—normally, it invokes an overwhelming emotional response of his choosing (anger, sadness, elation, etc). He can also use his signature skill, the “Marionette Version”— manipulating a selected target with his music to physically strengthen them in battle, even controlling their movements. This carries an unfortunate side effect of crippling the victim in maddening pain for a short period after the song is over.

Though he keeps it a secret from everyone and doesn’t utilize it often in battle, Hamel is actually half-human, half-mazoku. If angered or provoked, his mazoku blood can take over him and transform him into a bloodthirsty demonic creature that he cannot control. This happens very rarely and since it’s extremely difficult to get him back under control again, Hamel will avoid letting this happen if at all possible. His demon blood does allow him a slightly raised endurance and high tolerance for pain and injuries.

If there are any friends with him at time of battle, he will not hesitate to use them as weapons too.

Weaknesses:
Since Hamel counts on his violin for all of his battling skills, anything happening to it will severely hinder his combat effectiveness. He cannot play when the strings are wet, and needless to say, if his opponents or his targets for the Marionette Version cannot hear his songs, his chief ability is ultimately useless.

He refuses to use his mazoku powers/strength in battle because of the overpowering effect they have on his human side. Though they allow him some increased strength and endurance, it’s very emotionally painful for him to invoke them and any sign of their surfacing will send him into a deep, moody funk.

He’s very, very easily annoyed and doesn’t get along with a vast majority of people he’ll run into (or rather, they don't get along with him... since he is rather prone to alienating people with his selfishness). He absolutely does not trust other people and getting close to him is nigh impossible unless you intrigue him for some reason. Even after breaking through his outer shell, he has a tendency to shove away people he feels are getting too close, usually by purposely angering or upsetting them. For this reason, it takes an incredible amount of patience to get anywhere beyond acquaintance level with him.


History:
Hamel and his twin sister Sizer were the children of Demon King Chestra and Pandora, a human woman possessing holy blood (and a mild case of paranoid schizophrenia). When the evil Chestra tricked Pandora into opening Pandora's Box, his true nature and his plans to drink the blood of his wife and children for power were finally revealed. Chestra's plans were thwarted when Pandora manged to seal him into the box again, though she couldn't capture the other mazoku nor stop them from kidnapping Sizer and taking her away to their fortress at the northern capital, Hameln. Hamel and Pandora herself were only saved by the actions of Hawk King Oboe, a rogue mazoku who had fallen in love with Pandora, from then on stuck in the form of a talking crow.

Pandora, Hamel and Oboe attempted to live normal lives in the human kingdoms, but they were shunned and attacked by villagers who called Pandora a witch and her half-mazoku son a demon. Forced to flee from place to place, Pandora did her best to raise her son to be kind and to oppose his mazoku nature, telling him again and again that he must always trust and never hate the humans, even though they judged and tormented the family. Pandora also taught Hamel how to play magic music on her giant violin, hoping that he would someday use his power to rescue his sister from the demons.

The family eventually settled in the village of Anthem, where they were chastised and nearly chased out again had it not been for the interference of Raiel, the son of the mayor. Raiel was Hamel’s age and the two of them became best friends (despite Pandora’s hilariously paranoid beliefs that he was, in fact, only using her son to shoplift CDs and comic books), gaining the protection of Raiel’s family and the grudging acceptance of the villagers.

Everything was peaceful until the day an army of mazoku attacked Anthem, when Hamel was eight years old. The demons demanded that Chestra’s heir be handed over, and despite the pleas of Raiel and his family, a mob of villagers captured Hamel and prepared to deliver him to the enemy. Pandora bravely marched out front to face the mazoku alone, with only her violin to protect her. That was unfortunately what the mazoku wanted. The demons captured Pandora and sealed her in a crystal in the hopes that the abduction of his mother would cause Hamel to awaken his powers—it did, and the young boy transformed into a monstrous demon. When he regained consciousness, he was surrounded by blood-spattered bodies and the burning remains of Anthem, every citizen slaughtered and everything destroyed by his own hands.

Swearing he would never let it happen again, Hamel took his mother’s violin and with Oboe at his side, wandered off into the distance. With vengeance on his mind, Hamel began a journey north to the demon capital of Hameln to save his mother and stop the mazoku once and for all. He would emerge in his adulthood as the legendary Hero Hamel, the player of the ultra-large violin whose music could destroy the mazoku threat and who was humanity’s only hope to prevent the demons from awakening Chestra once again.

During his travels, Hamel eventually joined up with a party of fellow adventurers including his newly freed sister Sizer and her guardian, Ocarina; his old friend Raiel; Trom, the orphaned prince of Dal Segno and Flute, a girl from the village of Staccato who inherited the healing powers of the Sforzendo royal family and has proven a vital party member for the calming effect she has on Hamel. The seven of them continued their journey northward, stopping one night for a pot of Hamel’s famous giant earthworm donabe stew. Unfortunately for Hamel, he was the first to taste-test it after throwing in a BIT too much of his “special ingredients”, and when he woke up from a bizarre series of psychedelic hallucinations, he found himself in a strange city, alone but for his violin.

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