People imagine, and people believe:

❥ Character Information

Character Name: Shadow Moon
Character Age: 32
Character Species: Shadow is a Demi-God but ultimately human. Shadow is the son of a mortal woman and the Nordic god Odin; he was raised by his mother far away from anything divine. Odin, like several gods from around the world, migrated across the seas to the United Stated following several immigrant families who were looking to start new lives in America. These gods hoped to be worshipped by even the slightest hint of the descendants of their worshippers, kept alive by meager bits of faith.


It is never officially addressed if Shadow's mother knew about Odin's true identity or not but it is heavily implied that she was keeping Shadow away from his father and intended to raise him as a normal human.
Current Health: Alive and well!
Outfit: Shadow is arriving in a gray suit with a lilac shirt and tie. He looks like he's been attending some kind of Springtime or Easter festival because he just attended an Easter celebration with the goddess Ostara herself.

Character Canon: American Gods
Link to History: Shadow's wiki entry is here

Shadow was raised by his mother who was an academic who spent most of her time in Europe, specifically France, teaching at universities. It is heavily implied that Shadow's mother was hiding him from his father, Odin, who had been living in America for several hundred years.

Shadow's mother became ill but continued to travel. She died unexpectedly in New York leaving a young Shadow young man to fend for himself. He never felt fully American since he grew up abroad and was often hassled for being biracial. His life became very difficult and lonely after his mother's death; the quiet, introverted boy was now doing everything he could to keep himself alive.

For years he moved around the country never finding home in one place in particular. Shadow resorted to petty crime such as scamming small casinos for easy payouts. During his stay in Eagle Point, Indiana he met Laura McCabe, a Blackjack dealer. He tried to run a card scam but Laura easily saw through Shadow's distraction. Shadow was impressed by Laura's observation and skill with her job; this led to them spending more time together and becoming romantically involved.

Shadow ended up settling in Eagle Point with Laura and marrying her. Laura's friends Robbie and Audrey ended up becoming Shadow's created family. Plans are made for Robbie and Shadow to open a gym together but the need for more money leads Laura and Shadow to come up with the idea to rob the casino Laura looks at together.

The plan ultimately falls through and Shadow is caught. Shadow takes the full blame for the crime and goes to prison for three years. He does his time while looking forward to returning to Laura and running a gym together with Robbie.

Five days before his release Laura is killed in an accident. Shadow is released from prison and tries to contact Robbie but his friend does not answer his phone. He's unable to change the ticket home that Laura had previously bought him so Shadow is forced to pay for a new flight to get home for his wife's funeral. On the plane he meets a man known as Mr. Wednesday who offers him a job. Shadow declines at first but fate brings them together on Shadow's way home. At a bar called Jack's Crocodile Bar where he supposedly randomly encounters Mr. Wednesday, Shadow takes a bet that he will work for the other man as a body guard and personal driver if he wins a coin toss.

Wednesday rigs the toss and Shadow agrees work for Mr. Wednesday. Wednesday then tells Shadow that Robbie died in the same accident as Laura. Robbie and Laura's affair is confirmed at Laura's funeral where Shadow says goodbye to his old life and begins anew as Mr. Wednesday's bodyguard. He doesn't realize he will be driving Odin himself around on a quest to rally gods across the country in a war against the New Gods of technology and media.

Canon Point: The end of Season 1
Canon Iteration: Original
Canon Iteration Explanation: N/A

❥ Folkmore Roles & Attributes

Skills:
❥ Knowledge and passion for physical fitness
❥ Physical Strength
❥ Card and coin tricks
❥ Light con skills (card tricks, slight of hand, etc.)
❥ Knowledge of classical literature
❥ Driving

Canon Abilities: Shadow has the ability to manipulate the weather but has only been successful in this endeavor under the guidance of Mr. Wednesday. Left to his own devices he does not have much faith in himself and therefore is unable to manifest much of his "godlike" abilities.

What he is able to experience on his own is visions in his dreams. These are usually wildly symbolic and confusing to Shadow but he is always an active participant in the dreams where he will either encounter a spirit or see something occurring. Sometimes this is premonition and sometimes it isn't: his track records is a little divided.
Role: Legend
Role Qualities/Attributes: Shadow is going to manifest the usual traits of Legends with color-changing eyes and wings. His wings are going to be snowy white and have a powdery look to them that is slightly blurry like actual snow. The wings have black speckles all over them making them reminiscent of something like a snowy owl.
Role Reasoning: I chose Legend for Shadow because he has ultimately been trying to do good for a majority of his life by helping other people.

When he was young he took care of his sick mother until her death. Laura at first was a one-night stand that Shadow thought would help him with a casino job. Instead he ended up caring deeply for Laura seeing her sadness and dissatisfaction with her life and becoming utterly devoted to her earning him the nickname Puppy. When he's going around with Mr. Wednesday to find the Old Gods who have become diminished versions of themselves hidden into society Shadow has sympathy for them becoming enchanted by stories from the Zorya sisters.

Sitting with himself has been an uncomfortable struggle that consistently comes up in his life-- it gives Shadow a strong urge to take care of other people over his own needs. He's a lonely person who finds it easier to engage in society at large by being a helper rather than looking for anything for himself.
 

❥ Personality

Please choose one of the follow options for your personality section. Please clarify which option you have picked and, if option 2, which questions you are answering:

OPTION 2 QUESTIONS (PICK 4-5) 100-300 WORD LIMIT EACH:

• What experience challenged your character's core beliefs? How did they handle this or change from it?
  
  Finding out his wife was having an affair with his best friend in prison was especially jarring for Shadow. Shadow has been alone for most of his life so getting married and putting down roots was already a risk that deviated from his habit of putting everything at a distance and keeping his head ducked down. For the first time in his life he made friends, was productive and saw a future rather than a constant state of being in the present and being full of existential dread.
  
  While he was imprisoned for three years Shadow essentially kept his head down and either worked out or read books: he did not challenge any of the authoritarian environment he was in. In his mind only good things waited for him on the outside so the best way to navigate the hell he found himself in was to get through it.
  
  Hearing that Laura died 5 days before he was to be released was devastating enough, but to also learn that his friend Robbie was killed in the same accident and that Laura and him had carried on a long-term affair wrecked almost everything he had left in him. As a cynic, hope was never important to Shadow until he had something precious to care for like a marriage. Having his whole marriage unravel in a matter of minutes was very jarring to him and made him realize he had overlooked many imperfections and put the life he made on an unrealistic pedestal. Shadow internalizes his hurt and is right back to guarding himself.

• What is your character's moral code? Do they have one? Why or why not?
  
  Shadow believes that grinding and hard work will get him everywhere: that people are ultimately responsible for their own success. Hard work doesn't necessarily mean honest work in his mind, but he doesn't agree with the ideas of punching down or harming people. Even though he frequently cons casinos out of money, Shadow isn't a greedy man. He lives within his means and doesn't dare to go outside of those middle-class roots he has put down.
  
  As someone who has been excluded and left alone, Shadow often has sympathy for anyone that appears to be lonely. He feels a sense of duty to ensure such people find their place or are helped in any way he is able, even if it's just listening to them speak for a little while. He doesn't feel like he has much to actively offer the world but is always willing to listen to people who feel they may not be heard by others.

• What does your character feel like they struggle with still? Where could they improve? This could be physically, mentally, emotionally, or otherwise.
  
  General identity is a big one for Shadow. When he was a child he was frequently bullied by both black and white people as a biracial person and never felt that he was one thing or the other. Because he internalizes the hurt and exclusion from these early experiences in his life he finds it hard to discuss his struggles with other people and would rather sit in his own. He is very much a person who suffers in silence and does not understand why he has a sense of overwhelming loneliness within him.
  
  Trust is also a weakness within him. Having lost his mother, his wife and (supposedly) his father, Shadow finds it easy to believe that everyone that enters his life is likely to leave it before long. This sort of fatalistic opinion makes it hard for him to make friends, thus he often ends up with social circles involving people who are more extroverted themselves.

• Is your character capable of forgiveness or will they hold a grudge until they die? Would anything ever make them change their mind?
  
  Shadow forgives more easily than he will say. His emotions run hot as he often stuffs things down until they can no longer be quashed but ultimately the idea of hatred and malice doesn't sit well with him. He prizes the people that are in his life because his attachment to others when they are able to get close to him are absolutely priceless. The people who become his friends are absolutely sacred and he feels an intense fondness for them. He's definitely a pushover in quite a few ways.
  
  Laura, for example, will always have a place in his heart despite her having an affair. Shadow might not know just how to accept the fact that she has returned from the dead and exhibits remorse for her actions, but within him there still exists a fondness and hope that Laura will do well. When she for help he might protest a bit but ultimately Shadow will always come running whenever she needs help. He doesn't regret it-- it just feels like the right thing to do.

• What is your character's safespace? When do they feel the most settled and comfortable? When do they feel confident and relaxed?
  
  Shadow struggles with faith on a daily basis. His mother was taken from him at a relatively young age and not much was handed to him in life. He has always been told that the world is a harsh place despite having such beautiful things in it which made him a sucker for things like music, literature and movies. He's an introvert and likes to enjoy things that he can curl up with himself. He feels deeply connected to his mother when he can sit down and read a book and although it takes him time to settle into the activity, once he's down and focused he can stay reading or watching something for long periods of time.
  
  Working out also makes Shadow feel confident. He enjoys physical activity but there is a sense of solidarity that exists within him when he's in a gym: being physically present with many people but going at a collective task on his own. He loves the feeling of working out with others and feels a sense of kinship that is quiet and not intrusive.