History Characters / DarkTales

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: In his original concept art, and in the "play with sound" screenshot above, Pluto's name is misspelled on his identification tags as "Pluton."

A chevalier in the ''Légion d'honneur'', he's a renowned detective who actually has [[Literature/CAugusteDupin his own page]]. These are tropes which apply to him in this series.

* NiceHat: Dupin wears an elegant top hat from ''The Black Cat'' onward. It's something of an icon of the series; the bonus chapter of ''Tell-Tale Heart'' is implied to show how he started wearing one.

* NiceHat: {{Just for fun}}, the devs have given him Dupin's top hat on the opening screen where he appears.

* AmbiguousGender: One of the few details anyone has been able to determine about the player character is their gender... which is entirely inconsistent. In some games, it's left completely vague and unaddressed. In others, the character is definitely female. In still others, the character is definitely male. This then begs the question of whether it's been the same individual throughout the series or not; however, Dupin always interacts with the player character as if they are the same person every time, and the certificates in the character's office in ''Masque'' would suggest that it's been the same person in at least the first five games. The devs have yet to make an official GenderReveal (and, given the apparent {{cancellation}} of the series, they probably never will), but this is what the fans have observed.

** He also freaks out a bit in the early stages of ''Morella'', and nearly attacks you after you break into the house to rescue him. This one is justified, since he was literally dragged inside by malevolent spirits and he thinks you're another one of their tricks; once he realizes you're really you, he regains his equilibrium quickly.

** In ''Morella'', where the character is quite blatantly female, we have the strongest indications of ship tease so far. During their earliest conversation, Dupin addresses her as "my dear friend" instead of merely "my friend." Later, he gives her the biggest smile of the entire series, and at the very end of the game, he [[HoldingHands takes her hand]] (which was a big deal for the time period - especially since neither of them are wearing gloves).
* UndyingLoyalty: He has this with both the player character in the main games and with Anna in ''Nightfall''. Of particular note, he has killed exactly one other character in the entire series thus far - and it's because ''your'' life was at stake. "It was him or you."

* AmbiguousGender: One of the few details anyone has been able to determine about the player character is their gender... which is entirely inconsistent. In some games, it's left completely vague and unaddressed. In others, the character is definitely female. In still others, the character is definitely male. This then begs the question of whether it's been the same individual throughout the series or not; however, Dupin always interacts with the player character as if they are the same person every time, and the certificates in the character's office in ''Masque'' would suggest that it's been the same person in at least the first five games. The devs have yet to make an official GenderReveal, but this is what the fans have observed thus far.

*** ''Morella'' has our player character [[SuddenlyVoiced speak for the first (and, to date, only) time]], and she is indeed female; we also occasionally see her hands.

* YoungerThanTheyLook: ''Nightfall'' states that Dupin's age is actually 24. He certainly doesn't look like it in any of the games, and most people assumed him to be in the thirties. Considering all the interesting objects he has in his house in the first game, it's hard to believe that he collected them all in just a few years; it's much more believable that it took him at least ten or fifteen to do so.
** He seems to be aging a bit by the time of ''Metzengerstein''; his hair appears somewhat grayer than in previous installments, and he speaks a little more slowly. This interpretation of the character continues in ''The Raven'' and ''Lenore'', where his spare figure and long brown coat make him somewhat resemble a scarecrow. However, in ''Morella'', they bring back the earlier design, restoring the dark hair and making him look healthier; this makes sense, since dated documents in ''Lenore'' and ''Morella'' suggest that the latter took place some forty years before the former, so Dupin was a much younger man. ''The Pit and the Pendulum'' returns him to the ''Metzengerstein'' look.

*** ''Morella'' has our player character [[SuddenlyVoiced speak for the first time]], and she is indeed female; we also occasionally see her hands.

* SuddenlyVoiced: In ''Morella'', the player character has a single spoken line for the first time. She's NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent.

** Subverted in ''Pendulum''; early in the game we encounter a cat which ''looks'' like Pluto, but is expressly identified as female (where Pluto is male).

** In ''Morella'', where the character is quite blatantly female, we have the strongest indications of ship tease so far. During their earliest conversation, Dupin addresses her as "my dear friend" instead of merely "my friend." Later, he gives her the biggest smile of the entire series, and at the very end of the game, he [[HoldingHands takes her hand]] (which was a big deal for the time period).

* AmbiguousGender: One of the few details anyone has been able to determine about the player character is their gender... which is entirely inconsistent. In several games, it's left completely vague and unaddressed. In others, the character is definitely female. In still others, the character is definitely male. This then begs the question of whether it's been the same individual throughout the series or not; however, Dupin always interacts with the player character as if they are the same person every time, and the certificates in the character's office in ''Masque'' would suggest that it's been the same person in at least the first five games. The devs have yet to make an official GenderReveal, but this is what the fans have observed thus far.

* FeaturelessProtagonist: Usually, the most we ever see of the player's avatar is their hands and arms, which are usually obscured by sleeves and gloves.
** At one point in ''Lenore'', the Crows League puts up wanted posters for both the player character and Dupin. The [=PC's=] poster has a question mark instead of a picture.

* UndyingLoyalty: This was his defining trait in his initial appearance, where he was the staunchly faithful pet and ally of Sarah Davies.

** ''Devil in the Belfry'' manages to make the situation completely confusing. On the one hand, the player and Dupin are brought into the investigation because of the disappearance of their friend Simon Loyalle, who was first introduced in ''The Tell-Tale Heart''. This suggests that the player of ''Belfry'' is the same character from ''Heart,'' and as noted below, that character was implied to be female. However, characters in the game repeatedly refer to the player as being male. Possibly this means that the player in ''Speaking'' really was male after all, and recognized Dr. Morris by reputation rather than personal acquaintance.

*** ''Speaking'' leaves the whole thing almost entirely ambiguous, except for one bit. When the player is assembling the torn photo of the jurors and finds the scrap depicting Dr. Morris from ''House of Usher'', they immediately recognize him. This would indicate that the player character of ''Speaking'' is the same as the one from ''House of Usher,'' and as noted above, that character was implied to be female.

* ShipTease: There's at least a little of this between Dupin and the player character in several of the games. He begins many cases by remarking how happy he is to see you, he often boasts to other [=NPCs=] about your skills, and one piece of dialogue in ''Murders in the Rue Morgue'' has him suggesting that he take you to dinner at the fancy restaurant you're exploring. This has been dialed back somewhat as the series has continued, though the friendship is strongly presented in nearly every game. (''Usher'' is the only exception, but as noted on the Fridge page, other forces seem to be at work.)

** ''Nightfall'' contained subtle bits of this concerning Dupin and Anna. Of particular note was a timed mission in which Dupin is wounded. Once all was said and done, he urged the player to comfort Anna, who was deeply upset by Dupin's injuries. He was also clearly shown to trust and depend upon her, given how much he has hed overseeing and assisting you, and her loyalty to him was indicated to be absolute. (Since we know that Anna is the player character at least once in the main series, the existence of ShipTease makes sense.)
** In ''Morella'', where the character is quite blatantly female, we have the strongest indications of ship tease so far. During their earliest conversation, Dupin addresses her as "my dear friend" instead of merely "my friend." Later, he gives her the biggest smile of the entire series, and at the very end of the game, he [[HoldingHands takes her hand]].

*** In the player character's study in ''House of Usher'', there is [[https://ibb.co/7zWKBKG a painting of two figures]]. One is clearly Dupin; the other, whose facial features are left considerably less distinct, is almost certainly intended to be the player character. Although the face can't be seen, the character is attired in a 19th century lady's dress, complete with hat and handbag. (As the main page notes, this is quite possibly an EarlyBirdCameo for [[https://ibb.co/hVdKHwg Anna Fleurs]].)

*** Similarly, ''Devil in the Belfry'' leaves the gender vague; however, the player and Dupin are brought into the investigation because of the disappearance of their friend Simon Loyalle, who was first introduced in ''The Tell-Tale Heart''. This suggests that the player of ''Belfry'' is the same character from ''Heart,'' and as noted above, that character was implied to be female.

* LovelyAssistant: When female, you're this to Dupin, especially given the idea that the female player character is Anna (who explicitly has this job in ''Nightfall'').